Mission and Ministry Service
Old Mystic, October 25, 2009
Summary
Jesus’ message at the synagogue in Nazareth is a call to his followers to join him in a mission that is focused on transforming structures and human systems by meeting the needs of the people—material, spiritual, relational, and emotional needs. And the less fortunate are on top of the list!
Sermon
How many times have we heard someone telling us, “I have good news and bad news; which one do you want to hear first?” Honestly, I always want to hear the bad news first in the hope that the good ones will outweigh the bad. And I’m very often disappointed, because eve when what it is presented as not so good is actually bearable, the apparent good news does not make a big difference. Real good news, the type of announcement that everyone wants to hear, comes loud and clear. So do bad news. When we saw and hear through the media the attacks of 9/11, there was no good news that could counterweigh the horrendous scenes of death and destruction.
When we look at the passage of what some call Jesus’ “Inaugural Address” at the synagogue in Nazareth, his home town, we are blessed with good news. And Jesus calls his message good news—the gospel. Good news for the poor, the captive, the oppressed, and the sick. In fact, it is very good news for his Jewish audience! It is the announcement that the Great Day of the Lord is at hand. The year of the jubilee or, as Jesus put it, “the year of the Lord’s favor.” It means that the Messiah, the long expected king, the one who brings a new order, the one who has come to establish God’s kingdom of love, peace, and justice has arrived. The beginning of a process of peace has begun. The promise of the prophet Isaiah is at hand, “His authority shall grow continually and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and His kingdom.”
But the good news was not so good for the folks in Jesus’ home town. Questions arose. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” After, all this was only the son of the carpenter. How could he possibly be the long awaited king? On top of that, Jesus’ suggestion of him being a rejected prophet among his own—and consequently, an evidence of their lack of faith, filled them with rage. To the point that they wanted to throw Jesus off the cliff.
The gospel is good news, though it won’t be perceived or received as such by many. The proclamation of the good news has two sides: to announce and to denounce. Let us first look at the negative side; the message that unveils all that is wrong with the world, its structures, and human behavior. Many will react and ask, “Haven’t we heard enough about what is wrong with us?” “We are tired of hearing the negative.” And indeed, we have heard many messages about the human condition and the reality of personal sin. But we have also heard that Jesus is called “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” We have learned that, “if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” We can surrender to God’s love who sent his son and be forgiven, renewed, transformed, and given a purpose.
But the implicit denouncing in Jesus’ message of salvation and liberation does not stop with the promise of individual private salvation from sin and condemnation, and life eternal in paradise. It is not just a promise that everything is going to be all right when we all go the heaven. Salvation is not a ticket to a better place in the future. Salvation has already begun here and it is a process of transformation of the totality of human reality. And that means the private and the public spheres of life; changing hearts, homes, men and women, and also structures, governments, and economic, social, and political systems.
Jesus’ contemporaries were outraged because the son of one of their own, the son of Joseph the carpenter was telling them that there were poor among them, some were captive—probably unjustly, some were oppressed—perhaps many, and others were blind. And he was telling them that the Messiah had arrived not just to rock the boat in town, but to bring a cataclysmic change to the nation of Israel and beyond. For that reason they wanted to get rid of such a charlatan! Is the gospel today denouncing what needs to be changed? It indeed is and that may be disturbing for many.
The good news is that change is possible. This is the other side of the coin, the side we want to hear, the side of hope. It is not reducing the gospel to social transformation though such a thing is so substantial to human welfare. Every time we are reminded that nearly half of the population of the world survives on less than two dollars a day, we are reminded that good news, real good news for those people—and for anyone keen to the gospel of Jesus Christ—is that social, economic, and political transformation need to happen. Jesus reminded his audience of the year of the Jubilee which, according to the Leviticus’ code, was the year of God’s “leveling of the playing field;” land returned to the original owners and to a fair distribution; slaves freed; debts condoned; the Sabbath of the earth, and the celebration of God’s peace. Do we realize how much the world needs a more fair distribution of resources? And the liberation of people who are still slaves even in the 21st century? What about the oppression of debt? And how many are “canned” in prisons with little or no evidence of any guilt?
Jesus is good news though it may not seem so good for many. And Jesus was in Nazareth to recruit his fellow town dwellers. And this is a message about recruitment. God needs people to get involved! You may choose to become active in social action, or in politics, or volunteering in non-government associations or nonprofit social agencies. But remember that the oldest of all of God’s agencies continues to be the church; God’s local community; the community of the believers—in Christ and in change. Christ wants us to reach out and touch someone and that “touch” needed it is not just spiritual. Jesus was telling the whole world through that quote of the prophet Isaiah that almost anything good that we do by word and deed would contribute to make the gospel true.
