Author: PastorPartridge

Learning to See (Part 1 – Others)

PastorPartridge Sermon , ,

Scripture:

1 Samuel 15:34-16:13           Mark 4:26-34           2 Corinthians 5:6-17

Anyone who has ever broken their arm, leg, or had surgery on their shoulder or hip can tell you that after surgery when you are finally done with casts and slings, crutches, and walkers, then the real work starts. After the your body has healed, then you begin the longer and harder task of rehabilitation, rebuilding muscle strength, and relearning how to use something you thought you had, but realized that things don’t work the way that they used to. I have shared with you before that after receiving my cochlear implant, I am still relearning how to hear and every time they update the program, everything changes again.

But for the most part, our ability to see is different.

When we get glasses, they make what we see more focused. When we have cataracts removed, it makes our vision clearer. If we wear something like night vision goggles, it is quite possible that we might need to relearn to recognize some objects that look differently than they do with normal vision. But in most cases what we see is, in fact, what is there. There is never a time when we have to relearn to see…

…Except when we become followers of Jesus Christ.

As followers of Jesus we are called to see things, not as they appear to be, but to see them the way that God sees them.

We begin this morning in the book of 1 Samuel where God calls his prophet to anoint a new king in place of Saul. (1 Samuel 15:34-16:13)

34 Then Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 35 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.

16:1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Jesse had good looking sons. They were tall and handsome and well constructed. And as they passed in front of Samuel, several times, if not every time, Samuel thought, “Surely this one looks like a king,” but God doesn’t see the world the same way that human beings see it. Each time that Samuel thought he saw a king, God told him that he was seeing it wrong. This happened so many times that Jesse ran out of sons and Samuel had to ask if he had any more. And the only son that was left was the kid brother they had left out in the fields to watch the sheep.

No one knew that Samuel had come to anoint a new king, but no one, not even his own father, thought that David was important enough to invite to dinner with God’s prophet. But the son that had been overlooked by his family was the very one that God had in mind. God’s vision is different than ours. God sees things differently than we do. And that means that things are not always what they appear to be. What we think we see is not always what is. What our eyes tell us about reality, is not always real.

Paul elaborates on this idea in 2 Corinthians 5:6-17…

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade others. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are “out of our mind,” as some say, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Paul says, that we live by faith, and not my sight, which is a good way of saying that the things that we see, aren’t always reality. What is seen with our eyes is not always all that there is to see. For that reason, Paul encourages us to focus on a world that we cannot see, so that we will be rewarded by Jesus on the Day of Judgment.

The followers of Christ, according to Paul, will be questioned by people who take pride in what they can see and we will sometimes be accused (just as Jesus was) of being “out of our mind,” because we choose to ‘see’ with our hearts rather than with our eyes. For that reason, we are called to take pride in what we are doing, take pride in the good that the followers of Jesus are doing, so that we can answer those who are only proud of the things that they can see. We must stop seeing those around us as the world sees them, but instead see others the way that God sees them. Whenever we are in Christ, we are changed and become something new, and Paul encourages us to see the people around us the same way.

God’s way.

And as we learn to see the way that God sees, we realize that the world we are learning to see is the future kingdom of God. In Mark 4:26-34, Jesus described that world this way…

26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

Jesus said that the kingdom of God is like a man who is planting seed. While he is the one who put his hand in the sack and scattered the seed, once it left his hand, he is no longer responsible for anything that happens. Instead, “all by itself the soil produces grain.” Once the seed is planted, everything that happens depends on God. Even tiny seeds can grow to produce great sources of shelter and food, but our only responsibility is to plant and to harvest. When we see the world the way that God sees it, we remember that people are not always what they seem. Sometimes the most productive plants grow in unexpected places. Dwight Moody, the great evangelist of the 19th century was brought to Christ when he was a shoe salesman. Billy Graham was a country farmer who came to faith in Jesus at a revival meeting he attended at the request of a friend, and only accepted because his friend offered to let Billy drive his pickup truck.

When we see the world the way that God sees, we remember that just because people look like they are poor, or ugly, or dirty, or drunk, or foreign, or different than us, doesn’t mean that God sees them that way. We remember that God loved all of us long before we were anything close to loveable. God desires for every human being to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and have the opportunity to follow him. It isn’t up to us to choose who hears. Our only calling is to scatter the seed and let God be responsible for growing it.

