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My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Many of us have over the years seen at least one of the movie series Back-To-The-Future.  Marty and Doc speed through time from the 80’s to the 50’s to 2019 and even back to the 1850’s.  We see reminders of the golden age of rock-n-roll, flying cars in the future, and the frontiers of the Wild West.  Over the course of the three movies, the characters make better choices in the past which have a way of making the future better.  Marty’s Dad stands up to Biff resulting in a better childhood for Marty and his siblings.  Marty learns to not freak out when called a chicken.  Doc Brown finds love and a family in the Old West.  Who would not want to go back in time and change decisions to make our lives better?

But, wanting to go back is not always the healthiest choice.  In the story of Lot, fleeing the destruction of his home, Lot’s wife looks back at the city as it is being destroyed presumably lamenting the loss of everything they had.  No longer having the prosperity and luxuries of living in the ancient world’s Sin City and being stuck in the wilderness with nothing; the feelings of loss and grief overcome her, and she looks back with a longing to go back in time.  But in the act of looking back, she turns into a pillar of salt.  Turns out that wanting to go back to a town being destroyed for its sinfulness, ends up bringing destruction upon herself.  Wanting to go back to a more prosperous and “better” time forfeits the “best” time God is creating.  Going back results in never moving forward.

No doubt many in our congregation have reflected upon and desired that we could go back to the way things were before the quarantine.  We have ample time on our hands to reflect and consider how things differ now compared to before.  No doubt we are overwhelmed with many feelings and thoughts, perhaps even to the point of being unable to discern what day it is, what time it, how many days in quarantine we have been, but one thing we almost all have done is to desire our present to become more like things were before the self-isolation.  We could do so much more than we can now: trips, visits, shopping, eating out, and much more.  Like Lot’s wife we spend our time now looking back toward before and desiring that things now were more like then. 

Bur regrettably that turning back and looking and desiring that things were the way they were are likely to turn us to salt.  While we were able to get our hair cut, or shop for leisure instead of need, or have a dinner anywhere but the kitchen or dining room, were things better “then” than “now.”  Think and reflect of how things were in our church.  We were capable of being an anonymous member.  We could come to church, we didn’t really need to interact with anyone, we could be entertained for a brief moment, we could skip coffee hour, we could ignore the pleas of the committee for volunteers, we could fulfill our duty for the week.  We always had an attitude of scarcity instead of abundance.  I heard endlessly about “how we are asking for more money again.”  We had injustices, poverties, broken relationships, no kids in Sunday School, someone else cleaning the church, and everyone going to Florida.  Was it better than now?  To turn back and look at how it was, I feel like I am turning to salt.

But what if now is a possibility given from the Grace of God and empowered by the Holy Spirit to move forward; because I am not sure we really want to go back to the ways we were before.  Imagine, for a moment, if instead of anonymous members hiding in the Sanctuary and hoping no one asks me to get involved, we were willing to invest in each other.  Imagine if we were bound to each other in commitment, just as God has bound us to God.  Imagine if we were to emotionally and financially and physically invest in each other.  Not hoping to leave before someone spots us or hoping that we never get asked to serve as a Church officer, even never joining the Church so we can never be asked to do anything.  What if we sacrificed for each other, building relationships of mutuality instead of selfishly considering only our wants?  What if we participated in each other’s lives like the Father and Son participate in each other by the Love of the Holy Spirit?

Well my friends, we would not be an institution, we would be a group of people.  We would not be a non-profit organization in the eyes of the State, we would be the body of Christ.  But we cannot go back to the way we before the quarantine because we were not yet the body of Christ.  We cannot go back to the way we before the quarantine because the Kingdom of God lies ahead of us.  We cannot go back to the way we before the quarantine because we are not the same people than before.  We cannot go back to the way we before the quarantine because, maybe just maybe, it really was not all that great.  But most importantly, we cannot go back to the way we were before the quarantine, because God is making now better than we were before.  We cannot go back to the way we before the quarantine because we need to disciple God forward. 

So when we can meet together, and at some point we will be able to, will we have the commitment, the self-sacrifice, the love to become the Church as a group of people called and created to assemble for God or will we have yet another excuse to remain an Anonymous Christian, which is really no Christian at all?

