Grace for the Guilty

Grace for the Guilty—Jonah 3; John 8: 1-11

One of the things I have learned in playing uncle to a toddler on Fridays is just how bold they really are. A toddler will look you right in the face while doing the very thing you just said 4 times not to do. And the sad part is that some of them never grow out of it! Here’s one of my favorite examples. My office has experts in different areas of criminal law. An attorney called one of those experts the other day for advice. After my co-worker provided well-thought-out advice, the caller said, “Well, I disagree with that. I think it’s this instead.” My co-worker replied, “Well, why did you call me if you just wanted to argue and know it all anyway?” A friend of mine once said in a sermon, the whole of this gospel story is summed up in one lesson: don’t come at me with your obnoxious. 

Here in the Gospel of John we see just that…an obnoxious ploy to trip up Jesus. As they interrupt Jesus’s teaching, the Pharisees and scribes bring a woman out right in front of the crowd and claim to Jesus that she has been caught red handed in the act of adultery. She should be stoned. What does Jesus say? Jesus sees this for what it is. They have brought no witnesses. There is no testimony. She’s not offered the ability to defend herself. And for that matter, Mosaic law held that BOTH the man and woman engaged in adultery are to face the death penalty for their actions. This isn’t a legitimate accusation and trial. It’s a vicious ploy to ruin her life and discredit Jesus’s teaching. So, what does Jesus say? Nothing. 

Jesus stoops to write in the sand. What he wrote is not important. It may have been something profound, or it may have been doodles. The important part is that in doing this, he is ignoring their questions, even as they relentlessly continue to ask him over and over. Herein Jesus gives us a wise lesson: don’t engage with foolishness. In fact, Jesus never answers their question about the woman and her alleged sin. He challenges them instead that the blameless one should cast the first stone at her. 

In the law, we have something called the doctrine of unclean hands. It’s a very old legal concept that you cannot accuse someone of wrongdoing if you too have been engaged in the wrongdoing. I’ll give you an example. In 1988 Rev. Jimmy Swaggert had to tearfully apologize on television for certain sins taking place in a motel room that involved a woman and some money. Likely this would never have been known had he not publicly feuded with another minister, Marvin Gorman, and outed him for an affair. Don’t call someone out for the very sin you’re doing. The religious leaders were clearly convicted of their guilt. They left this poor woman alone with Jesus, and not one stone was cast in her direction. 

Jesus finishes writing in the sand, and then he addresses her.  In the exchange, we learn that the accusers are gone, and with no one left to condemn her, neither does Jesus condemn her. But, it’s quite possible she’s not wholly innocent. Jesus says, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus was not sent into the world to condemn it, but to bring salvation to a people are guilty. You see, Jesus already knew her heart. He didn’t have to accuse, humiliate, question, condemn. He knew her heart, and all he had to do was release her in grace. It’s highly likely she was guilty, but Jesus came to bring grace, not punishment. 

This idea of grace becomes more difficult when we know how profoundly we have been wronged. Look at Jonah. He fled from God’s calling because he knew the depths of God’s mercy, and frankly, he didn’t want Nineveh to experience it. He didn’t think they deserved it. And, as enemies of Israel, he wanted them to pay. When he finally goes and takes God’s word to Nineveh, his worst fears are realized. Verse 10 tells us, “When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, God changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction [that had been] threatened.” 

There are people in life who are going to do wrong to us. There are some we may even consider enemies. There may be in your life a person or persons that you want God to smite, or you want to bring into the public forum and have stoned just like the woman in the Gospel lesson. But if God’s grace is given to us, then God’s grace must be given to them as well. And as God’s people, followers of Christ, we are called to offer grace as well. 

The religious leaders they wanted this woman stoned. The law demanded it, and they knew they could get two for the price of one: stoning an adulterer and trapping Jesus in legal and theological quandary. Don’t be mistaken, people may come for you with stones ready to cast or a challenge to make you look foolish in life. There are plenty of folks like the religious leaders of Jesus’s day out there ready to make life hard, and some of them are actual religious leaders. Yet in every moment, guilty though we may be, when we come to Christ, we are given grace, not condemnation and judgment. 

The harder part is when we find ourselves holding the stone in hand, red faced with anger, and vengeance on our hearts and lips. Throwing the stone is easy, and dare I say, probably satisfying. Grace is hard. Grace requires us to allow God to work through us instead of doing things how we want to do them. On our own, I don’t know that we can easily choose to show grace. That has to be something that comes with God’s help in life. 

A friend of mine once said that if you want to understand grace, watch how your dog acts. If you are gone for a lone time, they are overjoyed to see you return with kisses, jumping, and tail wagging. If you are late feeding them, they are happy with you just the same. If you forget a walk, they may get antsy and tear some things up, but they still come and curl up with you. When you are sad, they try to comfort. When you are happy, they rejoice with you. If you accidentally step on a tail, they graciously accept when you pet them and apologize. At every one of those moments, the dog could bite the fool out of you, and you might well deserve it. But more often than not, they simply love you anyway. 

Now, if a dog can offer us that kind of grace, even when we may not deserve it, how much more capable are we, with our intelligence and ability, to offer grace to others in this life? If we want to be most like Jesus in this life, then we must offer grace to those who don’t deserve it just the same as those who do. For Jesus’s work of death and resurrection was done for those who love and follow him, and those who don’t. It’s a gift offered to both groups, as hard as that may seem to be. And it’s grace, pure and simple. 

Our Gospel lesson gives us three strong lessons in grace, even for those who are guilty. There are times our accusers will come for us, hoping to publicly shame and humiliate us, and may even stand ready with stones to cast at us. When the accusers come, go to Christ. In him there is no judgment or condemnation, and we can find grace when our hearts are turned from what is wrong. There are times people will come to challenge us with questions and situations that may trip us up in life, but when the people challenge us, ignore the foolishness. Maybe you can even write in the sand while they go on and on. 

And finally, there are times we will be holding the stone to cast at somebody else, and they may truly deserve it. But if we follow Christ, we must lay the stones down and choose the path that Christ would take. Christ went to the cross, so that all we have to do is lay down the stone. So in those moments when you have a choice with the stone in hand, remember Christ’s grace for you, and do the same. 

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1194899242028770

Grace for an Outcast

Grace for an Outcast—Deut. 10: 14-22; John 4: 1-26

[SLIDE 1] Many years ago on Antiques Roadshow, a man came in with a simple blanket. [SLIDE 2] It was not the brightest, best colors, but it was good weaving, and it matched the southwestern United States style. He said it was given to his family by Kit Carson, a well-known American frontiersman, and had been sitting on the back of a chair, somewhat forgotten in the scheme of his living room. The appraiser, however, advised the man that it was one of the earliest types of Navajo weaving, a chief’s blanket, made in the 1840s, and one of the rarest artifacts of Navajo history. In 2002, the blanket was worth over half a million dollars. Another man with a similar blanket sold his for almost 2 million in 2016. It’s hard sometimes to see the value in what we have, and it is equally as hard to find something of value. 

