From the Pastor |
I love receiving gifts. Don’t you? It is such fun to open and find out what someone else has thought to give to you. But… have you ever had that embarrassing moment when you’ve been given a beautifully wrapped gift… you open it while the giver is watching you, anticipating your joy-filled reaction… and you look at it… and… have absolutely no idea what it is?
That is how Pentecost seems to be like to me… a beautiful gift that brings such a sense of uncertainty. Today is the festival of Pentecost and our reading the book of Acts, reminds us of what happened during the Jewish feast of Pentecost shortly after Jesus’ ascension. A great gift was given to the followers of Christ who were gathered there that day… given in a very dramatic way. The disciples and other followers of Jesus were all gathered in one place when suddenly there was the sound of rushing wind like a tornado (inside the house), then tongues of fire appeared resting on every head. These events brought to all gathered there a beautiful… wonderful gift that came directly from God. God gave them the wondrous gift of the Holy Spirit... just as Jesus had promised. It is the same gift God gives to all who come to believe… all who follow Jesus. However, when we look at this gift… when we open it up (so to speak)… we have to wonder… what is it, really? What is it for? Well, Jesus did tell the disciples, “When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you shall receive power.” So maybe, the gift we get at Pentecost is the gift of power, and God knows we need it. Strength, power… But one important question must be asked: what kind of power? …the awesome explosive power like we have seen in the Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or is the quiet steady power you might find in a nuclear reactor? I think that perhaps… just perhaps… it is both! The Spirit can manifest power in spectacular… fairly explosive ways… just like on that Day of Pentecost so long ago. Creating howling wind, tongues of fire and instant miracles… Power that can shake buildings… heal the sick and cast out demons… even raise the dead… that’s the power of God that is more easily recognized… but if we are to be honest… we would have to admit… that type immense power is not the norm for most Christians. The Holy Spirit can and does bring power to God’s people but usually in more subtle and unexpected ways. First of all, it can ease our suffering, put our minds at peace and the power the Spirit often brings is the quiet strength needed to endure adversity… not simply escape it. A second unexpected power of the Spirit is the power to love. No wonder people are confused about the Spirit’s power… In the eyes of the world, loving and forgiving are measures of weakness not strength. Vengeance, not forgiveness, is the law of earthly power. However, Jesus taught his disciples something completely different. He commanded them to love their enemies, not just those who were kind to them. Going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, and forgiving without limit were to be the true signs of spiritual power for Jesus’ men and women. The Lord knew, as his modern disciples must learn, that real power never needs to hate or destroy only to love. But that is not all… The Spirit also provides the power to serve. Service is not often a mark of power in our fallen world. In fact, in our world a powerful person is to be served not serve. Ruling, controlling, and manipulating the lives of others… for our society… these are the marks of power. Not so with Jesus! On his last night with his disciples, Jesus demonstrated his radical attitude toward power. He removed his cloak, took up a towel, and washed his followers’ feet. Surely he had better things to do! Someone else could assume such a lowly role! However, Jesus insisted that the highest privilege one could have was to serve another. Strength to endure adversity, loving, serving… that’s the awesome power the Holy Spirit provides! And when we look at the drama of this story it seems that the gift of Pentecost is the gift of energy and excitement as well as power… The Holy Spirit is God's way of shaking off the moss, blowing away the cobwebs, and allowing electricity and excitement to reenergize the church. Well, that is a gift we do need… Some energy and some excitement in the church! Wouldn't it be nice to be lifted up and to have the life of the church flying like a flag, snapping in the powerful wind of the Spirit, with energy and excitement? However… When all is said and done, the gift that we get when the Holy Spirit comes upon us is not the superficial gift of energy and excitement; it is not merely power, and strength. The gift we get on Pentecost is the one gift we and the world most desperately need. Strangely enough, the true gift of Pentecost, of the Spirit, is the gift of having something to say, a Word to speak in the brokenness and tragedy of the world that is unlike any other word. Did you notice what happened when the Spirit was given to the disciples? They stood up… went out among the people… and spoke. They moved from hiding away to boldly speaking the Good News of Jesus. They talked and the world around them heard and understood the good news in its own languages. As the prophet Joel said, “In the latter days, I will pour out my Spirit on all of humanity. And your sons and your daughters will prophesy.” You and future generations will have a Word to speak… they will tell all who will listen that love is stronger that hatred, that