02-24-2008 The Great Samaritan Revival

John 4

Imagine, if you will, your worst neighbor.

• I’m talking about the guy who let’s his dog out the front door so that your yard gets messed up.

• When he goes to work, which is seldom, he backs his truck into your mailbox.

• I’m talking about the guy who the cops come after on Saturday night because he’s beating his wife--well, not his wife, but his current girlfriend.”

• I’m talking about the guy who never gets invited to the neighborhood association meetings, because the meetings are about him--about the contents of his front year, which include (in part) a 1979 Chevrolet on blocks, two washing machines in varying states of disrepair, a wheelbarrow with one broken handle, and a dog of indeterminate breeding chained to the door handle of the 1979 Chevy--are you getting a picture here?

But to top it off, the guy’s a Michigan fan. A Wolverine, for God’s sake!

OK. Imagine, further, that this guy comes tearing down the street one day in his maize-and-blue, smoke-belching, no-bumper pickup truck with the Wolverine paint-job on the cab, leaning on the horn. This brings everyone out of their homes to confront this guy, because this is the last straw.

You and your neighbors surround this guy and begin to close in on him when he holds up his hands and shouts, “wait!”

The mob stops moving. He catches his breath and starts again.

“There’s a woman down at Wal-Mart you’ve got to come and see…”

Laughter spreads through the crowd, and a voice from the back calls out, “It’s always a woman with you.”

He holds his hands over his heart, “No, this is different. She told me everything I’ve ever done.”

The voice from the back again said, “Everyone in Richland County know what you’ve done.”

More laughter.

But, then you notice that tears are streaming down his face. And something happens. To the whole crowd. And each of you and all of you turn and get your cars and follow this ne’er-do-well to the store to meet this woman who knew everything he ever did.

Far-fetched? More like impossible. But, we’re beginning to expect impossible things happening in the Gospel of John. This scene is precisely what is described in the Gospel of John--actually only two verses of the long reading for today.

But, that’s the most interesting part of this lesson--the interaction of the woman we’ve come to know simply as the woman at the well and her neighbors.

Never mind that she is a Samaritan. The Samaritans were half-breeds (they’d intermarried with the Babylonians, and they refused to come and worship in Jerusalem. They had their own temple at Gerazim--except Gerazim didn’t exist anymore. A Judean priest had destroyed the temple and the city a century and a half before this. That went a long way to foster good relationships between the Jews and the Samaritans.

The woman was correct in pointing out that Jews and Samaritans mix about like oil and water. More like gasoline and fire. When we call the character in Luke’s parable, “The Good Samaritan,” we can’t fathom what that kind of thinking was like for Jews in Jesus’ time.

George Coats, who taught Hebrew Scriptures for a long time at Lexington Seminary, used to say that you couldn’t pronounce the Hebrew or Aramaic words for “Samaritans,” without forming your lips into a sneer.

Never mind that Jesus was talking to a (sneer) Samaritan.

Never mind that Jesus was talking to a woman. A woman in the middle Eastern world, still doesn’t talk to a strange man without a family member present. It just isn’t done. And the attitude of men towards women was, well, shall we say unenlightened.

Women spent a good portion of their lives in an unclean state (actually men did, too, but women got all the stigma). They weren’t considered reliable as witnesses in court. They couldn’t own property. From a man’s point of view, you could talk with a woman, but, why bother?

Never mind that Jesus was talking to a woman who was rejected by her own community. Some commentaries refer to her a “tramp,” because she’s had more husbands that Elizabeth Taylor (well, actually three fewer, but you know I’m not good with math.) Tramp is such a vulgar term, when trollop is so much more sophisticated.

Five husbands, and now, she’s shacked up. Maybe at some point you just don’t bother with the paperwork.

Feminist interpreters say that it is wrong to call this person a tramp or a trollop, because it might have been that she was married to five brothers who were following the levirate law designed to perpetuate the name of a dead husband.

Now, I’m very much open to feminist interpretations of the bible, but only when they’re right. And here, they’re not. Because this woman is rejected by her own. All the other women of the village go down to the well in the early morning, where they can talk and fellowship together. If this woman were welcome to join her neighbors down at the well in the cool of the morning, she would not be there all alone at the hottest point of the day to collect her water. The time of the day and that she is alone speaks volumes.