In life, we often struggle to see the value in what we have. In our Gospel lesson, Jesus encounters the woman at the well. [SLIDE 3] She is a Samaritan, a person whom a Jewish person like Jesus should not interact with by law and social custom. Samaritans were Jews who intermarried with Assyrian pagans long before this Gospel lesson. Their bloodline and religious practices were mixed with that of the pagans. Verse 9 tells us that Samaritans refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. In Jesus’s life she would have been an outcast, socially unacceptable to talk to, and certainly no one from whom Jesus should receive a drink of water. She probably thought this was a set up or a cruel joke. 

[SLIDE 4] In the exchange, she talks about Jacob’s well, and its historic significance to the people. Both Samaritans and Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In many ways, the well was almost sacred to the Samaritans because of the connection to their heritage. Jesus changes her perception, though. He tells her he offers the living water—life giving hope. In essence it’s a baptism, not just a drink from a well. Jesus offers her grace in the same way he offers grace to all. She may not be able to see the value of what she has sitting right in front of her, but Jesus sees the value in her, even when others don’t. 

[SLIDE 5] While serving a Lutheran church, they started every service with a prayer of confession that said, “O Almighty God, merciful Father, I a poor, miserable sinner, confess to thee all my sins and iniquities,” and it finishes with, “and justly deserve thy temporal and eternal punishment.” I struggle with that sentiment in light of Galatians 3:26-27, “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.” Despite the ways we may mess up, God sees the value in us and welcomes us to the family calling us “children.” God does not use miserable and wretched, outcast. Instead, God calls us beloved children. 

The Samaritan woman knew she was with a prophet, but didn’t realize until the end of the conversation, that she was, indeed, with the Son of God. She didn’t recognize the value of what was right in front of her. Sometimes we also miss this. In the struggles of life, we often feel like an outcast, or like God has abandoned us. A friend of mine said that we always want to be Jesus in the story, but here, we are much more the Samaritan woman: worried, alone, and feeling ashamed of ourselves in some way. But she knew about the hope in the Messiah, and that day she met him face to face. In our times and places of feeling like the outcast, we must remember that we too can encounter Jesus in our lives and find grace for all the places we feel are wrong. 

[SLIDE 6] But we must also see the value in something new. Samaritans had a strong reverence for Jacob’s Well given its historical significant and longevity. The Samaritan woman asks Jesus point blank, “Do you think you are greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well?” Jesus was offering something different. He wasn’t bringing her a literal drink of water, but instead, he was offering her a baptism of new life. Jesus didn’t come to offer a literal upgrade in drinking water. This isn’t like going from Deer Park to Smart Water. It was spiritual. Jesus was offering her a renewal and cleansing of soul and spirit. She didn’t realize just how amazing this new offer from Jesus was. 

Likewise, the Israelites in Deuteronomy struggled to re-find their covenant with God. Much of the book is Moses re-teaching the people of their covenant and relationship to God before they enter the Promised Land. Moses called them away from their stubbornness and hard-heartedness and into a relationship with God that exists in righteousness, justice, and mercy. They often struggled because they got too comfortable living as outcasts, wanting to do it their own way. You have to remember, their forebearers watched God part the Red Sea, then still turned to idol worship. We can be comfortable living as an outcast, but it will always hold us back from God’s grace in our lives. 

It’s often easy to live on the outside, in doubt, worry, anger, ambivalence, and all the other attitudes that keep us on the margins of God’s grace. But just as Jesus made it a point to talk to an outcast at the well, so too, does Jesus make it a point to seek us out when we are feeling the most lonely and vulnerable. God never stops offering us love, grace, and welcome into that family of faith. The only one who keeps us on the margins is ourselves. We leave old wounds to fester. We focus on the struggle and forget God. We hold on to something that keeps us at a distance from the one who loves us. It’s almost as if instead of being an outcast, we’ve cast ourselves out. But God’s love is unending, and God’s welcome is vast. And nothing will take that away from us. 

But there’s also another side to this as well. Whom do we hold on the margins of faith and keep as outcasts? If I were to make a list of things and people we don’t like, our society would probably write a list a mile long. We are trained to keep a barrier, to hold the undesirable on the margins, and to say that some are just going to be outcasts no matter what. Yet, Jesus didn’t keep that barrier with the Samaritan woman. Not only did he engage her in a way that was shocking to her, he offered the same hope and grace that he offered to his Jewish brothers and sisters. She might have been hated and an outcast, but Jesus didn’t care. She was also a child of God for him to love just as much as the next person. 

[SLIDE 7] One of you sent me the news story on a fraternity at Clemson University. The school has a program to teach life skills to young people with disabilities. Historically, the young folks in that program had never been integrated with the general student population. But one young man with Down’s Syndrome wanted to be a part of a fraternity. It was an amazing moment when he got a bid from Phi Kappa Alpha. The men in that fraternity talked about how this young man brought a new-found sense of joy and brotherhood to the experience. The following year six fraternities and five sororities all accepted special needs students from the life skills program, bringing a new-found sense of friendship to those who were previously living as outcasts in their own university. 

[SLIDE 8] Jesus proved both that we don’t have to relegate ourselves to the margins because God loves us and calls us children of God. But God also calls on us to break down the margins. Just as God found us and drew us in when we were the Samaritan woman, the outsider, so too, must we show love and grace to the Samaritans in our lives. It reminds me of the old poem by the poet Edwin Markham, “He drew a circle that shut me out- Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him in!”

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/2939286496231148/

Grace for Us All

Grace for Us All—Exodus 10: 21-29; John 3: 1-21

[SLIDE 1] A friend of mine from many years ago grew up in Sulligent, Alabama.[SLIDE 2] The town peaked in number of residents in 2000 when 2,151 persons were counted among those who lived there. The town has one stoplight that works 65% of the time. One could describe it as a town that time forgot. When she and I met, it was at a program for history students in Princeton, New Jersey, and I remember when we traveled into New York one day. [SLIDE 3] She stood there in shock unable to absorb the vast difference between Sulligent and the Big Apple. 

For those who have spent their formative years in small town America, the city can feel almost overwhelming at times, incomprehensible in so many ways. But the reverse is true as well. To those who have spent most of their time in the city, small towns feel almost suffocating or claustrophobic. But both highlight how incredibly different and diverse our nation and its people really are. I think sometimes living in our routine causes us to forget just how broad Christ’s declaration is here in John 3: “For God so loved the world.” 

[SLIDE 4] But to understand just how powerful Christ’s words are, we need to back up and consider his exchange with Nicodemus. The man is a Pharisee, a religious leader, a respected man of the Temple. He comes to Jesus and spills the truth. They know that God had sent Jesus to teach, and they are aware of his miraculous signs. Remember this as we journey to the cross. Jesus knew from this encounter just how evil the religious leaders’ malice was. They knew he was sent by God, and had him killed not because he was wrong, but because they didn’t like what he said. 

Nicodemus would have been well-versed in the more mysterious elements of the faith. Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead and the existence of an afterlife. They also believed in angels and spirits. Sadducees, however, did not believe any of this. Nicodemus would have been no stranger to teachings of spiritual things that don’t always make sense in the world we live in. But here, Jesus baffles him with his teaching. Jesus tells him about being born again. Jesus tells him about being born of the spirit and not of human birth. But Nicodemus doesn’t understand. “How are these things possible?” he asks Jesus. 

