True Greatness!

This is the sermon I gave last Sunday from the text Mark 9:30-37.


In the last couple of years there have been a lot of books out there that talk about finding meaning and purpose in our lives. It is a sign that we are searching for something. We know that something is missing in our lives. Even when people where making lots of money and our national unemployment numbers were practically non-existent we as a country, as a people we were searching for meaning and value. Even though we live in the richest, greatest country in the world we still had this feeling that something was missing. Especially more recently as our economy, that once seemed to grow and grow forever, has tanked we have began to look at our lives and determine what really matters and what is really important. I know people that worked at high power jobs that they hated, and now volunteer helping others and they love it. What all these books don’t always say is that we find our true lives by giving it away. You see it is beneficial to our lives to serve and help others. It is beneficial to our spiritual and emotional well being. We find our true lives in services and in love. The truth is that we don’t need a lot of books to tell us this.
Serving and loving others is what we are called to as people of God.

This morning’s Gospel from Mark is a teaching moment for Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. It is a moment to teach his disciples what it really means to be great.
For us who live in the 21 first century in the richest country in the world, for us who live in the great state of New Hampshire it is a lesson about what it is we really search for in our lives. Jesus on his way to Jerusalem to be killed makes his second prediction about his death. The disciples in a rather stunning display of ignorance argue among themselves about who is the greatest! Think about it.
Jesus is telling them he is going to give up his life for the sake of the world, and they are like, “Hey I wonder who gets to take over after he is gone!” It is stunning that the disciples don’t get it, more than half way through the Gospel and they still don’t understand that Jesus did not come to concur and rule, but to love and serve. However, more than 2,000 years after Jesus death and resurrection we often miss the point too. We believe that strength comes from might and domination.
We want to be the best and dominate everything. Often times our national discourse is more about saving face then it is about finding the truth. We have people that yell and shout down others, rather than try and listen and understand. I know that many times in my life I wish that I would have been better at listening then trying to get my point across.

The problem with all of this shouting and chest pumping is that what we miss is people. We miss what is actually happening as people are exploited and demonized.
We deal with our anger instead of trying to find solutions to help, serve, and love others. In our world none of those things will get you on television.
None of them will sell papers, or advertisement time.

We might see our country as the best in the world, but we can never let that rob us of our humanity, of our call from Jesus to serve the least of those in our midst.
Since coming to Concord only a couple months ago I have heard much talk in our city about the refugees that come here from other countries. For example, I went to the food bank one day with Marc to bring the food our church had collected. I was talking with a woman from the food bank and I asked her who came to the food bank.
She told me that they had many refugees come to the food bank. I said, “Oh well where are the refugees from?” (meaning what country)She replied, “From the Lutherans.” You see we are tied up in the ministry of refugee program in our city. I have heard from others that they would rather not have refugees in Concord. I want to read to you one letter written to the Concord Monitor, “Refugees are pouring into the United States. They are being given welfare benefits and housing, and they have not worked a day in our country. It is totally unacceptable that the American people are burdened with supporting these refugees when we have so many people in our own country who were born here and are homeless. The message being sent is clear: Come to our country - you don't have to work. We'll support you while our own people starve. We need to close the doors on refugees and start taking care of our own people. Charity begins at home.”

I don’t have enough time this morning to untangle all the lies and half truths that are in this letter. I want to point out that what seems to be behind it is a philosophy that we can only help or care about certain people in our country. What is behind this letter is a philosophy that says, some of us work really hard and deserve all of the things that we get in this world. Others simply mooch off the system and reap rewards they don’t deserve. In other words, some of us are great, and others are losers who don’t deserve our empathy, help, or love. What Jesus taught us is that none of us really deserves anything. It is only by the grace of God that we have anything. If we are blessed with material wealth then it is our job to use it in service to others.

I happen to know that the people of Concordia Lutheran Church are extremely compassionate people. I have been impressed in the short time I have been your pastor with your compassion for those less fortunate then yourselves. I have seen it in those who serve at the friendly kitchen, or in our new undertaking to hand out clothes to the less fortunate. One of the reasons I wanted Lutheran Social Services to come to be with us this morning is because I know how compassionate you all are.
I believe that we as the people of God can be part of the solution. We can be the people of God who serve and care for those who others would rather shun. I think God has given us a chance to show our community that the people of God care about all of God’s children. And that anyone who is in need is worthy of our service, compassion, and love. I want us to show the city of Concord the greatness of this congregation.

