The Ultimate Foundation

This is the last sermon in a series that explored basic Christian practices such as prayer, Bible study, and gratitude. In it, I claim that worship is the foundation of all the other practices. See if you agree with me.

Today is the last Sunday in the Christian year. Next Sunday, Advent will begin; and we will once again wait for a Messiah who will deliver us from bondage. But this morning, the church calendar still says that it’s New Year’s Eve. And on New Year’s Eve, we look ahead in anticipation of what will happen in the New Year. Each year on December 31, when we celebrate our secular New Year, we wonder what will happen in the future. But on the last Sunday in the Christian year, we know what will happen. As Christians, we believe that one day, Jesus will come again, and God’s kingdom will arrive in fullness bringing peace, love, and healing to all. We may not agree on how that will happen; and we certainly don’t agree on when that will happen; but we all do agree that it will happen someday, and on that day, the world as we know it will be transformed.

This morning also brings us to the end of our journey through foundational Christian practices. We began our travels with prayer, moved through Bible study, and continued with simplicity, community, generosity, and gratitude. That brings us today to the practice of worship. In a way, we’ve saved the best for last; because all the other practices that we’ve considered are based on worship. It’s the foundation on which we base all our Christian behavior.

So maybe we should consider briefly what worship is – and what it isn’t. Most people think that gathering in church, singing hymns, listening to a sermon, and joining in prayer guarantees worship. But that’s not the case. What makes all these actions “worship” is the attitude that is underneath them. Worship, very simply, is the act of acknowledging where our ultimate loyalty lies. Singing and praying and preaching are only worship if, as we do these things, we are acknowledging that Jesus Christ is our ultimate authority. Otherwise, all our pious actions are just so much show.

It isn’t an understatement to say that the entire Bible deals with worship in one way or another. Noah worshipped God when he followed God’s instructions and built an ark. Moses worshipped God when he went to Pharaoh and told him, “Let my people go.” King David worshipped when he moved the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem; and King Solomon worshipped when he built the Temple. The prophets told the people over and over again that true worship was showing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God. Jesus showed his followers what worship looked like through his life of acceptance and compassion.

And in this morning’s scripture reading, we actually get a glimpse of worship in heaven. First, we get up close and personal with the throne of God himself. Then, we see twenty-four elders surrounding God’s throne. They might represent the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. They wear golden crowns, and are robed in white. Next, we see four fantastic flying creatures, covered with eyes, who praise God day and night. Finally, we witness the very heart of worship, as the elders fall on their faces before God, offer God their crowns, and give God glory, honor, and praise.

It seems like an odd way to worship, doesn’t it? We have never once fallen flat on our faces in this sanctuary. We haven’t even tossed a golden crown or two toward the altar. But an ancient congregation would have recognized this scene as the very essence of worship. The King was crowned as the ultimate authority; and he was also worshipped as God’s earthly representative. When people approached the King, they would have fallen flat on their faces in front of him. That acknowledged both the authority of the King and the loyalty of his subjects. Although we think of it as a political statement – something like bowing to the Queen of England – in those days, it was a religious act, as well. And so, when the white-robed elders laid their crowns before God’s throne, it was a profound statement. By giving up their crowns, they were giving up any authority that they themselves had, and accepting God’s authority in all areas of their lives. And that is the foundation of real worship!

On this day when we anticipate Jesus Christ’s eternal reign, it’s worth asking ourselves whether we really do worship him in the way that he should be worshipped. Do we really accept the authority of Jesus Christ in all areas of our lives? Oh, I know that we would never cheat on our income taxes; we don’t covet our neighbor’s wife (at least, not very often); and I’ve never yet dug up a body in our recreation park that one of you murdered and is trying to get rid of. But those things are easy. Don’t murder…don’t steal… don’t covet. Sure, we can do all that. But what about some of the other things that Jesus told us. How about the commandment to love your enemy? Hmmmm…. That one gets ignored a lot when it’s inconvenient. One of my friends has a bumper sticker on her car that says, “When Jesus says ‘Love your enemy,’ I think he means ‘Don’t kill them.’” In a world in which violence is so acceptable, whose side are we on? You see, if Jesus is really going to reign forever – and we claim that he is – and if we truly want to worship him – and we say that we do – then we have to give him authority over all of our lives. After all, in the Kingdom of God, there is no room for violence, or hate, or selfishness.

