Promises, Promises--Jeremiah 33:14-16

I am really looking forward to Christmas. I saw the Christmas items in the store during the latter part of Black Friday so I am really looking forward to it. This kind of anticipation and excitement has been instilled in me every year. But this year, with a nine year old and a five year old really coming to look forward to it themselves, it is more exciting than ever, and I can’t wait.

Advent is our time in the church year when we look forward. Advent is a season of the year when we focus on the future nature of the Promised Land, of life in the full presence of God. This is the time of year when we look at the Promises of God that are not yet fulfilled. We focus on them, and we get excited about them.

What I would like to do this morning is to take a quick look at the promises we live our lives by. Just, very quickly have us examine our own lives, see what promises that we hold onto, for better or for worse.

“Dr. Jerome Frank at Johns Hopkins talks about our "assumptive world." What he means is that all of us make assumptions about life about God, about ourselves, about others, about the way things are. [I would say that these are the promises we hold onto in our lives.] He argues that when our assumptions are true to reality, we live relatively happy, well-adjusted lives. But when our assumptions are distant from reality, we become confused and angry and disillusioned” (Haddon Robinson, "How Does God Keep His Promises?," Preaching Today, Tape No. 130). Nothing is more destructive than hoping in failed promises. Everybody knows what that is like, and how much it hurts. But we have to believe something.

I remember a few years ago. I was coming home from Bible study when I accidentally dented Joy's car. Feeling guilty about the whole thing I tried to find a way to fix it myself (like a real man). As I was watching my late night program I came across a Ding King commercial by Billy Mays on television. So the next day, full of hope, I went to a local Target store and purchased a Ding King kit. When I got home i took the kit out and followed the instructions. It didn't take long for me to realize the product is not going deliver what it promised. Words can't describe how disappointed I was. Another broken promise!

So our world is full of promises, promises of things that will give meaning and purpose and value to your life. Promises that you don’t have to feel what you’re feeling. Promises that everything is going to be all right. Promises that tomorrow is going to be a better day. Promises that you’re better than that, that you’re pretty and strong and smart and loved and liked. And we live our lives by these promises. And how well we pick these promises is how good our lives are.

I have to tell you, there are a lot of people having a very hard time. I struggle with so many people day to day who are putting their hopes in promises that are deceiving, self-serving, and simply false. When I was in Iowa, I have met people struggling to get by. I got to know them fairly well. Three or four times while I was there, they put their financial hopes in pyramid schemes. A lot of promises were made to them about how they could make a lot of money. All of it was false, and they got in deeper and deeper. It was hard to watch. They learned the hard way what promises to hold onto. Many lives are deeply scared or destroyed before that.

Church, Advent, our relationship with God, is all about promises. Our faith is about the promise of the salvation of our souls from sin and death, and our deliverance to a new promised land – the Kingdom of God! That is an incredible, huge, glorious promise for each one of us. And as we begin advent, it is right that we remember again just how huge and glorious that promise is. That is what we will be celebrating this Christmas, is the fulfillment of the promises of God.

It has become a Christian cliché, and therefore in danger of losing its meaning, to say that “Jesus is the reason of the season,” and that we must remember the “real meaning of Christmas” amidst all the hoopla. The extent to which we are relying on the real promises of God that we have great cause to celebrate, it is to that extent that we truly celebrate the meaning of Christmas.

The great D.L. Moody said, “God never made a promise that was too good to be true” (Christian History, no. 25 cited on www.preachingtoday.com). Do you know those promises, and do you trust them?

The passage in Jeremiah is written by the prophet when things looked real bad for his people. About 600 years before Jesus, they are about to be taken away from their Promised Land because for generations they have been not relying on the promise-giver, but on any other sort of promise. Everything that has given them meaning and identity, it all looks like it will be destroyed. And right then, Jeremiah, says that one will rise up – a Messiah – another David, who will restore Jerusalem to justice and righteousness. It is said that He, himself, will be our righteousness.

The situation in our lives is more confusing. Each of us is in a different place, and it is hard to lump us all together in regards to how well or how poorly we have done in choosing the promises we follow. But all of us, in the deepest needs in our lives, and, finally, in everything, have only one final source of promises that will be wholly, completely, true, reliable, forgiving, freeing, meaningful, real, and everything that we need.

A man is coming at Christmas, at the end of the world, that is going to make everything in the world right, and going to make you right as well. That is the big promise, and the one worth holding onto and celebrating above all others.

“Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33. He won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit. He was doing well.

He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I’m going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something else. It’s just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live."

Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him. "Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We’re in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."

“Zinger” recovered from chemotherapy and returned to the PGA tour. He’s done pretty well. But that bout with cancer changed him. He wrote, "I’ve made a lot of money since I’ve been on the tour, and I’ve won a lot of tournaments, but that happiness is always temporary. The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don’t have problems, but I feel like I’ve found the answer to the six-foot hole" (Robert Russell, "Resurrection Promises," Preaching Today, Tape No. 151 cited on www.preachingtoday.com).

I believe there are two of us that this message is addressed to. The first are those are devastated because you have been putting your hope in all the wrong places. If you have never known Jesus, the real promise for your life, before, I invite you now to trust him, the one real promise.

But I also think this is for those of us who have known the promise of God and get sidetracked by smaller, busy, promises of the season, of the world, even of the peripheral things of our church and our religion. This season, remember how amazing, how glorious, how deep, how much there is to celebrate from the depths of our heart in the promise of God, this little child who saved our lives forever. Don’t let anything distract your trust in that promise. Amen

A Thanksgiving to Remember

The day after Thanksgiving a number of us were at the church to produce more egg roll to sell to raise money for the youth. As we were doing our usual packaging a man came to the church wanting to talk to me. So I went out of the kitchen to meet the gentleman. It turns out the man was in need of money. He was trying to see his two boys in Santa Clarita last Thursday but just didn't have the money. That is why he came to the church. He already went to the Catholic Church across the street but all he got was Bureaucracy and impossibilities. As I was talking to him I felt his persistent faith. He reminded me of Jacob when he wrestled with God. Jacob's words were "I am not going to let you go until you bless me." In the same way the man that I met at the church was somewhat like Jacob. He is not leaving the church until we at the church bless him. At first, I told him that I only have a dollar in my wallet (which was true) and that we don't have cash at hand at the church. But the man persisted. He said to me, "don't give me that...show me a God of possibilities." And so after I laid my dollar I went back to the kitchen and told the others of this man's situation. It didn't take long before my dollar multiplied as the church members gave what they could. The man ended up having more than enough for hid bus fare and food. Before he left, the man shared his concerns and thanked us. So we prayed for him and blessed him. To this day I have never had anything like this in terms of experience. I am thankful to God that God gave us this opportunity to bless this man this Thanksgiving. We are blessed! Thanks be to God!

Not Just Any Ordinary Encounter

When I first met Pastor Lindy I never thought in my wildest dreams that I will be replacing him as pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Wilmington. It happened during the summer of 1999 at the biennial convocation of the National Association of Filipino-American United Methodists at Claremont School of Theology. I was sitting in one of those big round tables eating breakfast when all of a sudden Pastor Lindy Loresco sat right beside me. He was wearing a polo shirt, blue jeans, boots, and cowboy hat. Then I began to introduce myself. I told him who I was and that I know her sister from the Philippines--Alluida Loresco Kasiguran. After our conversation he turned to the other people around the table and began talking about retirement. Even then he really wanted to go to McCullen, Texas after he was finished with ministry. The thing that strikes me today was the fact that our encounter that morning wasn't just any random encounter...it was destiny...it was something that was meant to be...something prophetic. Three years after my meeting with Pastor Lindy, God chose me to be the next pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Wilmington replacing Pastor Lindy who pastored the church for twenty-four years. Over the years I have treasured my conversation with Pastor Lindy and his phone call to me after my return to Iowa following my meeting with then Long Beach District Superintendent Rev Dr. Osmond Lindo and members of the the Staff Pastor-Parish Relations Committee of Wilmington First United Methodist Church. Praise be to God for the life of the Rev. Melanio "Lindy" Loresco Jr.