And his message was about people; loving, serving, caring for, and meeting the needs of people. And this implies also advocating to change the conditions that bring suffering to people. We all know that this is a monumental task and we know the risks. Jesus was almost thrown off the Cliff at the beginning of his ministry and he ended up nailed to the cross only three years later. Yet, the victory of the resurrection signals that the building of the kingdom is a reality. If death can be overcome, sooner or later, in the end, all that enslaves human beings, even death, will be over.
For that reason, people need the gospel! They need not just the message; they need to experience the gospel through the love of their neighbors. They need to be brought into the community of God’s people—a community that cares for their needs, that embraces them regardless of who they are, a community of friends always looking for new friends to come into the loving arms of Jesus.
who Is My Neighbor?
Mission and Ministry Series
Old Mystic, October 18, 2009
Luke 10:25-37
Summary
Love is at the heart of who we are as human beings and at the center of our lives. As a people with purpose, through love in action, we have the opportunity to minister and serve those with whom we come across, those like us and those who are different.
Sermon
Several million people have been touched and blessed by the reading of The Shack by Wm. Paul Young the last couple of years. The story portrays the life of a family stricken with the pain of loosing their young daughter, abducted and murdered in the Oregon wilderness, and the fascinating experience of Mack, the father, having a healing and personal encounter with God in the infamous shack where traces of their disappeared daughter had been found. Lead in a miraculous way to the place that haunted him and brought so much pain to their lives, Mack spent a long weekend in the very presence of the Living God who appeared to him in three persons—though not exactly how traditional Christianity would have imagined. “Papa,” the One who personally invited him to the shack, whom we would call the Father, appeared to him in the form of a sweet, loving, and joyous African American woman. Jesus, fully human, had darker skin, dark hair and eyes, and a big nose!—obviously not your typical white Anglo-Saxon man. And the Holy Spirit looked like an Asian woman with sparkling attires and in constant movement!
What transpires in the story during those days in the life of Mackenzie Phillips is very inspiring; his life is healed and transformed as he has this face-to-face experience of dialog with God the Father (or Mother) or “Papa,” the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And at the core of the message of this book, I believe, it is the profound appeal to seek a permanent, submissive, and loving relationship with the Living God, portrayed in the story in three persons in a relationship of perfect submission. The three of them made it powerfully clear to our character: human beings have chosen independence over submission and personal achievement over relationships.
When we look at Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are reminded of the simplicity of the commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And its simplicity appeals to the fact that we were created to live related with God and with one another. In other words, life is about relationships. We work because we must contribute with our share to the common good; we play because it is part of our nature to enjoy leisure time and we need to do it with our friends; and we also strive to meet our needs—among them, the needs of loving and being loved. We are relational and love is at the center of our lives. Through love, we also build God’s kingdom.
The big question for churches and Christians is—not only these days, but through the ages—who is my neighbor? In the midst of our fast paced lives in pursuit of our dreams and our personal goals, we can recognize that we need people, that we need those relationships. Sometimes, unashamedly we use and abuse people because that helps us get where we want to go. And we are very often used and abused ourselves too for the apparent benefit of others. But who is our neighbor? What does it mean to be a neighbor? A neighbor is someone who loves God and by word and deed acts upon that love to reach out to anyone who comes near and goes out of his or her way to bless those who are far away. That is the Good Samaritan.
A man was robbed and beaten and left wounded to die by the side of the road. He needed a neighbor! He got experts, informed practitioners, and guardians of the religious and political system. Their response was the “don’t get involved response.” It was the priest’s answer to a person in pain. He happened to pass by and saw the poor wounded man and, in spite of being someone who was anointed to mediate between God and human beings, he chose to ignore the victim—his neighbor. He might have been in a hurry going to the temple because he was supposed to offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He was too occupied with the business of the relational connection between God and the people that he wasted an opportunity of serving one of them—his neighbor on the road!
Then came the Levite, a worker at the temple; a person in charge of worship; someone supposed to aid in the service of facilitating people to relate to God and among themselves. Yet, he failed to connect with a person in need right in front of him; he chose to ignore his neighbor. Both the priest and the Levite were part of a religious system that was too concentrated on its own structure, and in the exercise of power and control for the benefit of just a few. They did not have time to get involved.
But Jesus wanted to emphasize a different response, the “Love God and Neighbor Response.” And a Samaritan happened to pass by. He was a stranger, discriminated by the Jews; an alien who should have known better: Samaritans and Jews did not get along; they lived in neighboring territories but they were not neighbors. Yet, he obviously knew God; he must have had the kind of relationship with God that prompted him to love someone who he wouldn’t normally see as his neighbor. And he acted upon that love. He washed and bandaged the poor man’s wounds and carried him to the inn making sure that they took care of him and paying for all the expenses. He got involved and he went out of his way showing the power of love. He discovered his neighbor and he became a neighbor himself.
