Here we go, Backers, here we go! Here we go, Backers, here we go!
Dear Family and Friends,
(PALS who receive this simply know it's for your ideas , not a solicitation for Bill's Backers.)
The 2014 Walk to Defeat ALS will be held on Sunday, September 21 at a new site: the Columbus Commons in downtown Columbus. Registration will again begin at 9:30 am and the walk at 11 am. This is the fourth year a team of my family and friends (Bill's Backers) will participate as we do what we can to combat this challenging disease. The Walk raises funds to support the Central and Southern Ohio ALS Association Chapter as it provides support for those of us living with the realities of the disease and needed research. Our team (YOU!) has raised close to $100,000 in the first three years and are much appreciated in the ALS community. THANKS!
Most of you are aware that I was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) in August of 2010. If you follow my blog, "Giving Wings to Thoughts" http://wcroy22.blogspot.ca/, you know that in 2013 the disease progressed to the point where I stopped driving in December, 2012; helped to my feet by paramedics four times in one week resulting in my no longer standing to transfer from power wheelchair to shower, toilet, and bed but learning to use a slide board; switched to an A-pap machine with a battery so I can still be mobile as my bi-pap needs increase; am showered and dressed by hospice aides. More recently Dorothy has hurt her back because of the care my needs demand and several folks now aide around the house as needed. We are blessed to be living in a handicapped accessible house. Our traveling continues to slow down but I can still join Dorothy for a meal out once in awhile. I began sleeping in my power wheelchair when we were in Florida in February and have continued to do since. It's just more comfortable. Dorothy now feeds me certain foods when I am unable to stab them or tire.
We want to continue doing what we can to support research as well as the work of the local chapters providing support groups and needed equipment. We want to invite you to join us in this year's efforts in one or more of the following ways:
1) Go to http://web.alsa.org/goto/billsbackers. If you simply wish to join our team and make a donation, proceed to the Register drop down box and join the Bill's Backers team as a walker or virtual walker and make a donation as a team member or to any of the team members already registered.
2) Or, this same area will also give you the opportunity to develop a Personal Page about our relationship and why you are participating. You simply make the donation to your own effort and then email this information to 5, 10, or 20+ of your family and friends thus further increasing the awareness of the disease and potential resources for this fight. You can also repost on Facebook. We want to see many of you as Bill's Backers Squad leaders which is what we will refer to the people you are able to contact - Ideas include: Bill's Backers OG Squad, Bill's Backers ONU Squad, BB Maple Grove Squad, BBLim's Squad, etc. Remember: this event is both about sharing information about ALS and raising funds. Most of the work done this way is done electronically, which means you don't have to do the face-to-face ask. If your family, friends or work associates understand why you are interested in this effort, it's amazing how willing they are to join the fight to Defeat ALS! If you are interested and need help setting up your personal page, feel free to contact one of the persons noted below.
3) We've had wonderful success with ALS fundraising nights at City BBQ, Jersey Mike's, and the Folk Music Sing-a-Long. Would any of you be interested in hosting such a night at a local restaurant in your community? Bill's Backers captains, Nicki Crellin & Megan Croy, are willing to help with the paperwork part of it if anyone is willing to give it a try. Again, their contact information is below. (An ONU football teammate who does fundraising for Sarris Candies, John Smith, is going to roll-out a new effort on September 1. More information will follow.)
Please note: If you make a gift, you will have the option of making an anonymous gift. Otherwise, your support will be recognized on the "Fundraising Honor Roll" scrolling on the right side of the page.
My daughter, Megan Croy (meganrcroy@yahoo.com), son and daughter-in-law, Jeremy & Meladie Croy (croyjn@tiffin.edu, meladiew@hotmail.com), sister, Phyllis Macke (pjmacke@gmail.com), and niece, Nicki Crellin (nicki.crellin@wright.edu), have all agreed to serve as contact persons if you have any questions.
Thanks and God's blessings on you all as you consider what you are able to do! Below is an additional note from the ALS Association.
Why We Need Your Help
Often referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive, fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swallow and breathe. The life expectancy of an ALS patient averages 2 to 5 years from the time of diagnosis.
Every 90 minutes a person in this country is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes another person will lose their battle against this disease. ALS occurs throughout the world with no racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic boundaries.
This crippling disease can strike anyone. Presently there is no known cause of the disease though support is bringing researchers closer to an answer. In the mean time it costs an average of $200,000 a year to provide the care ALS patients need. Help make a difference and donate or join a walk today.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
SERMON: "Let God Be God!"
"Let God Be God!"
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a faithful parishioner who labored diligently to recruit upstanding new people for her church; but as the months went by, other parishioners brought in new members of rather diverse backgrounds. Some were businessmen of questionable reputation, others were alcoholics, two were thought to be homosexuals, several were known to have engaged in extramarital affairs, and any others showed no outward appearance of knowing the Lord.
“Upon discovering this, the faithful parishioner came to her clergyman and said, 'Pastor, just what kind of a church are we running? Why, I perceive there are notorious sinners in our midst! I even had to kneel at the communion rail this morning next to an adulterer. Just how did all of these people get in here?'
“And her pastor said to her, 'Your fellow parishioners have done this.' And she said to him, 'Would you like me to go and form a committee (sounds like a United Methodist church, doesn’t it?) – Would you like me to go and form a committee to investigate the matter and advise the board as to just who these sinners are?'
“But her pastor said, 'No; lest while you try to distinguish between the real saints and the real sinners you throw out some of God’s own. Do this: let both worship together until we are all called before God in eternity; and at the time of the judgment, God, I am sure, will single out the righteous from the unrighteous.'” (1)
So, Carl Carlozzi, in his little book Pocket Parables, rewrites our parable – the parable of the wheat and weeds. It is noted by many Biblical scholars to be one of the most practical parables Jesus ever told. It’s been a timely parable for sure down through the centuries of Christendom for the church – and I sense it contains an important word for us in the church today. For, it’s a parable that calls us to a life of tolerance and acceptance and community, rather than to a life of rejection, isolation, and exclusion. I invite you to keep in mind Carlozzi’s rewrite as we seek to understand the meaning of the parable as the listeners in Jesus’ day probably visualized the scene Jesus artfully recreated with this agricultural portrait.
“There was this farmer who had just sown some good seed in his field.” Being very familiar with farming the people of that day had no problem creating in their mind an image of a man out in a field sowing good seed. And they probably said to themselves, “Of course, he sowed good seed – no one in their right mind would sow bad seed in their own field.” And so right from the beginning of the parable they understood that the kingdom of heaven, which the parable is intended to illustrate, has someone caring for it who does good things on its behalf. The farmer only intends to plant good seed. What becomes obvious as the parable unfolds is that in the kingdom of heaven, what is God’s is the recipient of good from God. As the owner of the world, God is good and provides good things out of the graciousness of who God is. God is good – God is gracious.
But then, “While everyone was sleeping, the enemy of the farmer came and sowed weeds among his good seed, and departed.” Notice, it’s not God that was sleeping but some people who had something apparently to do with the field and the crop that would develop there. Note also, and more importantly perhaps, that there’s no condemnation of those who went to sleep. This is not a parable dealing with the necessity of being watchful – there’s no attempt to pass on the blame for the weeds to anyone but the enemy. The point of this parable is not to make us spiritually paranoid – nor to build up within us some sense of guilt for the weeds that develop around us. Evil happens. And if we understand the church as the kingdom of heaven on earth then there is at least the implication in the story that our role, as the church, is not one of trying to avoid evil – to keep weedy, seedy people out, but to care for whoever comes our way. (2)
Leonard Sweet, former president of United Theological Seminary in Dayton, attempted to convey about the same idea when he wrote: “…Sounding out bad news is for foghorns, not Christians. A foghorn warns nearby vessels to steer clear; there are dangerous rocks and reefs and perilous cliffs hiding in the mist. Foghorns know they are doing their job when everybody stays away.” “Christians are sometimes called to sound warnings and serve as foghorns. But our primary assignment is not warning, but welcoming. We are called to issue invitations for people to live the only life for which they were created.
“Christians should be known for carrying good news – the gospel itself – out into the world. Disciples of Jesus have so many positive things to say that there is little time for braying about the bad or droning on forever about the dangers.” (3)
A church that spends too much time issuing words of warning – which constantly holds out this self-righteous image as the only kind of person it wants inside its walls - will soon have the perfect society they want but no new audience to bring to the Lord. There can be no such thing as a safe church – it’s contrary to Christ’s intention for the church. As a wayside pulpit in front of another church once displayed: “The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.”
But there’s another message in this second verse that I think is also vitally important and that is that “the enemy sowed the weeds.” Now again, this was something that the audience listening to Jesus could visualize. It was something that was actually done. People actually tried to ruin other people’s crops by spreading bad seed in it. Bad seed spreaders were enemies.
I’m amazed at the people – good Christians in fact – who for some reason want to believe that the evil in the world is somehow the creation of God’s. I like Jesus’ description of why the weeds existed in the field – which is sort of an answer to the question of “why evil is in the world?” – the enemy is the cause – is the sower – not God. Evil is not part of the creation of God. It is not God’s intention for evil to happen – to be a part of the world. Remember the earlier observation – “there’s no way a farmer is going to intentionally sow weeds in his own field?” God is good – evil comes from another source – call it the devil – call it satan, if you need to personify it – but it’s enough to simply say, “There’s a power for evil in the world.”
