03-09-2008 The First Tears to Fall

Fifth Sunday in Lent

John 11:1-45

A few years ago, Kate and I decided that we could be television programming executives. Every year, we watch the new shows on the television, and determine, with surprising accuracy which will be the first to cancelled.

Every year. Without fail.

And, do you know what our single criterion is? It’s the show that’s the most intelligent. That’s the one they cancel first.

This year it was Journeyman, about a reporter who gets sent back in time by--who knows, God? Anyway, he gets sent back in time to fix what once went wrong in the lives of families--often at the expense of his own relationships.

We saw the first episode, and we knew, it was simply too good. I think they’re running War of the Gladiators or something like it in its place.

Eighteen years ago, it was a show called American Dreamer, starring the late Ohioan Robert Urich--also as a reporter. His character had been a world traveling reporter who, following the death of his wife, had decided to settle down in a small Mid-Western town and write a column for the local paper.

The show only ran a handful of episodes (again, it was too good), but I will never forget one episode as long as I live.

In this episode, the reporter and some others go down to the local coffee shop to meet the new Episcopal priest in town, who’s something of a novelty--a woman.

In the course of the conversations, talk turns to God, and the reporter goes silent. The priest asks him why he doesn’t want to talk about God.

He says he doesn’t believe. She presses for the reason.

He then tells the story of how his wife had been killed by a terrorist bombing in Beirut, while they were sitting together at a café not unlike the one they were now in. He described in detail how the bomber came into the place and detonated the bomb at the counter where his wife had stepped to get more coffee, and blown her to bits.

He then turned to face the priest and asked, “if your God is real, why didn’t he stop that bomber? Why did God let this happen to my wife?”

The priest looked right at him, and said these unforgettable words, “I don’t know. But I know this; the first tears to fall were God’s.

I have never forgotten those words, and I pray I never will. I pray that after this morning you will never forget them, either, because they are so very important.

This story--the bible story, that is--is a very interesting one. Jesus gets word that his friend Lazarus was sick--even close to death, and he does nothing. He doesn’t set out for Bethany, but waits until Lazarus will have been dead for four days. Unlike the Journeyman in the TV series, who goes back in time to set things right, Jesus makes them right in real time--here and now.

We know, because we’ve peeked ahead, that Lazarus is going to be alright. But this story is a major crisis in the life of this family. Given the dynamics of life in that day, the loss of their brother was devastating emotionally, but may well have meant financial disaster for Martha and Mary--maybe even homelessness. Women couldn’t own property. Maybe they would be out on the street.

And this story is a metaphor for the salvation of the world. Mary and Martha are tested and they are faithful--even though they let their anger and grief flow freely. What is really going on here is not only a family crisis in Bethany but the crisis of the world, not only the raising of a dead man but the giving of life to the world.

On one level the story is about the death and resurrection of Lazarus, but on another it is about the death and resurrection of Jesus. The sisters want their brother back, to be sure, but Jesus is also acting to give life to the world. Jesus says this to Martha at the heart of the reading: "I am the resurrection and the life."

The cruel irony of this story is striking. In John’s gospel, one of the events that precipitates the trial and execution of Jesus is the unrest caused by the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In other words, Jesus, by raising Lazarus from the dead, is now sentencing himself to death. In order to release Lazarus from the tomb, he will place himself in a tomb.

When we were little, we all learned what was the shortest verse in all of the bible. In those days it was probably the King James Version, or even the RSV. In both of those, the shortest verse is John 11:35.

Jesus wept.

Some have commented over the centuries that Jesus stood at the tomb weeping because he was experiencing the pain of knowing that he himself was headed toward the grave. That he was experiencing a kind of precursor to Gethsemane. I don’t buy it.

In order for that to be true, Mary and Martha and Lazarus would be props in a larger play, or mere pawns in a cruel game. They are real people with real pain and real grief. And when Jesus stands at the entrance to the tomb where Lazarus lay, I want to scream, “don’t just stand there crying, DO SOMETHING!”