Our drive to be great is not a bad thing, it is only evil when we use it for evil purposes. Notice what Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Jesus tells us that it is OK to want to be the best. We should just strive to be the best in serving and loving others. And we can all be great by serving and loving others. One of my favorite quotes is from Martin Luther King’s sermon “the drum major instinct.”
King said, “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.
You don’t have to have a college degree to serve.
You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve.
You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve.
You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve.
You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love.
And you can be that servant.”

I believe throughout the generations we learn this simple truth. The World War II generation learned it as they sacrificed and gave their lives for others, the baby boomers learned it as they marched for peace and civil rights, my generation learned it from giving a year of their lives for community services, and the next generation is learning because the youth love to serve and help others. The national movement for community services is huge, it is non-partisan. No one can get elected president without talking and caring about national service. You see this is the paradox of the Gospel and our lives. We find life by giving it away for others. We find fulfillment joy, and love by helping and serving.

So Concordia Lutheran Church let us continue to grow in our service. Let us continue to help those that are lost, malnourished, and need help. Let us reach out to the refugee, the homeless, the elderly, the child. And let us remember that in that services we will find our true selves, and become disciples of Jesus Christ.
Amen

Agape

"In speaking of love at this point, we are not referring to some sentimental or affectionate emotion. It would be nonsense to urge men (women) to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense. Love in this connection means understanding, redemptive good will. When we speak of loving those who oppose us, we refer to neither eros nor philia; we speak of love which is expressed in the Greek word agape. Agape means understanding, redeeming good will for all men (women). It is an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. it is not set in motion by any quality or function of its object. It is the love of God operating in the human heart."
-Martin Luther King Jr.

"But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you...If you love those who love you, what credit it that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you what credit is that you you? For even sinner do the same."
-The Gospel of Luke the sixth Chapter

How we misunderstand Jesus on his teaching about love. It is simply too radical and too hard for us to comprehend. We like rules, order, and justice. What we struggle with is love. Not a love that is about how we feel, but a love that seeks the most possible good for everyone even our enemies. In my more honest hours I admit that I have enemies. I have people whose ideology, theology, and lifestyle I can not stand. In fact, they believe things that I would spend the rest of my life fighting against. How am I to love such people? How am I suppose to get along?

Have you ever been with someone you just met, and they say something to you that is so offensive you want to scream at them right then and there. This happened to me at a wedding I was at. I was the pastor and someone decided it would be real fun to tell me this racist joke. I was so upset, so appalled I wanted to hit the person in the face. But I didn't I calmed myself and simply did not laugh. The person instantly knew they had done something wrong and tried to apologies. "I am not racist" he told me. It is time like this I wish I had the perfect words to put everything in proper perspective. But I did not. We went on to have a very good conversation about other things in life. We talked about family, friends, and the importance of faith. This did not make the man's comments acceptable, it simply meant that there is something more that connects us as human beings then our prejudices, our differences, or our ideals.

What connects us is our sin, and our need for Christ. What connects us is love that pours out from Jesus Christ. I hope that in all things we might be able to continue to love one another. Not in any mushy way, but in a real and difficult way. Love is when we want the best for our neighbors and seek it out in our lives. Agape searches out those who are different then me and offers them forgiveness and grace. I rely on the promise of God to deal with my sin with love. I hope that I am faithful enough to deal with other people's sin in the same way.

Bearing One Another in Love

"Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Colossians 3:14-17

Recently the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voted to allow gay and lesbians living in committed relationships to be rostered leaders. This is contingent on the "bond conscience" of individual pastors, congregations, and synods. The issues involved are too many to go into in this blog. The Biblical work that needs to be done to be able to come to an informed decisions on this issue is too great for this space. Even then there would be disagreements about the final interpretation. However, I feel compelled to write about it. In college I wrote a paper on the Biblical issues involved in the debate over homosexuality. For me, this issues is not about an idea, a political position, an ideology, or church doctrine. It is about real people living in real life situations. It is about the Church and its future. All of those things aside I wonder if the church can live in this in between space that the assembly of the ELCA called us to. In other words, can people who disagree about an issue that is so heated continue to hold together as church?