So, maybe you’re thinking right now, “Well, I might as well go home! If I have to give Jesus Christ authority over every part of my life, I’m never going to be able to worship as I should.” But you’d be wrong. Worship is an amazing thing. The more we worship, the better at it we become. That’s why I say that worship is the foundation of every other Christian practice. The more we worship, the more we want to encounter God; and that leads to more prayer. The more we worship, the more we want to understand what God is saying to us in scripture; and that leads to reading the Bible more frequently. The more we worship, the more we want to please God in every way; and that leads to greater gratitude and generosity. The ancient church got it right when they proclaimed, “Lex orandi, lex credendi.” That’s a Latin phrase that means, in essence, “What we proclaim is what we believe.” We don’t decide to believe and then worship; we worship, and that worship forms both our beliefs and our actions.

So on this New Year’s Eve of the church year, I invite you to look ahead to the time when all creation will be remade in the image of Jesus Christ. The book of Revelation describes the fullness of God’s kingdom in chapter 21: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with people, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’” That’s what will happen when Jesus Christ rules completely! Shouldn’t we worship him completely, too?

A Spirit of Gratitude

Why have we come so far from the original intent of Thanksgiving? It has changed from being "a day to be thankful" to merely "the day before Black Friday." Is it possible that we have forgotten how to be grateful? If you choose to read this sermon, it may provide some food for thought to go with your turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

This coming Thursday is Thanksgiving. It’s the one day out of the entire year dedicated to giving thanks for all the blessings that we enjoy. We can trace the holiday all the way back to the 1620s when the Pilgrims first landed in Massachusetts. George Washington proclaimed the first national day of thanksgiving in 1789; and it became a national holiday in 1863, by proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. The original thanksgiving celebrations were religious celebrations. Oh, the Pilgrims may have feasted with their Native American friends in gratitude for a bountiful harvest; but all that feasting occurred after they gathered to worship in services that probably lasted for several hours. George Washington certainly saw it as a religious day. He called on his countrymen to acknowledge “with grateful hearts the many… favors of Almighty God.” But these days, Thanksgiving isn’t very religious at all. Most people don’t spend the day sitting in a church pew; they’re in a recliner watching TV. Many do say grace before they stuff themselves with turkey, candied sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie; but the closest that other folks get to giving thanks is exclaiming, “Thank God my football team won!” What happened? When did we stop giving thanks for what we have and start taking it all for granted? How did we get so far away from the original intent of this holiday?

Maybe this morning’s story from the gospel of Luke (17:11-19) can shed some light on the problem. It’s one of the few stories in the gospels that deals with gratitude – and the lack of it. It’s a very short story. Jesus encounters 10 lepers, men whose illness is so feared that they have been expelled from society. They live alone, or with other lepers. They aren’t even permitted to approach Jesus, but must stand far away from him and shout, “Jesus, master, have pity on us.” Of course, Jesus does have pity on them. “Go show yourselves to the priests,” he says. That’s what people did if they were healed of leprosy – they would go to the priest to prove that their leprosy was gone. Only then could they go back to their home and family. The men follow Jesus’ instructions; and as they go on their way, they are healed! Their bleeding sores, their crusty scabs, their white, dying skin – all of it disappeared, and their flesh became clean and fresh and healthy. But only one came back to say “thank you” to Jesus. Only one – and he was a Samaritan. None of the nine Jews who were healed came back. They didn’t even give him a thumbs-up and holler, “Way to go, Jesus! You da man!” No, all Jesus saw of them were their backs disappearing from view as they hurried off.

It’s not what we expect, is it? The Samaritan – the one who shouldn’t have anything to do with a Jewish Messiah – he’s the only one who showed any gratitude! I’ve often wondered why that was the case. Is it possible that those nine Jews felt that they were entitled to be healed? After all, they were expecting a Messiah who would solve all the problems that any Jew ever had. That’s what they had been taught from their childhood – that when the Messiah came, he would fix everything that was wrong. The Samaritan had been taught something, too. He had been taught that no Jew cared anything about a Samaritan. He hadn’t grown up waiting for a Messiah to swoop down and make everything better. Far from it! When a Samaritan encountered a Jew, he wasn’t helped; he was usually spit upon! That Samaritan didn’t feel entitled to anything, especially from a Jewish Messiah.