But, the shortest verse of the bible tells us so very much. Because Jesus is doing something. In that moment where the savior of the world--with the power to raise people from the dead, and heal the sick, and restore sight to the blind--in that moment, Jesus is connecting on a very intimate level with you and me and every human being who has ever lived on this planet.

In that moment, Jesus is experiencing the pain of losing a loved one. Jesus is experiencing the depth of human emotions in such a way not previously known first hand by God. In that moment, the Savior of the world is getting in touch with us in a way that God never had done before.

At Christmastime, I marvel at the incarnation--God becoming flesh--and proclaim that when God becomes human in Bethlehem, nothing can be the same. Not for us, and not for God. John says in the prologue of this gospel, “and the word became flesh, and lived among us, full of grace and truth.”

In that moment at the tomb outside Bethany, Jesus is touching all of us by crying, just like we do.

I’ve shared with you my fondness for the Orthodox belief that Jesus was baptized in order to make all waters holy. So that when you are baptized, when we are baptized, when Craig and Autumn and Charity were baptized on Easter morning, Jesus Christ is in those waters.

I believe that Jesus cried in order to make all tears holy. Jesus cried, so that when you cry, God is in your tears.

When God in Jesus Christ cried at Lazarus’ tomb on the outskirts of Bethany, as with all the other remarkable things John records, nothing is the same. We are not alone in our grief. We are not alone. We are never alone.

Frida Kahlo was a brilliant Mexican surrealist painter of the first half of the 20^th century. Due to a horrible accident in her teens, she spent most of her short life in pain. Her paintings reflect that.

She was also a communist, and befriended Leon Trotsky after Stalin exiled him to Mexico. In fact, she had an affair with him. In the 2002 movie of Kahlo’s life, Trotsky says to her, “you paint what most people feel--that we are all alone in pain.”

Thankfully, we are not Trotskyites. We are Christians--which means that we belong to the living God in Jesus Christ. And that God is not a distant far-off being unconnected to us. No, our savior has suffered physical pain on the cross, where he also endured the spiritual pain of feeling abandoned by God, his Father. And he has suffered and endured the pain of grief and loss, and has shed his tears on this earth for our sake. We are not all alone in pain. We have each other

I have told you before that one of the worst days of my life was the day my brother died. One day, we’re talking on the phone, the next, he is dead. I went home--numb, blind. Kate left her office to travel the hour it would take to be with me.

During that hour, I sat in my living room in the parsonage, and cried my eyes out. This was my big brother--the buffer between me and my own mortality. As I sat and cried, two church members came in the house, and sat with me in the living room. David and JoAnn King. They were Stephen Ministers in our congregation--the leaders of that program, in fact.

They sat. I don’t remember if they said anything at all. But they cried with me. Their tears and my tears and Jesus’ tears were all mixed together and I remembered that line from the TV show so long ago. “The first tears to fall were God’s.”

Even in the midst of the pain I still feel in my grief, I can proclaim good news to you, because all of us, and each of us have cried, and will cry again. Both Isaiah and Revelation point to a time to come in which God will wipe away all tears--notice it does not say that there will be no tears, but that they will be wiped away. Matthew’s Jesus says, in the Sermon on the Mount, that we who mourn are blest, for we will be comforted.

That comfort begins in knowing, each time we are in pain, the first tears to fall are God’s.

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

_{March 9, 2008}

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

01-20-2008 Changing our Names

John 1:29-42

¶ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, "Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel."

And John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.

I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.'

And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God."

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples,

and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!"

¶ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?"

He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o'clock in the afternoon.

One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.

He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed).

He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter)

On the eighth day of a Jewish boy’s life, he is circumcised in a ceremony called a bris. The ceremony ties that child, and his family to the covenant God made with Abraham millennia ago. At that time, the child is given a name, so that that his very identity--whom he is--is connected to the covenant between God and Abraham. Whom he is is related to whom he is in relationship to God.

Over the course of the history of the church, the church adopted this practice, only relating it to baptism. A child was baptized, and at that moment, given a Christian name--a phrase we still use--surnames to delineate families, Christian names to delineate individuals. That’s where the term Christening comes from--to christen a child is to provide a Christian name.

