Christian Extra-Terrestrials?

February 20, 2022*

By Pastor John Partridge

Genesis 45:3-11, 15

Luke 6:27-38

1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50

Many of you are old enough to have watched the Steven Spielberg movie, E.T. the Extraterrestrial and, even if you haven’t watched it, you probably at least know something about it. There’s also a good chance that E.T. is what you thought of when you saw today’s sermon title, “Christian Extraterrestrials.” But despite Elon Musk’s goal of establishing a colony on Mars, interplanetary Christians is not what I have in mind… at least for today. What I have in mind, however, is just a little bit different linguistically. I thought about using Superhuman, or Supernatural, but those words bring up mental images of Superman from the planet Krypton, or a couple of brothers on television who fight ghosts, demons, and other non-human creatures, so neither of those words really work either. But the definition of the prefix “extra” means “beyond” and so while “extra-terrestrial” can mean a person, or a creature, that is from beyond our planet, it might also mean someone from this planet whose abilities lie beyond the those of normal, or expected, people.

And besides, it made you curious.

In any case, “beyond terrestrial” is a legitimate translation of the language that is used in our scriptures today. But, before we get to that, let’s begin with the story of Joseph. Nearing the end of Joseph’s epic in Genesis, we join his story at the point where, having once been sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph is now, after Pharaoh, the second most powerful man in all of Egypt if not the second most powerful man on the planet. But at this moment, Joseph reveals his true identity to his brothers, the same men who years earlier had beaten him, thrown him in an empty cistern, and sold him into slavery. And, understandably, when his brothers realize who he is, they are terrified. We rejoin that story in Genesis 45:3-11,15:

³Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But his brothers were not able to answer him, because they were terrified at his presence.

⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! ⁵And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. ⁶For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. ⁷But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸“So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt. ⁹Now hurry back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; don’t delay. ¹⁰You shall live in the region of Goshen and be near me—you, your children and grandchildren, your flocks, and herds, and all you have. ¹¹I will provide for you there, because five years of famine are still to come. Otherwise, you and your household and all who belong to you will become destitute.’

¹⁵And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.

Joseph’s brothers were terrified that, because he was now the most powerful man in Egypt, and not the pesky younger brother, they expected that he would take his revenge on them for what they had done. And, honestly, no one would be surprised if that had happened. Joseph had every right to be angry and it would have been fair for him to sell his brothers into slavery as they had done to him. But Joseph’s relationship with God gave him a different perspective. Rather than seeing this as an opportunity for revenge, Joseph sees that God has been intervening in human affairs, influencing events, and moving him into position so that he could rescue the entire nation of Egypt, and his family, the people that would one day become the nation of Israel. Joseph behaves in a way that is unexpected because his relationship with God has given him a vision of the world that is beyond human.

And we can see that same vision as Jesus teaches his disciples in Luke 6:27-38, as he says:

²⁷“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. ²⁹If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. ³⁰Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. ³¹Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³²“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. ³³And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. ³⁴And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. ³⁵But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

³⁷“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Jesus says that being ‘just as good’ as the evil people around you isn’t good enough. And being just as good as average and ordinary people isn’t good enough either. The standard for his followers is to do good even when no other reasonable person would do good, to be unreasonably good, or… beyond humanly good. Jesus wants his followers to love the people around them more than other reasonable people would love, to love in a way that is beyond humanly loving or, beyond earthly love.

And the examples that Jesus gives are so far beyond our understanding of normal, that they are understandably difficult. Jesus says that we should loan money, not just to people that we trust, and not just people that we believe can pay us back, but to loan money to people we don’t even like, people we regard as our enemies, and that includes people that we might be confident have no means, and possibly no intention, of ever paying us back. Jesus says that we should loan them the money with no expectation that we should get it back. In other words, just give money away to people that you hate, and who probably hate you back. Loving in ways that are beyond human, or beyond terrestrial, is exactly the point that Jesus is making. Our calling isn’t to love the people around us like ordinary, average, or even exceptional people love, our calling is to love the people around us the way that God loves. God is loving, kind, and merciful to the ungrateful and the wicked who neither like him nor even know him.

It’s worth noting here that “Do not judge” is currently one of the most commonly misquoted and misinterpreted verses of scripture. It most certainly does not mean that we should… never… judge. Matthew includes this same quote from Jesus, but records Jesus’ statement as saying, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ²For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Matthew 7:1) To make this clear, some translations record this as “Do not judge unfairly” rather than simply do not judge. There are many times when Jesus asks, even commands us to judge between good and evil, honor and dishonor, to be discerning in all that we do, and other things. What Jesus clearly means is that we will be judged in the same way that we judge others. Don’t rush to judgement. Don’t judge without evidence. Or, as the translators have said, don’t judge unfairly. Likewise, we can expect to receive the generosity of God with the same, or better, generosity that we show others. Give and it will be given to you in an even more abundant and generous measure.

But why? Why is the standard for love, mercy, and compassion so much higher for Christians than it is for everyone else? Why does God demand that our behavior be beyond human, whether we call that super-human or extra-terrestrial? We find the answer to “why” in Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth where he says (1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50) …

³⁵But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” ³⁶How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

⁴²So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; ⁴³it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam [aka Jesus], a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. ⁴⁸As was the earthly man [Adam], so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man [Jesus], so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall webear the image of the heavenly man.

And although Paul takes a while to get to his point, the answer really is simple. The reason that the followers of Jesus Christ are commanded, and empowered, to behave in ways that are beyond human, and the reason that it isn’t okay to just be the same as other people, is because earth and heaven are not the same. Adam and Jesus are not the same. When we choose to follow Jesus Christ, we become image bearers of God. Our calling is no longer to look like everyone else and reflect the image of the world in which we live, but rather to reflect the image of a merciful, just, compassionate, and loving God and to reflect an entirely different reality.

As the image bearers of God, we must love more than humanly possible, be impossibly forgiving, extraordinarily generous, inhumanly merciful, and in every other way that we can, be an accurate reflection the goodness and holiness of God.

God has called us, commanded us, and empowered us to behave in ways that are super-human, and beyond earthly.

