Hope for a peaceful kingdom, 3.2.14

Isaiah 11:1-9

A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.


Revelation 22:1-7

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

6And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” 7“See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
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Revelation and Isaiah were written about 800 years apart, but they have a lot in common. Both are prophetic books, which means they were written by someone called by the God to challenge and encourage the people. They both interpret the events of the author’s time in the light of God’s calling. These two passages especially have a lot in common because they lift up a vision of how God will bring the world to its conclusion, and they use that vision to inspire God’s people.

The Prophet Isaiah lived more than 700 years before Jesus in the Kingdom of Judah, which was the southern half of what had been Israel. He wrote to a nation that was doing pretty well on the surface but inside was very sick. On the outside Judah appeared economically strong and religiously active.

Speaking as an insightful observer and as a spokesperson for God, Isaiah sees a very different nation. He sees the powerful oppressing the poor. He sees religious leaders acting as cheerleaders for the nation’s sin by blessing leaders who turned away from the divine call for justice. Isaiah, like other biblical prophets, saw the problems in his society clearly.

He also saw hope for the Lord’s redemption, not only of Israel, but of the whole world. Our passage for today is a vision of God’s kingdom, a kingdom of peace, justice and wholeness where love would guide all relationships and all that was wrong would be made right.

John, the author of Revelation wrote in very different times. He probably wrote between 70 and 90 AD, more than 40 years after Jesus was killed. He wrote to a Christian community that was small and surrounded by threats. Christians were a distrusted minority. Their fellow citizens thought they were unpatriotic, even a threat, because they didn’t worship the Roman gods or the emperor.

While the Roman Empire hadn’t started persecuting the church actively, the Emperor Nero twenty or thirty years earlier had tortured and killed many Christians. John expected the near future to bring more persecution because the Roman Empire claimed divine power. That ultimately put it on a collision course with the church because the church believed only Christ was Lord.

As many of you have seen, Revelation is a collection of strange images through which God and John remind the church that God truly is in charge. No matter how strong the powers of empire appear, God’s kingdom of love will triumph in the end. The passage we read today builds on the last week’s description of God’s heavenly kingdom: a new heaven and new earth with its center in a new Jerusalem that comes down from. In this holy city God will be right in the middle of human life.

A restoring river of life flows from God’s throne through the street. That river brings new life to the world. We see a strong tree of life on both sides of the river and its leaves bring healing not just to Israel, not just to the church, but for all the nations.

There are all kinds of ways Revelation has been misused. The violence of other parts of the book have sometimes fueled an “us versus them” mentality in the church. The image of a new heaven and a new earth has made some Christians careless about the earth with which we have been entrusted. But the book as a whole is a powerful reminder that God is in charge, no matter what it looks like some days.

Both passages give us a vision of hope, and we need that. We need that as individuals and as a congregation. There are times that life feels overwhelming. Whether it’s family struggles, trouble at work, political turmoil or health challenges, there are so many things we feel we can’t control. When we look at the violence in Syria and the instability in Ukraine, the world feels like a threatening place. When we worry about our bills or a loved one’s illness, it can be hard to believe that the story has a happy ending.

Laurelton has been through a lot. The last three years have been better financially, but we’re not out of the woods yet. This year’s budget is challenging. Facing the end of our time together is sad and a little scary. We worry about our future as a community of faith. Many of the people you care about are not here anymore. There are so many things that are unsure about the world we live in.

Isaiah and John’s visions remind us that in the end all will be well. We are part of a bigger story. We’re part of the God’s restoration of creation. Our loving witness in this community for justice is part of the movement that one day will make a place for everyone.

In Isaiah’s vision the lion and the calf, the wolf and the lamb all live together in harmony. Our witness to justice now is part of God’s peaceful kingdom. Community is nurtured through worship and the Saturday Cafe. Laurelton’s welcome for neighbors is part of how God’s welcoming, inclusive kingdom is built up. The teaching ministry of this church whether in Sunday school for a few children or through preaching or through casual conversation over a cup of coffee is part of how the knowledge of God spreads so it can eventually cover the world with grace.