In Christ,

Rev. Mark

April 29, 2020

Colossians 1:15-23

¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶ for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

²¹ And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, ²² he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— ²³ provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel.

To be a fan of any Cleveland sports team is a study in frustrations.  To be a fan of the Indians is to be a fan of the organization with the longest World Series drought.  To be a fan of the Browns is exhausting because we have quite a large amount of hype and then disappointment.  The Cavaliers have been the only team in recent memory with a championship title but now we are in the basement.  The point of this study in the Factory of Sadness is that many fans in Cleveland are fair-weather fans.  When the teams are successful, they pay attention and cheer and invest themselves heavily in them.  But when the teams stink, they quickly root and follow other teams that are always successful and competing for the championships.  Even if that means they root for the Steelers.  Boo!

But what happens when like fair-weather fans we shift from discipling Jesus Christ to something else?  What happens when we become fair-weather Christians?  Paul writes, provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard.  The Church in Colossae was on the verge of shifting their faithfulness and discipleship from Jesus Christ to another.  They were amid the struggles and temptations to leave Christ for another more palatable and perhaps less challenging philosophy.  To that end, Paul writes to remind them of who Christ is and how no other Mediator or Philosophy could replace him.

He begins by reminding his congregation that for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.  The first thing the Colossians had forgotten was that Christ is the Creator, through him and for him all things were created.  Not through any elemental powers or forces in heaven, they too were created by Christ.  What is at stake for Paul is not the how but the who.  Jesus is the Creator of the entire universe and the purpose for its creation.  Any other person or thing in heaven or earth any other power or principality was created by him and for him.  Therefore, why shift our hope from Him to something else?

But the point of reminding them that Jesus is the Creator of the universe is to remind them that He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  Jesus is not just the one that existed before Creation, but the one that continues to hold and sustain all of Creation.  All things are held together by Christ.  Christ is the glue, the force, the power that keeps all of Creation together, despite the forces that seek to rip and tear it apart.  Therefore, why shift our hope from Him to something else?

But he continues, He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.  Not only is he the Creator of the universe, but by nature of his resurrection, He is now the Re-Creator.  By virtue of His second birth all things are made new and given re-birth.  That means that He has first-place, He is the head over all things, He is Lord over all creation.  No other thing can be first or head or Lord.  Therefore, why shift our hope from Him to something else?

But if he has been resurrected to be the Lord over all things, then through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.  By virtue of his cross and resurrection, God has through Christ reconciled or exchanged hostility for peace.  Through Christ, God has exchanged the relationship between Father and Son in the power of the Holy Spirit with the relationship of rebellion and defiance from us wayward children.  Therefore, why shift our hope from Him to something else?

But, it continues, the whole point of reconciliation is so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him.  The entire purpose of Jesus is to bring us back to God, without sin, without stain, without blemish and to live before God forever, to enjoy and be blessed by God.  Therefore, why shift our hope from Him to something else?

My friends, Jesus is the one who has done all this: creates and sustains the universe, resurrected to be Lord in the first place over all things, reconciled all things to God through his death, in order that we might be presented to God without sin.  Why should we then shift our faith and hope from Christ unto something else?  Can any politician be Jesus?  Can any scientist or scientific breakthrough be Jesus?  Can any fortune or CEO be Jesus?  Can any actor or athlete be Jesus?  Can any sickness or injury thwart Jesus?  Can any power in hell or scheme of humanity overcome Jesus?  Then, let us continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.  Let our discipleship not waver from Jesus Christ and shift to any other person, philosophy or lifestyle.  Let us hold fast to Christ and place our hope upon him alone.  Let us not be fair-weather Christians, but steadfast in our faith.  Amen.

Prayer

O God of Grace and Glory, we thank you for the mighty work and deeds you have done for us through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.  Help us to seek our hope in him alone without shifting to any other person or philosophy.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen. 

John 15:12-17

¹² “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³ No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵ I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶ You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. ¹⁷ I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

Growing up, my family never really went out to eat at expensive restaurants.  We always tended to eat at a place with a buffet line.  Everything laid out on tables and each customer allowed to take what one person loved to eat.  If you wanted meat, they had various options to choose from.  If wanted a salad, they had vegetables aplenty.  Dessert, they had it.  Bread, they had it.  But, while the variety and options were many, one still had to choose what it is you wanted to eat. 