It would be easy to imagine Nicodemus walking away confused, defeated, and still not understanding what Jesus meant. Nicodemus could have gone back to his easy life chalking up all of Jesus’s talk to a bunch of nonsense. But he doesn’t. Nicodemus sticks by Jesus. We hear again in John 7 that Nicodemus subtly defends Jesus to the Sanhedrin, reminding them of Jesus’s right to defend himself. And we hear in John 19 that Nicodemus helps prepare and bury the body of Jesus after the crucifixion along with Joseph of Arimathea. Nicodemus may not have understood, but he most certainly felt a holy presence in Jesus. 

Perhaps the most startling thing for Nicodemus, though, was Jesus’s words in John 3:16 and beyond. They’re some of the most famous words to Christians everywhere: For God so loved the world that God gave the only begotten son, so that everyone who believes will not perish but have everlasting life. This is followed up with the words that Jesus was not sent to judge the world but to save and redeem the world through his work. [SLIDE 5] 

Nicodemus and other religious leaders believed that this kind of grace from the Messiah was specifically unto the Jewish people. But Jesus offers a different vision, one that is much more expansive and inclusive of those whom he loved and desired to know grace. When Jesus said those words about people loving darkness rather than light, we often interpret it as sinners, thieves, killers, and the like. My mom’s Congregational church growing up was decried as evil because they had dances for the teenagers and dancing was still frowned upon. All manner of darkness, you know. 

But here, Jesus is speaking to a religious leader. Living in darkness is rejecting the truth of Christ’s love and making Christ in our image instead of us being transformed into his image. Despite how judgy we can be sometimes, we are called to a work of teaching grace not nitpicking sins. I saw a bumper sticker once that said, “If God didn’t send Jesus into the world to condemn it, I doubt God sent you.” And like most bumper sticker theology, it stuck with me. 

Sometimes I think our view of “God so loved the world” can be too narrow and not quite as awe-inspiring as Christ intended it to be. It’s easy for the church to get stuck in a rut. Churches tend towards looking, thinking, and being the same. But Jesus never intended that level of sameness or that narrow of a group of the faithful. Indeed it takes the togetherness of people from all different walks of life, backgrounds, upbringings, socio-economic backgrounds, and all other differences to truly understand the depth of grace. 

It’s easy to have love and grace for those exactly like ourselves. But it gets a lot harder when we are confronted with understanding that God so loved the world, when we see and experience the whole world. Our lives, our actions, and our words tell this story of God’s love for an entire world. Whether we like it or not, when we claim a faith in Christ, we become an example—and people will watch to see if we act like Christ, or if we act in self-interest. Love is easy for those who are easy, but the question is can we offer love and grace to those who make it far more difficult to be loved. Can we love even if are ridiculed for it? 

In 1953, America was having a bit of a revival of faith. Church attendance was at it’s highest in decades, and over ¾ of the people claimed some kind of Christian faith and church association. But 1953 was still a very segregated time in the United States. And yet, it was in 1953 that a young pastor dared to be the first to take down the barriers separating white and black folks at his gospel meetings. He infamously said to the ushers at that event, “You can leave those barriers down, or you can have the revival without me.” He was friends with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke publicly against apartheid in South Africa, and even took heat for allowing black and white people to mix at his altar calls. This man was Rev. Billy Graham. [SLIDE 6] He took “God so loved the world” seriously, at a time when for many that meant a white or black world. 

It is no mistake that he often used “Just As I Am,” a verse of which says, “Just as I am - Thy love unknown has broken every barrier down; now to be Thine, yea, Thine alone, O Lamb of God, I come!” God’s love broke every barrier down between us and God, and between one another, so that we can tell the good news of God’s love to the world. Though we may not all understand one another, we can all love one another through the grace that Christ teaches us. [SLIDE 7] 

I want to leave you with the poem by John Birch, “This Is Love,” which tells of just how God so loved the world: 

This is love.

[That] you spoke words of comfort,

walked with the unclean and unloved,

shared wisdom, bread and wine,

brought healing into lives

and challenged the status quo.

This is love.

That you spoke the word of God,

walked a painful road to the Cross,

shared living water, bread of life,

brought Salvation to the world

and died for the sake of all.

This is love.

It is a seed sown in the ground,

which germinates,

blossoms and spreads its sweet perfume.

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1632078554086368/

Seeing the Change

Seeing the Change—Exodus 34: 29-35; II Cor. 3:12-4:2

[SLIDE 1] Sometimes, change is hard. But sometimes, I’m incredibly grateful for change. For instance, vintage recipes that needed to change. No one should ever show up to the potluck with [SLIDE 2] salmon mousse festooned with peppermints in a horseradish sauce. Nor should you bring [SLIDE 3] tuna and Jell-O pie,  [SLIDE 4] ham and bananas hollandaise, or [SLIDE 5] whatever perfection salad is. I am, at times, very grateful that change happens, and that potato salad is no longer encased in a miracle whip Jell-O mold to be served. 

In our lives of faith, there has to be change as well. Now, some folks hear change, and they think that means rolling out a rock band at 9:00 and the pastor untucks his shirt then uses Gen-Z lingo in the sermon. But I don’t have the rizz to do that, straight no cap. When we talk about “change” in our lives of faith it is less about cosmetic updates and more about the growth within. There should be a maturing in the Christian who seeks to follow Christ more closely and live out what God has called us to each day. 

[SLIDE 6] In our Exodus lesson for today, Moses is returning to the mount for a new covenant between God and Israel. This comes on the heels of the broken first covenant where the people were worshiping a golden calf. We hear that Moses’s entry into God’s presence changes his likeness in a very permanent way…a way that makes it hard for the people to look upon him. This is no small matter. Moses is one of only very few people in the Old Testament who got to fully experience the presence of God in this way. Moses, the one who doubted himself, becomes both leader and prophet as he hears God’s words in God’s presence, then translates them to God’s people. 

There’s not really a good explanation for all this. The description of Moses’s face and the face covering don’t really translate well to English. We’ve gotten it as close as we can understand, but the word for “veil” is only used this one time in the Bible. Paul clears up a bit of the mystery, but this is one of those parts of the Bible where something miraculous occurred, that we really cannot explain in human terms. It’s holy. It’s the magic in faith that makes this more than a philosophy. 

[SLIDE 7] But one thing to keep in mind is that God’s presence, makes all of creation different. For Israel, Moses was the mediator between them and God. God’s word through Moses helped to bring a rebellious people into a covenant with God. But what helped tremendously was this shining radiance from Moses’ face. It is described as them seeing a glimpse of God’s glory shining from Moses. And God’s glory was so overwhelming to behold that it shocked and scared the people. 

