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WIJD What Is Jesus Doing?

Bob Luton — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Hebrews 7:23-28

7:23 Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;

7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

7:25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

7:26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

7:27 Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.

7:28 For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Last Week

Richard did a wonderful job last week introducing the theme from this series of lectionary readings from Hebrews: Jesus as ‘High Priest”. He was right on target when he said that the High Priest image washed perfectly well with a 1^st century Jewish audience who knew all about High Priests, but because we don’t have the background, it can leave us a little “ho hum” like the punch line that has to be explained.

Jesus Is The High Priest

The idea is this: Jesus, as one who lived among us and understands us, was appointed by God as High Priest to be the source of eternal salvation through his suffering and death.” If you missed his excellent sermon last week, you may want to read Hebrews 5:1-10 and read his sermon on our web site.

WIJD

The last time I was in the Cokesbury bookstore, there was a sale on WWJD bracelets, you know, “What Would Jesus Do?” For a while, it seemed like they were everywhere, and I guess it was a good idea for folks to consider a Christ-like response to situations that come up every day. Like most other things that grab our attention for a time, the campaign seems to have faded into the background. I have wondered privately whether the fading interest was because the action called for is simply raising a question and not the follow through with action. I was tempted to make my own “WWGD” bracelets to make the point. “Wonder who’s gonna do it?” I know, “do it” is supposed to be two words. Not where I grew up. “To it” is one word also, as in “get around tuit.” So when the theme for this week’s Hebrews passage showed itself, you can see how I thought of it as WIJD, “What is Jesus doing?” It struck me as the theme when one of the commentators said that the writer of Hebrews is seeking to answer this question: What is Jesus doing between “Christ is risen!” and “Christ will come again!” So let’s consider WIJD: What is Jesus doing?

I. Jesus is Permanent – Eternal!

7:23 Furthermore, the former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;

7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever.

The WildernessTabernacle

So, what about the earthly High Priests? In the wilderness tabernacle, the high priest would do a number of special cleansing rituals to purge himself of his own sinfulness, and then offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Our Communion Service

Our communion liturgy picks up a sense of that same principle. When I say, “In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven,” you say back to me, “In the name of Jesus Christ you are forgiven.” Before we get very far into the process of preparing our hearts to receive the sacraments, both those served and the one serving are assured of the forgiveness of their sins.

Succession of High Priests

In the same way, the people gathered at the wilderness tabernacle had experienced priest make the burnt offering on the altar for the sins of the people repeatedly over many years, as one aging and dying high priest would be replaced by a younger priest, so that there would always be one who would intercede with God for the people’s sins.

Jesus Is the One and Only High Priest

The writer of Hebrews wants us to know that in Jesus, we have one who is at his work of forgiveness and intercession… permanently. We’ll never have to remember the name of the latest high priest. There is only one! And his name is… Jesus.

De-centralizing of Power

In a world (not to mention economy!) that sometimes seems uncertain and unpredictable, the thought of Jesus as doing his work permanently, eternally, has a comforting ring to it.

About the time my mother was a child, most decisions that affected the lives of ordinary citizens in town and country America were made down the street in the City Hall. Over time, many of the important decisions passed to the County Seat, then to the State, then to the Federal Government. Now many of the things that affect our lives the most are decided the boardrooms of multi-national corporations. As more and more decision making power moved step by step further and further away from the people, it has become easier and easier to be worried and cynical about the future. Some even grasp at what little power they can grab in whatever groups they find themselves in, in a desperate attempt to feel they have some control over their lives. Pastors sometimes see that process at work in the church.

The Chandelier

I know you’ve heard the old story of the man who tried to block the purchase of a chandelier for a church’s sanctuary for months. When he was finally asked just what his problem was with it, he said, “We don’t need it, we can’t afford it, and not one of you here can play it.”

The Loss of Control

All of us have felt that “loss of control” at one time or another about our financial security, our health care, or the ones the love. The list could go on and on.

The letter to the Hebrews reminds us that whatever else seems shaky, we have one looking out for us who is always there and will never be replaced by retirement or when the company downsizes.

Roots, Place, and Belonging

We all need roots, place, and belonging. And if things seem uncertain in real life, we can put our trust, our hope, our future in Jesus’ hands.

A United Methodist Lectionary commentator put it this way:

“The good news in this week's passage is that we will never be asked to adjust to another Savior and there will never be a new and improved plan for our salvation. What God has done for us is permanent! Glory to God! “

II. Jesus Intercedes for Us

7:25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

Grab A Line… And Plow!

As an associate pastor, I’ve heard a lot of sermons, and most of them twice. During my time at Asbury UMC in Memphis, I enjoyed hearing the stories told as illustrations by Senior pastor (and good friend) Donald Moorhead, who has now gone to be with God. He loved to talk about one of the farmer / patriarchs of his family who had such a deep faith. As he got older, one thing after another happened to slow down his farming, but nothing would stop him. For years he had plowed a vegetable garden in straight, even rows, holding onto a plow pulled by a mule. Can’t you just smell the rich, dark, fragrant earth being turned over as the metal blade cut through the ground and hear the jangle of the mule harness and the flapping of the hardware. Then, blindness struck him, and the family was worried, waiting to see how the old man would cope with it. Some time later, the mule team once again came out of the barn, and the perfectly straight plowed rows appeared on the Tennessee soil. Slowly and painstakingly, this God loving farmer had strung clothesline on posts above each row of the garden, in spite of his blindness. And to hear him tell it, when you’re blind and it’s time to plant, you just “grab a line and plow.” Can’t you see him with one hand in the air holding on to the clothesline, and the other hand holding the plow, while hollering out the gee haws to the mule. I wondered where he got that kind of grist and perseverance. Maybe this will help explain it…

Where Could I Go?

Sometime later as his health continued downhill, the Mooreheads visited him in the hospital. His days of farming were over and his days on earth had dwindled down to a just a few. As they looked at his form, now down to a fraction of it’s former size and gazed at his closed eyes set in a grizzly unshaven face, they thought he was asleep. But they heard a small noise that sounded like he was trying to say something. “What is it, pop?” A little louder, they could hear “Where could I go?” “Do you want to go somewhere, Pop?” He shook his head a little to say “no.” Even louder, “Where could I go!” The Moorheads looked at each other, no knowing what to say or do. The next thing the old man said told the tale! “Where could I go,” he said… “but to the Lord!” The comfortable and reassuring words of an old gospel hymn had come back to him in one of his last hours on earth.

The Old Southern Gospel Song

Maybe you’ve heard it. (Lyrics printed in entirety. Only chorus quoted in the sermon.)

* * * * * * * * * * *

WHERE COULD I GO

(a division of Brentwood-Baxter Music Publishing,Inc)

Sung (on U-Tube) by Rodney & Darlene Cowley Breshear

Verse 1

Living below in this old sinful word, Hardly a comfort can afford;

Striving alone to face temptations sore, Where could I go but to the Lord?

Chorus

Where could I go, O where could I go, Seeking a refuge for my soul?

Needing a friend to save me in the end, Where could I go but to the Lord?

Verse 2

Neighbors are kind, I love them eve'ry one, We get along in sweet accord;

But when my soul needs manna from above, Where could I go but to the Lord?

Chorus

Verse 3

Life here is grand with friends I love so dear; Comfort I get from God's own word;

Yet when I face the chilling hand of death, Where could I go but to the Lord?

Chorus

* * * * * * * * * * *

When we can’t go to anyone else who can help, we can go to the Lord, who intercedes for us.

7:25 Consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

III. Jesus Made The Sacrifice For Our Sins

7:26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

7:27 Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people; this he did once for all when he offered himself.

The Atonement

The “offering of himself” is part of the mystery of the atonement, isn’t it. Perhaps the Philippians hymn says it best (Philippians 2:5-11):

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Looking At The Sanctuary Cross

When we look up at the cross, we do just that! We bow, we confess that Jesus is Lord! We confess our sins. We remember that because of Jesus, our sins are forgiven!

Please say it back to me: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! (In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!)

IV. The “Servant” Is Not Weak!

7:28 For the law appoints as high priests those who are subject to weakness, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

Sociology 101 – “High Priests”

Seems like I remember from my sociology 101 that every society and many key groups within those societies have folks that function as it’s “High Priests”. Who are the high priests in our society who walk the corridors of power and influence. When I mention religion, who comes to mind? What about the world of… entertainment, finance, government, and sports? My oh my, don’t people invest so much in them!

Human Weakness Common Thread

What do they all share in common? Probably many things, but what comes to my mind is human weakness! And when they fall, so many mis-placed hopes fall with them. Maybe the writer of Hebrews was inviting his Jewish audience to remember some of the high priests in their religious observance who maybe didn’t turn out to be so high after all, like some in our day who rise and fall on late night television.

My heart goes out to all those who are invited to fill shoes they aren’t ready to fill or who trip on their human shoestrings. My heart goes out to all who are caught in the undertow of pride and who begin to believe that they are better than other folks. Even the best of us have weaknesses. We know that God uses imperfect human vessels to do his work, but we hate to be reminded that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God! The writer of Hebrews would have us look beyond them to the one to whom our human “high priests” are pointing if we seek perfection and permanence, a “Son who has been made perfect… forever.”

Conclusion

“Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.” The words from our Holy Communion liturgy will be heard again next Sunday. If you’re wondering WIJD (What is Jesus Doing) between Christ has risen and Christ will come again, a word of hope shines out in the 7^th chapter of Hebrews.

No matter how insecure we may find ourselves feeling in life right now, we are invited to look to Jesus who not only has heard our confession and forgiven us, but who is always at work interceding for us. That work is going on this very moment… and always!