Just as it is with a buffet line so too is it with Jesus Christ.  Except while you and I can choose the steak or the fish, Jesus is choosing people.  In our text from John, Jesus says, you did not choose me but I chose you.  Out of all the people in the ancient world of Palestine, Jesus chose these 12 disciples.  Handpicked by Jesus, selected not because of qualification but despite liabilities.  Jesus chose these 12 people to be his followers, to receive his words, and to be his.

But no sooner than we hear the revelation of God’s choosing people, first the 12 and then ourselves, then temptation begins to creep in and around our hearts.  The moment we hear about being “chosen” people, then our hearts and egos, swell with that most demonic and devilish force, hubris and pride.  “I” have been chosen; we tell ourselves.  Certainly, that makes me better than those not chosen.  I know, I have been saved, I am bearing God’s Spirit.  But to understand being chosen and to truly be chosen is not to be swollen with vanity, but instead quite the opposite.  The point is not that one is chosen, the point is that one is chosen by God, through the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Jesus chose Peter the coward, James and John the brash, Judas the traitor, Thomas the doubter, Paul the murderer.  Which of these knew anything if not for Jesus teaching and helping them to listen?  Which of these could do any deeds of power if not for Jesus empowering them to do it?  Which of these disciples cowering in fear in an upper room, running in terror at Jesus’ arrest could find courage if not for Jesus’ own courage being imparted to them?  These are the chosen ones of God, not for their abilities or capabilities, but despite their issues, and disqualifications.  These are the chosen ones of God, not because they were chosen, but because it is God’s good pleasure to choose them.  It is a gracious choice, not a choice of merit of quality.  To understand God’s election is to lead and bring one to humility and gratitude not to pride and arrogance.  Because it is about God’s good pleasure, not humanity’s worthiness.

But, the 12 were not just selected to be students, or followers, the text continues to say that they were chosen and appointed to be fruit-bearers.  They were chosen for a reason, to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. He is not talking about grapes and apples; he is talking about love.  And in truth he is not talking about love as we know it, but as love revealed in Jesus Christ.  Love that washes feet.  Love that lays down one’s life for one’s friends.  That is the kind of love that the 12 and us are chosen to bring forth into this world.  This is the whole point; this is the goal of all of God’s work.  Through Christ and with Christ, we should become christs and love like Christ.  With a love that is willing to lay down our lives for each other.

Many people are in our world, which lay claim to the title and privilege of being disciples of Christ, but not all are sincere.  Because remember that we do not choose Christ, but instead Christ chooses us and chooses us to love sacrificially and humbly.  For those that claim to be Christians but will not behave and act such as this, then they are not Jesus’ disciples, they are liars and thieves.  Because only Jesus chooses his disciples and only those who love like Jesus are truly chosen.  Which are you?  Do you hear the call and command of God through the Spirit of Jesus Christ?  Will you obey that command in humility and faithfulness?  Will you love as you have first been loved?  Or will change Jesus into something more palatable?  Something involving flags, guns, money, power or politics?

My friends, the true disciple of Jesus Christ is first chosen by God’s good pleasure despite our flaws and failures.  To understand that is to be led to humility and gratitude.  But once we understand Grace, we are always led to graciousness and the call to love one another.  Let this therefore be a season once again of God’s Grace.  With humility and gratitude let us lift the deeds of God despite us but because of us.  With this deep, deep love of God for us, let us remember our election, but let us choose instead of swelling our egos, to love each other sacrificially.  Then and only then we will become the disciples Jesus has chosen us to become.  Amen.

Prayer

O God of love and grace, thank you for your good pleasure in choosing us to become your disciples.  Surround us with your love in order that we might be lovers of humanity.  Use us to bless all those in need this day.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 

By Amber Balista

This week I am going off the daily psalm path and reading psalm 116, the psalm is one of the texts for this Sunday, it is worth sitting with a little while. This is the Common English Bile (CEB) translation, it keeps the meaning of the text but not necessarily the exact Hebrew words. It is a bit easier for me to read today.