“Playing Musical Chairs”—Mark 10:35-45

How many of us have played musical chairs? It's interesting, when children play musical chairs it looks amusing. But when you see grown men engaged in such a game it becomes disturbing as men try to get the best seat in the house.

I guess it is human nature to want to sit in the best seat in the house. At sporting events it’s the skybox seat, or the seat on the fifty-yard line or the seat directly behind home plate. These places command the best view and the highest price. They also carry the greatest bragging potential.

This desire for the best seat in the house shows up in many places. Watch people in a parking lot sometime. The best parking places are usually the ones closest to the front door.

At a concert, the best seat in the house is probably the one closest to the musicians. Maybe and even better one might be a backstage seat where you get to meet the performers.
When you have a guest to your house and invite them to sit down, don’t you give them the best seat? If one of your kids is sitting there, you ask him to move.

What do you suppose is the best seat in the church building? The back seat, of course! I know that because it’s the one that fills up first.

Diplomatic negotiating teams spend hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars and many hours getting the seating just right so that visiting dignitaries are afforded proper honor by the placement of their chairs. A slip here can mean that countries go to war.

I seem to remember two disciples of Jesus named James and John getting into this "best seat" thing when Jesus asked them in Mark 10:36-37, "What do you want Me to do for you?" And they said to Him, "Grant that we may sit in Your glory, one on Your right, and one on Your left." They wanted the best seats in the kingdom - the places of honor and prestige. It’s a natural thing for the natural man.

Jesus had some specific things to say about the best seat in the house, and it’s what I want to consider with you in this message.

You probably recognize that what Jesus is teaching here is the opposite of nearly everything we hear in the world today about success. It is not easy advice easy to take.
As I've been reading this passage, at the back of my mind I can’t help but hear the echoes of Muhammed Ali's boxing war-cry 'I am the greatest!'

And both the text and Muhammed Ali make me want to ask:
What is greatness? What is power? How do we use our greatness and our power?

I'm particularly fascinated by Jim and John Zebedee's request: 'we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.' There's an underlying sub-text here of a sense of entitlement, perhaps, in the statement they make. And more 'echoes' in my head - this time not so much Muhammed Ali - but the voices who want power or privilege or some kind of entitlement in the wider community, and in the church community. In a small, dark corner of my mind I hear the words:

'so pastor, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.' This may be found in situations of proposed change... or even proposed non-change... in the form of 'if you change the way we have communion, if you don't let the choir sing an anthem, if you have all-age services, if you don't have all-age services, if you get rid of the pews, if you keep the pews... we will stop being an elder/ leave the church/ withhold our offering/ hold the church community to ransom so that we do get our way.' And effectively continuing to hold the One who gave his life as a ransom for many ... still to ransom.

Wherever groups of people are, there will be jockeying for position and a bit of an attempt at empire building: it's what we do as humans. Created in the image of God, maybe we sometimes set ourselves up as gods because deep down we feel small and powerless and it frightens us?
Conversely, maybe we are fearful of just how powerful a thing it is to be made in the image of God - what are the implications of that, we wonder?

So, perhaps it's a little precious to be looking askance and James and John and their attempt to do what most humans do - manouevring for position. Were James and John really interested in the broader, communal picture, or was this an exercise in self-interest? No. Yes. 'What will we get out of this? How can we get more? How can we manipulate the situation to our further advantage?' Perhaps we beat them up a tad too much... and maybe we even beat ourselves up too much because we forget our humanness, forget that we are not God?

If we think of the power context my sense is that consumerism, with its cult of the individual, and the sense of 'get more toys', if I want it I should have it' - irrespective of the cost to self and others, has insidiously crept into the church. The notion of body, of community, gets chipped away under the church-hopping about from one place to another - leaving a church because, 'after all I went there, but I got nothing out of it.' Every time I hear that phrase, I'm so tempted to say: 'okay, but what did you put into it?' I suspect if I did say it, I'd be looked at as if I came from Mars... but that's another story for another time.

If I step away from a small soapbox at this point and think on the text a little more, perhaps the concluding thoughts run a little like this: we all have some kind of power - some more than others. How do we use it?

Where or on whom do we focus it - God, others, ourself?What is, and what does, power look like in the kindom of God within the godly community?

Real power is understanding that you can let it go...when you don't need it...when you know it is not your master but is rather a tool.Real power is found in the context of kenosis - a self-giving - a giving away... demonstrated in the all-powerful God becoming all-vulnerable: human as we are human.

Are we ready to drink the cup of our humanity... and conversely are we ready to drink the cup of real greatness?
Amen

“The Church: God’s Remnant”--John 15:1-11

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we join together this morning, members, friends, family and brothers and sisters, to celebrate the 95th anniversary of this church. On special occasions like anniversaries it is natural to look back over the past, to smile as we remember the good times, and perhaps to sigh as we recall the not-so happy times. So it is today that we look back over the 95 years since the founding of this church – to the ‘birth’ of this church, brought into being through the vision of a small number of people, dedicated to following Jesus.I sometimes think what a wonderful time it must be, when a new church is founded. How exciting it must have been as the founders of this church sought to come together in Christian community, then to build a place of worship. And how exciting it must have been for the people to build themselves up as Christ’s church here, to strive to fulfill Christ’s commission in faith and trust in God, to “preach, baptize, and live out the mission” he had begun. What a wonderful time that must have been, seeing the building rise to the glory of God, and seeing (gradually) the congregation grow and strengthen – a Christian community singing and praying to the glory of God. Yes, what wonderful times they must have been, the first couple of years of this church’s life when, in its infancy, perhaps it was even a joy to overcome the many problems and difficulties that arose!And who could have foreseen, back 1924, what it would mean for this church community to provide loving, Christian service to this area? Certainly there were things to be thankful for: a growing church, several generations of people gathering here at one time to worship and learn: babies, children, young people and adults of all ages – all together in Christian community! What joy and thanksgiving must have been felt at the rites of baptism, marriage and in the seasonal celebrations of the church year!

Then there are memories of a full church – services every Sunday morning, and with Sunday School. Imagine! Sunday with no Sunday football (soccer) games, no Sunday shopping! How times have changed! Then there were church activities (the Luau’s, VBS’s, etc)– all to foster Christian fellowship: memories of life-long friendships forged here among the people of this church – perhaps often where one met one’s marriage partner too! Happy times! And what a source of strength and support the church must have been for people in sadder times too – as we think back upon the past.For, at times of remembering – and giving thanks to God for – the life of a church when celebrating its anniversary, I often think of the less-than-happy times its people have seen too. For instance, who of the founders of this church back in 1913, could have imagined that, within the first seven years of its life, the people of this congregation would witness the terror closing and selling of the Church.But it is testimony to the strength of Christian community, a community of 100 dedicated Methodists to living their lives in faith in Christ Jesus, that they were determined to organize a Methodist Church. And so it is that this church has seen times of great joy and celebration, and times of great hardship, as we look back over the past. A past through which people sought-out the presence and guidance of God; a past where people strove to live-out their faith and share their faith with others.This church anniversary, then, provides the opportunity to reflect upon what God has done through this church community over the last 95 years. It is a time to reflect upon our experience of God being (as it says in Psalm 46) our refuge and strength in times of trouble, thus there is no cause to fear – even though change is all about us – and not necessarily change for the better!Yes, as we give thanks to God for the past, as we remember the past, it is easy to become pessimistic about the future. Nationally attendance is in decline and, for our Church as a denomination anyway, the age-profile is getting older on average. So, what does the future – what does God’s future – hold for us? For us here (as with many similar sized congregations within our and other denominations) we still share that same ‘pioneering’ spirit of faith, courage, hope and obedience to God and God’s will with the founders of this church. But at the same time, it is easy to be overly-concerned for the future.You know, when I hear people voicing concern for the future of their church – concerns due to decline in numbers and increase in age profile – my mind turns to the biblical theme of the ‘remnant’. It is a theme that resides deep within the biblical story of the faithfulness and obedience of God’s people. Now, we are used to thinking of a remnant as being a ‘left-over’ piece of cloth or carpet, being sold-off cheap because it is the ‘end-of-a-roll’, or an odd shape or size, of little value. But the Biblical idea of remnant is very different. One example of the biblical ‘remnant’ is the story of the flood. There was a catastrophe – in this case, the flood, which was believed to be God’s judgment on human wickedness (Genesis 6:5). But God was gracious and chose Noah, who is described as ‘blameless’: Noah, who ’walked with God’, his family and the animals survived on the Ark.

