Turn Around – Walking God’s Path

“Turn Around – Walking God’s Path” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on November 7, 2021. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 38:38.

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Psalm 51

Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon

To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
    and blameless when you pass judgment.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty,
    a sinner when my mother conceived me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being;
    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me away from your presence,
    and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and sustain in me a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

15 O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;
    if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.
17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18 Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,
19 then you will delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

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We turn to 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12 for a background to our Psalm today. I’ll summarize the story.

King David – the once boy shepherd that killed the giant Goliath with a sling and a rock – was a good man. He was a man after God’s own heart. He was a good king who loved God and every day tried to model God’s love for the kingdom he ruled. But David was also human; try as he might, he wasn’t perfect.

One afternoon, David sees this woman bathing across the way, and in his lust, he inquires about this woman that he found beautiful. He is told, “That is Bathsheba, wife of Uriah.” David, trapped in his lust, sends his messengers to fetch the wife of Uriah for him and the two soon go to bed with one another.

Bathsheba then becomes pregnant.

To face these consequences, David creates a plan. As Uriah is one of his soldiers in his army, David decides to have Uriah killed in battle. He orders his men to set Uriah in the front lines of the fighting, and then have all of his men pull back from the fight, leaving Uriah exposed and alone. So that is exactly what happens… and Uriah is killed in battle.

When the news came to Bathsheba, she grieved for the death of her husband. But David still sent for her and the two were soon married.

Because of all of this, God was angry with David.

At first, David didn’t care; he didn’t get caught and that was all that mattered.

God then sends the prophet Nathan to David. And Nathan tells him this story:

“There were two men in the same city—one rich, the other poor. The rich man had huge flocks of sheep, herds of cattle. The poor man had nothing but one little female lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up with him and his children as a member of the family. The lamb was like a daughter to him.

One day a traveler dropped in on the rich man. He was too stingy to take an animal from his own herds or flocks to make a meal for his visitor, so he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared a meal to set before his guest.”

David, being the righteous king that he was, explodes in anger after hearing this. He tells Nathan that the rich man deserves to die for what he has done to the poor man! How dare the rich man have no pity and take the one, beloved lamb from the poor man!

And Nathan, a prophet of God, looks at King David and says, “You are the rich man… you are the one who murdered Uriah and took his wife to be your wife.”

David then sees his sin and confesses to Nathan and to God.

Psalm 51 is attributed to his confession as David seeks forgiveness following his sinful acts against Uriah and Bathsheba. It’s the Psalm we heard today.

We’re in this four-week series on the practice of confession. While confession is not a sacrament to us like it is in the Catholic church, it is a hallmark of reformed worship. Every week, we participate in the corporate confession of sin and the assurance of pardon, knowing that we are found both guilty and forgiven by God. Even when we say the Lord’s Prayer, we ask of God “to forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”

Last week, Stephen started our series on confession by encouraging us to look inward and see the sin in our own lives. It’s not easy, but it’s the first step to maintaining a healthy relationship with our Creator. When we see our sin, we are able to confess it. And so we do, we name the ways in which we have wandered off from God’s path and the ways in which we have missed the mark. Stephen encouraged us to ask ourselves the question, “Where am I at in my relationship with God?”

Sin are the moments in which we stray from the path God intended for us, and when we stray, we strain our relationship with God and with one another.

Which takes us to the next step. After we see that we have strayed from God’s path and after we confess that we have, we are called to repent. Repentance, or the Greek word metanoia, means to “turn around.” To repent of the things we have done wrong, we must recognize that when have strayed to the wrong path, we must turn around and find the right path; the path that God intended; the path that means we are in right relationship with God and our neighbor.

While David needed the prophet Nathan to help see his own sin, it is David who then confesses and repents for what he has done. Listen to his words to God in Psalm 51:

“Have mercy on me”

“Blot on my transgressions”

“Wash me thoroughly”

“Cleanse me from my sin”

“Against you I have sinned”

“I have done what it is evil”

“Create in me a clean heart”

“Put a new and right Spirit within me”

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain in me a willing Spirit.”