Fred Craddock

Bible scholar and preacher Fred Craddock has said that Hebrews paints the most human picture of Jesus of any New Testament book. That’s witness is important, because the one who is in a position to forgive, to intercede for us, and even to judge… really knows us and was one of us!

We Need Someone “Standing In The Gap”

There are so many needs in our personal world and in the world around us. We all need someone to “stand in the gap” for us.

Temple Worship

In the memory of those addressed by the writer of Hebrews, it was primarily the temple priest who “stood in the gap” for the people in worship.

Synagogue

Back then, in their synagogue worship, there was also a group of ten required to say the daily prayers for others.

The Work of Intercession Is Our Job Too!

All of us, as the body of Christ in our day, have this priestly ministry of intercession through the priesthood of all believers.

So you and I stand in the gap for others, offering to God all the needs and blessings of this life, even as Jesus stands in the gap in heaven for us all.*

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*“Standing In The Gap” material at the end paraphrased from the GBOD staff lectionary material for this day in the atmospherics section:

http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=48045&loc_id=733,32,52

Original follows: “The world needs someone to "stand in the gap" for its needs. In Israel's temple worship, that was primarily the priest. In Israel's synagogue worship, that was the "minyan," that gathering of at least ten men required for the daily prayers to be said for the larger community. As the body of Christ, the priesthood of the believers, it is all of us. We, together, are given this priestly ministry of intercession so that we will stand in the gap here, offering to God all the needs and blessings of this life, even as Jesus stands in the gap in heaven for us all.“

26-Oct-09 12:00 PM

I Got This Email

Richard Laster — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Just the other day I happened to be down on the near south side of Houston. As I made my drive I passed by a couple of the more noticeable landmarks in the Houston area; Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans football team, and the Harris County Domed Stadium, also known as the Astrodome, know home of nothing and nobody. Looking casually at the dome was sort of a sad experience until I remembered the proposal I had heard just the day before, the one about making the Dome into a movie studio thereby bringing money into the Houston economy and providing entertainment for the world.

Then I thought about a previous venue near that same spot which long ago made the same promises; to bring money into the Houston economy and to provide entertainment for the world. Unfortunately the spot of that unique place is even less than the home of “nothing and nobody” that the Dome is today. I refer, of course, to our beloved Astroworld. After all these years, I believe it has been gone for three or four years now, I still share a sigh when passing under what was at the time of its construction in 1968 the longest private bridge over a major highway in the entire country. Today the Astroworld spot is a not so huge field. Some of the rides and attractions are in other amusement parks of a like nature, but unfortunately most of them, I understand, were in such bad shape after their removal that they are simply scrap.

I believe you all know Astroworld was my first official working home. My sixteenth birthday coincided with the opening of the park. I applied for work at the time and even though young and somewhat inexperienced in the practices of the finer things of life I was hired along with a couple of friends in the neighborhood. My first assignment was split shift on the Astroway Alpine, which means I started mid morning and went home shortly after dinner time. I covered the open spots when those on the other two shifts took their lunch and dinner breaks.

Fortunately there are no known pictures of myself from that summer now over forty years ago. Let me do my best at least for the moment to describe the attire of the average male employee stationed in what was known as the Alpine Village themed section of the park. The basic uniform included a pair of well above the knee green shorts, a stylish light yellow shirt with small white dots all over, this was covered by a pair of suspenders which were basically green with a couple of strips of burnt orange on the edges. The reason the burnt orange stripes were there was to accentuate the ensemble. The other items of that color were, and remember this was in the late 1960’s, a pair of burnt orange knee sox. The entire outfit was given credibility through the use of two items attached to the suspenders. We all had our official Astroworld name tags on the left side and a sort of pinkish background button on the right which said; “We make people happy.” The finishing piece was the only part of the wardrobe we employees were allowed to keep, and this was for health reasons, a neat green straw hat in the European style. You’ll be pleased to know when I was cleaning out my parents house back about three years ago I made a major discovery. Here it is; what do you think?

Well, one day back in the summer of ’68 I was on my own lunch break heading off in the direction of the employee cafeteria. In order to do this from the Astroway Alpine I had to walk through a fairly large section of the park. As I was headed off to dinner on that particular day I had one of our guests, that is a paying customer, not an employee, stop me. Here I was in my standard Alpine Village attire with the shirt, shorts, suspenders, sox, hat, name tag, and button which read “we make people happy.” This lady approached me and in what I believe to be an honest question asked: “Excuse me young man, do you work here?”

At that moment I had a decision to make. Was I to be kind and say “yes ma’am, how may I help you?” Or was I going to say what was in my mind? Even though I don’t recall exactly what that thought was I guarantee you it was something snide or at the least sarcastic. If I had gone in the first direction the lady would have thanked me and moved on, which in fact I did and she did. Had I gone in the other direction, I doubt she would have gone away happy. Remember the theme of the park was stuck right to my suspenders, “we make people happy.” What I said on that occasion, the way I responded to her first question and to the one which was to follow, a question of direction, would have helped her, or perhaps caused some consternation. The choice was mine.

I know this story is a bit longer than most that I share with you when we come together. I wanted to offer it not only for the sake of my own nostalgia, but also because it was a time I remember in a lighter way in my life realizing how what I said, how words and the attitude and emphasis behind them could be for positive or negative, in traditional sense for good or for not so good, even perhaps for evil.

Now there is no secret here that there is a power in words, in the word spoken and in especially in our electronic media era in the word written. Words and how we use them can either tear down or lift up, can either hurt, heal. I’m sure we all remember the old cliché; “sticks and stones may break my bones.” The truth is words can hurt. In the case of my brief encounter at Astroworld so long ago the lady in question was being courteous, she needed direction, she didn’t deserve a cutting response, actually nobody does.

Now when we come to our scripture today we find ourselves in the midst of a great tradition. Not only does James speak about speech and word usage here in this third chapter, he also has it as one of his primary themes through the book. The whole Letter or Book of James thing begins with the “word” theme. In the first chapter James says; “be slow to speak and quick to listen.” It is more blessed you see to be attentive than it is to speak hastily and in an inappropriate fashion. Why is this?

We read a great deal in our times about people who are bullies and how bad bullies are. We all remember, or we all know from our own experience now and in the past that bullies do exist. We also know these types of folks don’t cease to be a problem when we leave school, there are even bullies, those who try to intimidate and in whatever ways make life miserable, all through life.

What is there about bullying which fits the discussion for today? We know that there are several things about bullies which stand as true. We know basically bullies are those who are self focused, who don’t mind bringing somebody down in order to be themselves lifted up in a negative sort of way. We know also that when someone works as a bully it is his or her, yes there are female bullies, desire to exert some sort of control over someone else.

Bullies come in a variety of forms. We think about those who get the better of someone else in a physical way, the image here of course is that of the playground bully. But bullies can also try to get the better of someone by belittling them to their face, or by gossiping about their target behind that person’s back. Fortunately most of the time a person who does something like that can in time be seen through and understood for what they are. However before such a time as that happens, much damage can be done to someone’s reputation, or character. And much harm can come to the ego of the one spoken of. Bullying can result in the doubt or self respect, and can cause hurt which keeps a person away from being the best that can be.

Obviously the message is a simple one. Be responsible with each other. Be careful what you say. Don’t gossip, or say things which can be interpreted as hurtful. Even if there is something of a true nature to share, keep it to yourself. Don’t allow your own need to be noticed come at the expense of someone else. We all know the practical side of this is that we are responsible for each other and responsible to help one another be what God intends us to be. James says that if we curse someone else, or if we demean someone else, it is profaning the very creation of God. If we cease to show love for each other, even in words, then we cease to do the work of God.

I like the way the Book of James says this; “With it,” that is with the tongue, with speech, “we bless the Lord and father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes blessing and cursing.” James then has a direct word to offer to his audience; “My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.” Be consistent in the positive things. Praise God and bless those with the most holy of friendships and support. Love one another in action, another of James’ themes, and in speech support one another, build one another up, don’t destroy. Be consistent.

Back last year when my father died I had time to reflect on his life officially as well as personally. Looking back over his eighty plus years and the fifty or so years I shared with him, I couldn’t recall anything he said or did which came even close to being critical of someone else. As a matter of fact my dad was plumbed in the nicest sort of way; I guess one would say almost to a fault, but a good fault at that. Realizing that fact now I wish I could be remembered in such a way. Honestly I won’t because there are times I find myself being critical of another, not often out loud, but even every thought has the potential.

The challenge of James is to pay attention not only to what you are in your walk with God, but also and especially, what you are in the way in which you relate to others, and the ways in which you talk about and to others. According to James the tongue is a mighty small part of the body, but one that can do much good or much harm.

But there is one more area which we can see when we look more closely at the passage. It is where we began in this section from James 3. I had to think about this for a brief while. We don’t know exactly what got James started on this. Certainly there was somebody in the church, someone he knew somewhere in the midst of the religious society, who wasn’t being at all supportive, someone who was perhaps being destructive with speech and attitude. There was someone who by word and perhaps by action wasn’t lifting folks up but bringing them down.

This need, whatever it was, caused James to do a little thinking about the best way to express the need. Remember here that James, probably a brother of Jesus, literally speaking, was also a follower, and an early leader in the church following the resurrection. James word carried weight.

Here in the passage James gives the people under his care a bit of a challenge. He says; “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” So who are the teachers here? I don’t believe he means teachers like in school teachers. He might mean a religious teacher, which is getting closer to the point. I believe when he speaks of teachers he is speaking of all of Christian practitioners. When he speaks of those who shouldn’t be “teachers” he is talking about those who do not practice what they preach, if you’ll pardon another old cliché. James is saying faith needs consistence. If an individual, if any person is going to be a witness for the work of God, it must be in all ways of life, even in the way in which a person carries himself verbally.

