God

Looking Back, Moving Forward

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , ,

“Looking Back, Moving Forward”

October 16, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Jeremiah 31:27-34            Luke 18:1-8                2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5

There is a moment in time that comes before and after every natural disaster, war for independence, revolution, civil war, victory, defeat,                     battle, business plan, annual report, board meeting, and most Monday mornings.  That moment is the moment when we recognize that we are not trapped in the past and must now do what is necessary to move into the future.  It seems obvious, but many of us have met people, churches, government officials, and others who were so paralyzed by the fear of change that they were unable to move forward or participate in the present.  At the same time, moving forward does not require that we forget our past, regardless of how marvelous or how painful that our past might have been.

Each one of us as individuals, as well as all of us as a people and as a culture, has a history, and that history is what has formed us and shaped us into the people that we have become.  In order for us to be healthy, we need to be able to look behind us to see, understand, and learn from our past, to look ahead to the future, to make plans and steer around potential obstacles in our path, but we also need to act.  Planning for the future is of no use if we remain so stuck in the past or in the present that we cannot move our feet and begin taking steps to reach our objectives, goals, and dreams.

With all of this in mind, we begin this morning by reading Jeremiah 31:27-34, where, in the midst of the horror and depression brought about by the realization that Jerusalem was about to be conquered and her people taken away into captivity, God comes to his people once again, with a message of hope.

27 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals.28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord. 29 “In those days people will no longer say,

‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to them,”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

As the people begin to understand that Jeremiah is right and their king is wrong, that God really intends to bring about the fall of Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem, they understandably become afraid.  And as they do, God points to better days.  A day is coming, God says, when I will make a new covenant with my people.  As good as I have been to the people of Israel under the covenant that I made with Moses, I intend to make an even better one.  Instead of writing the law on tablets, I will write it in their hearts.  God’s clear intention was to plant his people on Earth in the same way that human beings plant gardens, orchards, and farms.  God intended for Israel, Judah, and all of his people to grow in faith and in numbers so that their presence would fundamentally transform the entire world.

But how can God’s people, how can we, transform the world?

Scripturally, there are several ways that are discussed.  First of all, we are called to be agents of light in a dark world by sharing the Good News of the coming of Jesus Christ.  We are to be hope to the hopeless, to love the unlovable, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, show compassion, and to be agents of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation.

But scripture also tells us that we can’t do any of these things alone.

We can, however, do all of these things through the power of the Spirit of God that has lives within us.

In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus explains how we are to break through the injustice of human systems of selfishness, law, and government.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

While we alone are quite powerless, together, with God, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish.  Where we most often fail, however, is in trying to do everything through our own strength, wit, and intelligence instead of regularly asking God for his help.

But assuming that we remember to do things in the right order, and we remember to ask God for his help, encouragement, empowerment, and guidance, then what?

Once we have assessed our past, made plans for the future, and have enlisted God’s guidance and help, then we can begin to move forward.  In 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:5, Paul gives his protégé these instructions:

3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Paul says that reading and studying the scriptures makes us wise and, because God is the author, it is also the tool that we need to teach, rebuke, correct, and train others, and one another, as we follow the path toward righteousness.  God’s word to us in the scriptures is what equips us to do the work of the Kingdom of God.

And so, what does Paul say that we need to do in order to move forward?

Do the things that we have learned.

Preach the word.

Be prepared.

Carefully, and with great patience, correct, rebuke and encourage.

Keep your head.

Endure hardship.

And do all the things required by your ministry.

We are all a part of the body of Christ.

Each one of us has a part to play in building God’s kingdom and growing his church.  And as we attempt to understand what God is calling us to do, we can still be moving forward.

We must recognize that we are not trapped in the past and must now do what is necessary to move into the future.  We cannot be so paralyzed by the fear of change that they were unable to move forward or participate in the present.  But that doesn’t mean that we should forget our past.  We all have a culture and a history that has made us who we are. But while we must learn from our past, we look ahead, make plans, and steer around obstacles, but we also need to act.

A writer begins a book by writing.

A runner trains for a race by running.

And likewise, we must do the things that we have learned.

Look forward.

Pray.

And just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Its okay to look back, but we keep moving forward.

 

 

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Keys to Hope or Despair?

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“Keys: Hope or Despair?”

September 25, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:6-19                           Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

 

We’ve all read about the roaring twenties, the stock market crash, and the Great Depression that followed.  But what we often forget is that, while a great many Americans suffered, there were several people who made enormous sums of money because of the stock market crash.  I have heard stories that while the Rockefellers were rich before the crash, they became very rich afterward because they had already begun to withdraw money from the stock markets before the crash, and then used that money to buy up real estate at 20 cents on the dollar during the depression.

Likewise, Joe Kennedy, Sr., patriarch of the Kennedy family that we often read about, made a lot of money speculating on stocks in the 1920’s, along with a healthy portion of insider trading and market manipulation. Joe Kennedy knew when to get out of the stock market, and got out before the crash.  He then took his money and invested it in real estate, liquor, and movie studios, all of which made huge profits and built his family fortune to lofty heights and landed it among the highest echelons of the American rich.

But when I mention these things, I’m sure that some of you are wondering, “So, what can the Great Depression have to do with the Bible?”  But as odd as it may seem, there is a scene in scripture that is eerily similar to the days before the stock markets crashed.  In Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15, the prophet Jeremiah has warned the king of the impending invasion by the Babylonian army and the imminent defeat of Israel.  But no one wants to hear bad news.  Instead of doing something about it, let alone listening to God’s instructions, the king imprisons Jeremiah in the palace courtyard.  But even from there, Jeremiah hears from God and, by his obedience and attitude, gives hope for the future.

32:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.

3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’

8 “Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; 9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah is imprisoned in the guardhouse of the palace, but there he hears from God and is told that his cousin will soon arrive with an offer to sell him his uncle’s farm.  Of course, Jeremiah has been telling everyone, and it is becoming increasingly feared, that the Babylonian army is about to capture the city.  So if that is true, then what follows is likely to be profoundly unpleasant.  Everyone knows how brutal the Babylonians are and they know that slavery or death is probably in their future.  So why would anyone, particularly someone like Jeremiah who believes, and has been preaching, that this is going to happen, why would someone like that go to the trouble of buying property that they will likely never be able to use?  And the simple answer is… hope.  God has not only announced that Israel would be defeated, but that, sometime, in the future, likely in the lifetime of Jeremiah or his children, the land of Israel will once again be bought and sold.  Buying one that field is both an act of faith in God and a demonstration of hope for the future.  By witnessing, or even hearing about, Jeremiah’s purchase, the people of God know that even though horrible things are about to happen, Israel will once again exist as a nation, the economy will be rebuilt, and normal life will return.