Paul’s words in II Corinthians pick up on this theme of the radiance of God’s presence found within God’s people. For us, a Moses figure is not needed. When the Temple was created, it had a veil between the outside, and the holiest place of God’s presence. During the crucifixion, that veil was symbolically torn. Our faith and belief is that we have access directly to God through our faith in Christ. We don’t need Moses to go up on a mount, get instructions from God, and bring them back down. God speaks directly to and with us, leading us in a very close and personal way each day of our lives. 

[SLIDE 8] One thing, however, is not different. We, too, shine this glory of God in our lives. It should be a bit startling, and bit unnerving to people, but in a holy and loving way. When people see us and encounter us, they should see that glory in us as we strive to live for God. Paul encourages the Corinthians, and through the letter, us, to never give up. We are to reject shameful deeds and underhanded dealings. We are called to trick or deceive others. We are called on not to distort the word of God, especially for our own benefit. We are to tell the truth in all things, and in doing so, whether people like what they hear or not, they know we are honest with them in what we say. 

[SLIDE 9] People see God in our lives when we do small things and big things—fixing sandwiches for those who are hungry, a call to someone who is struggling, prayer for those hurting, and love to those who feel lonely. In each of these things, we reflect the presence and glory of God to others who may not have seen it in a very long time. A friend of mine has two signs in her office. She deals with cantankerous people all day long. The first one says, “Be kind, always.” The second one says, “It costs $0 to be kind.” She will be the first to tell you that she doesn’t always live up to it, and that’s why we apologies and repentance. But she has those signs in front of her every day as a reminder when she finds herself in a truly difficult spot with discussion and confrontation. 

Paul tells us that wherever the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Now typically we think of freedom as the permission to do something we’re usually not supposed to do. My best friend’s toddler thinks of freedom as the freedom to stay up past his bedtime on Friday. We think of freedom as not having to choose the chicken and broccoli and indulge in the cheeseburger because it’s a cheat day. We think of it in our nation, perhaps mistakenly, as getting to do whatever we want. But for Paul, freedom was something different. 

Freedom meant release from the bonds of an old, failed way of doing things. If the people wanted to know what they should be doing, they needed to wait on Moses to get an instruction from the Lord and return with it. Freedom, for Paul, was not something, some caveat, some exception we create. Freedom was a gift that frees us to be what God created us to be. Martin Luther said freedom was found in service to others. It removes the selfishness of freedom, the selfishness that often leads us to dark and lonely places away from God’s glory, places that require us to focus on power and cunning to achieve instead of grace and faith. 

[SLIDE 10] Growing up, I was taught and came to believe that my responsibility to faith stopped when I believed. We pretty much only heard sermons about getting saved and not much beyond that. Belief is absolutely essential, yes, but our faith offers so much more to us, to God, and to this world. Moses didn’t just come to the people once, he regularly brought a word from God to the people. The same is true for us. Faith offers us the opportunity to grow each and every day, all throughout life. We’re never too old, too far gone, too advanced to stop growing in knowledge, wisdom, and in a closer relationship to God each day. 

What do people see when they see us? What first comes to mind? Do they try to avoid us because we are so difficult and obnoxious that it’s impossible to be around us? Do they see someone who is sad and a little lost in life? Or do they see the glory of God and the love of Christ Jesus shining forth from us with hope, love, and grace for all? I’m sure at times we are all difficult. I’m sure at times we all have sad days. But in the end, it is the hope of Jesus that should win out because nothing else in our lives compares to this. 

Sometimes I think we are afraid of change. It’s not the unknown, the different, but the fear of what we may lose, of memories that may become only memories. But I make you a promise, when God is the author of our change, we never lose, we press on to something better, greater, and filled with more of God’s glory. [SLIDE 11] If you never want change, then I dare you to eat tuna-onion, miracle whip, lime Jello-Pie…or perfection salad. [SLIDE 12] But just as our technology, culinary, and aesthetic tastes change and grow, so too should we grow in faith. Friends, God is leading us, so may we be ready to follow with that glowing presence of faith shining forth from us.

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1347519413341816/

The Difficult Side of Love

The Difficult Side of Love: Gen. 45: 3-11, 15; Luke 6: 27-38

Some days you just want to throat-punch a person who is driving you nuts. There are days where you may daydream of good paybacks to people who did you wrong. From time to time, you may revel in seeing karma take care of someone who has been problematic for a long time. A friend of mine told a story of how a co-worker was causing her all sorts of problems. This person was mean, fake, and often back-stabbing. My friend said she turned it all over to God, and at Thanksgiving, when the mean co-worker’s family was all gathered at her home, the septic tank exploded sending sewage blasting through the toilets and showers in her house. My friend said, “Poo-head got what she deserved. God is good, all the time.” 

Now, I may not be the greatest Biblical expert in realm of theology, but I’m fairly sure that taking delight in the suffering of people you don’t like is not a gospel message. Jesus tells us that we must love God and love our neighbors as ourselves. We hear those words that God so loved the world. And in the midst of all this Christian teaching on love, we sometimes come to a point where we say, “I’d rather not.” Six days this week I chose love and peace, today I want to choose violence. 

My friends, we come to the difficult side of love. Jesus takes us down a pathway of difficulty in what it means to love. God, we have no problem with. Most friends and family we can find love for even if it’s from a safe distance. We can have this general Christian love for the world based on what Christ teaches. But here we come to the really hard part: enemies, those who hate us, undesirables, irritating people, the crude, the unkind, the obnoxious/horrible/miserable folks society has to offer us. And Jesus again tells us, “Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.” And to that statement, we all offer a collective, “But I DON’T WANT TO!” 

It is, however, this peculiar behavior of Christ-followers that makes us stand out as so different from the world. Whereas the world has a retribution-minded attitude, God’s faithful live in a place of constant and unending forgiveness. Life will train you to believe it is true that you should do unto others exactly as they have done unto you, OR, do unto others before they can do it to you first. That’ll set them right. But Jesus teaches a very different way of life, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This way of life is incredibly different from human intuition or natural inclination. 

This is what makes God’s people stand out—their presence for love in this world—a love that is all-encompassing and expansive. Our calling is to be the people who bring the presence of Christ forward into a world that can be cruel and difficult. Very few people truly adhere to this calling that we love friend and family equal unto enemy and adversary. Jesus viewed enemies, not as something to crush and defeat, but as humans to love and bring into the sacred fold. The great Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” 

Jesus taught and advocated for followers who made people feel safe, restored, made whole, healed, and blessed. That’s what makes a difference in people’s lives. In a world consumed with money, self-interest, politics, and turmoil, the measure of our trust in Christ is how much we show Christ to others in our lives. Jesus tells us not to judge others, not to condemn others, to always forgive, and to give what we can. If we expect God’s blessings, we cannot be cheap in blessing others in return. 

In some ways this section of Luke makes us feel a bit put upon, or vulnerable, maybe even at times a bit guilty that it’s not something we want to live up to. I remember talking about this scripture with a friend, and he said, “Well I just don’t really agree with that. Giving without a repayment? Loving people who are mean to you? And frankly not everything is forgivable.” I gently reminded him that his argument wasn’t with what I was telling him, but what Jesus actually said in the gospel. The hardest place to find ourselves in faith is seeing what Jesus said and reconciling it with, “I just don’t like or agree with that.” 