David’s confession is for his relationship with God to turn around and be put on the right path once again. It’s all individual; written in first-person. It’s not a collective “we” here. It’s David seeing, confessing, and repenting his own sin; his own individual sin.

We must do the same. See, confess, and repent our own individual sins.

While it might be easier to name the sins of others or to criticize communal sins, we know Jesus tells us that must first see the log in our own eye before pointing out the speck in another’s.

Individual confession is necessary for us to be in right relationship with God and with one another. Individual confession helps us turn around and move back to the path that God intended for us.

As I said, last week, Stephen posed for us the question: “Where am I at in my relationship with God?”

This week, I encourage each of us to ask ourselves the question: “What kind of life does God want me to live?”

If we ask this question of ourselves, it helps us frame what confession is truly about.

Confession is not about feeling bad about ourselves. Confession is not about believing that we are awful. Confession is not about believing that God could never love us again.

Because none of those are the kind of lives God wants us to live.

Instead, confession is a moment to be honest with ourselves and with God so that we can be in right relationship with God and with one another. Healthy confession moves us closer to the peace found only in right relationship with God. This is the kind of life God wants for us.

This is a journey for each of us. We will continue to stray from God’s path over and over, but the love and light that is God calls us to turn around and return to the right path.

Hear these words from Psalm 119: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

That Word became Flesh in Jesus Christ. The steadfast love of God became human so that we could see what holy love looks like. In the presence of Christ – a light so bright and a love so deep – the right path is never too far nor too dim for us to return. Being in right relationship with God is a covenant promised and always possible. Always.

What kind of life does God want you to live?

Whenever we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we hear Christ inviting us back to be in right relationship. In Baptism, we received the power of the Holy Spirit to do so, trusting in the mercy of God.

Remember this: we are saved by God’s grace; our actions or effort have no part in our salvation. The lives we are intended to live must be in response to this salvation by grace. Confession and repentance are necessary steps to living these lives. It’s in these moments in which we call upon the Holy Spirit for us to be continually transformed into new and grace-filled lives; lives that are holy and joyful; lives that are in right relationship with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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See, I Am Making All Things New - Called to Continual Transformation: We’re in this Together

“See, I Am Making All Things New - Called to Continual Transformation: We’re in this Together” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on September 13, 2020. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 37:05.

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Exodus 15:1-11, 20-21

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

    horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.

2 The Lord is my strength and my might,

    and he has become my salvation;

this is my God, and I will praise him,

    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The Lord is a warrior;

    the Lord is his name.

4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea;

    his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.

5 The floods covered them;

    they went down into the depths like a stone.

6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power—

    your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.

7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;

    you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.

8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up,

    the floods stood up in a heap;

    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,

    I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.

    I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’

10 You blew with your wind, the sea covered them;

    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?

    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,

    awesome in splendor, doing wonders?”

20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21 And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.”

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Romans 14:1-12

1 Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions. 2 Some believe in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables. 3 Those who eat must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5 Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds. 6 Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God.

7 We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,

    and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

12 So then, each of us will be accountable to God.

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Friday marked nineteen years since the lives of Americans were shaken to our core. As planes were flown into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon as well as the one that was crashed into a field, our entire country reacted as one as the single deadliest terrorist attack in human history hit our land the morning of September 11, 2001. Even today we remember the 3000 lives lost and the tens of thousands injured and the millions affected by the aftermath. Let us hold them in prayer through a moment of silence now.

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That morning, nineteen years ago, our entire country – our people – us – reacted to a tragic and traumatic attack. And most of us remember that day with every detail. Whether we were at home or school or work, we remember that moment. Whether we heard it from a friend or the tv or the radio, we remember that moment. And whether we reacted in shock, sadness, horror, disbelief, or anger; we remember that moment.