It isn’t easy to see the way that God sees.

It is hard to doubt our own senses.

But when we choose to follow Jesus…

…we must learn to see all over again.

Memories of Billy R. Murphy (Obituary and Eulogy)

PastorPartridge Eulogy ,

Billy Raford Murphy
Wadsworth

Billy R. Murphy, 80, of Wadsworth, passed away, Saturday, May 30, 2015. He was born January 21, 1935 in Henderson, NC to the late Edward and Maggie Murphy.

Mr. Murphy was retired form the Barefoot Sole Company.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 48 years, Ruth Ann Murphy and 15 brothers and sisters.

Billy is survived by his children: Mike Murphy of Wadsworth, Brenda Hall of Barberton, Linda Murphy of Wadsworth and Danny Murphy of Henderson, NC. He is also survived by 4grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Private services were held for the family.

Eulogy for Billy R. Murphy
June 13, 2015
by Rev. John Partridge

    Sometimes when you meet new people it’s hard to know what to think of them. That might almost describe my feelings when I first met Uncle Bill. He didn’t have a lot to say and usually, at the annual Christmas Eve family gathering, he just sort of held court in the kitchen while everyone else socialized in the dining or living rooms. If he wasn’t already talking with someone else, I might chat with him for a few minutes while I filled a plate full of food, but it’s hard to get to know someone like that. Aunt Ruth was easier because she talked more. The thing that I knew about Uncle Bill wasn’t from what he said, but from his references. It isn’t like he carried around a resume or anything, but you can know a lot about a person from the people around them. Since Harry was Patti’s dad, I spent a lot of time with him and I knew that Harry thought pretty highly of Uncle Bill. That spoke volumes. In most families, the standard for the man that marries your sister is pretty high and so if Harry not only accepted Bill, but both liked and respected him, that said a lot. I knew that although it might be hard to see what Uncle Bill was all about on the surface, there had to be a lot going on underneath the hood.

On top of that, there was Aunt Ruth and all of her kids. Although they were a lot different from my family, they were, and are, all stand up people who would give you the shirt off their backs to help someone. And so if that’s what Uncle Bill’s family was like, then that told me just about everything I needed to know about him, even if we didn’t talk a lot.

They say that like icebergs, trees are often at least twice as big under the ground as they are above ground. Uncle Bill was like that. You just knew that even though he was pretty quiet on the surface, there was a lot going on underneath.

The more I talked to Mike, Linda, and Brenda (Uncle Bill often referred to them as “Linder and Brinder”), and as I got emails and text messages from his grandchildren, more of the story of Billy Raford Murphy appeared. (I think Aunt Ruth was the only person that could call him Billy, or Raford for that matter)

Bill was born in Henderson, NC in 1935, and had 15 brothers and sisters. He went to school through sixth grade and then worked at home to help his family. He also had a son there before moving north with several of his brothers. None of the family up here knows much of anything about why he came north or has had any contact with family in North Carolina, but once Bill came to Ohio this became his home. The only time he ever went back was for his mother’s funeral.

Some time after arriving here, Bill met Ruth at the Bunny Drive In restaurant. He was eating, and she was the classic server girl on roller skates. The way everyone has heard the story, When Bill saw Ruth for the first time, he turned to his friend and said, “That who I’m going to marry.” And he did in 1961. It was a good call because they were married for 48 years.

One description that almost everyone uses was that Bill was a simple man. It didn’t take much to keep him occupied and happy. He loved his garden and he could just sit for hours on the back porch watching, the birds, his garden, and the back yard. And we all know that he enjoyed an occasional can of beer. Particularly Stroh’s. At least until they stopped making it.

Just about every other Mom, Ruth would sometimes threaten her kids by saying, “Just wait until your Dad gets home.” But Bill was not really the disciplinarian and he let Ruth do all the punishing. Although he did, occasionally, get mad. Most of us knew we were in trouble when our parents used our middle names, but Bill was different. Mike said that he always knew he was in trouble when his dad switched from calling him “Mike,” and started calling him “Boy.” When Bill said, “Boy, get over here.” Mike knew he was in trouble.

