Poured Out

Scripture Lessons: Acts 7: 54-58 and 2nd Timothy 4: 6-18 Sermon Title: Poured Out Preached on October 27, 2019 As you may have read on your bulletin cover or noticed based on who wrote our first two hymns, today is Reformation Sunday. This is an annual event when we are invited to remember that moment in 1517 when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to a church door in Whittenburg, Germany. These 95 Thesis were his 95 complaints or issues with the Roman Catholic Church. He judged many priests in the hierarchy, all the way up to the Pope in Rome to be to be self-serving, manipulative, and corrupt. He believed that a tradition of buying indulgences, or tickets into heaven (while maybe good for the Annual Stewardship Campaign) made a mockery of the Gospel. And he was tiered of worship services that used too much Latin rather than the language that people actually spoke and could understand. Of course, the choir sang that beautiful anthem in Latin today, which was incredible! But can you imagine if everything we did in here was in Latin? The result of Martin Luther nailing such complaints on a piece of paper to a church door, was no small thing. It resulted in the formation of the Lutheran and Presbyterian Churches, then the Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, and all the other protestants and nondenominationals. It inspired new forms of worship, widespread democracy, the first Bibles written in languages that most people actually spoke, and nearly cost Martin Luther his life as he was persecuted for heresy. Because Martin Luther changed the course of his life, stepping out in faith in an act of protest and defiance, risking his reputation and veering from the course he thought his life would take, the whole world changed and is still changing. The author Eric Metaxas recently wrote a biography of Martin Luther, titled, “The Man who rediscovered God and changed the world,” which begins with this introduction: In 1934, an African American pastor from Georgia made the trip of a lifetime, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, through the gates of Gibraltar, and across the Mediterranean Sea to the Holy Land. After this pilgrimage, he traveled to Berlin, attending an international conference of Baptist pastors. While in Germany, this man became so impressed with what he learned about the reformer Martin Luther that he decided to do something dramatic. He offered the ultimate tribute to the man’s memory by changing his own name… not long after the boy’s father changed his own name, he decided to change his [young] son’s name too, and Michael King Jr. became known to the world as Martin Luther King Jr. Reformation Sunday is today. As we remember what is called the Great Reformation, know that what we celebrate is not just an important event in the past, for just this word, “reformation,” inspires us to remember today the reality that change must happen, and sometimes change can even be good. That our lives and our society must be reformed, and also always reforming. That’s an important message, because oftentimes we want everything to go according to plan. We get an idea in our head, that life will move steadily from one milestone to the next, and that if we stay the course we’ll be rewarded. That’s not always true, so today let us remember that faithfulness is well exhibited the disruptions. Not in Pharisees who upheld time tested traditions with reverence and discipline, but in Christ who toppled the tables set in the Temple. Not in the Priests who recited their Latin Masses to the people though they didn’t understand, but in Martin Luther who returned the Gospel to the hands of the people. Not in those protestors and police officers who fought to maintain segregation, but in Luther’s namesake, Martin Luther King Jr., who preached and preached until segregation ended. These are examples to be remembered as all of us step into the future, that we be, not confined to routine but led by the Spirit. From the New Testament book, 2nd Timothy, we find encouragement to do just that in the example of the Apostle Paul. We’ve read in our Second Scripture Lesson a letter to a young man from a more experienced one who knows a thing or two about changing course. As Paul, the author, nears the end of his life on earth he writes: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. These claims he makes about his life are the same claims we all want to make. We all want to run our race well, but at some point, it feels good to stop running or at least, it becomes a little less exiting to take the next step. I remember being a teenager and every next step was so exciting. It seemed like everyone wanted to know: “Do you have your learner’s permit?” “Where are you going to college?” “How is your resume looking?” Ours is a society that asks about these things, excited about the beginning phases of life. Unfortunately, then we often get fearful about what comes after that. Just consider, when’s the last time you heard someone ask an older person with that same level of excitement: “Are you looking forward to giving up your driver’s license?” “Have you decided on a retirement home?” “Have you worked on your will?” While it is commonplace to be excited about steps towards adulthood, in this letter Paul shines a light on the truth, that with faith we might also be joyful in taking steps beyond it: As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day. Sometimes we read these words at the funeral, when it’s too late for the departed to reap the full benefit of Paul’s example. He shows us by his example, that we can’t just be thinking about change in the first half of our lives. With faith, Paul shows us that we can look forward to every step. His example shows that reformation and change is a continual process, that does not come to full fruition until we breathe our last and receive the crown. So, while it’s so good to consider how we’ll fill our days up, how can we also pour ourselves out? What will we do once we’ve filled up our lives with events, choices, careers, relationships, and furniture? Some downsize