Why I think this is important to note is that there are a lot of people struggling with painful things in their lives – with evil that has happened in their life with no source of hope. Because they understand God as the one who caused the bad to happen, they find themselves unable to turn to God for help. God brings good out of evil because God is the provider of good. But God does not cause evil to happen to test us, or so God can bring good out of it. Bad – evil – is the work of the enemy, not God – read the parable again. Therefore, God is as pained by the evil that happens to us as we are and thus God is able to be the source of hope and new life and resurrection and joy and peace when we are coping with and overcoming the bad that happens to us.
Now, back to the parable itself, “When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds appeared.” You’ve probably heard this part of the parable explained before so I’ll make it quick. There is a weed in the Middle East, called “Darnel,” which looks just like wheat as it’s growing. It’s only after the weed and wheat sprouts that they can be told apart. But by the time they both head, the roots of the two of them have intertwined to the point that to try and pull the weeds out is to run the risk of losing much of the wheat. (4) That’s why when the servant asks, “Do you want us to pull out the weeds?” the farmer answers, “No, let them grow. When the harvest comes both the wheat and the weeds will be cut down and then they will be separated.”
And now it is, I would suggest to you, that the full message of the parable is revealed – it’s a message about the difference between what we are called to do and what God is called to do. It’s about letting God be God – letting God be judge – letting God be harvester – letting God provide grace. It’s about a tolerant God who does not want the final judgment to be rushed – who wants to give everyone the opportunity to repent until the very end and to be now in a symbolic sense, wheat, and it’s about our cultivating, our nurturing, our caring for, our associating with, our preparing one another for the harvest day. Separating wheat from weed, valuable from worthless, harmful from harmless – all that is the responsibility of God and we need to let God be God.
The primary purpose of the parable is to give us – the church of every era – some advice about how we are to deal with the evil that is around us in this imperfect world God has placed us in. The directive is that we should be careful not to become overzealous in our desire to rid our world – our churches – of the evil we perceive because there is a danger that we might do more harm than good. Historians invite us to remember the times in history when people spent most of their time weeding out people and opinions that differed from theirs. Remember Hitler’s belief that the Aryan race was the pure field of wheat and the results of his weeding? How about Stalin’s weeding program or the “Red Purge” in China under Mao Tse Tung’s leadership? Or, how about the early American witch hunts – or, the ethnic cleansings we are witness to in our own day? Innocent people suffer when we try to cast out those we think aren’t good enough to be around us.
But the one that’s causing me the most pain in this day is the one taking place within the Christian religion itself. We are in the midst of a vicious and malicious “weed eradication program” that pits fundamentalists and liberals against one another. One writer describes the situation with these words: “Both fundamentalists and liberals have clear and simple visions of truth and error in doctrine and morality, and they divide the world into those who are going to heaven and those who are going to hell. They sort people into wheat and weeds, into good people and bad people, between twice-born and once-born. Jesus tried to stop such ethic cleansing and such invidious judgments, saying we aren’t capable of knowing wheat from weeds.” (5)
Friends, the world is imperfect – I’m a part of what makes it so – and so are you. And every time we try to make it perfect according to how we perceive it should be, we make things worse. There’s not an issue causing debate today in the Christian church that is as important as what we are doing to one another in the midst of the debate over the issues. Jesus himself begged off every attempt to follow the violent path of bringing His message of salvation to the world – He rejected all proposals to force the kingdom into existence. Violence hurts the innocent as well as the evil.
When Derek Bok was president of Harvard University he was asked about his expectations for students who would receive a Harvard education. He said, “Tolerance for ambiguity.” I think that’s the point of this parable of Jesus’. What Bok later explained was his belief that in the kind of world we live in, “…some problems are so complex that the most you can hope for is different opinions from people of integrity rather than a clear delineation of who is right and who is wrong.” (6)
Certainty is hard to come by – especially certainty about other people. We should let the weeds and wheat grow alongside one another because we don’t know enough to judge others. Jesus repeatedly cautioned us: “Judge not that you be not judged.” “Take the log out of your own eye before you take the speck out of somebody else’s eye.” And remember when the crowd was ready to stone a woman taken in adultery and he said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” What happened? No one threw the first stone! What makes us think we have any more right to throw the stones in our day at those we regard guilty of sins different and perceived worse than ours?
There was an Indian poet, who told of an experience he had one day when his servant didn’t arrive at work on time. Like many others in his class, he was helpless when it came to menial tasks. After more than an hour, the poet described himself as getting angrier by the minute. He began to formulate punishments he might inflict upon this one indebted to him. After three hours had passed he knew he needn’t concern himself any longer with punishment because he needed to fire him on the spot.
The servant finally did arrive and immediately went to work. He didn’t say a word as he did his chores, picking up the poet’s clothes, preparing his meal, etc. The poet watched in an internal rage. Finally he said, “Drop everything and get out of here. You’re fired.” The man kept working, quietly, diligently. The poet repeated his command: “Get out of here.” The man said, “My little girl died this morning.” (7)
How presumptuous we are to think that we know the circumstances of another person’s life to the point that we can pass judgment on him or her. We can never know the burdens others carry. More importantly, another reason God suggests that we should let the weeds and wheat grow together, is that God’s not through with us yet. That’s the really good news of the parable! We have no right to give up on others when God hasn’t yet. Weeds exist – so learn to live with them. The world is God’s garden – we just live and work here. We are instructed to do our best but we are not in charge – God is and we need to let God be God.
While we’re waiting for the harvest perhaps the best advice we can follow is that which Paul offers to the Romans: “Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all…beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord”…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
If truth be told, it is far more likely that those who spend all their time and energy trying to “revoke” other people’ tickets to heaven will be the ones who will not be getting on that heavenly train themselves. The question we need to address to ourselves is: “Can we be an embracing, welcoming, nonjudgmental church? “ or, in a more personal way we probably should ask ourselves: “Will I be an embracing, welcoming, nonjudgmental Christian?”
I invite you to seriously consider your answer not just because of the difference it would make in developing a caring, supporting, loving community of faith, but also for the difference it would make in your relationship with Jesus Christ and within your own heart.
1. Carl Carlozzi, Pocket Parables (Tyndale House Publishers, 1985).
2. William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible Series: Matthew, Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press, 2001), ebook, 1538/6728.
3. Leonard Sweet,
4. Barclay, 1538/6728.
5. Unknown.
6. Derek Bok - I lost the source.
7. Unknown.
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a faithful parishioner who labored diligently to recruit upstanding new people for her church; but as the months went by, other parishioners brought in new members of rather diverse backgrounds. Some were businessmen of questionable reputation, others were alcoholics, two were thought to be homosexuals, several were known to have engaged in extramarital affairs, and any others showed no outward appearance of knowing the Lord.
“Upon discovering this, the faithful parishioner came to her clergyman and said, 'Pastor, just what kind of a church are we running? Why, I perceive there are notorious sinners in our midst! I even had to kneel at the communion rail this morning next to an adulterer. Just how did all of these people get in here?'
“And her pastor said to her, 'Your fellow parishioners have done this.' And she said to him, 'Would you like me to go and form a committee (sounds like a United Methodist church, doesn’t it?) – Would you like me to go and form a committee to investigate the matter and advise the board as to just who these sinners are?'
“But her pastor said, 'No; lest while you try to distinguish between the real saints and the real sinners you throw out some of God’s own. Do this: let both worship together until we are all called before God in eternity; and at the time of the judgment, God, I am sure, will single out the righteous from the unrighteous.'” (1)
So, Carl Carlozzi, in his little book Pocket Parables, rewrites our parable – the parable of the wheat and weeds. It is noted by many Biblical scholars to be one of the most practical parables Jesus ever told. It’s been a timely parable for sure down through the centuries of Christendom for the church – and I sense it contains an important word for us in the church today. For, it’s a parable that calls us to a life of tolerance and acceptance and community, rather than to a life of rejection, isolation, and exclusion. I invite you to keep in mind Carlozzi’s rewrite as we seek to understand the meaning of the parable as the listeners in Jesus’ day probably visualized the scene Jesus artfully recreated with this agricultural portrait.
“There was this farmer who had just sown some good seed in his field.” Being very familiar with farming the people of that day had no problem creating in their mind an image of a man out in a field sowing good seed. And they probably said to themselves, “Of course, he sowed good seed – no one in their right mind would sow bad seed in their own field.” And so right from the beginning of the parable they understood that the kingdom of heaven, which the parable is intended to illustrate, has someone caring for it who does good things on its behalf. The farmer only intends to plant good seed. What becomes obvious as the parable unfolds is that in the kingdom of heaven, what is God’s is the recipient of good from God. As the owner of the world, God is good and provides good things out of the graciousness of who God is. God is good – God is gracious.
But then, “While everyone was sleeping, the enemy of the farmer came and sowed weeds among his good seed, and departed.” Notice, it’s not God that was sleeping but some people who had something apparently to do with the field and the crop that would develop there. Note also, and more importantly perhaps, that there’s no condemnation of those who went to sleep. This is not a parable dealing with the necessity of being watchful – there’s no attempt to pass on the blame for the weeds to anyone but the enemy. The point of this parable is not to make us spiritually paranoid – nor to build up within us some sense of guilt for the weeds that develop around us. Evil happens. And if we understand the church as the kingdom of heaven on earth then there is at least the implication in the story that our role, as the church, is not one of trying to avoid evil – to keep weedy, seedy people out, but to care for whoever comes our way. (2)
Leonard Sweet, former president of United Theological Seminary in Dayton, attempted to convey about the same idea when he wrote: “…Sounding out bad news is for foghorns, not Christians. A foghorn warns nearby vessels to steer clear; there are dangerous rocks and reefs and perilous cliffs hiding in the mist. Foghorns know they are doing their job when everybody stays away.” “Christians are sometimes called to sound warnings and serve as foghorns. But our primary assignment is not warning, but welcoming. We are called to issue invitations for people to live the only life for which they were created.