Who is our neighbor? I love to think about my loved ones and I can vividly see the faces of friends and of people I know and I care for. I can think of disadvantaged children suffering in many areas of the world. I can think of many that have crossed my path and have been good to me. Yet, I’m barely scratching the surface. What about those distant, different, difficult, strange, and even “dangerous”? What about the many anonymous human beings that I bump into daily and yet we choose to ignore to each other? Love is a powerful tool of outreach—perhaps the only one! People are wounded by the side of the road and need God’s love as much as our wounded selves need it. We need our neighbor and our neighbor needs us. What is still surprising perhaps is the fact that love in action—real love that serves, not just band aid—can make such a difference! Ministry is at the reach of our hands. We just need to go out and do something good for someone out of love; a love that is nourished by the loving relationship we have with the Living God.
Old Mystic, October 18, 2009
Luke 10:25-37
Summary
Love is at the heart of who we are as human beings and at the center of our lives. As a people with purpose, through love in action, we have the opportunity to minister and serve those with whom we come across, those like us and those who are different.
Sermon
Several million people have been touched and blessed by the reading of The Shack by Wm. Paul Young the last couple of years. The story portrays the life of a family stricken with the pain of loosing their young daughter, abducted and murdered in the Oregon wilderness, and the fascinating experience of Mack, the father, having a healing and personal encounter with God in the infamous shack where traces of their disappeared daughter had been found. Lead in a miraculous way to the place that haunted him and brought so much pain to their lives, Mack spent a long weekend in the very presence of the Living God who appeared to him in three persons—though not exactly how traditional Christianity would have imagined. “Papa,” the One who personally invited him to the shack, whom we would call the Father, appeared to him in the form of a sweet, loving, and joyous African American woman. Jesus, fully human, had darker skin, dark hair and eyes, and a big nose!—obviously not your typical white Anglo-Saxon man. And the Holy Spirit looked like an Asian woman with sparkling attires and in constant movement!
What transpires in the story during those days in the life of Mackenzie Phillips is very inspiring; his life is healed and transformed as he has this face-to-face experience of dialog with God the Father (or Mother) or “Papa,” the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And at the core of the message of this book, I believe, it is the profound appeal to seek a permanent, submissive, and loving relationship with the Living God, portrayed in the story in three persons in a relationship of perfect submission. The three of them made it powerfully clear to our character: human beings have chosen independence over submission and personal achievement over relationships.
When we look at Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the Good Samaritan, we are reminded of the simplicity of the commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And its simplicity appeals to the fact that we were created to live related with God and with one another. In other words, life is about relationships. We work because we must contribute with our share to the common good; we play because it is part of our nature to enjoy leisure time and we need to do it with our friends; and we also strive to meet our needs—among them, the needs of loving and being loved. We are relational and love is at the center of our lives. Through love, we also build God’s kingdom.
The big question for churches and Christians is—not only these days, but through the ages—who is my neighbor? In the midst of our fast paced lives in pursuit of our dreams and our personal goals, we can recognize that we need people, that we need those relationships. Sometimes, unashamedly we use and abuse people because that helps us get where we want to go. And we are very often used and abused ourselves too for the apparent benefit of others. But who is our neighbor? What does it mean to be a neighbor? A neighbor is someone who loves God and by word and deed acts upon that love to reach out to anyone who comes near and goes out of his or her way to bless those who are far away. That is the Good Samaritan.
A man was robbed and beaten and left wounded to die by the side of the road. He needed a neighbor! He got experts, informed practitioners, and guardians of the religious and political system. Their response was the “don’t get involved response.” It was the priest’s answer to a person in pain. He happened to pass by and saw the poor wounded man and, in spite of being someone who was anointed to mediate between God and human beings, he chose to ignore the victim—his neighbor. He might have been in a hurry going to the temple because he was supposed to offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He was too occupied with the business of the relational connection between God and the people that he wasted an opportunity of serving one of them—his neighbor on the road!
Then came the Levite, a worker at the temple; a person in charge of worship; someone supposed to aid in the service of facilitating people to relate to God and among themselves. Yet, he failed to connect with a person in need right in front of him; he chose to ignore his neighbor. Both the priest and the Levite were part of a religious system that was too concentrated on its own structure, and in the exercise of power and control for the benefit of just a few. They did not have time to get involved.
