suffering: a call to repentance and action, 11.3.13

Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ²He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? ³No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. ⁴Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? ⁵No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”

⁶Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. ⁷So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ ⁸He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. ⁹If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

John 9:1-7

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, ⁷saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

Luke 3:1-11

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, ⁴as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. ⁵Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; ⁶and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

⁷John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. ⁹Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” ¹⁰And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” ¹¹In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”

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            We spent the last two weeks talking about Job’s story. We talked about Job’s courage in suffering holding faith and honesty together. We also talked about being a good friend for people who are suffering. Today’s sermon builds on that as we look at suffering as a call to repentance and a call to action. Our reading from John reminds us that repentance has to lead to action, so the call to action and the call to repentance are tied together.

In the first passage Jesus is told about Pontius Pilate murdering worshipers at the temple in Jerusalem. It’s a shocking story and we might expect Jesus to offer some explanation, but he doesn’t. Instead, Jesus uses this event and an even more random news item: a tower collapsing and killing 18 people, as examples of how unpredictable life is. He rejects the idea that the people Pilate killed or the folks who died in the tower collapse were killed because they were particularly sinful. Jesus says that everyone is sinful, and we all need to repent. We all need to change our lives. And we need to do it now, because today could be our last.

            There are lots of times we don’t understand suffering and death. In this passage Jesus doesn’t even bother to speculate about the cause of suffering. He just reminds the crowd that life is uncertain, so we should change our lives for the better now. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed, so now is the time to repent.

Any time we delay getting our life right with God we are rolling the dice. The same is true with leaving love unspoken or conflict with friends and family unresolved. If you die before the day is over, what would you truly regret? What crucial words have you not said? What is your conscience uneasy about? Do something to change that situation before the sun goes down today.

           

            Our passage from John takes things in a different direction. The disciples ask Jesus how sin is related to suffering. They assume that suffering is a result of sin, but they’re not sure if it was the man or his parents’ sin that lead to his blindness.

            Jesus says sin has nothing to do with it. The man isn’t suffering because of his sin; instead, his suffering is an opportunity to show God’s power. People don’t necessarily suffer because of sin, and it’s not really our role to try to assign blame for suffering anyway. Instead, suffering is a chance to show God’s love.

Again, Jesus mentions that the time available to us might be short; it certainly was for him. That means now is the time to do good. We often don’t know the reason for suffering, but we can figure out some ways to help. If someone is hungry, we can share a meal with them. If someone is lonely, we can spend time with them. If someone is afraid, we can show them they are not alone.

            Why did Superstorm Sandy devastate the New Jersey and New York coasts? We could say something about it from a meterological perspective: something about low pressure system hitting a high pressure region in just the right way to cause a particular storm. Some people might say something about climate change. We can talk about building codes and suburban sprawl and urban crowding.

            But more than that, more than answers or speculation, God calls us to respond to suffering by putting our love in action. Our calling isn’t to assign blame; it’s to roll up our sleeves and help. That’s what our wider church is doing through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, and that’s what members of our church and our presbytery did through a recent mission trip to New Jersey.

            We’ve seen a few pictures and there will be more to come. We’ve heard some stories, and I’ll bet members of our team would love to share more at coffee hour. When people are hurting, it means the world to know that someone cares. It means so much for homeowners to see regular Christians showing up at their house to help. It reminds them that they are not alone. It reminds them that even though the world dissolved into chaos for them last year, God hasn’t forgotten them.

            We never know what God is going to do with our help. There are times we feel helpless because our efforts seem so small against the enormous suffering of the world. We can sweep debris and hang new drywall, but there are other houses still in ruins. We can tutor a child, but there are still hundreds more who are falling further behind each day.

There is always more to do, but God can do amazing things even with our smallest efforts. Maybe the neighbor of your homeowner in New Jersey had a bad experience in church that left her bitter about Christianity. Maybe now she has a new image of what Christians are like. Maybe next year she will wander into a church and hear a message that will move her to faith.