“Christians should be known for carrying good news – the gospel itself – out into the world. Disciples of Jesus have so many positive things to say that there is little time for braying about the bad or droning on forever about the dangers.” (3)
A church that spends too much time issuing words of warning – which constantly holds out this self-righteous image as the only kind of person it wants inside its walls - will soon have the perfect society they want but no new audience to bring to the Lord. There can be no such thing as a safe church – it’s contrary to Christ’s intention for the church. As a wayside pulpit in front of another church once displayed: “The church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners.”
But there’s another message in this second verse that I think is also vitally important and that is that “the enemy sowed the weeds.” Now again, this was something that the audience listening to Jesus could visualize. It was something that was actually done. People actually tried to ruin other people’s crops by spreading bad seed in it. Bad seed spreaders were enemies.
I’m amazed at the people – good Christians in fact – who for some reason want to believe that the evil in the world is somehow the creation of God’s. I like Jesus’ description of why the weeds existed in the field – which is sort of an answer to the question of “why evil is in the world?” – the enemy is the cause – is the sower – not God. Evil is not part of the creation of God. It is not God’s intention for evil to happen – to be a part of the world. Remember the earlier observation – “there’s no way a farmer is going to intentionally sow weeds in his own field?” God is good – evil comes from another source – call it the devil – call it satan, if you need to personify it – but it’s enough to simply say, “There’s a power for evil in the world.”
Why I think this is important to note is that there are a lot of people struggling with painful things in their lives – with evil that has happened in their life with no source of hope. Because they understand God as the one who caused the bad to happen, they find themselves unable to turn to God for help. God brings good out of evil because God is the provider of good. But God does not cause evil to happen to test us, or so God can bring good out of it. Bad – evil – is the work of the enemy, not God – read the parable again. Therefore, God is as pained by the evil that happens to us as we are and thus God is able to be the source of hope and new life and resurrection and joy and peace when we are coping with and overcoming the bad that happens to us.
Now, back to the parable itself, “When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds appeared.” You’ve probably heard this part of the parable explained before so I’ll make it quick. There is a weed in the Middle East, called “Darnel,” which looks just like wheat as it’s growing. It’s only after the weed and wheat sprouts that they can be told apart. But by the time they both head, the roots of the two of them have intertwined to the point that to try and pull the weeds out is to run the risk of losing much of the wheat. (4) That’s why when the servant asks, “Do you want us to pull out the weeds?” the farmer answers, “No, let them grow. When the harvest comes both the wheat and the weeds will be cut down and then they will be separated.”
And now it is, I would suggest to you, that the full message of the parable is revealed – it’s a message about the difference between what we are called to do and what God is called to do. It’s about letting God be God – letting God be judge – letting God be harvester – letting God provide grace. It’s about a tolerant God who does not want the final judgment to be rushed – who wants to give everyone the opportunity to repent until the very end and to be now in a symbolic sense, wheat, and it’s about our cultivating, our nurturing, our caring for, our associating with, our preparing one another for the harvest day. Separating wheat from weed, valuable from worthless, harmful from harmless – all that is the responsibility of God and we need to let God be God.
The primary purpose of the parable is to give us – the church of every era – some advice about how we are to deal with the evil that is around us in this imperfect world God has placed us in. The directive is that we should be careful not to become overzealous in our desire to rid our world – our churches – of the evil we perceive because there is a danger that we might do more harm than good. Historians invite us to remember the times in history when people spent most of their time weeding out people and opinions that differed from theirs. Remember Hitler’s belief that the Aryan race was the pure field of wheat and the results of his weeding? How about Stalin’s weeding program or the “Red Purge” in China under Mao Tse Tung’s leadership? Or, how about the early American witch hunts – or, the ethnic cleansings we are witness to in our own day? Innocent people suffer when we try to cast out those we think aren’t good enough to be around us.
But the one that’s causing me the most pain in this day is the one taking place within the Christian religion itself. We are in the midst of a vicious and malicious “weed eradication program” that pits fundamentalists and liberals against one another. One writer describes the situation with these words: “Both fundamentalists and liberals have clear and simple visions of truth and error in doctrine and morality, and they divide the world into those who are going to heaven and those who are going to hell. They sort people into wheat and weeds, into good people and bad people, between twice-born and once-born. Jesus tried to stop such ethic cleansing and such invidious judgments, saying we aren’t capable of knowing wheat from weeds.” (5)
Friends, the world is imperfect – I’m a part of what makes it so – and so are you. And every time we try to make it perfect according to how we perceive it should be, we make things worse. There’s not an issue causing debate today in the Christian church that is as important as what we are doing to one another in the midst of the debate over the issues. Jesus himself begged off every attempt to follow the violent path of bringing His message of salvation to the world – He rejected all proposals to force the kingdom into existence. Violence hurts the innocent as well as the evil.
When Derek Bok was president of Harvard University he was asked about his expectations for students who would receive a Harvard education. He said, “Tolerance for ambiguity.” I think that’s the point of this parable of Jesus’. What Bok later explained was his belief that in the kind of world we live in, “…some problems are so complex that the most you can hope for is different opinions from people of integrity rather than a clear delineation of who is right and who is wrong.” (6)
Certainty is hard to come by – especially certainty about other people. We should let the weeds and wheat grow alongside one another because we don’t know enough to judge others. Jesus repeatedly cautioned us: “Judge not that you be not judged.” “Take the log out of your own eye before you take the speck out of somebody else’s eye.” And remember when the crowd was ready to stone a woman taken in adultery and he said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” What happened? No one threw the first stone! What makes us think we have any more right to throw the stones in our day at those we regard guilty of sins different and perceived worse than ours?
There was an Indian poet, who told of an experience he had one day when his servant didn’t arrive at work on time. Like many others in his class, he was helpless when it came to menial tasks. After more than an hour, the poet described himself as getting angrier by the minute. He began to formulate punishments he might inflict upon this one indebted to him. After three hours had passed he knew he needn’t concern himself any longer with punishment because he needed to fire him on the spot.
The servant finally did arrive and immediately went to work. He didn’t say a word as he did his chores, picking up the poet’s clothes, preparing his meal, etc. The poet watched in an internal rage. Finally he said, “Drop everything and get out of here. You’re fired.” The man kept working, quietly, diligently. The poet repeated his command: “Get out of here.” The man said, “My little girl died this morning.” (7)
How presumptuous we are to think that we know the circumstances of another person’s life to the point that we can pass judgment on him or her. We can never know the burdens others carry. More importantly, another reason God suggests that we should let the weeds and wheat grow together, is that God’s not through with us yet. That’s the really good news of the parable! We have no right to give up on others when God hasn’t yet. Weeds exist – so learn to live with them. The world is God’s garden – we just live and work here. We are instructed to do our best but we are not in charge – God is and we need to let God be God.
While we’re waiting for the harvest perhaps the best advice we can follow is that which Paul offers to the Romans: “Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all…beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay says the Lord”…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
If truth be told, it is far more likely that those who spend all their time and energy trying to “revoke” other people’ tickets to heaven will be the ones who will not be getting on that heavenly train themselves. The question we need to address to ourselves is: “Can we be an embracing, welcoming, nonjudgmental church? “ or, in a more personal way we probably should ask ourselves: “Will I be an embracing, welcoming, nonjudgmental Christian?”
I invite you to seriously consider your answer not just because of the difference it would make in developing a caring, supporting, loving community of faith, but also for the difference it would make in your relationship with Jesus Christ and within your own heart.
1. Carl Carlozzi, Pocket Parables (Tyndale House Publishers, 1985).
2. William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible Series: Matthew, Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press, 2001), ebook, 1538/6728.
3. Leonard Sweet,
4. Barclay, 1538/6728.
5. Unknown.
6. Derek Bok - I lost the source.
7. Unknown.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
SERMON: "Christ: A Comforting Friend"
"Christ: A Comforting Friend"
MATTHEW 11:16-19, 25-30
There were weeks when I was still an active pastor that took my breath away! Around every corner was a new need for an act of ministry. Surprise after surprise - challenge after challenge - they came in waves with every situation demanding tears of joy or grief! Weeks like those were lived at a frenzied pace.
Who am I kidding? I still experience weeks like that. Oh, they don't demand the same kind of energy and skills, but the pace of appointments and visits and health-related challenges creates the same breathless frenzy.
Now, I don’t know about you but when life treats me to this kind of week, I find my need for private devotional time increasing. It’s not that I go off to a chapel or to the woods more often, but that my mind turns to God in a sort of reflective, seeking, inquiring manner as I move through the week from surprise to surprise. “Why, God?” “Why this barrage of issues all at once?” “Why to me?” Often what happens is short scripture passages of comfort pop into my mind – the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd ...He maketh me lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside still waters, He restoreth my soul ... Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me” – words from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 find their way into my soul, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” – and then portions of John 14, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me ... peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” - and finally, Ecclesiastes 3 “For everything there is a season ... A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” And it’s because of how helpful I find these words and the relationship with God and Jesus Christ they remind me of that I encourage others to memorize key passages of scripture. It’s just a powerful experience to recall the words and sense the presence of Christ within.