Even so, every single day, after school, Mike would have everything ready to go fishing. The fishing poles were laid out, the tackle boxes were ready, and a few cans of freshly dug worms. And no matter how tired Bill might have been from a long day at work, the entire family would load up and head for one of the Portage lakes to fish. Everybody had their own gear and everybody fished, except maybe Aunt Ruth, but even if she wasn’t fishing, she would be there sitting in a chair watching everyone else. Bill taught all of his kids to fish and catch turtles and he was good at cooking them too. Because they fished a lot, they ate a lot of fish… unless of course Uncle Harry was around. Harry loved to eat Bill’s fish and Bill’s kids sometimes worried that Harry was going to eat all of it.

And fish wasn’t the only thing that Bill could cook. He loved to cook and did most of the cooking for the whole family. His favorites of course, were T-bone steaks, hush puppies, sausage gravy and biscuits, fried potatoes, collard greens, and black-eyed peas. And of course, fish.
Bill was also more than a little bit of a handyman. He didn’t have much money and his tools were simple, but there wasn’t much of anything that he couldn’t fix, or build. He made his own guns and crossbows, wooden trains and little houses. Bill didn’t need a reason to make things, he just liked doing it. He made stuff and gave it away. It was just the building that made him happy. Along the way, he taught Mike to build things too and as he got older, he would watch Mike build things and would, occasionally, offer suggestions.

And, more than anything, Bill loved his family. He rarely raised his voice but he was always protective of his kids. He never played favorites and he taught them all independence and respect. He never discriminated against anyone and he would occasionally offer good advice like, “It doesn’t hurt to make mistakes, as long as you learn from them.” Bill loved all of his grandkids, he loved spending time with them, and he loved to sit and tell them stories.

And as much as Bill loved his grandchildren, they loved him back. They heard the stories, they remembered them, and they have stories of their own that sound like this:

I lived with him for most of my life. He used to make me sausage every morning before school till I graduated from high school. We used to sit together on the back porch for hours. He would tell me stories about his childhood. He also taught me so much. Like how to garden, different birds and their calls, how to shoot a sling shot , the proper way to use a pocket knife and he gave me so much advice about life in general. One of the best things he taught me is simply just how to sit and listen. He was a man of very few words but if you took the time to sit and listen he would talk your ear off – Jenn

I got to know him when Aunt Ruth was in the hospital. He was a gardener, wine maker, carpenter, gunsmith, handyman, fisherman, boot-maker, and bootlegger. He was determined, knowledgeable, and still humble. – Mike

I always saw grandpa as a man’s man. No matter where he was, no matter who he was around, he was himself. I admired that. With him, there were no facades. What you saw is what you got. Though, on the surface would seem to be the ‘all American tough guy,’ beneath laid a gentle, caring, and humble husband, brother, father, and grandfather. That is something I strive to be one day because of him. – Kevin

    Bill loved Hank Williams and Johnny Cash, liked watching “Wild Kingdom” and “Hee Haw” with his family and always cheered for Ohio State and the Browns. And although he didn’t go back to North Carolina, he often went to Ruth’s family reunions and other events in West Virginia.

Maybe all of you weren’t there, but a few years ago, when both he and Aunt Ruth went into the nursing home, they called me and told me that they wanted to be baptized. They knew that neither of them were going to be around for a lot longer and felt that this was unfinished business for them both. I told them that I would be happy to do it, but would like to talk to them both first, and so, before the service, we sat and talked. Both of them told me that they knew Jesus and believed that he was the Savior of the world and had put their trust in him. They knew that baptism was important but, over the years, somehow it had gotten missed and they wanted to make sure that they did it in front of their kids and their family to make sure that they all knew it was important too.

That meant a lot to me and showed everyone something about his character. Bill was a man who always led by example. He was always himself and even near the end when he could have coasted a little. He made sure to invite everyone to watch him take care of unfinished business with God. I am sure that he intended for all of us to learn two things. First, take care of unfinished business and second, make sure that you are right with Jesus.