Maybe the spouse of one of the people on the mission trip felt stifled in his faith because he has never seen a connection between the Bible and his work. Maybe his wife’s story of transformation through the trip will lead him to ask deeper questions about his career. Maybe that will lead him to change his focus in a way that opens up a new world of faith and vocation.

Maybe Jesus’ death and resurrection never made sense to you before. Maybe you thought it was a bloody tragedy you wanted nothing to do with or a fairy tale ending made up by people two thousand years ago. Maybe one of the pictures of devastation and recovery catches your eye in a way that troubles your heart. Maybe you’ll be stuck with that image this afternoon in a way you can’t quite put your finger on. Maybe you’ll have your mind on something else entirely Tuesday morning when a voice inside you whispers that death has to come before resurrection and that new life can appear where you least expect it.

Friends of mine gave me a toolbox for my 21^st birthday. That toolbox is in my closet at home like it’s been in the closet of each of the eight places I’ve lived since college. When they gave me the box they put a poem in it that is still there now. It was written by R.L. Sharpe in 1890 and it’s a great fit today:

Each is given a bag of tools, A shapeless mass, A book of rules;

And each must make, Ere life is flown, A stumbling block Or a stepping stone.

Suffering can be a huge stumbling block for our faith. We wonder why such terrible things happen. We can’t figure out how a loving God allows such tragedy. That question can stall our faith. It can trip us up and keep us from reaching out to God. Or it can be an opportunity for us to reach out to our suffering neighbor with love, remembering that Jesus reached out to those who were suffering.

Suffering reminds us that life is uncertain and that the material things we collect in this world will not last. It invites us to examine our lives, and turn to God. John’s forceful preaching reminds us that repentance isn’t just a spiritual exercise; it’s got to bear fruit our lives visibly. The main way we change our lives is by reaching out to someone else to make their suffering more bearable.

We aren’t going to have all the answers we want, but we have the tools we need for our first step. So please, don’t wait. Make peace. Reach out to your neighbor. Tell your sister you love her. Feed someone who is hungry. Repent and believe the good news that God is love. Make that love your mission in the world. Now is the time.

Thanks be to God.

The church as ambulance base

Matthew 5:1-16

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. ⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. ¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. ¹⁵No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

John 1:35-51

³⁵The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, ³⁶and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”

³⁷The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. ³⁸When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” ³⁹He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

⁴⁰One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. ⁴¹He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). ⁴²He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

⁴³The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” ⁴⁴Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. ⁴⁵Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” ⁴⁶Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

⁴⁷When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” ⁴⁸Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” ⁴⁹Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” ⁵⁰Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” ⁵¹And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

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            We’re unpacking different ways of thinking about the church in this sermon series. Last week Susan talked about one of the images we think of most often, the image of the church as a family. We’re all adopted sons and daughters of God through Jesus Christ. In the church we get to know each other as brothers and sisters and we take care of each other with love.

            This week we’re looking at a very different image, which is suggested but not spelled out in the Bible. The image we’re exploring this week is the church as mission station. In John’s Gospel at the last supper Jesus says he is sending the disciples into the world in the same way God sent him into the world. After he rose from the dead he repeats the same message to the disciples: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The church continues the mission of the first disciples, so at our core we are sent into the world like Jesus.

            Mission means “sending.” We are a community that is defined by mission, defined by being sent. One theologian says it like this: “God’s church doesn’t have a mission, God’s mission has a church.” Another says, “The church exists for mission like a fire exists for burning.” If fire stops burning it isn’t a fire anymore, and if the church stops going out into the world it isn’t really the church. The church’s mission is its purpose. It’s not something we do, some extra thing that is a nice part of the church’s activity; our mission is the whole reason for our existence. The church is meaningless without our mission.

            The church is defined by mission, and the mission of the church is defined by Jesus. As the Father sent Jesus, so we are sent into the world. That means we are called to heal the sick, feed the hungry, clothe the naked and invite people to be reconciled to God. We are called to be ambassadors for Jesus, to introduce people to him and to let them know that they are loved and they are not alone. Like Jesus, we are called to be powerless and called, sometimes, to suffer for the message.