James shares a few examples. He reminds them to bless each other, and to treat one another with the same respect with which one would treat God. He reminds them, and I suppose us as well, that all of God’s creation is in need of love and care, not of bullying or physical persecution. He talks directly even about cursing, and about taming the tongue. To me this means watching what we say, being careful not to gossip, to spread false rumors, or even to speak ill of someone in a way in which that person might lose face, or be brought down either in emotion or in public.

You know what I’ve noticed here? We live in a time when words come far too easy. There is in our technological world more chance to speak fast and to listen less because there are now so many ways to communicate without even having to look at someone in the eye, or be within ear shot of someone.

Think about a couple of examples. Just this last week we had the fellow who allowed his emotion to get a hold of him during the Presidents speech. This Joe Wilson fellow from South Carolina, I believe, has every right to have his opinion, even to share it, but when he did so at that specific time, and in the location in which he let it slip, he damaged not only himself but the integrity of the body of which he is a part. And remember a few years ago old Mel Gibson. Mel, the actor, if I remember the story correctly, was stopped for DUI and was recorded lambasting a specific type of people. Fortunately the only one he hurt here was himself. But under different circumstances someone of his standing could have been critical in a way which was influential to those who were looking for an excise to persecute.

And then there is email. I am convinced email can be our worst enemy for a variety of reasons. It definitely is a place where free thought yet at the same time where unchecked words can slip through. Email doesn’t require a face to face, it doesn’t even require knowing who and where the person is. And what is said on email can be broadcast far beyond the target audience. It can also do a world of hurt.

I won’t tell the circumstance exactly but I am a part of an organization which has occasion to sent out a quantity of email communications. It is not uncommon for people to shoot out a few thoughts to a few people, and more. One afternoon, just a few weeks ago, I received an email from one of the members. It was a fellow I have known for some years, one I have trusted because of previous experiences. For some reason he was sharing his opinion concerning another member of the organization. I don’t even remember why. I made the mistake of reading his remarks and I guarantee you my esteem for this fellow, the one who sent the email, no the subject of the email, dropped considerably. He was playing the roll of the bully.

What was even worse was the fact that in short order the person about whom he had spoken, the one of which he was critical, received a copy of the email. Someone, three or four hands down, innocently shared the information and the opinion. I am not passing judgment here on whether the issue raised in the communication was true or not. I am passing on the thought that the communication I received was an example of how we forget to take time to think before speaking, even when doing so electronically.

The bottom line of the whole thing, including the passage for today is this; there are consequences to what we say. In the words of James we who are faithful are teachers. We teach about the person and the word of God as we know it in Jesus. If we who are teachers are seen in ways other than at our best, our actions just might do more than harm us, they may well hurt the cause of faith, and lead someone away from the life saving grace of God.

James takes on practical issues all through this little letter we have in the New Testament. He speaks of practicing what we preach, and of living out the Gospel and of making our faith not only that which we feel, think, and know, but that which we do. And James also gives us some very practical information. He challenges us to remember in the church, and outside of the church, that we who claim to be Christian are here for the Kingdom of God. We are here to help make the world a better place. May we be challenged to be consistent. May we remember to love one another in all of the ways at our disposal. This includes not being critical. Not thinking so much of ourselves that we allow our words to degrade another in order to lift ourselves up.

James challenges us to remember that in a way we are teachers and as such we share from our own experience the blessings of the Lord. God gives us faith at every point of our living. Let us remember to lift each other up; to follow one of the basic operating procedures of James by being quick to listen, and being slow to speak.

And when we do speak, let speech be words which befit the faith and words which are consistent in our love and respect for God and for those who are God’s good creation.

At the end of our passage are a couple of interesting thoughts. I suppose we can say our speech should be like a spring of fresh water, should bear good fruit, and should be true to God’s word.

So there are some good goals here; be consistent when you speak to and about God and when you speak to and about those whom God has created in love. And follow the advice of James in the daily living of life, even speaking in life, and doing so in a fashion which is pleasing to God.

The world needs those who speak and show love. The world needs those who lift people up and do not push people down for any reason. The world needs those who are positive teachers who direct the church in the way of Christ. The world needs us all to live life in God’s sight both living and even in our patterns and practices of “speaking” doing so as though we are face to face with God himself.

11-Sep-09 12:00 PM

"Lord Teach Me"

Richard Laster — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 18:00:00 GMT

In all of our years together I’m sure I have shared just about every experience I’ve had in just about every church. You may recall some things I’ve said in the past concerning one of the more interesting groupings in one of my earlier churches. At the second church on the Rosebud Circuit was the Cedar Springs church. Cedar had a family in it the members of which were well known in the area as musicians. The particular emphasis of the singing family was what is referred to as classic country gospel. Basically when we were gathered for worship this family would present a choir special and would lead singing. They were the folks who sponsored the Cedar Springs community gospel singing which was held on the last Sunday of each month. We would have people there who came from a good distance including Waco, Temple, Cameron, and towns all around. The average attendance on Sunday morning was around thirty. For singing there would be at least one hundred and probably even more.

Owing to the last Sunday of the month singing and because of the This gifted musical family and others in that little church who shared their interest, I learned some really interesting songs of faith. There was no need there for a contemporary service. They had all the contemporary music they needed. There were the old hymns, those composed during the nineteenth century, and there were the new hymns, which were all composed in the first two or so decades of the twentieth century. These were as contemporary as they needed. I tried to add a few so called newer hymns, but found out nobody knew them and there was little desire to even give them a try.

In the few years we were up that way, and serving that little church along with the Rosebud church, I was encouraged to use those older hymns. In the pews at Cedar Spring there was the traditional Cokesbury worship hymnal and a variety of hymnals from publishers such as Stamps Baxter. I even noted one hymnal on the piano which held shaped notes. Exploring the old hymns, even singing a few of the oldest of the older hymns, the ones I had missed growing up at St. Paul’s here in Houston, became quite a point of interest. Some of the hymns I learned back then, which are still in my brain even today, I haven’t tried to sing officially for the twenty three years since we left up that way. Others pass though my mind every now and then.

There are times I miss the experience and even on occasion will pull out a hymnal used during that time in my life and sing through a few of my favorites.

All of the songs we sang back then were definitely considered “old” hymns, but they were by no means really, really old, old hymns. When we considerer the truly early, or oldest of recorded hymns, we must go a long way back before Fannie Crosby, P. P. Bliss, and even long before Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, and Martin Luther who were three persons who, generations ago, created some great and memorable hymn text. Actually if one is looking for a really old hymn the best place is to go to isn’t in even the oldest printed official hymnals, but to a small song book published within the most published books in the history of humanity. We must go to the Bible and turn our attention to the Psalms. As you know the Psalms were written to assist worship. These were poetry set to music. These would have been read, recited, and yes, even sung in the times long before Jesus. If I am not mistaken the first Psalms appeared about fourteen hundred years before Jesus and the last was written a mere six hundred years before Jesus. These were actually and truly the earliest of the early hymns; ones which were certainly in the experience of Jesus.

Generations of God’s faithful followers have for more than three thousand years enjoy and found inspiration within the words of the Psalms. I personally like them because we find in these unique creations a spirit with which we can identify. The various authors were those who experienced life in the same we in which we do. They didn’t look at the world through rose colored glasses, as the old cliché goes, but saw things as they were. Through the Psalms these people of so long ago spoke of their own struggles, their own joys, their own sorrow, their own faith, and yes even their own doubts. They asked God the same questions which we ask. Just like us they also found the same blessings and direction which we find in faith.

Now the hymn we have before us today, Psalm 119, is rather unique. It is such because of the way in which it was written. Linguistic historians tell us there is particular structure to Psalm 119, one which makes a difficult passage in length much easier to remember. Each of the individual sections, and there are twenty two within the 176 verses of this passage, starts with a different letter from the Hebrew alphabet. As there are twenty two different letters in Hebrew so are there twenty two different sections in the psalm. In order to get the significance we’d have to be able not only to read Hebrew but also to speak it. The first section begins with the Hebrew equivalent of the letter “A” pronounced “Aleph.” The last section ends with the Hebrew equivalent of the letter “Z,” in their case it is the letter “Taw.”

There is more to this. Each section, all twenty two sections, is made up of four lines. Each line begins with the same letter of the alphabet. So the first line would begin with Aleph, and so would the other three in the section. Then in order the letters would progress until reaching the last line and ending with the “Taw” on all four lines, like our going in succession from A to Z. Psalm 119 was created to be a way to remember and to make reading and singing more interesting. It is also quite possible, and this isn’t original to me by a long shot, that it was written this way to express the complete and universal presence of God in the same way the passage about Alpha and Omega in Revelation uses the Greek language.

But there is more and for this I’m going back to the Psalms as a complete unit. When the Psalms are looked at as a hymnal and studied as such there are actually five different divisions of hymns each one having a specific set of themes. Hymn 119 is in the final group, which begins with Psalms 107 and ends at the last one which is Psalm 150. The five specific sections mirror fairly closely the theme of the five books of the torah, and follow sequentially the five books of the law; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Hymn or Psalm 119 falls into the fifth group, which is the one based on the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is a very practical book because it concerns the ways in which God has dealt in specifics with His Covenant people. Deuteronomy touches upon the Word of God, and reminds the people what God has done for them. This is of course followed by a call to return to faithfulness and faith.