In that place, and for the rest of his life, Bill loved his family and wanted to make sure that they were taken care of. Even in a nursing home Bill led by example.

We can all learn from the things that Bill taught. In this room, and wherever we go, much of him remains because of what he taught all of us.

And in the end, that is his greatest legacy.

The King is a Fink!

PastorPartridge Uncategorized

“King: Demon, Lunatic, or Fink?”
June 07, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:4-20            Mark 3:20-35               2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

How many of you read the comics in the newspapers?

Those of you that do are probably familiar with Brant Parker’s “Wizard of Id” comic. In the comic, it is understood that the king is not a particularly good ruler. He is focused on his own wealth and pleasure over any concerns that he might have for the welfare of the people. One recurring line voiced not only by the convict, Bung, but often by anonymous sources, and even by entire crowds as they listen to the king’s speeches is the phrase. “The King is a Fink!” In the comics, this is usually a punchline and the reader is meant to find humor in it, but in real life, this same sentiment can be deadly serious. In 1 Samuel 8:4-20, the people cry out for a king like other nations have, and Samuel warns them that any human king, apart from God, will be a fink.

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

6 But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

10 Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

My first reaction while reading this was that it would be nice if the king only took ten percent… but aside from that, Samuel’s point was that a king, or any kind of a government, regardless of how benevolent, will ultimately demand more from you than God does. In Samuel’s view, any king is a fink because he will take away your children, demand a portion of your labor, a portion of your property, and take the best of the things that you have for his own use and give some to his friends. But regardless of Samuel’s arguments, the people want to be like everybody else. They want an earthly king instead of God.

But after hundreds of years, perhaps a thousand years, under the rule of an earthly king, after several devastating wars in which their entire nation was destroyed and the people carried off in to captivity, after a succession of kings who were ungodly as well as flat-out horrible rulers who were angry, vindictive and mean, and finally after decades under the rule of a foreign nation with legions of soldiers who occupied their country to insure their obedience, Israel realized that Samuel had been right all along. After years of abuse Israel began to pray for a rescuer. It didn’t take a thousand years, people had been praying for rescue for a very long time, but God doesn’t change his mind right away. Samuel had said, “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” And so, when the people began to pray for rescue from the very kings that they had begged for, God did as he said he would do, and took his time.

But finally, God did send his rescuer and he wasn’t what they expected. (Mark 3:20-35)

20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

So many people packed into the house to see Jesus that the disciples were unable to eat. Now, I have been in some crowded places that were sometimes packed shoulder to shoulder, but how tightly do you have to be pressed in, so that you can’t get your hand from your plate to your mouth? That is a lot of people. But even as Jesus is attracting this sort of crowd because of his preaching and his natural charisma, others are alarmed at his popularity. Jesus’ family worries that he is crazy. In today’s language Jesus would be accused of having delusions of grandeur because he had the outrageous idea that the son of a carpenter could preach and proclaim the words of God. The teachers of the law, who themselves may have come from parents of humble professions, aren’t concerned that he is the son of a carpenter, but that his preaching is more popular than theirs. Their fear causes them to accuse Jesus of being possessed and controlled by Satan.

Jesus corrects, or at least argues with, the teachers that, logically, he cannot be demon possessed because someone possessed by a demon, could not, sensibly, cast out demons. But Jesus doesn’t answer his family at all except to say that anyone who does the will of God is his brother, sister and mother. Those who are going in the right direction, God’s direction, are his family and those who are not, regardless of their blood relationship, should be left behind.

The problem that everyone had with Jesus was that he is a different sort of a king. Jesus was different than anyone that they had ever met. Jesus was not a fink, nor was he crazy or demon possessed.

Jesus was something entirely different.

Paul understood that this difference exists because we live in two different worlds.

(2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1)
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Every king that the people had known had been an earthly king. After the thousand years since the time of David, no one could remember what it had been like for God to be their king. Everyone thought that fink-y kings were normal. Israel had gotten what they had asked for, they had kings that were just like the kings that everyone else had. There were some good ones, but many of them were immature, unfaithful, angry, vengeful, greedy, lustful, and sometimes almost purely evil.

But Jesus was different.

