From the Pastor |
In 5 days we will celebrate our Independence Day… The 4th of July… a time when our thoughts turn to parades, fireworks and cookouts.
Well… most years anyway. This year… if any parades are happening, they are modified… motorcade style events with no marchers… Doesn’t that sound “great”? Most towns have even cancelled their firework plans; not all, but they will be rare this year… I guess that leaves us with cookouts… as long as you limit it to 25 people or less. (SIGH) more glorious traditions demolished by Covid-19. But… you know what? The 4th of July is NOT ABOUT parades… or fireworks… or even cookouts. Those are wonderful traditions that were born out of our celebration of the REAL meaning of Independence Day: FREEDOM! July 4th is the day we remember and celebrate how a group of colonies banded together to declare their independence from the British Empire… When they openly declared their desire… and their willingness to fight for freedom. Freedom is a fabulous thing… it is a concept we, as a nation, rally around… a concept we take great pride in… a concept that we sometimes abuse… and often greatly take for granted. Our Constitution provides for many freedoms… freedom of speech... freedom of the press… freedom of religion… the right to peacefully assembly… the right to bear arms… and the list goes on and on. However, these freedoms and rights do NOT allow us to simply do whatever we want… wherever we want… whenever we want. There are still laws to follow… other people to consider… We have to realize that when we exercise our freedoms… we need to be responsible enough to accept the consequences for our speech and actions. I bring this up because the Nature of Freedom is what Paul is talking about in this section of his letter to the church in Rome. “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” Freedom! Through Christ we are set free from sin… we are no longer slaves to sin and death… WE ARE FREE! But Paul makes sure to remind us that, much like the freedoms we enjoy here in America… the freedom Paul speaks of… IS NOT the freedom to go and do whatever we please. “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!” Absolutely not! In fact… the freedom found in Christ is very different. We are not set free to do whatever we want… we are simply set free to choose a different master. According to Paul… people are never completely “free”… we are always under the power and authority of someone or something. He wrote: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God… You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” You see… The question is not… whether or not you will follow someone or something… but WHO or WHAT you will follow. Paul wants his readers, and now us, to realize that as believers, we are no longer slaves to sin… our allegiance is no longer to the forces of this world… our allegiance is to the one who loves us enough to die for us…. Christ died so we could be free from sin and death… Christ rose so that we too might find new life… a life devoted to God. We are indeed set free… free to live… free to love… free to become what we were meant to become… Devoted Children of God… righteous and holy. We cannot truly say ‘yes’ to God unless we consciously say ‘no’ to sin. The problem we face in our contemporary society is that too often we view ‘Sin’ as only major transgressions like murder… or as something blatantly evil. Sin is so much more basic than that and none of us… not a one of us are immune to it. Sin is anything that pulls us away from God… anything that damages our relationship with God and with other people. Sin encompasses those big transgressions and obvious evil perversions… but also includes even the small corruptions of what is good and is often centered on our selfishness. Gossiping, losing your temper… failing to love your neighbor… every neighbor! These are sins. The Greek word we translate as sin actually means “missing the mark,” and sin includes all of those things that we do, as well as those things that we have not done, that cause us to “miss the mark” when it comes to living by God’s commands. As Paul tells us… “The wages of sin is death.” The death of justice and peace… the death of human dignity… the death of body and soul. And let’s face it… Sin and death are incredibly strong forces in our world… We see them at work all around us… we see them in our economic, political, and social systems. Sin seems to have dominion over this world… And I’m sorry to say… sin has even permeated many of our churches… and Paul reminds us, even Christians are not immune to the temptations of sin. We are human… we are prone to sin… even Christians do in fact sin… sometimes in small ways… sometimes not so small. So he encourages us: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” Do NOT let ANY part of yourself be an instrument of evil… not your hands or your feet… not your heart or your mind… not even your tongue… not ANY part of you. Instead… embrace the freedom Christ has provided and allow every part of you… your whole being to become an instrument of God’s righteousness… For it is through God's