Even more often though words to old favorite hymns found their way into my heart and I found myself humming them at times – even singing them out loud at times, especially as I traveled from place to place in the community, inside the car of course – “Jesus, Savior Pilot Me,” “Nearer, My God to Thee,” “Amazing Grace,” “How Great Thou Art,” “There is a Balm in Gilead,” “Because He Lives,” “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” and many, many more. The one that crept into my mind the most often was “What A Friend We Have In Jesus.” (Today the words are repeated silently in my heart, mind and soul since I can't sing them out loud.)
“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer! O, what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.”
OHHH – what comfort there is in these words for me – and the tune just adds its soothing touch – the hymn fills me with a peacefulness. And its message of healing continues: “Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer. Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He’ll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.”
Now, the story behind the writing of the hymn helps us understand why it so aptly describes what has been our own experience. The author is believed to have been a Joseph Scriven who was a native of Dublin, Ireland in the mid-1800’s. After graduating from Trinity College in Dublin at the age of 25, he emigrated to Canada where he lived until his death in 1886.
As a young man he was engaged to a lady whom he had known and loved for a long time. They had set the date for their wedding and most of the plans were completed when disaster struck. Shortly before the wedding day arrived his intended bride accidentally drowned. While he was in the midst of a very deep depression over what happened, he found himself depending on Christ. Out of his experience came the first line of the song: “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!”
When he found out his mother was also having a great deal of trouble with the loss of this special woman, he set to write more about what he was experiencing with the hope that she would be comforted as he was. The hymn’s intent is to be a powerful reminder of the friendship of Jesus and his comforting and burden-bearing role in our lives, and that it certainly does. (1)
Yes, indeed, what a friend Jesus is – what a comforting friend. But what is really noteworthy is the fact that Jesus invites us to come to him for the comfort he can provide. The last portion of the Matthew 11 passage, has him state it in all its wonder: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Jesus was speaking these words to a people who were loaded down with the demands upon them. The law was a burden. When the Jews thought of yoke they had in their mind “submission to.” They spoke of such things as the yoke of the law,” “the yoke of the commandments,” “the yoke of the kingdom,” “the yoke of God.” Biblical scholars believe that Jesus may well have taken this well-known image and again put his unique stamp of meaning on it. When he said, “my yoke is easy” – it was not the image that “yokes” usually called to mind. Another meaning of the word “easy” in Greek is”well-fitting.” Ox-yokes were made of wood in the Palestine of Jesus’ day and they were made to fit the animal. The ox was brought to the carpenter – measurements were made – and the yoke was roughed out. The ox was brought back some days later to try on his new yoke. The yoke was then carefully adjusted, so that it would fit well, and would not gall the neck of the patient beast. The yoke was “tailor-made,” in a sense, to fit the ox.
Now, there is a legend about Jesus that claims that Jesus was well-known for his yoke making – that he was one of the best in the business. According to the legend, people came from all over the country to buy their yokes from him – to have him fit their prized ox. Above the doors to the shops in that day, as in ours, there were signs announcing to the shoppers the wares that were inside. Can’t you just see the advertisement above Jesus’ carpenter shop: “My Yokes Fit Well.” You see, it may well be that Jesus is here using a picture from his carpenter’s shop in Nazareth that the people would understand because of the reputation he had built up during his silent years. (2)
Jesus is the yoke upon us – He’s a well-fitted friend who provides us comfort in the midst of the burdens of life – He shares the load with us – He doesn’t protect us from the load, but shares the load and in a sense lightens the load – spreads it out – provides us a way to balance what comes our way so that we might manage what life puts upon us. We no longer pull the cart of life by ourselves – face the traumas of life by ourselves – Jesus is the yoke upon us that enables us to manage what life sends our way.
Roy Smith, in his book Tales I have Told Twice, relates a true story that happened in his life which helps to illustrate this understanding of Christ’s role in helping us cope with the things that come our way – the disappointments, the mistakes, the rejections, the temptations.
He tells of a family that lived a few hundred yards away from his family on the same road. The family had four daughters, two sons, a mother and a crippled father. The father walked with a cane and a limp, and his face was heavily lined from a lifetime of suffering. But he was well-respected in the community because of his high morals, his involvement in the congregational church in town, and his determination to provide his children with every possible opportunity.
Most of the children reflected their parents’ lifestyle – they were good students, leaders, involved in the church. But the oldest son, Frantz, was always involved in mischief – not really bad, but adventurous – he lived on the edge.
Smith writes, “I was, as I remember it, about nine years old when the word went racing through the neighborhood one morning that Franz was in jail. I cannot recollect what he was accused of. The probabilities are that it was nothing more serious than some harum-scarum scrape. But the grim fact remained – he was in jail!” It left quite an impression on all the neighborhood children because when they thought of people being in jail, they thought of people in other communities, miles away – but this was Franz, one of them.
It was a Saturday and Roy kept suggesting things that they needed from the store implying that he was willing to go for his mother. His plan was to cut through the alley beside the jail and try to get a glimpse of his neighbor in his cell. He was successful with some help from one of his friends. Again hear his own words of what he saw: “One glimpse of our neighbor’s son was enough to convince me that his was a drab escapade. Gone were the defiance, the rollicking and contemptuous manner, the self-confidence, and the reckless abandon so characteristic of him as I knew him – a carefree boy on a pony, racing down the road. Instead I could see his loneliness, his shame, and his sense of defeat. He looked at me just once, and then turned away. Maybe I reminded him of his younger brother, safe in his father’s house. At any rate, I could tell there was something that made it impossible for him to look a neighbor boy in the eye.”
Smith goes on to tell about the rest of his day spent in reflecting on the lot of his neighbor and the scene around his family’s supper table. They talked about the situation filling in all the details they had learned from their individual grapevines.
The next morning was Sunday and Smith noted that his father was ready for church much earlier than normal. He was reading from his Bible beside the window that allowed him to look down the road. He wasn’t really reading the Bible though – he was watching the road.
All of a sudden he got up and quietly announced to Roy’s mother, “I see him coming down the road alone. I think I’ll walk to church with him this morning.” And out the door he went. He timed his walk perfectly so that he arrived at the road at the same time as Franz’s dad, and on they walked together.
Roy described the scene and the events later in the day: “Lithe and alert in spite of his bent back, father adjusted his step to that of his lame neighbor. It was almost as if the heavy cane beat out a somber rhythm for the two of them. Like two patriarchs – for both wore the long beards common of the day – they trudged the dusty Kansas road to town. At the turn a clump of cottonwoods hid them from our sight. A little later Wilbur, my older brother, helped mother into the old buggy, as he had seen father do so many times, and the three of us drove to church.
"Nothing was said as we came home. Each of us wanted to know, yet none of us dared to ask. It was not, therefore, until some time after father had asked the blessing over the humble Sunday dinner that mother made bold to inquire. 'What did he say, John?' 'Nothing,' father answered, quite simply. 'Didn’t you talk about it at all?' she continued. He answered, 'No.' Mother said, 'That’s funny!' to which he replied, 'No, it wasn’t funny. It was just as I had planned. I knew he couldn’t talk. At least, I could not have talked if it had been my boy. But I thought he’d understand if I just walked alongside him.
'He did say one thing, though. When we got to the corner where he turned in to the congregational church, he stuck out his hand and said, 'Thanks, John. I’m grateful to you.' And then he went on in to church.” (3)
The title of Roy Smith’s story is “They Walked to Church Together” and I think it’s an apt description of what happens when we allow Jesus to be the yoke in our lives –there is a sharing of the pain that is around us – there is a sharing of the load that each of us bear – Jesus Christ is indeed a comforting friend – and we are witnesses of His presence in our lives as we are comforting friends to one another.
A few years ago, I preached a sermon on this same text. I titled that sermon “A Friend of Outcasts” and made the case that Jesus was a friend to those society labeled outsiders in His day and that our lot in life is to model similar behaviors when we encounter those rejected by society in our day. It’s a message we need to continually keep in front of us. I was tempted to share it again, but then came the thought of busy weeks and the hymn weaving its healing touch inside of me. I sensed that the message of Jesus being a friend was even more inclusive than the thoughts I shared in that sermon. I'm included – Jesus is my comforting friend – Jesus is your comforting friend. Today I’m thankful for the awareness of the presence of that comforting friend in Jesus. I’m thankful for all of those who meet me on the road of life and serve as witnesses of Christ’s yoke – who serve as yoke-bearers in a personal way. Thank you, Jesus - thank you friends!
1. Ace Collins, Stories Behind the Hymns that Inspire America, (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2003).
2. William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible Series: Matthew, Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press, 2001), ebook, 601/6278.
3. Roy L. Short, Tales I Have Told Twice (Abingdon Press, 1964).
MATTHEW 11:16-19, 25-30
There were weeks when I was still an active pastor that took my breath away! Around every corner was a new need for an act of ministry. Surprise after surprise - challenge after challenge - they came in waves with every situation demanding tears of joy or grief! Weeks like those were lived at a frenzied pace.
Who am I kidding? I still experience weeks like that. Oh, they don't demand the same kind of energy and skills, but the pace of appointments and visits and health-related challenges creates the same breathless frenzy.