They were God’s ‘remnant’ from whom the earth was once again re-populated. The theme of God’s ‘remnant’ appears again and again throughout the Old Testament. In whatever calamity befalls God’s people, (understood as God’s judgment / punishment or not), always there is a hint of God’s grace in the survival of the ‘remnant’.

Throughout the history of God’s people, the same pattern appears – the disaster, followed by a diminished number of people, and then the survival of a seeming ‘handful’ of people – faithful and obedient people, who are not so much the end, but a new beginning. They are called to continue witnessing to God’s love, made known to us in Christ Jesus, to the world around us.Yes, the church is God’s remnant. No matter how large or small a church community is, in relation to the world-wide increase in secularism (or whatever other ’ism’ we may like to mention) the church is God’s ‘remnant’.

Not in the sense that the church is a ‘left-over’, going cheap, the ‘end-of-a-roll’, or of little value. But rather, a ‘handful’ of people – faithful and obedient people – who are not so much the end, but a new beginning.

In this we can all take hope and courage because we can believe, in faith, that no matter how fierce the present catastrophe; however painful the change; however steep the decline, God’s promise is that the remnant will live-on. The ‘remnant’ is that within which God invests all hope and faith for the future – the church.Maybe our Gospel reading speaks of this same thing in another way. God is the vine-keeper, pruning the vines – even the growing-tips so that the vines may be increasingly fruitful.

But let’s think of those vines for a moment. If you have ever travelled in wine-growing country, you may well have seen vineyards full of vines when they’re in their ‘dormant’ state. They look for all the world as if they are dead stumps of wood sticking out of the earth. It may be difficult to believe that, come the growing season, they will spring back to life, grow sometimes ten’s of meters (yards!) and give a profusion of fruit.Here, the ‘remnant’ is the stump in the ground, containing within itself all it takes for a future full of promise – a fruitful future.As remnant then, and drawing upon the imagery of our Gospel verses, what is the most important thing we, as church, must do? The single-most important thing (as I see it) is to ‘abide’ in Jesus.

We need to live in Jesus. For apart from Jesus we can do – be – nothing. We retain the commission of Jesus to ‘bear much fruit’, and become (more and more) as Jesus’ disciples. Moreover, Jesus calls us to be empowered, to be encouraged, to be hopeful, drawing on his love. If we live in the love of Jesus, by obeying the commandments – especially his command to love – then we will be living in him, and his love. And, in this, is the source of deep joy.Let us reflect, then, that as ‘remnant’ we are called not to be pessimistic about the future, but to be the source of all hope and future promise. If the church is small in numbers, and the trend continues to be small, then the biblical message is that this ‘smallness’ need not be a cause of despair, but rather a call to give thanks to God that he still entrusts us with the Good News, called to celebrate the fact that God still has purpose for us.

Let us remember, no matter how small the church is – or yet to come – we are still the body of Christ, living in the love of Jesus.Let us celebrate, then. Let us give thanks to God for all his blessings to us here through the past 95 years. Let us give thanks to God for all his blessings to us through to the present day. And let us give thanks to God that, in partnership with our brothers and sisters in Christ, as ‘remnant’ God entrusts to us the responsibility to live-out the Good News of Christ Jesus; we are called to continue witnessing to God’s love. As ‘remnant’, we are that within which God invests all hope and promise for the future, rooted and living in the love of Christ Jesus. Amen.

True Greatness—Mark 9:30-37

Three boys are bragging about their dad. The first says: "when my dad writes something called a poem he gets like $100 for it." Says the second boy: "that's nothing! If my dad writes something called a song he get's like $200 for it." To which the third boy replies: "when my dad writes something called a sermon, after he's done reading it, it takes like eight people to collect all the money for it.

Three boys were talking about their fathers excelence. One of them said: my father is a great professor. When he is talking about a subject, only 10 persons in the world can understand him! The second boy said: my father is great brain surgeon, when he is talking about his surgery only 5 person in the whole world can realize what he is saying. The third boy said: my father is a pastor, when he is preaching nobody can understand what he is saying.

What does it mean to be great?

The world around us uses the word great to describe many different things but what do we use to measure greatness?

World
• Power: A person’s greatness is measured by the things that they have the ability to control
• Prestige: A person’s greatness is measured by the accolades that they receive
• Position: A person’s greatness is measured by where they are in life
• Possessions: A person’s greatness is measured by the things that they own

This might surprise you but Jesus has a totally different view of greatness. Greatness is not measured by what you have or what you can do. It is not measured by who you are or by where you are in life. Greatness for the Christian is more about why you do what you do and who you do it for. Greatness flows out of giving not getting.

In the eyes of Jesus, greatness flows from three things
1.) Sacrifice: We are called to give up who we are right now so we can become who God wants us to be
2.) Service: We are called to give ourselves to others and invest our lives in those around us
3.) Selflessness: We are called to give ourselves to Christ and His Kingdom

I. Greatness flows out of sacrifice
The hope and peace that we have as Christians flows out of the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf. Our peace comes from the fact that Jesus traded the glory of heaven for the grime of earth. Jesus gave up the praise of the angels to hear the insults of sinful men. Jesus gave up the position in heaven to take up a position on the cross.

"The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”

Jesus was crucified. Jesus died the most miserable and horrid death known to humanity at the time of His life. Why would He do such a thing?

1. Jesus was willing to die (John 10:11)
Jesus was not forced to go to the cross but rather made the choice to go to the cross because He loved us that much. Jesus had the desire to sacrifice because He loved us more than life itself.

2. Jesus died for redemption (Ephesians 1:7)
Jesus understood the magnitude of our personal need and He died to pay the price for our sins, our failures and our poor choices. Jesus died to pay a debt that he did not owe because we owed a debt that we could not pay.

3. Jesus was revealing God’s plan (Acts 2:23)
Jesus was revealing the master plan of the Father to the disciples and they just could not understand. Jesus was showing them and us that He did not die because a handful of sinful men wanted to kill Him. Jesus died because it was part of God’s master plan to restore a right relationship with humanity.

4. Jesus was revealing great hope (1 Peter 1:3-4)
Jesus gave the disciples a wonderful hope that they would later see as transforming point of their lives. Jesus did die but He was raised from the dead to live forever and reveal the life that only God can give to each and every person.

We have been called to sacrifice
We have been blessed in our nation that we do not face the persecution that much of the church around the world is now facing. God may not call us to give our lives but instead He asks for something much harder - He wants us to give up our will. You will never be able to give your life for Christ unless you surrender the entirety of your will to Him first.

Our calling is to first die to ourselves on a daily basis so that we can live for Christ. Are the things that you are living for worth dying for? If not you’re not really living. It is only when we sacrifice our selfishness that we will truly find the depth of Christ within us.

II. Greatness flows out of Service (33-35)
Our idea of greatness coming from things like position, prestige, power and the like flow out of selfish desire. The simple reality of this is that our selfish desire has no place in our life with Christ.

• We want to have our own way with things
• We want what is best for us
• We want our personal rights
• We want the rewards of life

There is nothing wrong with getting recognition. There is nothing wrong with having position. There is nothing wrong with getting rewarded. As long as, the motivation is for the right reasons. Jesus makes it a habit of lifting up those who serve Him, so that he can be glorified.

Nine years ago I was in an elementary school in Greenfield, Iowa teaching second grade about the Philippine Culture and things were going well, the children were well behaved. We started having problems when it was time to line up for lunch because their was a fight over who got to be at the front of the line.

As the disciples were traveling to Capernaum they were arguing over who was the greatest. They were doing nothing more than fighting over who was the top dog. They were fussing and fighting over who would get to be first. They were acting like those second graders.

We often criticize the disciples in situations like this but if we’re really honest, we aren’t much different from them. There have been times when we have wanted our way. There have been times when we all have fought to move up. There have been times when we have made a fuss over insignificant things. How do we get over this?