It seems like a small thing, the purchase of one small field.  But the attitude behind it, an attitude of obedience and hope, is enough to stand above the panic and bring hope to an entire city.  Jeremiah demonstrates that our attitude makes a huge difference in our lives, but also that it makes a difference whether or not we pursue the things of God, or, like the king of Israel, pursue instead our own gratification and self-importance. And then in 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Paul takes that same message and makes it personal.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Paul says that it is often our own desires that harm us and bring us to ruin.  God told the king of Israel that he was going to lose, but if he surrendered, that most everyone would be unharmed.  His ego caused him to ignore God and imprison his messenger.  Paul says that each of us do the same thing when we love money more than God.  It is our love of money, and our pursuit of it, that causes us grief and suffering.  Instead of dedicating our lives to pursuing wealth, or fame, or power, or the accumulation of belongings, or comfort, or any number of other things we are called to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.  Paul condemns the rich not because they are rich, but because they are arrogant and put their hope in money instead of God.  Instead, the standard by which we are measured, rich and poor alike, is whether or not we do good with the things that we have been given, to be rich in doing good deeds for others, and for being generous with what we have.

For Jeremiah and for Paul, the key to contentment and true wealth can be found simply by having the right attitude.  Chasing after money, or power, or fame and putting those things, or anything, ahead of our pursuit of God, takes us down a path of grief, pain, suffering, and despair.  But pursuing the things of God, righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness take us down an entirely different path toward faith, contentment, and hope.

Life is all about choices, but each choice opens another door down a path.

Which path will you choose?

Will you put God first?

Or something else?

 

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Rescued… from What?

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , ,

“Rescued from What?”

September 11, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10                     1 Timothy 1:12-17                             Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28

 

On October 14th, 1987 the attention of the entire nation, and much of the civilized world, became focused on one small backyard in Midland, Texas.  An 18 month old girl, Jessica McClure Morales, was playing in the backyard when she fell into a well casing and became trapped in a pipe only 8 inches in diameter, but 22 feet below the ground’s surface.  News organizations from around the world made “Baby Jessica” a household word as rescuers worked non-stop for the next 58 hours to return baby Jessica to her parents.

And most of us are old enough to remember the confusion surrounding the events of September 11th fifteen years ago today.  As the day progressed, we weren’t sure at all who might need to be rescued, or what it might be that we all might need rescuing from.  Both then and now, it evokes powerful emotions when we encounter those moments when the rescuers are in need of rescuing.  But in times of terror, natural disasters, and even as we live a life of faith, we know that sometimes happens.

As we attend church, and as believers in Jesus Christ we often talk about rescue and salvation but we aren’t always clear about the things from which people should be rescued nor about what rescue really means.

During the rescue of Baby Jessica, no one doubted what it was that she was being rescued from.  A baby 22 feet below ground that is stuck in a pipe is in big trouble and, without immediate help, will soon die from starvation, exposure, dehydration, or any number of other things.  But the people with whom we work every day, or the children that go to school with our children, or the curious folks who occasionally wander in to churches, do not seem to be in any immediate danger.  For many of them, and perhaps for some of you, our continued emphasis on “being saved” or “being rescued” seems more than a little curious and requires some explanation.

Hopefully, today’s message will provide some help.

We begin in Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 where we hear God pronounce judgement against the people of Jerusalem for abandoning him and doing evil.

11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments against them.”


22 “My people are fools;
they do not know me.
They are senseless children;
they have no understanding.
They are skilled in doing evil;
they know not how to do good.”

23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;
all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
all its towns lay in ruins
before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

27 This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,
though I will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn
and the heavens above grow dark,
because I have spoken and will not relent,
I have decided and will not turn back.”

God says that the future of Jerusalem is a future filled with drought, destruction, desolation, doom, and death.

This is not a glowing, fun-filled chapter of the Bible and, while it is specific to a particular people from a particular chapter in the distant past, it paints us a stark picture of what can be expected when we abandon God.  Granted, there are a great many people who live out their entire lives without coming to faith in Jesus Christ and, from all outward appearances, seem to do just fine, even thrive, in doing so.  But scripture reminds us that there is more to our existence than the life that we are currently experiencing.  And while we aren’t exactly crystal clear about what it will be like, life, according to scripture, continues on past our earthly death.  And so although the darkness, doom, and despair that Jeremiah describes may have been initially intended for the people of Jerusalem, we would be well served to take note of what eventually lies in store for people who abandon God.

And so the next question we ask is this: What does “rescue” look like?

And for that let’s continue by reading from Paul’s first letter to his friend Timothy (1 Timothy 1:12-17).

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul says that even though he blasphemed God, persecuted Christians, and was a violent man, God showed him mercy because he had done all those things out of ignorance and unbelief.  And so, being a man who had literally become an enemy of God, and yet found mercy, forgiveness, and grace, Paul summarizes our rescue (and his) this way: Jesus came into the world with the sole purpose of saving and rescuing the very people who had turned their backs on God even those people who had declared war on God and upon God’s people.  Because of Jesus Christ, God showed mercy to Paul so that the world could see a display of God’s patience and know that everyone who chooses to believe in Jesus can still be saved from destruction, desolation, doom, and death and receive the gift of life eternal in God’s house.

And then in Luke 15:1-10, we have another example, but this time from the life of Jesus himself.

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

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Jesus is rebuked by the authorities and leaders of the church because he dared to show hospitality to the outcasts of their society.  Tax collectors, prostitutes, the poor, and others, despite the fact that virtually all of them came from Jewish families and would have, in modern language, “identified” as Jewish, the church leaders labelled all of them as sinners.  For the Pharisees, it was acceptable to meet with “those” people when you went about your daily business in the marketplace because society, government, or culture demanded it, but at home… that was different.  Sharing a meal with people, actually showing them hospitality and compassion, that was something that good people only did with other good people.  Jesus was disrupting the status quo and defying the desires of the church leaders, by showing love to people that the church had decided were no longer lovable.