I could ask any of you and most of you would remember where you were, how you heard about the attacks, and how you reacted. This painful moment is seared into the hearts and minds of our country. Think about that for a moment. What were you doing? How did you hear about 9/11? How did you react? The memories, no matter what they look like, are valid.

But I’ll confess something. I don’t remember the morning of 9/11 besides a few foggy, fleeting images here and there. I have a theory as to why that is but I’ll explain that later.

I do remember September 12, 2001 though. That day and the days that followed, our country came together in support of one another. People grieved with one another. A sense of togetherness surged through us. People who were angry were told their anger was valid. People who were sad were told their sadness was valid. People who were afraid were told their fear was valid. For a moment, people could be who they were and react however they reacted and yet we found unity and love for one another. The thing I remember most is that following September 11 was we were told we were in this together. We were told we weren’t alone. And I think for a moment in time, we fully believed that.

A harsh, humbling reality is great tragedy and trauma bring people together. Not always at first; but somehow, in a moment to follow, people; through hope, peace, love, and understanding; share in the unity as one community where everyone and all of their baggage is welcomed.

Our Exodus passage lifts up a moment of unity for our Israelites. Today we heard this song that they sang together! First led by Moses and then by Miriam! We all know the story of the Israelites as told in the book of Exodus. They were once slaves in Egypt. Moses, after being approached by God through a burning bush, takes up the call to free God’s people from their captors. Following miracles and plagues, Pharaoh decides to let the Israelites go from their servitude. But as the Israelites are approaching the red sea following their release, Pharaoh changes his mind and sends his entire army after them. Riders and horses, chariots and warriors pursued the Israelites. And when things looked most dire for the Israelites, God parts the great red sea, and the Israelites, led by Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, cross the dry land. Pharaoh and his army also then try to cross the parted sea... but while surrounded by water, God brings the water back crashing down and the entire army is destroyed. And the moment the Israelites are safe, they burst out in a united song. Before this moment, they felt afraid and angry and sad and in shock… and as we recount the stories of the Israelites as they wander in the wilderness, we know they will feel afraid and angry and sad and in shock again… but here, in this moment, they needed to remember that they were together; that they weren’t alone; that they were one community.

As I said, tragedy can bring people together. We saw it following 9/11. We saw it in the Israelites following the great fear as they crossed the red sea.

Pastors often see it within families when a loved one is approaching death. You probably know one I’m talking about. One person is angry while another is sad; someone is nervously laughing while another can’t say a word. I’ve seen stress and grief divide families in those moments, but then, most of the time, they come back together as one family for the funeral. This has happened in my own family; I’m sure you’ve experienced this as well. Do you know what I’m talking about? Eventually people come back together.

I’ve been emphasizing this point of togetherness because, well, that’s the point of this sermon. We are called to be together, to be united together, especially following tragedy. And in this togetherness, everyone and all of their baggage is welcomed. No one is meant to be alone.

This togetherness is a beautiful and holy thing… and yet extremely difficult to accomplish. For some reason, our natural inclination is to divide ourselves, to disagree and to judge; to hold malice instead of mercy and resentment instead of forgiveness. Sure, we’re brought together following great tragedy but normally a tragedy has to happen first before that the togetherness happens, and no one prays for another tragedy so that we will be brought together, and rightfully so! So this togetherness can be difficult to accomplish.

I said earlier that I don’t remember the morning of September 11, 2001. I don’t know why; I just don’t. But I remember another tragedy from that year. Five months later, on January 18, 2002, Minot, North Dakota had a train derailment that caused ammonia gas to cover the city. I along with my family along with 40000 other residents had to emergently evacuate the city in the middle of the night. I remember that with full detail; every detail. But once again, I also remember that when it was safe to return, the community came together as one. No one was alone. We fully believed that we were in this together. Everyone and all of their baggage, including their baggage that happened because of this traumatic accident, was welcomed.

And Minot recently just made the news again. Last week Minot, for the very first time, flew a rainbow flag in support of the LGBTQ+ community from city hall underneath the American flag and the North Dakotan flag. However, the rainbow flag was mistakenly larger than the other two flags and that caused some problems. The rainbow flag, because it was out of code, was immediately taken down… but it was the fact that the rainbow flag was even displayed that opened a can of worms.