In other words, we are called to be nothing less than Extra-Terrestrial Christians.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Crisis Fatigue

August 25, 2020 PastorPartridge Blogs compassion, Corona virus, covid-19, crisis, fatigue, good, tired

Crisis Fatigue

I have compassion fatigue.

Or at least something like it.

For anyone who might be unfamiliar with the term, compassion fatigue is the name given to describe the limited human ability to expend emotional energy. Simply put, we can’t care about everything. Ordinarily, you see compassion fatigue in those who work with hurting people to the extent that they seem to become senseless to the pain of others. We see social workers to whom suffering children and families have just become numbers, or workers at the Social Security or unemployment office who close their eyes to the humanity in front of them.

Some time ago, I experienced it when Patti and I chaired the church missions committee. So many letters, cards, videos, and other requests for funds came to us through the church, and through the mail, that we simply couldn’t read them all. The church had a limited budget and couldn’t give funds to even half of them. Likewise, we had limited emotional energy, and we didn’t have the capacity to worry about the needs of every single organization that asked for our help.

Something similar is happening now.

We are surrounded by hurting, isolated, people.

The news is filled with an endless parade of crises.

Facebook and other social media outlets are filled with the reports of friends and family that are struggling.

And I find myself tuning out.

To be fair, I’m trying to be selective.

I don’t have the emotional energy to care about everything. There is so much going on that I don’t have the time to focus on the myriad of legitimate concerns that confront me. I need to care, but I need to take care of myself and my family at the same time.

But sometimes I feel like I should care more.

There are so many important issues to confront. Immigration, racial inequality, church finance, unemployment, mourning the loss of church family members, a divisive national election, a divided denomination, and the list just goes on and on.

And the elephant in the room is always COVID-19. Every day I think about it. It has changed the way we live, the way we work, the way that we associate with other, and the way that we are… permitted… to care for others. This virus has changed the way that we do everything. And, worse than that, it requires that we pay attention to it, to spend some of our emotional energy on it, constantly, every day. We have to think about how often we go to the store, or how often we leave the house, or how many people we might come in contact with, or whether we have a clean mask to wear, and so on. All day. Every day.

And the emotional toll of that constant attention nibbles away at our compassion.

I feel it and I’m sure you do too.

We have a limited amount of emotional energy. We simply do not have the capacity to care about everything. And when our concerns, and our necessary attention to this virus is added to the constant parade of important concerns, we find ourselves unable to care about them all.

We just don’t have the time or the energy.

So sometimes I feel like I should be paying more attention to important issues that are facing our society, or our church, and I feel guilty when I don’t study them, and highlight them in my preaching or my writing.

But I just can’t.

I’m sure that you may have felt something similar. The Coronavirus is stealing from us. Its constant demands for attention are stealing our emotional energy and our capacity to care. But we can’t close ourselves off to the world. We can’t allow ourselves to shut down emotionally. We need to be conscious and aware of the emotional toll and take steps to protect ourselves.

Already, I’ve seen otherwise nice people post unkind, uncompassionate, and sometimes downright mean things on social media as they argue about politics, or race, or the coronavirus, or, well, you get the idea. But in our fatigue, it’s all too easy to fall into the trap of becoming so focused on one problem, or one crisis, that we are unable to see how that focus causes us to mistreat others who are battling their way through a host of other crises.

I admit that I’m tired.

Whether you want to call it crisis fatigue, or compassion fatigue, or COVID fatigue, or something else, we need to admit that the continuing bombardment of urgent physical, social, and political disruptions is wearing on us. And we need to take steps to protect ourselves.

If you have to, turn off the news occasionally. Or take an extra day off. Or turn off the internet for a day or two. But do what you need to do to restore your equilibrium. Recognize that you don’t have the emotional capacity to worry about everything at the same time. Leave yourself some emotional space to care about the people closest to you so that you can reach out to your friends, neighbors, or coworkers when they need you.

Take the time to rest both physically and emotionally.

Don’t feel guilty about taking a step back. As they say in the airline safety briefings, “You can’t care for someone else, unless you take care of yourself first.”

We need to care for ourselves so that we don’t lose our sense of compassion entirely.

We need to rest so that we will, as the Apostle Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 3:13, “…never tire of doing what is good.”

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Juggling Justice and Gentleness

January 12, 2020 PastorPartridge Sermon compassion, forgiveness, gentleness, hope, Jesus, justice, love, truth

Juggling Justice and Gentleness

January 12, 2020*

Baptism of Jesus

By Pastor John Partridge

Isaiah 42:1-9 Matthew 3:13-17 Acts 10:34-43

Have you ever been caught watching a juggler who is so good that you just can’t stop watching? Sure, there are the average “good” jugglers who can get you to watch for a few minutes. They’re fun to watch in a parade as the go by, or for a moment as you pause on the midway at the fair for a few minutes. But every once in a while, there’s that one juggler who is so good that every time you think you’re starting to lose interest, they change their act and suck you right back in again. Some years ago, there was a guy that would show up in television occasionally, and I’m pretty sure that he even made an appearance on the Johnny Carson Show, but he billed himself as the guy who could juggle anything. He would start his act by juggling, balls, and then juggling pins, then bowling pins, then pieces of silk, feathers (which is pretty tricky), but then he’d mix in knives, swords, things that were on fire, chainsaws and even bowling balls, and finally he’d finish by juggling all those weird things at the same time. Sure, it takes talent to juggle feathers, or bowling balls, or chainsaws, but in his closing act, he would juggle a feather, a chainsaw, a sword, and a bowling ball all at the same time. That was impressive to watch.

But, when we listen to his instructions and commands of God, sometimes it seems like that is the kind of thing that God is asking us to do.

We find this kind of juggling in the words of Isaiah found in Isaiah 42:1-9

^42:1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will bring justice to the nations.
²He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
⁴    he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

⁵This is what God the Lord says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
    who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
    who gives breath to its people,
    and life to those who walk on it:
⁶“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
    I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
    to be a covenant for the people
    and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷to open eyes that are blind,
    to free captives from prison
    and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

⁸“I am the Lord; that is my name!
    I will not yield my glory to another
    or my praise to idols.
⁹See, the former things have taken place,
    and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
    I announce them to you.”

