Brad's Sermons

Sunday January 22, 2012 "I Believe in God..." Genesis 1:1-31a

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:46:00 GMT

I believe in God.

Not a real shocking statement, is it? After all, I am a Christian minister, and it is kind of assumed, isn’t it? That assumption is a two edged sword, though. While it can be rightly assumed that I believe in God, there is still the question that lingers for many, including many Christians.. That question is “Why do I believe?” And that is a question that believers have wrestled with for centuries.

Over the course of the next three Sundays I want to explore one of the great statements of faith of orthodox Christianity, The Apostles Creed. If you turn to page 359 in your hymnals you will see something called “The Apostolic Affirmation of Faith”, which is the Disciple way of saying, “The Apostles Creed.” By tradition, The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a non-creedal church, which means we have no creed or confession that we hold up as a “test of membership.” For us, acceptance of Jesus as the Christ is our only “test of membership”. We recognize that matters of faith can be very personal, and in fact, can be interpreted differently by faithful people. Part of the reason we are here is to share our experiences, our interpretations, our faith, and come to an understanding of belief. The fellowship of the church is where we work that out.

Not all Christians have always felt that way, nor do they all feel that way today. From the earliest stages of the formation of the church, some have desired a statement of faith, a creed that all could lay claim to and pledge their belief in. I think the movement toward creeds was a noble one. Church leaders needed something they could hang their hat on, something they could articulate, something that could bind the people together in a common purpose and in common worship.

And so, councils of church leaders have met through the centuries at places like Nicea, and Westminster and composed, through much discussion and many prayers, statements of faith to be shared by like minded Christians. Over the centuries, however, some people have used the creeds to exclude, and that is one reason we as Disciples of Christ have steadfastly refused to hold up one creed as “right.”

The Apostles Creed is a little different than others, though. Tradition says it was composed by the Apostles of Jesus on the day of Pentecost. In it’s original form, it contained 12 lines and tradition holds that each of the 12 Apostles added a line. The more likely scenario is that it was written sometime in the 2nd century, as an amalgam of new testament statements of faith. The first time it is mentioned by name is by Ambrose, in a letter to Pope Siricius. Did Ambrose write the creed? Did a council in Milan refine it? We don’t know. But we do know that in the late 4th century, it became a popular statement of faith of the burgeoning Christian church.
I don’t know exactly when and why it was written, but in this brief document is an attempt to answer that question that I raised before, “Why do I believe?”

It is a question that I get at least a dozen times a year. Sometimes from church members seeking clarification. Sometimes from those seeking insight into their own struggles with their faith. Sometimes it comes from non-believers, hoping to trip me up. But it is a question worth pursuing, and the Apostles Creed serves as a good framework for seeking an answer.

The Apostles Creed addresses the notion of belief in God with this opening statement: “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth.” No great involved explanation, no footnotes leading us to other sources of explanation, just “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth.”

These two clauses lead us in a direction that might be worth pursuing. The first, the declaration of God as “Father Almighty”, speaks to the authority of God. The second, the pronouncement that God is “Creator of Heaven and Earth”, speaks to the power and strength of God.

Let’s deal with this notion of the authority of God as “father almighty”. For the early church, this was a statement of how God relates to humanity. It is based upon their human understanding of the authority figure of their culture: the father in the family structure. Fathers were seen as the ultimate decision makers and ideally exercised their authority with a sense of justice and love. Ideally is a really important word here. Fathers were seen as responsible for their families. They were seen as teachers and providers and rule makers and yes, they were seen as the disciplinarians. They were given a preferred place in society.

We live in a different world today. Fathers are not the solitary authority figures they were in the early church days. Egalitarian movements have brought us to a time of shared authority in the home. The absolute authority wielded by fathers has yielded to a different authority structure today. Add to that the realization that not all fathers are the just, loving, teaching ideal that this creed supposes, and this can be problematic to 21st century Christians.

How are we to reconcile the two worlds? One suggestion is to remember that the creeds use of father is an IDEAL. Who would the perfect father, or the perfect parent, be? One who loved abundantly and unabashedly; one who taught carefully and diligently; one who comforted tenderly; one who disciplined fairly, and one who exhibited honesty and integrity in all actions. For our ancestors, the use of the phrase “father almighty”, in all it’s idealism, would have summed up all of those qualities, and thus painted an image of God to be embraced.

But this description of God doesn’t really lead me much closer to an understanding of ‘why I believe’. But the second clause might help us some there. When I really think about how to explain why I believe, the idea of God as “creator of heaven and earth” is a lynchpin.
In preparing for this sermon series, I read a lot of commentaries and articles and other folks statements of why they believe in God. While I don’t disagree with most of them, they all seemed to center around this idea that belief must be “proven”. That is, most people writing about why they believe set out scientific and rational “proofs” for God’s existence.

From Thomas Aquinas to present day theologians, they have laid out their proofs. They talk about complexity, and apparent order, and claims that if you cannot disprove God’s existence, then you must accept it as true.

I find some of these avenues fascinating, and I find some of them perplexing. Some of them help bolster my belief, some leave me a little confused.

And then it hits me: it’s because these writers are answering a different question than I have asked. The question is not: “How can I prove God exists?” The question is: “Why do I believe in God?”

One of the great statements I have ever come across on this subject comes from Dr. Francis Collins, former head of the Human Genome Project, the endeavor that successfully mapped the myriad of genetic markers that each of us carry. Dr. Collins is a Christian who was once an atheist, converted by the very scientific and medical discoveries that served him as a physician. He came to understand that the order and complexity pointed to a creator God, maker of heaven and earth. He acknowledged that his reason had led him to believe. Writing in 2009 he said, “But, reason alone cannot prove the existence of God. Faith is reason plus revelation, and the revelation part requires one to think with the spirit as well as with the mind. You have to hear the music, not just read the notes on a page.”
I think he has hit it the nail firmly on the head. It is fine and good to spend time doing our best to prove that God exists, but we cannot truly believe until we have experienced God’s revelation.

My friend Maureen lost both her parents before she was 18. When asked why she believed in God, she said, “Because I would not have survived without God there to hold me close during my darkest days. Since then, I have seen God all around me.”

I understand what she means. For while my experience of God is not exactly the same as hers, I too, have seen God all around me, too. Our scripture this morning tells a beautiful story of God’s creative hand shaping our world. To read the words can be awe inspiring. Some will accept these words as literal fact; some will accept, not as fact, but as a beautiful story pointing to the truth of God’s power. But you know what? Both of those groups of people can still accept the story as truth, even if they don’t agree on the facts. Did God create the heavens and earth in 6 days? Maybe. Is evolution a better explanation of how the world came to be? Maybe.

I’m not trying to cop out here. I firmly believe that acceptance of the facts of either of those points of view can still be compatible with the basic truth of the matter: God created the heavens and earth. How long did it take? I don’t know, I wasn’t there, but my reason shows me that creation exists. My reason shows me there is an apparent order in our world that staggers my imagination. My reason shows me that the complexity of our world could not be the result of random actions. My reason tells me all those things.

But, my faith tells me that it is good.

My faith tells me that it is God.

My faith tells me that the more I look for God in the wonder of the totality of God’s mighty creation, the more I see God everywhere, and the stronger my belief becomes.

In the beauty of the wildlife of the North Georgia mountains. In the astounding vastness of the night sky. In the overwhelming emotion that fills me when I stand on the ocean shore. In the face of a child experiencing the wonder of their world for the first time. In the love that is etched in every wrinkle of the face of the senior citizen who gives me wise counsel. In the quiet of the forest, in the noise of the city, in laughter, in tears, in solitude and in the misdst of a crowd of strangers.

That is where revelation has met my reason.

That is where I have seen God.

And that is why I believe.

Sunday December 25, 2011 "Singing a New Song, Again" Psalm 98

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:55:00 GMT

What’s your favorite Christmas song?

What is it that makes Christmas songs so special?