Our particular little piece of the passage follows the thought of Deuteronomy and gives us a few thoughts concerning the law of God and the observation of the same. But there is a little something different in the text which we need to understand. The author of this hymn, who happens to be unknown, had a particular understanding of the law. Law wasn’t something which was to be followed in order for someone to be restricted in specific ways, or judged harshly, but the law, as used here and referred to in Psalm 119, was something upon which to mediate, and something from which to learn. God set out the specifics of the law not for judgment but for justice. God gave the law in order for humanity to know how to put things together for the good and how to keep God’s presence first in their lives. In this way the law is a practical gift. Learning the Law of God was another way of learning the person of God. One who strived to keep the law was the one who was also doing whatever it took to learn about God and to receive the good gifts God has to offer.

The passage from Psalm 119 when read in its entirety may sound on casual observation rather proud. However when read in more detail we can find in Psalm 119 an earnest commitment to faith and a great understanding of where the law leads. This specific and particular Psalmist isn’t claiming any pride in knowing the whole law, but is stating how his life is strengthened because through the law he has come to know and understand God more deeply. The Psalmist in this case, as actually in many others, affirms no matter what the way of the Lord is the way and that the challenges which come along in life, even though they are confounding and sometimes seem to challenge God’s presence in life, are actually only blips in time and experience which lead back to faith in God who is always present.

For the purpose of today I do not want to take any great time to share more theology than that. Suffice it to say the Psalms give us good tools not only to understand a more ancient mindset but also to come to know in our own lives and hearts the same presence of God which is not only to be respected, but also to be received as love. Psalm 119 in its entirety is a testimony to what this particular Psalmist has learned about the way of God. The part of the passage which speaks to me most is a very simple line in the midst of a much more complicated vision. The Psalmist sends this petition in God direction; “teach me, O God, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart.”

Such an inspiration as this, such a thought, is actually the beginning of the education of faith. In our case it is the beginning of the journey for Christian education. The Psalmist affirmed the fact that the more we know about God and the more we understand from the self revelations of God the more we can know not only about God but also about ourselves, our world, and ultimately what life is like for us. Coming with an open mind to receive what God gives us as direction can do for us what we cannot do in any other way. The questions of faith, that lead one to honest searching through the scriptures, through reason, and through Christian experience, provide the chance to find answers to questions which society in general cannot answer.

I did something yesterday I hadn’t planned to do. For some reason I turned on the television around 9:00 in the morning. I found myself for the next hour or so doing a few house bound projects and at the same time being attentive to the funeral service for Ted Kennedy. As in any Christian based funeral I paid particular attention to the scriptures from what the Priest in charge yesterday called both the Hebrew and the Christian Bible. The words were familiar, there was a definite vision. Even in that situation there was hope to be found, and a promise of life to offer.

Where did such a promise come from? It certainly didn’t come from the limits of the created human mind because our vision is so limited. The vision came from the word of God as God has chosen to offer it. The vision of God’s eternal power, presence, and love came because God sent the scriptures, because God sent holy men and women who were divinely inspired to offer God’s authentic word, and because finally and ultimately God sent Jesus into our world in order to let the word of His character be known.

Psalm 119 sets before us a cry that is in the human heart; “God teach me.” We believe, but we are hungry to know more. Throughout the generations God has empowered, inspired, motivated, and encouraged faithful witnesses not only to give testimony, not only to live holy lives, not only to witness, but to learn so that the life of faith can be one of greater assurance, greater depth, and a greater understanding of what makes life work, not only for now, but for always.

In my little stack of stuff I have a commemorative medal. This item dates back to 1866. On one side it acknowledges the centennial celebration of the creation of the Sunday school. On the other side there is an engraving of John Wesley sitting at the knee of his mother, Suzanna Wesley. When we look at the history of the Sunday school we actually begin long before 1766 and John Wesley as education has always been a part of religious life. What Wesley did in England back during the middle of the Eighteenth Century was to put method to it, to organize the work.

Actually the original Sunday school was a school for the poorer children who were forced to work in what we today call sweat shops. The economy was such that the poorest of the poor had no choice but to work. Even those whose children, who were not in such an environment, had little time or money to make sure the children received a good education. Wesley and the early Methodists organized classes on the weekends in order to share basic information with those who had no other way to receive it. These original educational settings handled not only religious education, but tools practical for life such as skills in math and reading. Our traditional Sunday school came from such a beginning. Over time, especially in places such as ours where public and private education is readily available, the Sunday school took on religious education.

Our purpose for gathering today is to acknowledge the good work of our Faith Haven Sunday School. We, as United Methodists recognize the call to education which dates back to the beginning of faith’s experience. Psalm 119 makes the call and the plea for God to teach. In our own history those who went before wanted to give the gift of education. Certainly we are thankful because a growing part of our life as a church family, a part of our life together, of our spiritual life, is here before us today in a place of honor.

I am thankful as your pastor to all of your for your commitment to education; for leaders, for teachers, and for students of all ages and states, as I like to say. Through the good work of our Sunday school, and a variety of other groups which are structured for Christian education, we are all able to learn not only about God and the way of God, but also to have answered some of the questions which cannot find an open dialogue in our society today. Thanks to all of you for your good work and commitment.

I also want to acknowledge before we get away another blessing we have. In the day of John Wesley schools were not available to all, not even close. In our times, at least in our country, they are. It is good to know that in some way God empowered the vision of caring for children. It is fitting today as we remember the Sunday school to also remember the gift of education. Many who are here are involved in the work of education in and outside of the church. Some are professional educations as teachers, administrators, education facilitators who serve in other ways. We also have in our midst children who are returning to a new school year. At the very least we acknowledge the need we all have to learn and thus to grow mentally and spiritually all of our lives. No matter in what age or stage one may be, there is always more to learn; more information, more insight, more vision to make life better and more complete.

We have one practical exercise before we move forward. We are going to do a blessing of backpacks, well actually a blessing of the people who not only wear the backpacks, but those who are involved in the world which the backpack speaks of, the world of education and of learning. In a moment, following our prayer, I will lead us in this exercise and privilege.

Thank you all for your support of the Fair Haven Sunday school and all of the other ways in which education is so much a part of our life together. Education is so a great a gift from God, and a wonderful part of our spiritual heritage. Even though we are, historically speaking, far from the time of Psalm 119, the vision of the Psalmist remains in place when that person, now only an anonymous presence, wrote a great hymn the words of which express a vision which remains with us even today; “Teach me, O Lord.”

31-Aug-09 1:00 PM

May I Bring My Friends?

Bob Luton — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22 (NRSV)

So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision" --a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands-- remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

Last Week…

This scripture passage moves us a little further along in Ephesians from where we were last week. Last week (Ephesians 1: 3-14) was all about “the big picture,” a God that “had us in mind” from before the foundation of the world. It was a wonderful exercise in grounding ourselves in God’s love… for… us. The service ended with “Victory in Jesus,” the old gospel hymn. It all fit, because that hymn is focused on “me.” Song: “Victory in Jesus, MY savior for ever, he sought ME and bought ME with his redeeming blood; He loved ME ere I knew him, and all MY love is due him; he plunged ME to victory beneath the cleansing flood. The old tent revival chorus fit well, because the focus on the passage last week was about centering us in God and leaving us very clear of God’s love for us.

This Week…

Now Ephesians takes us down the faith path another big step. In the verse before our passage for today, the Message paraphrase says this, “He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.”

Having established our place in God’s love, we are reminded that once we are “right with God,” there are good things to be done “joining Christ Jesus in the work he does.”

In Christ, We Are One – “The Message” Selected Verses Paraphrase

And to prepare us for that work, Ephesians moves into the scripture passage for this week reminding the Gentile hearers of the letter (and us) that in Christ, all are one. Some paraphrased verse from The Message read: “Now because of Christ – dying that death, shedding that blood – you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.” “He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.” “Christ brought us together through his death on the Cross.” “He is using us all, irrespective of how we got here – in what he is building.”

So, We Get The Point!

Although the original message was directed to the gentile believers in Ephesus, we get the point. Those who God loves, are worthy of our love. Those who are the friends of Jesus are our friends too.

“When Jesus Came Into My Heart…”

When we sang “Victory in Jesus” last week, it made me think of an old revival chorus I sang in church when I was little. Hymn Chorus: “When Jesus came into my heart, when Jesus came into my heart, Oh the joy floods my soul like the sea billows roll… (imagine a tympani roll here!) , when Jesus came into my heart.” At that young age, I had no idea what sea billows were, but I knew I loved Jesus. My family had gotten me started on that path many years before, and Miss Paessler in bible school had taught me to sing, “Oh how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, because he first loved me.”

Rev. Dr. Peter Storey

At Annual Conference year before last, the conference had invited a United Methodist preacher named Peter Storey from South Africa to speak. This former South African Bishop and leader of the Central Methodist Mission which once housed 1,000 Zimbabwean refugees is now teaching at Duke Divinity School. I was moved by his sermon on the friends who lowered the man who needed healing through the roof, so Jesus could help. He said something which grabbed me right where these two old gospel hymns leave us. During a question and answer session following his sermon, he responded to someone by saying, “When we say,” I have Jesus in my heart, “ I can imagine Jesus saying in a loving voice, “May I bring my friends?”*(See footnote at end.) The movement of the Ephesians passage from last week to this, and the movement from the gospel hymns which celebrate the place of Jesus in our hearts to the openness of our hearts to those Jesus befriends is a logical and important next step on the path of faith. In the back of our minds we hear Jesus’ words in John 10:16: "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.”

One Leg / Other Leg… We’re Walking, We’re Walking!

After the Ephesians were reminded of their place in God’s love, (one leg hits the ground last week), they are also reminded that their world does not just consist of themselves and a loving God. There are others that God loves and there are others that are Jesus’ friends that are not only our friends too, but should be joined arm and arm with us in doing God’s work. (other leg hits the ground this week). Now, we’re walking!

