Category: News

Staying In

2 The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
     that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
     and shall be raised above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
     to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
     and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
     and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
     and shall decide for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
     and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
     neither shall they learn war any more.

5 O house of Jacob,
     come, let us walk
     in the light of the Lord.  Isaiah 2:1-5

We once again find ourselves in Northeast Ohio in winter weather season.  While we did not receive 60 inches of snow over Thanksgiving week, we did see the return of snow, wind and ice making it difficult to travel.  On any given day, we must check the conditions of the roads before we decide to run our errands to the store, bank or friend’s houses.  If the snow is too deep or the roads too icy, we wisely choose to stay in until the conditions are safer, and when the plows have cleared and salted the roads we choose to go out.

In our text from the prophet Isaiah, we also have a going out, not from our homes, but from Jerusalem and not with our cars but with the Word of God.  God promises a time when God will not be stuck at home during a winter storm, but a time when God’s Word and Kingdom will pour into the world blessing and filling God’s creation with God’s own Life and Glory.  But the situation of Israel was anything but a time of Kingdom, Blessing, Life and Glory.  Israel was surrounded by empires, assailed by enemies within, and in-fighting amongst themselves about how to best resolve the conflicts.  Into this space, Isaiah speaks about the day God doesn’t stay home but goes out into the world.

But perhaps the most specific thing the people were looking for was an honest and righteous Judge/King.  Judges were often corrupt, taking bribes from the rich at the expense of the poor and playing favorites with their friends and with the influential rather than doing the right thing.  God promises to come personally to judge correctly and the result of that going out is the peace so poetically described as the people transforming weapons of war into implements of life and creation.  But only under the rule of God does Peace and Harmony come about and only if God comes and puts the world to right.

Only after God comes does the creation flow into Jerusalem.  I find this most instructive because we certainly want our church to have the people and blessings of the city around us to flow into our buildings, pews and perhaps most importantly our checking accounts.  But, the Word of God must go out, the Kingdom of God (which is quite different than our country or our church) must come, and peace must be made first.  Then the creation will flow into Jerusalem.  We expect the opposite, our neighborhood must come in for Peace, Kingdom, and Blessing, when in fact we must go out.

Perhaps we need to be corrected again.  Not to be a church which expects the neighborhood to come in for some goods and services which we offer, but a people that go out to speak Gospel, proclaim Kingdom, and make Peace.  Only then may the creation flow into Jerusalem.  The problem is we are stuck at home in a storm not of ice and snow, but fear and selfishness.  Fear of our neighborhoods that we believe are filled with “different and dangerous” people and selfishness that we believe our time and resources are for ourselves and the people that think like we do.

Now you know why, Isaiah told the people to walk in the light of the Lord and not in the fear and selfishness of sin’s darkness.  The Church has a choice and needs to make a better choice this Advent season.  To go out and not hide behind our Church’s walls, fences and security systems.  To proclaim the Good News and Kingdom of God and not hide in our self-made kingdoms listening to other news.  To make things that create out of things that destroy, instead of making a profit or worse making nothing.  To walk in the light of God or to hide in the darkness of Sin:  this is the Advent Choice, and we must choose between Faith in Christ or faith in someone else or worse faith in ourselves.  Let us answer the call from God to walk in the Light of Christ instead of hiding from the storm.  Amen. 

Saving The Sprinkles

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58

I may not be a great baker or cook, but I do enjoy making the attempt.  One of my favorite recipes is confetti cake.  You take a package of sprinkles and put some of the package in the batter and you withhold the remainder of the sprinkles until the cake is baked and iced and then sprinkle the remainder of the candy on top of the icing. The result is confetti on top and confetti inside the cake.  Great for birthdays and serves 8-10 people.

But while you want to withhold some of the candy to put on the top of the cake, you don’t want to withhold anything to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians, always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  The context of this verse is Paul’s great chapter on resurrection and how the resurrection of Christ gives victory to those called into Christ.  Since the body of Christ is loved and gifted by Christ and Christ withholds nothing from the Church, the Church can learn to love and give without withholding anything from God and from each other.

Do we as the Body of Christ in Ashtabula, Ohio give ourselves fully though?  You keep some of the candy to put on later, do we withhold something from our community and from God for ourselves or do we fully give away ourselves?  The most obvious concern is always our financial resources, which were important for the Corinthians to contribute to the collection for Jerusalem.  But, what about our time and our spiritual gifts also?  Do we withhold our time, doing what we will, or do we give our time, doing what Christ wills?  What about our energy and intelligence, do we contribute them or withhold them for personal agendas and plans?  I have no doubt that we give something, but do we truly give fully though?

Give yourselves to the work of the Lord.  We can give ourselves fully to some things but what about the work of the Lord: fully to mission work, or fully to people work, or even fully to the work of merging together.  I can rake the leaves, I can winterize the house and put all of myself into those chores, but can I give myself fully to the work of discernment that God is calling Unity into?  The difficult and challenging work of study and correction, growth and transformation?  Building relationships with strangers, struggling with new bylaws, policies and budgets?  Or do we withhold our time and energy for other tasks and ignore and avoid these tasks commanded by Christ? 

Perhaps the real struggle is that we are unsure that if we invest fully in this merging process that we will have real results worth the effort and hardship of growth.  But if we give ourselves to this work of the Lord, we are reminded that we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.  In vain means empty or without result.  Perhaps the reason we withhold from God now, is because we want to know that our investment will have a payoff.  But the nature of faith is not knowing the result before action but an action of entrusting oneself to God and allow God to bring forth the result. 

We are at a critical time in the new life of The Unity Presbyterian Church of Ashtabula, where all of us are called to discern and to work out this new life together to which we have been called.  That will only bring forth fruit to the glory of God if we all, give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord.  Not to withhold for ourselves out of fear or anxiety but in faith, knowing that our work is not in vain, trusting and giving.  Whether we are working on bylaws and policies, or furniture and food, let us give all of ourselves to the work, and allow God, as the Master Baker to create, and I think we will come to find that what God creates can be great for our Birth-Day and serve all.  Amen.