Now, I don’t know about you but when life treats me to this kind of week, I find my need for private devotional time increasing. It’s not that I go off to a chapel or to the woods more often, but that my mind turns to God in a sort of reflective, seeking, inquiring manner as I move through the week from surprise to surprise. “Why, God?” “Why this barrage of issues all at once?” “Why to me?” Often what happens is short scripture passages of comfort pop into my mind – the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd ...He maketh me lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside still waters, He restoreth my soul ... Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me” – words from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 find their way into my soul, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” – and then portions of John 14, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me ... peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” - and finally, Ecclesiastes 3 “For everything there is a season ... A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” And it’s because of how helpful I find these words and the relationship with God and Jesus Christ they remind me of that I encourage others to memorize key passages of scripture. It’s just a powerful experience to recall the words and sense the presence of Christ within.
Even more often though words to old favorite hymns found their way into my heart and I found myself humming them at times – even singing them out loud at times, especially as I traveled from place to place in the community, inside the car of course – “Jesus, Savior Pilot Me,” “Nearer, My God to Thee,” “Amazing Grace,” “How Great Thou Art,” “There is a Balm in Gilead,” “Because He Lives,” “Just a Closer Walk with Thee,” and many, many more. The one that crept into my mind the most often was “What A Friend We Have In Jesus.” (Today the words are repeated silently in my heart, mind and soul since I can't sing them out loud.)
“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer! O, what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.”
OHHH – what comfort there is in these words for me – and the tune just adds its soothing touch – the hymn fills me with a peacefulness. And its message of healing continues: “Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer. Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer. Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care? Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer! In His arms He’ll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.”
Now, the story behind the writing of the hymn helps us understand why it so aptly describes what has been our own experience. The author is believed to have been a Joseph Scriven who was a native of Dublin, Ireland in the mid-1800’s. After graduating from Trinity College in Dublin at the age of 25, he emigrated to Canada where he lived until his death in 1886.
As a young man he was engaged to a lady whom he had known and loved for a long time. They had set the date for their wedding and most of the plans were completed when disaster struck. Shortly before the wedding day arrived his intended bride accidentally drowned. While he was in the midst of a very deep depression over what happened, he found himself depending on Christ. Out of his experience came the first line of the song: “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!”
When he found out his mother was also having a great deal of trouble with the loss of this special woman, he set to write more about what he was experiencing with the hope that she would be comforted as he was. The hymn’s intent is to be a powerful reminder of the friendship of Jesus and his comforting and burden-bearing role in our lives, and that it certainly does. (1)
Yes, indeed, what a friend Jesus is – what a comforting friend. But what is really noteworthy is the fact that Jesus invites us to come to him for the comfort he can provide. The last portion of the Matthew 11 passage, has him state it in all its wonder: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Jesus was speaking these words to a people who were loaded down with the demands upon them. The law was a burden. When the Jews thought of yoke they had in their mind “submission to.” They spoke of such things as the yoke of the law,” “the yoke of the commandments,” “the yoke of the kingdom,” “the yoke of God.” Biblical scholars believe that Jesus may well have taken this well-known image and again put his unique stamp of meaning on it. When he said, “my yoke is easy” – it was not the image that “yokes” usually called to mind. Another meaning of the word “easy” in Greek is”well-fitting.” Ox-yokes were made of wood in the Palestine of Jesus’ day and they were made to fit the animal. The ox was brought to the carpenter – measurements were made – and the yoke was roughed out. The ox was brought back some days later to try on his new yoke. The yoke was then carefully adjusted, so that it would fit well, and would not gall the neck of the patient beast. The yoke was “tailor-made,” in a sense, to fit the ox.
Now, there is a legend about Jesus that claims that Jesus was well-known for his yoke making – that he was one of the best in the business. According to the legend, people came from all over the country to buy their yokes from him – to have him fit their prized ox. Above the doors to the shops in that day, as in ours, there were signs announcing to the shoppers the wares that were inside. Can’t you just see the advertisement above Jesus’ carpenter shop: “My Yokes Fit Well.” You see, it may well be that Jesus is here using a picture from his carpenter’s shop in Nazareth that the people would understand because of the reputation he had built up during his silent years. (2)
Jesus is the yoke upon us – He’s a well-fitted friend who provides us comfort in the midst of the burdens of life – He shares the load with us – He doesn’t protect us from the load, but shares the load and in a sense lightens the load – spreads it out – provides us a way to balance what comes our way so that we might manage what life puts upon us. We no longer pull the cart of life by ourselves – face the traumas of life by ourselves – Jesus is the yoke upon us that enables us to manage what life sends our way.
Roy Smith, in his book Tales I have Told Twice, relates a true story that happened in his life which helps to illustrate this understanding of Christ’s role in helping us cope with the things that come our way – the disappointments, the mistakes, the rejections, the temptations.
He tells of a family that lived a few hundred yards away from his family on the same road. The family had four daughters, two sons, a mother and a crippled father. The father walked with a cane and a limp, and his face was heavily lined from a lifetime of suffering. But he was well-respected in the community because of his high morals, his involvement in the congregational church in town, and his determination to provide his children with every possible opportunity.
Most of the children reflected their parents’ lifestyle – they were good students, leaders, involved in the church. But the oldest son, Frantz, was always involved in mischief – not really bad, but adventurous – he lived on the edge.
Smith writes, “I was, as I remember it, about nine years old when the word went racing through the neighborhood one morning that Franz was in jail. I cannot recollect what he was accused of. The probabilities are that it was nothing more serious than some harum-scarum scrape. But the grim fact remained – he was in jail!” It left quite an impression on all the neighborhood children because when they thought of people being in jail, they thought of people in other communities, miles away – but this was Franz, one of them.
It was a Saturday and Roy kept suggesting things that they needed from the store implying that he was willing to go for his mother. His plan was to cut through the alley beside the jail and try to get a glimpse of his neighbor in his cell. He was successful with some help from one of his friends. Again hear his own words of what he saw: “One glimpse of our neighbor’s son was enough to convince me that his was a drab escapade. Gone were the defiance, the rollicking and contemptuous manner, the self-confidence, and the reckless abandon so characteristic of him as I knew him – a carefree boy on a pony, racing down the road. Instead I could see his loneliness, his shame, and his sense of defeat. He looked at me just once, and then turned away. Maybe I reminded him of his younger brother, safe in his father’s house. At any rate, I could tell there was something that made it impossible for him to look a neighbor boy in the eye.”
Smith goes on to tell about the rest of his day spent in reflecting on the lot of his neighbor and the scene around his family’s supper table. They talked about the situation filling in all the details they had learned from their individual grapevines.
The next morning was Sunday and Smith noted that his father was ready for church much earlier than normal. He was reading from his Bible beside the window that allowed him to look down the road. He wasn’t really reading the Bible though – he was watching the road.
All of a sudden he got up and quietly announced to Roy’s mother, “I see him coming down the road alone. I think I’ll walk to church with him this morning.” And out the door he went. He timed his walk perfectly so that he arrived at the road at the same time as Franz’s dad, and on they walked together.
Roy described the scene and the events later in the day: “Lithe and alert in spite of his bent back, father adjusted his step to that of his lame neighbor. It was almost as if the heavy cane beat out a somber rhythm for the two of them. Like two patriarchs – for both wore the long beards common of the day – they trudged the dusty Kansas road to town. At the turn a clump of cottonwoods hid them from our sight. A little later Wilbur, my older brother, helped mother into the old buggy, as he had seen father do so many times, and the three of us drove to church.
"Nothing was said as we came home. Each of us wanted to know, yet none of us dared to ask. It was not, therefore, until some time after father had asked the blessing over the humble Sunday dinner that mother made bold to inquire. 'What did he say, John?' 'Nothing,' father answered, quite simply. 'Didn’t you talk about it at all?' she continued. He answered, 'No.' Mother said, 'That’s funny!' to which he replied, 'No, it wasn’t funny. It was just as I had planned. I knew he couldn’t talk. At least, I could not have talked if it had been my boy. But I thought he’d understand if I just walked alongside him.
'He did say one thing, though. When we got to the corner where he turned in to the congregational church, he stuck out his hand and said, 'Thanks, John. I’m grateful to you.' And then he went on in to church.” (3)
The title of Roy Smith’s story is “They Walked to Church Together” and I think it’s an apt description of what happens when we allow Jesus to be the yoke in our lives –there is a sharing of the pain that is around us – there is a sharing of the load that each of us bear – Jesus Christ is indeed a comforting friend – and we are witnesses of His presence in our lives as we are comforting friends to one another.
A few years ago, I preached a sermon on this same text. I titled that sermon “A Friend of Outcasts” and made the case that Jesus was a friend to those society labeled outsiders in His day and that our lot in life is to model similar behaviors when we encounter those rejected by society in our day. It’s a message we need to continually keep in front of us. I was tempted to share it again, but then came the thought of busy weeks and the hymn weaving its healing touch inside of me. I sensed that the message of Jesus being a friend was even more inclusive than the thoughts I shared in that sermon. I'm included – Jesus is my comforting friend – Jesus is your comforting friend. Today I’m thankful for the awareness of the presence of that comforting friend in Jesus. I’m thankful for all of those who meet me on the road of life and serve as witnesses of Christ’s yoke – who serve as yoke-bearers in a personal way. Thank you, Jesus - thank you friends!