Ephesus / Houston

As I as was poking around in the introduction to the book of Ephesians, I had one of those “aha” moments. It made me feel like Ephesians had our name on it, too! The words said, “In Paul’s time, Ephesus was the fourth largest city in the Roman Empire. What is the fourth largest city in the United States? (Houston) And it also said, “Ephesus was a port city on the western shore of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey).” Isn’t that interesting that we share so much in common!

Circular Letter

The letter to the Ephesians was probably a circular letter, meant to be shared, from a home base at the church in Ephesus and circulated to churches all over. We get circular letters today. I’m not talking about the one your aunt writes that goes on forever and doubles back on itself several times. It’s more like the Luton Christmas letter which is duplicated and sent to friends and relatives. So, you can imagine what an impact just the first two parts of this letter would have had, not only in the church to whom it was addressed (which shares so much in common with our city), but in the all the other churches in the area which would have received it and heard it.

The Friends of Your Friends

Well what about this business of Jesus bringing his friends into our hearts? Have you ever noticed that your friends sometimes have friends so different from you that it seems impossible that your friend could like you… and them too?

Children’s Book

Darlene Dibble puts the letters on our church sign each week. She had just put my sermon title up on the South side of the sign. I was in the office and saw Darlene’s face appear in the door, out of the corner of my eye. “Is your sermon based on the children’s book,” she asked. It took me a second to connect with the question. “What children’s book?” As a librarian, she knew of a children’s book with the title, “May I bring my friend?” written by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers. So, after Darlene gave me the gist of it, I read the synopsis of the book on-line.

Synopsis: “May I Bring A Friend?”

“What could be more natural, when invited by the King and Queen to tea, than to ask to bring a friend? And that, of course, is what the hero of May I Bring a Friend? does. Not only to tea, but to breakfast, lunch, dinner, apple pie and Halloween - one invitation for each of six days of the week. The King is most gracious. "Any friend of our friend is most welcome," says he. And his graciousness extends to giraffes, lions, hippos, monkeys, all kinds of friends. Not all of whom are on their very best behavior. It must be assumed however, that everyone (including the reader) enjoyed the friends, for why else would the king and queen step off to the zoo for tea on the seventh day.” Later in the week, she brought me a copy which we used today for the children’s sermon.

Children’s Books Sometimes Slip Big Ideas Under The Radar!

This children’s book does what so many children’s books do. It explores some pretty important big ideas in a delightful way which disarms and opens up our way of thinking. Yes, it’s true that sometimes our friends have other friends which call on us to expand our horizons of friendship. I’ve seen this at birthday parties, reunions, and wedding receptions, and I’m sure you have too. Sometimes we discover that our friends have other friends which stretch our comfort zones. Hmm…

But What About Jesus?

But Jesus… what about Jesus! What is it that is so disarming about Dr. Storey’s question asked of those us who have “Jesus in our hearts?” He would have us imagine Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts, not only to commune with us … in our heart of hearts, but with one or more his friends along as well. He smiles (at the door of our hearts) and lovingly asks, “May I bring my friends?” And our eyes gaze out to see who his friends might be, illuminated by the porch light overhead. We might think to ourselves, “You know, Jesus, I thought this was going to be just… you and me.” Or we might think, “This is like the dinner invitation I got the other day, that turned into an Amway demonstration!” “Or it’s like the time I was invited to a friend’s house for what I thought was an intimate dinner, only to find several cars in the driveway when I got there.”

We Take Steps In Faith

It’s often starts that way in our faith, you know. First, we find ourselves accepted by God through Christ, warts and all, and start out with little baby steps on the path of faith, “When Jesus Came Into My Heart”, either in a moment when “joy floods my soul like the sea billows roll” or over a lifetime of little “joy infusions” like it was for me. That’s what Ephesians Chapter 1 is all about. But then comes this week (Chapter 2) when the next step of our spiritual journey invites us to take stock of our acceptance by our savior and friend, Jesus, but then… we hear his gentle invitation in our little guided fantasy. “May I bring my friends?”

Vertical and Horizontal

Former Associate Pastor Roy Williamson used to speak of this as the “vertical and horizontal dimensions of faith.” There’s the vertical (me and God). And there’s the horizontal (me and you and everyone else.” Roy helped me remember, while kneeling at the communion rail, that as I was praying to God, sensing Christ “coming into my heart” in holy communion, somebody was bumping into my arms on the left and right kneeling with me.

The King and Queen “Did Good!”

In the children’s book, the king and queen show that they have big flexible hearts by not only very quickly getting over their shock at the kinds of animal friends the child brought in the door, but also by being open to making friends with them to the point that they accepted their invitation to visit them at the zoo at the end of the book. So, in the book, there is a happy ending!

The Spotlight Shifts From The King and Queen… To Jesus

When the spotlight shifts on the stage (in our minds) from the King and Queen in the children’s book to the question posed by… Jesus, it’s the same disarming question alright, but the answer has a lot riding on it! It holds in the balance who we are as followers of Christ and who we are as “Fair Haven United Methodist Church!” As we look out the door of our hearts at the friends Jesus has with him, they probably are even more diverse that our own friends’ friends, if the gospel accounts of Jesus’ friends are any indication. In fact, they included all kinds of people, some of them people that the society of his day was trying to forget. Jesus got in all kinds of trouble with his own followers by befriending those who had been pushed to the side of life and were far from “fitting in.”

Houston / Ephesus - Demographics

Houston shares much with Ephesus, it’s ethnic and religious diversity, among other things. According to Rice Professor Stephen Kineberg, Houston has the opportunity to lead the country right now in figuring out how to live together when there is no ethnic majority. Ephesus was also an ancient center of nature religion where the goddess Artemis was widely worshiped (Read the story in Acts 19). I’ll leave you to think about how we compare in that department.

Dr. Storey’s Life and Ministry

Dr. Storey, as a United Methodist minister from South Africa, did not ask the question about Jesus’ friends flippantly. As a key figure in working for a non-violent solution to the apartheid struggle his entire ministry, he has seen Jesus in the face of the poor, downtrodden, and marginalized not only his entire ministry, but his entire life as he watched his minister father suffer with some of Jesus’ friends. I listened to a podcast interview with him nearly two hours long this week, and was left in awe at his courage… and God’s power… in his life and those caught up in that struggle. (Here is podcast link: (click and search for “Storey”) http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Feed/new.duke.edu.1339196247.01339196257

As I was about to finish all of this up, I discovered that the Eleanor Colvin, our director of communications in the Annual Conference had posted some of the words from Dr. Storey’s Annual Conference Address. (Link to that article: http://www.txcumc.org/news_detail.asp?pkvalue=627 )

Annual Conference News Quote

Here are his words: “When we begin to make space for others inside ourselves, when we let others take up residence in our soul ( – mission cannot happen until we make that space), not just space for people like us, but for those people who need us, for those people who disturb our sleep.” The editor also wrote this: “Storey counted the believers’ request – “come into my heart Jesus” – to be a dangerous and disturbing thing to say, since Jesus will inevitably answer with a question of his own: “Can I bring my friends?” “I start looking at Jesus’ friends and I’m not pleased with what I see, because they’re not the kinds of people who would be on my guest list,” Storey said. “Lord, can’t it be just you and me? [And, he answers]: ‘Love me, love my friends, and that’s not negotiable.’”

What About Us?

Ephesus… Cape Town… Houston… or Spring Branch… These first two chapters of Ephesians encourage us to not only claim our inheritance in God’s love through a Jesus who has “come into our hearts” and each Sunday “comes into the heart of our worship”, but to take the next steps in faith when Jesus smiles and asks, “May I bring my friends?”

Maybe Mother Theresa’s prayer will inspire us: “Lord, break my heart so wide open that the whole world falls in.”

Closing Prayer / Invitation

*Dr. Storey has also written this in the 2^nd Chapter of his book, “Listening at Golgotha”: "Some tell us that following Jesus is a simple matter of inviting him into our hearts. But when we do that, Jesus always asks, 'May I bring my friends?' And when we look at them we see that they are not the kind of company we like to keep. The friends of Jesus are the outcasts, the marginalized, the poor, the homeless, the rejected--the lepers of life. We hesitate and ask, 'Jesus, must we really have them too?' Jesus replies, 'Love me, love my friends!'"

19-Jul-09 4:00 PM

Long Range Planning

Bob Luton — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Ephesians 1:3-14 RSV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory.

Slide on The Screen For Entire Service:
http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/the_universe/pr1994002c/web/

Everyday Life and the Stars

Sometimes the everyday-ness of life gets in the way of our seeing the big picture. This introduction to the New Testament book called “Ephesians”, is about “the big picture.” So, unless we quit thinking about what we’re having for lunch or whether we paid the phone bill, (or whatever) and expand our thinking a bit, we will miss the big picture in the midst of the thick flowing phrases and heavy language of this glorious introduction. The writer wanted to make a big point, so he did what we might have done… he borrowed a style of writing reserved for big occasions, a kind of formal eulogy that would have been used for an important public figure. A eulogy like this can be for the living or those recently died. Definition: The eulogy is a work of tribute and praise, in prose or poetry, for a person either very distinguished or recently dead, as in a funeral oration.