But the term didn’t originate with infant baptism. It was a common practice--at least in the fourth century--if not before, to change one’s so-called pagan name to a Christian name at conversion.

Common names in the Greco-Roman world were taken from the pagan gods--Mercurius, Bacchus, Apollos; from numbers--Primus, Secundus, Octavia; from servile condition-- Servus, Servilianus, Vernacla; names of historical celebrity--Caesarius, Cornelia, Pompeius, and so forth.

But, on conversion, those names were not suitable for Christians, so a new name was given at baptism. At first, the names reflected virtues--Karis, Agape, Fides, Irene (Grace, Love, Faith, Peace) and things like that, and then they began to reflect connection to the Apostles, such as Peter, Paul, and, of course, Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Your name was expected to say something about who you were. Your name identified you as a follower of Jesus Christ. And a name change always reflects a change in status.

To this day, that reflects the practice of some parts of the church. In India, parts of the church there do not baptize until immediately before death, because to take on a Christian name (and forgoing one’s Hindu name) can mean persecution. In India, to be a Christian is to be completely separated from one’s community and family. It isn’t so much that you take on a Christian name, but you lose your Indian identity.

When we started to rehearse the anthem for today, I began to think about the name changes of the African slaves who were brought to this country in chains. It was absolutely monstrous what some of our ancestors did to them. They were taken from their home and homeland, brought under horrible conditions to a place with sicknesses for which they had no antibodies, ordered to work by people they did not know, and given names which had no meaning to them.

Often, the names given to slaves were that of their owners. Sometimes, they reflected the work that they were forced to do--Fields, House. The names that they were given had no relationship to whom they had been, but reflected their new identity and status--as slaves.

The spirituals were the hope of the slave community--but maybe not for the reason you think. The spirituals were not only brilliant theological works, but they also had secret purposes. By the time of the underground railroad, “Wade in the Water” (which we sang last Sunday) was about baptism, but it also meant, “While you’re going north, don’t stay on dry land, but get in the water. It will throw the bloodhounds off your scent. God’s gonna’ trouble the water, like throwing sand over the footprints—the water will have a saving effect.” “Deep Water,” the song we sang today, wasn’t only about the river Jordan, but about the Ohio River.

“Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home,” was just as much about getting to the North as it was getting to heaven. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose name and memory we honor today, continued that tradition by using not only the language of the spirituals, but also the words of our patriotic hymns and songs to point to the yearnings for basic rights for all.

And then, on getting to freedom, the slaves would change their names again to reflect their new status as free people--a practice which also happened among slaves who were freed after the war.

Alex Haley set out to find out who he was beyond the descendant of slaves, and his book, Roots, inspired a whole generation of Americans--white and black--look back to the names they had left behind. One of reasons that Black parents in America are giving their children African names, or names that sound African, is that it is a way to reclaim that identity which was taken from them.

Which brings us to Peter. Simon, as he was known then, was minding his own business--literally minding his business, which was fishing--when his brother Andrew came running and said, “Come on, we’ve found him!”

When Jesus meets Simon, he says, "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter). Cephas in Aramaic, Peter in Greek.

Pretty audacious of Jesus, changing a man’s name on introduction. “Jesus, this is my brother, Simon.”

“Not anymore, from now on, Peter.”

How would you like that? Have a stranger change your name just like that?

Now, the name Peter means rock. And in the other Gospels, Jesus names Peter in a different setting, and says that upon that rock--that foundation--he will build the church.

Only problem is, Peter is anything but a rock throughout Jesus’ life on earth. He falters constantly, makes it clear that he doesn’t understand anything that Jesus says, denies Jesus three different times on the morning of the crucifixion. And refuses to accept the news of the resurrection. I ask you, does that sound like a rock solid foundation?

Of course it isn’t.