Why is it that we sing songs during worship, or any time for that matter?

Songs are a way of telling the story of whatever moment we might be in. There are songs in my life that can take me back to a specific point in time. When I hear those songs, sights, feelings, even smells come back to me. Do you have any like that?

Let me ask you this: if you have any of those, are they songs that bring back good times or bad?

For me, I can’t think of too many songs that point to bad things…most of my “song memory” is solidly in the good. “Suite Judy Blue Eyes” is one of those for me…as are most Beatle songs.

But let’s turn the tables just a little bit: are there events or situations that simply need a song? For me, a bright, sunny day with Carol, is one of those times…years ago, before we were married, I remember Carol and I driving up Mass Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts in my beat up Chevette and feeling the need for a song: “Because I’m in love and it’s a sunny day!”

And Christmas is one of those times.

Year after year, we hear the same Christmas songs. And year after year, they are a welcome addition to our celebration. They are like old friends, come back to visit us once again. But most of them you can’t really sing during the rest of the year. They are Christmas songs, and they fit with the celebration that we are undertaking here and now. They make Christmas complete in some very real way, don’t they? Because, again, Christmas is one of those times that calls out for music, for singing, for celebration.

Our scripture this morning fits this idea perfectly. It’s not just that we are expected to sing songs at Christmas, we can’t help but sing songs at Christmas! No matter how out of tune or out of practice we are, Christmas opens up a whole new world for us, and we sing: loudly and joyously.

During Advent we spent a lot of time talking about preparations and waiting. For me, the anticipation of Advent is simply sweet agony. Living on the Easter side of the cross, I know what it means that Jesus was born, Emmanuel, God with us! I know that the birth is something to be celebrated but it is what unfolds after the birth that is so important. I know that because Jesus was born, because he lived among us – fully human and fully divine – our lives were changed forever. I know that his teachings live on when people like us gather together, and I know that we are blessed by the presence of God’s holy spirit – alive and active and real to our lives – because Jesus was born in the manger some 2000 years ago.

I also know that because of that, I want to so order my life so that every thing I do, every word I speak, every action I take, honors God. I am not always successful in those things. But that is also part and parcel of something I know because of Christmas: God came to meet us where we stand, in all our humanness, and knows that we are not perfect. I know that because of what started on Christmas Day, I am forgiven, and there is nothing more amazing than that!

And so, we echo the words of the Psalmist in our joy, in our celebration, in our awe….hear the words to that psalm once more, only this time, hear it modern language from “The Message” paraphrased translation of our Bible.

1 Sing to God a brand-new song. He's made a world of wonders!
He rolled up his sleeves,
He set things right.

2 God made history with salvation,
He showed the world what he could do.

3 He remembered to love us, a bonus
To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.
The whole earth comes to attention.
Look—God's work of salvation!

4 Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!

5 Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.

6 Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.

7 Let the sea and its fish give a round of applause,
With everything living on earth joining in.

8 Let ocean breakers call out, "Encore!"
And mountains harmonize the finale—

9 A tribute to God when he comes,
When he comes to set the earth right.
He'll straighten out the whole world,
He'll put the world right, and everyone in it.

Today, all the preparations have paid off.

Today, the waiting is over.

Today, the anticipation is realized.

Today, we sing.

Why? Because it’s Christmas…and it’s time to celebrate;

today, tomorrow and always, Amen.

Let us pray: Gracious God, we give you thanks for all that this day represents: your love showered down upon us, your graceful forgiveness, your merciful guidance. May our celebration please you, and may the song in our heart always be one that honors you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Sunday December 4, 2011 "Are We There Yet?" Isaiah 40:1-11 and Mark 1:1-8

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:25:00 GMT

“Are we there yet?”

If you are a parent, you probably have heard those words before. If you were ever a kid, you probably uttered those words at some point. It is universal question usually asked when someone is tired, bored and wanting to get on with something.

When I hear this question, I am taken to a very specific time and place in my life. It is the end of the school year, in fact, the last day of school. At the Isaac Crary Elementary School in Detroit, we always had only a half day on the last day of school. We got our report cards and were ushered into the glory of summer. And summer for me meant getting out of Detroit and heading to Camp Conely, the summer camp my parents ran in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. As the morning wore on, I could barely sit still, I was so excited. I knew that when the bell rang, and we were released from our state ordered incarceration, the summer would begin. But it wasn’t there yet. It was going to take a 7 hour drive before summer really began.

We packed the car the night before, and as soon as we all got home about noon, we jumped in the car with the sandwiches my mother had made and headed out of town. And lest you think it was just us kids that got excited, years later, after my parents had stopped running the camp but still spent the summers at our cottage just down the river, I talked to my mother about their plans for the summer. She said “Well, your dad is done with school at noon on June 12th.” “So,” I asked, “when are you headed up?” “Oh,” she replied, “About 12:05 on June 12th.”

Have you ever felt that kind of anticipation? Times when you wanted time to speed up so that whatever it was you were waiting for that much sooner. Times when you had to will yourself to sleep at night so that tomorrow would come even faster and what you were waiting for was that much closer? The only other day that I remember this kind of anticipation was the day Carol and I were married. We even scheduled a morning wedding so we wouldn’t have to wait all day!

But whatever those events are for you, the fact is that somewhere along the line we all have asked, “Are we there yet?”

The Hebrew people certainly might have asked that many, many times.

We see it in the Isaiah passage very clearly. Isaiah speaks God’s word to a group of people who have been exiled, dominated and humiliated. They have experienced the presence of God throughout their history and they have heard the promises of God, too. When Isaiah prophecies to them, they are simply worn out from years of waiting. “Are we there yet?” they might easily have cried out. “Tell us again that God is coming, because we are tired.”

Isaiah’s words seek to comfort and must have had the effect of building the anticipation of the coming of the messiah.

Isaiah’s words make it clear that God is on their side, that God hears their cries, that God is coming. The promised messiah will come like a bold ruler, protecting them from enemies. The promised messiah will come like a shepherd, tenderly caring for them. There are words of comfort in both those ideas, and the Hebrew people held on tight to these promises, eagerly anticipating the day when God would come.

When you look at this passage, it has a very strange construction. That is, it progresses from God speaking first in the past tense, then moves to the present tense, on to the future tense, and then back to the present tense. This may come from interpretation and translation over the centuries, or it may be intentional, which gives us something even more to think about when we ask, “Are we there yet?” when preparing to welcome the messiah. Are we talking about an event that has happened, is happening or is about to happen?

Through Isaiah, God tells the Hebrew people that “Jerusalem has served her term, that her penalty has been paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” This is in the past: they have been forgiven. Then God’s word continues with direction for what the Hebrew people must do now, in the present. “Prepare the way of the Lord” and then the future result: “The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

It seems to me that this is exactly what I would want to hear in this situation. Forgiveness has been granted, a task has been identified, and the future coming of the Lord is assured. Talk about anticipation!

Can you imagine?

Years of exile and feeling cut off from God. The people of Jersusalem take God’s word to heart and do their part to declare this good news, to worship God, to prepare the coming generation for the promised messiah. Are we there yet?

Fast forward 3000 years.

Jerusalem has been rebuilt. The worship of Yahweh has returned to the holiest of temples. But still, the citizens of Jerusalem are captive to their Roman conquerors. Still, they wait for the promised messiah.

Are we there yet?

John the Baptist was doing his best to live out God’s direction that came through the prophet Isaiah. The writer of Mark alludes to this fact when he says, “I am sending a messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.”

“Are we there yet?” the people ask John. “Well,” he replies. “I am not the messiah, but the messiah is coming. But until that time, we must repent of our sins, knowing that God forgives us.”

Again, the pattern of past, present and future is played out. The promise of God has been offered. The people are called to do something to be ready. The messiah will come.

Are we there yet?

How can we ask that question, today? Hasn’t the messiah come? Haven’t the promises been realized? Besides understanding our history, how are these passages relevant to us?

Are we there yet?