At a city council meeting following this, residents of Minot were allowed to voice their concerns for the size of the flag, but apparently no one in fact cared about the size. They cared about the flag. For over an hour, the city council and those tuning into the livestream listened to “concerned” residents because Minot’s rainbow flag meant soon that God’s wrath would come, that a person’s genitalia were being improperly glorified, that pedophilia would soon be legal, that the gay agenda was being forced on them, that this means we should also allow confederate flags and swastikas; that the rainbow flag harmed them; just to name a few examples.

But following that, I’ve seen my straight and cisgender friends and family who are residents of Minot speak in support of the LGBTQ+ community because that tragedy brought them together. They made sure members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community were not alone; that they too were in this together. And that the baggage of being publicly hated on for an hour during a government meeting was valid and they were still welcome in a safe, supportive community.

But the question is: why must a tragedy be the thing the calls us together in the name of something good? And the rest of the time we would rather be divided. Like why not live everyday like September 12^th or every day as united survivors or every day as a welcoming community. 

Roman Christians, like us, divided their community through arguments, judgements, and quarrels. They failed at the very thing they were called to be, which was a community. It was easier and more natural for all of them to bring each other down than to lift one another up. They judged one another; they ranked one another. They put each other on a pedestal of who was the better Christian, and those who were not “the most faithful” were shamed and brought even lower. It was the idea that someone’s faith could be made stronger if someone’s else faith was made weaker.

And as I said, the Roman Christians are just like us… or we’re just like them. We live in a “me first” society. For some reason, our human nature tells us to talk about own rights than our responsibilities to our neighbors. And not only that, even as Christians, we sometimes naturally believe and act that our neighbor’s responsibility should be in care for us so that we can exercise our rights. But that is not the identity of a community in Christ.

Last week we talked about everything we do should be done in the love for our neighbor. And if we do that and do it well, then we find our identity as a community. When we think of our neighbor, we open our community wider. When we welcome our neighbor, our community become bigger. And when our neighbor finds a place within our community, it more closely represents the body of Christ and the kingdom of God here on earth.

Now specifically, Paul addresses those who are strong in their faith to welcome those who are “weaker.” And it’s not to fix “the weaker” or change them or strengthen them, but rather, it’s to fix and change and strengthen the community that those who were “weaker” were not originally a part of. Because community of Christ is not one of certainty and exclusivity but rather one of diversity and inclusivity and a community that welcomes the “weaker” moves in that direction.

But I want to be clear on something as we talk about communities of diversity and inclusivity. While the love of God for God’s people has no limits, communities who lift up holy togetherness do have limits.

We can disagree within holy, inclusive, diverse communities. For example, some of us might disagree if we should be worshiping together in-person or online… and that’s okay because we’re all still worshipping our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.

But if the disagreement is over our neighbor’s well-being, or rather, oppresses and compromises our neighbor’s well-being; then the Lord will graciously erect a limit to our own selfishness. For example, if a community hates a person or persons outside of their community, such as hating people of color or the LGBTQ+ community, God will bring a new community of togetherness that affirms these oppressed, beloved children. And this new community inclusive, diverse community will be the community with the identity of Christ.

In those moments, when new communities are raised and others are transformed, we turn to the Holy Spirit for guidance. The Spirit will be the light that shows the path to follow God’s desire for the good of others. After all, as God’s children and by God’s amazing grace, not only do we belong to God but also to one another. This is the heart of community; belonging to one another.

I’d like to think that over this summer, for many different reasons including some tragedy, our community has been transformed. And we’ll continue to be transformed. Are we more inclusive and diverse than we have been? Have we put our neighbor’s well-being before our own? And by our neighbor, I mean the people outside our community that we would love to welcome in to strengthen our own community? I’d like to think so!