I don’t know what the future holds for Laurelton. I don’t know what the future holds for Calvary or for the Presbyterian Church. A big part of our future will be shaped with other churches, especially through Urban Presbyterians Together. I know that the One who calls us is faithful. I know that God’s grace is eternal and that God cares for each of us deeply.

I trust these visions of a righteous kingdom. I trust that one day God will make everything new, that injustice and oppression will be defeated and all people, in fact, all creation, will have abundant, peaceful, joyful life in a restored universe of harmony. I trust that future, even though I can’t see it clearly.

Because we believe that one day God will make all things right, we are free to work for justice now without worrying about our successes and failures. We can try new ministries in our life together and in our individual lives. Ultimately, it’s not about me and it’s not about us. We are part of a bigger story with a magnificently happy ending.

No matter what happens, Laurelton is part of the amazing tapestry of divine love. When this neighborhood was first being established, Rev. Harrison was visiting new neighbors, welcoming them to something new. Changing times have taken a toll on this congregation, but each chapter has been a new chance to share God’s love. Whether through the Living Nativity, the Get out and Play ministry, Christmas baskets, Cameron or Café, this church finds new ways to remind our neighbors that God loves them. No matter what happens, that legacy of love, creativity and faithfulness will remain.

The last few years have brought some exciting hope. The Café has deepened our engagement with the community. Supper and Scripture has grown. New members have joined the church and our finances are better than they have been. UPT is working together to support congregations and reach out to the city more effectively. God is doing something exciting here

God isn’t finished yet. She’s not finished with Laurelton, not finished with you personally, and not finished with the world. The story ends with wholeness, peace, community, abundance and welcome for all creation. The story ends with creation renewed and restored, free from pollution and oppression and death. The story ends with God’s love powerfully present among us, so obvious that no one can miss it. The story ends like it begins, with creative love weaving a beautiful new world.

The chapters between now and then are not yet written. We don’t know all the twists and turns. We don’t know the victories and setbacks. We don’t know what we will learn about ourselves and our city. We do know that we are part of something bigger, something beautiful and righteous and true. We know that God has called us, that Jesus has gone before us, and that the Holy Spirit is with us, surrounding and filling us.

We know too that our efforts, our love, our welcome are precious to God. The Holy One has been part of our journey from our first steps. God feels our sorrow and our fear. She mourns with us and sympathizes with our worries. No matter what happens, we are not alone; you are not alone. Each moment of your story is part of the Creator’s loving story, a story that is more beautiful because it includes hardship and challenge. The work we have to do together is important, but the weight of creation is not on our shoulders. No matter what happens the good news of divine love will shine through our story as we follow our calling.

Thanks be to God.

judgment and a new creation, 2.23.14

Revelation 19:11-21


11Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.12His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. 13He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”


17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.”19Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army. 20And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.21And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Revelation 20:11-15

11Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. 13And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. 14Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; 15and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.


Revelation 21:1-8

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” 5And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”

Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
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These are strange and scary images. We see Jesus riding out to judge and make war. The armies of the world line up against him, led by the beast and the false prophet. Jesus and his followers defeat the powers of the world. The key weapon is the sword of Christ’s word.


The Bible often calls God’s word a sharp, double edged sword. That image totally fits my experience. When I’m not doing the right thing, I feel the word cut into my conscience. It’s that sword that levels the opposing armies. The battle scene reminds us that even though all the power in the world might seem to be against us, ultimately even kings who stand against God will be food for the birds.


The war scene fades out and God’s throne room fades in. Jesus sits on the throne to judge everyone. We see books of people’s lives, and another book that is the book of life. Everyone who has ever died is judged based on their life. 

When we think about God’s judgment sometimes we think about rules. We think about rules and laws and getting punished for doing something wrong. Many people grow up thinking religion was about what not to do. Don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t have sex. Don’t talk out of turn, respect your elders, give money, go to church and so on.


Those are the rules and we think of sin as breaking the rules. A lot of people, whether they go to church or not, believe that God will add up our good deeds on one side and our sins on the other side. We will “pass” or “fail” judgment based on which pile is bigger. If you read just this passage you might get that idea too. Does that kind of sound like an idea you’ve picked up?


When kids are young, they need concrete and specific rules. At first, they also need clear rewards and punishments to reinforce the rules. It’s appropriate and necessary to train little kids like that, but even then, it helps to explain what we’re doing. As they grow up, we help them think about the consequences of their choices. The goal of childhood rules is to develop adults who can think for themselves and understand how their choices impact others.