life overcomes death; that hope is deeper than despair; that every tear will be dried, and that in the power of Christ's resurrection, death and pain will be no more. There's the gift at Pentecost: the Word to speak to the world; a word of good news and hope that is unlike any other word. After all, that is the task Jesus gave his disciples just before he ascended into Heaven. He said “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” That was the task the disciples were commanded to do… to go to Jerusalem, to await the arrival of the Holy Spirit and then to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. That is how it was at that first Pentecost. They had become a group of unique individuals who were united for this great purpose… this task of truly being witnesses for Christ. That is what we are… followers of Christ in the world today… empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak the gospel… the Good news of Christ… witnesses to the ends of the earth. Followers of Christ in every church... every city... every nation are called to be united in this great task and we have all been given the Gift of Pentecost for this reason. So what is holding us back? Why are we so weak in this task? What are we afraid of? Are we afraid of ridicule? Of being labeled religious fanatics? Do we not want to disrupt the status quo? Do we think that we do not have the power? How many times have we heard ourselves say “Lord, if only I had more…?” “If only I had more power, just think of the great things I could do!” “If only we had more money, think of all the people we could help!” “If only we had…more people… more time… If only Lord!” The only problem with asking for more is that we will most likely get the response: “Why? Why should I give you more? What are you doing with the little bit of power I’ve already given you? If you aren’t using what I have already given… what would make me think you would use more?” Phillip Brooks must have understood this spiritual truth when he wrote these words, “Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle but you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself at the richness of life which has come by the grace of God.” On the day of Pentecost, God made available to all believers the most powerful force in the universe. So, let the gospel be preached and the Holy Spirit poured
0 Comments
1 John 3:16-24 & John 10:11-18
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me…” This is a common and well- known image of Jesus. I remember as a kid in Sunday School seeing a picture of Jesus gently carrying a lamb on his shoulders… I was taught that the message of this image was that Jesus loves and protects us and we are forever carried by that love. It is the image of God we get from the 23rd Psalm… Even if you cannot recite the whole thing by heart… I bet you at least know the opening line: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…” These are words of comfort and grace… often used during funerals or times of trial and distress, because these words remind us that we are never alone… that we are known by God. We know the shepherd and the shepherd know us each by name. Think about that for a moment… you are known… personally… by God. The Good News of John’s Gospel message is that even with all our flaws and shortcomings… even with all our sins we are known… we are loved and we are forgiven. What incredibly Good News! “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me…” But how well do we really know God? I mean… Jesus tells us that HIS sheep recognize and listen to HIS voice. Have you heard His voice lately? I think the real question for us today is NOT “Will God speak to me today?” but rather… “Will I hear and listen to God’s voice?” Unfortunately in this day and age it is easy to be distracted. Our world is noisy and we move at such a fast pace that sometimes it is hard to hear God’s voice speaking to us. We are called to listen… But not only listen, we are expected to hear. There are many instances in scripture where Jesus said “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” [Matthew 11:15] And he is telling us today that the sheep of his flock do indeed hear his voice. So… are you listening? Are you hearing what the shepherd is saying? Can you hear the voice of Jesus? Are you even listening for it? Most of us would probably have to confess that we are not very good at listening. It is easy to be distracted… to fail to hear Jesus’ voice calling to us amid the noise, the distractions and the hustle of our daily lives. And if we were to be honest… Sometimes we choose NOT to listen because that “still small voice” … is not telling us what WE want to hear. This morning… I would like you to ask yourself: What are the voices that you listen to? Who is speaking to you? Are they leading you to Christ, or away from Him? I truly believe that the best trick the devil ever played upon us was convincing so many people that he isn't even real. That way he works in the background without anyone giving him a second thought. Let’s face it… The devil is very good at pulling people away from the Lord… And the sad reality here in America, is that he doesn’t seem to have to work that hard to make his voice heard. The noise and voices of this world seem to make hearing the voice of the Good Shepherd difficult to hear, but the voice of evil… it is loud and strong. IT is the voice of selfishness and greed… of anger, fear and hatred and that voice is permeating our society… and even