As I reread these passages, struggle mightily with the answer to that question.

We wait in anticipation for Christmas to come. But when we look at the world around us, we are left to wonder just where God is. Are we there yet? If we were, how can the world be such a mess? How can we still live in fear? Where is the comfort of the messiah? Where is the power and might of the messiah? No, we can’t be there yet.

But then we realize that the anticipation of the coming of messiah is only possible if we have experienced God’s presence in our lives. When we gather in this place, when we stand on a mountaintop or beside the ocean, when we hear a baby laugh and feel the warmth of a bright sun, we recognize that God is in fact all around us. Are we there yet? Yes, of course we are.

As I have struggled with this question, it has suddenly dawned on me that the reason I do not have the answer is because I am asking the wrong question. It should not be “Are we there yet?” No, the question we should be asking is “Are we ready for God to lead us where we need to be?”

The Hebrew people had to ready themselves for the messiah to break into their experience, and by so doing, strengthened themselves for whatever might come. John the Baptist helped prepare people for the coming of the messiah, and in so doing, helped them be more faithful people. We sit today in times of turmoil waiting expectantly for the messiah to be known to us, again. But as we wait, we come together, pray together, read scripture together, and learn how we are to best learn to honor God. And when we do all that, we become better Christians and better people.

Every year when the school year ended I looked forward to heading up north. My anticipation was so high precisely because I had experienced that wonderful place already and longed to return. I endured the long trip because I knew what was waiting for me when we got there.

Maybe my anticipation of Advent and Christmas is not so different than that.

Every Advent I look forward to the wonder of Christmas. My anticipation is so high precisely because I have experienced the presence of the messiah already and long to experience that presence even more deeply again.

The fact is, while we wait, the anticipation is as much a part of the thrill as the actual event. And I want to savor the waiting and the anticipation. I do not want to rush the process. I need every day of Advent to wrap my head and heart around God’s message. I need to take in all of God’s creation and remember all that God has so graciously given me. I need to think about how I am to prepare myself. I need to work on being the best person I can be. And when I understand what I have been given, and what I am called to do, I can point to the fact that God’s promise will indeed be made real. Then, when I comprehend God’s presence in my past, my present and my future, I will be ready to welcome the messiah.

Are we there yet? Yes!

Are we there yet? No.

Are we there yet? Soon.

Are we there yet? In God’s time.

Let us pray: Lord, give us strength to wait. And while we wait, help us remember where you have guided us in the past; challenge us to be faithful in the present; and give us a glimpse of the glorious future that you have promised. All this and all things, we ask in Jesus name. Amen.

Sunday November 27, 2011 "A Strange Way to Start" Isaiah 64:1-9

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:04:00 GMT

It does seem like a strange way to start, doesn’t it?

A lament? With weeping? With cries to God not to forget us?

Isn’t today the first Sunday of Advent? Isn’t this the season in which we prepare for the celebration of the coming of the Messiah? Isn’t this a time of reflection and anticipation and joy?

Well, yes, it is the first Sunday in Advent. And, yes, today we begin our preparations for the celebration of the birth of Jesus. And yes, it is a time of reflection and anticipation and, of course, joy at the reality of the God news… Emmanuel! God with us!

Of course, that is from our vantage point in 2011. We have visited this season, many, many times before. Many of us have heard all the stories. Stories such as the angel appearing to Mary to announce that she will become the mother of God’s son; the dream of Joseph; explaining how he is to protect Mary and the child; the forced travel for tax purposes, the birth of the baby in the most rustic and restless of settings; the threats of a king; the seeking wisemen and the faithful shepherds. These stories are part of our Christian heritage and stories that we love to tell and hear. Besides being remarkable stories of human perseverance and faith, they are stories of God’s grace and presence. They are stories that awe us. They are stories we should revel in, and even more importantly, stories we should repeat over and over again.

But there are other stories in our Holy Scriptures that we should also remember, stand in awe of, and repeat, over and over again. This mournful and pleading lament is the culmination of one of those stories.

The prophet Isaiah speaks this lament on behalf of the Hebrew people. It is the lament of a community that is in pain, having been overrun by the Babylonians, and forced into a devastating exile. The temple lies is ruins, and the very next verse after this passage reads, “Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation.” The lament is a cry of pain seeking understanding. Where is God? Why has this happened?

Within the body of this lament, Isaiah begins to struggle with the answers to those questions. This is not a people who do not believe in God. The lament makes clear that they understand the pure power of God. They know that God can make the moments shake and the oceans rise. They understand that God can make mighty nations tremble in God’s presence. The lament recalls the awesome deeds of the past. It makes clear that the Hebrew people have no other Gods, because there is only one God!

And then Isaiah’s words take a soul baring, self revealing turn: We know, he says, that you are always there for those who happily do what is right. But, we have not done right. We know how angry you are with us. And yet, we have kept right on sinning. And then the almost plaintive plea: “Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved?”

Whether we always recognize it or not, this is the tension of Advent: the tension between God’s judgement and God’s gracious promise. The tension is played out in our understanding of who God is, understanding that we have fallen short of God’s glory, yet all the while knowing full well the realized promise of the messiah.

The Hebrew people knew first hand the comforting hand of God’s presence. They understood that it was God’s grace that led them to the promised land and then sustained them. But like many modern people, the Hebrew people are in despair of their situation, not knowing where to turn.

It does seem like a strange way to begin Advent, doesn’t it?

But a powerful way to begin Advent. I am convinced that this is where we need to begin. As we contemplate the coming of the Messiah and prepare for that celebration, we are forced to turn inward and ask a really important question: Why is a messiah needed?

Isaiah hits it right on the head. Because we are human, and too often, we think we can handle everything on our own. Because we are human, we sin. Because we are human, we need to be reminded that God is in control, not us. Because we are human, we need God’s grace to forgive us. Because we are human…

That is where we connect with the Hebrew people: in our humanness. We look around and see that there are things we just don’t understand, and sometimes we wonder just where God is in all of this. The Hebrew people did exactly the same thing. The Hebrew people waited for God to break into their existence, into their lives. We also wait, but our waiting is somewhat different. We wait in the knowledge that the Christ has come, but still, we wait for Christ’s return.

The Hebrew people waited for the promised shalom of God’s presence, and we also seek that sense of peace. And peace is at the heart of our Advent preparations. The need for peace, the return to peace, the promise of peace. But Isaiah hints, rather loudly, that until we repent, until we truly open ourselves to God’s presence, until we live our lives – all of our lives all the time – honoring God and abiding by God’s will, that peace will not come. Because in the end, peace is simply God’s forgiveness made manifest.

We, like the Hebrews, live in a time of brokenness – broken institutions, broken promises, broken lives – and we are not entirely sure what to do about it.

We do know that brokenness is not healed by the acquisition of things. We are not made whole by hiding from the problems we encounter. Brokenness is not vanquished by ignoring God. Our brokenness will only be overcome when we allow God to enter our existence and heal us.

But of course, we are not passive observers to all this. That is why this lament to begin Advent is so important. At the same time we ask God to enter our lives and mold us, much like the potter molds the clay, we must also face up to our own behavior, our own attitudes and our own sin. The messiah did not come to congratulate humanity for a job well done. The messiah came because humanity had made a mess of things. The messiah came to remind us that God is always present, and if we follow God’s will and God’s way, we can step away from our failures and move on. The messiah came to offer us a chance to begin again.

Have you ever wondered where God is? Most of us have.

Have you ever wondered how you would move on from a devastating loss? Most of us have.

Have you ever made such a mess of things that you just couldn’t find a way out? Most of us have.

The Hebrew people also felt all those things. And so they waited for the messiah. Isaiah speaks for his brothers and sisters and acknowledges that they know that all they can do is wait: “O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.”

The Hebrew people waited on the promises of God, and so do we. Like the Hebrew people, we know of God’s power and grace, and through Jesus Christ, God’s presence among us. The beauty of being on the other side of the cross is that our waiting is blessed by the reality of the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, here and now.