grace… Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ… that we are set free from the power of sin and death. This is not a grace that merely eases our guilt and makes us feel better about ourselves. This is a grace that seeks us out… offering God's love and God's mercy. Grace that breaks the chains of sin and death and binds us to righteousness instead. We are no longer free to do what sin would have us do… Instead, we are bound to God, and we become active participants in God’s mission in the world. The mission… not simply to “save” souls… but to bring change… to work to bring God’s healing and wholeness, and a glorious renewal of creation… This mission… God's mission… begins now! Friends… when we follow Jesus… when we accept the freely offered gift of eternal life that replaces the consequence of sin that is death… a response is required. So… What will be our response? Will we actively participate in the mission of God? Will we work for justice, freedom and peace? Will we… with all our being… become the instruments of God’s righteousness… of goodness, love, grace and mercy… of justice and peace? Will we loudly and boldly proclaim… through our words and our actions the Gospel of Christ Jesus? Or... Will we continue to allow sin to dictate our lives? Will we settle for the watered down Gospel of personal salvation that misses the mark? Will we turn a blind eye to the poor, and the needy in our own community? Will we ignore the suffering of the millions of people who will die because they lack clean water, adequate food supplies and medicines? Will we speak words of fear and anger… will we allow words of prejudice and hatred to leave our lips? Will we continue to remain silent in the face of injustice, violence and war? Since we are bound to God as slaves of Righteousness… do we really have a choice? Amen.
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Have you noticed that our society seems to center around the concepts of self-protection and self-interest? We have built a culture focused on instant gratification… created out of greed and selfishness… a culture filled with winners and losers. The values of our society seem to leave no room for selflessness, self-sacrifice or service to others.
Let’s face it… our way of doing things is NOT very conducive to bringing peace and justice to the world. What this world needs are people to embrace a different set of values… to engage different priorities… people willing to challenge the status quo, and work for change. Yup… that’s what we need… so WHO is gonna do it? Well, our reading today answers that question. Who is to do that? Jesus’ disciples, that’s who. This chapter of Matthew is about Jesus sending his disciples out to work. It begins with Jesus empowering the 12… his closest, most dedicated disciples… He gives them the power to heal and drive out demons…. and then he tells them to go… “to the lost sheep of Israel.” To proclaim the news of the kingdom… to “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” [10:6-7] Wow! I can just imagine how pumped those disciples were… Jesus gave them power and is trusting them to go out and do the work on their own. But Jesus wasn’t done yet… he tells them to go, but take no money… no bag or extra clothes… they are to rely solely on the kindness and generosity of strangers. Oh… and do not take any money for the work they do. [10:9-10] OK… That makes this task a little scarier… but they trust their teacher so no problem. Let’s go! BUT Jesus still wasn’t done… he tells them that they have to be careful… he is sending them “out like sheep among wolves”… they may face arrest and persecution and they “will be hated” because of him. [10:16, 22] Yeah… ok… this is not sounding like a good thing… right? And that brings us right up to our verses for today where Jesus says “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.” In other words… they should not expect to receive better treatment than he himself receives. It was a point he stressed multiple times in the Gospels… In fact he reiterates this exact message again in John 15 just prior to his arrest when he says: “Remember the word I said to you, ‘servants are not greater that their master.’ If they persecute me, they will persecute you.” [John 15: 20] It makes sense… if our Lord… the one we refer to as the Son of God was rejected, beaten and crucified, how could his disciples expect to be treated better? Why should they expect any less? Jesus knew something his disciples did not… Jesus knew his message would not be readily accepted by all people. He knew it would divisive, even among families. That is why he said “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” [10:34-36] This was pretty radical since family loyalty was viewed as the center of existence in the Jewish faith. But Jesus knew that following him would bring division… that discipleship with him would be costly… even dangerous. But even with the warnings and dire predictions, Jesus is adamant that his disciples not be afraid. In fact he says that THREE times in just 6 verses… Do Not Be Afraid! Do not be afraid of what others may say… of