Psalm 116

 I love the Lord because he hears
    my requests for mercy.
² I’ll call out to him as long as I live,
    because he listens closely to me.
³ Death’s ropes bound me;
    the distress of the gravefound me—
    I came face-to-face with trouble and grief.
⁴ So I called on the Lord’s name:
    “Lord, please save me!”

⁵ The Lord is merciful and righteous;
    our God is compassionate.
⁶ The Lord protects simple folk;
    he saves me whenever I am brought down.
⁷ I tell myself, You can be at peace again,
    because the Lord has been good to you.
⁸ You, God, have delivered me from death,
    my eyes from tears,
    and my foot from stumbling,
⁹     so I’ll walk before the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁰ I have remained faithful, even when I said,
    “I am suffering so badly!”
¹¹     even when I said, out of fear,
    “Everyone is a liar!”

¹² What can I give back to the Lord
    for all the good things he has done for me?
¹³ I’ll lift up the cup of salvation.
    I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
¹⁴ I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people.
¹⁵ The death of the Lord’s faithful
    is a costly loss in his eyes.

¹⁶ Oh yes, Lord, I am definitely your servant!
    I am your servant and the son of your female servant—
    you’ve freed me from my chains.
¹⁷ So I’ll offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to you,
    and I’ll call on the Lord’s name.
¹⁸ I’ll keep the promises I made to the Lord
    in the presence of all God’s people,
¹⁹     in the courtyards of the Lord’s house,
        which is in the center of Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

I have two bird feeders in my back yard, and typically as I drink my morning cup of coffee, I get to watch them. For me, it is a sign of hope. Even when I have not filled the feeders with birdseed they still come around, checking it out gathering up bits that were lost to the ground. Somehow, these birds know they will be provided for- if not by the feeder than by God who has made creation to care for even the smallest creature. It is a sign of hope and a call to praise God! 

Like God cares for the birds, we are also cared for. The psalmist remembers that the Lord saves us from death, from tears and from stumbling! We can walk free, in service to our God. This is good news, yet sometimes difficult to remember. It has been a difficult week, some weeks for many folks. Knowing the saving presence of God might not be easy these days. We might feel more chained than free and more grieved than at peace. In a time of fear, it is easy to say along with the psalm, “everyone is a liar!” We may have a tendency to feel like we are the only one suffering, the only one anxious or pulled in too many directions. Feeling out of sorts without control over the situation looking for somewhere to place blame or something to distract from the grief we are faced with.

The highest one, the God of all creation who loves us perfectly listens closely to us- we can call on God for help in times of trouble. We know there is peace to be found when we call out to God, but calling out can be so hard. God can feel far away as we struggle. Looking for some other way to escape either by our own effort or by looking for someone to tell us what to do. We need some direction because our and the people around us have needs that keep stacking up, real physical needs for food, for enough money to pay our bill, for good health of those we care for. We have needs to feel connected to our friends, family and neighbor and a need to be seen and know we are loved.

It is vital to remember that God who in grace provides is with us. While we wait, we can confidently praise God, who is our only master. The one who in grace has done good to us. The one who sent Jesus Christ and left his Spirit to stay always with us, loves us unendingly. The energy it takes to look for help anywhere else is a wasted effort. When it becomes clear that we rely on God who is revealed to us in Christ we can see how much we are loved. We are seen, and known by the God who never leaves us. We remember to call on God, and we can join the psalmist in proclaiming we are God’s servants! Set free from anxiety, fear, suffering, and loneliness. God is at our center- as close as our very breath – sustaining us to life and to hope.

 God bless you and keep you.

.

April, 22 2020

¹“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. ² He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. ³ You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴ Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. ⁹ As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹ I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Trying to take a picture of a marching band is much like herding cats.  The photographer gets one section right where they want them and then another section moves out of place.  Putting the tubas in the front always covers up the flutes in the back.  The tall musicians standing in the front of the shorter musicians covers them up and one cannot see their faces.  No sooner than the photographer gets everyone in place and then someone needs to use the restroom, or someone gives bunny ears to the person in front and then they move.  The sun glares in the trumpet section’s eyes and then they move.  Getting a picture of a marching band is tremendously difficult because the players have great difficulty staying.