1. Ace Collins, Stories Behind the Hymns that Inspire America, (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2003).
2. William Barclay, The New Daily Study Bible Series: Matthew, Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press, 2001), ebook, 601/6278.
3. Roy L. Short, Tales I Have Told Twice (Abingdon Press, 1964).
Thursday, July 17, 2014
SERMON: "Free Indeed!"
“Free Indeed!”
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Romans 7:15-25A
“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (1)
That’s how our Declaration of Independence, which spells out the arguments for and which declares our freedom as a new nation, begins. The cost to become a free nation was enormous. Of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died - twelve had their homes ransacked and burned - two lost their sons in the army - another had two sons captured - nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war - Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. - at the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis, took over Thomas Nelson’s home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on his home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. - John Hart was driven from his dying wife’s bedside. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children nowhere to be found. He died a few weeks later from exhaustion. The signers of the Declaration of Independence came from a variety of backgrounds, ages, education and experience - some were already famous, like Adams and Franklin, - some were unheard of, recruited at the last minute as substitutes for some who refused to support the move toward independence -two of the signers were only twenty years of age; sixteen were in their thirties; twenty in their forties; eleven in their fifties; six in their sixties; and only one, Franklin, was over seventy - all but two were married - each had an average of six children - twenty-five were lawyers; twelve were merchants; four were doctors; one was a preacher; and one was, of course, a famous printer - half were college graduates; some were self-educated - few benefitted from their bravery but not one recanted his original declaration of independence. (2)
We recently celebrated the freedom we know as a nation. There’s no question it means a little more to us at this time of year. We are a little more sincere in our thanksgiving to our ancestors and to our God. We proclaim it a little more often - a little more enthusiastically - a little more proudly - a little more meaningfully - a little more reflectively - “We’re free! We’re free indeed!”
Yes, in America we’re free to say what we want, go where we want, think what we want and believe what we want. Oh, we may have to take a few more precautions as time has gone on since the initial declaration, but still we can with confidence and appreciation shout: “We’re free! We’re free indeed!”
What we proclaim to be our reality corporately, as a nation, is not necessarily what we sense the reality to be inside ourselves is it? St. Paul described our personal reality I think very well in the scripture passage according to Romans 7:15-25a. I invite you to read it according to Eugene Peterson’s paraphrased version The Message: “What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law, but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” (3)
Do you ever feel like Paul? Can you identify with the battle going on inside Paul? I sure can. Sometimes there just seems to be this gulf between what I want to do, what I know I should do, and what I actually do. Paul asked, “How come I am so powerless to do what’s right?” (4) and near the end questioned further, “And who can deliver me from this slavery?” (5) Or, as Peterson paraphrased it: “Is there no one who can do anything for me?” (6) And I want to shout out with Paul, “Yeah, how come?” and, “Who can?” Despite my knowing what is right - despite my wanting to do what is right - there are times when I am tempted to do what I know I shouldn’t and times when I do what is wrong. I feel powerless to overcome temptation, to do what is right, on my own.
At the end of today’s passage - in verse 25a - after lamenting his condition, after confessing his weakness, Paul makes a statement that suggests he discovered a way to deal with his frailness, his failures, his human condition of being weak of willpower. Paul’s answer to how he will be made and who will make him into the whole person, the servant of God, is, “Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (7 ) You see, we can’t do it on our own - we need Jesus Christ in our hearts! We can’t be perfect - we can’t do good all the time - we can’t always do what is right - but, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord that our salvation does not depend on our doing good and doing what is right but on our relationship with Jesus and the grace with which God deals with us as a result of Jesus Christ. The crux of our problem, brothers and sisters in Christ, is that we try to do it on our own and what Paul learned and shares with us is that that is not possible - is that Jesus Christ is the source of the willpower and the source of grace for the lack of willpower in our lives.
The last few verses of the section of the gospel reading according to the author of Matthew proclaims the same thing but in a little different way, “Come to me, all you who are weary and who are carrying around heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (8)
At the very core of the Christian faith is this claim - a paradoxical claim to be sure - that only as we get in step with Jesus Christ, his will for our lives, will we find true freedom. Although it’s a tough concept sometimes for us to accept, in the final analysis our wills have to be aligned with Christ’s will, bent toward Christ, for us to overcome the turmoil that keeps us from doing what we know to be right.
One of the best known saints in the history of the church, St. Augustine, wasn’t always saintly. Actually, he was pretty wild - he even was responsible for a child being born out of wedlock. But when Jesus Christ got hold of him - when his life got tangled up with Christ - he noted that freedom meant to him being free not to do what he wanted to do but rather to being free to be whom God intended him to be. Before Christ calls the shots in our lives - before we put our hands in his hands, all sorts of temptations, distractions, outside forces, jerk us around and cause us to do other than what we really want to.
It’s been said a time or two that when people become Christians they can then do whatever they want to do. While it may be true, it’s not true because we become immune from sin when we become Christians. No, it’s true because once we become a follower of Jesus Christ’s our “want-to’s” change. True freedom is bearing the burdens of others rather than our own selfish desires thus allowing us to become free to be who God created us to be.
Byron Janis, at one time proclaimed as one of the world’s great pianists, has been fighting the effects of crippling arthritis for years. He can’t even make a fist. His use of his right wrist is limited to about 40% of the normal range of motion - his little finger on his left hand is numb, partially paralyzed and scarred from a childhood accident and the joints of his other nine fingers are fused.
In a 1985 article in Parade magazine he was quoted to have said: “Learning to live with pain or live with a limitation can give an intensity to life. I thought I had nothing. Now I know I have everything. I’m saying to others, ‘If I can do it, so can you!’”
Janis shared in the article about the various methods of help he sought. They ranged from medical doctors to acupuncturists. He added, “What helped me the most, I can’t explain. I developed a very personal relationship with God. I think prayer is important. I think the belief in God is healing.”
“No one knows what it’s like for other people, but I know that, unless I had found a belief in God, I would never have been able to say what I have to say. God and we (humans) work together. Not one alone.” (9)
And then here’s the comment that connects Byron Janis’ story to our thinking today: “I still have arthritis. But it doesn’t have me!” (10) Living with ALS allows me to make a similar observation, although I certainly have my share of moments where I lament how much of me it has.
Byron Janis knows freedom - he’s free - he’s free indeed - not of the disease, but of the control it has over him. That’s what freedom in Jesus Christ enables to happen in our lives. Temptation still is a part of our lives - we still sin even though we have turned our lives over to Christ. The difference is that it doesn’t control us - it doesn’t keep us from trying to live the lives God intends for us to - it doesn’t cause us to give up hope in our salvation which is dependent upon God’s grace and forgiveness and not our good works.
An Armenian nurse and her brother had been held captive by some Turks in a war a few years ago. The nurse’s brother was killed by one of the Turkish soldiers right before her eyes. Somehow she escaped and later became a nurse in a military hospital. One day she was stunned to learn that the soldier who had killed her brother had been captured and wounded and was being cared for at the same hospital in which she worked. Something inside her cried out for revenge but an even stronger voice called within her to respond in love. Despite the conflict that raged within her she nursed the man back to health.
There finally came a day when the recuperating soldier asked her, “I know you know who I am. Why didn’t you let me die?” Her answer was this simple testimony: “I am a follower of Him who said, ‘love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.’” The soldier became a believer in Jesus Christ not because the young woman was freed from her hatred of him as much as because she was freed to love in spite of her hatred. (11) The presence of Jesus Christ in one’s life makes one free to act in such a way.
Another young man became an attorney. He was invited to interview with a prestigious law firm. It was a first class visit that included a stay at a fancy hotel and several elegant dinners with various members of the firm. He really enjoyed the discussions about the work he would be doing should he be asked to join the firm and he really liked all the lawyers he met. Everything seemed great until near the end of the visit when one of the lawyers happened to mention that one of their clients was a company that basically ran all the video poker and gambling operations in the state.
The young lawyer was shocked and disappointed. He said, “There are a number of questions which are up for grabs, but that’s not one of them. I believe such things are the result of bad government and are wrong.”
The firm’s lawyers started in on him, “But it’s all legal.” The young lawyer shot back: “It may be legal but it’s not ethical. I could never represent a company that makes money from human frailty and ignorance.”
His chances with that firm ended. A ministerial friend talked with him about his feelings of losing a job he wanted and deserved. The young lawyer said: “Actually, I feel great. I’m grateful that they gave me the opportunity to clarify who I am and what I want from the practice of law. I’m O.K. I now have a much better idea of the kind of law I want to practice. I just feel sorry for them because I know that many of them feel the same way I feel, but they are trapped in the system and can’t get out.” (12)
Some of us understand what it feels like to be trapped in the system, don’t we? The people who are really free in this world are those who are able to be who they are no matter what others or the world says about them. Freedom is being able to take a stand without caring about what difference it is going to make to your future.
The minister friend asked the young lawyer, “What makes you so confident, so bold to live your life in this way?” And the young man said, “I’m a Christian. I’m not just living my life on the basis of what I want, or just by what seems right to me. I’m trying to live my life as Jesus might want. I just try to ask myself the simple little question, ‘What would Jesus do?’” (13)
And so, as Americans we've been shouting it out: “We’re free!” “We’re free to do what we want - to say what we want - to think what we want - to believe what we want.” And it’s wonderful to be free in this way - to have the freedoms we have in this nation.