By the time your son is 17 he should clean his room (at least a little bit) because he wants to live somewhere decent, not because you’re giving him cookies. Your teenage daughter should choose not to say mean things about her friends because it will hurt their feelings, not because she’ll get grounded. The rules and discipline you’ve given them early teach them moral and practical principles that will be useful their whole lives, even when the specific rules don’t matter anymore. Ultimately you want them to understand the reason behind the rules instead of just thinking about the rules themselves.


When it comes to faith, a lot of people get stuck in about fourth grade. That’s true of whole faith systems as well as of people. We often think religion is about rules, punishments and rewards. So we approach our faith like reluctant students: “What’s the least we have to do to make it into heaven?” “What’s the worst we can do and still not end up in hell?”


That’s not a recipe for a vibrant and joyful faith, but it’s how many people feel. Many of us end up feeling like faith is irrelevant because it’s a bunch of rules we can’t understand or live up to. When we think about faith that way, usually our first emotion is guilt or fear.


A big part of the problem is trust. We can’t see God, and a lot of the things people tell us about God are confusing. When we see God through the religious rules we learn, often we imagine a strict teacher with rules that don’t make any sense to us. Talking about judgment is scary because the stakes are high and we’re not sure we can trust the judge. When our religious organizations focus on rules they reinforce this damaging image of God and the actually get in the way of people’s faith.


Instead of thinking about rules, think for a moment about Jesus, because he’s the one who’s going to be our judge at the end. Jesus loved all kinds of people regardless of what the rules said. When it comes to rules and punishment, Jesus took the beating, went to the cross and said, “Father, forgive them.” That’s the God who is going to judge us on the last day.


We can trust him to be fairer and more merciful than we can imagine. We don’t have to worry about being misunderstood. Jesus knows each of us completely, and he loves us dearly. The early images in Revelation of Jesus as a slaughtered lamb are so important because they remind us that the one who will judge us is the same one who suffered for us. We can trust Jesus.


We know that evil is powerful. We know that from scripture, from our experience, and from the news. We also know that evil is inside us. God wants to redeem the world from injustice, oppression, hunger and hatred. God wants to give us a beautiful, peaceful, kingdom to share. God will be right in the middle, close enough to wipe our tears away. John’s image of a new heaven and new earth and the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven like a bride helps us imagine the beauty of the new thing God is waiting to do in our world.


The trouble is that our selfishness and desire for control keep getting in the way of God’s plan. God created a beautiful world for everyone, but we get so carried away with possessions and convenience that we destroy creation with thoughtless consumption and wasteful living. God gives us a world with plenty for everyone, but we concentrate wealth and resources while the vulnerable starve. God keeps trying to get us to change our ways, but we have not.


To bring the peaceful kingdom into existence, God has to defeat the forces that stand in the way. The power of God’s redeeming word rides out to break down the lying words of our world that claim some people are better than others, that some deserve to suffer, that there is not enough for everyone.


To bring the peaceful, blessed kingdom to earth, God defeats the evil powers of the world, including the evil powers inside us. When God shows us this vision of a final judgment it reminds us that our choices, our actions have consequences. It’s not about rules and requirements; it’s about living our calling and responsibility in the world. God calls us to love each other, so at the last judgment we will be faced with how we have responded to that calling.


In the end we will stand before Christ on the throne. The book of our lives will be open and so will the book of life. We will stand before Jesus and account for our lives.


How are you doing? This is not about guilt trips or inadequacy or pride or fear. We’ve been given an amazing gift: the chance to be part of the beautiful kingdom God is bringing into the world. Each day, each interaction with someone else is a chance to be part of God’s kingdom. How is your life contributing to that kingdom? How are your actions blocking God’s kingdom?


Jesus is on the throne. He knows us inside and out. He knows our secrets, our struggles and our shame. And God loves us no matter what. We can cover it up all we want, but when the dead are raised and the books are open we will have to face how we have used this life. One day we will each be judged and evil will be defeated.