Peter is, of course, not a rock. He’s more like sand--and not very stable sand. But Jesus called him to ministry and in following Jesus, Peter began to change. He began to see more and more of what the kingdom was about, and to accept more and more Jesus’ good news for the Jewish people and indeed for the whole world. And Simon--which means “one who listens”--listened, and he became the rock.

One of my favorite stories in the bible involves Jesus and Peter. In the 21^st chapter of John, Jesus walks along the seashore, and sees Peter and the other disciples fishing after the resurrection. He calls out to them, “catch anything?”

“Nah.”

“Fish on the other side, then.”

And they caught so many fish that they started to sink the boat. Then John recognizes that it is Jesus, and he tells Peter, whom we are told is naked (Naked fishing. I don’t get that. Naked swimming, I could understand.).

But, Peter stand in the boat, puts on his clothes , and jumps into the sea.

After they ate, Jesus asks Peter, “do you love me?”

Peter responds, “of course, I love you.”

Jesus says, “feed my sheep.”

Again, “do you love me?”

“Lord, you know I do!”

“Feed my sheep.”

And a third time, “Peter, do you love me.”

“You know everything, you know that I do!”

“Feed my sheep.”

Jesus gives Peter three chances to affirm his love. And with each one, the three denials are wiped away.

Three times Peter denies, and then Jesus gives him three opportunities to negate those denials. And Peter is a little closer to really being the rock.

And then Pentecost comes. And the Holy Spirit descends upon Jerusalem and fills the disciples with power. And Peter, the poor, illiterate fisherman from Galilee steps into the streets of Jerusalem and declares that the Spirit of God has been poured out on all flesh, and God’s covenant with the chosen ones is now open to all through Jesus of Nazareth.

And Peter’s transformation from one who listens to the Rock is complete.

And so, what name has Christ chosen for you? What name do you suppose it might be? How are you growing into it?

What difference does it make in your life that you are baptized?

What difference does it make in your life that you are a Disciple of Christ?

How is the world a different place because Jesus Christ has claimed you and named you?

Since we haven’t changed our names, how does the world even know that we are baptized? How does the world even know we follow Christ?

This is the season of Epiphanytide--when we contemplate the meaning of Christ being revealed to the whole world. But, Christ is not being revealed through a big TV extravaganza, or (as in a PBS show I saw last week) a booth at the NASCAR race, or by obnoxious street preacher. Christ is being revealed to the world in each and every one of us.

Like Peter was, we are still growing into the role and the name which Christ has given to each of us--the role and the name is disciple.

Christ is working in each of us to be revealed to the world. Let us open our hearts and our minds so that we might be Good News, Good News, indeed, to the whole world.

FCC Sermons by Chris WhiteheadJanuary 20, 2008

01-06-2008 Revealing Christ to the World

"Revealing Christ to the World"

Matthew 2:1-12

Mt 2:1 ¶ In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;

4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.

8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."

9 ¶ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.

10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.

11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Epiphany is not one of the church’s major holidays--which is sad. Years ago, Christmas trees would go up Christmas Eve and stay up for the twelve days of Christmas which ended on January 6--Epiphany.

Now, trees and decorations go up after the trick-or-treaters go home and the trees are thrown out on the sidewalk along with the wrapping paper from the presents. We tend to think of Christmas as being over when the presents are unwrapped on the 25^th of December, but that’s not how the early church envisioned it when it first began to observe Christmas.

Christmas is not a day, but a season, which ends in the Feast of the Epiphany.

So, what is Epiphany? The word simply means revelation, and recalls the occasion of Jesus Christ being revealed to the entire world. In Matthew’s version of the birth of Jesus, there are no angels singing in the heavens, no shepherds, no stable, no manger. Mary and Joseph are living in a house in Bethlehem, and no one has seen this newborn king until the Magi arrive from the East.

We call them wise men or kings, but they would be better described as shamans or sorcerers or astrologers. In Matthew’s time they could legitimately be called “wise men,” but in our culture, they’d be pretty shady. These were people, who, like modern astrologers, watched the stars in order to interpret the events of the day and predict the events of the future. It’s funny, really, that the modern church is so averse to astrology, yet we revere these fellows as “wise men.”

