Sunday, September 25, 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Morning Prayers Gracious and loving God, whom we have long called Father and are still learning to call Mother,we come before you today as a people who are hurting. Jobs are scarce. Money is tight. And sometimes we don’t seem to know what to do. We ask you to bless us with good things, but that you will also make us mindful of the riches we already have. Riches of shelter, food, and family. We pray for our families, o God. These are times where children of all ages are at risk on many fronts. Help us to seek your protection and guidance as we raise our children. We pray for your church, O God. You have blessed us in so many ways over the years and we can never pay you back, Help us to grow in generosity so that your church can bless the world. We pray for the troubles in the world around us. We especially pray for your children in Israel and Palestine. We don’t claim to know how peace is possible there, O God, but pray your grace and peace be upon them. May all your children know peace. We pray for healing--for those names we have called out loud, and for those we now lift in silence. Give your healing touch, o God to all who grieve. Help them to know your presence and feel your comfort. We lift these prayers to you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Philippians 2:1-13 1If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. 9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

“The Emptied Church”

Tony Campolo is one of my heroes. He’s a sociologist and Baptist preacher who works hard to remind the church of its commitment to justice and the poor. He’s also the best preacher I’ve ever heard, and I am indebted to him for much of this sermon. Max Weber, the father of modern sociology, states that with power comes the ability to coerce. For example, the county has power over me when it comes to paying my property taxes. If I don’t pay them, the county can take away my property. That’s power and coercion. If I see the lights spinning behind me in my car, I pull over and follow every instruction given to the letter. Why? The officer in that car has a gun, and I don’t want to give her reason to use it! That’s power and coercion.

Authority is different. Authority is earned. When the District 6 Disciples’ pastors gather on Tuesday morning, Dr. Harold Hopkins will join us. Harold is our District Elder, meaning he has pastoral responsibilities for all the ministers and churches in District 6. When Harold speaks, we listen, because Harold has authority. Harold has zero power or the ability to coerce us, but he has authority that has been earned by his years of service to the church, and his gentle and kind ways through which he has nurtured all of us.

That’s authority. Jimmy Carter speaks with authority. Agree with his politics or not, when he speaks, people listen. Not because he was a governor or president, but because he has earned the authority he has by building houses and digging wells and countless other acts of self-emptying over the years.

Jesus was said to be one who spoke with authority. And here in Philippians, we see how he earned it. According to Paul, he didn’t see equality with God as something to be grasped. That word that is translated “grasped” is meant to evoke memories of the first humans, Adam and Eve, who did think equality with God was something to be grasped, and they grasped at the fruit in order to become like God.

Jesus, however, did not want to take the shortcut. He was in the form of God, but in order to carry out his mission on earth, he emptied himself. And that’s primarily what we want to talk about--the emptying of one’s self”--or kenosis, which is the Greek word for it. To convey this mystery, Paul uses first of all the words "emptied himself," which refers especially to the reality of the Jesus becoming human.

"The Word became flesh" (Jn 1:14). God the Son became one of us. It means rather, as Paul wrote, that "he did not deem equality with God something to be grasped," but "though he was in the form of God,” as the true Son of God, he assumed a human nature without glory, subject to suffering and death, in which he could live in obedience to God, even to the ultimate sacrifice. In becoming human, he did not wish to belong to the powerful; he wished to be as one who serves. "The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve" (Mk 10:45). He lived out what Paul wrote here about putting the interests of others first--ahead of his own.

We see in the Gospels that Jesus’ earthly life was marked by poverty from the very beginning. This was clearly set out in the story of his birth, when Luke observed that "there was no room for them [Mary and Joseph] in the inn," and that Jesus was born in a stable and laid in a manger (cf. Lk 2:7). From Matthew we learn that already in the first months of Jesus' life, he experienced the life of a refugee--to Egypt and back (cf. Mt 2:13-15). His life at Nazareth was lived in extremely modest conditions; his father was a carpenter (cf. Mt 13:55) with whom Jesus himself worked (Mk 6:3). When he began his teaching, his situation continued to be one of extreme poverty, as he himself bore witness to in a certain way by referring to the insecure conditions of life imposed by his ministry. "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head" (Lk 9:58). That’s what it means to empty one’s self--to be able to have it all, but to choose not to have anything at all, in order to carry out the mission of good news for the poor and lowly of the world. And, as Paul writes, because he chose this lower path, he is given the name above all names that shall be called Lord by all people. He could have chosen power, but instead chose service and humility, thereby earning authority. And it looked like, at least on Good Friday, that power won. The coercive power of the Roman Empire appeared to have beaten down love and humility. But on Easter morning, the resurrection proves that loved beats power every time. Jesus earned his authority on a cross--but the cross didn’t have the last word.

I’ve been wondering the past few weeks if we have the authority to speak to the community at large about the gospel. I wonder if we lack authority because we have not emptied ourselves and done more for the poor. Maybe the Community Breakfast isn’t enough. There are 89 other mealtimes in a month.

Maybe we need to continue to look further beyond ourselves in order to earn the authority to speak in our community.

Maybe our families need to look for ways in which they can empty themselves so that their kids can understand what a life lived in Jesus Christ looks like.

Maybe we all need to look beyond our thresholds to see how God can use us in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in word and deed--in other words, not just by what we say, but what we do.

In fact, the authority to speak can only be earned by the example of what we do. Mother Teresa of Calcutta spoke with authority. She once gave an address to students at Harvard University about the value of chastity. Can you imagine that? Ann aged nun lecturing Harvard students about sex! How do you think they responded? With a standing, thunderous ovation. Why? Because she spoke with authority, earned on the streets of Calcutta by caring--emptying herself--for lepers and others whom the world would rather forget.

We are never going to be Mother Teresa. She was an extraordinary individual with a unique calling. But we can be the best us we can be. Maybe in our families this week we can think of one thing--even a small thing we can do to empty ourselves in some way. To put others’ interests ahead of our own. It’s not in our nature to do, but with God’s help, we can. And maybe all of us can find ways not just to empty selves, but but to have emptied (not empty!) church as well. Then maybe we’ll be heard in Mansfield, and beyond.

What do you think?

Offering Invitation & Prayer

We are invited to the harvest. There are many workers needed and the reward is the same: to be present for the purpose that God gave us. Our offerings help us to do that. What a joy it is to know we are a blessing to God’s ways. Come, for the work has begun! God, we are thirsty, give us drink! Only you can satisfy our thirst by baptizing us with the spirit of abundant life. We find ourselves full of gifts to share, but often unaware of what to do with them. With this money and our time and talent, we pour ourselves into the vessel of your Word, Jesus, and water with which we thirst no more. Thank you, it is great to be in this place! Amen.

Benediction

In the power of the Holy Spirit we now go forth into the world, to fulfill our calling as the people of God, the body of Christ. Go in peace - love and care for one another in the name of Christ and may the blessings of God, known to us as Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer be with you, both now and forevermore. Amen