May 10, 2020 - Jesus Unites Us Despite Our Divisions - 1 Corinthians 1:10-18

Jesus Unites Us Despite Our Divisions
1Corinthians 1:10-18
Easter 5 – May 10, 2020

Get-Along T-shirt

·       Kids “quarreling” (fighting!) this past week (quarantining isn’t easy on any of us! ;) )

·       Mentioned to Andy that maybe we should get one of those giant T-shirts that says, “This is our get along shirt”

o   Idea being that you put 2 kids in it – both of their heads through the head-hold and each get 1 armhole – but they are bound together with this shirt until they learn to get along

o   Doesn’t really teach them how to resolve conflict, just forces them to be close to one another; makes for a funny picture, but it’s not really effective

At 1^st read, sounds a little like what Paul is advocating here – just get along!

“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.” – 1 Cor. 1:10-11

·       The church in Corinth was a contentious mess

·       Disagreements all over the place about all sorts of things

·       In this passage – it’s about loyalty to different leaders – “I belong to Paul/Apollos/Cephas/Christ”

o   Familiar territory – preferred preachers/pastors – founding pastors, the person who baptized/confirmed you; the one who was there when you joined the church

·       Lots of other issues too – about how to handle sexual immorality among them, what to do about divisions of socio-economic status/behavior at common meal, who had the most important spiritual gifts, etc.

·       From the reading, we hear that they are divvying themselves up into different factions, with each respective group thinking that their preferred leader/way/belief is the “right” one

o   Roman society was a hierarchical structure – wealthy and powerful at the top/ sense of entitlement based on those kind of divisions

·       Church kind of like kids squabbling and fighting, and you can kind of hear Paul exhorting them to just get along!

 

A Get-Along shirt doesn’t solve the deeper issues

We know this to be true

·       Live in a deeply fractured society that seems to just keep splitting farther and farther apart

o   Certainly we can see this in congregations – though CTV really doesn’t seem to have too many of these kinds of issues, I’m thankful to say! J

·       Part of human nature to define ourselves as what we are vs. what we are not and to group up with others who are like us; this is how we get our sense of identity, which is so important to who we are and how we feel we connected to the world

o   Some are small and trivial things: Coke vs. Pepsi, Android vs. iPhone; Packers vs. Bears (or maybe the Vikings) (I know that last one doesn’t feel so small or trivial! ;) )

o   Some are bigger: Rural, suburban, urban; liberal/conservative/independent

·       So often we just don’t understand one another and our differing points of view (and there is social science research out there that indicates that in some cases, we literally take in the same info and experience/understand it in very different ways – it’s fascinating!!)

·       And we don’t always honor and value one another as we ought – we “other-ize” people with labels, we dismiss one another, we talk past each other; we want to hold on to the idea that we are right

o   Do this on an individual level, sometimes with friends and family (sometimes I just have to “hide” people on FB, b/c their posts just rile me up and raise my blood pressure, though I do try not to do that; I try to stay open to other points of view)

o   But that’s hard work – much harder than just putting on a “Get-along shirt” would imply

·       And Paul isn’t really advocating the underlying message of a “get-along” shirt

o   Being united in the same mind and same purpose is not the same as uniformity of opinion or just pretending differences don’t exist

o   We don’t have to be the “Borg” (of Star Trek fame – the “hive mind” where everyone believes exactly the same)

·       But the heart of what Paul is saying throughout this 1^st letter to the church in Corinth (which was made up of a hugely diverse group of people from all walks of life) is that all that they do as a people who are following Jesus comes back to love

·       It is not that the differences don’t matter or that that should just be brushed aside (though certainly Paul thinks that your preferred leader is NOT what or who is important here) – it’s that our identity is no longer to be found in all of those differences that we think are so important

·       Paul reminds the Corinthian Christians – and us – that all of the social structures that would define us, all of the ways that we identify our “tribe”, all of those differences that divide us into factions – those don’t, those shouldn’t matter

·       What unifies us is the love that we know in and through Christ Jesus and that is the unifying force for us within our congregations and how we should then interact with others in the world around us

o   Not privileging ourselves and our own understandings/beliefs, wants and desires above and beyond others

o   Not thinking that our loyalty to one particular leader or another is what matters

·       But recognizing that the core of our identity is based in Christ, who unites and unifies us beyond all that would divide us

o   We’re never going to just “get-along” – in our congregations, in the wider church, in the world

·       But belonging to Jesus reminds us and calls us to do the hard work of trying to understand one another, and to treat one another with dignity and respect, even if we’ll never see eye to eye,

·       This is our work as followers of Jesus, who laid down his rights to himself and took up a cross, dying there to reveal God’s love for all the world

·       May we seek to live out this kind of foolish, powerful love in our lives and in the world around us. Amen.

