Saturday, June 26, 2010

Faith Revealed

Faith Revealed
Galatians 3:23-29

I can remember it like it was yesterday. When I was a student in seminary many years ago, during one of my preaching classes, the instructor asked us a question. He asked us if we knew what the greatest problem in the church was. I didn’t have an answer, but he had my attention. He went on the say that the greatest problem in the church is works-righteousness.

At the time I had no idea what he meant when he said works-righteousness. But I eventually learned that work-righteousness is the belief that if people do the right things, that they will be saved. In effect, it means that salvation and God’s favor are earned by being a good person who does good things. Our good works will save us. The instructor told us that the belief in works-righteousness is the greatest problem in the church.

Works-righteousness has been a problem in the church from the very beginning. This was the problem that Paul addressed in his letter the people in the church in Galatia. They believed that keeping the laws in the Old Testament was at the heart of Christianity. If you kept the laws, then that meant that you were a good Christian. Paul writes to say that keeping the laws is not all there is to being a Christian, and in fact, it is not the most important theme of the Christian faith. He says that doing the right thing to get God’s approval is not what Jesus taught.

From the beginning of the church until today, people have been tempted to make Christianity a religion that is defined by what you don’t do if you are a Christian. When I was growing up, it seemed that often the message of the church was that a Christian was someone who didn’t smoke, drink, or chew. And there were times when the list included no movies, no rock music, no dancing, no card playing, and on and on. Christianity has at times been characterized by “Thou shalt not…”. The saved are those who don’t, while the damned are those who do. This emphasis on works-righteousness can keep people from hearing the good news of the Christian faith.

It is important to remember that the rules that God gave were intended to lead people to faith. In some respects, the law was given to convince people that they could not please God by their own effort, actions, or will power. The message was that people cannot earn God’s approval; it was a gift of God. The law of God provided directions and restrictions, and their purpose was to convince people that they could never live up to God’s high expectations. The message was that they could never keep all of the law by themselves. The purpose of the law was to turn people to God. That doesn’t mean that all the rules should be thrown out, but that we should allow them to turn us to God in faith.

Faith means that we realize our limitations. On our own, we cannot please God. In one respect, it can be a relief to realize that we cannot keep all the rules that God has given to us. Faith means that we realize our need for God’s help and surrendering to God. Faith means that we can’t earn God’s approval, but that we can receive it as a free gift. It means that we embrace God’s promise that we are His children.

The promise is that God will adopt us as His own children and that He then calls us to live faithfully. We all know that a parent doesn’t tell a child that if they do the right things, then they will be their parent. A parent usually loves their child without any conditions, sometimes in spite of a child’s behavior. That’s the essence of God’s relationship with us. God gives us the opportunity to be members of His family. God calls and claims us as His own children. Our response is faith in God as we embrace the gift of membership in God’s family.

As we realize that we are members in God’s family, we can also realize that it is a pretty big family with lots of people in it. Our connection with God through faith becomes the basis for our connection with one another. We are all God’s children and all members of the same family. In his letter, Paul wrote that our membership in God’s family is more important than anything else about us. It is more important that our race, gender, economic status, or anything else.

It can be quite an experience to realize that people that we have never met are our brothers and sisters in Christ. I have had this experience many times, but I have been especially aware of it on mission trips to Mexico, Bolivia, and Appalachia. In those places I have met people who are members of the same family that I am – the family of God.

It is faith in Jesus Christ that makes us all one. It is not keeping a set of rules, or living a certain way, although faith should motivate us to do our best to please God and to love each other. But it is faith that breaks down the barriers between us and reminds us that we are all members of the same family.

We don’t always do exactly what God wants us to do. There are times when our actions break God’s heart. But there are other times when God is very pleased with us. That is what it is like to be imperfect people in God’s family. The best part of it all is that when we are at our best and even when we are at our worst, God still loves us and claims us as His own children. And God doesn’t love us because we have earned it. God’s love is a free gift that never ends.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Father's Day

The Secret Ingredient of Fatherhood

A number of years ago there was on article in the local newspaper on Father’s Day entitled:”The Secret Ingredient of Fatherhood: Giving Approval”. I must have been impressed with the title, and not the article, because I saved a clip of only the title and used it as the title for my Father’s Day sermon the following year. The title suggests that there is an ingredient to being a father that most people don’t think about. According to the article, that ingredient is giving approval.

We all like to know that other people approve of us. We like to hear compliments and be told what good people we are. And approval means even more if it comes from a family member, because they usually know us better than anyone else. That is especially true when parents give their approval, and maybe especially when fathers give their approval. It is natural for children to want to please their parents, and for children to know that their parents support them and love them unconditionally. When a child, including a grown child, has the approval of their parents, it can make a world of difference.

One of the keys to giving approval is to realize that no one is perfect. It is part of being human to be imperfect. The best parents realize that they are not perfect and, they also acknowledge that their children are not perfect. It can also help to have a good sense of humor.