If those nine Jews felt entitled to be healed, then it makes perfect sense that they didn’t come back to say “thank you.” After all, we don’t show gratitude for what we’re entitled to have, do we? We say, “Thank you” to the server at Tim Horton’s when she hands us coffee and a donut at the drive-through window because we’re polite; but if we don’t get that breakfast, we’ll probably go into the store and raise a fuss about it. After all, we’ve paid for that coffee, and we’re entitled to it. But people today seem to feel entitled to lots of things that they aren’t really entitled to at all. People get angry when traffic on I-75 is heavy, because they think they’re entitled to drive all the way to work without any problems. They complain when prices go up, because they think that they’re entitled to low prices on everything from tee shirts to canned corn. And they certainly feel entitled to buy anything that they want on Black Friday! What else can explain fist fights at Wal-Mart over the last Tickle Me Elmo doll? We feel entitled; and people who feel entitled don’t say “thank you.” Instead, they say, “You only bought a 15 pound turkey? There won’t be enough leftovers for sandwiches!”

Gratitude is as scarce as turkey’s teeth these days. But gratitude is one of the foundations of our Christian life. If we lose the capacity to feel gratitude, we lose the engine that drives our generosity! It’s no accident that here at Nashville UCC, we receive a collection for the FISH food pantry on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Because we are thankful for what we have, we want to share with others who don’t have as much as we do. We want to show our gratitude through our actions.

I saw a short video recently that made me realize vividly the power of gratitude. The video begins with a view of a man sitting on a blanket on the sidewalk in front of a public building, perhaps a courthouse. His clothing is clean but threadbare. His eyes aren’t focusing on anything. In front of him sits an empty coffee can. People walk by him. Some are alone; while others are in groups, chatting together happily. A few slow down to drop a coin or two in his coffee can. Now we can see that there is a hand-written sign sitting next to him. It says, “I’m blind. Please help.” An attractive woman in black pumps walks by, then stops and returns to him. She gives him nothing, and she says nothing. Instead, she picks up his sign, turns it over, and writes something on the back in black marker. As she is writing, the blind man touches her shoes with his fingertips, striving to identify her. She replaces his sign with the one she wrote, then turns and walks away. Almost immediately, people begin to drop coins on the blanket and into the coffee can – not one coin at a time, but handfuls of them. They even drop in dollar bills! The donations are so abundant that the can quickly fills up, to the astonishment of the blind man. Somewhat later, the woman in black pumps walks by again. She stops; and as the blind man hesitantly touches her shoes, he recognizes her as the woman who wrote something on his sign. “What did you do to my sign?” he asks. She leans down and puts a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I wrote the same,” she says, “but in different words.” As the video comes to a close, we see the new sign that has inspired so much generosity. It now reads, “It’s a beautiful day; and I can’t see it.”

Friends, how can we not show gratitude when we realize that everything we have is a gift? The ability to enjoy the world around us; our friends and family who show us so much love; the ability to work at something meaningful; and the freedom to pursue whatever brings us happiness: these are all gifts of God. And, of course, the greatest gift of all is salvation – adoption into God’s family through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and made real to us by the Holy Spirit. We have so much to be grateful for!

So these are my Thanksgiving hopes for all of you. On Thursday, I hope that you enjoy a wonderful meal. I hope that you eat turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie until you can’t hold any more. I hope that you enjoy the company of family and friends. I hope that you can relax, take a nap, and enjoy the parades and the football games on TV. But as you do all these things, I hope that you also do that one thing that matters most of all. I hope that you give thanks to God for all the blessings that you enjoy!

What Belongs to God

The Christian practice that I considered this week is generosity. Generosity arises out of the realization that we have nothing of our own, but that everything that we have and everything that we are belongs to God. Is generosity a part of your life?

During the past several weeks, my sermons have discussed some of our foundational Christian practices. The first practice we considered was prayer, throughout all the ages of our lives. Then, we discussed Bible interpretation, so that we can evaluate for ourselves what different churches preach. We considered our priorities, as we try to simplify our lives and make room for what is really important. Finally, last week we discussed community – that community of saints that transcends even death. That brings us to today’s topic – generosity.