1. Remember that we are here to serve Jesus
2. Remember that by serving Jesus we have to serve others
3. Remember that we are not the most important person in the room

III. Greatness flows out of selflessness (36-37)
"Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."
What is Jesus doing here? Why did He bring this child in while He was talking with the disciples?

The Aramaic word that the Jews used for Child was the exact same word that they used for servant. So Jesus is expanding what he had just said about being a servant. Children were viewed very differently in the first century than they are today. Children had absolutely no rights, no position, no power. They were for lack of a better way to say it, the last in society.

Is Jesus meaning just accepting a child or does he mean something different?

When Jesus uses the word welcome here it would seem that He mean to welcome the nature of a child. This would clearly go hand in hand with His teaching on greatness. To achieve greatness in the eyes of Christ you have to give up to go up.

And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3-4

Children were seen not as full persons and given the stature of property. Many rabbis even classified children with the deaf, the dumb, the weak minded and slaves.
Let me say this, children are vitally important to our society and they are vital to the life of the church.

Jesus was gently trying to remind the disciples and us three important things about true greatness

1. We belong to God the Father - We are His and our lives should always be in His hands

2. We rely on God the Father - We cannot make it through life by doing things our way and in our own strength.

3. We are under God’s authority - We live in His favor and His grace

Conclusion
What does it mean to be great?

1.) Sacrifice: We are called to give up who we are right now so we can become who God wants us to be
2.) Service: We are called to give ourselves to others and invest our lives in those around us
3.) Selflessness: We are called to give ourselves to Christ and His Kingdom

THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP—MARK 8:27-38

Billy Graham has said, “Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have”

In our text this morning Jesus confronts us with what it will cost anyone who wants to be His disciple. It will cost such a Christian everything he has.

Discipleship is the theme in Mark 8:34-38. This is evident in Jesus command, “Follow me” in verse 34. The term “Follow” in the New Testament is reserved for the subject of Discipleship, and it implies total commitment on the part of the disciple to Jesus as Lord. “General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, was asked the secret of his amazing Christian life. Booth answered, ‘I told the Lord that He could have all that there is of William Booth”

To be His Disciple I must: “Deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Him. As Billy Graham says, “It costs me everything I have.”

If I am a Disciple of Jesus, He literally becomes my way of Life, my rule of conduct. Every action and every decision I make is made in the light of “WWJD,” What would Jesus do. As Jesus led a life of Self-denial; so as His disciple I must “deny myself.” Self-denial means I submit everything I am to His control: all my pleasures, all my interests, all my works, all my desires. I hold no area of my life back from Him and His control. No one else can take this step for me; it is a choice I must make on my own free will; one I feely choose to undertake.Self-denial is not the denial of things. Warren W. Wiersbe in A Time To Be Renewed explains it so well: “To deny self does not mean to deny things. It means to give yourself wholly to Christ and share in His shame and death. To take up a cross does not mean to carry burdens or have problems.

Oswald Chambers in the September 13th devotional in My Utmost for His Highest explains self-denial as “Surrender for Devotion”: “The surrender here is of my self to Jesus, with His rest at the heart of my being. He says, ‘If you want to be My disciple, you must give up your right to yourself to Me.’ And once this is done, the remainder of your life will exhibit nothing but the evidence of this surrender, and you never need to be concerned again with what the future may hold for you.

The freedom Jesus gives us when we come to Him in true self-denial: “In submission we are free to value other people. Their dreams and plans become important to us. We have entered into a new, wonderful, glorious freedom, the freedom to give up our own rights for the good of others. For the first time we can love people unconditionally. We have given up the right for them to return our love. No longer do we feel that we have to be treated in a certain way. We can rejoice with their successes. We feel genuine sorrow at their failures. It is of little consequence that our plans are frustrated if their plans succeed. We discover that it is far better to serve our neighbor than to have our own way”

To be a disciple of Jesus will cost me the price of self-denial.

To be a disciple of Jesus I must “take up my cross.” All three Synoptic Gospels give an account of these instructions of Jesus on Discipleship, but Luke elaborates a little more in Luke 9:23: “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” A disciple of Jesus “takes up his cross” every single day; it is a daily consecration of ourselves to Him, not a once in a life time experience.

Cross-bearing is not an easy road. Crucifixion was the most horrible and painful form of execution in all of human history, and death was usually extremely slow in coming. Jesus makes His point even stronger in Luke 14:27, “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be my disciple.” Being a disciple of Jesus Christ requires I live a sacrificial life following in the steps of Jesus. This does not mean that a disciple seeks to suffer; but it does mean he will not be surprised when it comes.

Cross-bearing may cost you your physical life. Jesus explains in Mark 8:35, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” A cross-bearing disciple will lay down his life for Jesus and His Gospel if the situation demands; he will not back down. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the great German theologian in the first half of the twentieth century said in his The Cost of Discipleship: “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die” [Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1963), 99.] These were not ivory tower academics for Bonhoeffer, who paid the personal cost of discipleship in execution at age 39 on April 9, 1945. He had bravely resisted Hitler and the Nazi State when most of Germany’s clergy supported the Third Reich. In 1943 he was part of a group that tried twice but failed to assassinate Hitler. The word “fuehrer” in German literally means “leader or guide.” Standing up as Christ’s disciple on a radio broadcast in Berlin he had bravely rebuked the German Church for having allied with the Nazi, “‘There can only be one Fuehrer for Christians, and it isn’t Adolf Hitler.’ The radio address was brought to an abrupt halt, a foreboding prologue to things to come.”

All disciples may not have to pay Bonhoeffer’s “cost of discipleship”, but anyone unwilling to do so can not be a disciple of Jesus.

Finally, a disciple of Jesus must “Follow Him.” To follow Jesus means that by the power of the Holy Spirit living in me I “imitate and His leading,” that I “act according to His example. His life is the pattern for living my own. It means I imitate Him completely and continuously consecrate my life to Him.

Jesus’ rhetorical question in verse 37, “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul” clarifies what it means to follow Him. Worldliness has no lasting value. Only our personal, daily relationship with Him as our Saviour and Lord pays eternal dividends. As C. S. Lewis says in The Four Loves: “All human beings pass away. Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose. If love is to be a blessing, not a misery, it must be for the only beloved who will never pass away” [--C. S. Lewis in The Four Loves. Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 9.].

Ron Lee Davis in his sermon entitled “Rejoicing in Our Suffering” tells this story: “I remember Tom Landry telling me in the mountains of Colorado years ago, just after they had won the Super Bowl (the Dallas Cowboys, year after year, had been coming so close, and finally that victory had come), ‘The overwhelming emotion—in a few days, among the players on the Dallas Cowboys football team—was how empty that goal was. There must be something more.’” That more is a daily walk with Jesus in which He is our Lord and Master and we are His disciples:

“Only one life will soon be past,Only what’s done for Christ will last.”Jesus calls all of us to be His disciples: to deny ourselves; to take up our cross daily; and to follow Him. Are you His disciple, or are you only a Christaholic? The choice is up to you. “LET US PRAY . . .”“THE SURRENDERED WILL”:LAID ON YOUR ALTAR, O MY LORD, DIVINE,ACCEPT MY GIFT THIS DAY, FOR JESUS’ SAKE;I HAVE NO JEWELS TO ADORN YOUR SHRINE,NO WORLD-FAMED SACRIFICE TO MAKE;AND HERE I BRING WITHIN MY TREMBLING HANDSTHIS WILL OF MINE, A THING THAT SEEMS SMALL;YET YOU ALONE CAN UNDERSTANDTHAT WHEN I YIELD YOU THIS, I YIELD YOU ALL! Amen

The Crumbs Under the Table: Bread Enough for All—Mark 7:24-37

Yesterday afternoon, my family and I went to a local bookstore. It was there that I found an interesting book entitled “The Best Los Angeles Sports Arguments: The 100 Most Controversial Debatable Questions for Die-Hard Fans.” The book had interesting questions such as: What was the worst trade in Los Angeles history?: What’s the better rivalry Dodgers-Giants or Lakers-Celtics?; What was the worst call that went against a local team?

These questions reminded me of a similar question that Christians tend to ask when they read a passage such as what we have today—What do you do with a difficult passage where Jesus shows a disturbing behavior? Remember those images of Jesus holding a lamb, or him being welcoming with the little children? “Jesus loves the children” a song once said. We don’t see that here. Whatever happened to that image of Jesus?

