As I saw that today is the 18th Sunday after Pentecost, it made made me think back to my childhood. Many of you know that I'm one of 5 kids. There were a few times, especially on long car trips, that we would be less than well-behaved and Dad would call us down. Trouble was...in his frustration he'd almost always get the troublemaker's name wrong, and then wrong again... Karen, Den...Gord...whatever your name is! Stop doing that!! I think at times he would have liked the solution that George Foreman came up with – just name them all George! His five sons are all named George and he has a daughter named Georgetta.
The
Christian calendar is winding toward Advent, which will be the
shortest Advent season possible since Christmas falls on Sunday this
year. That is an interesting time in the Christian
calendar...it seems for a while that every week has a different and
exciting title – the Fourth Sunday in Advent, Christmas,
Epiphany... But since Pentecost, it kind of seems like the people
giving Sundays names were just phoning it in by now. “Dude, we're
already up to the 17th Sunday After Pentecost. You
seriously are suggesting we just call this one #18?” But upon
closer examination, I find the logic in the pattern of the
lectionary. Advent is our new year and we spend time in preparation
for the miracle of Christ's birth. We celebrate and learn of
different aspects of his time on Earth. And then Lent prepares us for
the sacrifice. We ponder and come to an appreciation of the magnitude
of the cross. Then Easter! Oh, how we love Easter! It is what sets
Christianity apart – the fact that we serve a Risen Savior. And the
Christian calendar continues on toward the Ascension. When Jesus
departs from us in body but promises something more to come. And on
Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit is realized. And you couldn't
ask for a bigger party. This is the beginning of the movement. The
beginning of the church. And then the sending forth. And now we are
18 weeks into the season that follows Pentecost. I like to think of
this as the “get to work” phase. The purpose of this season
is to live out our ministries as disciples of Jesus in Christ’s
name, the Spirit’s power, and with the accountability and support
of the church.
This
is where the rubber starts to hit the road. And in the scripture
readings that the lectionary suggests during this season...there are
some hard-hitting truths. We, as the body of Christ, get told that we
have to put family, friends and self second place to Jesus. THAT was
a message I was called to deliver as a lay speaker two weeks ago.
Walk into a church as a guest and tell them that if they do not “hate
father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and
even life itself, [they] cannot be [Christ's] disciple.” Thank you
Luke 14.
We
get told that heaven rejoices when one lost sheep is found or one
coin out of ten is found...that when the brother that foolishly
squandered his inheritance drags his sorry self home Dad is going to
throw him a party. What about us other good kids? What about the 99
sheep that stayed where they were supposed to be? Thank you Luke 15.
The
work phase is challenging. We'd much rather be back in the joy of
Christmas or even the self-reflection of Lent. This following Christ
stuff is challenging. Even today's passage from Luke that was the
basis for Belva's lesson for the kids isn't a softball. We get called
out on a core ethic – honesty. And it gets pointed out that
dishonesty is a slippery slope that we ALL slide down as humans.
Untrustworthy with the small things makes us untrustworthy in all
things.
Hey,
Jesus...back off. You're getting awfully close to meddling. You're
making me uncomfortable. I don't want to look at all my actions so
closely. I'm only human, what do you expect from me? Aha! We're going
to circle back around to answer this in few minutes.
Troubles.
We gots 'em. It seems as though the world is headed to Hades in the
proverbial handbasket faster than a speeding bullet. Turn on the news
and you hear nothing but troubles – natural disasters like flooding
and hurricanes; war and political unrest; poverty and the
consequences of poverty like addiction and desperation; leaders too
busy attacking each other to be bothered with seeking solutions.
Trouble all around. And people overwhelmed with a feeling that it is
all too much to overcome. Then helplessness...and we, as humans,
wonder if we can make any difference at all in this broken world. We
could easily relate to Jeremiah's crying out that Mike read earlier –
a few verses from that reading as paraphrased in Eugene Peterson's
The Message: “I drown in grief. I’m heartsick. Oh, listen!
Please listen! It’s the cry of my dear people reverberating through
the country. Is God no longer in Zion? Has the King gone away? The
crops are in, summer is over, but for us nothing’s changed. We’re
still waiting to be rescued. Are there no healing ointments in
Gilead? Isn’t there a doctor in the house? why can’t something be
done to heal and save my dear, dear people?”
Oh
yes, we've got troubles. Perhaps some of you already have a song
running through your heads...we've got trouble, right here in River
City...Trouble with a capital “T” and that rhymes with “P”
and that stands for pool!