 

May 3, 2020 - Turned to Serve God - Acts 17:1-9 & 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10

Turned to Serve God

Acts 17:1-9 & 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
Easter 4 – May 3, 2020

Return of the Jedi
· Rejoin the Rebel Alliance in their battle against the Empire
· Recurring theme with Luke – emperor wants to turn him to the dark side
· Empire seems to have the upper hand in all of their battles – greater military might (in sheer #s and better equipment), years of being in power, Darth Vader and his greater experience and mastery of the force
· Luke loyal to the aims of the alliance – and yet tempted so often – not to join the empire, but to give in to hate and fear, to turn to the power of the dark side to accomplish what he wants

   o Nearly seduced by the Emperor and by Darth Vader to use anger and hatred to win out in battle with Vader, esp. when lives of friends is in danger, when Vader suggests that Leia will be the one to turn to the dark side

Church in Thessalonica deep in the heart of (Roman) empire as well
· Story from Acts sets the stage

o Paul and Silas/Silvanus (Latin version) traveling – kind of getting chased from city to city at this point in Acts; planting churches as they go and causing uproars along the way

o Goes to synagogue, seeking to persuade people that Jesus is the Messiah (which is a tough sell, because Messiahs are supposed to be strong and powerful – and this Jesus suffered and died! – and was raised)

· Thessalonica port city in northern Greece; a place steeped in imperial culture, with the emperor considered a god; idols everywhere – and not just a religious/spiritual thing, but part of social, economic, political life

· Acts narrates conflict that comes when some people (Jews, Greeks, women) begin to believe – and Jewish leaders were “jealous” – righteously indignant (another translation) – protective of Jewish beliefs and tradition

o Set the city in an uproar, attack the house where they assume Paul and Silas were staying – and they flee to the next city under the cover of darkness

· 1 Thessalonians – Paul’s 1st letter (maybe oldest book we have in New Testament)

o Writing back to church, reconnecting, sharing words of thanks and words of wisdom

o Mentions how they received the word with joy in spite of persecution

· Turning from idols to serve a living and true God

o Turning from idols = turning from powers of empire; Loyalty to Jesus put them into conflict with surrounding community/culture/society (both Jewish and pagan) – rejection and accusation and anger

§ Perhaps, like Luke, tempted to turn back to idols for the sake of an easier life with less hardship…

Loyalty to Jesus will put us in conflict with the surrounding culture of empire too
· Turning from idols (whatever seeks to gain our trust above God) will make us stand out as those who are not in cahoots with the empire

o Not talking about empire as any particular government at any level or location – just the forces that would stand in the way of God

· We’re unlikely to be the focus of an uproar or be “persecuted” for our faith – but turning to God, acknowledging Jesus as “king” will mean that we will sometimes clash with the world around us

o We will live differently, with different priorities, a different vision of how the world should be, how all of God’s beloved people and creation should be treated, as we seek to be a part of bringing God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven, as we pray in the prayer Jesus taught us to pray

· And the forces of the empire never like that

o And we may find ourselves tempted at times, as Luke was, to use the methods of the empire to achieve a higher aim

o To allow ourselves to just be part of the reigning power structure so that our lives may not be disturbed

· And the sneakiness of the deception that sometimes convinces us that we are following Jesus when in fact we are in bed with the powers of the empire

o Ex. Much of religious life in America for past several decades is intertwined with the desire and quest for power and influence and has sometimes led whole movements to compromise beliefs and stances in order to be positioned to make a difference – not realizing how that can poison us and our witness, turning us into what we thought we were fighting against…

Despite temptation (again and again), Luke turns (again and again) away from the dark side of the force to the light

The Holy Spirit turned the Thessalonian Christians from idols to serve a living and true God
· I imagine this was not a once and done thing, but something that had to be done multiple times
· But their lives and their living are transformed, so that their faith is spoken about throughout the region
· They receive the word with joy, despite persecution and struggle
· They imitate the apostles and Jesus – and themselves become an example to all of the believers in that part of the world
· Paul gives thanks for their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in Jesus
· Their lives are changed as they seek to serve God and wait for Jesus who has been raised from the dead – something more powerful than empire is at work!

The Holy Spirit turns us to serve a living and true God too!
· When we are tempted by the powers of empire, the Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus is more powerful than the empire and strengthens us to continue “re-turning” to serve God
· The empire’s empty promises of power and security if only we will serve the empire are washed away in the waters of baptism, as we are raised to follow Jesus
· We are people transformed and sent to transform a hurting world with acts of faith and labors of love and steadfastness of hope

· Working to be part of building a new kingdom as we wait for Jesus to return to fulfill God's vision for a world redeemed

May we be bold and courageous as we turn from empire to serve God who is living and true!

Amen.

April 26, 2020 - We Learn Life by Watching Jesus - Acts 3:1-13a, 16

We Learn Life by Watching Jesus

Acts 3:1-13a, 16

Easter 3 – April 26, 2020

Click here for the YouTube video of this sermon

Late 80s PSA

·     Dad confronts teen with drugs mom found in his closet: “who taught you how to do this stuff?

o  Son: “You, alright? I learned it by watching you!”