But Jesus wanted to emphasize a different response, the “Love God and Neighbor Response.” And a Samaritan happened to pass by. He was a stranger, discriminated by the Jews; an alien who should have known better: Samaritans and Jews did not get along; they lived in neighboring territories but they were not neighbors. Yet, he obviously knew God; he must have had the kind of relationship with God that prompted him to love someone who he wouldn’t normally see as his neighbor. And he acted upon that love. He washed and bandaged the poor man’s wounds and carried him to the inn making sure that they took care of him and paying for all the expenses. He got involved and he went out of his way showing the power of love. He discovered his neighbor and he became a neighbor himself.
Who is our neighbor? I love to think about my loved ones and I can vividly see the faces of friends and of people I know and I care for. I can think of disadvantaged children suffering in many areas of the world. I can think of many that have crossed my path and have been good to me. Yet, I’m barely scratching the surface. What about those distant, different, difficult, strange, and even “dangerous”? What about the many anonymous human beings that I bump into daily and yet we choose to ignore to each other? Love is a powerful tool of outreach—perhaps the only one! People are wounded by the side of the road and need God’s love as much as our wounded selves need it. We need our neighbor and our neighbor needs us. What is still surprising perhaps is the fact that love in action—real love that serves, not just band aid—can make such a difference! Ministry is at the reach of our hands. We just need to go out and do something good for someone out of love; a love that is nourished by the loving relationship we have with the Living God.
The Power of Witness
Mission and Ministry Series
Old Mystic, October 11, 2009
Acts 1:6-8
Summary
The task of being witnesses to God’s kingdom and to God’s work in our lives in Christ is possible because of God’s amazing presence in us through the Holy that empowers us to be co-workers with God in building God’s kingdom of which the church, reflected in many local communities, is a sign.
Sermon
When we look at this passage and we imagine the climatic scene of Jesus’ farewell to his disciples after the resurrection and when we hear the promise of Emmanuel, God being with us through the amazing presence of the Holy Spirit in us, there is a key word that catches our attention: power. And it is a remarkable word for what it means in most contexts. Its Greek version, dunamis, encompasses a variety of meanings. Power is the inherent strength or energy to perform an act effectively; it suggests movement or the generation of movement, force, and the ability to exert force to accomplish a feat. It often refers to the might of armies and their ability to conquer. In a broader sense, power is understood as authority and the capacity of exercising authority, control, and dominion of humans over humans.
Power plays such a significant role in society and within human social systems. It can be a force that keeps things in order in any given social system, and/or can change things both for good and for evil. We can speak of the powers that shape us, control us, and move us into action—or inaction—without ourselves being conscious about them. We often suffer—or not—the power of social arrangements that are maintained through power that continue to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. The power of oppression is so much present in the world—and has been so much denounced in the scriptures for over two millennia!
But I want to think of power as influence, beyond the idea of physical might or strength to force anything upon anyone. Power in this passage is influence, and it is about the power of the Holy Spirit, it the opportunity and the possibility of bringing conviction, transformation, renewal, and faith. The power of the Holy Spirit is the influence that Christian witness can exert in the lives of others. It is not an arm-twisting power; it is not the power of crusading against the “infidels;” It is not the political power to make all nations part of Christendom; neither the power to impose Christian views in the secular societies that are part of the world today. It is political in the sense that it is influence that will bring change to structures of injustice for the welfare of all, but understanding that it will not force peoples of other faiths to renounce to their conviction to become Christians. It is the influence that only the Holy Spirit can bring.
Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And so he commissioned his disciples and all the generations to follow to be witnesses. History tells us that there have been many faithful witnesses; the message of the gospel has been spread all over the world. Yet, the task of building God’s kingdom continues because there is so much that needs to be done. We have signs of that kingdom yet our influence must continue in order to bring love, peace, and justice to the whole world.
The Holy Spirit, God in us, has a very special way of bringing that power of influence. I will point out three ways. First, it is influence that brings conviction; real, deep, heartfelt, and transforming conviction. It is more that plain knowledge or our ability to comprehend a creed, a faith statement, or any propositional truth. We often associate the word witness to the image of a court where someone can give a first hand account of something he or she has seen, heard, or experienced. And in the context of a court, the truth has to be spoken. And so we have been doing it for centuries! We have relied so much on proclamation as a way of witnessing that have we have resorted to all types of media to get the message out. We have used the pulpit, the printing press, radio, TV, and these days, the web, podcasts, streaming video, Facebook, and Twitter. Not that there is anything wrong with it; but we have too often “screamed” the message too loud to be heard. We have often been too triumphalistic to be convincing and our methods too calculated or simplistic to sink in.