our churches. In Jesus’ parable of the good shepherd, he says that the sheep listen to his voice. But note in today’s reading… he is telling us that there are others… “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” Yet, so many Christians seem to believe that they are the only ones who truly hear Christ’s voice… that their way is the ONLY way… that those who do not believe as they do are damned… not worthy… NOT a part of Christ’s flock. So… Who are these others? The truth is… we don’t know, and it is NOT our job to decide who is in and who is out. That job belongs solely to the one who will sit on the Throne of Judgement… and that ain’t you or me. Our job is to invite others to come and get to know the Shepherd… to include everyone we can… to come and hear the voice of the Lord. In order to do that… however… we NEED to be able to recognize and hear the voice of Christ our Shepherd among all the different voices around us and within us… in the midst of the noises that tries to distract us… The problem is… how do we do that? … How do we hear his voice? … How do we decide what it is that the Lord is telling us? How do we know what is truly right and good? The first thing we need to realize is that God does, in fact, speak to us today. Don’t wait for the booming voice from heaven… or the burning bush… look around and open your hearts to the many ways that God not only makes God’s presence known… but speaks to us every day. God speaks to us all through Scripture. The Bible gives a great deal of guidance on the things we encounter in life, so reading and studying the word of God can result in the right verse and message coming to mind just when we need it. We can hear the voice of God during our times of worship. Through the prayers and songs… the scriptures and sharing we can hear the voice of Jesus speaking to us… About who we should be… what we should do… and the mission to which he has called us. When a concern moves us to pray… When we rejoice at a new birth, or mourn together a death… when we are reminded that the kingdom of God continues in the lives of those just coming into it and those who have moved on… when a song resonates with us… that is God speaking. God speaks through our own thoughts… that gut feeling we refer to as intuition. It can be thoughts and feelings that come to us during prayer, or out of the blue. You know… that strange thought that suddenly pops on in and won’t go away. Pay attention to that. We can hear God speaking through other people… sharing their thoughts and dreams and ideas. God speaks through books, letters, movies, art or music… whatever might grab your attention and move your heart and mind… bringing God into your focus. We can even hear the voice of God throughout the beauty and wonder of creation. There are so many ways that the voice of the Lord… Our Good Shepherd speaks to us… not just in church… but everywhere… every day of our lives. We just need to take the time to listen and to hear what God has to say. So, the question for us in not, “Does Jesus still speak to people today?” But rather, “What is Jesus saying to us this morning?” What is our Lord saying about the violence in our nation? About the blatant injustice and inequity and hatred? Are we called to do something to be his peace, his shalom, in this world? In our community? What is our Lord saying to us today about the poverty in our area? About those who do not have decent housing, or who go to bed hungry, or who are victims of domestic abuse? What is he saying to us about how we can be salt and light in this community? The important thing is not that we come up with “THE ANSWER” but that in listening… we live the answers that we already have been given by our faith: Live in peace with each other… lift up the down trodden, help the poor and the weak, be patient, loving and compassionate with everyone. Do not repay evil with evil but combat evil with love. Rejoice always; pray continually; and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Our Shepherd’s voice is clear about how we should live and act, it is clear about what our attitude should be to those who are both our friends and those who we might consider our enemies. We can’t go wrong by doing the things that the Shepherd has already told us to do in a very clear way. When we continue to listen to and follow the voice of our Shepherd in the little things… those things that relate to our loving of both God and neighbor, then we will discover that God’s voice will become clearer… more discernable… and we will discover what it is the God is saying and what God wants us to do. Amen. John 15: 1-8
Today, the Gospel of John gives us another metaphor Jesus provides… “I am the true vine”. Jesus uses these metaphors to reveal…not only his own identity, nature and character, but to also reveal aspects of the covenant relationship of God with God’s people. “I am the true vine” Now this would have been a powerful statement for those listening to Jesus speak. This was a metaphor they understood. Vineyards were not uncommon and the care of vineyards was well known. Every year those who tended the vineyards would prune the vines… cutting off the dead wood and trimming the living branches so the yield would be more plentiful. On top of that… the Hebrew Scriptures were filled with references to vines and vineyards. The Psalms and the prophets all use the image of Israel as the Lord’s vineyard. The people were the vine God had uprooted from Egypt and replanted in the Promised Land. A vine that