And so, in answer to the complaints of the Pharisees, Jesus tells everyone three parables, two of which we heard today and the third is the parable of the prodigal son.  In telling these parables, Jesus paints a picture of what it really means to be rescued and makes it excruciatingly clear that every one of the people in the room, sinners or not, have great value, and that God will stop at nothing to get them back.  For Jesus, being lost can be thought of as a sheep that has wandered away from the flock, or a coin that fell out of a wallet, or a child that disowned their family.  In that sense, “rescue” or “salvation” means being brought back in to the flock, returning to where you belong and to where you are valued, and being brought back into the family where you were, are, and always will be valued and loved regardless of what you have done in the past.

Baby Jessica had to be rescued from certain death so that she could be returned to her family where she was loved and valued.

As followers of Jesus Christ, when we talk about people who are in need of rescue or who “need to be saved” what we really mean is that these people, regardless of how healthy, happy and prosperous they might look, are separated from God and ultimately face a future of destruction, desolation, doom, and death.

But the followers of Jesus Christ cannot condemn people who are in need of rescue because Jesus’ single mission on earth was to save and rescue the people who had turned their backs on God even those people who had declared war on God and upon God’s people.

Real rescue means that the followers of Jesus must treat these “lost” people the way that Jesus did, with forgiveness, mercy, and respect.  Real rescue means inviting the lost to rejoin God’s family. Real rescue means that the people who are rescued have the opportunity to experience God’s transformational compassion and love.

If we are to be the agents of real rescue, then we must be prepared to treat everyone as people who are truly loved and valued.

God will stop at nothing to get them back.

And we shouldn’t either.

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

The Cost of (Dis)Obedience

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“The Cost of (Dis)Obedience”

September 04, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 14:25-33                   Philemon 1-21                            Jeremiah 18:1-11

 

Did you happen to hear anything about Colin Kaepernick this week?

You would almost have to be a hermit not to.

This week, the internet blew up when Colin Kaepernick, the quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, refused to stand during the National Anthem.  As usual, everyone immediately chose sides.  One side said that he was a traitor to his nation and the other called him a hero for calling attention to the important problem of racial injustice.  But, as I have often said, the truth is really somewhere in the middle.  The truth is that our Constitution guarantees everyone, including Colin Kaepernick, the right to free speech, even when that speech isn’t very popular.  The truth is that the veterans that many people claimed to be disrespected by his refusal to stand, served, fought, shed blood, and died to protect his right to do what he did.  On the other hand, the truth is that our nation really does have a problem with racial injustice and, as long and as hard as we’ve been working at it, some of those problems haven’t really gotten much better in several decades.

But as we consider these things, we must also recognize that sometimes there is a time and a place for exercising our rights.  We have a right to free speech, but it is likely unwise for someone to make a speech about Black Lives Matter at a Ku Klux Klan rally.  We might have the right to keep and bear arms, but there are certain neighborhoods where walking down the street carrying a rifle is probably unwise.  Wisdom tells us that sometimes just because we have the right to do something, and just because we can do something, doesn’t necessarily mean that we should do that particular thing.

Recent reports say that the San Francisco 49ers football organization, because of this particular incident, as well as a laundry list of other problems, will most likely terminate their contract with Colin Kaepernick.  Likewise, the companies that pay Mr. Kaepernick to endorse their products are considering their options.  It seems likely, that such a talented young man, armed with a multimillion dollar salary, and given such a significant presence on the public stage, could likely have found a better way to accomplish his goals.  As an example, one commentator pointed to LeBron James who grew up in challenging environment and who knows a thing or two about racial injustice.  But instead of making one grand gesture that would alienate his fans, and people all over the country, instead chose to use his wealth to offer full scholarships to college to 2,300 kids who are growing up in neighborhoods similar to his and who, most likely, suffer from the kinds of racial injustice that  Colin Kaepernick was protesting.  Assuming that each of these scholarships covers a four year degree program, this amounts to over $87 million dollars of Mr. James’ personal wealth.

Which of these actions, do you suppose, will the have the most positive impact?

But what does this have to do with scripture?

Simply put, actions have consequences.

Ask anyone who has found themselves on the wrong side of the law, or even a high school kid with a detention slip in their hand, and they will probably agree that there is a cost to disobedience.

But we also look no further than to the flag draped coffins that return home from battlefields halfway around the world to remember that there is sometimes also a cost to obedience.

Finding our way between what we can do and what we should do, and counting the cost of our decisions, is a daily act that requires wisdom, prayer and discernment.

We begin this morning by reading from Jeremiah 18:1-11, where God once again threatens the destruction of his own people.  But in this case, their reaction is more than a little surprising.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’”

God calls to Jeremiah and sends him to the potter’s house to witness an ordinary event that becomes one of scripture’s most spectacular visual aids.  God says that the pot he is making is going bad, and so he intends to simply destroy it and start over.  But although God sends Jeremiah to relay this proclamation of doom to the people of Israel, and even though they still have a chance to turn from their wickedness, God knows that they will not.  The reaction of the people, upon hearing of God’s condemnation, is simply, “Okay, go ahead.  We’re just too stubborn to change.”  And so, in the end, Israel is condemned not only for their sin, but for stubbornly refusing to change.

Actions have consequences.

And then in the book of Philemon we see the same principle illustrated in an entirely different direction.

1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker— 2 also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier—and to the church that meets in your home:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5 because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. 7 Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

8 Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9 yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10 that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. 11 Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12 I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13 I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. 15 Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

17 So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18 If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19 I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20 I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ.21 Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

Onesimus was an escaped slave that belonged to Philemon.  By law, he could have been killed for fleeing his master but, having met Paul, he came to faith in Jesus Christ and became a new person.  He was changed mentally as well as spiritually and became convicted that in order to do what was right, he had to return to his master and face the consequences of his actions even though that might result in beatings, torture, or death.  Paul, having grown quite fond of Onesimus, writes a glowing letter of recommendation to Philemon in the hope that he will not only be merciful, but that he will release Onesimus from his slavery entirely.

Onesimus was an escaped slave but had become a new creation in Jesus Christ.

Philemon was a slave owner but also a believer in Jesus Christ and owed a debt to Paul for the introduction.

We don’t know for sure the result of their reunion but we know this:

Actions have consequences.

And then in Luke 14:25-33, Jesus lays out a hard truth about the wisdom of making choices.