If we claim to be followers of Christ, though, we have to remember that Jesus went willing to a cross to love and redeem those who followed closely, and those who mocked him to his face. He went to a cross for the thief that had faith and the one who cursed him. He went to the cross for Peter, the rock on whom the church was built, and Judas, who sealed Jesus’s crucifixion with a kiss, handing him over to his enemies. The question is not and never who Jesus went to the cross to redeem and save, but who is willing to follow him in taking up their own crosses? That’s much harder to answer.

I think Joseph is an excellent example here. The parallels between Joseph’s journey and Jesus’s are strong and likely intentional. Joseph was betrayed by those closest to him and trafficked to a foreign country. He was made to work as a servant, or more accurately, a slave, in a foreign home, and betrayed again by his owners lies. He was wrongfully jailed and left to be forgotten. But in one miraculous moment, he is redeemed and placed in a position of power and glory. The parallels are there. 

In the story we hear today in Genesis, Joseph is encountering his brothers again, the very ones who betrayed and sold him into servitude and trafficking to Egypt. As one of the highest commanders in Egypt, Joseph could have exacted his revenge in the most vicious and incredible ways. He could have made his brothers pay dearly for their betrayal and cruelty to him. Their very lives, and indeed the lives of their families, were in Joesph’s hands, and he could have gotten sweet revenge. 

But Joseph was a man of God, who followed the God of mercy and forgiveness. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Forgive those who have wronged you. Joseph knew that because God had blessed him so abundantly, he could not turn his back on God and give in to his most evil instincts toward his brothers. We see in both the story of Jesus and Joseph signs of forgiveness and love. Judas gave Jesus the kiss of betrayal and death even though Jesus shared communion and his holiness with Judas. Joseph kissed his brothers in love and forgiveness. In the end, Joseph was blessed, and Judas left this life with guilt. 

Following in the way of Jesus is hard, and this is the most difficult side of love we will ever see. But too many things live in our heads rent-free. Too many wounds, unforgiven wrongs, judgments, silent condemnations, stingy moments, anger at enemies, too much of this lives in the hearts and minds of humankind. Love, be generous, judge not, condemn not, and begrudge not anyone in your life. In that way, people will see Christ living and shining forth from you. 

We must also, though, be prepared to deal with the times people don’t love us, harbor anger at us, judge us, condemn us, hate us, curse us, even if we are unaware the depths of hard feelings in another human’s heart. As Christ’s followers, we must live up to and be changed by the forgiveness, grace, love, and mercy we receive. In all times and situations, the burden stays on us to show Christ’s love and grace in all times and situations, no matter how hard it may be. Our victory in this life is found in our ability to seek out Christ and live out Christ in every situation. 

Some days, faith is harder than others.  We may feel just a little bit petty, angry, and “judgy.” We may hope God engages in a little cosmic karma and blows up the septic system of our enemies. I had a friend who said, “I don’t wish evil upon my enemies, just a long series of inconveniences.” I had another person say to me one time, “I do pray for my enemies. I pray that they see Jesus face to face…today.” But the measure of us as followers of Jesus is not how we treat those whom we love easily, but those for whom it is very hard to love. There is nothing more clear and certain that when Jesus says to us, “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.” When we encounter the difficult side of love, may we always turn back to Jesus to lead the way.

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1361192348381505/

Woe? Whoa!

Woe? Whoa!—Psalm1; Luke 6: 17-26

[SLIDE 1] The great televangelist Jesse Duplantis recently theorized that if you want Jesus to return early, [SLIDE 2] try to give more donations to your pastor. His more literal quote was, “Jesus has not returned because people have refused to donate enough money.” His net worth is around 20 million. He calls poverty a curse. [SLIDE 3] Other prominent minsters have asked for private jets, large homes, one even praised God for a member giving the preacher a Bentley as the member’s dying wish. There are many who believe that in this life wealth is the end goal of the gospel. There are also many for whom the gospel takes a backseat to their love of money and power. [SLIDE 4]

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew is a true lesson in comfort and encouragement for people who feel the sufferings and oppression in life, especially because of their faith. In Luke’s gospel it is known as the Sermon on the Plain. Here we see a fiery Jesus who looks and sounds like an old school fire and brimstone preacher. Matthew’s gospel focused on a Jewish audience who would have been suffering spiritually with the oppression of the day, so it’s written to bring comfort. Luke’s gospel is written for a gentile audience, who need to be called to a place of repentance for their love of power and wealth, and taught how to be a generous and loving follower of Jesus. 

We first hear from Luke that Jesus performed many miraculous healings including healing from diseases and casting out evil spirits. And he did so for everyone who was there. One of the most beautiful things about our gospel stories, and especially this one, is that Jesus never turned someone away. Whether they were impoverished, unclean, sick, possessed, a pharisee, or an oppressive ruler, Jesus never turned anyone away. He offered healing and spoke the same words of love and grace to all. 

In 2022, it was estimated that the United States has a combined total of $137.6 trillion in wealth, making us the richest country on earth. In 2024, Cole Schmidtknecht [SLIDE 5] died from lack of an inhaler for his asthma when the cost rose from $66 to $539. If you google deaths from cost of insulin, you’ll see dozens of news articles on 20 something year olds dying because their insulin was over $1,300. One of them is Alec Smith, age 26. [SLIDE 6] Many of you have talked about being unable to get medicines or afford them because the price was so extreme. In a country where we have over 100 trillion in wealth, people die from being unable to afford basic medications. I wonder what the Jesus who healed everybody who came to him in Luke’s gospel for today would say about that?

[SLIDE 7] Jesus then teaches the people: blessed are the poor for the kingdom of God is yours, blessed are the hungry for they will be satisfied, blessed are those who weep for they will soon laugh. Whereas Matthew’s Beatitudes focus on spiritual poverties, Luke makes it more concrete: the poor, the hungry, and the sorrowful. The truth is neither one is exclusively accurate. There are times when we suffer because we have nothing. There are times we suffer because, even though we can afford what we need, inside our spirits are hurting. There are times when people will suffer from the physical problems that come from living on a broken earth. But there are also times our spirit and soul will feel malnourished, beaten up, broken, and hurting. There are times we will weep because we’ve experienced loss, and sometimes, we weep and have no real idea why. And in every single one of those situations, Jesus offers a blessing. 

In many instances that blessing is us, the ones who follow Jesus. What makes this scripture hard is that Jesus doesn’t stop with the blessings, he adds curses: sorrows awaiting the rich, sorrows awaiting the fat and prosperous, sorrows awaiting those praised by crowds. In the older translations, the warning is even more dire, for it says: Woe to you who are rich, woe to the full, woe to the laughing, woe to those spoken well of. And when we hear that we think, “Woe? Whoa!” [CLICK FOR TEXT]

I was once asked, “So when Jesus says, ‘Woe to the rich,’ what kind of number are we talking about here…half a million, more?” I don’t think that’s how it works. You have to jump to Matthew to understand what Luke is trying to say. [SLIDE 8] Matthew picks up on this theme and says you cannot serve God and money. The letter to Timothy echoes the theme telling us that the love of money is the root of all evil. It goes back to that age-old question, who or what do you worship? 