But, it’s an even more sensational thing to be able to proclaim “We’re free” as Christians. Because when we say we’re free in Jesus Christ we’re not saying that we can do anything we want to but that we can do anything God wants us to - that we can live lives that will glorify God - without fear of what it might mean for our future. Sure there may be burdens that come with the letting Jesus Christ call the shots in our lives but they’re light burdens because by our wearing the yoke Jesus Christ gives to us he shares the load and enables us to overcome what challenges come our way. It’s a wonderful freedom this freedom known when one puts their hands in the hands of Jesus Christ. If you’ve never done it, I invite you to consider doing it. I promise you, it will make a tremendous amount of difference. Let’s pray.
CLOSING PRAYER: We’re free - oh, Lord - we’re free indeed - help us this day to grasp all that that means for us. How can we ever thank you, Lord, not only for the brave people who drafted the documents and gave their lives for the freedoms we know as a nation, but for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, and the freedom he offers us when we turn our lives over to him. In his name we pray. Amen.
1 Leaves of Gold
2 Unknown
3 Eugene Peterson, The Message (Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress Publishing Group, 1993), p. 317.
4 Romans 7:15.
5 Romans 7:24b.
6 Romans 7:24b, The Message.
7 Romans 7:25, NIV.
8 Matthew 11:28-30, NIV.
9 Byron Janis, Parade, 1985.
10 Parade, 1985.
11 Unknown.
12 Unknown.
13 Unknown.
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Romans 7:15-25A
“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (1)
That’s how our Declaration of Independence, which spells out the arguments for and which declares our freedom as a new nation, begins. The cost to become a free nation was enormous. Of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence, five were captured by the British and tortured before they died - twelve had their homes ransacked and burned - two lost their sons in the army - another had two sons captured - nine of the fifty-six fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war - Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships sunk by the British navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts and died in poverty. - at the battle of Yorktown, the British General Cornwallis, took over Thomas Nelson’s home for his headquarters. Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on his home. The home was destroyed and Nelson died bankrupt. - John Hart was driven from his dying wife’s bedside. Their thirteen children fled for their lives. His fields and mill were destroyed. For over a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home only to find his wife dead and his children nowhere to be found. He died a few weeks later from exhaustion. The signers of the Declaration of Independence came from a variety of backgrounds, ages, education and experience - some were already famous, like Adams and Franklin, - some were unheard of, recruited at the last minute as substitutes for some who refused to support the move toward independence -two of the signers were only twenty years of age; sixteen were in their thirties; twenty in their forties; eleven in their fifties; six in their sixties; and only one, Franklin, was over seventy - all but two were married - each had an average of six children - twenty-five were lawyers; twelve were merchants; four were doctors; one was a preacher; and one was, of course, a famous printer - half were college graduates; some were self-educated - few benefitted from their bravery but not one recanted his original declaration of independence. (2)
We recently celebrated the freedom we know as a nation. There’s no question it means a little more to us at this time of year. We are a little more sincere in our thanksgiving to our ancestors and to our God. We proclaim it a little more often - a little more enthusiastically - a little more proudly - a little more meaningfully - a little more reflectively - “We’re free! We’re free indeed!”
Yes, in America we’re free to say what we want, go where we want, think what we want and believe what we want. Oh, we may have to take a few more precautions as time has gone on since the initial declaration, but still we can with confidence and appreciation shout: “We’re free! We’re free indeed!”
What we proclaim to be our reality corporately, as a nation, is not necessarily what we sense the reality to be inside ourselves is it? St. Paul described our personal reality I think very well in the scripture passage according to Romans 7:15-25a. I invite you to read it according to Eugene Peterson’s paraphrased version The Message: “What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary. But I need something more! For if I know the law, but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?” (3)
Do you ever feel like Paul? Can you identify with the battle going on inside Paul? I sure can. Sometimes there just seems to be this gulf between what I want to do, what I know I should do, and what I actually do. Paul asked, “How come I am so powerless to do what’s right?” (4) and near the end questioned further, “And who can deliver me from this slavery?” (5) Or, as Peterson paraphrased it: “Is there no one who can do anything for me?” (6) And I want to shout out with Paul, “Yeah, how come?” and, “Who can?” Despite my knowing what is right - despite my wanting to do what is right - there are times when I am tempted to do what I know I shouldn’t and times when I do what is wrong. I feel powerless to overcome temptation, to do what is right, on my own.
At the end of today’s passage - in verse 25a - after lamenting his condition, after confessing his weakness, Paul makes a statement that suggests he discovered a way to deal with his frailness, his failures, his human condition of being weak of willpower. Paul’s answer to how he will be made and who will make him into the whole person, the servant of God, is, “Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (7 ) You see, we can’t do it on our own - we need Jesus Christ in our hearts! We can’t be perfect - we can’t do good all the time - we can’t always do what is right - but, thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord that our salvation does not depend on our doing good and doing what is right but on our relationship with Jesus and the grace with which God deals with us as a result of Jesus Christ. The crux of our problem, brothers and sisters in Christ, is that we try to do it on our own and what Paul learned and shares with us is that that is not possible - is that Jesus Christ is the source of the willpower and the source of grace for the lack of willpower in our lives.
The last few verses of the section of the gospel reading according to the author of Matthew proclaims the same thing but in a little different way, “Come to me, all you who are weary and who are carrying around heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (8)
At the very core of the Christian faith is this claim - a paradoxical claim to be sure - that only as we get in step with Jesus Christ, his will for our lives, will we find true freedom. Although it’s a tough concept sometimes for us to accept, in the final analysis our wills have to be aligned with Christ’s will, bent toward Christ, for us to overcome the turmoil that keeps us from doing what we know to be right.
One of the best known saints in the history of the church, St. Augustine, wasn’t always saintly. Actually, he was pretty wild - he even was responsible for a child being born out of wedlock. But when Jesus Christ got hold of him - when his life got tangled up with Christ - he noted that freedom meant to him being free not to do what he wanted to do but rather to being free to be whom God intended him to be. Before Christ calls the shots in our lives - before we put our hands in his hands, all sorts of temptations, distractions, outside forces, jerk us around and cause us to do other than what we really want to.
It’s been said a time or two that when people become Christians they can then do whatever they want to do. While it may be true, it’s not true because we become immune from sin when we become Christians. No, it’s true because once we become a follower of Jesus Christ’s our “want-to’s” change. True freedom is bearing the burdens of others rather than our own selfish desires thus allowing us to become free to be who God created us to be.
Byron Janis, at one time proclaimed as one of the world’s great pianists, has been fighting the effects of crippling arthritis for years. He can’t even make a fist. His use of his right wrist is limited to about 40% of the normal range of motion - his little finger on his left hand is numb, partially paralyzed and scarred from a childhood accident and the joints of his other nine fingers are fused.
In a 1985 article in Parade magazine he was quoted to have said: “Learning to live with pain or live with a limitation can give an intensity to life. I thought I had nothing. Now I know I have everything. I’m saying to others, ‘If I can do it, so can you!’”
Janis shared in the article about the various methods of help he sought. They ranged from medical doctors to acupuncturists. He added, “What helped me the most, I can’t explain. I developed a very personal relationship with God. I think prayer is important. I think the belief in God is healing.”
“No one knows what it’s like for other people, but I know that, unless I had found a belief in God, I would never have been able to say what I have to say. God and we (humans) work together. Not one alone.” (9)
And then here’s the comment that connects Byron Janis’ story to our thinking today: “I still have arthritis. But it doesn’t have me!” (10) Living with ALS allows me to make a similar observation, although I certainly have my share of moments where I lament how much of me it has.
Byron Janis knows freedom - he’s free - he’s free indeed - not of the disease, but of the control it has over him. That’s what freedom in Jesus Christ enables to happen in our lives. Temptation still is a part of our lives - we still sin even though we have turned our lives over to Christ. The difference is that it doesn’t control us - it doesn’t keep us from trying to live the lives God intends for us to - it doesn’t cause us to give up hope in our salvation which is dependent upon God’s grace and forgiveness and not our good works.
An Armenian nurse and her brother had been held captive by some Turks in a war a few years ago. The nurse’s brother was killed by one of the Turkish soldiers right before her eyes. Somehow she escaped and later became a nurse in a military hospital. One day she was stunned to learn that the soldier who had killed her brother had been captured and wounded and was being cared for at the same hospital in which she worked. Something inside her cried out for revenge but an even stronger voice called within her to respond in love. Despite the conflict that raged within her she nursed the man back to health.
There finally came a day when the recuperating soldier asked her, “I know you know who I am. Why didn’t you let me die?” Her answer was this simple testimony: “I am a follower of Him who said, ‘love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.’” The soldier became a believer in Jesus Christ not because the young woman was freed from her hatred of him as much as because she was freed to love in spite of her hatred. (11) The presence of Jesus Christ in one’s life makes one free to act in such a way.
Another young man became an attorney. He was invited to interview with a prestigious law firm. It was a first class visit that included a stay at a fancy hotel and several elegant dinners with various members of the firm. He really enjoyed the discussions about the work he would be doing should he be asked to join the firm and he really liked all the lawyers he met. Everything seemed great until near the end of the visit when one of the lawyers happened to mention that one of their clients was a company that basically ran all the video poker and gambling operations in the state.
The young lawyer was shocked and disappointed. He said, “There are a number of questions which are up for grabs, but that’s not one of them. I believe such things are the result of bad government and are wrong.”