And, contrary to the hymn we sang earlier, we have no idea how many there were, and they certainly were not kings! But, they saw Jesus’ star and they came to see and to honor this new kings with gifts.

Interestingly, contemporary astronomy--not astrology--has determined that during the year 4 BCE, and interesting phenomenon occurred in the heavens. Three times that year, Jupiter (known as the king planet) crossed the orbit (from earth’s perspective) of Saturn--the planet which the ancient world associated with Bethlehem. These ancient watchers of the sky saw, not once, but three times the King planet going to the Bethlehem planet. What message did they get? The king is in Bethlehem.

It was clear to these stargazers that God was up to something big, and they needed to go and witness this thing, and to bring gifts--the best gifts they could. Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. Myrrh. Who brings myrrh to a baby shower?

Some preachers will dwell on the symbolic nature of the gifts--gold for Jesus’ royalty, frankincense for his divinity (because incense is used in worship), and myrrh, for his death, as it is used in embalming. St. Bernard of Clairvaux declared that such notions were rubbish.

Matthew intended only one point--these gifts were of tremendous value. We know gold is valuable, but frankincense and myrrh were rare, aromatic resins not native to Palestine. Their value would have made them extremely resourceful to Joseph and Mary. For example, I wonder how they financed their journey to Egypt that we studied last week? The point is, these were very expensive gifts befitting a king, or a messiah.

And then, they went back to their own country. As far as I’m concerned, that’s where this sermon really begins. Do you think they kept the king that they had seen in Bethlehem secret? I don’t think so. The traditions of the church--as well as its art--begins to depict the Magi in an unusually inclusive way. By the fifth century, the Magi take on names and ethnic identities. There was the African named Gaspar, the Asian named Melchior, and Balthassar from Europe.

By their convergence from the North, East, and South, they symbolically represent the entire world, invited by the signs in the night sky to be the first to see the newborn king, the savior of the world. Even before his own kind.

And so the tradition is also that these same three began to reveal the good news of Jesus Christ to the world, even before John the Baptist and even before Jesus proclaimed it. And that may be the best gift of all.

If the greatest gift to Jesus is revealing him to the world, what gifts do you bring this morning? I’m not talking about the offering, though that is one way we reveal Christ to the world. And if you haven’t completed an estimate of giving card for this year, that would a wonderful gift to bring to the Savior this morning.

There is no star in the sky, we must shine for him today. We can’t all be teachers, who work with children or adults. We can’t all be evangelists or preachers. But, there is one thing we all can do. We can, as Paul writes in the first chapter of Philippians, “live our lives worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Matthew writes the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount, that we are to let our light shine, not to call attention to ourselves, but so that God may be glorified. In other words, we can let Jesus shine through us--as individuals and as the church--in such a way those around us can’t help but see him. What’s that hymn we sing sometimes? “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.” The call to reveal Christ to the world is the call to love.

Epiphany is not just a day, but a season. We’ll be talking over the next few weeks about the many ways in which we can reveal Christ to the world. We have seen his star, and we have worshiped him. And now, there is Good News, Good News, indeed to share with the world. Let’s get to it.

Invitation to Communion

Just as the star drew the Magi to Bethlehem, Jesus Christ draws us to this table to remember his saving acts, to celebrate his presence, and to look forward to his coming again. The invitation is for all.

Offering Sentences

The first act of worship offered to Jesus was that of giving. When they had opened their treasures, they presented to him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh--the best they had. Let us bring our gifts--our best--to honor the child.

Offertory Prayer

We come to you seeking to be wise women and men. Receive our gifts, and bless us as we bring them. Use them for the revealing of Christ and the growing of your kingdom in the world. In the name of Jesus our Christ, we pray. Amen.

Blessing

Go in peace--and take peace--into the world of human need. You are the body of Christ, and members of one another. Let us serve, honor, and love each other, that Christ may be revealed to the whole world. Amen.

FCC Sermons by Chris WhiteheadJanuary 6, 2008