God says that his Spirit would enter into the messiah so that he could bring justice to the nations but, that in doing so, he would not shout, cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. His coming, and his work, would be so gentle that he would not break a bruised reed or snuff out a smoldering wick. But despite his gentleness, he will not falter, or be discouraged, until he establishes justice on the earth and brings hope to his people.

To most of us, I think that description sounds both wonderful and just a bit confusing. We are familiar with justice from watching our law enforcement and legal systems, but much of the justice that we see, as hard as they try, often involves the use of brute strength and a lack of subtlety that clearly does not make us think of things like gentleness, tenderness, and hope. I’m not saying that members of law enforcement and the legal system are brutes and bullies, or that they aren’t trying to do the very best that they can do, but we all know that circumstances, and the way in which our laws are written, sometimes leave them with few other options. In the end, trying to bring justice and gentleness at the same time seems as difficult an exercise as juggling feathers and bowling balls.

But that was precisely what the messiah would be sent to do, and we begin to see how Jesus threads the needle a little bit as he begins his ministry in the story of his baptism contained in Matthew 3:13-17.

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

¹⁵Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

It’s important we notice that John knows that Jesus doesn’t need to be baptized. Jesus was the messiah, the one who was sent to bring righteousness and indeed, to be righteousness, so John knows that Jesus ought to be the one who baptizes him, not the other way around. But Jesus explains that although he doesn’t need to be baptized for forgiveness, or to be symbolically purified, he needs to be baptized because that was what the scriptures said would happen, and that was what tradition and proper religious practices required. Jesus is balancing, juggling if you will, both who he is, as well as who everyone expected him to be. And in that moment, God recognizes that he is pleased with what Jesus is doing.

And, as we read through the gospels, we often see that Jesus is regularly juggling who he is with the mission to which he was called. Jesus is constantly juggling the fulfillment of scripture, with the forwarding of his mission, with opposing those who are bent on destroying him, while at the same time offering gentleness and hope to those who have already been wounded by life, by God’s people, and even by the church. And in many ways, that same juggling act, that same struggle for balance, has been passed on to us. In Acts 10:34-43, Luke records Peter’s speech where we hear these words:

³⁴Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism ³⁵but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. ³⁶You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. ³⁷You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— ³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

³⁹“We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, ⁴⁰but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. ⁴¹He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Peter reminds the crowd that they all know what Jesus had done, they had all either seen him or heard the stories about him and many of those gathered had done both. But because they were the witnesses, because they had seen Jesus with their own eyes, because they had heard him preach, and because they had seen his miracles, they were also obligated to do something about it. Because they were witnesses, Jesus commanded his followers to preach about Jesus to those who hadn’t heard and who hadn’t seen.

Peter also reminds them that the prophets had promised that people would receive forgiveness of sins through the name of the messiah, Jesus. But telling others about Jesus’ forgiveness of sins is a part of the juggling act and where we struggle to find balance. Why? Because God appointed Jesus as the judge of the living and the dead, and because Jesus is the righteous judge, and because people receive forgiveness in the name of Jesus, and because the possibility of forgiveness is often the only thing that offers hope, all of these things must be found together. We cannot tell the story about forgiveness and hope if we are unforgiving. No one will listen to stories about a loving Jesus if we are unloving nor will anyone believe the promise of justice if we are not a people of gentleness.

No doubt you have all seen people of faith who, with the best of intentions, have attempted to tell the stories of Jesus and to be his witnesses while, at the same time, saying mean, angry, and hurtful things. It is almost impossible to hear a message from anyone who is hurting you or attacking you. Instead, we are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, to learn the art of balance. We must juggle justice and gentleness, truth and compassion, so that the world around us can hear Jesus’ message of forgiveness and hope.

Sometimes that’s going to feel a lot like juggling feathers and bowling balls at the same time, but as hard as it might be, that is the mission to which Jesus has called us. We are called to be witnesses and to be loving.

We must seek truth and compassion. Forgiveness and hope. Justice and gentleness.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

No Fear, No Dogma, No Excuses

August 25, 2019August 25, 2019 PastorPartridge Sermon compassion, excuses, fear, love, rules, truth

No Fear, No Dogma, No Excuses

August 25, 2019*

By Pastor John Partridge

Jeremiah 1:4-10 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 12:49-56

Have you ever asked someone to do something, and you just knew that they were making excuses to avoid saying “no” to your face? You know what I mean. How many times can someone need to wash their hair when you ask them out on a date? Or be out of town every single time you ask them to help with something? Look, if you don’t want to go on that next mission trip, just tell me that you don’t want to go, and I’ll quit bothering you about it. But, can you imagine how many excuses God has heard when he asks his people to do stuff? And, don’t you think that God knows that we’re just making excuses? Of course, he does.

And in Jeremiah 1:4-10 we hear exactly that kind of a discussion as God calls Jeremiah to be his prophet in Israel and in Judea and to speak God’s words to humanity.

⁴The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵“Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

⁶“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

⁷But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Some theologians have estimated that Jeremiah could have been as young as twelve when God called him to be his prophet. Of course, it would seem strange to hear the words of God from the mouth of a twelve-year-old, of course the King would be unwilling, or at least unlikely, to listen to a twelve-year-old tell him what to do. Jeremiah wasn’t stupid. He knew that he would have a hard time because of his age, especially as someone who had not trained as a public speaker and who didn’t have any experience speaking in front of anyone, let alone princes and kings.

But God basically just commands Jeremiah to stop making excuses. God tells him not to say that he is too young, or too inexperienced, or too unskilled, to even too afraid. Instead, just do what God has called you to do, just go to the places that God has called you to go to, and just stop making excuses. God knows what he is doing and if God has called you, then God still knows what he is doing and has a plan to do it that involves you… even if you’re too young, or too old, or too inexperienced, or too unskilled, or too untrained, or too afraid.

Even if you are afraid, even if you are all those things, just do it anyway and trust that God knows what he is doing.

Jeremiah was afraid that people wouldn’t listen to him or respect him, and he was right. He was often disrespected and, for the most part, no one listened to him. But that wasn’t just because he was young. The people who have carried God’s messages have often, if not always, had that problem. Prophets, teachers, preachers, and evangelists of all kinds have had similar experiences.

Even Jesus.