A few years back, one of the bestselling books was Fatherhood by Bill Cosby. Cosby is a successful comedian because he combines two important elements: truth and humor. Here is a sample from his book: “Poets have said the reason we have children is to give ourselves immortality; and I must admit I did ask God to give me a son because I wanted someone to carry on the family name. Well, God did just that, and I now confess that there have been times when I’ve told my son not to reveal who he is. “You make up a name,” I’ve said. “Just don’t tell anybody who you are.”

It helps to have a good sense of humor. There have been times when children have embarrassed their parents. And there have also been times when parents have embarrassed their children. Sometimes the best we can do is grin and bear it.

Another key to giving approval is forgiveness. It isn’t always easy to do, but the best parents are those who are able to forgive their children. The list is endless of the things that children may do. It may run from keeping the parents up half the night, to being lazy and doing almost nothing. It may include children acting their age, or acting younger than their age. It is almost impossible for a parent to express approval if they are not able to forgive. It doesn’t mean that a parent approves of poor behavior, but it does mean that when a child does something wrong, painful, or dumb, that a parent can eventually let it go.

It is part of parenting to identify a child’s mistakes, to correct them, and even to punish them. But it is not good to continually remind a child of everything that they have done wrong, or to expect them to pay for it indefinitely. That doesn’t mean that there may not be natural consequences for their behavior, but it does mean that a parent doesn’t hold it over a child forever. Forgiveness means letting go and is an important part of giving approval.

Another key to giving approval is affirming the gifts and strengths of someone, especially a child. We usually call this positive reinforcement. We all know that compliments will get better results than criticism, but sometimes we need to be reminded. On the other hand, there can be too few expectations and too few requirements for the behavior for children. They usually feel more secure if there are certain boundaries, although they may often test those boundaries.

Every parent knows that this parenting thing is not easy. There seems to be a different challenge every day. It can be difficult knowing when to say yes and when to say no. It can be a difficult choice in different situations when a parent has to choose whether to be strict, or to be lenient. After all, parents are not perfect, and neither are children. It can be a healthy thing to admit our strengths and weaknesses, and our successes and our failures. That is true for both parents and children.

One thing that can be said about family life is that it is never dull. There is always something going on. Someone has said that if you get two people together you will have conflict. And the best definition for conflict that I know is two ideas in the same place at the same time. Conflict is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be very constructive and productive when handled wisely. It can be handled creatively in relationships where there is mutual love and support. That is what makes the difference between good relationships and poor ones- mutual love and support.

Here is a reminder to give thanks to God for families and especially for fathers. And also a reminder for fathers to do the best that they can for their children, giving them approval whenever they can. It is one of the secret ingredients of fatherhood.


I once saw a list of the top ten things that you won’t hear a father say. I trimmed the list to five things and here they are:
The Top Five Things You Won’t Hear A Father Say:
1. No really honey, you sit this one out. I really want to change that diaper.
2. Can you turn up the music? It really calms my nerves.
3. Go ahead, take my car – here’s $50 for gas.
4. As a matter of fact, let’s both go get nose rings!
5. Here, you take the remote.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Devotion

Devotion
Luke 7:36-39

When former president Ronald Regan died in June of 2004, there was a state funeral in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. There were several images that were a part of the larger experience. One was the picture of 4 former presidents and the current president standing together as the coffin was moved out of the National Cathedral. Another image was that of the rider-less horse in the funeral procession.

But the image that made the biggest impression on me was one of Nancy Regan on the day before the funeral service. As she stood by the flag-draped coffin in the Capitol Rotunda, she was brushing her hand over the flag on the coffin. At first I thought she was smoothing out the wrinkles in the flag. I remembered what someone had said about Ronald and Nancy Regan: “He worried about nothing, she worried about everything.” But then she continued to stroke the flag and was talking toward the coffin. She was talking to Ronald. I then realized that this was an act of her love and devotion for her husband. It was no secret that Ronald and Nancy Regan were close. Some people said she worshipped him.

The story in Luke 7 calls our attention to another woman and another story about devotion. While Jesus is in a house, a woman uses expensive oil as she pours the oil on his feet and with tears, wipes his feet with her hair. Her actions express her gratitude and deep devotion. She is grateful because she is a sinner. We don’t know what her history is, or what she has done, but we can assume that she needs God’s grace. She has heard about God’s forgiveness, and responds with love and devotion. Her actions say: “Thank you.”

The story reminds us that our actions are an expression of our priorities and our devotion. The use of our time, our energy, and our resources, tell us what we think is really important. We must admit, that there are some things that just have to be done, but what we do with our “free” time, or extra time can tell us about our interests and commitments. In the story in Luke 7, the woman uses her time and energy, and expensive perfume to express her devotion to Jesus. The question for us is how we will use all that we have and are. What does how we live tell us and others about our priorities and our passions?