But also, let’s not always have tragedy be the thing that brings us together and transform us into a stronger, more united community. Let’s lift this up at all times! We’re in this together. No one is alone. We are a community. We are meant to be together.

This message of togetherness is for us. Because we have all strengths and we all have weaknesses. And we remember that our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, lived, died, and rose again for each of us. That right there is our call to be a community. So let’s be together; let’s do this together. Let’s open our doors, arms open wide to togetherness, community, the body of Christ, and the kingdom of God here on earth for all.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirt; One God; Mother of us all. Amen.

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See, I Am Making All Things New - Called to Continual Transformation: Love Is the Fulfillment of the Love

“See, I Am Making All Things New - Called to Continual Transformation: Love Is the Fulfillment of the Love” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on September 6, 2020. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 33:48.

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Romans 13:8-14

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12 the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13 let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

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I had this unusual habit with my assignments and homework while in seminary. It actually started back when I was in high school, but it really developed while I was receiving my Master’s degree. If I had a big project due, you know; one of those projects that would take weeks and days and hours to do; I would spend my weeks and days casually approaching the assignment, nonchalantly brainstorming ideas and collecting research; I was cool and I was calm and life was easy and everything was just so laissez faire. … and then I would wait until the absolute final minute to actually finish the project. And when I say the absolute final minute to do an assignment, I meant the very last minute. Let’s say a paper was due at Monday at 9:00 AM; then I would set my morning alarm at 4:00 AM or 3:00 AM or even 2:00 AM depending on how long I thought my paper would take me to write, and there, for hours, I would let my fingers rapidly type the finished project as my brain would do its best to expediently put together all my thoughts and research that I had so coolly collected before days and weeks before.

And although the thought of doing work like that might freak some of you out (trust me, it also freaked me out at times); although the thought of doing work that like might freak us out, I will admit that it worked for me. It was the pressure of a looming deadline that brought out some of my best work. It was do or die; get the assignment finished or don’t. The pressure forced an urgency and a devotion that committed me to do work both efficiently and effectively. And somehow, maybe by the grace of God, it worked.

At this point, all of us are familiar with deadlines and pressures. And not just the small ones we experience here and there like finishing a project for school or work or getting the house cleaned before guests come over.

Y’all remember March 1^st? Our country went into a state of emergency, following states of emergency across the world. We had to reset ourselves like this. *Snap* Overnight. The way we did nearly everything was different. Schools and places of employment closed. And then students, workers, leaders, and administrators had to figure out how to do all of this in a completely new way. By the grace of God, some were able to do this quickly, saying let’s figure this out as we go. And running necessary errands added several more important steps to get them done, and somehow all of us got a little better with technology. One of my grandmas even got a smart phone for the first time during this time!

This urgent deadline hit some of us again with completely new pressures as children, youth, and adults returned to school this fall in a way that’s never been done before. And somehow; maybe by the grace of God and the hard work of many, many people; we’re making it work… or at least we’re all figuring it out together.

So we all have experiences now with urgent, important, and looming deadlines. Let me ask you to consider one more deadline.

Let’s say the return of Christ will 100%, for sure happen on October 6, 2020. One month from today. And I feel like I’m being pretty generous in the scenario here. I’m giving us all a month. But if you really want to feel the pressures; imagine Christ is coming two weeks from now. Or really, what if Christ comes tomorrow?

If we were to imagine our Lord and Savior  – the one that we claim to follow – coming to us in the very near future, would any of us feel the urgency to rearrange our priorities? Would we look at things any differently? Would we treat the people we encounter any differently?

So let’s keep imagining this. Christ is coming soon and the end of the world with it; what are you going to do? Quit your job? Hug your loved ones close? Travel the world?

Would we have more patience with teachers, administrators, store clerks, and other essential workers? Would we forget about the virus and just live our lives? What would we do when we see the person experiencing homelessness knowing the Jesus is right around the corner? And honestly, would we continue to say something like "well he shouldn’t have committed a crime" as another black man is shot and killed?

Christ is coming in a month; two weeks, a day – are we really going to continue to live our lives the way that we always have?