In Luke 13:10-17 we hear yet another story of when the leaders of the church criticized Jesus for doing the things that God had called him to do simply because they had made “the rules” more important that God.

¹⁰On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, ¹¹and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. ¹²When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” ¹³Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

¹⁴Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So, come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

¹⁵The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

¹⁷When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

Jesus is criticized for doing work on the Sabbath because he healed someone who had been crippled and suffering for eighteen years. Holy cow! Can you imagine the relief that she felt? Can you imagine the joy? And can you imagine what was going through her mind as her own church leaders criticized Jesus for doing the thing that brought her that joy? Can you imagine what she felt as she realized that if Jesus had only followed the rules, he probably would have left town before he could heal her? And even if not, she would have suffered for at least another day.

But Jesus has a different answer.

Jesus’ answer is that it was the teachers and the leaders who were wrong about God. Yes, God has rules. Yes, we are expected to obey them. But those rules should never become so important that they become unchangeable dogma that overwhelms the heart of God. Yes, we are called to keep a Sabbath and take a day of rest and spend time with God. Yes, we should avoid work if we’re going to try to get some rest. But (and this is vitally important) healing is not work. Freedom is not work. Mercy, decency, kindness, compassion, and love are not work. These are the things that reflect the heart of God, and all these things are far more important than some religious doctrine, dogma, or some arbitrary set of rules that were written by human beings. Just this week I heard stories about churches who criticized people because they were divorced, or remarried, or had tattoos, or showed too much skin, or had a big bosom, or because they accidently took a new medication incorrectly. As a church, before we ever get too involved in enforcing “the rules,” we would do well to look deeper to see exactly who wrote them and how they compare to the heart of God.

So, with the coming of Jesus, with his death and resurrection, how do we see the world, and the church differently? How do we respond to the call of God and how is it different than it was when God called Jeremiah? The Apostle Paul provides at least a partial answer to that question in Hebrews 12:18-29.

¹⁸You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; ¹⁹to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, ²⁰because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” ²¹The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”

²²But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? ²⁶At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” ²⁷The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our “God is a consuming fire.”

Through the stories that we heard about the ministry of Moses and Joshua, and in the centuries since Moses, and especially with the coming of Jesus, we have learned more about the heart of God. Paul reminds us that we no longer fear God in the way that you would fear a tyrant as people often did in the time of Moses. Instead, the city of God is known to be a place of peace and joy. It is the church and the home of Jesus Christ and all the people who have put their trust in him. When we come to God, we come to the place where the righteous will be made perfect and where Jesus is the mediator and for all of us through the new covenant in which Jesus has paid for our forgiveness and repaired our relationship with God.

And in that place of peace and forgiveness, we should take care not to say “No” to God. How can we turn away from a God who has already done so much for us? We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and so we should be filled with reverence and awe and be thankful for all that we have been given. We should stop focusing on the minutia, the details, the doctrine, the dogma, and the rules that God never wrote in the first place and instead focus on his heart. Like Jeremiah, we must stop making excuses and get on with the work of answering God’s call and telling the world about the healing, freedom, mercy, decency, compassion, and love of God. We are called to do the work of the kingdom of God. We are called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Each of us is called to do something for the kingdom of God. We may not all be called to be prophets, pastors, or evangelist, but all of us are called…

…to have the heart of God.

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Never Tire of Doing Good

May 29, 2019 PastorPartridge Blogs Christian, church, compassion, disaster, hunger, Jesus Christ, others

Today we woke up to news that several tornadoes touched down near Dayton.

Sunday, we talked about flooding in Oklahoma and I asked our congregation to consider donating toward the construction and operation of a new high school in Harrisburg, Liberia. Before that, there was flooding in Iowa and Nebraska and we were raising money for a Habitat for Humanity house here in Alliance, Ohio. Before that, it was something else, and there was something else before that, and so on.

There seems to be a never-ending stream of need.

There is always someone, or some organization, asking for our money or our time. And, after a while, we can be tempted to shut it all out, to numb ourselves to the needs of the people around us, and just live quietly in our own world while we pretend that the rest of the world will be okay without our help or participation. This is not uncommon. In fact, there’s even a scientific name for it.

It’s called “compassion fatigue.”

The constant demand for our attention, for our money, for our time, and for our effort can wear us down. We get tired of helping and we grow weary of even being asked.

But this isn’t new to the twenty first century.

In Paul’s second letter to the church in Thessalonica, he writes about people, inside the church, who won’t do their share of the work but still show up to get food and other help from the rest of the church. It was bad enough that they even instituted an official policy, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” But even so, some of the idle non-workers were spending their time gossiping about everyone else and it was disrupting the entire church. People were frustrated. They were tired. They felt as if they were being taken advantage of.

They had compassion fatigue.

But after Paul calls out the busybodies and urges them to earn the food that they were eating, he sends this message to the rest of the church who were already doing more than their fair share:

And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. (2 Thessalonians 3:13)

Never tire of doing good.

I know that someone always seems to be asking for something. I know that sometimes it feels like someone is trying to take advantage of us. I know that the pleas for disasters and calls to alleviate poverty and suffering from across the country and around the world seem to be almost constant and never-ending.

But it has always been that way and it will almost certainly continue as long as we draw breath.

Three out of the four gospel writers record Jesus words, “You will always have the poor among you…” (Matthew 26:11, Mark 14:7, John 12:8). And these words remind us that until the world is remade at the end of time, there will always be people in need.

But, as the followers of Jesus Christ we have been called to do something about it. We can’t do everything, but we can do something. John Wesley put it this way:

Do all the good you can.

By all the means you can.

In all the ways you can.

In all the places you can.

At all the times you can.

To all the people you can.

As long as ever you can.

We have been both blessed and called by God to be his agents in the world. We are the only Jesus that most people will ever see. We are his hands and his feet in a hurting, suffering, hungry world.

May we never tire of doing good.

Blessings,

Pastor John

The Return of the Rejects

March 31, 2019March 31, 2019 PastorPartridge Sermon compassion, Jesus, Lent, mercy, mission, outreach, reconciliation

The Return of the Rejects

March 31, 2019*

By Pastor John Partridge

Joshua 5:9-12 Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

How often in our lives have we heard phrases like, “You aren’t good enough,” “You aren’t rich enough,” “You aren’t smart enough,” “You aren’t pretty (or handsome) enough,” “You aren’t one of us,” “We don’t want you here,” “Why don’t you and your friends sit… over there.”