As Christians what holds us together is not a stance on an issue. What holds us together is Jesus Christ died and raised for our sins. It is a radical statement of community and togetherness. Because we say that what matters most is not ideology, political stances, or even theological disagreements. What holds us together is our love for God and one another. This day I ache for my brothers and sisters in Christ who feel that their church has been taken from them. Even as I celebrate for my colleagues who are free to be themselves. It is a place that is not so comfortable to live in. Because their is no cause to support only relationships to mend and to uphold.

The greatest commandment in the Bible is a command to love. We often misunderstand this commandment because we think love is about how we feel about others. But Jesus command is not about feeling, but about action. We are to love even if we don't like, even if we don't agree, and most radically even if we are treated badly. It is a high ideal, but one I believe in to my core. Can we as the church live in a place of love instead of sides of an issue? I don't know. I am willing to try. Are you?

Picking Sides

Watching people at town hall meetings yell at their representatives, each other, and well anyone else they disagree with has been disheartening. But this is the way we as human beings tend to be wired. We have no time for the details. We really don't want all the facts. What we seem to be interested in is the side or position we should take. I can't speak for everyone, but personally I am tired of it. I think it is good (and normal) that people think different about the world, politics, religion. What is not good is that we have no time to listen or to understand what is going on. I mean do any of us really understand the intricate details of bill that will radically change the way we do health care in our country?
The problem is that most of us don't have the time or energy to understand it. We only want to know if it is good or bad. When often the truth is somewhere in between. All we want to know is do we agree or disagree. I think there is a whole space in between. There is a land of information that we are missing because we are too busy yelling at one another. I know that I sometimes fall into this trap. I pray that I can have the patience and humility to remember to listen and try and understand.
I feel this way about worship. It seems that we are trying to pigeon hole people into two camps. On the one side we have "contemporary" on the other we have "traditional". I am neither of these camps. Rather I am for worshipping Jesus Christ. For Lutherans (of which I am) this takes two specific forms. Word (hearing God's love and forgiveness for us) and Sacrament (God being present with us in concrete forms). This is worship it is what is Biblical and historical. Around this I don't care all that much about the window dressing. Except that the window dressings serves the Word and sacrament. (Also, like most people I have likes and dislikes. But this is not about worship it is about my preferences) You see this is the discussion I want to have. What is God doing to us in worship? Not, what I am getting out of it? The same could be said for health care. I don't want to hear about Canada, England, or what you dislike about Obama. I want to hear people with solutions. I want to know how we are going to keep my family from going bankrupt as we try and pay our medical bills? How are we going to keep the church from going bankrupt from paying insurance for pastors?
You see it is not about sides it is about what serves people best. It is not about what side of the worship debate are you on. It is about how the people of God are going to hear the Gospel. It is not about what political side of the spectrum you sit, it is about what is the best health care system for our children. Of course, in reality we love sides, and we love to take them up. This is why we need Jesus. We need Jesus to free us from ourselves. We need Jesus to help us see our neighbors need, and free us from our self love, our hatred, and our love for picking sides.

The Spirit Needs a Body

By all accounts the church is dead. Both numerically and anecdotal this is true. I can't tell you how many people I have met who say, "I'm spiritual, but not religious." It is interesting that this is usually told to me by children who are burying their mother/father. It seems that we do need religion. In fact, I often wonder if it is possible to be spiritual and not religious. I suppose one could stay home and pray, read the Bible, and come into contact with God. I would guess that not many people do this. We need a place to go. We need a community that prays with us, studies the Bible with us, and we can only worship in community. How are we going to be spiritual without religion?

Don't get me wrong I am no church apologist. I have struggled in my own life with the institutional church. Too often the church cares about the wrong things. Too often it is about money, buildings, instead of people and faith. However, I have come over time to the conclusion that without the church I am adrift in my own spiritual life.

There was a year of my life I did not go to Church. I like to think of it as my lost weekend. (kinda like John Lennon's lost weekend. When he left Yoko Ono and went on a bender for a year.) Anyway, I can honestly say that during that year I was lost. It wasn't that God did not love and care for me. It was that I was not closely connect to God. Sure, I prayed to God. But something was always missing. It was the discipline of living in a faith community. It was the ritual of partaking of the body and blood of Christ. It was the intentional hour that I spend in worship. At Holy Communion something happens to me. I start to think about my week. Which leads me to think about my sin, and if always overwhelms me. Then I start to think about what Jesus did for me. I feel a sense of relief, of comfort, of love. I never get that anywhere else but at the table of our Lord.