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Jesus points out that whenever we make important and potentially expensive choices, we are wise to consider how much those choices are going to cost.  Colin Kaepernick’s actions will likely be costly and we don’t know whether or not he considered the possibilities before he acted.  The actions of the nation of Israel were costly, and when they were given a chance to change their mind, they were doomed by their stubbornness.  Philemon became convinced and convicted that he had to do what was right no matter the cost.  And Jesus warns us to consider the enormous cost of following him.

Finding our way between what we can do and what we should do, and counting the cost of our decisions, is a daily act that requires wisdom, prayer and discernment.

In order to follow Jesus we must put him first, and put absolutely everything else, and everyone else, after him.

If we can’t do that, Jesus says, then we really aren’t his disciples at all.

This is a hard truth but…

…actions have consequences.

What will you choose?

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Set Free… For a Purpose

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“Set Free… For a Purpose!”

August 21, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 13:10-17                 Hebrews 12:18-29                         Jeremiah 1:4-10

 

How many of you have access to the internet and use things like email, Facebook, Twitter and other things?

Like anything else, sometimes we take have to take the good with the bad.  I am not very fond at all of the political garbage that gets circulated but I love some of the things that my friends pass along.  While there is a lot of worthless junk, some things make me smile, and others can be a source of encouragement.  Not long ago, I saw a video that was, recorded from the dashboard of a police car.  In the frame of the video are both another police car and a police officer who is attempting to make an arrest.  But there is a problem.  The man being arrested is not cooperating and is bigger and stronger than the police officer.  He begins to wrestle with the officer for his gun and things look pretty grim for the good guys when something unexpected happens.

The text underneath the video tells us that the officer that we are watching is, in fact, a canine handler and his canine partner is still in the car that is seen in the video.  We are also told that just a short time before the events recorded in the video, the police department had installed a remote release that allows the officer to press a button in his pocket or on his equipment belt, and release his partner from the back of the car.  At that moment, the officer, in the midst of wrestling with the perpetrator, manages to reach his remote release button.  And in the blink of an eye, the tide turned.  In a flash, the canine officer is all over the perpetrator, wrestles him away from his human partner and pins him to the ground.  From the moment that the car door opened to the bad guy being in handcuffs, took less then ten seconds.  It was truly impressive, especially if you are a dog lover.

But the reason that this story came to my mind was the scripture that we will be reading today.  The police dog was safe and secure in the police car but being save and secure is not what police dogs have been trained for.  In order to do what he had been trained to do, the dog had to be set free.  When his handler pushed that button to open his door, there was no leash on him but he knew exactly what had to be done.  He was set free… for a purpose.

We begin our scripture lesson this morning with the prophet Jeremiah who was probably about 12 years old when God called him.  Jeremiah was worried that no one would believe him and protested his calling before God. (Jeremiah 1:4-10)

4 The 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.”

7 But 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. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

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

Jeremiah complained that he was too young to be a prophet probably because he had already been told this about a lot of things.  “You’re too to do this.”  “You’re too young to do that.” And so Jeremiah internalizes those doubts and protests to God himself that he is too young to answer the call of God.

But God.

But God didn’t care for Jeremiah’s excuses nor did he care much about his fear.  God casts aside the protests of others by telling Jeremiah not to worry about his age and then he does something else.  God tells Jeremiah not to be afraid because when God calls, he does not set you loose upon the world all alone.  Instead, God calls you to go out, and then goes with you.  To further ease his fear, God touches Jeremiah and declares that he has put his words into Jeremiah’s mouth.  What’s more, God declares that Jeremiah is being called and sent out, to lift up, and to destroy entire nations, to build things, as well as to destroy things.

God called Jeremiah to be his prophet, and then he set him free… to go out into the world and to do the work of God.

God called Jeremiah and then he set him free… for a purpose.

And then in Luke 13:10-17, we hear of this encounter with Jesus:

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and 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. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

14 Indignant 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.”

15 The 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? 16 Then 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?”

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

The woman that Jesus met had been bent and crippled for eighteen years and Jesus simply declares “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.”

But the synagogue leader was infuriated that Jesus would even consider healing someone on the Sabbath day, a day that no one was supposed to do work.  But Jesus exposes the ridiculousness of this manmade rule by pointing out how any sensible person would understand that untying their animals, or feeding and watering them, was allowed.  How much more so would God allow this woman to be freed from her crippling disfigurement!

Jesus healed the woman to set her free from her pain and humiliation.

Jesus broke manmade rules to set everyone free from expectations that twisted God’s commands into something ugly.

Jesus set the woman free… for a purpose.

And finally, in Hebrews 12:18-29, the Apostle Paul confronts the nagging fear of many Christians that God is big, and scary, and will strike us down because of some mistake or perceived sin.  Paul understands that the stories of the Old Testament can feed this fear of God but reaches out to calm our fears by saying this:

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

22 But 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, 23 to 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, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See 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? 26 At 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.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, 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.”

Paul understands that the stories of the Old Testament revealed a god that sometimes even terrified Moses.  But in contrast, Paul reminds us that God is also the god that invites us to live with him, the righteous, loving, and perfect god.  With God is Jesus, the priest who intercedes for us and the man who loved us so much that he gave his life for us.  While we should be cautious not to refuse God, God’s strength is intended to comfort us instead of frighten us.  As followers of God, God’s strength defines a kingdom that cannot be overthrown or defeated.  Instead of binding us into slavery through fear, God’s strength, when added to his call, is intended to set us free.

Just as he called Jeremiah to be his prophet, God calls each and every one of us to our own, unique and special ministry for his kingdom.

Just as Jesus healed the crippled woman, God has healed us of a multitude of wounds, infirmities, and sin.

Just as Jesus broke manmade rules in order to make God’s rules appear more clearly, we too are called to understand the loving Spirit of God instead of the harshness with which humans have often described him.

We have been called, to tell the world that God loves us, and to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We have not been enslaved.

We have been set free from the non-biblical rules that human beings have made for us.

We have been set free from sin.

We have been set free from death.

We have been set free… for a purpose.

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

God and Weasels

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“God and Weasels”

July 10, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37              Colossians 1:1-14                  Amos 5:7-17

 

Do you watch the news at all?

Does this year’s political fiasco stir up any questions for you or for your friends?

I suspect that it has, and I think that it should.

Here are some politically charged questions that are often asked by the followers of Jesus Christ as well as your average person on the street.  And, while they are politically charged questions, they deserve thoughtful, theological, answers.

Why do good things happen to bad people?

Why don’t bad things happen to bad people?