[SLIDE 9] Too many people seem to think that faith is a road of ease and wealth. A friend and pastor once told his congregation, your faith in Christ is not at all like winning the lottery. Instead, it’s more like the greatest retirement plan you can get for your work. We do the work of Christ here on earth for the treasures stored up in heaven awaiting us when our time on earth is done. That doesn’t mean God WON’T bless us, but that should not be our expectation. As another friend said, “Faith won’t bring you a new Ferrari, but it will bring you hope for eternity. 

[SLIDE 10] When I was preparing for this sermon, I saw a funny comic. It’s a picture of Jesus teaching and it says, “I want you to be rich, so naturally the more faithfully you adhere to my teachings, the wealthier you will become…oh and you should then give that wealth to the super rich pastor who shared this teaching with you.” And the title under it says, “Things Jesus Never Said.” [SLIDE 11]

Faith is not always an easy road, and it never has been. It won’t make you world-rich. It won’t make you necessarily popular. Jesus even gave us a very clear warning that we may just have to be blessed in the midst of hatred and persecution. But when you travel with Jesus by your side, you can feel in that holy presence, how much easier life is and how much hope you can have for every tomorrow. 

I like how the Psalm for today comforts us. There is joy and hope in following Jesus instead of giving in to the pathways that lead us into wickedness, evil, and false gods which manifest as a gospel, but lack in anything holy. For those who are steadfast in following God, they live like strong trees at the riverbank holding fast and being fruitful in any circumstance. 

The journey of faith is not about the private jet, the gifts of millions, fancy houses, the Bently, and so forth. The journey of faith is about connecting people closer and closer to a God who loves them and to Jesus whose redemptive work saves us and whose presence leads us. Luke reminds us that our work in the name of Jesus is about lifting up those who are broken, feeding the hungry, and caring for the poor. It’s about making sure we are present with the persecuted, and take a stand for what is right in every situation. 

The Psalm tells us that those who remain close to God are like strong trees by the riverbank, nourished, and fruit bearing year after year. Faith may not bring you the greatest things in this life. You may not wind up miraculously rich. You may not have all the security you want from all troubles. You may not find the most peaceful life here. The struggles and troubles of life will continue to be present with us, just as it was the disciples, and Jesus. But in walking with God, in letting our lives be part of this fabric of faith in Christ Jesus we find a hope that outweighs any trouble here on earth. We find a hope that is timeless and eternal. In Christ the woes of this life become the hope of eternal life. And that makes it all worthwhile.

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1289029392212954/

Sometimes You Have to Give Up

Sometimes You Have to Give Up—Psalm 138; Luke 5: 1-11

In 2013, I bought a small cottage in Shirley Hills and had it fixed up. Most of the changes were cosmetic, but the bathroom had to be gutted and redone. It was an unchanged Pepto pink from the 1950s that had faded and stained into some kind of rusty/pink mix of a vomit color. The day I moved in I went in late at night to take a shower. But the knob on the new shower would only turn 60% of the way, and the water was cold. [SLIDE 2]

I called my dad, who advised there was a safety device to keep it from getting too hot, and I had to remove that. And that required removing the knob that controls the water. All I had to do was unscrew the tiny screw, pull the handle off, and remove the safety device. Simple enough? But one thing was not mentioned to me when I began this: turning the water off. [SLIDE 3] As I removed the handle, I was met with a blast of cold water that pummeled me back against the tile in such a way that Bugs Bunny would be proud. And at that point…hot, tired, irritated, soaking in cold water, I gave up. Thankfully my neighbor came over and helped me finish the work because torching the place for insurance money 5 hours after moving in was simply a bad idea. Sometimes we need to recognize when to give up. 

[SLIDE 4] Many years ago, there was a saying that became popular and was on the bracelets and other trinkets sold in Christian stores. We had moved from “What would Jesus do?” to “Let go and let God.” For those reared in the church, it made sense and was a great reminder. For those who were not, it felt like a fragment of a sentence. Let God what? The uncertainty was a bit overwhelming for folks who needed a clear answer. But in our Gospel for today, we hear idea echoed. 

[SLIDE 5] Simon, who would be known as Peter, had been fishing all night. He and his co-partners James and John had worked hard but caught nothing. It was now morning, they were tired, but Jesus said go one more time to the part of the water he directed them and try again. This time the nets were full to the level of overwhelming in a way that could only be seen as miraculous. Instantly, Simon, James, and John recognized the power and the miracle. 

Sometimes we have to follow that saying of “let go and let God.” We are a people of smarts, abilities, and that gives us a false sense of control. Simon was a skilled fisherman. He knew where the fish were, how to lure them, and what he needed to do for his job. But all his knowledge, skills, and experience couldn’t make a fish appear. It took Jesus to do that. In some ways it’s good that the saying is open-ended: Let go and let God. There’s no real answer for what God can and will do. God can take any human to any place, give them the strength to do anything, and call them to a mission they never thought they’d do. 

Pulling in so many fish was the illustration Simon, James, and John needed. When you follow Jesus’s direction, the results are overwhelming. But Jesus then calls them to know that they will no longer fish for actual fish in the sea. They will soon be fishing for people who need to know Jesus’s love and teaching. The implication was clear. If they follow Jesus, they will build for the kingdom just as those nets were overwhelmingly full. The example showed that fishing for people was going to be a calling from now on. 

Their response was both perfect and powerful. When they landed on the shore, they left everything behind and followed Jesus. They let go and they let God. Sometimes you have to give up. Their way of life as they knew it was over. From here on they would be marked as disciples, leaders in the Way that Jesus was teaching and showing to others. God had a plan for each of them to change the old order of things by showing and preaching the love of Jesus to the world. Just as it says in the Gospel, they left everything behind: boats, nets, fish, livelihood, and followed Jesus that very day. [SLIDE 6] 

Even as God had a plan and a calling for each of the disciples in the first twelve followers, God has a plan and a calling for us today. Most of us struggle with being able to follow it. We have work, doctor’s appointments, care providing duties, future schooling, finding a new place in life being on our own for the first time in awhile, looking forward to retirement and new horizons. Life changes at a rapid pace, and that doesn’t even include the external worries and pressures we face on a daily basis. Still, in the midst of it all, Jesus calls the same way: give up. It’s not a give up that ends in hopelessness, as if nothing more will go on. It’s a give up that transfers the leadership and struggles from us to the Holy One, redeemer and sustainer of life. 

I love how the Psalm phrases it, “The Lord will work out [the] plans for my life—for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don’t abandon me, for you made me.” Indeed, we often don’t know where God will lead us. If you had told me in March 2008 that I would spend the next 13 years pastoring a church in Macon, Georgia, I would have laughed hysterically. Another good friend of mine is the same. She grew up in church, loved God, and remained faithful. However, about three to four years ago she felt like God was calling her to more than her Geico job. And so she set out to be a lay minister with just a preaching certificate. 