In this passage we are seeing a different side of Jesus. Was Jesus having a bad day? Did he have a split personality? Was he bipolar? How could Jesus say such a thing?

Jesus' referring to Gentiles as dogs - clearly this is one of those difficult gospel moments with which Christians must wrestle with. Who is this Jesus who is disrespectful of other nationalities and religions? What kind of Savior doesn't want to heal a young girl simply because of who her family is? What are we to do with a Christ who is culturally insensitive?

Because this passage is so troubling, Christians through the centuries have tried to sweeten or domesticate it, for example pointing out that the Greek word translated here as "dogs" literally means "small dogs," that is, puppies or house dogs. I don't think that mitigates the insult much. I will admit, however, to getting a chuckle out of the images -- such as Sebastiano Ricci's Christ and the Canaanite Woman reproduced here -- in which a smiling Jesus seems to change his mind because that puppy is just so darn cute!

But I think a more productive approach in this case is not to domesticate this scriptural problem but to embrace it as a moment in which the Kingdom of Heaven breaks opens and becomes more inclusive, a moment in which we are reminded that no one is outside the embrace of God.
In the parallel story in Matthew 15:21-28, the woman is Canaanite, whereas here she is Syrophoenician, but in either case the relevant point is that she is Gentile, a pagan enemy of the Jewish people. Given that Jesus has traveled to Tyre, a Gentile stronghold, it's hardly unexpected that he should run into one of these despised people.

What is perhaps surprising is that this Gentile woman would turn to Jesus for help, but of course a desperate woman will do almost anything to help her sick child. Jesus, however, is not inclined to help her, for (as he notes in the Matthew version) he sees his ministry as intended for "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" and not for the Gentiles (Mt 15:24).

Moreover, he turns her away by using a dining metaphor, one that implies a limited supply of food that only some may eat while others will go hungry. And this shortly after he has managed to feed five thousand people with only five loaves and two fish (Mk 6:30-44)! Surely Jesus of all people should know that God's goodness is bounteous, that there is more than enough food for everyone.

And this is essentially what the Gentile woman points out to Jesus. There's plenty of food for everyone; even once all of those recognized as people, as insiders, are fed, there's still food left over for those who aren't even considered human, the outsiders. And they're all eating the same food; admittedly, some of it is crumbs from the original serving, but it's the same substance. Whether they are at the table or under it, they are all finding nourishment.

And Jesus, apparently moved by her words -- or reminded by her of his own previous miracle -- essentially says, "Good point. You get the same food as all of God's other children anyway, so why not have a seat at the table?" He promptly heals her child, and never again in Mark does he refuse to heal anyone or question anyone's worthiness to be healed. The "dog" becomes a dinner guest and gets to sit at the table with the "children," and because the feast is so bounteous, these additional guests in no way diminish the abundance of food.

This powerful moment is recalled whenever people gather before the Lord’s Table. In the Catholic faith during mass they say the words: "We do not presume to come to this thy Table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy Table. But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy. Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen."

After Jesus leaves the Gentile woman, he again feeds the masses -- four thousand this time, in largely Gentile territory and with a Greek-style blessing of food rather than the more customarily Jewish blessing of God in thanks for the food -- and proclaims to his followers that the second great commandment, after loving the Lord "with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength," is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mk 12:29-31), a lesson he has been reminded of by the Syrophoenician mother.

This same notion of loving neighbors and of treating insiders and outsiders with equal respect is picked up as well in this week's readings from the letter of James, in which the author chastises those who show "favoritism" and who "[make] distinctions among yourselves." He then follows Jesus in preaching the law that "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Similarly, in Psalm 146 (one of the psalms assigned for this Sunday), we are reminded that "the Lord cares for the stranger" -- even strangers of other nationalities, even those we might call "dogs."

Jesus understands our initial dislike to strangers -- after all, he had them himself -- but ultimately there is no one we shouldn't invite to the feast. There is plenty of bread for everyone, even those who have traditionally been relegated to eating crumbs under the table, so we will not go hungry but rather will dine abundantly when we follow Jesus' example and welcome all comers to the table.

One of my Fuller Seminary professor Miroslav Volf wrote a book several years ago entitled "Exclusion and Embrace" where he takes the reader on a sweeping theological exploration of what it means to truly embrace the other. He also points out that Scripture is abounding with examples and perspective from those who represent the oppressed, and the forgotten. The weak and feeble represent a majority portion of the characters in the narrative of Scripture. Volf correctly recognizes this aspect of Scripture, and calls for all Christians to recognize our responsibility to embrace the other in our lives. Those who are weak, and oppressed occupy a special place in the heart of God. That Jesus came to both bring hope to the oppressed, and to offer them the chance at repentance and salvation.

This is what our passage is all about. Scripture is challenging our hearts to learn to embrace the other; those who are different from us; in a way creating a new table.

Obviously the gospel reading involves confrontation and accountability, but it is not Jesus who does the teaching or who initially shows mercy. Instead, a nameless Syrophoenician woman approaches Jesus and asks that he heal her daughter.

Presumably because she is not Jewish, Jesus rejects her request outright: "...it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs" (Mark 7:27). The woman, however, does what no other person in the gospel has done: She persists and persuades Jesus, for "even the dogs under the table eat the children's scraps." She is the only person to win an argument with Jesus in the whole of scripture.

Many have attempted to explain, excuse, or ignore Jesus' disturbing behavior, when, in the words of theologian Sharon Ringe, he was "caught with his compassion down." And with good reason—Mark's portrayal of Jesus is not a typical or comfortable one.

The woman's behavior, on the other hand, has profound importance for the entire Christian community, for she achieved the laying of a new table to which all are invited.

Why the woman was not named nor invited to formal discipleship remains a mystery; however, she still serves as an example of discipleship for all Christians. Like all disciples are called to do, she recognized the new life Jesus had to offer and stopped at nothing to get it, for herself and for her child. Amen

To Wash or Not to Wash—Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

There is a scene in the classic movie Sound of Music were the nuns were trying to look for Maria (played by Julie Andrews). As they were talking about Maria, all of them agreed that she is someone who doesn't adhere to common practices or traditions of the Catholic Church. Thus came the phrase,"How do you solve a problem like Maria?"

In our passage today, the Pharisees were also singing a similar tune: "How do you solve a problem like Jesus and His disciples?" What do we do with people who do not adhere to traditions of the Church?

Tradition is a beautiful thing. It helps ground us in our history. In a way, it is how the ancient continue to teach us today, by handing down ideas and thoughts and habits through our traditions.

Tradition’s roots are to be honored and adored and truly respected. But what happens when we begin to lose sight of these roots and begin to focus on tradition itself? What happens when we begin to honor the tradition rather than what tradition points to?

In our lesson today, the Pharisees confront Jesus for not holding to ceremonial washing traditions. These traditions probably come from important reasons; ways to keep hands, food, and dishes clean so that diseases do not get passed on.

Or perhaps the traditions help instill the washer with thankfulness toward God who has provided the meal, the dishes, the time, and everything to put a meal together.

The tradition comes from holy roots, roots designed to teach us about ourselves, God, and how to care for one another’s health. However, the Pharisees have focused so much upon the tradition that they have forgotten the reason. Tradition existed for its own sake, to be done because it was “supposed” to be done, not because it pointed beyond itself.

Jesus points out that cleanliness does not come from activity alone but from a place much deeper. What does it mean that someone follows all the rules of hand-washing but does not care for the other? (see the list from Mark 7:21-22) Cleanliness is not what we do, but is a way of life. Tradition is not the point. It is what the tradition points to, that is the point.

In Mark's gospel the Pharisees are arguing with Jesus about why the disciples do not wash their hands, as custom commands, before eating. Jesus responds by saying, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.' You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition." And then he calls the crowd again and says to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come."

Jesus conveyed a message: get to the heart of the message in the scriptures - practice the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law. And when we first read through the gospel lesson, it seems obvious why Jesus should be chastising them, obvious that he is right and that they are at fault. But it's too easy for us to scapegoat the Pharisees when we read this story, too easy to shake our heads at their ways, all the while patting ourselves smugly on the backs for being and doing better than them, at least. But are we being fair to the Pharisees? Are we being honest with ourselves?