And so, we wait and we prepare. But there something else we must do. The Hebrew peoples experience shows us that we can’t just wait for the messiah’s return. We need to celebrate God’s power, recognize our own sin, ask forgiveness and allow God to mold us into something good and, dare we ask, holy.

So before we truly celebrate, we must understand that there is a reason that the MESSIAH had to come…to reach God’s people where they live and work and breathe and help them start anew.

It is a strange way to start Advent, this cleansing self-disclosure of mistakes. But I think it is the right way to begin our Advent journey…and it just might be the way should be begin every worship service, or maybe, we this is how we should begin every day.

To begin the Advent journey, let us confess together, so that the celebration of God’s presence might begin. Please join me in the confessing litany in your bulletin.
Leader: Eternal God, so much seems strange in this age of change.
People: New technologies blur the boundaries of life and death.
Leader: Fresh discoveries challenge ancient notions of right and wrong.
People: From age to age, you are the same, but are we?
Leader: Our abilities outpace our wisdom.
People: We have improved ability to cure,
Leader: But not to care.
People: We demand our rights,
Leader: But cannot right our wrongs.
People: Faithful God, you alone hold steady and true.
Leader: Apart from you we draw no breath.
People: Apart from your wisdom we form no thought.
Leader: Apart from your truth we have no sight.
People: Apart from your love we have no life.
Leader: Apart from your care we have no hope.
People: Merciful God, ground us firmly in your wisdom, that we may rightly discern the opportunities and dangers developing all around us. Let us hear your word for our times. Speak to warn and to recommend, to caution and to encourage, that we may honor you and be of service to others, for Jesus’ sake.
Amen.

Sunday November 6, 2011 "The Music of Salvation" Revelation 7:9-17

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:40:00 GMT

Today we observe our All Saints Celebration. And I use that term celebration deliberately. I use it because depending on who we are and where we are in our grief over lost loved ones, this can be a sad day…but it is a day that cries out for celebration. It is not always easy to get to that place of celebration, and we all will get there in different ways, through different means, with different time lines. But when we recognize what this day means…we celebrate.

This is a day when we remember those who have gone on before us, those who have raised us, those who have taught us through word and example. Today we remember loved ones and dear friends, preachers and Sunday school teachers, parents and siblings and children, those who loved us and whom we loved and still love. Those who helped mold us, and whom we still remember fondly. Those who were here with us, but who have left this life, passed on, passed away. But where did they go? We say it many ways: they went to be with God, they went to be with Jesus, they are seated at the heavenly banquet, they are in heaven.

We don’t talk a lot about heaven, do we? But I’m curious, what do you think heaven looks like? What do you think people in heaven do? Who is in heaven?

Among all the books of the Bible, the Revelation of John gives us one of the most vivid glimpses into heaven. It isn’t always real clear what heaven looks like, but as to who is there and what happens in heaven, there is lots of good stuff here.

John tells us that surrounding God’s heavenly throne are a multitude of people…more people than could be counted! And they are all types of people…every language, every color, every nationality, every size, every shape, every type of person imaginable. And what are they doing? They are participating in the most celebratory worship imaginable! They are waving palm branches, they are dressed in the brightest, cleanest white robes and I wonder…what does it feel like to be part of that kind of worship? All doubts removed, all sin removed, all inhibitions removed. In that situation, you can be sure the singing is loud and joyous. How could you not sing?!

This is John’s vision of heaven: worship beyond compare. And why not? In God’s presence, what is there to do but sing the music of salvation? It matters not what those who surround the throne of God have endured – they know no more pain, no more hunger, no more crying, no more scorching heat or deadening cold. They have been through the ordeal of life, and in death, find the great elixir of life in God’s presence. John tells us in no uncertain terms: God will wipe away every tear…

When I think about the people who have had such an influence on my life and I picture them in this multitude, I am overwhelmed with joy. And it’s not just that they are there, it’s that there is a place for me, too! We will worship together again. How do I know that? I know it because in John’s vision, we are told that the gleaming white robes looked that way because they have been washed…washed in the blood of the lamb. In other words, because Jesus died for us, our sins are forgiven. Our dirty, soiled robes will be washed clean and we will join that heavenly chorus.

The Music of Salvation is what that chorus sings. And not just for themselves, but for us, too. Memory and hope are sung. Angels and elders lead us. And because of our relationship with Jesus Christ, we are allowed to listen in. This is the definition of celebration: this is the definition of salvation. The music of salvation transforms the saints. The music of salvation is heard by you and me when we gather together, repenting and rejoicing. The music of salvation drowns out the drumbeat of human politics and lets us know that ultimately, it is God who liberates. The music of salvation allows us to endure whatever troubles we may face. The music of salvation celebrates that in Christ Jesus, we will be welcomed home. The music of salvation invites us all in, and bids us welcome, just as it has already welcomed those who have gone on before us.

This then is the basis for our celebration: those we have loved in this life are holding a place for us and in the meantime, they sing and worship and praise God.
Just like we do here.

What is heaven to me?

It is joyous worship.

It is beautiful singing.

It is heartfelt praise.

It is open arms and a loving welcome.

It is home.

Sunday October 16, 2011 "Encouraged and Encouraging" 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:27:00 GMT

Sometimes when we study the Bible we are struck by the beauty of short passages: “In the beginning was the word, and word was with God, and the word WAS God…” This simple sentence fragment sends shivers up my spine with the awe in inspires in me. Sometimes, it is a story that unfolds, maybe one of Jesus’ parables that catches are attention. For me, one of those is Jesus’ parable of the sower…sowing seeds on rocky soil, on sandy soil, on weed choked property, and on good soil. Not being a rural person, it makes me really think about what it is I am supposed to get from this passage.

And then there are things in our Bible that cannot be contained in a simple awe inspiring snippet, nor lessons that can be taught in a single story. Sometimes, we need to take a really long view of what is going on to truly understand the importance of something in the Bible. And the life of the Apostle Paul is one of those topics.

The Bible tells us that Paul was born Saul, who grew up with the finest teachers, became a zealous defender of the Hebrew faith. He took his beliefs so far as to be instrumental in the attempted eradication of any competing religious thought. That means he persecuted and prosecuted the followers of Jesus. Harshly and without mercy.

Then came the day he met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. An experience that left him blind and tormented. When his sight returned, his heart had turned dramatically, and he became a zealous evangelist in the cause of the Good News of Jesus Christ.

He saw his mission as preaching to the gentiles, and helping them come into a relationship with Jesus and God. Obviously, this was an uphill battle on two counts. First, if you were a gentile and knew of Paul’s reputation, would you give him the time of day? And second, if you were a Jewish Christian, would you trust that he was on the up and up? Was this just another ruse to try and infiltrate the church leadership?

When Paul began his missionary work, he met a man named Barnabas. Barnabas is not one of the more famous characters in our scripture, but he is one of the most important. Barnabas was the leader of the church in Antioch, and he befriended Paul and saw his vigor and his genuine love of Christ. And Barnabas became Paul’s champion, his encourager, first by working with him in Antioch, and then, by speaking on his behalf before the leaders of the church in Jerusalem. And the rest, as they say, is history.

I take the time to reacquaint us with Paul’s story because of the importance of who and what Barnabas was to Paul, and how that seemingly impacted Paul’s ministry. Barnabas was Paul’s encourager, and without that encouragement, who knows where Paul’s life may have gone?

To me, that encouragement is the essence of Paul’s story. It is embedded in everything he did. In my mind, Paul was first and foremost, an encourager of churches, and an encourager of people. His cause was Jesus Christ, but his method was encouragement. He seemed to understand that if the church was to survive, it would not be because of the force of will of a few leaders, but through increasing the numbers of folks drawn to the faith. And the way to keep those folks fresh and vital is to encourage them whenever possible.