So, why is this important, never minding that she is a Samaritan, a woman, and a woman who is rejected by her own?

What we have here the longest discourse in all of the New Testament that Jesus has with any one, never mind a misfit Samaritan woman. And it is the first revelation of Jesus that he is the Messiah to anyone. This is an important biblical moment.

That being said, that’s not what interests me most about this chapter. What interests me most is the reaction of the townspeople to her when she comes and invites them to come and see this prophet who just might be the Messiah.

This is the kind of person you would reject out of hand. Come and see? Leave me alone. I have no use for you.

But what about her had changed since the morning? How is it that the sun can rise on a village that barely acknowledges one of its citizens (OK women weren’t real citizens, but even the women rejected her), and by the time the sun sets, this woman has started a massive revival--an event unparalleled in all the Gospels?

It wasn’t what she said. She doesn’t even say what she talked about with Jesus. There’s no theological thesis or even a good joke.

They are changed because she is changed, She walked out to that well as an outcast. She encountered an enemy, but her enemy received her and accepted her just as she was. With Jesus, she gained a sense of belonging so profound, so obvious, and unmistakable, that it bubbles up in her life like a well that needs no bucket.

The outcast who went out to the well at high noon has returned as one who belongs. And the boldness with which she invites them to come and see tells them that she now belongs not only to the one she has encountered at the well--but to them also. They can do nothing other than accompany their sister back to meet Jesus.

When they reach him, these Samaritans offer hospitality to a bunch of Jews and their teacher, whom they now claim to be the Savior of the world. Jesus stays in this village--with Samaritans--for two whole days. That’s longer than he stayed anywhere else other than Jerusalem or his home in Galilee.

This, church, is a world gone mad. Women leading revivals. Jews and Samaritans staying and eating together. Acting like they belong together.

Not long ago, I saw David Letterman interview Dennis Hopper, in which he was talking about his marriage--his fifth. Dave asked about how he got along with his in-laws, given that they were fairly straight-laced and Mr., Hopper, well, has led a very interesting life.

Dave interrupted him and asked, “Do you fit in?”

Hopper answered, “they’ve accepted me.”

Dave came back with, “But, that’s very different from fitting in.”

Hopper nodded and said, “yes it is.”

The audience howled. But it occurred to me in that moment, that in Jesus Christ, we don’t merely accept each other. Samaritans and Jews don’t just accept each other, they fit in. They belong. Jesus Christ drives us to a world in which women and men don’t merely accept each other, but they fit in. They belong. Jesus Christ pushes us to a state of being where gays and straights don’t just accept each other, but they fit in together. Blacks and whites. Americans and Iraqis. And dare I say it: Buckeyes and Wolverines?

John Humbert, our General Minister and President in the 80s and 90s, and a Buckeye, wrote that the number one ill in our society is alienation. The sense that we are not connected to each other. That we don’t belong.

You want to see alienation, picture that lone Samaritan woman on her way to the well, all alone.

That’s what ails our world, church. People are hurting to know that they belong to God and to us.

You know what? We need a revival in Mansfield. Not the kind where you pitch a tent or fill a stadium up with people and then tell them how bad they are. No, we need a revival like the Great Samarian Revival of long ago, where our experience of Christ is so conspicuous and so contagious that those around us cannot help but take notice.

We aren’t just accepted, we fit in. We belong. And that, my sisters and brothers, is good news, good news, indeed for us, and good news for the world. Amen.

First Christian Sermons by Chris Whitehead February 24, 2008

2-10-2008 Wilderness: The Reality Show

“Wilderness: The Reality Show”

February 13, 2005 First Sunday in Lent

Gospel Lesson Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was famished.

The tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."

But he answered, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."

Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.'"

Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

Some years back, the geniuses that run the television networks stumbled upon a grand scheme. They would produce shows without writers and without famous people who demanded a lot of compensation. They would place ordinary people in extraordinary situations and put on them on camera. And they called it--Reality Television.

