… you will be my witnesses

This is Ascension Sunday; the day that Christians throughout the world celebrate the physical event of the leaving of Jesus from this earth to be forever with God.  There are some individuals who wonder why Jesus had to leave us on our own.  They ask others, themselves, and even God, “Why couldn’t Jesus just stay here with us forever?”  The only answer that I can give is that God has created us with free will, and that it is our choice to decide who we will follow.  Will we follow the ever changing teachings of this physical and fleeting world, or will we follow the path that leads to a deeper and closer relationship with our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sustainer?  And if we are to follow this path of faithful service, then how do we find the path that will lead us to a deeper faith?

The truth is that there are very few individuals who have ever discovered on their own a path of faith which will lead them to the presence of God.  Most of us gathered here today have in the past been introduced to our Christian faith by either family or friends.  I know that I was taken as a baby to a Methodist Church in Syracuse.  As a young boy I worshiped with my family in the Lysander Church.  As a teenager I personally made a commitment to the Evengical United Brothren Church in Mattydale.  And when I finally became an adult, I joined the Saranac United Methodist Church.

We all have a history of searching for our faith, and at the same time we know that there has always been the presence of witnesses along our journey.  And so the question needs to be addressed: “Where did those who have witnessed to us come from?” 

Jesus told those who where faithful followers, those who truly believed in him, “you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth.”[1]  And those early disciples of Jesus did go throughout all of the world preaching Christ’s messages of forgiveness, hope, and love.  But still the question comes to the minds of so many, “Where are we to find the strength and the courage to honestly speak the truth of kindness, compassion, and love in this world which all to often would truly rather worship and praise selfishness, greed, and power?”

Jesus gave us an answer.  He made a promise to his disciples: “you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit”[2].  It is this genuine presence of the Holy Spirit within us that will give us the true strength and real courage to share with all of those who are around us the messages of hope and salvation.

Many people in our present society are willing to share with their friends the news about the newest products on the market; especially the ones that really are either great or a total ripe off.  But what about our faith and trust in God?  Are we willing to share with others?

Indeed this is the point of this time of reflection; it is now our turn to be the active and present witnesses of the truth of God’s love and the genuine power of the teachings of Jesus to all of those who are around us.  Each one of us have been given gifts from God that will help us to reach out to our sisters and our brothers who either have truly not heard the promises of God or are presently struggling with the all to real challenges of this everyday world.  We need to remember that sharing our faith with others is not so much an active recruiting of new disciples of Jesus as it is the concept of sharing with friends what we have discovered to be a real source of joy and comfort within our own lives.  

This is Ascension Sunday.  This is the day to celebrate when Jesus went back into heaven.  This is the day to remember that it is now our turn to share God’s love with everyone else.

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[1] Form Acts 1:8 NRSV

[2] Acts 1:5b NRSV

… so that you may love one another.

It has been my experience that I am not the only person to have had a mother who taught her children that they should do no harm.  I have also discovered that it is not always easy to train children to do no harm at all times.  In fact, I’m certain that I was not the only little boy to ever give his mother a real hard time about following all of the family rules.  However, over the many years I have come to better understand the true meaning of that one key rule: “Do no harm.”

For most people, this phrase is in the back of their memories as sometime taught to all children, and it is also something that Doctors make as a promise when they complete their education and begin their lives as healers and care givers.  But what does it mean to say that we will do no harm?  One individual wrote on the Web, “Ultimately it means to give thoughtful consideration to our actions. ‘Do no harm’ simply means to consider how our actions may affect the world we all share … to be compassionate in our dealings …”[1]  The author continues on to talk about how we need to be responsible in our actions with each other and with this physical world.  

Sometimes it is not just our actions which can cause harm.  Sometimes it is our words which can cause harm.  Sometimes we are all too quick to pass judgment on something or someone.  My wife helped me to understand a wonderful way to communicate with others exactly how careful we need to be with our words.  You see, once we have spoken a word we can never really “take it back” … that is we can not “unsay” that hurtful or unkind word.  One day while one of our young grandsons was in her care, he made the mistake of saying a very bad and unkind word.  He said that he was sorry; in a very off handed way.  She lead him into the bathroom handed him an open tube of toothpaste and told him to squeeze it out into the sink.  With a smile he almost emptied the tube.  Then she told him to put the paste back into the tube.  That day one of our grandsons learned that when you do harm with words … it’s not easy to take back the words and undo the harm!