Okay, so I get it. This scenario is pretty difficult to imagine. We don’t know when Christ will return. None of us do… it could be a month from now or a day from now or generations from now.

Now Paul noticed the lack of knowledge of Christ’s return contributed to a spiritual indifference among the followers of Christ; especially in the church of Rome. The passage that we heard today is Paul trying to bring some ethical spiritual urgency back into the lives of the early Christians. And if we’re going to be completely honest with one another as we’re doing to do lately, speaking the truth in love, I bet Paul or some other apostle or messenger of the Lord would be trying to do the same for us; to bring some ethical spiritual urgency back into our lives.

Think about it: if Jesus returned in one month, what would be the role of the Church in these remaining days? What would be the role of First Presbyterian Church of Allentown and all of us?

If we found out today that Jesus was returning in the very near future, I’d like to think we’d change our ways like this. *Snaps*

We’ve had days and weeks and years and decades and generations to be cool, calm, and collected; coming to church for the feel good message of “Jesus loves me”.

But what about the other? The person that hasn’t heard or more realistically, hasn’t felt that message. In the looming deadline, with a sense of urgency and pressure, would we do everything we possibly can to make sure “the other” hears and feel the same message that we always have? 

A friend and mentor of mine, The Rev. Dr. Nina Peck Reeder – hopefully you’ve all met here once or twice she’s preached for us at the beginning of summer and back in January when I was installed as one of your pastors – Nina rightfully said on a recent Facebook post that Scripture could be quoted to justify a lot of terrible things: things just as slavery, war, capital punishment, the subjugation of minorities, the silencing of women, the denial of rights to the LGBTQ community, the absolute reign of the government – just to name a few. Oh… Nina is right!

Because honestly… scripture has been used to justify all of those terrible things for generations.. because all of those things have been a part of the church’s history; our history…

And when any of those things were questioned about whether these things that were once justified might actually be terrible, there was always a pushback. “But this is what scripture says!” – “But this isn’t what God wants!” – “But the church shouldn’t talk politics!” – “But I would rather hear the same feel good message that I have always heard; that Jesus loves me!”

Here’s the good news! Jesus does, in fact, love you. And me. And the other. There’s the feel good message of today.

Here’s the message we need to wrestle with: The church has a responsibility to be “political.”

Because everything that was mentioned above – you know, like slavery and the silencing of women – was one time and maybe still is considered political. And it was the responsibility of the church to talk about it then and it is the responsibility of the church to talk about it now. Because it’s more than just political; it’s the gospel.

But once again, the good news: this could be and should be done in love, especially in the love for the other. Now that’s really the gospel.

When reinstating this sense of spiritual urgency to the church of Rome, Paul restates what Jesus said is the second greatest commandment which sums up all the other commandments: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And good thing Jesus makes it pretty easy for us that when we do the second greatest commandment of “Loving our neighbor as ourselves,” we also do the greatest commandment of “Loving God with all of ourselves.”

But let’s be clear on what it means to love our neighbor.

This means we love the person who isn’t us; we love the person who is different than us. To love our neighbor means to love the strangers we will encounter and the ones we never will. To love our neighbor means to love the person we don’t understand and to love the person we don’t always like. To love our neighbor means to love the person we don’t agree with; to love our neighbor means to love the person who doesn’t think or feel or look like us. To love our neighbor means to love our enemy. And to love our neighbor doesn’t mean it’s just in the words we say, but it’s also in the actions we take. To love in both word and deed.

As a predominantly white church, it is our responsibility to love our neighbor of color.

As a predominantly straight and cisgender church, it is our responsibility to love our LGBTQ neighbor.

As a church that has a long history of having a majority of male pastors, especially only male head of staffs; well, it’s about time we have some female leadership up in here and we better love on her too!

Politics influence the shape of society and how people like us, and especially those different than us, are treated. It is our responsibility to fulfill the law of the Lord in all things; and thanks be to God, that love is the fulfillment of that law. That’s the Gospel!