And the shows were diverse. On the one hand, there’s the human nails-on-chalkboard experience known as American Idol. Good Lord! Don’t some of these people have friends who will tell them that going on national television and singing is not a good idea? Reality? Real friends don’t let friends do that!

And there was my favorite. Joe Millionaire. I call it my favorite because it is the only one I’ve ever seen. You see, I have enough reality in my life, so I need to watch fiction. But, several years ago, I visited my brother and his family, and they were transfixed by the idea of an ordinary guy pretending to be a millionaire surrounded by all these anorexic women in a French villa with a butler, a chef, and an unlimited wine cellar. Some reality.

And the king of the reality series is Survivor, wherein the players are divided into teams on a deserted island, and then they cheat and claw each other until the teams are gone, and the last cheater standing is the winner. The Survivor.

And there was the short lived Temptation Island. In this one, couples were encouraged to cheat on each other with someone from another couple. And they were put in situations which made their fidelity destined to fail.

One of the more popular shows now is the Biggest Loser, where contestants compete by losing weight. Unfortunately, the producers tempt them along the way with all kinds of goodies.

You want to see Survivors, look at the Week of Compassion slides that we showed you. Go on WOC’s website and see real survivors--people whose homes have been destroyed by hurricanes, tsunami, floods, fires, wars. Some lose everything, but with your monetary help, they keep going. They rebuild. They pick up the remaining pieces, and mourn the things that the no longer have. Their lives are not a game. They are the real Survivors.

And we have the real temptation reality show--Jesus in the desert.

Jesus goes into the desert and does something we might find strange. He gets stronger by fasting and praying for forty days. Stronger, mind you. If I don’t get lunch in another forty minutes, I’m gonna’ have a blood sugar crisis, and I’ll give in to whatever you want. You won’t even have to consider it temptation. It’ll just be instant submission.

But Jesus goes into the wilderness and focuses his mind, his heart, and his will to what is right and good, and to what kind of savior he is and will become.

The Gospel accounts can be described as history, theologically interpreted. In other words, something happened here, but what we get is not unbiased reporting (if there is such a thing--and I don’t accept that there is). What we get is the event as it relates to the ongoing revelation of God in the world.

Take the Gospel of Mark. It is universally accepted that Mark was the first of the Gospels to appear some 30-40 years after the death of Jesus. It is the shortest and sparest of all the accounts of Jesus life.

The Temptation narrative, which we read today, consists of one sentence in Mark: “He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.”

That’s it. No Devil. No stones to turn into bread. No temple from which to jump. No mountain. Just there, tempted, angels.

Even the early Gospel writers understood that that would make terrible reality TV, because good reality TV needs conflict, and so the next versions of the story--Matthew and Luke--added a little. Not so much so to make the story interesting, but to help us understand who Jesus and why this story is important.

Matthew and Luke bring the conflict to the front and depict the direct confrontation between Jesus and Satan. Satan tempts Jesus to use his power to do three things: turn stones into bread, jump off the temple, and bow down to worship Satan.

There’s a number of ways you can look at this, but what makes the most sense to me, is that Matthew, particularly wants to present Jesus to the world as the Messiah. The trick is, Kenneth E. Bailey writes, he’s not going to be the Messiah of popular legend.

One of the affirmations of the Messiah in the thought of Israel was that he would bring an economic uplift to the people. Empires exist for the benefit of the conquerors, and Rome’s empire was no exception. In an imperial world, food and money flows from the conquered place back to the center--Rome. The people of Israel had been growing food for the Empire and paying taxes to the Empire. They expected that the Messiah would bring them economic good fortune.

Turning stones into loaves of bread was more than just a trick to feed himself, who’d been fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. Using his power to turn stones into bread would have an immediate economic impact on his people--and would signal to them that a new age has come--the Messianic Age. If the Messiah brought them economic prosperity, they would follow him in a heartbeat. Like our former President said, “it’s the economy, stupid!”