Yet, it is the Holy Spirit in us that bring conviction and that is a powerful influence. But the power today may not reside solely on what we can say—in fact in many ways we have been muted by others and by our own actions—but on who we are in Christ! Saint Francis said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” Through our presence, our character, our actions, how we speak, and what we say, we betray the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our conversations will reflect the character of the one who is sending us, that is Jesus Christ. Convictions cannot be forced upon people; the one who convicts and convinces is the Holy Spirit.
Second, the power of influence that the Holy Spirit exerts is through the gifts granted to Christians. I make this statement with fear and trembling lest we once again fall prey of the arrogance that has plagued us so often. We as earthen vessels, by God Amazing Grace, we the wretches that are being saved, we have been given gifts that are not ours but God’s. And those gifts have the sole purpose of meeting human needs on God’s behalf. Paul made a long list of spiritual gifts that are often regarded as supernatural manifestations and a sort of proof of God’s presence. Indeed they are a sign of God’s presence, but not to prove anything but to bless people’s lives, beginning with their encounter with the Living God.
Paul’s list includes gifts such as healing, tongues, and prophecy which are perhaps the most popular among many Christians. But I want to focus on the gift of discernment of spirits which I interpret as the ability to know people, circumstances, and situations and the insight and good judgment to do what is right. I believe that this gift can takes us a long way as we witness to Jesus Christ in this world. I wonder how much use we make of this gift. What strikes me is that we suffer so many contradictions, we have so many disagreements, and we display so many different views about what is right or wrong in the world in spite of having been granted this gift of discernment. Yet, as we walk with the Christ we witness to, let us pray for that discernment that will make our witness powerful and transforming.
Third, the influence of our witness will be powerful through the fruit we bear; the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Paul also makes a list. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control.” As we walk through life bearing this fruit, our witness will be really transforming! Looking at all these aspects of the fruit, the attempt to achieve them could be cumbersome for anyone. But let’s not forget, it is not our fruit, it is the fruit of the Spirit!
Love is first in Paul’s list perhaps because it summarizes all of the other virtues. Love brings joy, love makes peace and love makes all of the other possible. We know that love is transforming. As people who love our neighbor, we not only show our love but we also share the love of the One who made us all and the One who wants to save us all. And love is inviting; love is appealing; love blesses, touches, inspires, and changes things. The only way we have to bring people into the kingdom, or into the church is by loving them into Jesus Christ. Any action full of love will supersede all calculated, sophisticated, and artistic outreach methods.
The message has not changed since the day Jesus and the disciples met for the last time before his departure. Regular folks are called to be witnesses. It was never an easy task and for that reason it has been put aside so many times. Perhaps because the church has tried to bring the message on its own human terms and has tried to impose it upon others. These days are days where we need people walking humbly in order to be heard. It takes love and discernment, which are available to us. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us and through us that will bring conviction to a broken world and continue to build God’s kingdom and the church.
Old Mystic, October 11, 2009
Acts 1:6-8
Summary
The task of being witnesses to God’s kingdom and to God’s work in our lives in Christ is possible because of God’s amazing presence in us through the Holy that empowers us to be co-workers with God in building God’s kingdom of which the church, reflected in many local communities, is a sign.
Sermon
When we look at this passage and we imagine the climatic scene of Jesus’ farewell to his disciples after the resurrection and when we hear the promise of Emmanuel, God being with us through the amazing presence of the Holy Spirit in us, there is a key word that catches our attention: power. And it is a remarkable word for what it means in most contexts. Its Greek version, dunamis, encompasses a variety of meanings. Power is the inherent strength or energy to perform an act effectively; it suggests movement or the generation of movement, force, and the ability to exert force to accomplish a feat. It often refers to the might of armies and their ability to conquer. In a broader sense, power is understood as authority and the capacity of exercising authority, control, and dominion of humans over humans.
Power plays such a significant role in society and within human social systems. It can be a force that keeps things in order in any given social system, and/or can change things both for good and for evil. We can speak of the powers that shape us, control us, and move us into action—or inaction—without ourselves being conscious about them. We often suffer—or not—the power of social arrangements that are maintained through power that continue to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. The power of oppression is so much present in the world—and has been so much denounced in the scriptures for over two millennia!
But I want to think of power as influence, beyond the idea of physical might or strength to force anything upon anyone. Power in this passage is influence, and it is about the power of the Holy Spirit, it the opportunity and the possibility of bringing conviction, transformation, renewal, and faith. The power of the Holy Spirit is the influence that Christian witness can exert in the lives of others. It is not an arm-twisting power; it is not the power of crusading against the “infidels;” It is not the political power to make all nations part of Christendom; neither the power to impose Christian views in the secular societies that are part of the world today. It is political in the sense that it is influence that will bring change to structures of injustice for the welfare of all, but understanding that it will not force peoples of other faiths to renounce to their conviction to become Christians. It is the influence that only the Holy Spirit can bring.