On the other side of that judgment is a beautiful city, a new creation of love and peace and justice. God doesn’t need us to build that kingdom, but she invites us to be part of it. We catch glimpses of that kingdom even now. We see it when we hold an infant and think only about that new life. We see it when we take the time to listen to someone’s story. We see it when we open ourselves up in prayer.


We feel God’s peaceful kingdom in simple moments. In a meal shared with friends and family when we rest in the joy of relationships without worrying about the future. We feel it in the kiss of the sunshine on our face and the comfort of a beloved pet. We taste the kingdom in a favorite song or painting or a run along the river, in a hug from a friend, or a hot cup of coffee shared with a spouse.


God invites to use those moments to lead us forward. God invites us to throw off the chains of selfishness and fear. We may not see God’s kingdom arrive completely in this life, but the more we commit to God’s love today, the more we will live in that kingdom even now. See the kingdom, and let your life be a part of building it each day.


Thanks be to God.

the light of hope, 12.22.13

Isaiah 55:1-13

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

3Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 4See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 5See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you.

6Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near; 7let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts; let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

12For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.


Romans 5: 1-5

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
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There’s a big part of me that hates Christmas. I hate shopping, anyway; and I pretty reliably leave things to the last minute. That makes it much harder to find joy in choosing the right gifts for people, because the choosing and the shopping happen under pressure in stores full of people.

Christmas shopping brings out a whole range of feelings in me, many of them unpleasant. First, there’s worry about not knowing what to get, and combined with that all kinds of worries about forgetting someone, spending too little, spending too much.

Then I feel guilty. I feel guilty because I didn’t plan ahead so the gifts I chose aren’t as thoughtful as I want them to be. I feel stretched financially and then I feel guilty about that because I know I have it easier than most people. I alternate between feeling like I should be a more generous gift giver and wishing the people in my life didn’t exchange presents at all because many of us feel similar stresses about the whole thing.

Shopping brings me face to face with the enormous amount of stuff we as a society want, buy, sell, give and return. I think a big part of our consumption, frustration, stress and depression has to do with a constant barrage of messages that things are the way to happiness. We feel overwhelmed by the things our TV’s and our children tell us we should buy. There is never enough time or money or energy for us to feel caught up in a world that’s always asking for more.

Regardless of the source of our stress, we have a deep fear that something big is at stake in the shopping and celebration that surrounds Christmas. Too many things depend on us and too many things are out of our control. We are scared that no matter what we do it won’t be enough. We shop, and plan and run, to fend off the hopelessness we feel threatening to overwhelm us.

Isaiah had never been to Walmart or Target, but he knew a lot about communities trying to establish security through their own efforts at any cost. He saw Judah plan and fight and oppress the poor because they thought wealth showed God’s blessings and that, as God’s chosen, they would not be defeated. Then after exile, the people felt lost and hopeless. The land and God’s promise went together, so they couldn’t imagine how to rebuild after the fall of the Holy City. Desperation, despair and hopelessness set in and they didn’t know how to seek God again.

Like Judah adrift after exile, we spend our money for things that aren’t nourishing and our labor for things that don’t satisfy us in the deep sense. We buy and buy (or wish we could buy) because at some level we think consumption is our only way to satisfy our desires. If we get the right gift, maybe we’ll be loved. If we don’t we risk our loved ones’ happiness. Maybe the longing we feel can be satisfied with the latest things advertised on TV.

But things don’t give us value and, ultimately, they don’t make us happy. Love, community, peace, faith: these things make us happy. God’s love gives us value.

Isaiah shows us what really nurtures and satisfies us. The image is of God welcoming everyone to clear springs of water, refreshing and pure. Beyond the water, God also offers rich wine and milk to drink. Not only are people’s basic physical needs met, God offers a celebration with only the best food and drink.

God wants to nourish us: body and soul. God wants to satisfy us, not only giving us what we need, but what we deeply want. And God doesn’t just want to satisfy the chosen few, the people of Israel or the church or the successful; God wants to renew the world in peace and joy. To a people drowning in fear and stumbling in the darkness, Isaiah brings a word of hope.

My ways are not your ways, God says. As high as heaven is above earth, so are my ways than your ways. Our attempts to secure meaning through hard work or shopping or cooking might not be getting us anywhere, but God’s word accomplishes its purpose. It doesn’t return empty, but instead it nourishes the ground and brings forth a harvest of joy and peace.