The fruitfulness of Paul’s approach of encouragment is seen in the opening paragraphs of Paul’s first letter to the church at Thessalonica. The church at Thessalonica was started by Paul, but had grown quickly. The city itself was a thoroughfare for commerce and travel, and thus traveled heavily by the Roman authorities. The church was under pressure, like many churches – a reminder to the Romans that it was not just the Jewish followers of Jesus who must be watched. To the Romans, the expansion of followers of Christ into the gentile community represented, in some ways, an even bigger threat. And so, the early gentile church existed in treacherous times.

So, here is Paul, beloved founder of the church, reaching out in love and encouragement to this beleaguered but faithful church.

Do you remember a time when you needed encouragement, and someone understood that, even if you did not? When I started seminary, I could not have chosen that path without the encouragement of my wife, Carol. Her unwavering support helped me follow this path. But I wasn’t so sure about some other folks in my life. Even though my parents were supportive, I think were a bit afraid. After all, I had given up a position as a tenured full-professorship that was full of career possibilities. Other friends looked at me a little funny. Really, you go to school all that time, make your way in the academic world, and then start over in something with a really unclear path? No one argued against it, although some just didn’t know what to say.

But whether I knew it or not, when I got to Candler, I needed some encouragement, and one day, I received a letter from my parents. Inside were two handwritten notes, one from each of them, telling me how they were proud of me and how they knew I would succeed. I was overwhelmed. The next day, I got a letter from a close friend, a Presbyterian minister, encouraging me, in his own words and way. Then it was a letter from his wife, and my sister and brother in law, and then a former student. I still have all those letters – they reside in a safe deposit box with all my most important papers.

Now, as much as their encouragement meant to me, I knew that is was no coincidence, and knew that Carol had asked them to write me. Her encouragement, and theirs, made all the difference in the world.

Encouragement can take many forms, including, simply letting someone know that you are thinking of them, that they are not alone. Hear the phrases Paul uses in the beginning of this letter:

We always thank God for you…
You are in our prayers…
We remember that your work comes from faith, your effort comes from love, and your perseverance comes from hope in the promise of Jesus Christ.

We all need encouragement, don’t we? And each of us knows someone who needs encouragement, don’t we? Where better to see that live out than right here in this faith community. It needn’t be complicated.

In point of fact, some of the strongest encouragement comes when we know that someone knows us, and cares about us. When we are called by name, when we can expect a hug or handshake every time we meet. That is essentially what Paul is doing at the very beginning of this letter, letting the church at Thessalonica know that he knows them, and he loves them, and he is with them.

And that leads me to the second part of Paul’s message. Hear these words:
You became an example to all the believers, not only in Macedonia, and Achaia, but in all places. People tell us about what sort of welcome you have given them…your faithfulness has spread so far that we don’t even need to mention it!
You are serving the living and true God…

Not only is Paul saying we love you and are with you, but he is letting them know what they may not be able to see: whatever they are doing is working! And that is all to God’s glory!

Because of the encouragement of Paul, the church at Thessalonica has become encouragers to others through their welcoming spirit and faithful witness.
We need encouragement, but having been encouraged, how do we become encouragers to others? By reaching out in love, letting someone know we are here, calling them by name.

When a visitor walks through the door, that may be all the encouragement they need: to feel welcomed. As we get to know each other, the fact that we know them by name can be an encouragement. And as a visitor sheds that label and becomes part of this faith community, the idea that we are all in this together, is powerful encouragement indeed.

But what about those we do not know by name? What about those who are not part of this community? How are we to encourage them?

Through our gifts? This congregation gives upwards of $30,000 per year to ministries outside this congregation. That is a powerful encouragement to the leaders of those ministries, and is very, very helpful. But I still would argue that the way we can best encourage those outside our doors is to become involved with them, involved to the point that we DO know their name and where our presence with them and our love for them is real.

How do we do that? Who came with us last summer to the IOH? What do you think the most important part of that day was for our friends there? The cook-out? The games? The Bible study? I don’t think so. I think the most important and encouraging part of the day was when we simply sat around and talked and laughed and got to know each other by name. When we left, not only had we made new friends, but without a doubt, those folks felt encouraged, simply because we were there and took the time to know them.

Who has come with us to the Campbell Stone apartments? What do you think was the most important part of the day? the music? The Bingo? The worship? The ice cream? No, the most important and encouraging thing about those visits is that we are there, we care, and we enjoy getting to know these folks by name.

How may are signed up to go to the City of Refuge next week? We may play games and put together hygiene kits and worship. But the biggest encouragement to folks who live on the bluffs of Atlanta is that we show up, and let them know we care.

There is one more thing about encouragement that we must remember. It is never simply a one way street. Let me give you and example. Several years ago, our Cambodian brothers and sister of the International Christian Church needed a place to gather, to worship and to continue on. They had experienced a time of loss and whether any of us understood it or not, they needed some encouragement. And the people of BCC were able and happy to be that encouragement. But something funny happen, their witness, their love of Christ, became encouragement to us. Their story of perseverance and faith help us all on our faith journey. This mutual encouragement has resulted in them finding their own property and bringing their encouragement to a whole new group of people. And it has made us stronger, and able to pursue our own ministry with even more passion. It is a circle, this encouragement thing. More importantly, it’s a God thing.

Paul’s ministry was one of encouragement. And so should ours be. In this place, with each other. And outside these walls, with folks we have never met before. In both places, the love of God never shines so brightly than when the church understands that we have been encouraged, and we are called to be encouragers.

May the encouragement we have received be magnified as we seek to be encouragers to all we meet… now and always. Let us pray: Lord, we have felt the encouraging hand of your love in so many ways – empower us to turn that love and be encouragement to all those who need it, who need us, and most importantly, need you. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Sunday October 1, 2011 "The Prophet's Good News" Isaiah 9:1-7

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:23:00 GMT

Over the last two weeks, we have taken some time to look at the role and the goal of the prophets of our Hebrew heritage.
Ezekiel reminded us that God speaks in different ways to different people, that God’s word comforts in the midst of trying times, and that God is still speaking today, if we take the time to listen for the prophetic message.

Amos reminded us that even when things are going well – no, especially when things are going well in our lives – we must remember that our achievements are not ours alone, but are the result of God’s grace in our lives. Amos reminded us that if we continually live our lives as if God did not matter, eventually, we will remove ourselves so far from God, that we will have difficulty finding that divine presence. Amos reminded us that prophecies, after all, are more about how we act, and our willingness to change, than they are about God.

Enter Isaiah, who for Christians, is probably the most famous of all the Hebrew prophets. Except for the book of Psalms, Isaiah is used in Christian worship more often than any book of the Hebrew Bible. Isaiah is the first of the Hebrew prophets to talk about the universal power of the one true, creator god, sovereign ruler of all the nations. And of course, Christians know Isaiah best for his beautiful description of the suffering servant that will come as messiah to the Isrealites, and also because of the beautifully poetic description of the one who would come to provide salvation, the one who would come in the name of the Lord, the one who will usher the Israelites into a time of peace and justice and righeousness.

It is, in short, one of the most powerful declarations of God’s good news found anywhere. It’s message of hope is unrivaled, back then or today…and at the heart of this message is the fact that this is not a proclamation of a future predicition. No, it is a reminder to the Israelites and to us that God is ever present, and God’s good news is to be celebrated every single day of our lives, come rain or shine, hell or high water, despair or joy. The good news never changes. God is with us.

While scholars believe that the book of Isaiah was most likely written by at least two different people, that idea has no bearing on our hearing the word of the prophet Isaiah. His ministry included having the ear of kings, good kings and bad, kings of Israel and kings of Judah. His message to them was unwavering, even as the times changed. That message was “trust in God for all things.”

When the northern kingdoms attacked Israel, Isaiah counseled King Ahaz to defend himself by relying on the Lord, rather than seeking the help of the Assyrian empire. When Judah was overrun, Isaiah counseled the leadership there not to work with others in an anti-assyrian campaign but simply follow God’s laws. When King Hezekiah decided to rise up against Assyria, he again counseled against it. And the result was that Judah was ravaged and Jerusalem was besieged.