But sometimes when you give up, when you let go and let God, God uses the most unexpected things to guide you in life. The first time she preached in a church, an old, retired preacher came up and told her she had a calling. She listened. She gave up everything, went to seminary, and has made ministry her full time work. I know from experience with the Rev. John Carroll who preceded me here, that when those old, retired pastors bring you a word, you better listen. 

[SLIDE 7] We are also called to be fishers of people. There are a couple of ways this can be done. The old-school tried and true method is straight up evangelism. Just start asking, “Have you heard about Jesus?” In our modern era, this is a struggle. Forty years ago, faith was so central this wouldn’t have been a problem. But we live in a time when people not only are skeptical of the church, they dislike the entire concept and find it traumatic. Offering grace and hope to a weary soul is still the main priority of our calling, but the methods are different. 

We must live as proof of the faith we believe. Let others see the love of Jesus in and through us: feeding the hungry, comforting the broken hearted, being peacemakers in an angry world, keeping both the Sabbath and the church holy from political influences. These are things that will be the living proof of faith. Then we simply say, my faith teaches me to love and care for others in this way, just like Jesus did in the Gospels. 

Jesus called the disciples to be fishers of people. I haven’t fished much in life, but it requires tremendous patience and a good bait on the hook. There needs to be a reason for the fish to come, and we have to wait, sometimes patiently for a long time, until there’s a bit on the end of the hook. Simon, James, and John fished all night and got nothing. But at some point, the nets will be full, when our work and our lives are filled with Jesus’s direction. 

[SLIDE 8] In 2013 I learned that plumbing was not my calling. I had to give up and get someone with greater expertise to help me get it right. Life on this earth is easier if we are willing to let the One who created us, redeems us, and sustains us also be the one who guides us and directs us in our daily path. So, let’s begin to practice reliance on God more and more. Maybe we can even simply let go and let God. 

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/615095967909956/

Nobody Likes a Prophet

Nobody Likes a Prophet—Psalm 71: 1-6; Luke 4: 22-30

One of the worst things a parent can hear is their kid saying, “I told you so.” I was visiting a friend’s house and his mother, who is a bit vertically challenged, shall we say, threw a bunch of Tupperware in a top cabinet. He said, “You know it’s gonna fall.” She fussed at him and went on her way. Two hours later we hear the avalanche of plastic containers and lids come tumbling down to the fading screams of his mother. Without missing a beat, he hollered, “I told you so.” Another terrible thing for a parent to hear is when they’ve made a point to a child, and only a short time later, the child quotes the parent’s words back to them because they’ve done the same thing or made the same mistake. No one likes a prophet. 

In Jesus’s day, prophets did four things: they spoke for God relaying God’s message to the people; they predicted the future often in the form of calamities or punishment; they performed miracles such as healing; and they called people to repentance when they became unrighteous. With the exception of miracles, it was never a good sign to see a prophet coming. And sometimes those miracles were just as bad as the dire predictions. Prophets weren’t unwelcome because of anything they did wrong. Instead, they were unwelcome because they spoke a word people didn’t want to hear and predicted consequences they didn’t want to face. Thus, nobody like a prophet. 

We read of a tense and scary exchange in the gospel for today. Following the miracles Jesus performed at Capernaum, he returned to his hometown of Nazareth. There he began to teach in the synagogue. Jesus begins to speak telling words of grace and hope to the people. They are amazed at his teaching and his graciousness. Then Jesus switches to the prophetic. He tells them that a prophet is not accepted in his or her own town. Jesus finally pushes them too far. The people of Nazareth strongly believed that these promises and God’s grace were for ethnically Jewish people only. But Jesus teaches of a much wider interpretation. 

Jesus references Elijah who could have blessed anyone in Israel during the famine, but he is sent by God, instead, to the widow in Sidon (Zarephath). Elisha could have healed anyone of leprosy when he was prophet, but instead God sent him to Naaman, a Syrian. Essentially, Jesus is telling them that God’s grace is not based on who they are and what lineage they come from, but on the faith they have. It's radically different than their expectation and long-held belief. In response, they mob Jesus, push him out of the synagogue, and to the edge of a hill intending to kill him. But Jesus walks way and loses them in the crowd. 

Here’s the hard truth in this gospel lesson. Jesus didn’t lie. Jesus didn’t make up an example that wasn’t true. Jesus didn’t stretch any meaning of the ancient scriptures. Jesus didn’t factually misrepresent anything in the Word or in the examples he provided. It was all true. But the people didn’t care, and didn’t want to hear it. I’ve heard it said that the truth shall set you free, but I’ve also learned that the truth will make some people lose their ever-loving mind. I have seen this in my regular job working as an attorney. I have watched as people sat there looking at high-definition video of themselves doing something wrong, then will look you in the face and say, “I didn’t do that.” Case in point, see the video. This desire to disregard the truth can include everything from a traffic ticket to what I call a 5-finger discount at the store. People don’t always want to hear the truth or respect it. Nobody likes a prophet. 

Whether people listen to the truth or not, speak it anyway. There is a long history of God speaking to the prophets—Ezekiel, Elijah, Ezra, and so on telling them that the people of Israel will not listen to or follow their prophetic truth. But God also tells every single one of them, speak it anyway. They attempted to throw Jesus off a hill to kill him because they hated what he said so much. It was the literal truth, but they refused to listen and became angry over it. 

Deflection and anger are the most common ways of avoiding the conviction of hearing the truth, especially when God is speaking to us. Think of an argument between husband and wife, and this is a real example. A husband confronts his wife about her spending habits bleeding the family savings dry. When confronted, she throws back at him, “Well, do you remember that time your brother backed into my car, and we had to pay the deductible four years ago? That was expensive too.” But so I’m even handed, here’s another disagreement I’ve heard. A wife sees her husband’s cellphone unlocked as he is in the shower. She decides to glance at some of the pictures he took from that day. Instead of pictures she finds several communications where he’s been cheating on her. When confronted, he loses his temper yelling about her violating his privacy. 

The same was done to Jesus repeatedly. Here they get so mad they want to kill him. But in other places in the Gospel, they asked Jesus absurd questions and trick questions to try and mislead him or misrepresent him. Deflection and anger are two of the greatest weapons at avoiding the truth. Now I don’t think people in our communities would literally throw us off a cliff, but Jesus’s teachings are still hard none-the-less. 

Blessed are the poor. When you do it to the least of these, you do it unto me. Looking at someone lustfully is the same as engaging physically in adultery. Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Put down your sword. The greatest love is in sacrifice or giving up your life. All of these are from the Gospel…words of Christ in red if you want. And all of them are hard teachings to a people raised in a nation that values wealth, individualism, and strength over vulnerability. Many people become deluded into believing that walking with Christ is an easy road, and it’s absolutely not. Jesus’s teachings, Jesus’s life are hard to follow at times, especially when we want to go our own way, or when there’s a clash with our own personal beliefs in this life. 

And so, the gospel lesson for today begs two questions of us: Can we follow the truth even when we don’t like it, and can we speak the truth even when others don’t like it? So how did Jesus respond to the anger? He left and went to Capernaum where he preached again to an amazed crowd and cast out a demon. Then he healed dozens of their illnesses. Then he goes to different cities preaching in different synagogues. Jesus was undaunted by the anger and issues with the people. None of it deterred him from God’s calling and mission, and none of it changed the gospel truth he preached to the people that we now follow today.  