Almost all of us, at one time or another, were one of the outsiders. We didn’t “fit” in the popular group. We weren’t wanted. We didn’t measure up to whatever standards that group thought were important. This sort of thing is so common that the famous comedian Groucho Marx once reversed the whole situation by saying, “I don’t want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member.”

But even though we make jokes about it, being on the outside looking in is not a fun place to be. And when we stop talking about social clubs or high school cliques and start talking about whole groups of people that are excluded from entire societies, this isn’t at all funny and can, in fact, be deadly serious.

At the conclusion to the story of the Exodus of God’s people from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the new Promised land, we hear this story in Joshua 5:9-12.

⁹Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So, the place has been called Gilgal to this day [“Gilgal” sounds like the Hebrew for “roll.”].

¹⁰On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. ¹¹The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. ¹²The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.

After wandering in the wilderness for forty years, and after entering into the Promised land, and after harvesting crops that they didn’t even plant, God tells Joshua that he as “rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” God says that he has taken away their label as outsiders, and that the world can no longer say that God’s people are anything less than everything that God wants them to be. And, on the day after they begin to harvest food from the land of their new home, the manna, that they had seen every day for forty years, suddenly stops. It is as if God says, you no longer need this miracle, I have brought you home, you have become everything that you dreamed of becoming, you have received everything that you ever wanted, I have fulfilled my promise.

Even though God’s people had lived in Egypt for four hundred years, they were never considered to be Egyptians. They were never good enough, they were never on the inside, but were constantly persecuted, tormented, and enslaved as perpetual outsiders.

But no longer.

As they arrived in the Promised Land, God’s promise of redemption is fulfilled.

The outsiders are no longer on the outside but have been invited in by God himself.

But even though this is a foundational story of God’s people, the political and religious leaders of Israel still manage to divide their own people into insiders and outsiders. Those who were “good enough” and those who weren’t. But Jesus begins his ministry and immediately sets to work tearing down the barriers between these two groups and regularly invites the outsiders to join him on the inside. And these actions of Jesus cause the leaders of the insiders to complain about his behavior. And in response, Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32.

^15:1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ²But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³Then Jesus told them this parable:

¹¹“There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So, he divided his property between them.

¹³“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So, they began to celebrate.

²⁵“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So, his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Many sermons have been written about this passage. In fact, I just preached about it on Monday at the Lenten luncheon at the Vine Street United Methodist Church, but what I want you to see this morning is that Jesus made it his mission to seek out the rejects of the society and the people who had been rejected by the church, and invite them back in again. The father in the story wasn’t focused on the bad things that his son had done, or the many ways that he had personally insulted and hurt his father, his family, and his culture, the father’s single concern was the love that he had for his child and that he desperately wanted him back. Jesus’ point in telling this parable was to explain that this is how God feels about us. The message that Jesus wanted the world to hear is that we’ve never gone too far wrong. We’ve never been too bad. We’ve never been too far outside. As soon as we come to our senses and ask for his forgiveness, God’s single concern is his love for us and how much he wants us to rejoin his family.

But what does that have to do with us?

Honestly? Everything.

In Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth, contained in this passage of 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, we are reminded, once again, that the mission of Jesus Christ has been passed down and is now the mission of the church.

¹⁶So 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. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Paul immediately instructs us to view no one in the way that the world sees them, but to see the world, and all the people in it, the way that Jesus sees them. Everyone who comes to Jesus and asks for his forgiveness is a new creation and must be reconciled, redeemed, restored, and returned to the family. And that family, is the church, the gathered body of Christ. Moreover, Paul says, that Jesus has given us the message of reconciliation, we are Christ’s ambassadors, “as though God were making his appeal through us.” Our mission, our job, both as believers in Jesus Christ, and as his church, it to bring people back to God. Our calling, each and every one of us, is to go out into the world and find the rejects and the outsiders, the people that have been hurt, turned away, cast out, ignored, slighted, and rejected by our culture and by the church.

Our mission is to find them all and restore them to the family of the father that never stopped looking for them, and never stopped loving them.

So, this week as you go out in our community, and out in our world, try to see the world the way that Jesus sees the world. Try to see the people around you the way that Jesus sees them. Not at outcasts, freaks, weirdos, derelicts, or drunks, not as people who aren’t good enough, or smart enough, not as people who don’t work hard enough, not as rejects from a society that lacks compassion, or a church that often alienates the very people that Jesus invited in, but simply try to see them all as family members who are in need of redemption, restoration, reconciliation, and in need of a family who can love them back to wellness and wholeness.

We dream of a world without outsiders.

Let us be the agents of mercy and reconciliation that seek out the rejects of the world and bring them inside.

Did you enjoy reading this?

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

God Ran

March 26, 2019 PastorPartridge Sermon compassion, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, sacrifice

God Ran

Monday Lenten Luncheon

Vine Street UMC*

March 25, 2019

How much do you love your children?

Have you still loved them even when they have done things that hurt you?

So why do we have such a hard time believing that God might still love us after all of the things that we have done to hurt him?

If your church follows the lectionary, one of the passages of scripture that we encounter every year during the season of Lent is a parable of Jesus that we often describe as the story of the prodigal son, or more accurately, the story of the loving father. In that story, we find a picture of two entirely disagreeable sons who both resemble people with whom we are familiar in both the ancient and the modern church. But we also gain a better understanding of just how much God loves us.

We begin with the story that we find in Luke 15:1-3, 11-32.

^15:1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ²But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³Then Jesus told them this parable:

¹¹“There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So, he divided his property between them.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

Most of us who are here today have heard a dozen or more sermons about this parable. We know that the younger son’s demand for his inheritance was an enormous insult to his father and practically equivalent to saying, “I wish that you were dead because all that I care about is your money.” We know that the older brother behaved exactly as the Pharisees of the ancient world reacted to Jesus’ ministry to the tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, and other outsiders and exactly like the grumpy old men and women of today’s world who grumble at exactly the same kind of ministry. How dare we hold a Bible study in a bar, or our church have a float in a gay pride parade, or open our homes to pregnant teenagers? How dare we be like Jesus?