Isaiah’s point in all of this was, no matter who the enemy, no matter what the danger, the best defense is simply to hold fast to God’s dictates and know that true hope lies only in the Lord.

There is a danger of using this word “hope” to people who are in the most dire circumstances. It is hard for some to understand how God provides hope when you don’t have enough money in your pocket to feed your family, or your boss informs you that your hours will be shortened, or the doctor tells you there is no cure for disease that your loved one suffers with. We must be careful not to throw that word hope around without understanding what that hope can deliver. But true hope is good news that can help someone press on.

Not a day goes by lately that someone doesn’t come to the door of the church looking for some sort of assistance. Some sort of hope. Some come in absolute despair, unable to get medicine they need or food for themselves or their family, at their wit’s end trying to find work.

We do what we can to help, but in a material way, that is not a lot. We can sometimes help them get food, or a MARTA card, but most of what we do is refer them
to places that deal with such issues on a daily basis – places that we support through our community service donations to places like the Suthers Center and the Oglethorpe Food bank and the Rainbow House.

But so often, we can’t do much, and it breaks my heart to see those folks away from our door.

This past week, a gentleman came to the door and I invited him in so that he could sit down and I could find out if we could help. His was a pretty typical story: came here from a depressed rural area looking for work. Found work almost immediately and found a place to live. Everything was going just fine, he wasn’t getting rich, but he was making it. Until the day he showed up to work and found that the business was closed. For good. No more work.

He had looked for work, but was now out of money with no place to live. He had a job interview in about 3 hours but hadn’t eaten in 2 days.

I gave him some leftover sandwiches and cookies from a men’s meeting. I gave him the address of a place that sometimes was able to give out free Marta cards for those seeking jobs. And I gave him $5, all I had with me, so he could catch a bus to his appointment.

As he prepared to leave, I could not help notice, that his posture had straightened and his whole attitude was lighter and I was amazed at what $5 and some day old sandwiches could do. But that wasn’t what had done it all. As he walked out I said, “I wish we could do more.” He took a couple of steps and then came back.
“I need to tell you something. This is the fourth church I have been to this morning. The first two wouldn’t even talk to me. The third one let me in, but tried to tell me that what I needed to do was pray about it, to give my life to Christ, to trust in God and God would see me through. I was baptized when I was 11 years old and have rarely missed a Sunday of church in my life. I pray every day and I wanted to shout that I do trust God and I know that it is by God’s grace that I am still standing! But all I really need is something to eat! I almost didn’t stop here because I was afraid of what would happen. But you let me know that someone cares. You reminded me that there is always some hope, and I thank you for that.”

And then he turned and headed on his way.

At that moment, it struck me that the Good News that the prophets delivered was not that our problems will suddenly be solved; the Good news that the prophets delivered was a REMINDER that God will not leave us, and that there is always some hope.

In beautiful poetic words, Isaiah reminded the Israelites that the Good News abound and hope is still alive! He reminded them that no matter the darkness they suffer in, light will come again. Why? Because they have been there before and indeed, no matter the darkness, the light did shine again. They had been slaves in Egypt, a dark, dark time, but God delivered them out of that bondage. He reminded them that no matter what their circumstances, God is present and will stay with them.

How do they know that? Because even as the Hebrew people wandered in the wilderness, God did not leave them and they eventually made it to that promised land. Isaiah reminded them if they kept faith and followed God’s law, they would once again be blessed with great leadership. And how was this a reminder? Because they had seen bad kings; kings that led them astray. But David had ascended to the throne by doing his best to honor God and lead his people with God at the center.

And then the promise that must have been very difficult to understand: God is sending someone – a messiah – wonderful counselor, mighty god, everlasting father, prince of peace. He will sit on David’s throne and justice will be upheld.

This is an incredible prophesy of hope, and for me, it is where Isaiah speaks best to us today. You see, the Israelites needed to be reminded of just how God had been there for them in the past, and their hope was kindled by their experience of God’s presence. They were sustained because someone had the audacity to speak of what could be: a world of peace, free of oppression. And it speaks to me for precisely the same reason.

The Good News that Isaiah proclaimed reminds us not only that a messiah is coming, but that the messiah has come! Christians have long appropriated these verses as the propshesy of the coming of the messiah. A prophesy that we believe is fulfilled with the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. We no longer have to wonder when the messiah will appear, or what the shape of our hope will be. The good news is that Jesus Christ was born and lived and ministered and died and was resurrected! The Good News is that God’s Holy Spirit is here among us, helping us not just to cope, but to dare to dream dreams of peace, and grace, and hope.

We have heard the words of the prophets and we have experienced the reality of Christ in our lives. We need to revisit the words of the prophets regularly to be reminded that in the midst of everything, God will not leave us. We need to revel in the good news of Jesus Christ – wonderful counselor, prince of peace, mighty god – because in that good news we find our truest hope. Amen.

Gracious God, we hear the words of the prophets and don’t always recognize ourselves. We give you thanks for the hope that sustains us, hope that springs from the wondrous good news of our scriptures, of the experiences of our ancestors, of our experiences of your presence and most of all, for the gift of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.

Sunday September 25, 2011 "The Prophet's Goal" Amos 8: 4-12

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:25:00 GMT

As we continue our series looking at the prophetic voices of the Hebrew Bible, we come to that point where the question must be asked: what is the goal of the prophet? Or maybe more accurately, what is God’s goal in putting prophets before the Hebrew people, and by extension, before us?

The answer is straightforward: the goal of the prophet is to affect change in the people. Change in their attitude, change in their behavior. Change that will lead them closer to God.

The prophet Amos is a great example of someone who was working toward that goal.

Last week we looked at the prophet Ezekiel who carried out his ministry during a time of extreme duress and stress for the Israelites. He was prophesying while the people were in exile in Babylon, and it was easy to see how the people would need guidance in the midst of terrible times.

The prophetic ministry of Amos is a different story. Most scholars believe that the book of Amos is the earliest of the prophetic books. As such, it marks the beginning of the prophetic tradition seeking to prod the people to change, or lose God’s favor. The message of change in Amos comes with the warning that just being God’s chosen people was not enough: the people of Israel must correct their failure to live according to God’s standards.

And unlike the time of Ezekiel’s ministry, there is not outside threat that the people of Amos’s time must deal with. In fact, there is some evidence that Amos is prophesying during a time of prosperity, and so we look at things through a slightly different lens. When times are difficult, we may wonder where God is and turn our backs in anger. When times are good, we may not feel the need for God’s presence and so turn our backs in ambivalence. One of the key lessons for me from Amos is that no matter what the reason is behind our turning away, the effect is the same: we distance ourselves from God.

In some ways, I think prosperity and good times can sometimes be more dangerous to our faith journey than can times of trouble and scarcity. The hubris that comes with thinking we are entirely self-sufficient and can make it on our own can lead us down a path that we would be better off avoiding. Greed, injustice, self-centeredness are the outcomes for a people that have turned their back on God, not out of anger, but more out of disinterest. The prosperous Israelite might ask: “If I can prosper on my own, why do I need God?” Amos provides an answer: “You need God because you have not prospered on your own: God’s grace has guided you every step of the way. Moreover,” Amos says, “you will not survive unless you return to God’s ways.”

This seems like a harsh message, doesn’t it? But there is reason to believe that Israel had strayed so far from their moorings that something needed to be done.

Think about what it is that Amos is talking about in this passage: people who can’t wait for the Sabbath to be over so they can go back to making money; people who do business dishonestly using rigged scales; people who take advantage of the poor by paying them next to nothing for their labor; people who sell inferior products.

This is not a people who have angered God because they have simply turned their back on divine teachings; this is not a people who have set up shrines and temples to foreign gods and entered into pagan worship; this is not a people who are suffering in a wilderness of despair from wandering or forced exile. No, this is a people who have been blessed with God’s presence and God’s abundance, and have come to the conclusion that they did it on their own.