There is no spiritual life without religion. I would agree that sometimes there is religion with no spirit, but even so this is no reason to reject the institution of the church. The Church exists to keep us connect to the body of Christ. To remind us of the power of the Gospel to save! We don't get that anywhere else in this world. So, I will see you in Church.

The way we think

I was watching the Sotomayor hearings this week. What struck me was that the argument going on between the two parties over the now famous "Wise Latina" comment. It is the same arguments we have in the church over scripture. I suspect that when we vote on bishops and pastors we want to know these same kind of things. How will they interrupt scripture? What will be the basis for their conclusions? In the post Modern world our background and history is not insignificant. It has been argued in certain Biblical circles that we can not read the text without interjecting our own prejudices, life stories, and experiences. I grew up as rather middle of the road white guy from New Hampshire. That influences my reading of the text. However, I have been blessed in life to be around people with different experiences then me. In seminary I was blessed to serve in a Latino congregation and an African American congregation. My first, call was to a church surrounded and filled with diversity. I met Haitians, Dominicans, Asians, Indians, African Americans, Pakistanis, and just about any other nationality one could think of. It was interesting to hear their interpretations of the text. It was interesting to see how their life stories influenced what they thought the Bible meant.
Don't misunderstand me I think the Bible does have a message. In fact, it is a very clear message that must be heard. However, I know that this message comes to us in different ways. It is always filtered through our particular experiences. We are only human there is no other way we can experience the living word of God. But this is the point not everyone sees it that way. Many good religious people would disagree with what I just said. They would argue for a reading of the Bible that has no bearing on our human perceptions. They would argue God's word came from God and therefore it does not matter what culture or background you come from there is only one way to understand, translate, and interpret the text. I would say that the Bible itself argues against such a reading. The church and the people of God have always saw God through there very human understanding. Think about the disciples even with Jesus right in front of them they do not understand what he is saying. The early church saw Jesus only through there own Jewish heritage rejecting the inclusion of the Gentiles. It is only through revelation that they eventually come to see that a Gentile understanding of Jesus Christ is just as good as a Jewish. This movement did something astonishing. It changed the church. It made it into a growing living institution. I would argue that when we allow others to speak their truths we are better able to hear the living word of God. We are better able to see Christ working in and through others. Of course, I have a post modern mind. I guess I would never be confirmed as a supreme court judge. I will have to settle for being a pastor who has the privilege and honor to preach and teach the living word of God.

More in Death

"You can't win Darth. If you strike me down I will become more powerful then you can possibly imagine" Obi-Wan Kenobi says these words to Darth Vader on their fateful lightsaber fight on the death star. He is making a profound statement about death. We become more in our death then we did in our life. Our good and bad become magnified as we die and people remember us. It is true with Michael Jackson. All the good and bad that was in his life has now in death become something even greater then it was in his life. Since, his death I have been listening again to Michael's music. What comes over me is a mixture of emotions. I remember the first time seeing the video for Billie Jean, the time at the skating rink everyone stopped and starred as they played the video for Thriller. the time I danced, or sang along with a Michael Jackson song. For everyone my age we remember the day when there was no bigger or greater entertainer on the planet then Michael Jackson. What he became was a conclusion to a life that was complex. We will never know the truth about Michael Jackson as a person, because it has to be filtered to us through media, and fame. What we will always remember were the moments of joy he brought us through his music and his dance.
Recently Rep. Peter King called Michael Jackson was a "low life" and a "child molester". My problem with Peter King is that he is guilty of breaking the eighth commandment. He is guilty of making innuendo and rumor into truth. He can say "All Michael Jackson did was sing and dance." But what he can not take away is that Michael Jackson was part of our lives. He touched people with his music. That is something powerful and his death reminds of his brilliance and power. As well as his failures and short comings. The truth is that Michael was like all of us because he was human, and every human life is complex. We are all filled with good and bad, brilliance and failure. It is easy to say, "stop with a psychological babble." It is a lot harder to live in the real world with complicated people. I suppose it would be more comfortable for Peter King if everyone fit into the same mold, acted as he would like. However, this is not the way the world works. If Michael had broken the law then he would have rightly been in jail. The truth is that he was never convicted. So anything one might say about his involvement with children is simply guessing. We can say that he was a complicated person. He had things that were not so great about him. But we can say that about everybody including Rep. Peter King. I wish as a public figure he would choose his words more carefully, and not just spout off to get headlines. Because what he forgets to realize is that in death we become much stronger then we were in real life for good and for bad.