and try to give their stuff to their children. Problem is, their kids don’t want it. Recognizing that, my grandmother threatened my mother once: “Cathy, when I die, don’t you dare have a yard sale. Don’t you dare bring my stuff out of the house and into the front yard for strangers to pick over. If you do, I’ll haunt you for the rest of your life!” Isn’t a terrifying thing to imagine your life spread out on a front lawn for strangers to pick through. Still, that’s what happens sometimes. We welcome change and newness for several years, but then the expectation becomes that we settle in. Stay the same. Maintain life as it is, but that is not faith, for God is always leading us beyond where we are to where we might be should we be brave enough to keep running the race. Many do, others just put everything off until it’s too late. That’s a sad way to go. Old and bitter in an empty house full of regrets. I know people like that. Paul’s not immune to bitterness either. The strangest details are left for us in the section that an editor of your Bible may have titled, “Personal Instructions.” In verses 9-18, the Apostle Paul says a lot. At the end of his life he lists his grievances: Demas deserted me. Crescens and Titus are gone too. I hope Alexander the Coppersmith gets what’s coming to him. Only Luke is with me, but Paul doesn’t have anything good to say about him. Mark might be useful, so Paul asks Timothy to bring him when he comes to visit, as well as the cloak that he left with Carpus at Troas. This detail about the cloak reminded me of the first time Paul is mentioned in Scripture. He was called Saul then, and he was different. In our First Scripture Lesson from the book of Acts, we read of one of the lowest points in this account of the history of the Early Church. A Disciple named Stephen was stoned. He was the first martyr, and when they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While tragic, there’s something wonderful about remembering this memory when considering the end of Paul’s life. There’s something wonderful here, in this simple reminder. That in light of all his glory we might also look back and see Paul the Apostle when he was young and stupid. When we’re tempted to venerate him, we can see again that even the Apostle Paul, who has more churches named for him than even Martin Luther, was once an accomplice in something horrible. That even he had to be changed by Christ and then, had to keep on changing. Life is this great process of reformation, and the best stories we can hear are of those who are still growing up, still making mistakes and learning from them. For don’t you remember what it was like in 5th Grade when it seemed like no one would ever forget that you got caught picking your nose in Ms. Cook’s Class? (I’m not speaking from personal experience or anything.) Regardless of your phase of life, can’t you see that it’s only just the beginning. We must keep growing and changing until we have poured out what we’ve filled our lives with and breathe our last to receive the crown. That’s what Paul was able to tell Timothy. That’s what Paul is telling us. Keep the faith, through every phase of life. Don’t stop changing or growing, for every step in life requires that we walk alongside the Lord who leads us through life and beyond it. Yesterday our own Larissa Dukes quoted a passage read in some Jewish circles in a time of morning: When I die give what’s left of me away. Love doesn’t die, people do. So, when all that’s left of me is love, Give me away. That’s how Paul did. I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come, he said. And while surely, he was afraid, having following Christ all his days, he’s ready to follow him down the path just a little bit further. Are you?

Do Not Wander Away to Myths

Scripture Lessons: Jeremiah 31: 27-37 and 2 Timothy 3: 14 – 4: 5 Sermon Title: Do Not Wander Away to Myths Preached on 10/20/19 Always, but especially today, we give thanks to God for Scripture. Scripture holds a central place in our Presbyterian tradition. Many Presbyterian churches are designed like ours, with the pulpit in the center. That illustrates, not that the preacher is of central importance, but that the Word of God is. That’s why I stand here, front and center. It’s not so that everyone can see or hear me, but so that you and I know the place that God’s Word must have in our lives. It must be the focal point and the foundation, bringing light to shadow and clarity to all our confusion. To stand in this pulpit or to touch that old pulpit Bible that I’ve just read from is really something wonderful, then. It reminds me that for generations and generations, the words of Scripture have been cherished and passed down, translated and debated. When I touched the worn pages of that newly restored Bible that rested in the pulpit of our Sanctuary so that generations of believers would hear the Word of God, it’s as though I’m touching something sacred. In that old pulpit Bible, a symbol of our faith has been preserved, so I’m exceedingly grateful to the family who supported the effort to have it restored and the History Committee who sent it off, as well as the woman who knit together again it’s binding by hand. However, it’s not enough for us as Christians to preserve the book. It’s not enough to put it under a glass case where it will be kept safe, well maintained for future generations to admire. All of that is wonderful of course, but Scripture is not meant for a museum. Under a glass case or up on a bookcase is not where we are commanded to keep the Word of God, for as we read from the Old Testament book of Jeremiah in the King James Version: I will put my law in their inward parts And write it in their hearts; Have you ever thought about what that means? A wonderful author named Richard Rohr retells a story about Joan of Arc. After defending her home country of France from English domination, she had to stand trial for defying her culture’s harsh standards of gender. Representatives of the Church tried her for heresy, for in addition to her unladylike behavior of commanding an army, she said that