I spent the last two days feeling pretty trapped in Christmas stress. Even some of the ministries I love made me feel stressed instead of joyful. I love dropping off the Christmas baskets, and I finally got the gifts wrapped for my two Christmas angels and was excited to drop them off. When we got there the youngest child in the house was the granddaughter, so she wasn’t on my list and I didn’t have anything for her. I walked out of the kitchen feeling like a failure and I had disappointed a little girl.

I wasn’t even looking forward to the living nativity. The weather was lousy and I kept feeling like things weren’t going quite right. But then I got excited because everyone was pitched in. Karen, Karen, Tedd and Mike took care of hospitality; Sally and Al lent a portable stereo; Karen, Lea, Donna and Kelly got everyone dressed and a cast of actors from twelve to seventies (along with a loud donkey and other animals) brought the story of Christ’s birth to life. It was just what I needed, and from the grateful shouts and honks I wasn’t the only one. God’s word became flesh in Jesus, and for the twenty somethingith year Laurelton brought that story to life for the community.

As the evening went on and the cold and rain started to make me wish for 8:30, a young woman I’d never seen before started taking pictures from the sidewalk. I thanked her for coming and she said, “This is so beautiful. I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for this. I’ve wanted to see a living nativity for years and I’ve never managed to go to one. This year my husband surprised me and brought me here. I’ve got tears in my eyes.” Truly, God’s word never returns empty, but it accomplishes God’s loving purpose.

Advent and Christmas is about hope in the darkness of despair. It’s about seeing a peaceful kingdom, even though the world around us is still full of violence. It’s about a vision of bread and wine, milk and food for everyone with no one worried about how they are going to pay for it. It’s about a dark night in a strange city with no room at the inn somehow becoming the entry for God to come into the world as a baby.

There’s a lot of confusion about hope, especially when we talk about the biblical hope for God’s peaceful kingdom. Hoping for God’s kingdom isn’t wishful thinking. It’s not ignoring or escaping from reality. It’s not putting on a cheerful face and pretending things are better than they are. It’s also not the false wisdom of the jaded cynic who says things are the way they are and nothing is going to change.

Hope is keeping our eyes on God’s vision of wholeness, peace and community and moving towards it. It’s also seeing clearly the problems of the world and the dangers that surround us. One theologian says it something like this, “Wishing is like drifting in a gondola; hoping is steering a ship through a gale.”

Thinking about hope like steering a ship helps us see the difference between short term and long term. We hope for the kingdom of God; that’s the far shore we trust we’re heading towards, the goal of our journey. Between that shore and us there are lots of waves, sharp rocks, and sand bars. In the big picture, we steer towards the far shore, but the moments and days of our journey are more about avoiding dangerous obstacles and sometimes seeking shelter for a few days.

The kingdom of God gives us our general course; the details of the current world in all its joys and sorrows determine what route we take to our destination. The journey takes courage, creativity, clarity and flexibility. Sometimes we think we’re going to go right around an obstacle, but the wind leads us left instead. Sometimes we need to shift course suddenly to avoid a rock. No matter what route and deviations we need to make, we keep a sense of the goal in mind all the time, and that destination shapes how we get there.

We can’t simply wish ourselves across the ocean, there’s a lot of work to be done. Just imagining a world at peace won’t create a peaceful world; there are all kinds of steps from relationship building to policy to collaboration, to prayer that have to take shape along the way. If we’re going to travel successfully, we need to be clear and honest about the challenges.

Paul’s words fit right in. He writes: "We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

When we suffer and hold on to our love and faith we learn how to endure. As we learn to endure faithfully, our character: our courage, our integrity are strengthened. As our character gets stronger we see how faithful God is through it all, so our sense of hope grows. If God walks faithfully with us through divorce and death and financial struggle, we learn that a joyful kingdom for everyone can be real too. If God can bring this community of different people with all our scars and quirks and baggage together, we have reason to hope for a world where people come from east and west and north and south to sit together in the kingdom of God.