Christ might not be coming tomorrow or next month, but can we still act with the urgency and pressure that this is our responsibility to love our neighbor right here and right now. And yeah, there are some political things that we need to get done, right here and right now. After all, Paul reminds us as readers of Romans 13, Christ’s return is nearer now than when we first believed; that it’s nearer now than it was yesterday. By the grace of God, let’s get to loving. By the grace of God, let’s get to fulfilling the law. By the grace of God, let’s get to work. Amen? Amen.

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Attribution: Indiana, Robert, 1928-. Love (four ways), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55272 [retrieved November 1, 2021]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/unlistedsightings/2383631294/.

 

See, I Am Making All Things New - Called to Continual Transformation: This Can Be Better

“See, I Am Making All Things New - Called to Continual Transformation: This Can Be Better” was preached at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown, PA on August 2, 2020. You can hear/watch this sermon here, starting at 31:55.

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Haggai 1:1-8, 1:15b-2:9, 2:20-23

1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house. 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: 4 Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and you that earn wages earn wages to put them into a bag with holes.

7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider how you have fared. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored, says the Lord.

15 In the second year of King Darius, 1 in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying: 2 Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, and say, 3 Who is left among you that saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not in your sight as nothing? 4 Yet now take courage, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts, 5 according to the promise that I made you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit abides among you; do not fear. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. 9 The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.

20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall fall, every one by the sword of a comrade. 23 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.

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As some of you may know, before starting my call here at First Presbyterian Church of Allentown as the Pastor for Youth and Faith Formation, I served a church called Sunnyside Presbyterian Church as one of their Associate Pastors. Sunnyside is located in South Bend, Indiana.

Now the South Bend area has a population of about 200,000, including the neighboring towns of Granger and Mishawaka. And in that area, while I lived in South Bend, there were five Presbyterian Church (USA) churches. Five churches in our denomination. There is Sunnyside, where I served, which has about 600 members. There is First Presbyterian of South Bend, which once upon a time had 1500 members like us and now has about 300. There is First Presbyterian of Mishawaka; they have had a consistent membership of about 100. There is Westminster Presbyterian, on the north side of town, that five years ago had 150 members and now has about 50 members. And there is…. There was Memorial Presbyterian Church that when I started at Sunnyside had about 20 members and when I left Sunnyside, Memorial closed their doors for good. Memorial Presbyterian Church of South Bend, Indiana closed their church. After 115 years of ministry, they were no more.

For a church to close in the PC(USA), it doesn’t just happen over night. Even this requires the work of the Presbytery and a committee. And this committee meets for months. Can you imagine that? To serve on a committee knowing the heartbreaking goal is to do all that is necessary to close the church. A place and a body in which weddings and funerals were held; a place of history of Sunday school and choir, a place where people grew up, and a place where families and friends were formed, a place where people gathered to worship their Creator.

I didn’t know much about Memorial Presbyterian when they were open as a church except I would have to drive by their building as I would go to-and-from one of my friend’s houses.

On the day Memorial Presbyterian closed for good, they changed the sign on their front lawn one last time. As I was driving to my friend’s house that evening, I read the sign and the words made me cry. Actually shed tears. And to be honest, when I was writing this sermon and thinking of this memory, I cried again.

When Memorial Presbyterian closed their church, they changed their sign to these words.

“God has big plans for this church.”

That was their parting message.

“God has big plans for this church.”

I think I get so emotional when I think about this message from a church that I knew nothing about because I love the church – I love God’s church – and I bet you love God’s church too… and all of us hear that God’s church is dying. But this message – “God has big plans for this church” – from a church that just closed its door is full of sadness… and its full of hope.

You know, the people of Israel also at one point closed their church.

The book of Haggai is the second shortest book in the Old Testament. It’s two chapters long. In our readings from today, you heard three of our youth read the opening passage to the book, a middle passage of the book, and the closing passage of the book. Basically, you heard the entire book of Haggai. And there’s one message that Haggai the prophet preaches to the people: “Rebuild the temple!”