The firm’s lawyers started in on him, “But it’s all legal.” The young lawyer shot back: “It may be legal but it’s not ethical. I could never represent a company that makes money from human frailty and ignorance.”
His chances with that firm ended. A ministerial friend talked with him about his feelings of losing a job he wanted and deserved. The young lawyer said: “Actually, I feel great. I’m grateful that they gave me the opportunity to clarify who I am and what I want from the practice of law. I’m O.K. I now have a much better idea of the kind of law I want to practice. I just feel sorry for them because I know that many of them feel the same way I feel, but they are trapped in the system and can’t get out.” (12)
Some of us understand what it feels like to be trapped in the system, don’t we? The people who are really free in this world are those who are able to be who they are no matter what others or the world says about them. Freedom is being able to take a stand without caring about what difference it is going to make to your future.
The minister friend asked the young lawyer, “What makes you so confident, so bold to live your life in this way?” And the young man said, “I’m a Christian. I’m not just living my life on the basis of what I want, or just by what seems right to me. I’m trying to live my life as Jesus might want. I just try to ask myself the simple little question, ‘What would Jesus do?’” (13)
And so, as Americans we've been shouting it out: “We’re free!” “We’re free to do what we want - to say what we want - to think what we want - to believe what we want.” And it’s wonderful to be free in this way - to have the freedoms we have in this nation.
But, it’s an even more sensational thing to be able to proclaim “We’re free” as Christians. Because when we say we’re free in Jesus Christ we’re not saying that we can do anything we want to but that we can do anything God wants us to - that we can live lives that will glorify God - without fear of what it might mean for our future. Sure there may be burdens that come with the letting Jesus Christ call the shots in our lives but they’re light burdens because by our wearing the yoke Jesus Christ gives to us he shares the load and enables us to overcome what challenges come our way. It’s a wonderful freedom this freedom known when one puts their hands in the hands of Jesus Christ. If you’ve never done it, I invite you to consider doing it. I promise you, it will make a tremendous amount of difference. Let’s pray.
CLOSING PRAYER: We’re free - oh, Lord - we’re free indeed - help us this day to grasp all that that means for us. How can we ever thank you, Lord, not only for the brave people who drafted the documents and gave their lives for the freedoms we know as a nation, but for the gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, and the freedom he offers us when we turn our lives over to him. In his name we pray. Amen.
1 Leaves of Gold
2 Unknown
3 Eugene Peterson, The Message (Colorado Springs, Colorado: NavPress Publishing Group, 1993), p. 317.
4 Romans 7:15.
5 Romans 7:24b.
6 Romans 7:24b, The Message.
7 Romans 7:25, NIV.
8 Matthew 11:28-30, NIV.
9 Byron Janis, Parade, 1985.
10 Parade, 1985.
11 Unknown.
12 Unknown.
13 Unknown.
Friday, July 11, 2014
"Influencers"
Well, with the Now reunion scheduled for tomorrow perhaps I should put my head and heart to responding to a question one of my cousins asked me following a recent post on my "Giving Wings to Thoughts" Blog. I write because I don't want to be expected to attempt to converse tomorrow.
The blog post was one concerning influences on my theological and personal development on the issue of ecumenism and homosexuality. I don't intend to rehearse the whole piece here. If you want more details, you can go to the blog and read it in its entirety. Let me summarize here. I don't like labels - when it comes to politics, economics, government structures or religion. In order to allow readers who are compelled to locate themselves someplace on a continuum either to the right or left of me, I will succumb to being as truthful in naming myself as I am able. This is not normally how I prefer to carry on dialogues or preach.
So, here goes. There's little doubt in my mind that the early years of my life - let's say from the time I was able to understand conversations until approximately almost through high school - I considered myself traditional-conservative, bordering on fundamentalism late high school, at least on the right side of the life thinking line about most things. From that rough marking point on a timeline to today I've moved/changed/grown, depending on one's perspective, to much more on the left side at least progressive - liberal about most things.
Second So paragraph, the arena cousin Dave invited me to explore and cousin Mike suggested I do via the Herbert & Helen Now Family Facebook page was "how did grandpa Now influence or not my thinking and development along these lines?" Hmmmmm.....good question. Well, let's see. I'm sure he and grandma were as concerned about the coming nuptials as were many on all sides of our families. I like to think he was concerned about what we would have to go through because he cared about us and not because of any old biases he still carried around in his spirit and mind from challenging experiences he himself had to endure in places he lived and his own upbringing in Mercer county. I can assuredly tell you he never offered us words of discouragement personally, only words of encouragement and affirmation. What he might have shared with some of you about our situation when we weren't around, I cannot speak to.
There are some values I hold very dear. These include:
the importance of being civil to others in conversation face-to-face and behind their backs
inclusiveness always first solution and exclusion last choice
acceptance of all people
exploring ideas with an open mind
science and religion are not in conflict or competition with one another
tolerance is a worthy personality trait despite how hard it is at times
there is no one way to do or think about everything
never fear knowledge but always be cautious of ignorance gained because of reluctance to examine
too many people have been destroyed physically or emotionally or spiritually because of religious intolerance. There's a lot more grey and a variety of other colors than there is black or white.
I vaguely remember a conversation grandpa and I had once about interpreting scriptures and his being much more open about it than I expected him to be. I remember one of my first images that racism might not be a good thing was learning about grandma Now's work in the migrant camps. Who of us doesn't remember trying to get up before them in the morning only to witness them holding hands and praying or reading the scriptures? I remember talking with grandpa about Odell Barry not being able to get a haircut in Findlay - he wasn't happy about it. (Those interested, I encourage you to google Odell's name and read what great things he has accomplished!) If my memory serves me correct, he served on an ecumenical committee on behalf of his beloved Church of God. He obtained his doctorate at the end of his career.
Would grandpa and grandma Now, or grandpa and grandma Croy or my parents or my teachers or my friends, or my siblings or my cousins, agree with every view I hold? I'm pretty sure not. Would they be proud of the values that helped me come to those positions? I think so. Isn't it amazing that we can all be raised in the same communities, under the same roofs, taught by the same teachers, have similar experiences in life, in the same faith, in similar universities, and end up with such a variety of beliefs about life, etc. "We are family!" I love you and am prepared for stares, glares or smiles.
The blog post was one concerning influences on my theological and personal development on the issue of ecumenism and homosexuality. I don't intend to rehearse the whole piece here. If you want more details, you can go to the blog and read it in its entirety. Let me summarize here. I don't like labels - when it comes to politics, economics, government structures or religion. In order to allow readers who are compelled to locate themselves someplace on a continuum either to the right or left of me, I will succumb to being as truthful in naming myself as I am able. This is not normally how I prefer to carry on dialogues or preach.
So, here goes. There's little doubt in my mind that the early years of my life - let's say from the time I was able to understand conversations until approximately almost through high school - I considered myself traditional-conservative, bordering on fundamentalism late high school, at least on the right side of the life thinking line about most things. From that rough marking point on a timeline to today I've moved/changed/grown, depending on one's perspective, to much more on the left side at least progressive - liberal about most things.
Second So paragraph, the arena cousin Dave invited me to explore and cousin Mike suggested I do via the Herbert & Helen Now Family Facebook page was "how did grandpa Now influence or not my thinking and development along these lines?" Hmmmmm.....good question. Well, let's see. I'm sure he and grandma were as concerned about the coming nuptials as were many on all sides of our families. I like to think he was concerned about what we would have to go through because he cared about us and not because of any old biases he still carried around in his spirit and mind from challenging experiences he himself had to endure in places he lived and his own upbringing in Mercer county. I can assuredly tell you he never offered us words of discouragement personally, only words of encouragement and affirmation. What he might have shared with some of you about our situation when we weren't around, I cannot speak to.
There are some values I hold very dear. These include:
the importance of being civil to others in conversation face-to-face and behind their backs
inclusiveness always first solution and exclusion last choice
acceptance of all people
exploring ideas with an open mind
science and religion are not in conflict or competition with one another
tolerance is a worthy personality trait despite how hard it is at times
there is no one way to do or think about everything
never fear knowledge but always be cautious of ignorance gained because of reluctance to examine
too many people have been destroyed physically or emotionally or spiritually because of religious intolerance. There's a lot more grey and a variety of other colors than there is black or white.
I vaguely remember a conversation grandpa and I had once about interpreting scriptures and his being much more open about it than I expected him to be. I remember one of my first images that racism might not be a good thing was learning about grandma Now's work in the migrant camps. Who of us doesn't remember trying to get up before them in the morning only to witness them holding hands and praying or reading the scriptures? I remember talking with grandpa about Odell Barry not being able to get a haircut in Findlay - he wasn't happy about it. (Those interested, I encourage you to google Odell's name and read what great things he has accomplished!) If my memory serves me correct, he served on an ecumenical committee on behalf of his beloved Church of God. He obtained his doctorate at the end of his career.
Would grandpa and grandma Now, or grandpa and grandma Croy or my parents or my teachers or my friends, or my siblings or my cousins, agree with every view I hold? I'm pretty sure not. Would they be proud of the values that helped me come to those positions? I think so. Isn't it amazing that we can all be raised in the same communities, under the same roofs, taught by the same teachers, have similar experiences in life, in the same faith, in similar universities, and end up with such a variety of beliefs about life, etc. "We are family!" I love you and am prepared for stares, glares or smiles.
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