it was God himself who called her to do it. That didn’t sit well with the Religious Authorities of the time. The Gospel rarely does, and so they couldn’t believe that God would ever command a young woman to do anything besides cook or sew. “What makes you that it was God speaking to you?” they asked. “I heard Him speak in my mind and felt Him lead me in my heart,” she said. Giving little credence to her emotions or the voices inside her head, they accused her of falling victim to the power of her own imagination. Yet, Joan of Arc brilliantly responded, “How else would God speak to me?” Maybe you’ve had that same feeling of being led by an inner voice, a sense that the divine was leading you somewhere. Only how do you determine which voice is God’s and which isn’t? That’s why Scripture must reside in our hearts. That’s why His Commandments must fill our inward parts. All the time we are asked to make choices. All the time decisions must be made, and some trust the feeling in their gut, others the little voice inside their head; still others rely on numbers, metrics, data, but why not use the account of the Great Heroes of our faith, why not listen again to the old stories of God at work in the world to gain an understanding of how God is still at work in our lives today. 2nd Timothy warns us against turning away from the truth and wandering away to myths. We can only begin to grasp what is truth and what is myth by knowing the words of Scripture so well that we know the sound of God’s voice and the quality of His character. Otherwise, we’re set at sea like a ship without a rudder or an anchor, victims to the whims of the most constant and manipulative advertisements the world has ever seen. Has it happened to you yet, that you ordered something online, and magically, you find yourself presented with similar products? I recently ordered some fancy, $8.00 shoelaces. Yes, I know that you can buy two pairs of shoelaces at Walmart for $2.00, but they don’t make those in colors that will match all my outfits. I ordered two pairs of these shoelaces from a website called whiskers.com. Ever since then I’ve seen their advertisements everywhere. They’re on my phone and on my computer. It’s like someone’s been watching me and knows what I’ll be tempted to buy. That’s because someone is. Of course, the news is even worse. We know now that once you read an article on-line, you’ll be presented with other articles that you might like. This is convenient and good so long as you’re happy and settled with the world view that you currently have and don’t want to be disturbed with a different opinion. Constantly today the salesmen of products and propaganda are knocking down our door, infiltrating our life, trying to tell us what to buy and even how to think. Considering the aggressive cacophony of myths in our daily lives, how can we know who to listen to? How can we decide whose advice to take? Which version of the truth is really the truth? Sorting through the confusion is easy when we remember the words of Scripture: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. We have to know the Word, you see. Consider our Call to Worship that was from the Psalms, that God’s law makes us wiser than our enemies, or again, Jeremiah, where the Lord looks forward to the day when: I will put my law in their inward parts And write it in their hearts; To have Scripture in our hearts is crucial, because all around us are myths. All around us and even in our own heads are voices that will lead us towards death and destruction. An author once wrote that “We accept the love we think we deserve.” He’s right. And we also listen to the voices we think have it right, we take the advice of those who speak with confidence, even though they often speak without wisdom. Therefore, we must be careful, because myths can ring true, even when they are empty. There may be a voice that you hear, like that of Orson Welles: We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we’re not alone. Illusion? That’s a myth. Let me tell you why. I was standing in line at the Starbucks at the hospital last week with our Music Director, Dr. Jeffrey Meeks. A Journey song came on: He’s tearin’ you apart Every, every day And Jeffrey started singing Cause he’s lovin; touchin’ another. And when it got to the next part, all the na, na, nu, na, na’s, another guy right behind us jumps right in and starts singing with him. He was with his teenage daughter, and while they were crooning in harmony, she and I had the same embarrassed looks on our faces. Regardless, remember these strangers in line singing together and know that while it’s easy to go into the hospital and to think that no one cares that you’re there, you’re not alone. Don’t believe that you are for a second. Hear the Word of the Lord: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. Do you know those words? Are they written on your heart? You’ll be scattered by the wind if they’re not. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. Don’t you know it’s already happening? So many mistake the words inside their head that tear them apart, for the Word of the Lord. So many mistake the bullies in the hall or on the internet for sound doctrine. So many listen to what people say and think that they must speak for God but listen to what God has to say: You are mine, my beloved, and with you I am well pleased. Too often we imagine Scripture as full of the harsh words that tell us what not to do. We assume that within those pages we will hear that we’re all wrong or undeserving. If that’s what you think, then take it down from the shelf to read it, that you might come to know the God who called a woman named Joan to lean an army and was incarnate in a man named Jesus, who gave His life out of love for you. If we don’t know, with some certainty, that we have God’s approval, then we will spend our entire lives trying to earn the world’s, which we will never get. Do not wander away to myths. Do not believe what they say. Instead, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, that “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Amen.