Why are there people, that no matter what they do, nothing bad ever seems to ever happen to them?

Why do these same people manipulate the media so that the people don’t ever hear the truth?

The funny thing about these questions is that, while I have put them into a 21st century context by the way that I worded them, I wasn’t referring specifically to the Bushes, Cheneys, Clintons, or anyone else.  In fact, I drew these questions from a story in the Bible from almost three thousand years ago.  (Amos 7:7-17)

7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?”

“A plumb line,” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.

9 “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”

10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. 11 For this is what Amos is saying:

“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’”

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel, because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom.”

14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say,

“‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country.
And Israel will surely go into exile, away from their native land.’”

Amos was just a guy herding sheep in the middle of nowhere until God called him to take a message to the people of Israel.  But when he did, the priest at the nation’s most important place of worship, the place where the king would have sacrificed and worshipped, Bethel, sends a message to King Jeroboam that Amos is trying to undermine his authority and destroy Israel.  In our terminology, he is conspiring to control the news cycle and stifle free speech, so that the people won’t have a chance to hear the truth, so that the people won’t have a chance to hear message from God that Amos is preaching.

Amaziah the priest goes on to tell Amos to go home and not to bother coming to bring God’s words to the king, to the capital city, and to the nation’s most prominent place of worship.  But Amos’s answer is this: If God has called me to bring a message to Israel then I will bring a message to Israel.  And if you want to stop me, then God has a message of disaster for you as well.

King Jeroboam didn’t like bad news and he didn’t like his people to hear bad news either.  In fact, he had been manipulating the news for so long that he didn’t want the people to hear the truth at all.  On top of that, the church, along with the nation’s most important priest, was one of his leading coconspirators. Together, they had been building something that God says doesn’t measure up, a nation, and policies, morals and ethics, that don’t match God’s standards.  And the message that Amos brought was that God himself was coming with his plumb line, his measuring stick, to see what is built to standard, to see what is straight, to find what is crooked, to test them, to measure them, and everything, and everyone, that didn’t measure up would be destroyed.

Perhaps one of the most important messages that we learn from Amos is that while God’s justice may not always be immediate, or as fast as we would hope it would be, God has not forgotten.  The weasels will get what they deserve, in God’s time.  Ignoring God does not make God, or God’s justice, go away and ignoring God’s laws does not protect you from the consequences of breaking them no matter how wealthy or important (or unimportant) you may be.

Nearly eight hundred years later, in the time of Jesus, people haven’t changed.  Leaders of the nation and of the church are still trying to manipulate and misinterpret the words of God for their own benefit but Jesus isn’t having any of it.  (Luke 10:25-37)

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

This man, who is described as an expert in Jewish law, comes to Jesus and seems confused by the meaning of one of the two fundamental laws of God, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  He accepts that this is a fundamental law of God, and he accepts that he is commanded to love his neighbor, but when it comes time to decide who his neighbor might be, he wants to play fast and loose with the definition.

He knew that he wasn’t loving and so, because “he wanted to justify himself” he tries to get Jesus to give him a definition of “neighbor” that will allow him to weasel out of loving people that he doesn’t like.

But Jesus isn’t having any of that noise.

Jesus tells him a story, in which the hero of the story, the most loving, and most godly character, is a man that every Jew has been raised and trained to hate with every fiber of his being, an enemy that they disliked more than they hated the Romans, a Samaritan.  In the end, the teacher of the law admits that it was his enemy that showed mercy, but even then he can’t bring himself to even say the word “Samaritan” out loud.

Jesus wants us to know that just like it was in the time of Amos, we can’t change God’s rules just because we don’t like them.  Redefining words, or misinterpreting scripture, to make ourselves look good is not acceptable.

We cannot follow the way of the weasel.

There is another way.

As the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Colossae, he begins by complimenting them because the things that they have been doing have people all over talking about them. (Colossians 1:1-14)

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The faith of the church in Colossae, their love, and their ministry, is bearing fruit and people are talking about them so much that Paul keeps hearing about them as he travels on his missionary journeys.  And so, Paul, and his travelling companions, are continually in prayer for the Colossian church so that God would continue the good work there, strengthen them, and give them great endurance and patience so that the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ might continue to grow throughout the world.

Jesus calls us to follow him and to obey his teaching.  But the followers of Jesus Christ are called to do things his way and not to redefine words, reinterpret, and misinterpret scripture so that we make the gospel message into something it isn’t just so that we can look good.

Instead, we are reminded of God’s promise in Deuteronomy 30:9-10 where it says, “The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”

God’s justice may not always come as fast as we would hope it would but God has not forgotten.  The weasels will get what they deserve, in God’s time.

Ignoring God does not make God go away.

Ignoring God does not make God’s justice go away.

Ignoring God’s laws does not protect you from the consequences of breaking them.

We are called to follow the way of Jesus Christ… and not the way of the weasel.

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Released From Fear

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“Released From Fear”

June 19, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 8:26-39             Galatians 3:23-29                1 Kings 19:1-15a

 

Have you ever been afraid?

I’m not talking about scary movies where you might be afraid, but a part of you always knows that it isn’t real.  I mean the kind of fear that comes from real life.  You might have been afraid of a bully, or your boss, or cancer, or a number of other things.  If you’ve been in church for a while, you have probably heard some of the things that the Bible says about fear and how we should trust God.  But in the end, even those with the strongest of faith will sometimes be afraid.  We begin this morning once again in 1 Kings 19:1-15a, only days after Elijah’s showdown with the prophets of Baal.

19:1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

If you remember, last week we head about how corrupt Ahab and Jezebel were and how they thought nothing of framing an innocent man just so that they could take away his little piece of land for themselves.  They were both completely unscrupulous and utterly evil.  And so, only days (maybe less) after Elijah witnessed fire from heaven consume God’s sacrifice, and the altar, and the water, and the dirt under it, Jezebel threatens that she intends to kill Elijah next, just as he had done to the prophets of Baal.  And even though Elijah was the most powerful prophet in the entire history of Israel, and even though Elijah had just witnessed God’s amazing power in answer to his own simple prayer, Elijah was afraid and he ran for his life.

And then in Luke 8:26-39, we hear the story about Jesus healing a demon-possessed man that everyone was afraid of because of his great strength and unpredictable nature.