The scene turns from the wilderness to Jerusalem. To the top of the temple. If the new Messiah were to bring economic prosperity, he would also bring miraculous powers. In ancient Judaism, the high priests were expected to examine any claim to messiahship and delegations were indeed sent to Jesus for this purpose. If he would act out some public, undeniable miracle in the temple area — perhaps he could throw himself down from the tower at the corner of the temple complex — then the high priest would at once proclaim him the true Messiah. Such an action would shut all mouths and open all doors across the nation. This would establish his identity and authority by performing miracles. It is not by accident that he was asked repeatedly to show a sign. The use of miraculous power would be a divine identity badge by which he could be unmistakably recognized.

And then, the scene shifts to a mountain so big that it isn’t identified. Because it doesn’t exist. A mountain that overlooks all the kingdoms of the earth. And on this mountain, the Devil offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. What he was really offering was, Rome. If Jesus would only seize all the political power in the world, Israel would immediately be elevated to a preeminent position in the New World Order. The Romans would be driven out, and the line of David would be instantly restored to its glorious throne.

If Jesus accepts the above popular view of the Messiah, and proceeds to carry out its agenda, the nation would be at his feet. Indeed, if he could achieve economic growth, grab sensation headlines in the local press, and expand the power and influence of the nation and the world, in a democracy he would easily win a nomination and get elected!

If we are to believe that Jesus was truly human, then these temptations would have to really, well, temp him. Relevance, Popularity, and Power are not trivial things. And if Jesus were to say yes to any of those temptations, he’d be an instant hit. His ratings would double Survivor’s. But, in these moments, we find out that Jesus is not the kind of Savior to take short cuts. Instead of winning the people in three temptations, he will spend the next three years winning their hearts. In fact, he is now in the third millennium of winning their hearts and minds, and has called us to join in that task.

I’ve sometimes heard this passage preached that since Jesus could resist temptation, you can, too.

I’m sorry, but I am only human, whereas Jesus was human and divine at once. The truth of my reality show is that relevance, popularity, and power--in one form of or another--will tempt me all along my journey with Jesus. And the difference between me and Jesus, is that I will undoubtedly fail--at least at some point.

The good news is that though I may fail, the one who walks with me, picks me up, brushes me off, and forgives me, won’t. Jesus has never failed me yet. And that is Good News, indeed. Amen.

_{First Christian Church Sermons by Chris Whitehead, Mansfield, Ohio}

_{February 10, 2008}

02-03-2008 Three

Micah 6:1-8 :: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

1The LORD said to the people:

Come and present your case to the hills and mountains.
2Israel, I am bringing charges against you--I call upon the mountains and the earth's firm foundation to be my witnesses.
3My people, have I wronged you in any way at all? Please tell me.
4I rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to be your leaders.
5Don't forget the evil plans of King Balak of Moab or what Balaam son of Beor said to him. Remember how I, the LORD, saved you many times on your way from Acacia to Gilgal."
6What offering should I bring when I bow down to worship the LORD God Most High? Should I try to please God by sacrificing calves a year old?
7Will thousands of sheep or rivers of olive oil make God satisfied with me? Should I sacrifice to the LORD my first-born child as payment for my terrible sins?
8The LORD God has told us what is right and expected of us: "See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and walk humbly with your God."

Did'ya ever notice how things in the Bible seem to come in threes?

• Jonah was said to be in the fish's belly for three days.

• Jesus predicted Peter would deny him three times.

• Later Jesus would test Peter three times by asking him, "do you love me?"

• Jesus was in the grave for three days (at least as we calculate it).

• Peter has a dream in Acts 9 in which he comes to learn that no food--and more to the point no people are unclean to God. In order for him to get the message, he has the dream three times.

• Paul said of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that they were all temporary, except for three lasting gifts--faith, hope, and love.

• And we think of God as being in God in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; or Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer.