Well...maybe
not...the song You Got Trouble is part of the 1957 Tony award
winning musical The Music Man. Slick con man “professor” Harold
Hill has come to the Iowa town of River City and he is there to sell
the townfolk musical instruments and band uniforms. Then he'll skip
town before they realize he has no musical talent! But in order to
get them to believe that they NEED instruments and uniforms, he's got
to get them to believe that they need a boy's band. So he decides to
tell them that their town is in huge trouble. They are on the sliding
board to degeneration because the local billiard hall has added a
pool table! Gasp! In reality the pool table is no more a threat to
the peace and goodness of this town than the billiard tables that
have graced that establishment for years. But Harold Hill is shrewd
and knows how to play his audience. He gathers quite a crowd as he
sings his warnings to a growing crowd:
Friend,
either you're closing your eyes
To
a situation you do not wish to acknowledge
Or
you are not aware of the caliber of disaster indicated
By
the presence of a pool table in your community . Well, ya got
trouble, my friend, right here, I say, trouble right here in River
City.
As
the crowd is sucked into his message...the tales of potential woe
grow...
Mothers
of River City!
Heed
the warning before it's too late!
Watch
for the tell-tale sign of corruption!
The
moment your son leaves the house,
Does
he rebuckle his knickerbockers below the knee?
Is
there a nicotine stain on his index finger?
A
dime novel hidden in the corn crib?
Is
he starting to memorize jokes from Capt.
Billy's
Whiz Bang?
Are
certain words creeping into his conversation?
Words
like 'swell?"
And
'so's your old man?"
Well,
if so my friends,
Ya
got trouble,
Right
here in River city!
With
a capital "T"
And
that rhymes with "P"
And
that stands for Pool.
Suddenly
the mothers are all looking at their sons with suspicion and
distrust. They have just been enlightened to the truth – their fine
young men are all degenerates and gamblers and worse! How in the
world will we be saved?
Is
there no balm in Gilead?
But
there is a solution. And it isn't Professor Harold Hill. The solution
is in us. We only have to look back to the list of woes from earlier.
Natural disasters? Horrific events. Devastation and despair. But then
the dawn after the night – we see people and organizations mobilize
immediately to provide assistance. Not just food, water and
shelter...but comfort, support and hope. Wars and political unrest?
Opportunities for coming together, for rebuilding and seeking common
ground for peace. It's slow work. Sometimes it seems impossible...but
I remember when the Berlin Wall came down, I remember when peace in
Northern Ireland seemed utterly impossible. And 18 years have passed
since the Good Friday agreement. Peace is possible. Lasting peace is
even possible...we must not lose hope.
We
must actually BE hope. What are we called to do? Are we like the
people of River City hearing the negative message from Harold Hill
and figuring it's all hopeless? Are we going to put our faith in
false prophets who tell us they've got the solution and we should
just let them figure it out for us? We were not called to be a
quivering mass of worriers! We are the church! We are a mobilized
army! We are empowered by a Risen Savior! Why are we sitting here
shaking our heads and mourning the loss of goodness in the world?
Hey! Jeremiah! It's great that you care so much about the pain of the
people. Verse 1 of Chapter 9 says, “I wish my head were a well
of water, and my eyes fountains of tears. So I could weep day and
night for casualties among my dear, dear people.” Well, that's
real nice...but enough with tears and sadness. It's time for action!
When
Paul wrote to Timothy, he was communicating to one of his key
staffers. The book of Acts is full of references to Paul being with
Timothy and sending Timothy and waiting for Timothy to return to him
with his input. He sends Timothy to Corinth, to the church at Rome,
to Thessalonica. Timothy is referenced as being with Paul in other
Epistles. So when we read Paul's letters to him, we know that he is
giving instruction and advice to a key part of the early church. They
are both peers in faith – but also have the relationship of mentor
to student and leader to worker.
Timothy
the evangelist has been sent by Paul to the church at Ephesus. This
is some time after Paul himself converted Timothy – and he is like
a trusted son. Paul sent him to reside at Ephesus, to perfect the
good work that Paul started there. The church planter handing off the
watering to his son in the faith. But that assignment doesn't come
without support. The first chapter of 1 Timothy lays out the reason
that Ephesus needs him, because frankly...Timothy wanted to stay with
Paul. Paul has urged (but not ordered) him to go because there's
troubles. Troubles in Ephesus City.
There
are attempts by outside forces to corrupt Christianity. There is the
issue of Jews bringing Judaism traditions into the new church – but
on the other side of the aisle Gentiles are bringing elements of
paganism! Ministers are bringing their own stuff into the doctrine
that they are preaching...no longer the pure truth of Jesus... People
using the law to divide. Forgetting that Jesus came for all – Jew
and Gentile, Slave and Free, Rich and Poor, Red and Yellow Black and
White...Things must have been a real mess for Paul to send his right
hand man.