The author of the 1^st Letter of John shares with us an interesting variation on this powerful expression of being careful to do no harm, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey [God’s] commandments.”[2]  Do I believe that God wants us to follow the simple rule that we continue to teach our own children to this day?  Yes.  Yes I do believe that God wants us to always consider how our actions will affect others.

Jesus told his followers: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”[3]  I do not remember Jesus ever turning someone away because of their color, their gender, their faith, their nationality, or their economic status.  Jesus only once turned away a woman because she was not Jewish, and then when she reminded him that even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of the chosen.  At that turning point in the ministry of Jesus we discover that we are also called to offer the love of God to everyone that we meet without judging them.  We are called to do no harm.  

We have been called by the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Sustainer to do no harm. “… I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my father … so that you may love one another.”[4]  The teachings of Jesus, and the advice of the early Christian community, could be phrased in the following simple way:

That your joy may be complete
keep the commandments of God - do no harm
so that you will abide in the love of God forever.

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[1] www.donoharm.us/

[2] 1 John 5:2 NRSV

[3] John 15:12 NRSV

[4] John15:15c & 17b NRSV

Are we the branches?

 In this morning’s reading from the Gospel of John [15:1-8] we heard these words of challenge and reminder from Jesus, “I am the vine, you are the branches.  Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart form me you can do nothing.”[1]    When I was a young child living is Syracuse I used to play in my grandfather White’s grape arbor, and when the season was right I used to eat many of the deep purple grapes.  After the family harvested the grapes and the leaves would fall off, the older adults would trim back the branches so that in the next year we would have a larger harvest.  I often wondered why the vines where never trimmed back.  It wasn’t until later in life that I learned that if the vine was cut back, then the plant would either die or it would take many years to grow back to full strength.

Jesus is reminding his followers that he is the vine; the central life giving force of our faith.  Jesus is also reminding us that we are the branches; we are the ones who are responsible for expanding the church.  We have been called upon to produce the fruits that will feed others and produce new congregations that will reach out to others.

Our challenge is to reach out to others while holding tight to the foundations of our faith.  Our challenge is to introduce to others the foundation of true faith and invite them to develop their own deep relationship with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  If they remain with us, then we will become a stronger branch.  If they leave us to open a new branch in a new location with a new worship pattern, then we have done our job.  We have been asked by Jesus to share with others the message of God’s great love for all of creation.

When my father moved us from Syracuse to Lysander, he brought with him a handful of grape seed.  These seeds where planted close to our barn.  I know that they produced vines, but we left long before they were large enough to product any fruit.  But I can still hear the voice of my grandfather telling me that our job was only to plant the seeds.

The author of the 1^st John letter shared with us this morning that, “The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”[2]  We as mortals are called by many voices.  We are called to action by our country and its political leaders.  We are called to conformity by our dynamic and fluid society.  We are called to obedience by our Church Leaders.  And all too often we have discovered that these calls are in conflict with each other.  Each of us however will have to make our own choice as to which voice we will obey, and the truth is that we will be judged by all of them no matter which we chose to follow.

My word of advice is this: God will be forever.  When all the other voices have been silenced and faded away, God will still be active.  When all of the rest of creation fades into darkness, God will still be the source of true light and life.  God will be the final judge.  When all the other rules and regulations conflict and clash in confusion and choice, I still believe in that, “those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”[3]

When we pause to think about those who love us, we know that it goes beyond the warm fuzzy feelings.  When we pause to think about those who love us, we know that they have loved us in spite of our many differences … and we have known that they where willing to love us to the end of time.

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[1] John 15:5 NRSV

[2] 1^st John 4:21 NRSV

[3] 1 John 4:21b NRSV

The Good Shepherd

In this morning’s reading from the 1^st Letter of John [3:16-24] we heard words which still to this very day are a deep and great challenge for each and every one of us as Christian believers; “Little Children, let us love, not in words or speech, but in truth and action.”[1]  The author of this powerful letter is reminding everyone who reads these words that the call to being a follower of Jesus is not just one of words, but we are called into living a life of Christian actions as well as times of professions of faith, singing of songs, and reading of scriptures.  We, as Christians, are challenged to become a meaningful presence and a powerful image of Jesus in the lives of those around us.