We’ve all been let down and hurt. So has God. The people God created in love have been hurting each other from the beginning. The special people God called by name and freed from slavery kept turning away from God and oppressing the poor, even though every part of their law reminded them that God loves the poor. Through prosperity, prophesy, exile and return, God’s heart broke to see his beloved children suffer and sin.

God had been burned over and over again, but God doesn’t give up on us. So God sent the son in human flesh, as a vulnerable baby to scared but faithful parents. Jesus knew fear and sorrow. He knew poverty and rejection. He knew suffering and death. All for us; all for love. In Jesus we see God’s kingdom: a kingdom of welcome, righteousness and love. We see where this crazy story is going and we know the powers of the world do not like it, but they can’t stop it. So come to the waters, come to the stable, seek the Lord, hope for the kingdom and steer through the storm. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.

Thanks be to God.

different roles, one faith, 9.1.13

Today's sermon talks about Paul's arrest in Jerusalem, but more than that, about the tensions of different identities we share in the light of our faith. It's heavily influenced by listening to the discussion of a likely US military intervention in Syria. So, if you're interested in reading a few Presbyterian resources on that situation they are also linked here and here, the most important one is linked here. The sermon is below:

Acts 21:17-26

¹⁷When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly. ¹⁸The next day Paul

went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. ¹⁹After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. ²⁰When they heard it, they praised God.

Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law. ²¹They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. ²²What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come.

²³So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. ²⁴Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law. ²⁵But as for the Gentiles who have become believers, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.”

²⁶Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having purified himself, he entered the temple with them, making public the completion of the days of purification when the sacrifice would be made for each of them.

Acts 21:27-34, 22:22-30

²⁷When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, ²⁸shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” ²⁹For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

³⁰Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. ³¹While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. ³²Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. ³³Then the tribune came, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done. ³⁴Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.…

(quick bridge to Paul’s defense)

²²Up to this point they listened to him, but then they shouted, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” ²³And while they were shouting, throwing off their cloaks, and tossing dust into the air, ²⁴the tribune directed that he was to be brought into the barracks, and ordered him to be examined by flogging, to find out the reason for this outcry against him. ²⁵But when they had tied him up with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who is uncondemned?” ²⁶When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷The tribune came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” ²⁸The tribune answered, “It cost me a large sum of money to get my citizenship.” Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.” ²⁹Immediately those who were about to examine him drew back from him; and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

----------------------------------------------------

Each of us plays different roles in our life. We are parents and children and spouses. We are employees and retirees and Christians. We are Americans and Republicans and Democrats. We are brothers and sisters, friends and swimmers, walkers, readers, workers. We are alumni of East High and East Ridge, Syracuse, Fredonia, Ithaca, Penn State and MCC. We have different roles and influences in our lives.

            For Paul it was the same thing, and like us, sometimes that was complicated. Paul was a Jew and a Christian. He was a Pharisee and an evangelist to the gentiles. He was born in Tarsus, raised in Jerusalem and a citizen of the Roman Empire. He was a tentmaker, pastor and prophet.  

Paul is a man of different worlds. He never stops being Jewish, regardless of persecution. He also holds his Roman citizenship tightly as it gives him the right to speak and be protected. When he is speaking to Roman officials, he talks about his rights as a citizen and how the charges against him have nothing to do with Rome. When he speaks to Jewish crowds he talks about the Law and the Prophets and how they predicted Christ. Even while he is in prison, he continues to be a pastor; in fact several of Paul’s letters were written during his final imprisonment in Rome. So, while as a prisoner he defends himself, as a pastor he also advises communities and coworkers on questions of ministry. In all he does, he seeks, first of all to be faithful to his ministry as an apostle of Christ.

As Christians, we live different roles in different parts of our lives, but in every part of our life we are called to live faithfully. That doesn’t mean that we are inconsistent or hypocritical, just that we do different things based on the situation.

In my role as a pastor, I lead with others, specifically the elders. That means we make decisions together. As a paramedic, I control a scene. A medical emergency is not a democracy; I tell people what to do. If I did that here, most people wouldn’t appreciate it, and if I invited people to share different ideas and vote about how to treat a cardiac emergency, I wouldn’t be an effective paramedic. I lead in different ways depending on the situation, but in every situation I strive to treat others with respect, compassion and love.