But you’ve probably heard all those things.

What I want to look at today is the father of those two sons. We all know that the father in this parable is the part that is played by God, right? So, I want to look at how the father reacted when his younger son wished him dead, took a third of all that he owned, left him for a foreign country, never wrote or sent a telegram or an email, and was totally estranged for what was probably several years.

What our scripture tells us is that, “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him.”

I would suggest that the father didn’t see his son by accident, but that this was a deliberate act. Despite the insults, despite the abandonment, despite the hurt, despite the years that he had been gone, the father was in the habit of keeping watch on the road. The father watched, and hoped, that one day his beloved son would come home and return to his father and to his family.

But if that doesn’t give you the “feels,” the next part should.

Our scripture says that the father “was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

That’s nice.

But our twenty first century, Western, North American and European culture and attitudes have dimmed and dulled the impact of that sentence. So that father ran.

So what?

You see, in Eastern culture, both in the ancient world and in many places still today, men simply do. Not. Run. Ever.

Children run. Young men might, occasionally run. But mature, grown, men do not run. And the more responsible and respectable that you become, the less you might ever even consider the possibility of running.

I recall reading a story by Tom Clancy or another writer of books in that genre, in which a South Korean general was inspecting an installation on the Demilitarized Zone. All day long he moved at nothing faster than a dignified walk. And suddenly one of the soldiers saw him running, and it seemed strange to him because he’d never seen a South Korean officer, especially not a general, run unless something was on fire.

That is the kind of world in which the father lived. In addition, the men of Jesus’ era wore robes and in order to run, or to do battle, those robes had to be gathered up. We have heard scripture use phrases like “gird your loins” or “gather your robes” because in order to be physically active, the hem of your robe had to be gathered and pulled up to your waist so that your legs were unimpaired and freed so that you could move. But outside of combat and firefighting, respectable men simply didn’t do that.

Running was undignified and possibly even humiliating.

For a grown man to run was to act like a child.

But that is exactly what Jesus said that the father did.

The father ran.

God ran.

He didn’t care about propriety. He didn’t care about maturity. He didn’t care about looking foolish or being embarrassed. He didn’t care that others might make fun of him. He didn’t care about respectability.

He only cared about his child.

Despite the hurt, the insults, the pain, and the abandonment he only cared about the love that he had for his son, and the joy that he felt to have him back in his family.

We all know that we’ve made mistakes.

We all know that we have sinned against God. We know that we have hurt him, insulted him, and even abandoned him. We know that we are surrounded by people who have done what we have done, and some of them have done worse things than we have done. They are… we are, sinners.

But God doesn’t care.

God wants us back and is willing to forgive us for the things that we have done whenever we are ready to ask for forgiveness and return home.

Never forget that we worship the God… who ran.

Did you enjoy reading this?

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*You have been reading a message presented at Vine StreetUnited Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Eulogy and Obituary for Wayne A. “Moose” Rinehart

January 17, 2019January 17, 2019 PastorPartridge Eulogy compassion, Eulogy, family, kindness, love, Obituary, veteran

Eulogy for

Wayne A. Rinehart

January 16, 2019

By Rev. John Partridge

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

^3:1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²    a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³    a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴    a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵    a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶    a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷    a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸    a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹What do workers gain from their toil? ¹⁰I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. ¹¹He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹²I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. ¹⁴I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.

¹⁵Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.

Matthew 5:1-12

^5:1Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them.

He said:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

I spent some time talking to Wayne’s friend, Maggie Bugara, yesterday to get a sense of who Wayne Rinehart was. It didn’t take too long to understand that he was a nice guy and the sort of a man that people respected and liked to be around. Wayne didn’t ever really have a use for the church so, as a pastor, many of the things that I usually say at funerals feels sort of awkward or out of place. But as a veteran, I think I have a feeling for who Wayne was at a different level.

Wayne Rinehart, “Moose” to many of his friends, was a kind man. He was a long-time member, and twice elected commander, of VFW Post 1036 here in Alliance. He selflessly spent his time, his talent, and his treasure to work for, and to help fellow veterans. In return, those veterans became friends and loved him back. And in the last few years, after he had moved to the Danbury, he continued to make friends of both his fellow residents as well as the staff there. Wayne was a kind, compassionate, and loving man.

But Wayne Rinehart was also a man who loved his family. He never stopped loving his wife Marjorie, whom he married in 1959, and to whom he remained married for 49 years. Even after he lost Marjorie in 2008, Wayne never stopped missing her. Wayne also loved his brothers and sisters and their children, his daughter Sherri, and his granddaughter Ashlyn.

For years, one of his favorite things in the world was to go to fairs and horse shows, and watch Ashlyn show horses. He was so very proud of her, and almost never stopped talking about his great love, and his pride in her. Even after he and Sherri were estranged from one another, he never stopped caring, or loving, any of his family. He missed them and wanted them to be a part of his life. Even as he neared death, he would call out to them. In fact, Wayne often wondered what he had done wrong and thought about how things could ever be made right between them again. Many tears were shed with his friends as he thought about such things and their separation weighed heavily upon him. In the end, his friends think that Wayne just gave up fighting, and it is entirely possible that Wayne simply died of a broken heart.

But through it all, it is clear that Wayne “Moose” Rinehart touched many lives, and many of you who are gathered here can testify to what he has meant to you in your life.

There’s an often repeated saying that is worth repeating again here:

Cry not because he’s gone.
Smile because he was here.

And now, I’m turning the eulogy over to you, because each of you knew Wayne better than I did. What is it that you remember? How did Moose touch your life? How did he make you smile? How did he make you laugh? These are the things that you should remember, hold onto, and treasure.

Obituary for

Wayne A. “Moose” Rinehart

Wayne Allen “Moose” Rinehart, age 86, of Alliance, passed away at 4:35 p.m., Thursday, January 10, 2019, at Danbury Senior Living of Alliance.

He was born August 23, 1932, in Garards Fort, Pennsylvania, to Calvin “Ed” and Gail (Blake) Rinehart.

Wayne served in the United States Army from 1953 to 1955.