26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

At first, the people are afraid of the man who is possessed by demons.  They were so afraid of him and what he could do, that the people put chains around his hands and feet and hired armed guards to watch over him.  But he broke the chains, and drove off the armed guards, because of the strength of the demons within him.  Perhaps this was something similar to the great strength that is sometimes seen when people are under the influence of PCP or other drugs, but however it happened, this scared the daylights out of everyone.  And then the man made his home in a place of death, in the tombs outside of town, so that people would leave him alone.  But Jesus isn’t afraid.  Jesus commands the demons to leave the man and they obey.  And when the people in town heard what Jesus had done, they were afraid of Jesus because they understood that Jesus had great power and it was a power that they didn’t understand.

And then in Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia, he writes these words (Galatians 3:23-29):

23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Now, I know that I left you hanging on some of these stories, so let’s connect the dots.

Elijah is afraid, despite his intimate relationship with God and despite being a witness to God’s incredible power only days before, and he runs away and hides.  And in the end, God quietly listens to his fears… and tells Elijah to get back to work.

The people who heard what Jesus had done for the demon possessed man were so afraid of Jesus’ power that they asked him to go away. Their fear caused them to push away the one man who could help them.  Their fear caused them to push away the one man who could rescue them from death.  The man who had been healed wanted to leave with Jesus, perhaps because he wanted to help Jesus’ ministry in return for what Jesus had done for him, or perhaps he was afraid of beginning a new life where people were still afraid of him.  But instead of inviting him into the boat, Jesus transforms this man one more time by making him one of God’s first missionaries to the Gentiles.

In answer to his fear, Jesus tells him to get to work.

And Paul’s short summary tells us that before the coming of Jesus, human beings were prisoners to the law.  In other words, they lived in fear of the law.  Do what the law says, or die without God.  But Jesus changed all that.  With the coming of Jesus it doesn’t matter what other gods we might have once worshipped.  It doesn’t matter that we are from a foreign country and we aren’t Jewish.  It doesn’t matter if we are rich or poor, or anything else.  Paul’s message is a message of belonging.

It’s okay to be afraid.  It’s normal.  Even Elijah, the most powerful prophet in all of scripture, was sometimes afraid.

But don’t let your fear control you.

Don’t let your fear push you away from Jesus.

Take your fear to God.  Tell God how you feel.  Tell God about your fear and trust him with it.

Because of God, we have nothing to fear.

Because of Jesus, we all belong.

We all belong to the same kingdom and we all work for the ultimate good of God’s kingdom.

But the message that God speaks into our fear is the same as it always was.

God quietly and patiently listens to our fears…

…and tells us to get back to work.

 

 

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Faith, Fire, and Truth

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“Faith, Fire, and Truth”

May 29, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: Luke 7:1-10                  Galatians 1:1-12                           1 Kings 18:20-39

About a dozen of our Trinity folk have been working their way through our short-term Bible study with Lee Strobel’s “A Case for Christ.”  In that study, there is a question that has been presented several times. “If Jesus really is who he says that he is, what does it mean?”  And as we’ve gone through the study, what we come back to is an understanding that if Jesus is who he says that he is, and indeed, if God is who the Bible says that he is, then that has serious implications for how we live our lives.  It’s one thing to ignore Jesus or to pick and choose which of his teachings we like or don’t like, if he was only a good teacher of human nature and morality.  But if Jesus really was the Son of the living God, the creator of all that is, and the judge of all humanity, then how we deal with his teaching, and how we live our lives, is changed dramatically.  And so, this morning, although this message has no other connection to our Bible study, I want to consider the reality and power of God as well as what that means to how we live out our lives.

We begin this morning in Luke 7:1-10 where Jesus performs a miracle without ever meeting the recipient of that miracle, or the person who asked for it.

7:1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

In this story, Jesus performs a miracle that stands outside of the ordinary for several reasons.  First, Jesus is asked to heal the servant of a Roman centurion, which is unusual because, for the most part, the Jews were not on good terms with the Roman occupation.  Second, this centurion must have been on good terms with the leaders of the Jewish Temple because the people that he asks to seek out Jesus for him are elders in their religious community and, as you might recall, these leaders themselves often had a difficult relationship with Jesus.  As it turns out, this centurion must have been one of those responsible for the building of the Temple and must have had a regular, daily, working relationship with many of the Jews.  Third, the centurion sees no need for Jesus to trouble himself with actually coming into his house because he understands that if Jesus has real power, and real authority, then he can simply do what needs done without actually being there… and he does.

In the end, Jesus heals the servant of the centurion without ever entering the house, without ever meeting the centurion, and without ever seeing the servant that was healed.  The power that Jesus had went far beyond magic tricks and parlor games.  There were no magic words or incantations, there was no laying on of hands, and you might notice that there wasn’t even a prayer that God would bring healing.  Jesus doesn’t even make some sort of official pronouncement that the servant would be healed, but instead comments on the great faith of the Roman centurion and that the faith of this enemy occupier was greater than any that Jesus had seen in all of Israel.

And the men who had come to Jesus returned to the house and found the servant well.

Next, we read what one of my very favorite Bible stories if not my most favorite of all.  The king and queen of Israel, Ahab and Jezebel, were worshippers of Baal and had, systematically, persecuted, driven out, converted, or killed almost all of God’s prophets and priests until Elijah believed that he was the only one left.  At that moment, God comes to Elijah and Elijah challenges Ahab to a duel in front of the entire nation.  He invites Ahab to bring all of the prophets of Baal, from all over the country, and they would meet him on Mount Carmel to see which god was real.  (1 Kings 18:20-39)

20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs [about 24 pounds] of seed.33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

The prophets of Baal pray, and sing, and cry out, and cut themselves, and do all sorts of things to get the attention of their god, and at the end of the day, after they literally drown his sacrifice with water, Elijah prays a simple prayer that God would let it be known in Israel that he… is… God.

And fire comes down from heaven.

And the fire burns up the sacrifice… and the wood… and the water in the trench… and the stones that make up the altar… and the dirt underneath of it.

God answers the prayer of Elijah and leaves absolutely, positively, no doubts in the minds of anyone present that what they had witnessed was something supernatural.  There was no possibility that anyone there harbored any suspicions that what they had witnessed was either an accident or some kind of natural phenomenon.

And, perhaps after a moment of shock and terror, the people fall on their faces and proclaim, “The Lord, he is God.  The Lord, he is God.”