A Love that Never Ceases

Scripture Lessons: Lamentations 1: 1-12 and 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 Sermon Title: A Love that Never Ceases Preached on October 6, 2019 Last week I was glad to attend a meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals. I say I was glad to attend. That was how I felt when I first arrived and not how I felt when I left. You may have read in the paper about a new MUST homeless shelter. In the past, single men were face of homelessness. Today, most of those being turned away from the existing MUST shelter when it hits capacity are single mothers with children. The new shelter is designed to meet their needs. It will have more rooms where mothers and their children can stay together, but before MUST can break ground, first they must gain approval for their new building, hence the request to the Board of Zoning Appeals. This meeting with them was public. Many people showed up, MUST supporters, including former Governor Roy Barnes, as well as residents who live in the area around the current shelter who oppose its construction. These residents were there to voice their opposition to the new shelter, for they fear that should the Board of Zoning Appeals grant MUST’s request, the problems they encounter already with homeless men and women camping out in the woods near their houses will only grow worse by attracting more homeless people. To persuade the Board, each side gave impassioned speeches. All those speeches took a long time, because this board grants a full 20 minutes to each side. That’s a long time to listen, I realized, and made a mental note to keep my sermons shorter. Then the Board took a vote. They sided with the residents. Then I left disappointed, but not entirely because my side lost. The residents made fine points. What disappointed me is that their points were made based on the assumption that even a new shelter will not make our community’s problem with homelessness any better. That’s a demoralizing thought. That’s a sad state of affairs. Thinking that way will make you nearly as depressed as reading our First Scripture Lesson will. That passage from Lamentations is a very sad one, but I didn’t ask Joe Brice to read it to make you sad. I asked him to read it because feeling demoralized is nothing new. Throughout history, some have been brought low by circumstance. What’s inspiring is to remember the faith of those who persevered. This past week in Columbia, TN, a man died who I knew well. He was a member of the church I served there. He was a World War II veteran who, following a mission attempting to destroy Japanese submarines, once spent a long night floating in the Atlantic Ocean when the landing gear of his airplane failed to come down. That happened when he was 19 years old. Do you know what I was doing when I was 19 years old? Some of you do, and so you know it wasn’t that. Considering his strength, it occurs to me how progress has afforded each successive generation just a little bit more safety, maybe a lot more luxury, which is nice, but it’s also dangerous. That’s because as less and less is required of us in this modern era, we may also fall into the illusion that less and less is possible. In our Second Scripture Lesson from the book of 2nd Timothy, Paul the Apostle calls young Timothy, to remember the faith “that lived first in [his] grandmother Lois and [his] mother Eunice and now, [he] is sure, lives” on in him. Calling young Timothy to look back this way was surely inspiring, for there’s a tremendous stock of resilience that awaits us in our history. Paul calls Timothy to remember the faith of his grandmother and mother. That’s helpful, because if we remember what they made it through, what they endured, what they accomplished, surely, we’ll find strength enough in ourselves to continue the race that they started. That’s why Paul writes to Timothy: “their faith, I am sure, live in you. For this reason, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you.” When Timothy hit a hard time, he needed that reminder. We all do. We all need to remember the resilient heroes of the past to gain the strength we need for today. Certainly, that’s true for me. My least favorite chore is making our girls their school lunches. Sara never asks me to help her with it, because I hate making their lunches so much. I especially deplore the most tedious step in the school lunch making process: finding the lids to the Tupperware that their lunches must be packaged in. I ask you: “What could be worse than making our children lunches?” Thinking back on the lives of my fore parents I’ll tell you: looking in the cupboard and finding it bare. Just two generations ago was the Great Depression, and among us still are those who survived it. Consider them, and don’t tell me we can’t make it through whatever challenges we face today. There is strength enough within us to make it through anything, even to endure the toxic political climate we find ourselves in. Some people will tell you that the partisan divide is worse than it’s ever been. That’s just not true. Look back just 150 years ago when the South declared war on the North. How’s that for a partisan divide? All we have today are some arguing grown-ups, and if you don’t like any of them, then do something about it. At least, take the time to vote. Not everyone does that even. Why? Because the evil one has convinced some of us that they may as well stay at home. That hope is lost. That we’re weak. That nothing can ever change but remember your grandmothers for a minute and rekindle the gift of God that is within you. Do you know what I wish would have happened at the Board of Zoning Appeals last week? I wish someone had said, “If we all work together, there won’t be homeless people in anyone’s’ back yard,” for based on Scripture and the strength of generations, I know we can put all of this city’s men and women and children under a roof, if we’d just try. In the midst of hardship and trial, we must remember that our God’s love is a love that never ceases. He is with us at in our darkest hour, and like the sun, he rises up each morning to lead us to a brighter day. Halleluiah. Amen.