See, at this point in Israel's history, the people and its cities had been taken captive by Babylon. Jerusalem was plundered and burned. The Temple, that was built under Solomon’s rule, was destroyed as well. Eventually in history, Babylon fell to king Cyrus of Persia....and after some 70 years in captivity the people were set free and allowed to return home. God then charged Cyrus to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

But! Though God had made it clear that the Temple was to be rebuilt and even though God had set things in order for this task to be completed... the people had other plans. Instead of working on the Temple, the people went about their daily lives and sought to fulfill their wants and desires. King Cyrus nor the people ever rebuilds the temple during his reign. And this is where Haggai comes in.

There’s a new king – King Darius – and he appoints Zerubbabel as the governor of Judah and Joshua as a high priest. Haggai goes to Zerubbabel and Joshua with a message on his tongue from God: “Rebuild the temple!”

Now like many prophets of old and even prophetic words today, people at first opposed the prophet’s message. They opposed Haggai’s message. They didn’t want to do it. They were so caught up in themselves and what they thought was best for them that they didn’t think of each other, their community, or their God. The question was, “Why build God’s home when we can build our own homes..?”

And so they put it off; they put off God’s command. They actually respond by saying “Now it not the time to rebuild the temple!” even though God has been saying for decades “Build the temple now.”

So to get their attention, God calls for a drought over the land, ruins their crops, and destroys their houses. God tears the people away on what they were focusing on so they could focus on what God intended them to focus on. And yes, it probably brought them some pain and discomfort, and I’m sure the people were really angry. But in their grumblings, they finally did what God called them do to. To rebuild the temple as a home to God and a place for a community to gather in love, grace, and worship. God had big plans for that temple, for that church that was once completely destroyed.

But here’s the catch. As the people begin their work on rebuilding the temple, God promises to them that this temple will be better than the former temple. And although these people are a new generation and never witnessed the old temple and couldn’t compare the two temples, historians could. And when comparing the two temples, their size and their craftsmanship, historians say the second temple was nowhere near the former glory of the first temple… so how was it better?

It wasn’t in the building.. it was in the people. It was in the message. It was in the newness. It was in the transformation.  The people had returned to their Lord.

And so God blessed them. And the people entered into a time of prosperity; in crops and in wealth; they grew. And Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, was also blessed. He was chosen… and from him and his offspring, generations later, comes Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.

I think about us and our church.. and our world. I know addressing a global pandemic and taking a stand on racism and the loss of a head pastor has caused a great shift for us. I know we’re in some pain and discomfort… and I know some of us are angry. I know this. We know this. And however you are feeling is valid.

But remember this: what did God through Haggai say to God’s people when they were angry after their lives experienced a great shift? When their own homes were destroyed? God said listen to me, do what I say, and it will be better for all of you.

Now more than do we need to let go of our individual ambitions and listen to God. God is calling us to rebuild too. Ministry will not be the same as it was before COVID; it won’t be the same now that we’ve finally taken a necessary stand on racism, and it won’t be the same once we have an interim pastor. And that’s okay. It’s actually a good thing! Listen to God’s promise! It will be better… even if it looks completely different.

And yes, there will be pain and there will be discomfort and there will be anger. But let’s use it for good. And let’s remember that even in our pain and anger; God is still with us.

Don’t give up on us; don’t give up on this church; don’t give up on God. You, my friend, are a member of this community. And you, yes you, are needed here.

This church can be better… if we put the work in. And I know this congregation; we will put in the work. Our church will be better.

The building where Memorial Presbyterian called home is now home to a church called Redemption City Church. And while that’s great, I don’t think that’s what they meant when they put those words up on the day they closed. Rather, it was a message of hope for all who drive by, knowing that the Church cannot die and that a community full of history, legacy, and love will live on.

God has big plans for our church. Thanks be to God for that. Amen.

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A general view of Memorial Presbyterian Church

during the second to last service on Sunday, June 16, 2019.