rejection or arguments… the truth of God WILL be revealed. God’s purpose WILL be revealed. Do not be afraid of being attacked or even killed for your faith. If you are going to be afraid of anything… fear the one who has REAL power… the God who has power over both body and soul. And do not be afraid because just as God knows and cares for every sparrow… God knows and cares for you… So do not be afraid! During WWII, in Nazi Germany, Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer had every reason to be afraid of speaking out against the Nazi Regime. By doing so he faced imprisonment and death… but he took Jesus’s words to heart. He wrote: “Human beings should not be feared. They cannot do much to the disciples of Jesus. Their power stops with the disciples’ physical death. The disciples are to overcome fear of death with fear of God. Disciples are in danger, not from human judgement, but from God’s judgement, not from decay of their bodies, but from the eternal decay of their bodies and soul. Anyone who is still afraid of people is not afraid of God. Anyone who fears God is not afraid of people.” [Discipleship (Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, Vol 4), 196] So… Do not be afraid of anything this world can throw at you… rise up! Speak out! Jesus said “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” [10: 27] What that means is that whenever you hear the still, quiet voice of God… Whenever God speaks to you even through unexpected people or sources… in unlikely places… when the message of Christ resonates in your heart… share it! But share it in the light… Do not proclaim God’s word in the darkness… Do not whisper or speak it quietly in the shadows… boldly proclaim it… loudly from the rooftops. Confidently speaking the truth of God… the message of Christ for all to hear… bringing it out into the light. As Christians we want to do that. We want to be so secure in our faith that we live our lives with holiness and righteousness… fighting against evil. We long to rely fully on the grace of God… to put our whole trust in the Lord. We desire to let all the world know that our allegiance … our full allegiance is to our God. But we don’t! We let our fears stop us; our fear of rejection and ridicule. Our fear of being labeled a religious fanatic. Our fear of conflict and of losing all that we have… our name… our security… even our relationship with family or our friends. Our fear of disrupting the status quo. I mean, we have all faced times when we have had to choose whether to remain silent or risk ridicule or rejection over what we believe is right. Think about all those times we avoid talking about controversial issues like healthcare, refugees, the homeless or even politics in public to avoid getting into arguments with those who disagree with us. So instead… we keep quiet. And let’s face it… Our society makes that easy. Christianity in America does not seem to ask a lot of us… we are not often called out of our comfort zones. We are not encouraged to boldly proclaim our faith, in fact for years we have been encouraged to keep our faith private… at home or at church… avoiding conflicts... maintaining the status quo so that everyone can just go about their business and remain comfortable. But that is NOT the way of Jesus… it is NOT what it means to be a Disciple of Christ. Jesus makes it pretty clear that discipleship is NOT comfortable… it is not easy or even safe. Discipleship has great cost… but we are to NOT be afraid of that cost, because our reward will be greater. Today, Jesus has issued a call… a call to listen and to discern the voice of God… and then to proclaim God’s word… boldly… from the rooftops. It’s is not easy. Jesus knew that. By answering this call we might cause conflict… we might cause divisions… we might just disturb the status quo. But, you know… that just might be a good thing. Because what the world needs is fewer ‘Christians’ and MORE Disciples of Christ. People who not only hear the word of God, but boldly proclaim it… people who embrace the loving, forgiving values of God. Who challenge the status quo and actively speak out against injustice and oppression… wherever and whenever they find it. The word of God is the ‘sword’ Jesus brought… the ‘sword’ we are to wield… not to bring war or violence… not to destroy, but to bring love, truth and justice to a world that is sorely lacking. It is time to let go of our fears… to rise up… to speak out… to tell the world that the kingdom of God is near… to openly and loudly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is time to let our voices be heard calling for equal justice for all people… fighting against oppression. The time is NOW… it is time to make known that we truly are Disciples of Christ… and that our full allegiance is to our Lord. It is time to show the world that Jesus is who we live for… Jesus is who we are willing to die for… Jesus is our hope, our joy and our peace. So do not be afraid… God knows you… God loves you… Christ has called you to be his disciple… so take up your cross and follow him. 2020 has been an interesting year to say the least.