Jesus was different because he was not an earthly king. Jesus did not desire wealth or power on earth as other kings did because his kingdom was different. The kings of this earth live lives that are temporary, they have wealth and power and glory that are temporary, but the kingdom of Jesus was anything but temporary.

The king is a fink.

Every earthly king will be a disappointment because every earthly king and every earthly kingdom is temporary and imperfect.

The only king that satisfies is not an earthly king at all, but a king who lives and reigns for all of eternity in a kingdom that will never fade or pass away.

The only true king, the only eternal king, is Jesus.

And he is certainly not a fink.

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PastorPartridge Uncategorized

“James: Generosity and Favoritism (Part 3)”
The Most Important Book We Forgot
May 10, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: James 2:1-26

I want you to use your imagination with me for a minute. Many of you travel from time to time, so imagine that while you are away from home, either for work or for vacation, you decide to go to church on a Sunday morning. As you pull into the parking lot you slowly begin to realize that this church might just be a little different than your church at home. At home, the parking lot is filled with Chevy’s and Oldsmobile’s but in this parking lot, while you see an occasional General Motors product, the majority of the cars are built by Lexus, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and other high-end cars. As you enter the church, you notice that the people are dressed as expensively as the cars they drive and, although you are dressed decently, your suitcase didn’t have room for a suit and tie. And so, as you prepare to enter the sanctuary, an usher gently encourages you to head for the balcony where the youth group is sitting and you notice that the balcony also contains everyone else who is either visiting, or wearing anything less than a three piece suit or a designer dress. It is obvious that you have been seated with the less desirable elements of the church in a place that is out of sight of the regular members.

And now I ask you that question that the professors from the counselling department liked to ask in seminary…

So how does that make you feel?

At the end of last week’s message we heard James say that we should care for the widows, orphans, and others that do not have a voice in our society. In James’ world, and often in ours, these people are poor. And so, caring for the widows, orphans, and others is an issue of generosity and serves to transition us to the subject of today’s message. For James, generosity is a test of the reality of our faith, a place where faith and works collide. And as faith and works collide, how did it feel in your imagination, when you got stuck in the balcony because you weren’t good enough to mix with the regular membership?
Even in our imagination, that hurts. And more than a few of you were thinking that you would never, ever, go back again.

But more than that, James wants us to consider how it feels when it happens to others when they visit our church.