After all, what exactly is it that they are doing that is so wrong, so different from what we would do, anyway?

If we look at the actions of the Pharisees it is easy to see that they might conceive themselves as acting rightly as doers of the word. The Pharisees know the commandments of the scriptures, and follow them meticulously. They know the cleanliness codes, and they know that eating with out cleansing is ritually impure according to holy law.

By following the law, aren't they being doers of the word as James urges? However, doing involves more than blind obedience, it takes more than crossing t's and dotting I's in good behavior - it something to the spirit of the law that gives it life, not just the letter of the law only.

Jesus quotes Isaiah by saying "this people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Though the Pharisees held fast to the commandments, they managed to do so while at the same time missing the entire point of the very rules they followed.

Cleanliness, Jesus insisted, wasn't about literal cleanliness, but about the purity of our inner beings. The passage is encouraging us to be doers of the word, encourages us to take a look in the mirror, and remember who we are and what we see there. Purity of religion before God always starts with concern for others, he reminds us, care of the orphan and the widow, those most vulnerable in society. Our doing must be reconciled to those who are most oppressed - then we will be clean and undefiled from inside out.

The Pharisees missed the point even as they diligently followed the commandments of God. But still, with their faults, we can't yet let ourselves of the hook, and put all the blame on them. We are still to be held accountable. The passage asks us to be doers, not simply hearers of the word. He demands that we look in the mirror, and see ourselves clearly, and see what our weaknesses and strengths are clearly, and see what God calls us to do, clearly. Jesus asks us to be pure, clean, from the inside out, and not worry as much about the outside in. How do we hold up to their demands? What do you see when you look into the mirror?

Jesus calls us to be faithful from the inside out instead of outside in. Too often, we let our motivation for our actions come from the wrong sources. We, too, like the Pharisees, get caught up in particular practices that we think will guarantee our holiness, our righteousness, our correctness. And we, too, are concerned about who is clean, who is pure enough to be part of us, part of our fellowship, part of our church, part of our lives.

Over time for Christians this has meant banning dancing and card-playing, avoiding going to the movies, sticking to only a certain translation of the Bible. It has meant deciding that the church could exclude people because they were unclean, not fitting in because of something external about them, because of skin color, income level, country of origin, and many other reasons.

We are indeed called to be clean and pure, but it is what comes out of us that makes us clean, not what we put in. It is how we treat others, how we live our lives, how we act, what we do, that makes us pure. We are called not only to honor God with words, with our lips, but with our hearts and our souls. So let us be clean, from our insides out. Amen.

Something to Chew On--John 6:51-58

When I first read today’s Gospel lesson, I was reminded of a time when I was punished as a child. I had broken a cardinal rule regarding table manners. When food is placed in front of you, never say in a disgusted voice, “What is this?

This is gross?” … especially if you are a guest at one of your parent’s friend’s house! Upon hearing Jesus say eat my flesh and drink my blood … questions immediately surfaced. Eat flesh? Drink blood? Yak! What is this?

There is always the danger of interpreting scripture with present eye glasses, looking back, and interpreting scripture from today’s traditional and liturgical stand point. One should take off those glasses and simply ask any text, “What is this?” and let the text speak for itself.

In fact, I believe our lesson begs the question “Who was Jesus?” Who was
this carpenter’s son that fed the hungry multitudes, and had the audacity to refer to himself as the “living bread that came down from heaven.” Those listening immediately thought Jesus was referring to that sticky stuff called “manna” that their ancestors were blessed with on their journey through the dessert toward the promise land. Jesus quickly nullifies that thought … “No, manna only filled their stomachs and satisfied them physically, but they still died … No, I’m talking about food that when you eat it, you never die!”

Sometimes Jesus can be difficult to understand … Lord, just say it plainly. Jesus then cranks the conversation up a notch or two with his saying, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”

There he goes again with this eating flesh and drinking blood stuff! These are repugnant ideas and allude to cannibalism. No wonder the people who first heard this criticized him and even turned away.






In fact, in Greek, it is even more repugnant. The very word translated here as “eat” is actually closer to our words “chew,” or “gnaw,” or “gulp.” “Unless you gnaw on the flesh of the Son of Man and gulp his blood, you have no life in you? What is this? This is gross?

Now I found that most commentaries soften some the disgusting imagery by saying that Jesus is speaking in metaphor, referring perhaps to the Eucharist. But again, this brings me back to the point that on the last night in the Upper Room John makes no reference to Jesus referring to the bread as his “body” or the wine as his “blood” like the other three
Gospels.

So I think it is safe to say that today’s gospel lesson is one of Jesus’ “hard sayings.” There are so many times when Jesus demands hard things of us. “Go, sell all that you have and give it to the poor.” That’s hard. Or, elsewhere, “If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.” Or, “Be perfect, even as your father in heaven is perfect.”

But, in today’s gospel, Jesus doesn’t demand anything of us other than our faith. Rather, Jesus makes promises. He tells us that he is the bread that has come down from heaven. He is the bread that will satisfy all our longings. We are to feed on him and we will be satisfied forever. It is ironic that it is the promise of Jesus that offends his disciples rather than any of his demands or commands.

Jesus promises us that he is the answer to our deepest hungers, that we are to feed upon him and be filled that he is more to us than food and drink … he is for us the very Source of life. Passages like this I think define our real problem with Jesus … that it is not so much a question of “Who was
Jesus?” but rather “Who is Jesus?”

“Who is Jesus today for us?” Jesus offended those who stood around
him that day.

It’s hard to believe that God really looks and acts and talks like Jesus. So many people were offended by Jesus in the first century, as they are in our own time.



Our problem is that Jesus and his teachings can be difficult and demanding here and now. Folks, it is not for us to choose to believe in Jesus on the basis of certain proofs and arguments.

It is for Jesus to choose us, to come to us, to call us, to speak to us, to reveal himself to us.

The first disciples did not choose Jesus. He chose them. They were drawn to him. And this is true for us.

Last weeks lesson makes this plain: At this time the Jews began to murmur disapprovingly because he said ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ They said, ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph; we know his father and mother. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus answered, ‘Stop murmuring among yourselves. No man can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: “And they shall all be
taught by God.” Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him comes to me (John 6:41-45).

Commenting on these verses Rudolf Bultmann writes, “… faith becomes possible when one abandons hold on one’s own security, and to abandon one’s security is nothing else than to let oneself be drawn by the Father. Moreover, verse 45

(b) shows that this “drawing” is not a magic process, nor is it governed by rigid laws like the laws of nature. It occurs when man abandons his own judgment and “hears” and “learns” from the Father, when he allows God to speak to him. The “drawing” by the Father occurs not, as it were, behind man’s decision of faith but in it. He who comes to Jesus, however,
receives the promise, “I will not reject him.”









For this very reason, you are here this morning. You are drawn by God who overrides all your desires to be some place else, doing something else. When people ask me how I decided to become a minister, or when did I choose to become a minister, I reply that I did not choose nor did I actually decide. I was drawn into the ministry by God whose Son simply
said to me: “Follow me!” If left to my own devices in 1991, I would have chosen to go to Med School, or Pharmacy like my mother, all options I
considered.

But as it turned out, I found myself in March 1991 as a young United Methodist student in a non-Methodist seminary without any money! I can’t explain it any better than being “drawn” by God to use me, reluctant, to serve Him as a servant of His Word and Sacrament.

That is the way it is. You are here not because you studied the world’s alleged saviors and decided that Jesus had the most to offer. It is not that you assembled all the available historical data and it added up to Jesus. It is rather that Jesus in some way has come to you … spoken to you … and you listened and learned … and he chose you to be his disciple …you responded.

Like the scriptures today, Jesus keeps talking to his disciples (that’s us), keeps working with his disciples, and keeps speaking and revealing even when they (we) don’t understand everything about him. But understanding is not the issue.

The issue is to keep trying to love Jesus, to follow Jesus, to feed on him, to savor and enjoy him as if we were feeding on the “bread of life.” Faith in Jesus is not necessarily certitude, firm, or unwavering understanding. Faith is being willing to be in conversation with Jesus, to be drawn by God to Christ even though we do not always understand him.