My Grandfather’s Obituary

I remembered running across an especially flowery and gushy poetic obituary among my family’s papers years ago, and I tried to find it for you as an example. I kind of got buried in stacks of old musty newspapers in the process and couldn’t find the one I remembered. This one I did find is not quite as flowery as the one I remember seeing, but it makes the point, I think. This is the opening of my grandfather’s obituary from one of those old yellow newspapers. My grandfather was at one time a Methodist circuit rider (about 1900 or so) , but spent much of his life running a pharmacy. So it is ironic that his obituary was just above an ad for Brown’s Lotion which read:

Brown’s Lotion

“DON’T SCRATCH” “It is useless and may lead to serious infection. If your skin itches, get a bottle of Brown’s Lotion from your druggist today and get sure relief for itch, athlete’s foot, tetter eczema, ringworm, impetigo, barber’s itch, and other itching skin irritations. First bottle of Brown’s Lotion is sold with money back guarantee by Ivey’s Drug Store.

I don’t’ think that the paper editor caught the irony of this ad from my grandfather’s competitor drugstore running under his obituary. I remember when I was very young visiting Sallisaw and meeting Skeet Ivey, the owner. He and my grandfather were friends, and I’m sure he wasn’t happy about the coincidence, if he noticed it.

W.O. Luton Obituary Introduction

Anyway, the beginning of W.O. Luton’s obituary reads in the style popular of that day: It is no doubt true of most of us, as was said by one of old, that we have two doors opening into our minds and hearts. There is a front door that is never locked. It opens directly into the main hallway of our natures, and everyone is free to enter. Here we meet our departed friend, Mr. Luton, as the public knew him: The genial yet quiet gentleman; the practical business man, speaking briefly, if at all, of current topics and news of the day; prompt attention to business in hand; listening patiently and quietly while others talked of their woes and troubles; ready to serve and help when needed. This is the man everyone knew and respected. But there is another door, a side door that opens directly into the very sanctum sanctorum of our natures and into this side door I was in the later years, often permitted to enter. Here I was permitted to follow him as he lived over again the days of his youth and early manhood. And it continues on from there. You get the idea. I’m not sure whether the styles of writing changed through the years or the cost of obituary space made flowery speech too expensive!

That’s the kind of writing which opens the book of Ephesians, and that explains why it reads the way it does, the one long original phrase in Greek, translated into English, with all the clauses chopped up into sentences. It’s not meant to work out the details of doctrine as much as it’s a carefully written extravagant praise of God. So, maybe Eugene Peterson’s more down to earth paraphrase will help us make sense of it.

Ephesians 1:3-14 The Message

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people - free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free - signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

Bob’s Summary

You see, God had us in mind from the beginning as a part of a long-range plan which enriches us now… every day, but will also one future day, bring all things in heaven and earth together in one grand and glorious eternal purpose.

Big Picture and the Everyday Come Together

And here’s the “kicker!” You and I are a part of it, as free and forgiven people, in our everyday, ordinary lives, because of what God has done in Jesus. That’s where the “big picture” of what God is doing…and our life journeys come together, if we will lift our eyes up long enough to see it.

Big Picture Helps In Times of Trouble

In order to make it through some of the things life throws at us, we need to have in mind the big picture of God’s purpose for us, so that we can see how it all fits together, especially when trouble comes our way.

Lamp On A Starry Night

I have always liked the story that Soren Kierkegaard used to make that point. I don’t remember the exact words, but it was about a traveler holding a lantern high late at night in order to see the path in front of him, and missing the stars. We’re like that sometimes, I think. I know that I can be so focused on the path ahead as I’m working on a problem that I forget how it all fits together in God’s purpose for me… and for everyone.

Hubble Pictures

I love seeing pictures taken from the Hubble telescope of distant galaxies and other views from the unfolding of the universe. It sends chills down my back to read this passage while gazing at those colorful images of distant parts of God’s creation untold light years away. Sometimes we forget that the same God who makes galaxies (and all those beautiful things we see in the images from the Hubble Telescope) not only loves us intimately, but “had us in mind” long before the universe came into being.

The Crisis and the Big Picture

Not only do we sometimes miss the big picture in everyday life as we cope with life’s irritations, challenges, and the occasional little bumps along the way. Sometimes, there is a big crisis and things seem to be falling apart.

The Broken Hammer

Another philosopher speaks of a hammer which doesn’t really exist until it breaks. He reminds us what we already know. We let things become extensions of our selves, and as such, they disappear… until they quit working: like the car that suddenly snaps into focus when it won’t start (like the church van did last week), or the loved one that suddenly appears before us in fullness when there is an illness or death. [Martin Heidegger, Being and Time]

At those times as well, we need to know that God is in charge, and that whatever crisis has us in its grasp is not bigger than God’s big picture. Like many of you, I have had a call from the doctor’s office that changed my life. Here is the story of one family in crisis, and how they kept their eyes on God’s big picture through it.

So, this beginning of the book of Ephesians creates a wonderful backdrop for not only navigating everyday life, but also for making it through stormy seas. I hope you were as inspired by this family’s faith as I was.

LET’S HEAR AGAIN THE LAST 3 OR 4 VERSES FROM “THE MESSAGE”:

The Message: Ephesians 1:11-14

It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free - signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

The Hymn Melody…

Because I’ve been singing the hymns of the church for over 50 years, sometimes when I read a scripture passage, the verse of a hymn drifts into my mind. I had just finished my usual sunrise walk around the neighborhood and had plopped into the lazyboy to drink a cup of coffee and look over the scripture passage for this week. When I read the words, “a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth,” I heard a melody in the back of my mind. “changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise.” It took me a while come up with the title, and after finding it in the hymnal, I remembered that the words to Love Divine All Loves Excelling were written by Charles Wesley. Listen to how well they mirror our reflections on the beginning of Ephesians. In fact, they are so close to the key parts of this passage, I wonder if Charles Wesley had been reading it when he penned these words.

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

(United Methodist Hymnal, Page 384)

Slide Changes to: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/pr1995044b/web_print/

Love divine, all loves excelling, Joy of heaven to earth come down; Fix in us thy humble dwelling; All thy faithful mercies crown! Jesus, Thou art all compassion; Pure unbounded love Thou art; Visit us with Thy salvation; Enter every trembling heart.

Slide Changes to: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/pr2004027a/large_web/

Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit, Into every troubled breast! Let us all in Thee inherit; Let us find that second rest. Take away our bent to sinning; Alpha and Omega be; End of faith, as its Beginning; Set our hearts at liberty.

Slide Changes to: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/pr2005002f/large_web/

Come, Almighty to deliver; Let us all Thy life receive; Suddenly return and never, never more Thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, Serve Thee as Thy hosts above; Pray and praise Thee without ceasing, Glory in Thy perfect love.

Slide Changes To: http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/entire/pr2003013a/large_web/

Finish, then, Thy new creation; Pure and spotless let us be. Let us see Thy great salvation perfectly restored in Thee; Changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, Till we cast our crowns before Thee, Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Bob Wept

It doesn’t happen often in my life, but as images of the universe and these final lines swirled around in my head, I wept as I thought of a big wonderful God who creates galaxies as with the sweep of a giant paint brush, but who also knows us, calls us by name, and even had us in mind before the world was made. ISN’T THAT SOMETHING!

13-Jul-09 12:00 PM

Coming to Remember

Richard Laster — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven. So it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” (Matthew 18 various)

Jesus said: “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of Heaven belongs.” (Matthew 19)

And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. (Mark 10)

The Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7)

These few excerpts from the Bible give us a picture of what God thinks of children. When we look back in history to the time when Jesus was alive in the human experience we’ll find it to be a time when children, no matter the age of the child, were looked upon as property of their parents, and could be legally used or abused, as freely as they could be loved and cared for. It was a breath of fresh air to hear Jesus make statements during his ministry which actually gave children a special place in the Kingdom of God. The new thought to those of Jesus' time is one we know for ourselves; God loves children, and even has a special place in his heart for these little ones.

Jesus also reminds us about what it is like to be young, to be children. He says; in order to understand some things which are so deep adults cannot understand there must be the innocence and the desire to learn that children have as part of their creation. Children are more willing to admit that they are wrong than adults, children have a natural sense of love which is unconditional; children are quick to be dependent on someone, and look to receive all they need from someone else. This is how God encourages us to be in relation to Him. So when we look at the Gospels we see first the importance of children as examples of what we should be like. Be like children in the ways in which we deal with God and with one another.

But this doesn’t really fit why we are here today. It does however give us a framework to help us comprehend how God understands children and how important children are to the heart of God. I find it particularly inspiring to note in the passage from Matthew 18 how Jesus makes the statement “so it is not the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.” He was speaking in general about the world of people who are God’s good creation, and each unique. Yet at the same time I cannot help but think it was literal in meaning as well. God cares for us all, but has a particular place in His heart for children.

Let’s take this even a step further here. There are several places in the scriptures where comments are made about how God relates to children even before the child has been able to be blessed by the opportunity to see the light of day. In the Old Testament Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, for example, when Jeremiah receives the call of God to go into the world and work specifically as a spokesperson for God, there is an interesting revelation. God says to Jeremiah “before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.”

In thinking this through, and reading a few like comments from the Old Testament, I have come to understanding life as a good gift which only God can give. It is also my understanding the good gift of life is not just some haphazard creation which comes because somewhere over time circumstances developed which caused life to just merely happen. Today we know so much. We can tear down physical structures, we can explore what makes the body work, but we have yet to be able to create the very basic form of life; the power of being, the power faith calls the soul. The soul, the creation of life at its most eternal form, isn’t ours to give but is God’s to create. It is intentional. It is a good gift. And even better it is God’s to understand and God’s to know.

God says to Jeremiah, “before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” Before you were even in the process of development, you already were. God’s love for Jeremiah was great from before the beginning. God’s love for us is the same. God’s love for the Child of God we come to remember today, even though he was only in the middle stages of development, is as strong as God’s love for someone a hundred years old and more. The way I understand it, to God there is not a difference. Life is life. There is a soul, in traditional Christian language, in all who enjoy life no matter for how long or for how short a duration, at least in the way we judge life in time. Each human being, including those in the process of “becoming,” has the love of God as part of his being.