2:1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James begins with his basic premise, his simplest assumption, that believers cannot play favorites because God doesn’t play favorites. From there, James accuses his church flock of doing exactly that. Much as I did when we began, James says, imagine that a man comes to visit your church… But to add to our understanding of this story, I want to add a few details. James tells a story that might have happened during a worship service, but might also have happened when the church elders met to judge a dispute between believers. In that story, James asks if those who have acted this way have not become “judges with evil thoughts.” These hints of judgement in the synagogue, are probably included to remind everyone of the rules for a synagogue trial because among those rules are some that mirror this story almost exactly. Jewish law required that everyone in a trial either sit at the same level or that everyone stand. No preference could be given for status or wealth. Also, both rich and poor participants had to be dressed similarly. A rich man could dress the same as a poor man, or he could pay for new clothing so that the poor man could dress the same as the rich man.
Apparently, the church (or churches) had been discriminating against the poor in exactly this way. James is also pointing out a tragic irony because rich people in that time were abusing Christians by dragging them into court and treating them with contempt because of their poverty and because of their association with Jesus Christ. And so, despite having been abused by the rich, many in the church are granting preferred treatment to the rich and abusing others just as they themselves had been abused.
James then proceeds to remind us that God loves the poor. In fact, James echoes the words of Jesus from his sermon on the plain in Luke 6:20 where he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” James wants us to remember that the poor are only poor in the eyes of the world because in God’s eyes, they are heirs of the kingdom and rich beyond measure. And so, in all of this we are reminded that the church cannot judge the way that the world judges but instead must judge others the way that God judges James suggests that by discriminating among ourselves, we have “divided ourselves” and therefore become double-minded.
James further illustrates this by quoting the “royal law” (perhaps called the royal law because Jesus also said it) from Leviticus 19:18 which says “Love your neighbor as yourself.” His point is that favoritism lacks mercy and is not loving. For James, a failure to love is equivalent to murder or adultery.
The Ten Commandments are not a multiple choice question.
Next James connects these ideas of generosity, mercy, love and favoritism, to faith and action.
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish [Greek for “foolish is “kenos” which literally means “empty”] person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
James introduces us to a person who is not properly dressed, probably someone who cannot afford a coat or appropriate outer covering, and who does not have enough to eat. This person is not worrying about having enough food at the end of the month, or even at the end of this week, but does not have food to eat today. For us to simply pray for food, when it is within our power to give them food and clothing, is wrong. Theologically, such a prayer is not wrong, but it lacks action. The prayer that is offered is missing the deeds that could back it up. And so James tells us that if we believe that God loves the poor but we do nothing to help them, then our faith is dead.
As a counter argument, James anticipates that someone will argue that their faith is enough, that they will say “I believe that God is one.” That argument does not immediately click for us but today we would hear something quite similar. Remember that most of those reading this letter were Jewish followers of Jesus. Every good Jew would, at least twice each day, repeat the ‘Shema’ a prayer that begins by saying, “Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.” It is an expression of devout faith and orthodoxy (which means right practice). The Shema is a basis of both Jewish and Christian belief but it is not enough. Something more familiar to us today would be a recitation of the Apostle’s Creed, or the Nicene Creed, or the Lord’s Prayer but likewise, these are not enough. As James said, even the demons believe that God is one, and their knowledge of God makes them shudder with fear, but still, they do not have faith.
James argues that Abraham, the father of all Israel, was considered righteous because of what he did. That phrase “what he did” can be literally translated as “from his works” and understood as ‘because of a lifetime of obedience.’ Abraham’s faith was so strong that he obeyed regardless of the cost. But James anticipates another counter argument. He knows that someone will say that Abraham’s deeds grew out of his thankfulness for all the things that God had done for him and not from his faith, and in answer to that, James gives us Rahab. Rahab was not from Israel and did not receive the blessings that God had given to Israel’s people and in fact, Rahab had received nothing at all from God, and yet, she had faith. Because of her faith, she acted on her beliefs and it is her actions that reveal her faith to the world.
The weird thing here is that while James says that Abraham was proved righteous because of his works, Paul teaches that Abraham was righteous because of his faith. While there are different opinions on this, I think Paul’s point was that Abraham was righteous before the law was written and so the law could not save him. In that sense, works, according to the law, were impossible. But Abraham did have faith, and his faith produced works which proved that his faith was real.
And so, when James says that faith without works is dead, he wants us to understand something important.
It is deeds that give life to our faith.
Faith is not just an intellectual thing. It is not an issue of the mind, but has to migrate south and become an issue of the heart. If (and once) it does that, faith must, by necessity, continue its migration to our hand and feet and be lived out through our actions.
Some of the things that we must do are to show mercy, give generously, run away from favoritism and to love others the way that God loves them
We aren’t Christians simply because we say that we are. We are not Christians because we academically subscribe to a particular doctrine or statement of faith. We are not Christians simply because we go to church or because we have memorized the Apostle’s Creed.
We are Christians because we do the things that Christians do.

Baltimore – A Rush to Judgement?

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I wish everyone would shut up for a minute.

But probably not for the reason you think.