In January… it looked like we might actually end up going to war with Iran when the US targeted and killed the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and then Iran retaliated by bombing 2 US military bases in Iraq. Then House of Representatives brought impeachment proceedings against the president… Then this strange new virus began to make the news… and by March 1st… We had 2 confirmed deaths in Washington state and the first cases in Rhode Island, Florida, and New York were reported… from there it exploded and we were forced to literally shut-down. Since then, in our country alone there have been over 2 million confirmed cases with around 117,000 deaths… over 30,000 deaths here in NY. The closing of businesses, school and even churches… stay-at-home orders went into effect… the world seemed to run out of toilet paper… the requirements of wearing masks and social distancing were accepted (grudgingly) by many citizens… but it led others to storm their state capitols… wielding guns and shouting at law enforcement officials and politicians in protest. If that is not enough… the issue of racial and economic injustice in our nation reached a volcanic boiling point and exploded with the horrifying video of George Floyd’s tragic death on May 25th. Since then there have been continuous nationwide protests against racism and injustice. In fact, the protests have begun worldwide. People in other countries have picked up the cries for equal justice for all. Many of the protests have remained peaceful but many have turned extremely violent with the fault falling on both sides. Think about all this for a second… we are only about ½ way through this year. It’s hard to imagine what could possible happen next. But 2020 has spawned some great memes on Facebook. Well… we have finally entered phase 2 of reopening after the pandemic shut-down… now we get to undertake the massive task of trying to establish now guidelines and protocols to reopen our churches. I have to tell you… This year has been tough. As a pastor… I have been feeling a little beat up and a lot overwhelmed… I sometimes wonder if Jesus ever felt overwhelmed in the course of his ministry… I mean… Jesus was going from town to town teaching, healing, driving out demons and spreading his message. Crowds always seemed to gather around him… I sometimes feel a little overwhelmed just being in a large crowd… yet Jesus found that wherever he went… the crowds around him kept growing… but if he felt overwhelmed… he did not show it… instead we are told by Matthew that he felt compassion for them… he felt sorry for them because he saw they were lost, like sheep without a shepherd. When he looked to the crowds… Jesus also recognized that his task was huge… it was too big for one man to accomplish. He saw the crowds… compassion is what seemed to overwhelm him… and he taught a valuable lesson… he DELEGATED! He said to his disciples “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the Harvest, therefore, to send workers into His harvest field.” And then he called them together… empowered them with the ability to drive out demons and to heal people… and then he sent them out to continue the work he was doing, and to proclaim “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus tells us plainly what to do when the work seems to be too much… when we are feeling overwhelmed… in need of help… “Ask the Lord of the harvest… to send workers into His harvest field.” Turn to God for help. Throughout his ministry, Jesus did this many times. The gospels tell of the many times Jesus would just go off by himself to pray and if you look at what was going on at the time, many of those times are when normal people would have been feeling overwhelmed. He stopped and went to pray for help and guidance… to center himself and refocus his heart and mind on his mission… his purpose. Are you overwhelmed? Do you need help or even just a little guidance to make a decision? Years ago there was a movement… a fad that was all over the place? WWJD – What Would Jesus Do? Well, today… he gives us the answer. Stop! Put your faith and trust in God. Then pray to God for help and guidance. Finally, open your heart and mind to the power that comes from the Holy Spirit. Then be ready… because Jesus has shown that he is very willing to delegate! That day, he sent his disciples out to work the fields of the “to the lost sheep of Israel”… but after the resurrection he sent them out to all the nations… to the ends of the earth. Here in the year 2020… “The harvest is [STILL] plentiful [and] the workers are [STILL SO] few.” We are now the Disciples of Christ in this age…Through the Holy Spirit… Christ still empowers and sends his disciples… us… out into the world… to proclaim the good news… to cast out the demons of fear… anger… and hatred… and to heal the people… to heal the world. But let’s be honest… The job is enormous… it is overwhelming. We look around… look at all that is going on in our world and think… we cannot make a difference… I can’t make a difference… I can’t do it… That is when we need to turn to God… to ask the God of the harvest for help… for “with God ALL things are possible” [Matt. 19:26] and as Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” The fields are ready… it is up to us to continue the harvest. Amen It was the Day of Pentecost… that day that God fulfilled Jesus’ promises of “another advocate… the Holy Spirit… [who] will teach you… [and] guide you into all the truth” (Excerpts John 14 & 16]