Jesus also has a lot of trouble getting people to stay.  But while the photographer needs to get the musicians to stay in their place and not move or fidget or annoy their neighbor, Jesus has difficulty getting people to stay with him.  In our text from John, Jesus says, abide in me as I abide in you.  The word in Greek for abide can also mean remain or stay.  So, the text reads, stay in me as I stay in you.  Through the work of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has come to the heart of the believer and chosen to live or dwell or remain there.  The great difficulty is that while Jesus is staying with us, the person tends to drift away from Jesus, they tend to stray away from Jesus.  Hence the command or the exhortation from Jesus to stay.  Stay with me as I stay with you. 

Why is this staying with Jesus such a big deal, why not some time in Jesus and some time away from Jesus.  I am thinking of the average course of our week.  We have time we spend with Jesus in prayer, study, worship, and service, but we also have time we want to spend apart from Jesus perhaps in work, leisure, or fun activities.  We have moments for sure when we want to stay with Jesus, but we also have moments when we want to leave Jesus.  Jesus gives the reason why, because apart from me you can do nothing.  He is not saying that we cannot do things apart from Jesus, but he is saying what those things we do will be like without Jesus.  Without Jesus what would our careers be like?  Without Jesus what would our relationships be like?  Without Jesus what would our leisure time be like? 

A career without Jesus is prone to harmful tendencies and temptations, selfish ambition, insatiable greed, environmental destruction, and consumerism.  Relationships without Jesus are also susceptible to destructive and traumatic tendencies. abuse, neglect, manipulation, and violence.  Give someone free time without Jesus and one is vulnerable to self-destructive tendencies, chemical abuse, over-consumption, spiritual malaise, and rampant hedonism.  But the most sinister of all is a religion without Jesus; these temptations are the most destructive.  A religion without Jesus is cruel, judgmental, divisive and snobbery; and we can see that today.

The reason why we can see some in our religion without Jesus is because some in our religion are without love.  To stay in Jesus is to stay in love and to love.  As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  To stay in Jesus continually is to stay in love, and to stay in love is to love each other.  But some in today’s religion are quite without love and therefore without Jesus and therefore have left Jesus.  Many in the spotlight are cruel to others in the name of ideologies or selfish agendas.  Many in the news are judgmental, particularly around politics and elected officials, even going so far as to condemn someone for voting for the “devil’s” candidate.  Some are even with loud and obnoxious voices dividing the Church of Jesus Christ into a uniform belief system, which have you ever noticed is always theirs.  Does this look like and sound like disciples abiding in Jesus because he abides in them?

Perhaps then the Father needs to do a little pruning.  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.  Those that have been baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit that will not stay in Jesus and bear the fruit of Love, are removed from Jesus and fit only to be burned.  The warning is that God has gone to great lengths and at great personal cost so that we might produce bushels and bushels of Love.  By giving us Love, God wants us to Love each other and to Love him.  If we will not, if we only fight and defy, then what course does God have, but to do some pruning.  The removal of the stubborn and nasty and the replacement by those who will obey by loving.

But the text says after the warning, but you, you have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.  Being attached to vine, cleanses the branch of all its stubborn defiance giving it a new will and attitude of obedience and subordination.  The key is to stay.  In Jesus, we have the heart and mind of Jesus, a willing obedience to God.  In Christ we have a new attitude and a new priority on life.  But we all too foolishly refuse to stay, to remain to abide in Jesus.  We foolishly choose to leave, to drift, to stray.

My friends, I understand all too well how difficult it is to stay.  Many of us are even unable to stay home during the quarantine and look at the mess that makes.  But the most important place to stay is not in a physical place, but a spiritual place.  The most important place to stay is in Christ; to remain in Christ, to abide in Christ, to stay in Christ.  And the harsh and iron-fisted truth is that only those who Love like Christ are those that truly abide in Christ.  So, stay.  Stay where God has put you, baptized into Christ, baptized into Love, baptized into God.  Stay in God as God stays in you, and in God continue to be godly.  But that means Love not hate, nastiness, cruelty, judgment and divisiveness.  To be godly is to Love as Christ Loves us, in humble service; a lesson American Christians need to learn.  Will you stay and learn it?

Prayer

O Holy and Loving God, we thank you for the pouring out of your Holy Spirit.  Give us the mind and heart of Christ, that we may gladly choose to spend all our lives abiding in you.  Help us to Love each other as you have loved us, in humble service.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.