    I waited a long time to write anything about the riots in Ferguson, Missouri because I wanted to try to understand the issues.   
    But this time, after watching and listening to media outlets talk about what is happening in Baltimore I don’t want to wait.  I am posting now, not because I think I understand what is happening, but because I am convinced that almost no one does.
Every media outlet, every reporter, every politician, and a great many bystanders have taken sides.
    Just like the Ferguson case, and the Travon Martin case, and so many others, everyone seems to be absolutely certain that they know exactly what is happening and why.
Everyone is rushing to judgement.
    They judge the police.  They judge Freddie Gray.  They judge the mayor.  They judge the President.  They judge the protestors, the rioters (those are vastly different groups), they judge the victims of the violence, and people are even judging the parents of the people in the streets. 
    Christians are often accused of being judgmental, but this is ridiculous.  Everyone, Christian and non-Christian alike seems to think that they know so much about what is happening hundreds of miles away in Baltimore that they can stand in judgement of people they’ve never met and who they know almost nothing about.
I wish everyone would all shut up and listen for a change.
As I watch and listen to the reporting from Baltimore, all I seem to find is more questions.
What exactly happened in police custody that led to the death of Freddie Gray?
Did Mr. Gray really have surgery on his spine only weeks before his arrest?
Did that matter?
Did the mayor tell the police to allow the mayhem to continue when it might have been stopped much earlier?
I could ask questions all day but it seems clear that, so far, there aren’t very many answers.
    And without answers, all the self-proclaimed experts (left, right and center) should slow down their rush to judgement until they actually have some facts.  Right now there are too many things that we just don’t know.   
Instead of rushing to judgement, why don’t we listen instead?
We all want justice.
    But we should be careful to find the facts so that there can be justice for everyone.  There needs to be justice for the police, the demonstrators, the rioters, the politicians, and especially for the victims.
Investigating, finding, and sorting through the facts are all things that will take time.
While we wait, instead of judging everyone, why don’t we do something helpful?
    Why don’t we try to find ways to help those who lost homes, jobs, and businesses?  Can our politicians and academics find ways to reduce poverty and joblessness instead of just pointing fingers at each other?  Why not volunteer with some charity or aid group to clean up and rebuild Baltimore?  We should all take the time to listen and understand people with whom we disagree.
    Instead of pretending that we know exactly what is going on and who is to blame, our time would be better spent trying to fix the problem and help Baltimore heal.  And while we’re doing that, we should talk less and listen more.
Instead of judging, try donating.
And if you are so inclined, I’m sure that everyone involved could use your prayers.

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Our Hardest Prayers

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Could you pray for God to take your life?  Or your child’s life?  Or pray for cancer? 

 

Our gut says no.

 

How do we pray for something that we *don’t* want to happen?

 

Everything in us resists.

 

But sometimes the prayers God desires are the prayers we do not want to pray.

 

Surrender is necessary.

 

What do I mean?

 

Is God so vindictive and manipulative that he would want me to die? Or take the life of a child?  Or give someone cancer?

 

Honestly, those are deep theological issues that we all struggle with and I do not have a solid answer for you. 

 

Seriously, I don’t know.

 

I think that the answer is no.  I know that God is a loving God and I know that before the world was corrupted, Adam and Eve weren’t supposed to die.  Death and disease and suffering are abnormal.

 

But on the other hand, in our world, these things exist and while God doesn’t give us these things, sometimes, for his own reasons, God chooses not to take hardship away from us.

 

And so the question is, when trouble comes, when we experience hardship, and suffering, pain and even death… how should we pray?

 

Our natural reaction is to pray for God to rescue us from our trouble, to take away our pain, and to save us from death and most of the time, that is exactly how we pray.  Unfortunately, that is not the model that we have been given.

 

In John 12:27-28, shortly before Jesus was arrested, he said this to his disciples:

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”
    And later that night Jesus prayed two times saying, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39) and then later, “He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
    Knowing that God has sent him to die, Jesus prays that the Father will use his suffering to bring glory to God.  Jesus lives as an example to us that our prayers might not always be for God to rescue us from our troubles, but that, if God has prepared that trouble for us, or has chosen to allow it into our lives, that our suffering would somehow bring God glory.
    The crucifixion of Jesus meant the death of God’s own child but God allowed it, even planned it, because, in the grand scheme of things, in God’s master plan, that pain, that suffering, that death, made the entire world, and the future of everyone, better.
    God brought glory to himself when Jesus was lifted up on the cross because that action pointed all of humanity toward Jesus and toward God.  So we know, that whatever we do that points others toward Jesus, likewise brings glory to God.
    And so when we experience hardship, and suffering, pain and even death, even though our natural reaction is to pray for God to rescue us, we must remember that is not the model that we have been given. 
    Praying for rescue isn’t a bad thing.  Before his arrest Jesus was praying for exactly that when he said, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.” But he didn’t stop there.  Jesus continued by saying, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
    It is okay for us to pray that God would rescue us, in fact, it’s normal.  But we always need to remember that rescue might not be a part of God’s plan.  And so, as we pray for rescue, we should also remember to pray that if God chooses not to rescue us, that our trouble, our suffering, and yes, even our death might, somehow, bring glory to God and point others toward him.
And those are probably the hardest prayers we will ever pray.