The Spirit who would provide power so that the disciples could “be [Christ’s] witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). Whatever the disciples were expecting when Jesus told them stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Spirit to come… I doubt they were expecting what they got: tongues of fire, rapid onset foreign language fluency, chaos on the streets of Jerusalem that apparently looked something like a drunken party in the middle of the morning... Peter preaching in the streets gaining 3000 new followers of Christ that very day! People… The Spirit has left the building. Wouldn’t all that be an awesome sight to see? Now, I have never experienced the Holy Spirit the way Peter and the disciples did. I have seen no tongues of fire… I have not been able to suddenly speak in another language… Let’s face it… most of us have not experienced the Holy Spirit in such overwhelming ways. In fact, we seem to have trouble grasping who or what the Holy Spirit really is. What is it, really? What is it for? In Hebrew, the word for the Spirit is “Ruach”… in Greek it is “Pneuma”… both of which refer to wind or breath… a life giving element… The divine breath of God… In the Old Testament, the Spirit is an agent of creation… the awesome life-giving… creating power of God. It is the source of inspiration and power for many people… Just like the men in our reading from Numbers. Moses gathered the elders and “When the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied… Eldad and Medad… did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp.” [Numbers 11:25b-26] The Spirit is the mysterious power and presence of God… the source of God’s revelation, wisdom, courage and power whenever it rested “upon” someone… inspiring and empowering people with qualities they did not otherwise possess. However it was often temporary as with the elders in the tent. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is shown to bestow power for mission and ministry…first in Jesus… then later for the Christian Community… the Church. But now the Spirit is not only a vehicle of God’s revelation and wisdom and power… but a constant source of guidance and strength. For through Christ… the gift of the Holy Spirit is no longer temporary. It is the Holy Spirit… the divine presence of God that provides the “gifts” necessary for mission and ministry of the church… it extends the presence and power of Christ to each new generation of believers… Uniting Christians around the world to become one “in Christ”… empowering mission as well as moral and ethical life. God’s gift of the Holy Spirit is a tremendous offering for those who believe. It is a gift of guidance, strength, support and POWER! … The presence and power of God… and it is as active today as it was back then. The Holy Spirit can and does bring power to God’s people… The power to ease our suffering; to put our minds at peace and bringing the strength needed to endure adversity… not simply the power to escape it. The Spirit is the power to love… and the power to serve. This is a gift we and the world most desperately need. And this great gift… comes with conditions… it needs to be accepted… embraced and used, because accepting, embracing and using the Holy Spirit is the mission of the church. It is the Holy Spirit that brings our focus to Christ… working to bring redemption and a life-giving, life-enhancing reality to our lives and the lives of those around us. And as we can see from both of our readings… it is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to bear witness to and take part in the reconciling love of God. The gift of the Holy Spirit is NOT a passive gift… If we are to truly be Christians… Disciples of Christ… we need to live Christ-centered lives… living focused on the mission of the church… You see… The work of the Spirit IS the mission of the church… a mission to proclaim the Good News of forgiveness and reconciliation that comes through Christ… offering care and compassion… protecting the weak and the lowly… using our resources and influence… denouncing injustice and oppression. If we live in Christ… in the power of the Holy Spirit… we live for justice. We want justice. Justice in its simplest form, means to set things right… and as followers of Christ, our sense of justice is given to us by the Holy