Today’s Gospel lesson may be a “hard saying” but it spells out who Jesus is for us today. Jesus is the bread of life come down to nourish our hearts, our minds, and our souls that we may not die physically or spiritually, but have life now and always! The phrase “flesh and blood” can be an idiom referring to the whole person.



I believe Jesus is saying … eat …drink … take all of me into your life. Refresh your mind, your body, and your soul with my ways, my teachings, and my truth … for I am the (stuff) of life. “Whoever comes to me shall never be hungry and whoever believes in me shall never be
thirsty.” Eat! Drink!

Sacramental … Yes … but more … At times you may wonder “What is this stuff?” But remember, Jesus is the one who draws you into his fellowship: “Follow me!” Jesus is the one who sets Table … provides the bread … offers the invitation.

You don’t know why for you feel unworthy, but you do know because grace overrides your unworthiness. You are confused and don’t understand but you are clear about your needs. You are reluctant and hesitant and often
uncommitted, but you are hungry. You are lost in the past and afraid of the future, but today … today Jesus draws you to himself … and for the moment … in this sacred hour … it is enough … just enough hope and peace … so … we continue to take Jesus in … we eat and live … the taste is good … and that my friends is faith. Amen

“Caring Enough to Confront”--2 Samuel 12:1-12:14

Last week we looked at the sin of David. He had an affair with the wife of one of his best soldiers. She ended up pregnant. He tried to cover it up. He sent her husband back to the war carrying his own death sentence. In verse 24 of chapter 11 we find the words of the messenger to the king, “Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead.”
David’s plan worked. The other man was out of the picture. Bathsheba went through a period of mourning. Then they got married, and she moved into the palace. It was all taken care of. Right?
Not so fast. David is restless. He can’t forget what has happened. His stomach is in knots. He can’t sleep at night. Every time he sees Bathsheba, he thinks about the events that unfolded. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Things just got out of hand. Everything just happened so fast.
At the end of chapter 11, we read, “But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.” God wasn’t pleased with the actions of his anointed king.
We are confronted with two concepts here: truth and consequences. The truth is David sinned, and God wasn’t too happy about it. The consequences were horrible and ugly. The first 9 verses of the passage deal with…I. The TRUTHThe truth was something that David had been trying to hide. He had tried to trick Uriah into spending the night with Bathsheba. He had sent Uriah to his death. He had been running full-speed away from the truth. Then the prophet Nathan enters the picture.
Now Nathan comes with a most unpleasant task. He had a…A. Divine COMMISSION.
Verse 1 says, “And the Lord sent Nathan to David.” Nathan is charged with a most unappealing task. He was to face the king and confront him with his sin.
At any moment David could have picked up his sword or given the order to have Nathan executed. Nathan should be given credit for his bravery and fortitude in this matter. Even with the call of God, it still takes a person of courage to carry out the call of God.
It was routine practice of kings in that day to just run roughshod over the laws of their land. If someone confronted him, he would kill him. Could you imagine going up to him and telling him that God was displeased with his lifestyle? Even with a commission from God, it would take someone of great bravery to do that.Nathan was a smart man. He tells David a parable, or story. He makes…
B. An appeal to COMMON justice.Nathan tells David about 2 men, a rich man and a poor man. The rich man has a huge herd and flock, and the poor man has only one little ewe. The ewe was a pet. It wasn’t mere livestock. It was a pet in the same sense as many of us who have dogs and cats, or hamsters. David would also have taken interest in this since it involved sheep. After all, he had been a shepherd as a boy. David is struck by…1. The ruthlessness of the CRIME.David was struck by the down right meanness of the crime. This rich man had enough sheep of his own. Why on earth did he need to steal the pet of this poor family? The rich man was unwilling to take one of his own flock. He took the poor man’s sheep because he could. This was a heinous crime. There is something that David didn’t see, and that was…
2. The parallels of the CRIMES.There are interesting parallels in this story. Let’s look at it closer.
The parallel is in terms of the characters of the story. The rich man is David. The poor man is Uriah. The ewe is Bathsheba. The flock of the rich man is David’s harem. Who is the traveler that is mentioned by Nathan? The traveler is David’s desire. David had natural desires that he wanted to fulfill. The problem is that he took Bathsheba from Uriah to satisfy his desire, when he could have taken one from his harem.
David, however, doesn’t see the parallel. He thinks that Nathan is bringing him a real case that happened. David, as king, was used to reviewing judicial cases. The story raises the…
C. The CONDEMNATION of the king.David is upset about this. How could this happen? This poor man now has no pet because this greedy rich fellow stole his lamb. Some translations translate David’s words as this man “shall surely die.” He says that the man deserves to die. David did have an idea of…
1. CORRECT justice.The Law of God called for a fourfold payback for a stolen sheep. Exodus 22:1 states, “If a man steals…a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay…four sheep for a sheep.” David was quite correct in his pronouncement of justice in the matter that Nathan presented him. The problem is that David had a…
2. Lack of CORRECT understanding.David failed to see the parallel between the two. It is interesting that thought the rich man deserved to die, because that was the penalty for adultery. Both the man and woman were to be killed for committing adultery.
David was still running from his own sin. He lacked the understanding that he was subject to the Law as much as the rich man was.D. God speaks to David’s CONSCIENCE.With all the courage he could find Nathan steps up and says, “You are the man!”
Can you see the look of horror that must have appeared on David’s face? This prophet had the audacity to tell the king that he was as bad as someone who had stolen a family pet. What would happen next? Would David order yet another murder? Would he punish Nathan?
Without hesitating, Nathan continued with words direct from God. God had chosen David to be king. He had protected him from the murderous and jealous Saul. He had given him all that Saul had. God would have given him more than that. David is accused of killing Uriah with the sword of the enemy.
The truth is out on the table. Now we have to deal with the…II. The CONSEQUENCESVerse 10-14 deal with the consequences of David’s sin, his repentance, and forgiveness. Nathan delivers the judgment of God in verses 10-12. There we see…A. The CALAMITY of sin.The basic gist of God’s judgment is that David’s house will be a mess as a result of this.
Sin brought great calamity on the family of David. There is one thing good that David did. He confessed.
B. CONFESSION and repentance lead to forgiveness.David cried out, “I have sinned against the Lord.” What a relief that must have been for him to get that off his chest.
I remember when I was a kid. I was probably about 8 or 9. I had stolen a few school supplies from Alemars Book Store in Quezon City. I took several school items but I didn’t pay for it. It ate me up. One night I couldn’t sleep. I went and woke my mom up and told her the whole terrible thing. It wasn’t even worth a lot of money. The next day, I went to the store and confessed my sin. I pulled out some change and offered to pay for it. The people thanked me for my honesty. That was a great relief to my guilt-wracked conscience. Confession and repentance led to forgiveness. I slept well that night.
David must have felt a great weight removed from his chest when he uttered those words. David still had to deal with…
C. CONSEQUENCES and punishment.There was still the issue of justice. David deserved the death penalty for committing adultery. He also deserved the death penalty for killing Uriah.
Here we see an example of God’s grace in the Old Testament. We see that he…
1. COMMUTED the punishment.God was most gracious in dealing with David. Remember that he was very much displeased with the actions of David.We see the fruit of genuine repentance. David was genuinely sorry for what he had done. He recognized his sin and took responsibility for it. As a result we see that God “put away [his] sin.” He then proceeds to tell David that he won’t die as a result of his sin. David received a healthy dose of God’s grace. He would not get what he deserved for his sin. It is a beautiful thing to receive God’s grace. It is available to all who truly repent and ask for it.
David had another issue to deal with, and that was…
2. CONTINUING consequences.I have heard people say on occasion, “If you pick up a stick, you have to be willing to deal with what’s on the other end of the stick.”While David was forgiven and his punishment commuted, he still had to deal with things that happened as a result of his sin. He had to deal with what was on the other end of the stick that he picked up.
As mentioned earlier, his family was a mess. The things that happened shock us. This is true even in the age of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich. The things that occurred in the palace after this would probably make Jerry Springer blush.
Our sense of justice says, “It’s not fair that David’s children paid the price for his sin, when he got off free.”
There is a difference between punishment and consequences. The punishment is a matter of law. Consequences have nothing to do with the law.ConclusionIn God’s government, we all deserve the legal punishment of death, but through his grace he offers us the opportunity for forgiveness. We still have to deal with the consequences of our decisions. David had to deal with death, incest and all the garbage that happened. He never whined and fussed about though. He understood that he had brought this on himself.So often we want God to take away the consequences of our sin. The important thing is that we not focus so closely on the temporary consequences. The important thing is whether or not we are in a right relationship with God. After his confession and repentance, David was restored to a right relationship with God, but he still had to deal with the consequences.