I know that there are individuals who believe that our words of faith have within them great power, but I am also reminding all of us that the world that we are presently living in has become for so many people a place where individuals are truly being judged by their actions rather than their words.  Most of us have in the last few months been overwhelmed with the political words of individuals who are seeking to be elected as the next President.  My only comment here is about the difference between words and actions.  All parties in these political debates continue to challenge each other based on the differences between words and actions.

This morning, in our time of worship, we joined together in saying those truly powerful words found in the 23^rd Psalm that bring such great comfort to so many people, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”[2]  In fact the entire 23^rd Psalm reminds many of us that the Lord would care for us for ever, and that the Lord has a purpose for us; “… and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”[3]  This is more than a declaration of promise; this is a declaration of intention.  The ones who understand these words are openly declaring that they have chosen to be a part of the household of God and that they therefore will be with God for ever.

And who would not want to be a part of the household of God?  Who would not want to be a member of the flock that is tended by Jesus?  Jesus is the one who told those who would listen, “I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”[4]  We are called to be members of the flock, and we are called to reach out to those who are around us and have not found a place within the flock.

Do you remember all of what was read this morning from John’s first letter?  Do you recall hearing the question posed at the very beginning, “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?”[5]  How can we claim to be a member of the flock cared for by Jesus and yet not be willing to reach out to others who are in need?  The other day I was watching a TV show and I saw a commercial which presented a very powerful message.  The action images were of six young children playing and studying in school.  The over-voice shared the fact that today … in America … right here in New York State … everyday 1 in 6 children does not have enough food to eat.  If this is also true within our community, then we - as members of the flock of Jesus - need to take action.  We need to reach out to everyone.  We need to remember that as members of the flock of the Good Shepherd not only are we freed from our fear of evil, but that we are also called upon by God to bring true hope and salvation to all those that we meet.

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[1] 1 John 3:18 NRSV

[2] Psalm 23:1 NRSV

[3] Psalm 23:6b KJV

[4] John 10:11 NRSV

[5] 1 John 3:17 NRSV

Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins

This morning I am going to share with you some of the thought process that has gone into my time of preparation for this service of worship and in particular this sermon that I’m now sharing with you.  I have known a few pastors who prefer to continuously select from a very limited collection of their own favorite scriptures to use as the starting point of both the time of worship and especially their moments of reflection and exhortation.  However, like many other pastors, I am a believer in following the three year cycle of the Lectionary.  Each week there is a listing of readings from a Gospel, a New Testament letter, one of the Psalms, and either a reading from the Hebrew Text or from the Book of Acts.

When I read through all of the listed reading for the week, there are very often a few sentences or phrases which will quickly capture my attention.  Over the years I have come to believe that I am being called by the Holy Spirit to share something with those around me.  This is the beginning of the process of reflection and meditation in preparation for writing the sermon that I will share in our time of worship together.

This week two passages have kept calling out to me.  The first is from 1^st John 3:2 – “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed.”[1]  And the second is from Luke 24:47 – “… repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations …”[2]

We are all God’s children.  Each of us gathered here is a child of God, and each person that we meet outside of this sanctuary is a child of God.  Whether they look like us, talk like us, or believe like us … they are still children of God and therefore they are our own Sisters and Brothers.  I have a sister, and for many years we were not on the best of terms … but over the years I have discovered that she has great value, love, and compassion as a person.  Some of this transition has been brought about as I have watched my own children and grand-children relating to one another.  I do not claim to be God, nor do I claim to fully understand God … but when I have watched my own children or grandchildren fighting or squabbling over “stuff” … I can only begin to imagine how much it must deeply hurt God to watch as humanity continues to hurt one another. 

When someone has hurt us, how do we forgive them?

Upon personal reflection and shared discussion with others, I have come to the following understandings:

1)                  It is easiest to forgive someone who has truly acknowledged their actions and have honestly and personally apologized.