And this is just a partial list. We'd be here all day if we explored the world of threes in the bible, and the Super Bowl pre-game show starts at...three!
This Sermon is on the third day of February. Sometimes, sermons come in threes. Long ago, I sat in a homiletics class and the professor asked, "how many points should a sermon have?"
A voice in the back of the room called out, "Oughta' have at least one."
There's an old joke that a sermon is three points and a poem. That's not true so much anymore. No one is really preaching the classic 3-point sermon these days. Oh, you might hear some sermons that contain three different ideas, but the true-to-form 3-point sermon is the same point in three dimensions: What the text says, what it means to me and what do I do about it--the same idea addressed to the mind, the heart, and the will.
But today's text is a poem with three ideas--all pointing to the same greater idea--what does it mean to be in relationship with God?
Micah was a prophet working in the nation of Israel about 8 centuries before the time of Jesus. The people of Israel were divided along ideological and political and economic lines--not unlike the world in which we live.
Micah is deeply concerned about the divide of rich and poor. The book of Micah tells us that he was from the village of Morosheth, a tiny, impoverished spot far off the well-traveled roads. And Micah is greatly concerned with the problems of the poor and the rural folk--especially when they've been taken advantage of by the city-slickers from Jerusalem. Elsewhere in the book, Micah bristles at the way that his neighbors are cheated by the big city folks--who have two different sets of weights for their scales when they buy produce from the farmers. One set for the city folks, and one set for the hicks from Morosheth. That way, all the transactions are in the advantage of the city folks, and the poor, rural people go home cheated.
And the city folk would go to the temple and make their offerings, and assume that everything they did was OK--as long as they made the right sacrifices and went to temple on the right schedule. You get the picture? The nation had so compartmentalized their religion that if they went to temple on Saturday, then it was as if God didn't exist from Monday through Friday. Jesus had a word for that kind of religionists--hypocrites.
And in the midst of this hypocrisy Micah comes preaching the word of God. It reminds me of a bumper sticker that has been around for while which reads, slide "Jesus is coming, and is He _ _ _ _ _ _ ! That's nothing new. Micah was saying that 29 centuries ago. According to Micah, God is --hacked off! slide off
There were 613 commandments in the law of Moses--and some thought that if they kept the right commandments, they could still be in God's favor, even though they were cheating their neighbors. To this, Micah says, no!
Micah says that God does not worship--at least not the kind where you go the worship and still act like it didn't mean a thing.
This passage is a 3 way conversation with God, the nation, and Micah.
After voices great displeasure with the people, the people ask about what is proper worship:
What offering should I bring when I bow down to worship the LORD God Most High?
Should I try to please God by sacrificing calves a year old?

Will thousands of sheep or rivers of olive oil make God satisfied with me?

Should I sacrifice to the LORD my first-born child as payment for my terrible sins?

The silence that follows each of these questions is an overwhelming NO!

Well, what is it then that God wants?

God has told you, says Micah, and what God expects is only this:

slide We are to Do Justice, Love Tenderly, and Walk Humbly with God.

Say that with me: Do Justice, Love Tenderly, and Walk Humbly With your God. slide off

But, what does it mean? What does it mean to do justice, or to act justly as some translations put it, to see that justice is done, as the Contemporary English Version put it today? Too often, we think of justice as criminal justice--the determination of innocence and guilt. slide

But the biblical sense of justice is related to the way in which the benefits as well as the penalties of society are distributed. Biblical justice--God's justice--is concerned with far more than punishment. It assumes a covenant relationship with God, and that doing justice or living justly is living the way God calls us to live.

Our system too easily aligns justice with retribution, but it is far more aligned with Grace in God's view. Justice is not getting what we deserve, but getting what God has in store for us. To deal justly with others, then, is to deal with them as God would deal with us. Remember the parable of the servant who wanted his own debts forgiven, but refused to forgive the debt owed to him? When we pray that prayer every Sunday--twice--we are placing ourselves in the midst of God's justice!

Justice is also concerned with the well being of the whole community. Justice doesn't limit itself to a certain sphere, but demands that all are included. The scale in Lady Justice's hand relates to that, that in order for there to be justice, there must be equality. There is a great concern in the scriptures--old and new--of caring for the widows and orphans. Not because it's the nice thing to do, but because it's the just thing to do. Because no one can be left out of the prosperity of the community. And because we are intimately connected to each other.

There's a great rhythm & blues song from the 1960s--written by a Jewish team of songwriters, interestingly enough--which captures the whole idea of biblical justice. The title is "None of Us Are Free." The refrain echoes it,

None of us are free,

None of us are free,

If one of us is in chains,

none of us are free.