withered because it became disconnected from the source of nourishment and strength. So for Jesus to say, "I am the true vine", was an astounding revelation. As the Messiah, Jesus declares that he has become the true point of connection… of strength and life for God’s people. Jesus is the true vine and God’s people are the branches. God is the one who tends the vineyard and like any grape grower… God expects for the branches to bear fruit. Today… WE are the branches. However we need to understand a few things about branches. Branches do not grow of their own accord. It is not something the branches can control… as the vine shares its nourishment and life… the branches begin to grow. There is actually something very passive about the branches… they just kind of sit there. Soaking up all the life the vine provides. And yet… even with being passive, branches manage to do what they were created to do… They soak up the life the vine provides and then they bear fruit. Over and over again. This is where the metaphor breaks down a bit… because let’s face it… we are human beings… not branches. Unlike a ‘branch,’ we are not very good at being passive…in fact, human beings have a tendency to believe that we know what is best for us… that we are smarter, and stronger on our own. We forget that we were given the gift of life… created by God. We are easily bored and distracted and begin to think that our life and power comes from the things of this world… As a result we end up cutting ourselves off from the vine… from the source of life itself. We wither away… becoming filled with things like indifference, apathy and hate. Those are not the fruit we are called to bear… but these days they seem like the easiest to find. The fruit we are called to bear is, first and foremost, love…caring, compassion, mercy, forgiveness… Paul even gave us a list of what he referred to as “fruit of the Spirit”: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. How do we successfully bear such fruit? What must we do? Where to begin? Jesus gives us the answer… clearly… boldly… What must we do? “Abide”… Abide in him. There you have it! Now we just need to figure out what that means. Jesus tells his disciples to abide in him… but he tells them this on the eve of his death. He knows he is leaving them and he is trying to prepare them… so this was his command… Abide in me! Jesus says to Abide… now and always abide in me. He was leaving but he was not leaving them alone. Jesus promised to be with them always… connected to them through the Holy Spirit. That is what ‘abide’ means… to remain in… stay near… connected. When we abide in Jesus, we remain connected to his life-giving, sustaining, strengthening presence. “Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” [vs.4] This is so much more than good advice… it is more than an invitation… it is a promise that no matter what happens… Jesus will be with us through it all. The vine is grounded… set… it doesn’t go anywhere. The vine patiently provides what is needed for the branches to life and grow… supporting and strengthening them… allowing life to flow through the branches so that they will bear fruit. This is all about relationship. Jesus spoke often about how he and God were connected… “I am in the Father… the Father is in me” [John 14:10] When we abide in him… we too are brought into relationship of mutual indwelling… We live in Christ and Christ lives in us. And just like the vine metaphor… we are united together through him... We are connected and intertwined… the One Body of Christ. Even the best of us… the most faithful… can find that there are times when our spiritual energy seems to wither… when our connection to Christ… the vine… does not feel very strong. Times when doubts and fears can take hold. The truth of the matter is that as human beings, it's easy to get disconnected from the vine… complacency, apathy, fear… anger, greed… laziness and even busyness… these things pull at us… drawing us away from Christ. In fact… it's far too easy to let the things of the world get hold of us causing us to separate ourselves from the true source of life, light and love. Those who abide in Jesus' word don't give up when things are difficult or allow their fruitfulness to be choked by the "weeds" of worldly pressures. We need to consciously remain connected to Christ. It is not automatic, but it is necessary. We can do that by studying God’s word… through our times of worship, communion and praise… through frequent prayer and intentionally taking the time to commune with God. It is our connection to Christ… that enables us to be fruitful… then our lives will reflect that mutual indwelling of Christ’s life in ours and our life in his. We need that connection… the life and power… the love that comes through Jesus. For as John’s letter reminds us: “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” [vs. 12-13] The greatest fruit we can bear are acts of love… Our love for God revealed in the ways we treat one another, and others. It is love that is shown when we abide in Christ… who abides in us through the Holy Spirit. We must remain connected to him. Otherwise we become like a branch that cannot produce fruit any longer… that branch is thrown into the fire… This is why Jesus says “Abide in me, and I will abide in you.” We can’t do it on our own. Just as the branches must be connected to the vine before they can produce fruit, you and I must stay connected to Jesus to produce the good fruit that God expects of us. Amen. |
Yeon Shin
|