Paul
makes sure that his letter reminds Timothy that he knows that he,
Paul, isn't perfect. He reminds him that he was saved by the grace of
Jesus Christ and invites us all to remember the same. And he wants
Timothy to observe what is going on and if he needs to enter into
spiritual warfare – to know that it is good warfare against sin and
Satan. He tells him that we must hold faith and good conscience. He
points out that there will be challenges, oppositions and
discouragements. He warns about particular blasphemers. But it is in
the beginning of the second chapter that he is given an instruction
that seems like a no-brainer to us today – and yet, it is the area
I struggle with the most. Prayer.
If
there is a balm in Gilead, the access point is clearly about prayer.
Connecting to God and seeking his wisdom. But there is an underlying
warning that is easy to miss. Who do we pray for?
The
passage from 1 Timothy 2 is a charge to pray. Notice that Paul
doesn't send some sort of prescribed prayer – and contrary to the
rumors I heard as a teenager, the bishop and district superintendent
don't send the sermons that preachers deliver each week either! His
instructions are: “The first thing I want you to do is pray.
Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially
for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly
about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is
the way our Savior God wants us to live.”
I
like the way The Message puts that. Pray every way you know how, for
everyone you know. Bishop Cho, who officially handed over the role of
leadership yesterday to Bishop Sharma Lewis, focused his entire time
as bishop on encouraging the church in the area of prayer. He wanted
us to be in prayer. Intentional prayer. I heard him speak several
times, including here at Centenary a couple years ago. His passion
for prayer was incredible. He believes it is key – not only for
personal growth and guidance. The thing I gleaned from him was that
prayer could be a transforming force outside of self-transformation.
During one of his talks he suggested that we think of a person that
we encounter that we know needs healing. Whether it be physical or
emotional or financial or in the way that person interacts with us or
others. Some healing of some need. And then he challenged that it be
a person outside of my “comfort zone.” Not a family member that I
already love, not a co-worker I already care about...but a person I
encounter regularly.
So
I settled on a person that I didn't have a very good relationship
with – not exactly an enemy...just someone I didn't have much
desire to spend time with. And I felt charged to pray for them
intentionally every day. Not just for God to swoop in and FIX them. I
needed to thank God for that person being in my life, pray for
healing for wounds that I knew about, pray for those wounds that I
didn't know about or understand, and then to hand over the situation
to God. And each day was a little different. Sometimes it was all I
could do to come up with a positive thing to thank God for about
them. There were days when I felt empathy and days when I felt like I
was drawing from an empty well where compassion was concerned.
Prayer
transformed the relationship. Through intentional prayer I found
myself examining judgments that I had made about the other person's
intents and actions. I humbled myself to recognize that they came
from a wholly different set of circumstances and life experiences. I
came to accept our differences and even embraced the possibility that
sometimes their way of accomplishing a task wasn't stupid or
inefficient...it was just different.
I'd
love to say that the end result was this person recognizing the
changed relationship, asking me why and me being able to say that
prayer and faith and good Methodist upbringing were the cause. Then I
could invite them to church and we'd have a new giving unit and the
problems would all be solved! But instead, it's just a seed that was
sowed. And I have to trust in the slow work of God.
Now
we come back to that question from before – when I was pointing out
that we are in the work phase. That we're being reminded of what we
need to do, what we need to let go of, who we are supposed to love.
The job at hand and the job description that seems so limiting that
we are tempted to say, “Jesus...back off. You're getting awfully
close to meddling. You're making me uncomfortable. I don't want to
look at all my actions so closely. I'm only human, what do you expect
from me?”
He
wants us to do our best! He wants our first fruits! He wants us to be
in harmony. He wants us to love each other. He knows us inside and
out – he KNOWS we are going to falter. He knows we are going to
fall short and that we will do things that we are going to regret!
And just like Paul, I can tell you that I am the chief sinner of all!
I don't stand up here to tell you how to be from a place of
completeness. Only a week ago I burned with road rage and made a
rather rude gesture to a fellow motorist while part of a funeral
procession! Who does that?
Humans.
And then we, like David in the Psalm cry out - God, take my side!
Once, in a tight place, you gave me room; Now I’m in trouble again:
grace me! hear me! And then I bow in humility, accept my failures
and work to be better. With God's help. Because without God, I am
nothing.
Yes,
we've got Troubles. It starts with T which rhymes with P and that
stands for Prayer. There is a balm in Gilead – and we are
part of the solution. With God's help we can bring hope and
transformation to a hurting world. Intentionally turn toward God,
pray for everyone – especially the leaders in our world. We are
warriors! We serve a Risen Savior. No need to meekly accept the idea
that the world is too far gone...the church does make a difference.
WE can change the world. One prayer, one small kindness, one hug, one
smile, a cool drink of water, a sandwich for a hungry person, one
glimmer of hope at a time. Show the world that we don't just GO to
church, that we ARE the church and are following God's orders – to
love God and love who God loves. No chance of failure if we stick
with God.
Amen.
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