He was employed with Highway Asphalt: Division of Kenmore Construction until his retirement.

Wayne joined the International Union of Operating Engineers in 1955, the Masonic Lodge in 1964 and was a lifetime member of the VFW Post 1036, which he served as commander two times.

He enjoyed gambling and loved watching his granddaughter show her horses.
Survivors include his daughter, Sherri (Jim) Pinkerton; granddaughter, Ashlyn Pinkerton; and sister, Carol White, all of Alliance; and close friend and caregiver, Maggie Bugara, of Sebring.

In addition to his parents, Wayne was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie (McCreery) Rinehart, whom he married July 4, 1959 and who died January 7, 2008; three brothers and a sister.

Services will be held 11 a.m., Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home with Pastor John Partridge officiating. Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m., Tuesday, January 15, at the funeral home. Interment will be at Highland Memorial Park.
Arrangements are by Cassaday-Turkle-Christian Funeral Home 75 S. Union Ave., Alliance, OH 44601.

A Place to Belong

July 22, 2018July 26, 2018 PastorPartridge Sermon belonging, compassion, David, followers of Jesus, God, Jesus Christ, ministry, passion

“A Place to Belong”

July 22, 2018*

by Pastor John Partridge

2 Samuel 7:1-14a Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Ephesians 2:11-22

What does it mean to belong?

Last week we talked a lot about belonging, and that resurfaces again today, but what does that mean? How do we know when we belong somewhere? What is it about a place that tells us that we have found a place to belong? What is it about our families, or places of business, or our communities, or our churches, that help us to know, or to feel, that we belong? And even more than that, who is it that can belong there? Can anyone belong? Or can only certain kinds of people belong there?

These are tough questions, so let’s take them in smaller bites and walk through it just a step at a time. We begin this morning once again in the story of David. This time as David realizes that his house is a lot nicer than the tent in which God “lives” after his arrival in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 7:1-14a)

^7:1 After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, ²he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

³Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying:

⁵“Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? ⁶I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. ⁷Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’

⁸“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. ⁹I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. ¹⁰And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning ¹¹and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: ¹²When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴I will be his father, and he will be my son.

There are several points that are worth noting from this passage this morning. First, as much as David has loved God and been passionate about following and worshipping him, and as joyful as it made him to welcome God into Jerusalem, it only now occurs to David that God’s house isn’t nearly as nice as his own. And so, David begins planning a new home for God so that God can belong. To David’s way of thinking, having a home is a part of belonging, but God sets David straight. For God, having a nice house among his people has never been a priority nor has it ever been a part of belonging. God says, I have never once lived in a nice house, but I have always been a part of my people. They have always belonged to me, and I have always belonged to them.

We also notice that God sometimes says no, even to the people that he loves the most. Remember, this is David, one of the Bible’s greatest heroes and the one who was described as “a man after God’s own heart.” But God tells David, “No.” David wants to build a temple for God and God says, “No, not yet. No, not you.” But if we continue to read, we discover that God says “No” because God wants something that is even better than what David wants. God intends to give David something better than what David had planned, and God also intends to give a great blessing to David’s son, and to David’s descendants.

From this we can understand two things about belonging. First, belonging isn’t about a specific place, or about money, or about power. Instead, belonging is about our relationships with one another. Second, if we follow the example of God, we know we belong when we discover a place where the people want what is best for us, and we become a place of belonging when we desire what is best for others.

But what does that look like? What does it look like to be a people who want what is best for others?

And to answer that question, we can have no better example than to look at the life of Jesus. In Mark 6:30-34, 53-56, we read these words:

³⁰The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

³²So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. ³³But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. ⁵⁴As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

John Wesley once said:

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

And that’s exactly what we see here. Jesus was doing ministry. He was doing all the good he could, for all the people he could, as often as he could. They were so busy, they didn’t even have a chance to eat. And even though Jesus was trying to take care of himself, and his disciples were trying to care for him, by taking him to a quiet place to take a break and get some rest, people guessed where he was going and got there ahead of him. And so, even when he really needed a break to get some rest, and to pray, and to be refreshed, he still had compassion and taught them anyway. Everywhere Jesus went, people recognized him, and they brought the sick to him. And even the people who could only reach out and touch the fringe on his robe, were healed.

These are remarkable stories. But once again, the Apostle Paul teaches us what these stories mean to the church, to us, in the twenty-first century. In his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul says (Ephesians 2:11-22):

¹¹Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹²remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²²And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Paul reminds us that all the healing, and all the crowds, and all the ministry of Jesus was a part of God’s invasion of the earth and our culture. The arrival of Jesus was a demonstration of how God intended for the church to radically upend the culture of the world. Jesus came to tear down the walls the separated people so that there would no longer be insiders and outsiders, citizens and foreigners, members and strangers. Each one of us was once a stranger, or a foreigner, or an outsider, and every one of us was invited in by Jesus so that we could belong. We were invited in to belong to Jesus’ family, belong to Jesus’ church, and belong to Jesus’ mission. Jesus tore down the barriers that divided people between Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, black and white, the ‘in’ crowd and the outsiders, the ‘A-list’ and the ‘B-list,’ and any other division between us.

Jesus invited all of us to a place where we could belong.

And Jesus intended for the church to be that place.

Paul said that in Jesus Christ we are being built together so that we can become a place where God lives.

This is a big deal.

You see, last week’s message reminded us that we were adopted into God’s kingdom and had been given a place to belong. But this week’s scriptures remind us that not only were we invited to belong, our mission, as the church of Jesus Christ, is to create a place where others can belong.

But how do we do that? How do we make our church, our homes, our community, our very lives, a place of belonging? Let’s review what we already heard today.

First, the story of King David reminds us that we need to start by inviting God to be at the center of our lives and at the center of all that we do.

Second, we need to remember that belonging isn’t about a specific place, or money, or power but it is about relationships with one another. We become a place of belonging when we build relationships with the people outside the church.

Third, a place of belonging is a place where the people want what is best for us and where we desire what is best for others. We become a place of belonging when we reach out and help others, lift them up, and help them to become a better version of themselves.

Jesus and John Wesley both taught that while we need to care for ourselves, we need to do all we can, for all the people we can, in all the ways that we can, as often, and as long, as we can.