Spirit… by our sense of and revelation of God. A God who is loving, kind, and merciful… righteous, holy, and just. God has set the standard for love and justice… that standard is clearly visible in Christ. Jesus cared for the outcast… demonstrated compassion for the weak and vulnerable… for those most often overlooked. Jesus actively pursued justice. He physically and spiritually rescued those in need. As we look to Jesus and hear the mandate given throughout Scripture, it is clear that Christians are called to actively continue Christ’s work for justice. Through the Holy Spirit we are called and empowered to care for the vulnerable and to make right that which is wrong… to take action and confront evil wherever we find it… Which is why I have to speak today… There is a quote going around Facebook that says “Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are.” When we, as Christians, see cases of extreme injustice… like the actions of Amy Cooper in NYC or the tragedy of what happened in Minnesota to George Floyd… when we see such blatant examples of injustice happening across our nation… If we sit by and remain silent… if we are not enraged… or fail to realize and speak out against the racism and prejudice that is commonplace all across this country… this state and even our own community… if we turn away because we are “unaffected” by it… justice cannot be served, and truthfully, we cannot continue to call ourselves Christians. We cannot continue to claim to be filled with or guided by the Spirit of God. God assures us that one day there will be a world of perfect justice and peace. But today is not that day! Evil still permeates our world… Human trafficking continues in every country… Children still suffer abuse… apathy and a lack of compassion are normal. People of color still live in fear and fight for equality and justice in our nation… they are feared, harassed, threatened and killed because of the color of their skin. And yet we, the “unaffected,” tend to remain silent. We may “like” or put a sad face on a few social media posts, offering our regrets over the tragedy, and then speak out against those who riot in response to the blatant mistreatment. I will never condone their response of violence and destruction but I can understand the level of anger and frustration of the people involved… for my own level of disgust, anger and frustration is great, but must only be a fraction of those who are “affected.” The church of Christ should be leading the way for the pursuit of justice… Fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit… the compassion of Christ… we should be engaged in these issues of injustice… walking with the hurt and downtrodden… pointing the way to the God who heals, restores and redeems. At Pentecost, the Spirit used the presence and power of God to cross boundaries… overcoming our separation from God… but it also broke down the walls that separates people. When we are baptized into Christ… the Holy Spirit brings us into a community… leads and guides us to come together in faith, hope and love… A community that is called to foster justice and inclusivity… where differences are not eliminated, but embraced by a deeper unity. Where we are all bestowed with wondrous Gifts that are to be used for the well-being and peace of all. A community that is motivated by thanksgiving and joy instead of anger or fear… A community that welcomes and recognizes the presence of the Holy Spirit in all fields of human activity. The Spirit does not remain in the church, but is active in science, art, and even politics… Any endeavor that enhances life and peace and works to combat death and destruction. That is what a community created in the presence of the Holy Spirit looks like. The gift of the Holy Spirit is not something we can accept and then put on a shelf… by accepting this gift, we accept the call to become active in God’s reconciling and saving work… The Holy Spirit can be active and present in our hearts and in our lives if we allow it to be. The choice is ours… to open our hearts and live as Spirit filled followers of Christ… or not. To continuing Christ’s redeeming and reconciling work… or going our own way. Begin a Christian is a commitment… It involves time and sacrifice. It means stepping out of our comfort zone and persevering with patience, wisdom and love. This is possible through the Holy Spirit who empowers, guides, supports and strengthen us. So, on this Day of Pentecost… open your heart and mind to the Holy Spirit, and you will see that it has the power to change your life and transform the world. The Holy Spirit works in and through believers to accomplish God’s will. His power leads us, convicts us, teaches us, and equips us to do God’s work and spread the gospel. The Holy Spirit’s power enters us and is an amazing gift we should never take lightly. Amen. |
Yeon Shin
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