And then we come to the Apostle Paul who writes these words to the churches in Galatia (Galatians 1:1-12) where people from the churches, who had previously put their faith in Jesus Christ, were turning away from God and instead following other gods.

1:1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,

To the churches in Galatia:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul was astonished that human nature hadn’t changed a bit since the time of Elijah.  People who had heard the good news of Jesus Christ were turning to follow other gospels and being confused by other preachers. And, in his own way, Paul uses the same logic that Elijah did by reminding the people that the message that he carries is not something that was created or invented by human beings.  Paul, like the other disciples, was a witness to the risen Jesus.  Paul was a Pharisee and had been a fervent supporter of the Jewish faith to the extent that he had pursued the followers of Jesus, persecuted them, arrested them, and dragged them back to Jerusalem for trial.  But as he travelled on the road to Damascus, something changed.  Saul met the risen son of God, became a follower and missionary of Jesus, and took on a new name, Paul.  And so, as he writes to the church in Galatia, Paul reminds them that it is this truth that he serves.  Much like the phrase that we hear today, “Follow the money.” Paul says, “If I were trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”  If Paul was trying to get rich, following Jesus wasn’t the way to do it.  If Paul wanted a comfortable life with a beautiful wife, a nice house, and plenty of servants, following Jesus was not the way to do it.  But instead of getting rich or having a comfortable life, Paul is compelled to follow the truth and that truth, Paul says, did not come from human beings but was given to him by the resurrected, and very much alive, Jesus Christ.

In all three stories, the question for each of us remains the same.  If God is real, if Jesus really did rise from the dead, then we have some very important decisions to make.  If God isn’t real then it doesn’t matter if you worship Baal or any other god, but if the God of Israel is real then it matters a great deal.  If Jesus wasn’t the Son of God and didn’t rise from the dead, then we are free to live our lives any way that we choose.  But if Jesus was, who he said that he was, then doing the things that he said we should do, and living our lives the way that he said we should live them, suddenly become extraordinarily important.

You may not have seen fire fall from the sky and consume God’s sacrifice, but you have heard the truth.

What will you decide?

What will you do?

How will you live?

Your choices matter.

 

 

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

What *IS* Trinity?

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“What is Trinity?”

May 22, 2016

(Trinity Sunday)

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: John 16:12-15            Romans 5:1-5              Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

 

How many of you know anything at all about cars?

Most of us know a little, and most of us know that a gasoline engine has cylinders that burn the gasoline, and go up and down, which makes the driveshaft spin, which makes the car go.

So what would you say if we were standing next to a car and asked where the engine was?  You would point to the front of the car where the engine does its thing.  But if I reached under the hood and pulled out a cylinder, is that the engine?  What about the engine block?  And the answer to each question is both yes… and no.  Each is a part of the engine and the engine can’t do what it does without the contribution of all of them.  If you want to be even more confused, think about the thing that pulls a train down the railroad tracks.  We call that thing a locomotive or an engine, but inside of that engine are several engines.  All of them work together to make up one engine, but each one is, by itself, also an engine.

Confused yet?

And that brings us to today because today is Trinity Sunday.  That means that today is the day when your pastor makes a valiant attempt to explain the unexplainable, makes your head hurt, and usually ends up leaving you more confused than you started.

Toward that end, this morning we are going to learn (I hope) a little more about the Trinity than we knew before we came.

As you probably know, the Trinity is our understanding of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons.  This is not one person with three divided personalities, and this is not three gods who like to hang out together.  The followers of Jesus Christ have attempted many ways to describe the Trinity and while many of these are helpful, each of them falls short in some way.  I admit it is a little confusing.

Let’s begin this morning by reading Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31.  This passage doesn’t speak about the Trinity because it is from the Jewish scriptures, what we call the Old Testament.  The Jews didn’t, and don’t, think about God as a trinity, and in fact, the name “Trinity” is never found in the New Testament.  What we do find however, is an idea that becomes so apparent… that it needed a name.

8:1 Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 At the highest point along the way,
where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 beside the gate leading into the city,
at the entrance, she cries aloud:
4 “To you, O people, I call out;
I raise my voice to all mankind.


22 “The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
23 I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30     Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.

The obvious thing to say about this passage is that it is not about the trinity at all but is all about wisdom.  That is absolutely true, but this Old Testament understanding of wisdom helps us to understand how the followers of God in the New Testament came to understand God as a trinity.

In this passage, wisdom is described, metaphorically, as a living being that God “brought forth” into existence before the beginning of creation.  And so while there are some big differences between the trinity and wisdom, this metaphorical description of wisdom, which every Jewish believer would have known and understood, eventually allowed, and even assisted, those same believers to understand the relationship between God and Jesus Christ.  In the world of the Disciples, and in the early church, Jesus was described with this same language.  Jesus was said to have been “brought forth” by God, not as a created being, but as a person who had always existed and who was made from the same stuff that God was made and was co-equal, and co-eternal, with God.

In Romans 5:1-5 we find one of several passages in the New Testament where all three members of the Trinity are discussed together.

5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

In this passage we hear that we have peace with God, through Jesus, and also that God’s love has been poured out through the Holy Spirit.

Another passage where this sort of thing happens is in John 16:12-15 where we hear Jesus say…

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

And so John is telling us about a conversation where Jesus was speaking about the Spirit of God, and about God the Father as if they were not exactly the same person but, at the same time, neither of those persons were the same person as Jesus.

Does your head hurt yet?

Mine does.

Honestly, if you don’t completely understand how the Trinity works, that’s okay.  I know that I don’t.  I know that bishops and people with PhD’s argue about it.  And I know that this is often described as one of the “mysteries” of the church, not because it is unknown, but simply that this is one of the places where the nature of God is not completely understood.  The way that I have described it is that this is one of those places where finite, created, mortal creatures with a finite and limited capacity to think and understand, are attempting to describe and understand something that was not created, and is infinite, immortal, and unlimited in its understanding.  It is inevitable that we fall short when we try to get our minds around it.

But instead of focusing on the things that we do not understand, let us instead focus on the things that we do understand.

We understand that the three members of the trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are co-equal, co-eternal, uncreated, and made of the same substance.

We understand that through faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ and that through Jesus we gain access to grace.

We understand that it is through our hope in God that we bring glory to God and that God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We understand that the Spirit of God was a gift to us, from God the Father, through Jesus Christ and that the Spirit of God is the agent that leads us to the truth in all things.