But Jesus’ life also teaches us that we can’t make distinctions that divide people. Paul said Jesus came to tear down the walls that divide us and invite the outcasts, and the outsiders, the strangers, and the foreigners, to come in, be a part, and belong.

Our job, our mission, is to become the kind of people, and the kind of church, invites and attracts the community in which we live and the people around us to come in, to belong, and to be adopted, like we were, into God’s family.

My prayer, and I hope yours is too, is that we would all be passionate about becoming the place of belonging that Jesus has called us to be.

_________

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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Resurrection: Then What?

April 8, 2018 PastorPartridge Sermon church, compassion, Easter, faith, life, story

“Resurrection: Then What?”

April 08, 2018

By John Partridge*

John 20:19-31 Acts 4:32-35 1 John 1:1 – 2:2

Today is the second Sunday of Easter or, a part of the church’s Eastertide celebration. Today, and during the next few weeks, we will be remembering what happened after the resurrection and the events leading up to Pentecost. This is important stuff. This is the story of the disciples and the early church as they discovered what it meant to serve a Jesus that had risen from the dead. It was one thing to be a follower of a rabbi, or teacher, that preached throughout the countryside and challenged their church leaders to be ethical, moral, and actually do what scripture taught. But following Jesus the rabbi and teacher, and following the Jesus that had defeated sin and death were two very different things.

In these next few days and weeks, everyone’s understanding of what it meant to follow Jesus was changing. Everything that they thought they knew, and much of what they believed, was challenged. Everything that they thought they understood about the mission of the church, and their role in that mission, was being deconstructed and rebuilt into something new. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, everyone was starting over and their lives would never be the same again. We begin our story today in John 20:19-31, when the disciples meet the risen Jesus for the first time:

¹⁹On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²²And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

²⁴Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The disciples were together, probably talking about the wild stories that the women had told them about seeing angels and a risen Jesus. Since the crucifixion, they had been trying to figure out what to do next. They had left their jobs, careers, and families behind to follow Jesus and now he was gone. They were filled with grief and confusion. Their lives were in turmoil… and now this! What did it really mean that the tomb was empty? Was it possible that Jesus had risen from the dead? Had the Romans, or the Pharisees, or someone else, stolen Jesus’ body? Did they suspect each other? Were the disciples asking one another if they had done it for some reason? We don’t really know. But what we do know is that they were together, and that they were afraid of being discovered together, or at least afraid of being discovered by the Pharisees or the Sadducees and arrested, or worse. They were so afraid of being discovered, or overheard by neighbors, that they had closed all the windows and locked all the doors.

And suddenly, Jesus appeared among them.

And in the midst of their confusion, and pain, and grief, and fear, Jesus appears and says, “Peace be with you.” Jesus’ first gift to them is to comfort them, calm them, and assure them that he was not gone and that all would be well. But Jesus also says that just as God had sent him to earth, Jesus is sending his disciples out as well. And not only is he sending them, he breathes on them and offers them the gift of the Holy Spirit (these acts are connected because in both Greek and Hebrew, the words for “breath,” “wind,” and “spirit” are the same word). And to make absolutely sure that no one was left out, Jesus returns to make sure that Thomas is included and all of the disciples (other than Judas) are working together. In the span of a single week, Jesus moves the disciples from a place of fear, confusion, grief, and turmoil to a place of unity, belief, understanding, and growing confidence. And going forward, that is what the church begins to look like as well. In Acts 4:32-35, Luke says this:

³²All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

The followers of Jesus Christ were so unified in their belief, so focused on their mission, and so trusting of one another, that they shared everything that they had. That doesn’t necessarily imply that they were living in a commune or were supporting communism, because many of them still owned land and houses, and presumably in some cases, businesses. Luke doesn’t say that these people sold everything that they owned, but that those who had something made sure that they shared what they had with those who had nothing. It’s probably worth mentioning at this point that the followers of Jesus didn’t share what they had or give money to the poor because they got a tax deduction for doing so. A believer in Jesus Christ shares what they have with others, and gives to the church, simply because the Spirit leads us in that direction and because God has asked us to do so. Any tax benefit that results from our generosity and obedience is clearly not something that the disciples ever considered.

And as we heard last week, and many times before that, the mission of the church was clear from the beginning. In 1 John 1:1 – 2:2, it sounds like this:

^1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ²The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴We write this to make our joy complete.

⁵This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

^2:1My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ²He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

John again repeats, several times, the core mission of the church. We have heard, we have seen, we have touched, and we must tell the world what we have learned so that others may have what we have. We must share the good news of Jesus so that others can come out of darkness and live in the light.

But.

Isn’t there always a “but?”

John says “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

And as he explains further, what he is saying is that if we follow Jesus, we will walk in the light and Jesus will purify us, and he will be at work perfecting us.

But.

While these things are all true, if we follow Jesus then we must do our best to act like it. We cannot claim that we are perfect or without sin, because we are not, but we try as hard as we can not to sin and trust Jesus for forgiveness when we do.

And so we see that from the very beginning, the followers of Jesus Christ had several core beliefs that directed their entire lives. First, trust that Jesus loves you and is in control of your life. Second, believe that Jesus has defeated sin and death and has paid the price for your sin through his suffering, death and resurrection. Third, we must focus on the mission together. We must care for the poor, feed the hungry, lift up the brokenhearted, cloth the naked, be a voice for the voiceless, and in all things have compassion for others and be Jesus to the people around us. Fourth, because we have heard the good news, because we have seen the power of Jesus to change lives, and because we know the truth, we must tell the world what we have learned so that others may have what we have. We must share the good news of Jesus so that others can come out of darkness and live in the light. And finally, we must live and we must love… together. We must resist sin and live lives that honor God, and we must act as if the teachings of Jesus are important.

It’s a short list.

And it’s not easy.

But these five things must shape everything we do.

_________

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^* You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted on the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry Heights in Massillon, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry may be sent to Trinity United Methodist Church, 3757 Lincoln Way E., Massillon, Ohio 44646. These messages are available to anyone regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at subscribe@trinityperryheights.org. To subscribe to the electronic version sign up at http://eepurl.com/vAlYn. These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

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