And what is the message that Amos brings to these people? Well, it’s not good. Earthquakes. Floods. The earth will go dark. Things will quickly fall apart. Celebrations will become times of mourning. None of that sounds very good, does it? But the worst is yet to come…

I want you to think about this for a minute and really let it sink in. Hear again Amos chapter 8 verses 11 and 12, this time in more the more contemporary language of the “The Message” Bible: “These are the words of my master God: “Oh, yes, the day is coming! I’ll send a famine through the whole country. It won’t be food or water that’s lacking, but my word. People will drift from one end of the country to the other, roam to the north, wander to the east. They’ll go anywhere, listen to anyone, hoping to hear God’s word, but they will not hear it.”

Could there be anything more stark than this scenario? It conjures up images of those post-Apocalyptic movies like The Road Warrior, or The Book of Eli…the desolation is complete, danger everywhere, hope almost non-existent. And God is nowhere to be found. No matter what the people do, no matter where they go: the feel as if God has truly abandoned them.

Now wait just a minute! Is this stuff really in the Bible? Is this the love and grace that we talk about so often? How can God threaten to cut off the chosen people? Where is the forgiveness? What happened to the sweet, sweet spirit that we sang about earlier in the service?

Yes, it’s really in the Bible. At the heart of this whole mess is one thing: the fact that humanity was given free will. We get to choose. And just as it is in any situation, our choices have consequences.

But how can we see the words of Amos as words of grace and love? By understanding that only a loving God would give the warning. This is not a random, arbitrary God. God never walked away from the Israelites. God just made it clear what would happen if they walked away.

Have you ever heard of the concept of “tough love.” In the 1970’s this idea gained some notoriety as a controversial style of parenting. Be honest with children about the possible consequences of actions, and if rules are broken, punish swiftly and strongly.

A different kind of tough love has been practiced for decades as a way of dealing with addictive, destructive behavior. I, unfortunately, have a lot of experience with dear friends who found themselves hopelessly addicted to one substance or another. And when those addictions had spun so far out of control that to give any support at all was to enable the behavior, the only loving thing to be done was to walk away. The hardest thing I have ever done is on two separate occasions, as part of an intervention, tell someone very close to me that they had to change, they had to sincerely seek help and begin to work on recovery, and until they did, I would no longer be around to witness their self-destruction. One of those people did the hard work and is today still in recovery, clean and sober for some 32 years. The other person disappeared, and the group of us who tried to intervene never saw her again, until the day we gathered at her memorial service.

Amos brings the Israelites a harsh message of tough love: change or God will walk away. And we must not make the mistake of saying, “Oh, this is about the ancient Israelites, it isn’t about us” because if we do not understand the prophet’s message of warning, one day could be us.

Earlier we sang “sweet, sweet spirit” and it is one of my favorite praise songs ever. It speaks to who we are at our best: open to God’s presence, reveling in God’s love, looking around this room and seeing the evidence of God’s grace and peace on the faces of so many. It evokes a feeling that all is well, and I thank God for the days when that is true. But we must not take it for granted. We cannot sing those comforting words on Sunday and live our lives differently on Monday and hope to hold on to that wonderful feeling.

Amos’ message of warning and admonition to change is a necessary precursor to that feeling. Amos helps us understand that when we choose God’s way, that sweet, sweet spirit will permeate our lives. Amos makes it clear: God is here, all around, wanting the best for us, and it is up to us to choose which way we go. In a different part of Amos, that message of God’s constancy is made clear: “seek the Lord and live.” May it be so for you and for me, now and always. Amen.

Let us pray: Creator God, we sometimes recoil at the hard lessons you put before us. We like the sweetness and light, but shudder at the possibility that we might displease you. Help us to keep the teachings of your word close to our hearts, the difficult words and the comforting words, the admonishing words and the affirming words, and help to seek you so that we might live peacefully in your presence, now and always. Amen

Sunday September 18, 2011 "The Prophet's Call" Ezekiel 2: 1-5

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:07:00 GMT

Wouldn’t it be nice to have God speak to us directly and tell us what to do? Well, before you answer that question, think about the example of Ezekiel.

We don’t know a lot about Ezekiel: we know his father’s name was Buzi; we know that the name Ezekiel means “God strengthens”; we know that he was a priest, or at the very least, a priest in training. We know that he was deported to Babylonia as part of Nebuchednezzar’s “brain drain” of Judah, where the best and brightest were removed, thus making the region much too weak to be a force in political matters. We know that he was married, although we do not know his wife’s name.
We know nothing of any other family and we have no clue as to how he supported himself.

We also know that, to put it in strictly technical theological terms, he was one weird dude.

He is known for the series of oracles that he presented to the Judeans who were exiled in Babylonia. The oracles of doom take up about 2/3 of the book that bears his name, with the first group of these oracles detailing what will happen to Israel and Judah because of their lack of faith and trust in God and the second group outlining the same gloomy scenario for foreign nations and their rulers. These oracles of doom get most of the attention in our churches, but we cannot forget that that the last 15 chapter are oracles of restoration, detailing how Israel can be saved in the future.

But back to Ezekiel, the man. Throughout his life, he exhibited some rather bizarre behavior. He laid around bound and naked to make a point. He didn’t talk for long stretches at a time. He claimed to take out of body “spiritual journeys” (which is at least part of the impetus for Erik von Daniken’s “Chariots of the Gods”, an exploration into the possibility of extraterrestrial life and travel). Ezekiel also endured visions of strange 4 eyed, four headed creatures, unseen by others. He heard voices; his wild literary imagination created a history of Israel that was, well, different than any other available to us.

But he had a way with words, and he made his points to a population that may not have wanted to hear his points. Most particularly, that they would all be destroyed because of their lack of faith and trust in Yahweh, their sovereign creator.

So, to understand why Ezekiel did these things, we need to go back to my initial question: Wouldn’t it be nice to have God call on us directly and tell us what to do? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Ezekiel.

For the next three Sundays, we will be exploring different aspects of the Hebrew Bible prophets: the call, the goal and the message of the prophets. And while not all are exactly the same, they have a lot to tell us about our life today, and hopefully, get us to thinking about who today’s prophets are, and what we are to do with their message.

Ezekiel is a good place to start because over and over again scholars tell us that he was much like us. He was no one special. He was not like Isaiah or Jeremiah who had the ear of kings. He was not even like Moses who was adopted into the family of royalty. He was more or less an ordinary guy, a guy who collapsed at the sound of God’s voice, until God commanded him to stand and tell the people, “This is the word of the Lord.” And the word of the Lord was not one of sunshine and daffodils…it was a word of warning and danger. Israel has forsaken me, God told Ezekiel, and you are going to let them know of my displeasure. “If,” God said to Ezekiel, “I tell you to tell them, ‘you will surely die’ and you do not tell them, they will die and so will you. If I tell you to tell them ‘you will surely die’ and you do tell them, and they do nothing to change their ways, they will die, but you will be saved. But if I tell you to tell them to change their ways, and they do, they will live, and so will you.”

So, do you still want to have God speak to you in your ear and tell you what to do? Because when that happens, God will indeed tell you what to do!

There are two important issues here: the idea of being called by God to a prophetic ministry, and the idea of having a prophet tell us what God wants us to do.

Think about the times that Ezekiel lived in: grim and painful times of exile for his people. Times of political domination by foreign governments. The question must surely have been asked, how did we get here? How did the mighty kingdom of David get driven to it’s knees?

Think about the times we live in: economic uncertainty, rising violence and increasing scarcity of resources. Surely we have asked the question, how did we get here? How have we come to this point in time where our economic engine is sputtering; where seemingly every week someone walks into a business or an office or a factory and randomly takes lives in a violent outburst; where we hear a report that rate of poverty has risen dramatically in the last generation on Tuesday and it is out of our consciousness on Wednesday.