2)                  It is not as easy to forgive someone who has been repeatedly hurting us, or is making a “fake apology,” or is so powerful that they don’t believe that they need to make any kind of a real apology.

3)                  It is often impossible for us as human beings to forgive someone who does not even acknowledge that they have done anything wrong.

Now that I have simplisticly reviewed the process of how we decide who we will forgive, let’s go to the even tougher question – what happens when we ask God to forgive us?

Do we remember that our own preference is that the one seeking forgiveness be honest in admitting their errors?  Do we remember that we expect an honest request without the expectation that the request will automatically be granted?  Do we remember that we expect that the one who is making the request for forgiveness should make every effort to be sure that the offence does not happen again?

In closing … when my grandchildren tell me that they are sorry, I am truly willing to forgive them.  But I am also praying and wishing that they will learn from their mistakes.  I am also praying and hoping that they will become more compassionate with each other and with the rest of the world as they come to understand that as humans … as children of God … we will all make mistakes.  The real challenge is to remain in love with our creator … and with each other.  The real challenge is to extend to each other the kind of compassion that we are asking God to extend to us.

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[1] NRSV

[2] NRSV – omitted “and that … beginning from Jerusalem”

Take Time to ...

He who kills time injures eternity.

Take time to think - it is the source of power.

Take time to play - it is the secret of perpetual youth.

Take time to read - it is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to pray - it is the greatest power on earth.

Take time to love and be loved - it is a God-given privilege.

Take time to be friendly - it is the road to happiness.

Take time to laugh - it is the music of the soul.

Take time to give - it is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to work - it is the price of success.

Unknown

Doubting Thomas

This morning’s reading from the Gospel of John [20:19-31] is very likely among the top ten bible passages known around the world.  Most people refer to this story of the first visiting of Jesus with his disciples in the locked upper room after his resurrection as either the founding story of the Upper Room or the story of Doubting Thomas.

Actually, we were told that Thomas was not present with the other disciples when Jesus first appeared.  As our reading this morning pointed out, Thomas was somewhere else when Jesus appeared before the other disciples.  It wasn’t until a week later that the resurrected Jesus once again appeared to the gathered disciples, and this time Thomas was present. 

As the story is unfolded for us, we discover that Jesus somehow knew that Thomas had told the other disciples that “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”[1]  After Jesus has Thomas seeing his hands and touching his side, he asks Thomas if he now believes since he has seen for himself rather than just having to accept the word of his brothers in faith.  And so down through the ages many people have come to call this disciple Doubting Thomas.

But I would like for us to remember that in the opening two verses of today’s Gospel reading those same disciples who were present when Jesus first appeared did not rejoice until after Jesus had shown them this hands and the wound at his side.  It would seem that the rest of the disciples also doubted the actual presence of Jesus without first seeing his wounds for themselves.  And yet the title of Doubting is only reserved for Thomas.  It would seem that maybe the real reason for this title would be that Thomas had doubted the word of his fellow disciples.

This seems to be a faith challenge which is still present with many individuals today.  We can tell others that we met in this world about the life and the teachings of Jesus.  Sometimes they believe us and they even join with us.  But sometimes there are still those who doubt the reality of the risen Lord just because we tell them stories.  We need to be careful, for it would be easy to brand them also with the title of doubting. 

Some of us may also understand Thomas’ reaction.  We may have been told over and over about Jesus and his teachings, but for some of us it was not until we personally experienced the presence of Jesus within our own lives that our eyes of faith where then opened and we began to believe in the resurrected Jesus.  For some of us it was not so much the physical presence of Jesus as it was our watching how the belief in a resurrected Jesus had affected the lives, actions, and beliefs of those who are around us.

It should not be too big a surprise to discover that in our actions others have come see the presence of the resurrected Jesus.  Many of us have noticed that there are individuals that we have meet and spent time with who remind us greatly of Jesus.  If we truly believe in Jesus and his teachings, then we will discover that in many ways our actions will change to the point that others will come to see the presence of Jesus within us.  Yes, this is the calling of being a Christian … to grow each day closer to God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit … and to each other.

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[1] John 20:29 b NRSV