There is debate about when life begins. It seems to me, after considering all that is before us today, life must begin when life is the gift given by God. Even in the midst of the second trimester there is life. There is love to be known and felt even before the mind can comprehend it. We know this don’t we? If we were to sit down and talk feelings at a deeper level than we are able to at the moment I know the one here today who lovingly carried the child will share feelings of love she has for him. Carrying the child in the womb, even in the earliest stages of the birth process, brings mother and child together. There is nurture and there is caring at the deepest level. There is the ability to bond and for the child to understand the good things the parent has to offer, especially nurture and love.

What we mourn for here is in many ways the loss of potential as we understand it. You mourn for yourselves because you have had your dreams taken away and your hope for the future challenged. What you have so long planned for, hoped for, and even felt, unfortunately is not going to be. I believe however the potential for this Child of God has already been fulfilled. The part of him which is eternal is already with God and is experiencing God’s love.

Life is a precious gift which comes from God, and in time returns to God. Time is such an interesting thing. For us the years are long. But, over the run of history they aren’t. In time we shall all be in God’s presence, knowing God’s love, experience God’s hope, being cared for and nurtured eternally by the angels, or however God chooses to touch us all. It is unfortunately for us that this young life of promise didn’t enjoy the interim, the time we know as life on this good earth. No, unfortunately, we do not have the chance to interact with his precious spirit for these years. But we can find strength in knowing in God’s time he has a place and it is as warm and as secure as the place he knew on earth in the physical care of his mother, and in the warmth and comfort of the birth process.

There is a scripture I find quite reassuring during times such as this. I won’t go much into an understanding of where it comes from, and what it all means. I will tell you it is from what is probably the easiest, yet the most difficult, book in the entire Bible. It is from Revelation. In this section John, the one to whom the vision of God was shared, is standing before the throne of God. He is brought to that particular place in his mind’s eye, in order to receive a word of assurance from God concerning what is, what is to be, and of how God acts. Maybe John of Patmos had been in his life in the place we are today, faced with a challenge and sadness which is hard to bear.

What I want us to remember is a phrase which is quite well known. In Chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation, God says to John “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” Now anybody who has studied these things knows that Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last. When we first look at and consider the idea it is as though God is saying; "I am at the beginning of your life and I am at the end of your life." That is reassuring in itself. But I think there is more.

I took Greek somewhere down the way in school. At one time in my life I even saw how the Greek mind thinks. I worked for a while with some Greeks in my earlier working life. Even though I don’t remember much, to do know the Greek language is always more than it seems, that the words and the concepts the words present are understated. This means every idea is open for debate and expansion. What I believe God is telling John is this; “I am always with you, even before you are, you were, even after you have been, you are. There is no time, nor place, not in life, not in death, nor even before life, when you have been away from my love and my care.”

As we go from here in a few moments there will be much to think about. There will be feelings of sorrow and loss, even feelings of the loss of potential which will cause us to think we have been cheated. These are as they should be because these and more are where you all must be today.

But on the other hand let us keep in our heads and hearts another perspective. Life is a good gift from God. God doesn’t leave anyone behind no matter the age, or even the state of development. Life is life. Life is under God’s care. God loves us. And even though we haven’t had the chance to see, touch, or experience the life of our young friend whom we come to honor today, we know God knows him, loves him, and cares for him because he is, not he was, but he is, God’s good gift, and blessed creation.

16-Jun-09 1:00 PM

How About "dem Dry Bones?

Richard Laster — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:00:00 GMT

While preparing for this time this morning I was thinking through the scene painted by the words in the text. Even though there was no particular place mentioned, and no specific war known, several whose opinions I read, experts in ancient history, stated the scene Ezekiel saw in his mind’s eye on that day would have been a more common vision than we would think. Battles back them were fought by thousands of soldiers hand in hand. Generally the winners would move on and the losers would be removed to slavery, or punished in some other way. There would be nobody left to do what we think of as the civil thing; that is to burying the dead. So time would take its toll which meant the remains of those who died would be left where they were. As we know in time the usual degeneration of the body would occur leaving only the strongest part of the body, remnants of the skeletal system. It was such a place where God led the Prophet Ezekiel in the vision here remembered in Chapter 37.

I was trying to get my mind around what this experience might have felt like. I cannot even come close however I do have one brief insight. As you know my father’s family comes from the area in and around Corinth, Mississippi. I recall in my very early years making visits to the home of my Great Grandfather and viewing the small collection of Civil War related relics he had in the garage. These were not pieces he purchased intentionally as collector but were unearthed on his farm through the years. The Civil War battlefield called Shiloh was just up the road. In order to make it to that place troops past up and down the roads which ran north and south out of Corinth. There was even a smaller battle there at Corinth, not far from the family property.

An interesting thing to do when we went to see family was to wander up to the Shiloh Battle Ground Military Park. I honest do not remember how many people died on that small collection of acres. There is today a massive Union cemetery and throughout, even all up and down the road, there are mounds which were more than likely places of multiple burials containing the honored remains of young men from both sides of the issue. The battleground is actually quite nicely kept. Today for example it is well landscaped and cluttered with signs which tell the details of battle. One place I found of interest was the spot where Texan Albert Sydney Johnston was shot and soon died. There are also rows and rows of cannons of the period and a large collection of monuments to the various divisions present on the days of battle back in 1862.

The thing I remember the most about the battlefield was the point of entrance. As we drove into the park, making our way to the museum and information center, I definitely recall the oddest feeling. I cannot describe it exactly except to say it was dark and misty, sort of like greeting one of those days when vision isn’t so clear and the air is heavy all around. It was a depressing feeling, almost foreboding. It even seemed like the sky over the “park” was dominated by the agony of the souls of those who perished there.

I honestly don’t know if there were changes and details to note or if my knowledge of the history prejudiced my attitude and awareness. All I can say for sure is I experienced the surroundings as dark, depressing, and more than hopeless. Even though the day was beautiful everywhere else we traveled, inside the confines there was a certain uneasiness which I still recall.

In such a way, and even in a more visual way, Ezekiel the great prophet of God, entered into the vision which God set before him. It was a time not only of reflection, but also a time of teaching. The scene in Ezekiel’s mind’s eye was far beyond that of mere hopelessness. The “dried bones” were scattered here and there, driven by animals, wind, rain, and shifting sand. There wasn’t even so much as a recognizable skeleton to be found in the mix. So when God asked Ezekiel if the “bones could live,” it may well have been Ezekiel’s first thought to laugh at the sheer impossibility of the situation. Humanity had done its worst here and the job was most complete.

But fortunately Ezekiel had some experience with God and knew how to answer. Well actually Ezekiel didn’t answer he mirrored the question back in God’s direction. He answered, “O Lord, you know!” Even though the prophet knew the situation was beyond hope, at least from a “mortal” point of view, he also was aware God had the power to do what God chose to do, and even better, had the power to do what we would allow God to do. And the result of the vision we know as well. ‘Dem dry bones, they come together. Slowly but surely, right before the spiritual eyes of Ezekiel, the process of decomposition reversed itself. In the end of the vision the valley of dried bones was filled with a “vast multitude.”

So what was the secret? There actually wasn’t a “secret,” there was instead an affirmation of faith, as we would call it. Ezekiel chose to do what he was called to do, to prophesy, to speak the word of the Lord, to trust God to do what God could do. Had Ezekiel listened to the logic of his own mind nothing significant would have happened, at least not on that day. Had Ezekiel taken the attitude of mere mortals, the result would have been different, because logic says there isn’t even the most remote of possibilities. ‘Dem dried bones, they can’t come together. Logic won’t accept even the possibility. Science won’t allow it.

But once again we see what Ezekiel was called and challenged to see as well. God’s purpose and creativity is far beyond our own. What we see as hopeless, useless, of no account, and without merit, God sees with assurance. The first message we can glean from this is to be open to where faith takes us, open to the possibilities and opportunities which God will set before us.

Of course the story, as we have it here in Ezekiel 37, is a vision. At the same time God sets it before our hero of the day as a metaphor, something much greater than the vision itself. You see, at the time Ezekiel was involved in prophetic ministry, the people of Israel, himself included, were in a bad way. They were serving as slaves in the Babylonian Empire. One day they were carefree, self determined, and full of the freedom of life. One day they had no idea even how to spell “Babylon,” nor did they know where it was. Then almost overnight, the best of the best, and the least of the least, found themselves living in Babylon most extreme and uncomfortable circumstances. Their situation seemed hopeless, as hopeless as dried bones.

To them it was like viewing the valley of dried bones. To them it was like visiting a place where history left a depressing air. It was beyond hopeless. Because the people of Israel viewed themselves as a nation first, and as a faith second, they thought themselves to be nobodies under their current living situation in Babylon. They tied their national identity, their very character into the land, and into their distinct place of worship where they thought God could be found, and found nowhere else. They were strangers in a strange land. They were no longer a people, much less God’s people, because their theology and experience would not allow them to see God in a foreign place.

The so called prophets of God added to the hopelessness of the situation by declaring their own understanding about the judgment of God. They were sure God had actually sent the people to that dastardly place because the people had been unfaithful. God was angry, and the anger of God was so great God wanted to teach them a lesson, so they were pushed away, moved away, captured, conquered, deported, and forcibly removed. How could a God understood in such a way be worshiped in a foreign land? Yes indeed the situation was properly described as a valley of dried bones, it was past hopelessness. The word used about being “cut off” is the word used to denote a tree which had been harvested. Once the cut had been made, there was no way to go back.