Jesus said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” And so he commissioned his disciples and all the generations to follow to be witnesses. History tells us that there have been many faithful witnesses; the message of the gospel has been spread all over the world. Yet, the task of building God’s kingdom continues because there is so much that needs to be done. We have signs of that kingdom yet our influence must continue in order to bring love, peace, and justice to the whole world.
The Holy Spirit, God in us, has a very special way of bringing that power of influence. I will point out three ways. First, it is influence that brings conviction; real, deep, heartfelt, and transforming conviction. It is more that plain knowledge or our ability to comprehend a creed, a faith statement, or any propositional truth. We often associate the word witness to the image of a court where someone can give a first hand account of something he or she has seen, heard, or experienced. And in the context of a court, the truth has to be spoken. And so we have been doing it for centuries! We have relied so much on proclamation as a way of witnessing that have we have resorted to all types of media to get the message out. We have used the pulpit, the printing press, radio, TV, and these days, the web, podcasts, streaming video, Facebook, and Twitter. Not that there is anything wrong with it; but we have too often “screamed” the message too loud to be heard. We have often been too triumphalistic to be convincing and our methods too calculated or simplistic to sink in.
Yet, it is the Holy Spirit in us that bring conviction and that is a powerful influence. But the power today may not reside solely on what we can say—in fact in many ways we have been muted by others and by our own actions—but on who we are in Christ! Saint Francis said, “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” Through our presence, our character, our actions, how we speak, and what we say, we betray the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our conversations will reflect the character of the one who is sending us, that is Jesus Christ. Convictions cannot be forced upon people; the one who convicts and convinces is the Holy Spirit.
Second, the power of influence that the Holy Spirit exerts is through the gifts granted to Christians. I make this statement with fear and trembling lest we once again fall prey of the arrogance that has plagued us so often. We as earthen vessels, by God Amazing Grace, we the wretches that are being saved, we have been given gifts that are not ours but God’s. And those gifts have the sole purpose of meeting human needs on God’s behalf. Paul made a long list of spiritual gifts that are often regarded as supernatural manifestations and a sort of proof of God’s presence. Indeed they are a sign of God’s presence, but not to prove anything but to bless people’s lives, beginning with their encounter with the Living God.
Paul’s list includes gifts such as healing, tongues, and prophecy which are perhaps the most popular among many Christians. But I want to focus on the gift of discernment of spirits which I interpret as the ability to know people, circumstances, and situations and the insight and good judgment to do what is right. I believe that this gift can takes us a long way as we witness to Jesus Christ in this world. I wonder how much use we make of this gift. What strikes me is that we suffer so many contradictions, we have so many disagreements, and we display so many different views about what is right or wrong in the world in spite of having been granted this gift of discernment. Yet, as we walk with the Christ we witness to, let us pray for that discernment that will make our witness powerful and transforming.
Third, the influence of our witness will be powerful through the fruit we bear; the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Paul also makes a list. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23gentleness, and self-control.” As we walk through life bearing this fruit, our witness will be really transforming! Looking at all these aspects of the fruit, the attempt to achieve them could be cumbersome for anyone. But let’s not forget, it is not our fruit, it is the fruit of the Spirit!
Love is first in Paul’s list perhaps because it summarizes all of the other virtues. Love brings joy, love makes peace and love makes all of the other possible. We know that love is transforming. As people who love our neighbor, we not only show our love but we also share the love of the One who made us all and the One who wants to save us all. And love is inviting; love is appealing; love blesses, touches, inspires, and changes things. The only way we have to bring people into the kingdom, or into the church is by loving them into Jesus Christ. Any action full of love will supersede all calculated, sophisticated, and artistic outreach methods.
The message has not changed since the day Jesus and the disciples met for the last time before his departure. Regular folks are called to be witnesses. It was never an easy task and for that reason it has been put aside so many times. Perhaps because the church has tried to bring the message on its own human terms and has tried to impose it upon others. These days are days where we need people walking humbly in order to be heard. It takes love and discernment, which are available to us. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in us and through us that will bring conviction to a broken world and continue to build God’s kingdom and the church.
To the Least and to the Lost
Mission and Ministry Series
Old Mystic, October 4, 2009
Matthew 25:31-46
Summary
The parable of the Judgment of the Nations—not exactly a parable—portrays a cosmic vision of the coming of the kingdom of God, a vision that, in spite of the harsh words of judgment, offers hope. Jesus’ call to be fully human and responsible for the wellbeing, life, and future of all people across all divides makes us builders of the kingdom and hopeful about a future of peace beyond our limited human imagination.