The harder part for us is following in the way of Jesus even when it’s hard or we don’t like it. I’ll give you an example. Most days I’m a sharp-tongued, smart mouthed lawyer who comes by both of those honestly should you meet my family. And there are times that instead of turning the other cheek, I’d like to test out the other person’s cheek and see how it holds up. But that’s not the way of a savior who spoke words of love and grace and went to the cross for people who were unkind to him as well as his followers. 

One of the worst things a parent, or anybody, really, can hear is the phrase, “I told you so.” And the second is like unto it, “Well, when I did it, you said this…so now what are you saying?” And yet sometimes we all need to hear words that challenge us. That is what the prophetic word does. At times we act pastorally to provide care and comfort, and at other times, we act prophetically to challenge those who need to grow in their faith. I pray that we have the courage and the faith in Jesus that we will both follow and speak when God’s truth comes to us. 

Worship Service Videod https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/8967088050007162/

Connected in Faith

Connected in Faith: Psalm 19; I Cor. 12: 12-31a

The other day I was reading about a rare psychiatric disorder called Body Integrity Identity Disorder. It can be both fascinating and frightening all in one. The premise is this: a person feels like a part of their body no longer belongs to them or is harming their body, and they desire to remove it. It may be a hand or a foot, or some other part of the body. It’s a very rare disorder and still untreatable in a direct and truly helpful way. 

I can’t help but wonder if Paul has a little foresight into this disorder when he writes these words to the Corinthian church. They are just as relevant to us today as they were to the church at Corinth in ancient days. A little bit of background is needed on this church. Corinth was one of the largest churches Paul had helped to grow, but Corinth was a very diverse and eclectic city, and the church grew too fast for good theology to really keep up. If one researches the issues at the church in Corinth, the list is pretty long: sexual immorality, abuse of spiritual gifts, division, false teaching, failure to love, competition for status, arrogant theological reasoning, conforming to a dominant culture, claims of spiritual superiority, abuse of communion, and excessively suing one another. Like I said, the relevancy is no less apparent to our churches today. 

And here in chapter 12, Paul addresses the most foundational problem in the Corinthian church, divisiveness and distortion of what it means to be the church of God or the body of Christ. Paul describes it in terms of the human body. Each part of the human body and anatomy works together in some way to make the whole body work. If the body had only one part…such as a giant blob of eyes, or one giant hand, it would be strange, and functionally useless. Likewise, a body missing parts is often referred to as impaired because there is some decreased functional ability of that body minus that integral part. 

But Paul takes it a step further. He writes, “Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you.’ The head can’t say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you.’” And in saying this Paul makes an analogy to the church. It’s impossible to say that every single member of the body of Christ has to be the same part of the body. But it’s also impossible for one part of the body of Christ to say that it doesn’t need the other. 

We live in a time and space today where villainizing and demeaning people is common and almost accepted. As a pastor, I cannot stand in the pulpit and insult or demean minorities, immigrants regardless of status, LGBT+ people, conservatives, Trump voters, Evangelicals, Progressives, or any variety of the above because all of these groups of people are made by God in the image of God, the Imago Dei. The church at Corinth was in distress because it valued competition, power, and self-righteousness over serving the body of Christ. Paul writes to a church filled with abuse and conflict, “So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.” 

Take for example the sermon by the Right Rev. Marianne Edgar Budde that has been in the news this week. She called on President Trump in a sermon to show mercy to vulnerable people. People have honed in on this statement and debated it endlessly, and the problem is, they debate it in terms of political policy. Whatever her politics personally are, I don’t care. The Bible says, “Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God” in Micah 6:8. Jesus, himself, said be merciful just as God is merciful in Matthew 5:7 and Luke 6:36. And the old hymn, “At Calvary” says, “Mercy there was great, and grace was free.” I’m sure there are examples that swing the other way as well, but this one stands out. 

We have, for far too long, mixed and molded what is political and what is Biblical. And in doing so, we have made what is Biblical subordinate to what is political. God’s Word was never meant to be the justification for our political beliefs. Our political and personal beliefs are meant to conform to God’s Word whether it offers words of comfort or words of challenge to what we think. A Christian who avoids challenge and conflict in their walk of faith is a Christian who doesn’t take the first step in any walk of faith. 

If Paul were to write a letter to the churches of America today, I think it would sound much like what he said to Corinth. “Dear Churches of the United States, Jesus said to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s. Instead, you have chosen to become Caesar and forgotten God.” When Paul lists the roles of the church, all are important and needed. Apostles provide wisdom and guidance. Prophets provide the words of challenge to push the members. Teachers give a foundation of knowledge of God. Those who work miracles inspire the congregation. Those who heal provide pastoral care. Those who help others do outreach. Those who have the gift of leadership work in administration. Those who speak in unknown languages evangelize. Please note in that list there is no government lobbyist. 

And while the church plays politics, people starve, freeze in the cold, veterans go without housing. People who need to hear about a loving God and welcoming church that will enfold them in grace and love never hear such things. If you ask what Jesus did, it was both. He stood and spoke truth and hope to a people who were suffering and needed to hear about a way of love and peace. But he also served in grace, in healing, in hope, and in communities the law of that day said not to go anywhere near. Jesus lived, preached, and served in the knowledge and example that all are created by God, made in the image of God, and loved by God. And if we cannot love everyone, every last one on earth, then we cannot claim to follow the same Jesus who loved the Samaritan, hard-line Jew, Roman, clean and unclean, leper, alleged adulterer, thief, pharisee, and common fisherman. 

I like the prayer and plea that is offered in Psalm 19, “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me…May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and redeemer.” Perhaps our world would be a little bit better if we prayed and took stock of our words and thoughts after praying that prayer, “May the words of my mouth and meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord.” 

I wonder a bit of society is not affected more by Body Integrity Identity Disorder than we know. We keep seeming to want to cut away people, groups, and others we don’t particularly like. In some ways it’s like the old saying of cutting our nose off to spite our face. But Paul is absolutely clear that faith is about welcoming and finding a place for each person and each gift that person brings. The church is not a country club. It’s more like a free clinic. The church at Corinth had forgotten their calling and mission from God. Their framework was about power and control and who could be best. They were vastly diverse and allowed that to become a problem rather than an inspiration. 

As we navigate the next few years, I pray we find ourselves immersed in God’s word and unbothered by the politics of life. That doesn’t mean we stop speaking truth. That doesn’t mean we stop helping and serving a hurting world. What that means is we remember that it is Jesus who says, “Come to me all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” For the burden God gives is easy to bear and light. I pray that we lean more on God than Caesar. And I pray that our words and our heart’s meditations are pleasing and acceptable to our God, our rock, our redeemer. 

Worship Service Video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/626389973206484/

“Making Good Better”

“Making Good Better”

Rev. Joan Bell-Haynes

Worship Service video https://www.facebook.com/fccmacon/videos/1095885528954362/