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Excuses, Excuses

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 “I could never be a _______ because I once heard about a really stupid _______.”
    This kind of statement is all too common on social media.  It has been said about almost every possible group.  I have heard it said about Republicans, Democrats, pro-lifers, pro-choicers, Christians, Atheists, and everything in-between.
But those aren’t arguments, they’re excuses.
And it is unfair to everyone.
    Sure, it’s funny to point at the Republican that didn’t know that Tehran is the capitol of Iran.  Or the Democrat who thought the island of Guam would capsize if we sent too many Marines there.  But it isn’t really fair to say that these people represent all Republicans or all Democrats.
And the same is true for Christianity.
    I admit that sometimes Christians say really dumb things.  There are some Christian leaders who make me cringe almost every time they open their mouths.
But that seems to be true of people from any large group.
    I have heard people with Masters and Doctorate degrees say dumb things but that doesn’t mean that education is stupid.  We shouldn’t give up on education because we once met an educated person that did, or said, something dumb.
    Just because someone in Hollywood made a bad movie (and there have been some really awful ones) is no reason to give up on movies forever.
    Just because we saw a stupid driver on the highway (and there are plenty) is no reason to give up on driving. 
    Our opinions about education, politics, morality, religion, or anything else, should be built on the truth and on the merits of their arguments, not simply on whether or not we once heard one of “those people” say something stupid.
    If you want an excuse to stay away from a political party, or church, or anything else, that’s up to you. But don’t say that it’s because a few people said, or did, something dumb.
Don’t judge an entire group by the actions of a few.
Because that would just be stupid.

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Good News, Bad news

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    This week I got a card in the mail reminding me that it is time to make an appointment with John, the audiologist that programs my cochlear implant.  It hardly seems like six months since I have seen him.  Once again, I am uncertain how things will go.  On the one hand, because whatever changes are happening in my head are incredibly gradual, I don’t really notice that much has changed.  And yet, other people tell me that they can tell that I am hearing better.
    One of the few places that I notice a difference is in meetings.  Whether it is in a small meeting, or in youth group, or in a large room like the fellowship hall, I notice that I can hear more than I used to.  Not that long ago, I could barely make out anything in our youth meetings and almost nothing at all in a big room like the fellowship hall, but lately I can hear enough to keep up with some of the conversations.  I still am not where I would like to be, but I can tell that things are better than they were.
At least until last week.
    Right around Ash Wednesday, I noticed that it was suddenly harder to understand the people around me and discovered that my hearing aid was acting up.  No problem.  Since receiving a cochlear implant, I have two hearing aids and only one ear to wear them in, so I have a spare.  In fact, at one of my last visits my regular audiologist, Walt, reprogrammed them both to fit my right ear.  So when my hearing aid went on the fritz, I just switched over to the spare.  Things were kind of busy at work so I figured that I would just make an appointment after things calmed down a little.
That worked for two weeks.
    But after two weeks, my spare hearing aid quit.  I emailed Walt on a Thursday and got an appointment the very next Monday.  One hearing aid didn’t work at all and the other works as long as the ear mold isn’t attached.  Even Walt thought that was pretty weird.  In any case, both of them have been sent back to the factory.  That means that the only things that I am currently hearing are coming through my cochlear implant.
And that is my good news, bad news thing divides.
    The bad news is that I really can’t hear anything on my right side without hearing aids.  But the good news is that since I have an implant I can still hear something.  If I didn’t have the implant and both hearing aids quit, I would be in deep weeds.
    The other good news, and really sort awesome, is that even hearing only through my implant, I am doing fairly well.  I can hear reasonably well in most situations and have even been listening to the radio (a little) in the car.  Of course, any place with a lot of ambient noise is almost impossible, and conversation around the dinner table at home is pretty difficult to follow, but I am relatively functional.
Six months ago, I’m not certain that I could have done this well on my implant alone.
So I guess I’m a little excited to see John and have my implant reprogrammed again.
Who knows how much better things might get?

 

 

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