Well ‘dem bones heard the word of the Lord. Ezekiel spoke, he prophesied and shared the word God sent in his direction and the bones lived. Ezekiel was blessed to know God sees things from another perspective. God isn’t restricted in any way in a human sense. God’s presence, as we understand it, God’s love, is where God is and God is everywhere. For those in exile in Babylon the message was clear. God is even here with us as we are and where we are. God is already working to answer our needs and to bring about deliverance as God did in generations past when the people found themselves in exile in Egypt. Basically the message is this; God is here for you. God will and already is in the process of delivering you. God’s wish is for you so you can have life and to be in a saving relationship with God himself.

In our world today often times we read about and even experience the thoughts of hopelessness. People don’t treat each other with respect and dignity. Leaders are often focused on themselves, and not upon those they are given the ability to care for and direct. Have you noticed how short tempered and even angry people are in our society? We can’t even drive around the area without the issues being manifest before us. In the workplace, in the schools, in the stores, everywhere, people are forgetting the basic things of personal interaction. The human situation is stressed out. There is so much to consider, so many issues to face, such hopelessness, and at the least a lack of direction.

This isn’t new. When we look back over history we can see many times in which the world had just about fallen apart. The time of Ezekiel was one of those times. The time right before the coming of Jesus was another. The era of the middle ages was stressful. And so was the time just a few hundred years later when the church of the day just about forgot its mission. And here we are again.

The antidote to the hopelessness isn’t something which can be taken in large community sized doses. No the direction comes on a more personal basis, when we who have the vision, see in the midst of the hopelessness the possibility, and ultimately the probability that God will work, if we allow God to do what God can do. In the days of the Babylonian exile, the message of God’s love came through Ezekiel. Several hundred years later it was in the birth, life, death, resurrection, and overall ministry of Jesus. At the tail end of the Middle Ages God called several, including Martin Luther, to offer the saving grace of Christ to a world which was hungering to touch something greater than themselves. A couple of hundred years after Luther and the Reformation there was another gift to the world, an individual who was in his own way a prophet of God. Does the name Wesley ring a bell? All of these, and many we do not know of, came into their world, into their place and time of creation, into the hopelessness of their own day and offered a vision as they prophesied and offered the word of the Lord.

God pulled Ezekiel aside and gave him a vision. But at the end of the vision Ezekiel went away empowered to “prophesy the word of the Lord;” to tell the people of the world one person at a time, to speak to them, to work with them, to exemplify before them the very presence of God’s love. The truth is lives are still changed when the word of God is the word. Hope comes when we, the prophets of our generation, allow the Spirit of God, to be alive and well in our thinking, doing and speaking. At the least we who are so challenged, must make sure our own spiritual homes are in good order. We can’t offer that which we don’t have. May you be challenged to “hear the word of the Lord,” so that, personally speaking ‘dem bones, is your bones.

At the end of the scripture the meaning for the time of Ezekiel becomes clear. The bones represent Israel, that is, they represent the nation which is God’s chosen and holy nation. Unfortunately for whatever reason the people of the nation of God’s nation, had drifted away from God, and were living as though God was not only irrelevant, but also nonexistent. Whether or not this exile to the Babylonian Empire was because of the choice of God to send his people away as punishment for their sins, we cannot say. We know for sure the chosen people themselves chose to make their situation worse by entering the challenges of the times on their own. How great it must have been to those few who actually listened to hear the prophet speak and declare how God will give life, will make of the people a great nation. God has spoken and God will act. Knowing God, listening to God, hearing God, having faith in God, gives us what we need in every situation of life in order to give life purpose and hope.

But there is something else here in this passage as well, something which honestly, I hadn’t paid much attention to until just in the last few days. Remember back when the bones were coming together how great that must have been. In the vision Ezekiel saw bones, and sinews, and ultimately flesh. The vast multitude was there and ready to go, or were they? It is evident that even though there were the trappings of humanity the ultimate piece of humanity, wasn’t there at all. The bodies were lifeless shells, hope had been promised, but had not, as of that moment, been delivered.

Now I don’t know a whole lot about science. I did happen to take some classes, including winding up with a minor in biology, simply because with labs, etc. all of the sudden I found myself with more than enough hours to do so. I do recall some of the discussions of the times, and even in later times some of the experiments used by those in the know to try to recreate life. There were tests made, DNA studied, physical models put together which looked like and even had the basic patterns of life, however, there was not life present.

Even in more recent times, in the cloning which has and is being done on things like sheep, dogs, etc., the basic characteristics of physical life are known. Those in the know can replicate traits, looks, and even some things of personality however the ability to give life cannot be found in a test tube, but comes through using the old fashioned processes of life giving which were set up in our creation.

No matter how much we try we cannot do what God does. I like the cartoon I saw a few years ago of a character running around heaven in a while coat with a stethoscope around his neck. Someone asked a saintly person who that was. The response; it is God playing doctor. Sometimes we forget that even the miracles of contemporary science and medicine come from sources which are divinely inspired. We know how to use what is already there. God has given us unique insights.

One of my parents friends, long since deceased unfortunately was a major surgeon and physician here in Houston. He was a fellow at Baylor College Medicine, a pioneer in many areas of his science. He and his wife also happened to be my Sunday school teachers when I was in my formative years. I remember precious little from those days. One thing I do remember though is the day he gave us his personal testimony. He declared how he didn’t go into the operating room without a prayer before hand. He shared how amazed he was every time he experienced the intricacies of the human body and when he considered its healing power. He said he was humbled by the gifts God had given to him and was aware of the fact that all he was able to do was because of a talent, a gift, which he had received, one he himself couldn’t account for except for an understanding of the goodness of God and through faith.

He knew what we must remember. The only reason there is life is because God chooses to give it. The scripture sets this out. The vast multitude there in the valley formerly known as the “Valley Dried Bones” only began to live when the Spirit of God was sent upon them. Even now, even in the face of all we do know, we are still in awe of the life giving Spirit of God. We don’t know where life comes from exactly. We debate when it starts, when the body, which is basically matter takes on the things of life. We can’t pinpoint when, but we know it is present in a way which is mysterious and majestic. The difference between dried bones and life isn’t sinews, isn’t skin, isn’t reconstruction, but is Spirit exemplified in breath. It is the very nature of God in us. It is the very breath of God which gives us life. The part of us which is not restricted by body, that which is eternal.

How can we not stand in awe of the power of God? This the ancients knew. Ezekiel reminded them. God gave them back themselves when God gave them hope even in the most challenging situation of their living. But we know even more. When we come face to face with God, when we receive the “prophesy” in whatever way it comes, we do so with the knowledge of Christ in our hearts and minds. We stand in awe not only of the creative power of God, but also of the love of God. The ancients knew hope, but hope tied to where they were upon the earth. We understand God from a more complete perspective. God loves us, and does so eternally. There is a part of us which God creates that isn’t tied to the body. It is God’s Holy Spirit which gives us life, directs us, helps us to see the possibilities, delivers us through the challenges, offers hope, and gives us life which we cannot acquire on our own; life for the journey of life itself.

Today, the day we know as Pentecost Sunday, we remember the unique gift of God which came to a large crowd gathered to hear the “prophesy” through the words of the early leaders of the faith. The disciple we know as the Apostle Peter was spot on, as the British say, when he spoke on the day of Pentecost concerning the truth of Christ. Those who not only listened but also who heard received for the first time in the post resurrection era, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. God does give spirit to all who live. It can be simply breath, or it can be breath which takes our breath away. The difference is how we use that which is part of us all. May we be challenged to take a look at the gifts God has already given. May we receive that which is already a part of who we are. May God challenge us to listen to the word and live. And even more, may we remember we can be agents of change and being such isn’t dependent on things of historic nor political nature, but comes from following that part of God’s creation, which is part of our creation. God has given to us the good gift of life. We live in body, we have breath, may be remember, and be thankful, because God chose to give to us the best gift of all, his presence in our hearts, in our lives, in our thinking, not just for a little while, but for always.

All of ministerial students, such as me, who attended seminary up at Perkins, Southern Methodist University, were required to take an internship. In a little church where I served mine there was an interesting fellow in the congregation whose name unfortunately I have long since forgotten. He was actually a member of the choir and sat dutifully in his place in the bass section every Sunday. I would notice him sitting there writing during sermon times. I thought he was taking notes on the sermon. I found out on closer observation he was writing music. I believe his first name was Victor. Victor was writing alternative tunes to well known hymns. In actuality he was a music composer and publisher. At the time he had a thriving business. Wish I could remember his last name, maybe later.

One of the songs for which he penned a new tune was a very old lyric. It dated back to 1538 and appeared in a creative work called Sarum Primer. Even though I don’t recall the man’s last name I do remember the hymn and the tune. Fortunately for you I won’t share the song except for the words. I believe these will be a good place of conclusion because they speak of how the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit of God, empowers us and directs us in life. Here goes; “God be in my head, and in my understanding; God be in mine eyes, and in my looking; God be in my mouth, and in my speaking; God be in my heart, and in my thinking; God be at mine end, and at my departing.” What a great thought and a great gift. God’s spirit is such a part of us. God’s great gift is God’s Holy Spirit. We celebrate the gift and are challenged to be thankful because we have received it.

How is it done? God does it. It is God’s Spirit alive and well. We can barely explain where the Spirit comes from. All we have to know is that God provides the Spirit, so that we can be blessed by the Spirit, that the Holy Spirit is that which give us life, and not just regular old life, but life of abundant hope and life, life which leads even beyond the body and dwells in the heart of God. God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit, isn’t just any old spirit, but is The Spirit which takes our breath away and brings life and hope into even the driest of ‘dem bones.

3-Jun-09 10:00 AM