We do justice when we give to Week of Compassion. We do justice when we work for Habitat or volunteer at the food pantry. We do justice when we support the rights of working people. We do justice when we serve breakfast on Saturday mornings. We do justice when we volunteer in schools. Why? Because we're working to see that everybody has a chance. Justice is not something we wish or hope for. Justice demands action. See that justice is done. Do justice. slide off

What does it mean to love tenderly, or let mercy be first? The word which is translated mercy is the Hebrew word chesed. It cannot be easily translated by one English word. Steadfast love is another way it is translated. Another Jewish commentary I found translates it as love beyond the boundaries. Jesus echoed that when he said that we are to love our enemies. Anybody can love those who love them back. But loving mercy, chesed, goes beyond the boundaries.

Coupled with justice, loving kindness, mercy, chesed, says it is not enough to elevate the plight of others; not enough to feed a hungry person; we are called to love them. To love them as we are loved by God. To be in relationship with God is to be in relationship with the whole world.

Which brings us to the third of three things for today. Relationship with God.

I couldn't help but think of two people as I thought about walking humbly with God--and those two people are Cesar Millan and Mother Theresa.

slide Please don't think I'm dyslexic. This is not about walking humbly with your dog. But, it is about relationship. Kate and I are devotees of Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer. Cesar says--and Cesar is the authority in our house--that dogs come into relationship with their pack leader through walking together. Moving forward. And the pack leader is always leading the way with the pack at the leader's side. The pack goes where the leader goes, to do what the leader is doing. And Cesar maintains that the intimate bond--the bond based on love, trust, and respect, that connects dogs and their humans--comes through walking--moving forward together. slide off

This is a wonderful metaphor for walking humbly with our God. To follow God where God leads, and engage in what God is doing. But to do that, we must be in tune with what God is up to in the world. That's where Mother Theresa comes in. slide

It has recently come to light through some of her diaries and letters that Mother Theresa had what some call "dark nights of the soul"--moments when you don't know if God is walking with you or not. Not knowing sometimes if there is a God. Not knowing with certainty where God is leading or what God is up to.

Some of our Catholic brothers and sisters thought that that should scuttle the effort to declare her a saint (a status she already has in my book, even though I didn't always agree with her). But thankfully, many other Christians of all stripes have gratefully acknowledged that this only makes her more sainted. That she could experience moments of doubt and always come back to God's side--walking with great humility. It helps me to see her humanity and her willingness to admit that she didn't have all the answers, which is a problem I have with some of my brothers and sisters in the wider church who think they do. She was willing to let her doubts bring her to even greater faith through prayer.

A reporter once asked her, "When you pray, what do you say to God?"
Mother Theresa: "Nothing. I just listen."
Reporter: "And what does God say to you?"
Mother Theresa: "Nothing. He just listens, too. And if you don't understand that, I can't explain it to you." slide off

Walking humbly with our God involves prayer, worship, study, giving, and listening. Listening--and sometimes coming away with more questions than answers. Moving forward together and forming a bond based on love, respect, and trust. It is this third point--walking humbly with God--that really is the first. Without it, we cannot do justice and we cannot love mercifully. Walking humbly with God is the cornerstone--the linchpin--of all that we are and do as Christians.

When Dick Hamm was elected as our General Minister and President 15 years ago, he put before the whole church the marks of the faithful church. He called the church to have a passion for justice, true community, and deep spirituality. Sound familiar? Dick didn't make that up--he was simply putting a new wrapper on a tried and true formula.

Micah's three points are timeless. They are as pertinent today as they were fifteen years ago and as they were 28 centuries ago. But, all three point to one--to Jesus. Follow Jesus, who took up for sinners and sought justice for all, who loved even to the way of the cross, and who spent much time in prayer walking humbly with his Father.

It is an overwhelming task to take on the injustice of this world, and an even bigger responsibility to love as we are loved by God. But, that's the thing. Even as we are commanded by God to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, we are empowered by God to do so. We are empowered by the God who walks beside us, and who, in Jesus, promised to be with us always, even to end of the earth.

That's Good News, my sisters and brothers. Good News, indeed. Amen.

First Christian Church Sermons by Chris Whitehead

February 3, 2008