            That’s not just a calling for a few of us, the professionals or the religious elite. It’s not a calling just for extroverts or for elders, but for everyone. It’s not an optional, extra credit assignment; it’s a fundamental part of who we are as the church. We have different ways of following that calling based on our gifts and abilities and occupations, but we are all called to mission.

            There are two major parts of that mission we share: there’s the part we do together and the part we do on our own. We have a mission together: Laurelton has a mission on this corner to share the love of Jesus through our words and our actions. We do that through café and worship, through Christmas baskets and supper and scripture. We do it through supporting other partners in mission, like Cameron and People’s Ministry in Christ and the Community Food Cupboard.

            The point isn’t getting people into the building; it’s using the building to get the message of love into the community. The point of the building is to give us space to welcome people, space to learn for our mission, space to cook and share fellowship to welcome others and strengthen the community.

We all have a part to play in that by using our gifts and possessions to build up the church for our mission. Maybe you love to cook: come on out on a Saturday and help make breakfast for your neighbors. It’s a great way to welcome people practically to a warm space and remind them that they are not alone. Maybe you like to visit: there are so many people in our community who are hungry for fellowship, hungry for someone to listen to them, desperate to know that they matter. You can do that just by sitting down and listening while you eat breakfast.

We do mission together not only as a congregation, but with the wider church as well. We are not a big enough church to send a missionary to another country, for instance, but together the Presbyterian Church sends many missionaries to countries around the world to share God’s love through Bible teaching, healing, building schools and providing clean water. We take part in that wider mission of the church through our gifts to the denomination and through our prayers for the church around the world. We also take part through going on short term mission trips like Bob, Karen, Karen, Susan, Carl, Linn, Charlie, Sue and Allison are doing this week in New Jersey.

That’s the part of the church’s mission that we do together, and that’s an important part of the story. Maybe even more important than that is the mission we each do on our own. We all spend more time outside the church than inside it. Your main mission is in your everyday, Monday through Saturday, world. The best way to get the church’s message into the world is through you, because you are part of the church and you spend most of your time in the world. The church’s job is to prepare and equip you for that mission.

When I go to work at Rural Metro I start my shift at base, that’s 811 West Ave. At base I check in, get my gear and my truck and make sure everything I need for the day is on the truck. At base we have a big parking area for the ambulances as well as a bay to wash them at the end of the shift. There’s an equipment room where we replace the supplies we’ve used. There’s also a training room to learn and practice skills and a dispatch center where the calls come in. That base is where we go to get prepared for the mission of providing emergency care for the people of Rochester. But our main work obviously isn’t at base, it’s on the road in the city, so we only spend a small part of our shift at base.

The church is a base for mission in the same way. It’s an important place to come to be refreshed and equipped for our mission, but it’s not where we spend most of our time, and it’s not where we do our most important work.

When we come to church we gather to share stories of what we’ve seen in the mission field, new things we’ve learned, new challenges we’ve come across and new questions that our work in the world has brought up. Together we give thanks for the week of ministry, for all the things God has done through us in the world. We praise God in song and prayer for what we’ve seen and experienced. We encourage each other like my coworkers encourage each other for our work and you and your coworkers encourage each other.

We dig into scripture together for new wisdom for our work in the world; that’s our training room. In worship and in education, we bring our questions to the passages and we find new things to try out. My job as pastor is to study scripture and other resources to equip you for your ministry in the world. I can do a better job with that if you actually bring your questions to church. If you tell me what you wonder about because of your work and ministry, I can do a better job figuring out what kind of equipment you might need. Without your insight about your unique ministry and unique experience, I can only guess what will help you.

If we keep the image of the ambulance base, I’m the equipment manager and training coordinator. I’ve got tools and equipment for you, but I need you to tell me what kind of things you need for your mission. Then you go out and live out that mission in the world knowing the church will support you.

Maybe your weekday ministry is teaching kids. For that mission you’ll need stories about Jesus to remember how Jesus reaches out to kids and to others who have trouble in the world. You’ll also need some biblical tools for thinking about how education and justice are related.