·     Anyone my age can quote this line and we’ll laugh, remembering this PSA

·     But it’s an important lesson – that we learn to do what we see lived out around us, especially by those who are important and influential in our lives, like a parent to a child

True in life of the disciples too

·     We pick back up in the book of Acts this week

o  Last week saw Jesus ascending into heaven, and the remaining disciples plus some women and a few others returning to the upper room to pray and wait for the promise of the Father, the baptism of the Holy Spirit

o  Since then in Acts, Pentecost has happened (we skipped and will circle back at the end of May for the celebration of Pentecost Sunday)

§  Holy Spirit descended like tongues of flame, apostles shared the good news and people with many languages were able to understand; 3000+ became believers

§  All together focused on teaching and fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer, selling belongings and sharing as any had need

o  This is the early Christian community

·     Then one day, Peter and John go to temple for afternoon prayers

o  Man lame from birth being carried in – people would lay him at the gate everyday so that he could beg for alms; really the only option for a disabled person in that time and culture

·     And he sees Peter and John and asks him for money

Stop there for a minute, b/c we’ve all been there and we know what an uncomfortable moment that is

·     Will generally try to avoid eye contact, give a wide berth; don’t want to give $, also don’t want the guilt of saying no; so many complicated layers (suspicions mostly, don’t want to support addiction or get taken advantage of by someone who’s really not poor or disabled or whatever)

World around us right now is filled with people in such desperate need

·     Existed long before this pandemic, but now economic insecurity, unemployment, lack of food, concerns about health have widened that circle immensely to include so many more people

·     People aren’t just in financial need everywhere

·     Emotional toll is high too

o  Past week seemed to be particularly hard for a lot of people

o  The weather here in Wisconsin – cloudy and kinda cold not helping, but suddenly the weight of what we are going through as a world just seemed to catch up with a lot of us (myself included)

o  Psychologists describing this as a traumatic event, this complete disruption of life as we know it…

§  And how hard can it be for us to sit around at home and work or binge watch TV or do puzzles or bake? and yet the anxiety is high, isolation, disconnection, lots of ways we would typically reduce stress unavailable to us

·     May want to avoid all of this need (and in some ways that’s easier to do now, b/c we’re not going very many places, so we’re not confronted with those needs in person!)

·     But we know it’s out there; may feel helpless in the face of it all as we deal with our own struggles and stress

o  May feel more like the man asking for help than the ones who are able to offer it

Don’t know how Peter and John felt in that moment, if they had a split second of wishing they’d gone into the temple by another entrance

·     But if they did, we don’t see it here

·     Instead, they look intently at the man, and ask him to look at them!

·     And instead of telling them man they don’t have any silver or gold and then moving on, they do what they learned to do by watching Jesus!

o  They stop. They notice. They are filled with compassion. This man isn’t part of their community of faith, but they are no longer huddled at home in fear or in preparation. Their faith sends them out to participate in the needs of the world!

o  Peter speaks: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” And took him by the right hand and raised him up (the same word used here as for the raising of Jesus from the grave!); and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. !!

·     They learned it by watching Jesus – not just the miraculous healing, which they are very quick to point out is not their own ability but comes from faith in the name of Jesus –

o  But acknowledging those in need of help and healing and hope as fellow beloved children of God

o  The act of offering what you have to give for the sake of others and the world around you

o  The compassionate engagement that leads to transformation and restoration and new life!

This is what the disciples learned as they watched Jesus at work in the world around him.

·     This is what the life of discipleship looks like

o  To follow Jesus and to be involved in the world around us – because he claims us to be about the work of life!

o  This is the promise of Easter, of resurrection – this encounter with the lame man outside the Temple is a stark reminder that God’s kingdom hasn’t quite come in its fullness yet

§  Even after Christ is raised, there is still poverty, still sickness, still struggle, still death – But when God raised Jesus from the dead, God said NO! to the power of all of those things at work in the world!

§  Death and darkness will not have the final word!

·     Resurrection reminds us of the character of God – that God desires life over death!

o  And God enlists human beings to do this work of proclaiming the good news of love’s victory and living it out!

This is our call, our mission too, as followers of Jesus

·     To not just devote ourselves to the teaching and fellowship, to breaking of bread and prayers, to just our own families and faith communities

o  But to engage in the life and the hurts and pains of the wider world

o  To see one another as fellow human beings who are deeply loved by God

·     And when we are called on to help someone or a situation to respond like Peter and John, like Jesus

o  To say, “what I have, I give you.”

·     And there are so many different opportunities and different ways to serve like Jesus

o  Can you sew? Maybe you are already making masks!

o  Do you garden? Maybe you can share plants for people to grow food (seeds seem to be in short supply) or plant extra and share the harvest!

o  Can’t get out, but have some time on your hands – phone calls and cards and letters are all great ways to remind people that they are not alone

o  Do you have extra food stored up in your house? Who needs what you have more than enough to share?

o  What do you have that someone else may need?

Jesus calls us to give what we have, to participate in bringing life and healing and hope to the world.

·     And if anyone asks you why, you can just say, I learned it from watching Jesus! ;)

Thanks be to God. Amen.