The good news of this story is that God is gracious and loving. In our own ways, each one of us has fallen short of God’s intentions for us. God wants us to live full and overflowing lives, but we have come up short of God’s grand plan for us. Jesus spoke the words of grace to the woman. “Go in peace. Your faith has saved you.” She expressed her faith through her act of devotion. She also received the forgiveness of God and was able to make a clean start.

God has great plans for each one of us. It all begins with a gracious and loving God who calls us to do our best. And when we fall short, God offers us the gift of forgiveness, and a new chance to start again with a clean slate and aim to do our best. That’s the way it works when we have faith in a gracious and loving God who calls us to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. It is about being devoted to God, because He is devoted to us.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The God Who Acts

1 Kings 17:17-24

Many of us are interested in learning about people. We like to know what other people do, what they own and wear, where they go, and how they live. Like the ad for a tabloid used to say, ”Inquiring minds want to know.”

The story in 1 Kings 17 is about a widow, her son, and the prophet Elijah. It is an interesting story. Part of the story is found in the reading for today. The basic plot of this part of the story is that the widow’s son is ill and Elijah heals him. In the earlier part of the story, God use Elijah to provide an unending source of meal and oil for this widow and her son. Those are the two things that happen in the story, but there are several questions about this widow that are left unanswered.

We might like to know more about this woman. For example, how old was she and her son? Was she a teenager, twenty-something, or maybe thirty-something? The story says that Elijah took the son from her and took him upstairs, so the son was young enough, or at least small enough, to be held and carried by both his mother and Elijah. We don’t know how old either the mother or the son was, but chances are, they were relatively young.

Another unanswered question is why didn’t someone help this poor woman? Where was her family? Where was her deceased husband’s family? We can only speculate on an answer. Perhaps they lived too far away. Maybe they were also poor. Or, there may have been a rift in one or both families. We don’t know. We do know that they lived in a male-oriented society and women who were alone were usually on their own.

Another question is why couldn’t this woman support herself? Did she have a garden? Did she try to get a job? Was she in poor health, unskilled, or lazy? We don’t know. We do know that there was no welfare, daycare, or social security in those days. And women did not have the opportunities to work that women do today.

The bottom line is that we don’t know why this woman was in the shape she was in. But then, that is not a question that Elijah asks, or that he tries to answer. These are the facts that we do know from this story: 1) the woman and her son were in need, and 2) God, through Elijah, met the needs of both her and her son.

The first and most obvious need of this woman was that she needed food for herself and her son. “I have only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a cruse; and now I am gathering a couple of sticks, that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” These are the words of a desperate woman who has lost hope. And then Elijah makes an unusual request. He says that if she will make a cake for him, that the meal would never run out and that the oil would never be used up. The story doesn’t tell us why, but the widow responds to Elijah’s request. She makes a cake for him, and what Elijah had promised happens. The meal and the oil never run out. They always have food.

The second need of this woman is that she needs help for her son. He was so ill that he was barely breathing. We don’t know exactly what is wrong with the boy. But it appears that he became ill suddenly and that his mother seemed to think that Elijah may somehow be responsible for her son’s problem. We do know that he was ill and needed help. And the story tells us that Elijah took the boy in his arms, prayed for him, and the boy was healed.

There are two lottery stories that I heard about a few years ago at the same time I was reading this story about the widow and her son. During the same week there were two families that won state lotteries. One was in New York. A Vietnamese family had relocated to the United States and was being sponsored by a United Methodist Church. They were barely getting by when they won millions in the New York state lottery. The other family was in Roanoke County, Virginia. The family was active in the Church of God of Prophecy. Apparently the church needed a new organ, and the lady of the house bought two lottery tickets and said that if she won she would give the winnings to the church. One of her tickets was a winner, and she gave the $20,000 that she had won to the Organ Fund of the church. Sometimes the best we can say is that God works in mysterious ways. In these two lottery stories, the needs of a family and a church were met in very unusual ways.

The main message of this story of the widow and her son is that God knows what we need and is able and willing to provide exactly what we need. We are also reminded that often God uses other people, like Elijah, to help us. We are never alone, but God is always watching over us. And God may also use us, as He used Elijah, to help other people.

Sometimes we can get caught up in questions and attempts to find answers that don’t really matter. Our questions may be a way that we try to gain control of a situation. We want to be able to explain everything and, often, the more we know, the more secure we feel. But life isn’t always that way. There are many things that we will never fully know or understand, and many things that are beyond our control. The best we can do is to have faith in God, who is at work in all of the events of life, both good and bad.

In his letter to the church in Rome, the Apostle Paul writes these words, “God causes everything to work together for good for those that love God.” I have to remind myself that Paul didn’t write that everything that happens to us is good, but that God uses everything for good. We can obviously see the good that happens when Elijah visits the widow and her son. But at other times, the good is not so obvious. Again the best we can do is to have faith that God is working everything for good.