Very specifically coming up, there is a special UPT evening on October 17^th at Trinity Emanuel about educating the traumatized child. There you’ll meet others who are excited about education and you’ll hear some of the unique challenges of urban education. That’s important for all of us because we are all invested in the city, so we’re all invested in our city’s children. It’s also important because even if you teach in a suburban school with lower rates of poverty and violence than the city, some of your kids bear the scars of different traumas, so those insights will make you a better, more loving, more Christ-like teacher. You will be better equipped for your mission in the school.

Maybe you spend a lot of your time caring for children in other ways. That gives you different opportunities for ministry for which you need equipment. Part of what you do is working with the kids in your care, so like teachers, you need to be reminded that Jesus loves the little children, especially for the times they are being difficult to love. You also have opportunities at the playground and elsewhere to interact with other parents and caregivers. That means you have opportunities to share the love of Jesus with people who might not know they are loved. Maybe some training around faith sharing will help you in that mission.

Maybe you spend a lot of time in a challenging workplace where everyone feels constant deadline pressure. Your mission there as an ambassador for Jesus is first, to do your job well so you can help your team perform. You can also create a better atmosphere by remembering that no matter what happens, God loves you. The more you remember that the more you’ll be able to stay calm under pressure and help others stay calm as well. You can also share love by treating others kindly. You need to be equipped with biblical wisdom on handling stress, or responding to bad behavior in the workplace.

Wherever you go and whatever you do, you are on a mission from God and the church is there to equip and support you for that mission. Our passages give us three different ways to look at that mission. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus pronounces blessings on different kinds of behavior like gentleness, peacemaking, and humility. Do those things wherever you are and you have God’s approval. Jesus also instructs us to be salt and light wherever we go. In little ways and big, at home and at work and at play, our job is to shine the light of God’s light so others can see God.

In our passage from John we see it a different way. We see John, Andrew and Phillip all introducing people to Jesus. It’s not our job to convince someone to believe in Christ, we just help make the introduction. We invite them to “come and see.” People everywhere need to see the truth: that God is love and that they matter to God. We can show them that. We can show them by treating them like precious brothers and sisters. We can show them that by being kind even when it’s unexpected. We can show them by being calm under pressure because we know our meaning in life isn’t what we produce but our being as beloved sons and daughters.

That is our mission: love God and love others. This church, this building, this community is the place we go to get equipped, encouraged and prepared for our mission. Your brothers and sisters are team members and blessed companions. So let’s enjoy the time we have together and get excited to go back out in service. Be peacemakers; be salt and light to a world that is often bland and dark. Serve and love, introduce people to Jesus and do your part to make the world just a little more like heaven. Jesus sends us in his name today and every day.

Thanks be to God.

commissioned for ministry

Psalm 8:1-9
1 O LORD, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Matthew 28:16-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
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Can you tell where we are in the story of Jesus?

What hints help you figure that out?

Jesus has spent maybe three years with his disciples. He’s now giving them some last instruction before he goes up to heaven. He’s giving them their mission for the rest of their lives. This mission, this great commission gave shape to the church’s life in those first years and continues to guide us in our ministry.

It’s a short passage but there’s a lot going on in it. First Jesus makes a bold claim. He says that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. That sounds outrageous after the disciples had seen Jesus surrender to the authority of the chief priests and Roman governor. It sounds outrageous coming from a guy who was whipped and beaten and mocked by soldiers. It sounds outrageous from a man who was crucified not many days before this. It sounds like an outrageous claim.

But then again Jesus is standing in front of them alive and risen from the grave. Maybe there is an authority greater than the obvious powers of the world at work in Jesus. Something made the disciples believe Jesus’ outrageous claim and by believing it they offered more evidence for its truth. In the power of Jesus they took an unlikely message across the region and soon, around the world. The power of God’s love in the disciples’ message proved stronger than disease, stronger than political and religious tyranny, stronger even than death. Maybe Jesus wasn’t making such an outrageous claim after all, but each generation, each Christian has to see that for him or herself.