We understand that the Spirit of God brings glory to Jesus Christ because Jesus sent him, and because that same spirit allows us to hear the voice of God and to understand the words of Jesus Christ.

And finally, we understand that everything in all of creation belongs to God the Father and everything that belongs to God also belongs to Jesus.

My suspicion is that, just as I predicted at the beginning, you just might be more confused that when we started.  But I hope that you will remember that it’s okay not to completely understand the Trinity.

There are a lot of things that we may not understand completely and yet are able to understand what is important to us.  We may not completely understand how televisions or cell phones work, but we do understand that they carry information from one place to another.  We may not completely understand how the internal components of an automobile engine work, but we understand that because they do, we can travel from one place to another.

And so, remember this: We may not completely understand how the Trinity works, but we know enough to understand that God loves us so much that he gave his own life to save ours and that he has come down from heaven to take up residence inside each believer to lead us, to guide us, and to point us to a better of understanding of Jesus Christ.

It might make our heads hurt.

And we might not completely understand it.

But the parts that we do understand are absolutely, incredibly, wonderful.

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

The Gift of Excalibur

PastorPartridge Sermon , , , , , ,

“The Gift of Excalibur”

May 15, 2016

By John Partridge*

 

Scripture: John 14:8-17, 25-27                  Acts 2:1-21                             Romans 8:14-17

 

How many of you have heard of King Arthur, the one of whom so many stories, movies and plays have been written?

Now, how many of you actually know the story of King Arthur beyond the one that we heard from Walt Disney’s “The Sword and the Stone” or the Hollywood musical “Camelot” with Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave?

Of course, some of you are young enough that you have no idea who Richard Harris was.  You should go home and look this up on Netflix.  There have been countless other adaptations of this story and each of them is a little different.  But honestly, if once you start looking, the variations started hundreds of years ago and even the oldest sources for the legend of Arthur can be very different from one another.

In any case, the basic story goes something like this: King Uther Pendragon fancied another man’s wife, Lady Igraine, so much that he intended to steal her by force.  To that end, he took an army to attack the castle in Cornwall belonging to her husband, the Duke of Tintagel.  During the battle, the Duke was killed, and Merlin used magic to change Uther Pendragon into the shape of the Duke so that he could sleep with Lady Igraine without her knowing.  By that deception, Arthur was conceived but Merlin didn’t work his magic for free, and in the deal that Uther had made to sleep with Lady Igraine, when Arthur was born, he was given to Merlin and Merlin, in turn, gave him to someone else as a foster parent.

Much later, Arthur, not knowing that he is the rightful heir of King Uther Pendragon, pulls a sword out of a stone and anvil.  According to the legend, that sword was well known in England and it was said that only the true and right king of all England would be able to draw it out.

Later still, Arthur complained to Merlin that he didn’t have a really good sword that he could call his own, and so Merlin took him to a lake where he met Nimue, the Lady of the Lake.  Nimue had a fantastic sword that belonged to her and her only, but she would loan it to Arthur and told him that it would serve him well.  The sword was encased by a beautiful scabbard made of gold and inlaid with precious gems but it was more than that.  The scabbard also had the power to protect Arthur from all harm on the battlefield.  Another part of the story says that the sword, through the light that reflected from it, and the magic that it held within it, had the power to bedazzle his enemies so that he could overcome them even if he were vastly outnumbered.

There are tons of books that can tell you more about the legend of the great King Arthur, but this much of the story is important to our message today.  There are three important reasons that I shared these parts of the legend of King Arthur… but I’m not going to tell you what they are until later.

We begin our scripture lesson this morning in John 14:8-17, 25-27 where we hear this:

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Jesus promised the disciples that after he leaves them, God will send his Spirit to live with us forever and that spirit will come to lead us, guide us, and to help us do the will of God.

That promise is fulfilled after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension in to heaven and we hear that story in Acts 2:1-21.

2:1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

People who witnessed the coming of the Spirit of God were amazed and wondered what it meant and Peter is more than happy to explain it to them.  The coming of the Spirit of God was prophesied by the prophet Joel as well as Jesus.  Those prophecies tell us that the coming of the Spirit would give the followers of God the power to prophecy, dream dreams, see visions, and otherwise hear the voice of God as well as to do the will of God so that all of humanity might call on the name of the Lord and be saved.

The Spirit of God gave the disciples the ability to preach in languages that they didn’t know so that the crowds of people, who had come to Jerusalem from all over the world, could hear the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Finally today, we read from Romans 8:14-17, where we hear Paul explain what it means for us to receive the gift of the Spirit of God.

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

And that brings us back to the story of King Arthur because there are three important parallels between King Arthur and each of us who are gathered here.

First, Arthur was the true heir of the King and so are you.  Because Arthur was the true son of the King, despite the fact that he had no knowledge of his real parentage, he was able to draw the sword out of the anvil and stone.  Because you are a child of the King of kings, adopted into sonship, co-heirs with Jesus, regardless of your human parentage, you too are able to receive a great gift.  In your case, what you can receive is not a sword, but the power of the living Spirit of God.

Second, Arthur was given a great gift, Excalibur, which enabled him to do far more than he could have done through his own effort, strength and power.  And so have you.  Because, when you came to faith in Jesus Christ and put your trust in him, the Spirit of God came to live within you.  And because the Spirit of God lives within you, you are able to do far more through the power of that Spirit, than you ever could through your own effort, strength and power.

And finally, The Lady of the Lake gave Arthur the sword Excalibur because he was worthy, but in the end, Arthur was mortally wounded in battle because of a moral failure.  Similarly, Jesus said that if we love him, we must keep his commands.  Our ability to be channels of the power of the Spirit of God is limited, or even lost, when we fail to be obedient to the commands of God.

And so, as we remember and celebrate Pentecost, I want each of you to remember that you are like King Arthur.  It is as if you have been given the gift of Excalibur.  You have been declared to be a true heir of the King of kings.  You have been given a great gift.  It is a gift of indescribable power and it can help you to do the work of God’s Kingdom in ways that go far beyond your own effort, strength, courage, wisdom, and understanding.  But to wield that power effectively, you must stay close to God and do your very best to be obedient to his commands.

You are heirs of the King of kings and are servants, warriors, and knights in his service.

You have been given a gift that is more powerful than the mythical sword Excalibur, and you have been called by God to use that gift in the service of his kingdom.

How will you answer brave knight?

 

 

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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 athttps://pastorpartridge.wordpress.com/. All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.