I imagine it’s the same for you. You do things differently at work than you do at home. You speak differently with your kids than with your friends. But in that diversity, there can be unity and consistency, because in everything we are called to follow Jesus. That means loving our kids and helping them to learn to be loving. It means doing our job at work conscientiously and treating our coworkers kindly so that even if we don’t talk explicitly about our faith, people can see love shining through.

Paul talks about citizenship in this passage, because as a citizen of the empire, he is entitled to a fair hearing in court. I’ve been thinking a lot this week about being a Christian and a citizen because of news and history. It’s been a blessing this week to hear excerpts from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream speech,” because this week was the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington.

Like Paul, Martin Luther King was a citizen and a minister of the gospel. When he read the scriptures, it was clear that God created all people equal and calls us to treat each other with kindness and justice. That faith commitment led King to oppose the injustice of segregation and economic oppression. He spoke for justice because his humanity and his faith told him segregation was wrong.

As a citizen of the United States, King saw his calling and responsibility in the same way. King’s speech from the Lincoln Monument reminded America that equality is in the very foundation of the nation by quoting the Declaration of Independence. Sometimes we need to challenge our community to live up to its own best values, which is what the civil rights movement did. As a citizen, King quoted Jefferson; as a Christian, he quoted Amos, but in everything he sought to be faithful to his calling in Christ. That calling and the struggle for justice and equality continues today for us because it is part of our faith.

Syria has also been on my mind a lot this week, which is especially relevant as we think about what it means to be a Christian and a US citizen. Paul claimed his citizenship to give him the protection he needed to continue to preach. He never imagined that citizens could shape their government. We live in a democratic society, which means we have more political freedom than Paul could have imagined as well as a responsibility to use our political voice faithfully as disciples of Jesus.

That can be a hard thing to do, because followers of Jesus do not always agree on political questions. At last summer’s General Assembly in Pittsburgh I served on the committee on Middle East Peacemaking. Our committee talked about Syria, because the civil war there had already been going on for a year and a half at that point. On this question the General Assembly passed a resolution to pray for Syria and to urge the US and others not to intervene militarily in the conflict. This resolution passed by a vote of 621 to 19 with five abstentions.

Chemical weapons are terrible. The international community is right to condemn and oppose their use in any situation, and we need to find ways to work together to pressure both sides to respect civilian life. It’s hard to stand by and not respond to such a gross violation of human rights, but if we have learned anything from the last 12 years of military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan it must be that there are always unintended consequences. The Bible teaches that there is a time for war and a time for peace. Jesus says that those who live by the sword will die by the sword. There may be times that military action is necessary, but Christians should always have a strong bias towards peace.

As citizens and Christians we speak in different ways, but we must always try to be faithful to Jesus. We have the blessing and responsibility to use our voice to encourage love, peace and justice. Faithful Christians disagree on how to handle issues like Syria. It’s not my role to tell you what you should think. I never want this to be a bully pulpit. I’m not an expert on foreign policy or the Middle East by any stretch of the imagination.

One of the blessings of our Presbyterian system is that the pastor doesn’t rule. Instead, my job is to help you think about your life in the context of the faith we share. In this case, that includes sharing an overwhelming agreement in the General Assembly that the US should not intervene in this civil war. Our wider church is speaking for peace today as we spoke as a body for peace a year ago. Our partner churches in Syria and Lebanon have called on the church to oppose military intervention as well as to pray and care for the victims of this enormous suffering.

            What I can say clearly and with conviction is that your faith should be a big part of how you think about what it means to be a US citizen (and how you think about being an employee, parent, spouse and so on).  Our job as Christians is not to change the course of history, though sometimes we will. Our job is to be faithful to our calling regardless of fear, danger and opposition. For me, that means writing to our president and encouraging the denomination to pick up what we have already said about this conflict. I don’t know what it will mean for you; if nothing else, I hope you will be praying for peace and for wisdom for our leaders as they struggle with difficult decisions.

            Paul’s strategy in the last years of his life is interesting. He asks the Roman leader for permission to speak to the crowd and begins what he calls a “defense.” The goal of his defense isn’t to escape death. Instead, it is to tell the truth about his calling, regardless of whether that makes Jewish leaders accept him or reject him. His job is to tell God’s message, no matter what. And this wasn’t the only part of Paul’s calling. Sometimes we get sucked into thinking one thing defines us, or on the opposite side, that we have to do everything. The truth is we have to use our gifts and our time faithfully for our ministry. The question isn’t our success, but our faithfulness. 