Now be quite clear here as to what God can do and what God can’t do, God can’t make everything right again, God can’t undo the effects of what you have done, in David’s case his son still died, but what God can do is to meet you as you are and set you free to take you forward.

The Bible scholar Dale Davis writes here,
“We expect retribution, punishment, judgment upon David.
And that is here.
But we have a sense that we have travelled beyond judgment in 2 Samuel 12
into a Land of Grace”.
I love that phrase,
“into a land of Grace”,
that is the land God calls you to,
that is the land Jesus opened up to all by his death and resurrection,
that is the Land in which the Spirit lives and moves and has His being,
a Land of Grace,
a land of grace where despite everything you and I find a welcome. Amen

Anatomy of Sin--2 Samuel 11:1-11

Are you ever shocked by how sinful our world has become? Open up a newspaper and you can see sin’s effects -- Murder, assault, drugs, sexual misdeeds, gambling, drugs, failure to pay child support, tax evasion, etc. -- And that’s just the SPORTS page! We see news events that are almost unimaginable.

The LA Lakers Kobe Bryant was on trial a few years ago for allegedly having improper relations with a minor -- Not to mention the fact that he’s married. I could go on and on with stories from the headlines that prove my point.

You probably know people who’ve recently made a mess of their life through poor and/or sinful choices. But let’s not be too quick to take the attitude that says, “How could THOSE people do that”

Today, I want to look at the anatomy of a sin. The steps involved in sin’s progression. I want us to see how even a spiritual giant such as David can fall to sin if he lets his guard down. We’ll look too at the steps you can take to defeat temptation.

In order to do these things, I want to look at the life of David – a man after God’ own heart. First, a little background on David. He wrote much of the book of Psalms. He was regarded as a hero after demonstrating incredible faith in God and killing Goliath. He’s even referred to in scriptures as a “Man after God’s own heart.” Friends, if it can happen to someone like David, don’t be naïve enough to think it couldn’t happen to you.

The first step we find in David’s fall is that he became USED TO SIN. 2 Samuel 5: 13, “After he left Hebron, David took more wives and concubines in Jerusalem.” This is a seemingly insignificant verse. After all, what David did was legally and socially acceptable thing to do, but, according to a seemingly insignificant verse in Deuteronomy 17, it’s sinful. This passage says that a Hebrew king should not: 1) Acquire many horses, 2)take many wives, 3) accumulate much silver & gold. David had “overlooked” this transgression or brushed it off.

Are we being too hard on David here? All kings have a lot of money and possessions. Most kings back then even had many wives. Many of us today overlook the “little sins” or laugh off the “socially acceptable sins.” Many of us in this room do not think much about our indiscriminate t.v. viewing.

Perhaps we’ve been known to enjoy or even tell a coarse joke every now and then. Perhaps we’ve taken part in some gossip and negative talk this week. Materialism is rampant even among church-going people today.

Could it be that we’ve lost the innocence of our youth? Remember how you used to react when you were a small child and you heard obscene language? It shocked you. Sin should shock us still. We see, first of all, that David became USED TO sin. Sin didn’t seem like the big deal that it ought to. It has become an acceptable way of life.

The second step in David’s fall was that he had TOO MUCH IDLE TIME. Everybody needs some down time to relax. But too much idle time, often leads to misdeeds.

David was a leader and a warrior – that’s what he was gifted to do. verse 1 – “…at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab…but David remained in Jerusalem.” Why was David not out in the battlefield with his men? David was one of the greatest warriors Israel had ever known. Would be like having Shaquille ONeal on your team and sitting him on the bench. This would have been okay, if David stayed home for another purpose. But I don’t read of anything constructive David is occupied with. Friends, are you occupied with the work of the Lord today or are you using your time for other, more selfish endeavors?

David made a progressive step when he VENTURED WHERE TEMPTATION DWELLED. It was a common custom for women of that time to go to their rooftop at evening time to bathe. It was also very likely that the palace rooftop was higher than all other rooftops – providing a view of all rooftops in the area. You draw your own conclusions as to why David decided to spend some time on the rooftop that evening. It may have been innocent, but just seems fishy to me.

There are lots of ways that we venture where temptation dwells today. I just want to talk specifically about a few.

Internet pornography. Chuck Colson has called internet pornography “Spiritual Crack Cocaine” because of how quickly people can become addicted to it and how destructive it is to the human soul. No longer do men (and some women) have to enter into adult bookstores or seedy nightclubs to feed their sexual fantasies. It’s all now just a click away on a home computer.

We need to put safeguards in place. Internet filtering software is available for all of you computer-saavy parents who want to do your best to keep the garbage out of your home. Place the computer in a visible place in the house. Don’t assume your kids wouldn’t look at it. I have known some Christian parents who were shocked to find out that their precious children had been viewing pornography online. For some, the temptation is too great and it becomes a sickness, similar to alcoholism. Marriages have crumbled. Jobs have been lost (ministries have ended) It is a gateway for sexual perversion.

Billy Graham’s ministry has escaped the scandals that have plagued many evangelists. For years he has had the following policies in place: 1) No one person will ever handle the money. It will always be handled by committee. 2) He will never be alone with a woman other than his wife. 3)Doesn’t even allow the rumor of indiscretion. David ventured where temptation dwelled.

David’s next step down this path of destruction was that he DWELLED IN THE MIDST OF TEMPTATION. Once he noticed Bathsheba, David had not yet sinned. He could have recognized this as temptation and decided it was best to go back downstairs.

David made the CHOICE to stay on that rooftop and stare.

Matthew 5: 27 – 28, “You have heard it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” You can be a murderer if that is what you harbor in your heart. You can be an adulterer without being physically intimate. David dwelled in the midst of temptation.

The next following step is RATIONALIZATION. Now that David knew what he wanted, he now had to ease his conscience. He tried to make it seem okay in his mind. You can talk yourself into feeling okay with almost anything. Someone will tell you it’s okay. You can reason it out in your own mind. I can imagine what might have been going through David’s mind on that rooftop that evening. “Uriah is much older than her. She needs a younger man.” “Uriah is going to be gone to war for a long time.” “I’ve been under such stress lately. I deserve to do something for myself.”

David rationalized with sin until he no longer felt it was wrong.

Finally, ACTION IS TAKEN. 2 Samuel 11: 4-5, “Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, ‘I am pregnant.’”

How quickly the “man after God’s own heart,” the “giant slayer” became a common adulterer. Folks, don’t be naïve enough to think it couldn’t happen to you if you don’t keep your defenses up.

Next, notice the ENTANGLEMENT OF SIN. Like an insect in a spider web (more they try to get out of it, the more entangled they get). Sin is often sticky. (One sin necessitates another)

David sends for Uriah to come home and be with Bathsheba to make it look like the baby is his. But Uriah refuses to go home to the comforts of home while his men are still in the battlefield. David tries to get out of this jam by arranging to have Uriah set up to be killed in battle. Now he’s a murderer.

This is where our passage ends. However, I don't want to end the sermon on a negative note. I would like to focus now on what to do when temptation comes into our lives.

Basically, all you need to do is do the opposite of what David did in this account.

1) Beware having a lot of idle time.

2) Don’t go where temptation is if you can help it.

3) Don’t dwell in the midst of temptation.

4) Don’t let yourself rationalize. (stand on truth)

5) Be quick to repent vs. entangling yourself trying to get of it in your way.

Furthermore, fill your mind with good things. (Phillippians 4: 8) Have someone that you’re accountable to. Remember the Christian life is meant to lived in community not in isolation. Amen