But here’s my question: how would we react if we suddenly heard a voice that boomed in our ear, “I am calling on you to take my message to your people…tell them everything I tell you and precede all of it with “This is the word of the Lord.”

What would you do?

What would you do if someone started saying to you, “This is God’s word, given to me so that I can give it to you…”?

Oh, we say, that sort of stuff doesn’t happen today. That was the God of the Old Testament trying to get the attention of those stiff necked Hebrew people. They were God’s chosen people, but instead of following God’s path, they chose to go off on their own, doing what they wanted rather than what God wanted. That’s history, we say, that’s not relevant to our situation today.

Really? Did God stop talking when the prophets stopped talking? Is there no prophetic voice to remind us that God is owed our loyalty and worship?

And just what is the role of the prophet anyway? Is it to predict the future? Is it to gaze into a crystal ball and see what will happen down the road? The short answer is that the prophets among us see the way things are, see the way we are behaving and are able to see where that will lead, if things do not change.

And that is something we need today, every bit as much as the people in Babylonian exile needed it all those years ago.

But the question remains: how is God called heard in the 21st century? And how are we to respond?

The United Church of Christ had a campaign a few years ago entitled “God is still speaking…” That campaign got to the heart of the prophetic call that is available to us today. We have 5000 years worth of experience with God speaking to us. Our holy scriptures detail the stories of prophets and folks just like us that heard God’s call on their lives and responded.

For whatever reason, things don’t work quite the same way today that they worked in Ezekiel’s time. If we heard disembodied voices, we probably wouldn’t say a word to anyone. If we decided to bind ourselves up and lay naked in the street, we probably wouldn’t have to worry about where our next meal was coming from, because we would be institutionalized in a heart beat. If we told people that they needed to change the way they live or else God would strike them down, we would be looked upon skeptically, to say the least. God seems to understand all that and speaks in different ways today. Make no mistake, God is still speaking…but maybe it’s in a slightly different way.

Could God be speaking through our health care professionals who are noting a rise in debilitating health issues like diabetes, asthma and certain cancers due to lifestyle and environmental factors, and warning us that if things do not change, even more dire health issues will plague coming generations? After all, aren’t we supposed to be stewards of our creation and our own health?

Could God be speaking in the midst of our economic troubles by saying, if we don’t deal with our issues honestly and directly, we are doomed to see catastrophic results? After all, aren’t we supposed to be upright in all our dealings before God?

Could God be speaking to those who seek to bring people of different religions together to search for solutions to problems that, left unattended, could, quite simply lead to our destruction? After all, aren’t we all children of God?

We live in a time every bit as perilous as the Babylonian exiles. And like the Babylonians, the signs are all around. The prophetic voices warn us of where we are headed. God is still speaking, and it is up to us to decide how to respond. The prophetic voice is not simply telling us the future. The prophetic voice does not say that God will rain fire down on us in order to punish us. What the prophetic voice does say is that WE will face serious problems unless WE do something about it. Prophecy then, is simply pointing out the reality of where we are headed, unless we change.

The comedian Gracie Allen was once quoted as saying, “Never put a period where God has put a comma…” Because the comma means that God is still speaking, and we will be wise to listen for God’s call.

Let us pray: Gracious God, strengthen us that we might hear your call on our lives and respond. That we might stand up boldly and declare what is right, that we might resist the pull of a culture that contradicts what you have shown us to be right. Help us to stand firm in following your will in speaking truth to power, yet always speaking in love. And focus our attention that we might hear your call, and spread your word to all we meet. Amen.

Sunday September 4, 2011 "Working" Ecclesiastes 2:24 and Leviticus 23:3

brad@brookhavenchristian.org — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:26:00 GMT

Well, there it is. In two short verses from the Hebrew Bible we have our work life laid out for us. First, work should be enjoyable, and second, we’re going to work 6 out of every 7 days. Well, I hope it’s enjoyable if we are going to do it on 85% of our days!

Labor Day celebrates our work. It is not a religious holiday, but there is importance in honoring those who work and setting aside, at least symbolically, a day of rest.

But how does all of this fit into our faith life? What does the Bible say about work?

Genesis 2 makes it clear that it was what we are destined to do and it is good. Genesis 3 on the other hand, says it is a curse handed down to humans because of the sinfulness of Adam and Eve.
Paul speaks at multiple points, most specifically Thessalonians, of working hard and not shirking our responsibility. He is clear that we work because God ordained it, and so it is expected of us. And if God expects it of us, we must do it diligently and consistently. If we don’t work, we shouldn’t eat.

Bottom line: work is of God, work is part of the human condition. And we might as well get that through our head.
So, what is the worst job you have ever had? Why was it the worst job you ever had?

What was the hardest job you ever had? Why?

What was the best job you ever had? Why? I’ve been blessed, but this job is the best. But in all the good jobs I have had, one thing is held in common: I really looked forward to going to work. I felt like what I did mattered and I was motivated by what mattered to do a good job.

Let me ask you this: why do we work? Because God ordained it To live; because we must eat. To make a difference. To make a better life for our children. To make the world a better place. To serve others. To appreciate our non working life. To retire. One answer to this question would be, because I enjoy the task in front of me.

But more often than not, we work because of some outside motivation.

About 30 years ago, in the midst of recession in Michigan, my brother got laid off from his teaching job. In his early 30’s, with two kids at home, he suddenly was out of work. So, he did something about that. He and a friend hired themselves out to paint houses. He worked nights at a restaurant washing dishes. He went back to an old job as a short order cook at a local restaurant on weekends. He had friends who were shocked that someone with his experience, with a Masters degree, would take on such menial jobs, hinting that it would be beneath them. I don’t remember my brother ever saying anything other than, “Gotta eat.”

He had something to work for: a family that depended on him. We never talked about it at the time, but I’m sure it wasn’t fun. But still, he never complained, he just did what he needed to do. What I remember most about that time was him talking about the people he got to work with: other dishwashers, other cooks, waiters and waitresses. It wasn’t what he wanted to do. But he did it. Because what he did was important to the well being of his family.

But there is another question hidden in all this stuff about why we work, and that is how we work.

It’s all fine and good for people to pontificate about how we should work with joyful hearts. Yeah, well, did that person ever have to clean backed up sewers or work outside in extreme heat or cold, or subject themselves to the anger of high maintenance clients?

There is something really important here: how we act, how we work, should honor God and should reveal God to all we meet. We are told in scripture that we are all part of the body of Christ, each serving some particular, important purpose. We could not function as the church without all the various gifts. So it is with work: we all have a part, it’s just a matter of seeing what that part is and carrying it out.

Work is a given. Scripture admonishes us to work hard and realize that every job, no matter how small is important. That realization comes much easier when we can approach work with a positive attitude and when we understand that we are working for something larger than ourselves. In preparing for this sermon, I came across a quote from Gerard Manley Hopkins, a Roman Catholic priest in 19th century Ireland. I think in his words are the key:

“It is not only prayer that gives God glory, but work. Smiting an anvil, sawing a beam, whitewashing a wall, driving horses, sweeping, scouring – everything gives God glory if being in his grace you do it as your duty. To go to Communion worthily gives God great glory, but a man with a dung fork in his hand, a woman with a slop pail, give God glory, too. God is so great that all things give God glory if you mean that they should.”

“If you mean that they should…”

Do we mean that our efforts should glorify God? Are we intentional about honoring God with everything we do? Can we approach work in the same way we approach the table of the Lord’s Supper? Can we carry out our work with the same vigor with which we sing our favorite hymns? Can we make our work be as important a message to God as our prayer? Because I am convinced that when we can do that, that 85 % of our days we spend in work will feel as natural and as important as worshipping together in this place.

May this Labor Day represent a celebration recognizing that work is as sacred as worship. If only we allow it to be.

Let us pray: Lord, let us know clearly the work which you are calling us to do in life. No matter the work we do, grant us every grace we need to approach it with a courage and love and faith, and may our efforts honor you, every day, in every way. Amen.