            So in the footsteps of Paul and Martin we take our place as voices for God’s love in a challenging world. We take our place as people who live in many roles at the same time, united by faith in a God who loves us and, mysteriously, works all the chaos of life into a story that makes sense. We believe that God comes to us not with overwhelming force but in the cry of a child in a manger, the cry of a body broken on the cross, and the Spirit of love speaking truth through Christians in every age.

As we gather at Christ’s table to share the feast of love, this ancient symbol of the peaceful kingdom to come, we remember our brothers and sisters across history and around the world. We break bread together with scared families in refugee camps and in churches rattled by bombs. We break bread to find strength to live faithfully now in the tensions of life as we pray and hope for God’s new heaven and new earth where nation will no longer raise up sword against nation and we will study war no more.

Come, Lord Jesus; quickly come.

washed in the blood (3.23.11, feast of Oscar Romero)

Revelation 7:13-17
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for 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."

John 12
Jesus said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.
"Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say-- `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
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Jesus is in Jerusalem for the last time; a few days later he will be tortured and executed for his ministry and for our salvation. Throughout his ministry Jesus tells his disciples that he’s going to be killed, but they don’t understand. The disciples see success the way the rest of the world does. Just before our passage, Jesus came into Jerusalem to loud shouts of welcome and praise. Crowds and cheering: that sounds like success. Things seem to be going well, but Jesus keeps talking about death.

He keeps talking about death, but not with fear or frustration. Instead he says, “When I am lifted up I will draw all people to myself.” Jesus doesn’t see his death as a defeat; instead it is a victory. He says his death judges and drives out the ruler of the world. In other words, in death Jesus defeats the evil forces that surround us with such power.

Frighteningly, Jesus doesn’t just talk about his own death; he also calls his followers to take up their cross and follow. Our passage from Revelation shows us a vision of heaven with huge crowds of people from every nation and language cheering for Jesus and his victory over evil. These witnesses washed their robes in the blood of the lamb. Other white-robed people in that heavenly scene just before our passage begins were killed for their witness to Jesus.

John’s Gospel talks about struggle between light and darkness, the world and God. The writer of Revelation saw deep conflict between God’s Kingdom and Rome’s Empire. Followers of Jesus were persecuted or killed for their witness to Christ. When God’s values and the world’s values are in direct conflict we have to choose sides: we can be for God or for the world, but we cannot be neutral. Usually, it looks like the world is winning, but God’s love conquers through weakness.

In El Salvador during the 1980’s there was no place for faithful neutrality. The government, in the name of fighting Marxist rebels, tortured and killed thousands of peasants. The poor of El Salvador were under attack not just by poverty or hunger but also by soldiers and police and pro-government militias.

The institutional church in El Salvador claimed to be neutral; they said they weren’t involved in “politics”. Of course, if you stand by while the powerful murder the weak, you’re not neutral; you’re an accomplice to murder.

Romero hadn’t planned to be political, but he listened to his parishioners and studied the world around him. He saw the oppression and violence used against the poor, and he refused to be silent. As the threats against him increased he clung to Jesus. Jesus said: “Now my soul is troubled, and what should I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour?’ No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour." Romero said: “If they kill me I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people.”

They did kill Oscar Romero along with many others who spoke out for justice, like the religious and political powers centuries earlier killed Jesus. But death is not the end. When the seed falls to earth and dies it bears abundant fruit. The blood of the martyrs, and the blood of Jesus, is the seed of the church. Those who bear witness to Jesus Christ, those who wash their robes in the blood of the lamb, will have God wipe their tears away.

We are not all called to die for our faith, but all Christians are called to bear witness to Jesus. We are called to put our faith into action. We are called to serve others, especially the poor. We are called to stand up for the vulnerable even when it is uncomfortable or risky. We are called to follow the one who went willingly to the cross for our sake. In his death the evil powers of the world are judged. In his resurrection the oppressed see new life. In his love all who follow find peace and freedom. May it be so for you and for me.

Thanks be to God.