Sermon
I don’t think many of us enjoy some of the harsh words of judgment that we often find in the Scriptures. Images of hell and the idea of eternal punishment seem to be foreign to the understanding of a God of love who cares about creation and above all about us, who we often refer to our own selves as the “crown” of that creation. At the same time, the passage of the Judgment of the Nations, declares that the coming of God’s kingdom will not happen without a day of reckoning. In other words, we have a responsibility, we are accountable, and we have an opportunity. Jesus was not talking to a group of criminals awaiting execution; he was addressing the disciples and inviting them to the wondrous, amazing, and unique opportunity of being like him.
Interestingly, the passage is preceded by two parables: the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids and the parable of the Talents. The first one is a call to readiness; the second one is a call to responsibility. Keeping this in mind, the cosmic vision of the day of reckoning, which I prefer to call the coming of the kingdom, is Jesus’ appeal to purpose and action. It is a reminder of our responsibility to be transformers of the world as we walk on earth increasingly reflecting the character of Jesus Christ.
In the weakness of our humanity we have the tendency to look at this passage focusing on the dualism of goats and sheep. We see a clear definition of boundaries and we tend to separate—falling into the pits of many other dualisms—between good and bad, faithful and unfaithful, saved and unsaved, elected and not elected, conservative and liberal, or right and left. And we can continue with a long list of ways in which we can be separated. I believe the message is not about separation, or about distinctions. What I’m preaching today is a message of readiness and responsibility, of reckoning and accountability, and of mission and ministry.
We don’t have today, since the day of reckoning is still not here, two groups of people. We cannot count as we look into the world who are the goats and who are the sheep. There’s only one group, the human race, which God in his infinite mercy is painstakingly saving in Jesus Christ. And in this group we have the least and the lost. The least, those who are deprived of the fullness their humanity; those who are oppressed, brokenhearted, in prison, persecuted, on a refuge camp, or immersed in the most abject poverty. I don’t need to show statistics to prove how large is the number of human beings living in this predicament in today’s world.
The least are with us, among us, and everywhere. Sometimes we see them as a faceless mass; we may even refer to them simply by the use of this word: “them,” with no name, no future, and no business in the world as it is. It is not by chance that the scriptures are full of references of God’s preference for them, the least. It is precisely for that reason that Jesus said: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” As some theologians like to put it: God takes the side of the poor.
Jesus’ powerful image of a judgment tribunal is not just a summons to individuals; it is call to responsibility to groups, churches, associations, states, and nations. It asks for action that is not just a “band-aid” type of solution. It is about people who walk with Christ, serve like Christ, and transform structures both in the private and the public arenas, structures of oppression that continue to perpetuate the tragic fate of the least in this world.
But as I said, the day of reckoning is still not here so we don’t have two groups. We have the least—which sadly happen to be the majority in the present world! But we also have the lost; those who still fail to see things fully as God wants us to see them. And, to a great extent we are all lost—and goats, perhaps, because, who are they righteous? Even if we want to call ourselves the sheep to make the list of those who are on the “right side” on the Day of Judgment, let’s not forget that sheep without a shepherd would be completely lost. In our humanity, with our weaknesses, our shortcomings, and our sins, we are lost when we fail to become fully human like Jesus Christ; when we fail to be our brother or sister’s keeper; when we have trouble to understand the great commandment of loving God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.
But there is good news, the good news of the gospel. Christ comes into our lives to change them, to transform them, to save them. He is the good shepherd and he is guiding us in the process of becoming fully human—that is, like him, as we walk in a world where the least and the lost are being found. And he has a task for us, the task of being kingdom builders. It is a matter of purpose and a matter of action. Our purpose is to transform the world—our mission; and the action is our ministry, the task of doing all the things we can do wherever we are.
We will all love to hear Jesus’ words: “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” God does not want to loose anyone! He wants to embrace those who suffer and he those who cause the suffering. Aren’t both the least and the lost in the same predicament? We may feel, perhaps, that we are in such a predicament so I want to remind us that we can always come to the arms of the Living and Loving God in Jesus Christ. I also need to challenge us to walk with Christ in this world and, as we grow in him to become fully human, let’s assume our responsibility of loving people, of doing good to people, and changing things that need to be changed. Wherever we go, in our homes and places of work; in the factory and in the office; in private and in public; in the church and in the world; let’s go and love people, meet needs, be transformed, and fulfill our mission and ministry.
Old Mystic, October 4, 2009
Matthew 25:31-46
Summary
The parable of the Judgment of the Nations—not exactly a parable—portrays a cosmic vision of the coming of the kingdom of God, a vision that, in spite of the harsh words of judgment, offers hope. Jesus’ call to be fully human and responsible for the wellbeing, life, and future of all people across all divides makes us builders of the kingdom and hopeful about a future of peace beyond our limited human imagination.
Sermon
I don’t think many of us enjoy some of the harsh words of judgment that we often find in the Scriptures. Images of hell and the idea of eternal punishment seem to be foreign to the understanding of a God of love who cares about creation and above all about us, who we often refer to our own selves as the “crown” of that creation. At the same time, the passage of the Judgment of the Nations, declares that the coming of God’s kingdom will not happen without a day of reckoning. In other words, we have a responsibility, we are accountable, and we have an opportunity. Jesus was not talking to a group of criminals awaiting execution; he was addressing the disciples and inviting them to the wondrous, amazing, and unique opportunity of being like him.
Interestingly, the passage is preceded by two parables: the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids and the parable of the Talents. The first one is a call to readiness; the second one is a call to responsibility. Keeping this in mind, the cosmic vision of the day of reckoning, which I prefer to call the coming of the kingdom, is Jesus’ appeal to purpose and action. It is a reminder of our responsibility to be transformers of the world as we walk on earth increasingly reflecting the character of Jesus Christ.
In the weakness of our humanity we have the tendency to look at this passage focusing on the dualism of goats and sheep. We see a clear definition of boundaries and we tend to separate—falling into the pits of many other dualisms—between good and bad, faithful and unfaithful, saved and unsaved, elected and not elected, conservative and liberal, or right and left. And we can continue with a long list of ways in which we can be separated. I believe the message is not about separation, or about distinctions. What I’m preaching today is a message of readiness and responsibility, of reckoning and accountability, and of mission and ministry.
We don’t have today, since the day of reckoning is still not here, two groups of people. We cannot count as we look into the world who are the goats and who are the sheep. There’s only one group, the human race, which God in his infinite mercy is painstakingly saving in Jesus Christ. And in this group we have the least and the lost. The least, those who are deprived of the fullness their humanity; those who are oppressed, brokenhearted, in prison, persecuted, on a refuge camp, or immersed in the most abject poverty. I don’t need to show statistics to prove how large is the number of human beings living in this predicament in today’s world.
The least are with us, among us, and everywhere. Sometimes we see them as a faceless mass; we may even refer to them simply by the use of this word: “them,” with no name, no future, and no business in the world as it is. It is not by chance that the scriptures are full of references of God’s preference for them, the least. It is precisely for that reason that Jesus said: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” As some theologians like to put it: God takes the side of the poor.
Jesus’ powerful image of a judgment tribunal is not just a summons to individuals; it is call to responsibility to groups, churches, associations, states, and nations. It asks for action that is not just a “band-aid” type of solution. It is about people who walk with Christ, serve like Christ, and transform structures both in the private and the public arenas, structures of oppression that continue to perpetuate the tragic fate of the least in this world.
But as I said, the day of reckoning is still not here so we don’t have two groups. We have the least—which sadly happen to be the majority in the present world! But we also have the lost; those who still fail to see things fully as God wants us to see them. And, to a great extent we are all lost—and goats, perhaps, because, who are they righteous? Even if we want to call ourselves the sheep to make the list of those who are on the “right side” on the Day of Judgment, let’s not forget that sheep without a shepherd would be completely lost. In our humanity, with our weaknesses, our shortcomings, and our sins, we are lost when we fail to become fully human like Jesus Christ; when we fail to be our brother or sister’s keeper; when we have trouble to understand the great commandment of loving God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves.
But there is good news, the good news of the gospel. Christ comes into our lives to change them, to transform them, to save them. He is the good shepherd and he is guiding us in the process of becoming fully human—that is, like him, as we walk in a world where the least and the lost are being found. And he has a task for us, the task of being kingdom builders. It is a matter of purpose and a matter of action. Our purpose is to transform the world—our mission; and the action is our ministry, the task of doing all the things we can do wherever we are.
We will all love to hear Jesus’ words: “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” God does not want to loose anyone! He wants to embrace those who suffer and he those who cause the suffering. Aren’t both the least and the lost in the same predicament? We may feel, perhaps, that we are in such a predicament so I want to remind us that we can always come to the arms of the Living and Loving God in Jesus Christ. I also need to challenge us to walk with Christ in this world and, as we grow in him to become fully human, let’s assume our responsibility of loving people, of doing good to people, and changing things that need to be changed. Wherever we go, in our homes and places of work; in the factory and in the office; in private and in public; in the church and in the world; let’s go and love people, meet needs, be transformed, and fulfill our mission and ministry.
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