Most people immediately think of money when the subject of generosity is raised. And, in fact, this is the season for stewardship sermons. During the month of November, millions of sermons will be preached by pastors who are trying to get their congregations to ante up a few more dollars – sometimes, quite a few more dollars – to meet their 2013 church budget. Certainly financial giving is a part of generosity. But Christian generosity goes far beyond what we put into the church offering plate each week. Jesus gives us a clue to what real generosity is all about in this morning’s story from the gospel of Mark (12:13-17). Although that story begins with a financial question, it ends with a much wider focus.

In this little story, members of the Jewish religious establishment are trying to catch Jesus in his own words. They want to get rid of him; and they are looking for a way to do it legally. So when they come to him with a question about paying the Roman tax, they think they have him in a dilemma that will put him into their hands regardless of his answer. “Teacher,” they ask, “Should we pay taxes to the government or not?” Now, that’s a “lose-lose” question if there ever was one! If Jesus says, “Yes, we should pay taxes,” the Jewish crowds could be incited to riot, and Jesus might even be stoned to death. (Paying taxes were even less popular in those days than they are today!) But if Jesus says, “No, Jews don’t have to pay taxes because God, not Caesar, is their king,” the Jewish authorities can have him arrested for treason. So Jesus responds, “Well, gee, let’s take a look at a Roman coin. Whose image is this on it? And whose name is written underneath the image?” That was a no-brainer. Everyone knew that Roman coins contained the image and the name of the emperor. Now, in ancient times, an image was frequently used to prove ownership. Since most people couldn’t read or write, the way to claim possession was to stamp their picture on something. Caesar’s face was on all Roman coins; so obviously, that money belonged to Caesar. Jesus’ answer is simple, wise, and deep with meaning. “So, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar; and give to God what belongs to God.” The money is Caesar’s because it bears his image. But a second question hangs in the air unanswered – what bears God’s image? Jesus’ listeners all knew the answer to that question; and so do we. We can hear the author of Genesis whispering the answer in our ears: “So God created humankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” We are what bears God’s image! The money may belong to Caesar, but we belong to God.

Since we belong to God, then we owe God everything we have and everything we are. We owe God way more than just a percentage of our bank account. God has the ultimate claim on our talents, our time, and everything that we own. And because we understand that everything we have is God’s, Christians view generosity differently than most folks do. In the eyes of society, giving dollars to charity, or buying nonperishable food for the local food pantry, or spending time working at a soup kitchen is very generous! And those are all good things to do, but they fall far short of real Christian generosity. If we are really generous, says Jesus, we will be willing to give up all that we have and all that we are for the sake of the gospel. What we have isn’t ours, anyway. It belongs to God; and if God needs it, then we are happy to give it back.

I happened to see a report on Friday’s nightly news about relief efforts that have been sent to help the East Coast in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Many of the donations are coming from New Orleans, who survived Hurricane Katrina; and Joplin, Missouri, who survived a killer tornado. Because others had been generous with those survivors, they were generous, too. One video showed a semi truck that was loaded with supplies – clothing, blankets, and food. That kind of generosity is all the more remarkable because the donors were still living in trailers that FEMA had provided to them. Although they are still recovering from a disaster of their own, those people are modeling the generosity that Jesus wants of us.

Now, generosity like this isn’t very common. Many of us were raised to believe that a little bit of generosity is fine; but at some point, we have to hold to what is ours. So when we reach that point, we clench our hands into fists and we hang on tight! The trouble is that if our fingers are clenched into fists for too long, it’s really hard to unclench them. It feels wrong to relax our fingers and stretch them out so that we can let go of things. But that’s the example that Jesus gave us. What our fists are holding on to will be different for each person. Churches tend to encourage generosity in financial giving. But there are other types of generosity that are just as important. How much poorer would we be, for instance, if no one ever shared their talents with others? What if nobody played the piano, or sang in the choir? What if nobody wrote a newsletter article, or put together a Moment for Missions? What if nobody painted the kitchen, or helped Habitat for Humanity put wiring into a new house? Sharing our own talents generously is just as important as writing a big check! And even if someone thinks that they don’t have any talents to share, everyone has time to give. Gathering unused blankets and clothing to donate to the needy only takes a few minutes; but that time spent generously might help another human being to live through a long, cold winter. Generosity isn’t something that we tack on to our lives every now and then when we think about it. It’s a Christian practice rooted in the understanding that all of us belongs to God – money, possessions, time, and life itself.

Do you think generosity isn’t important? Listen to this old story from the Jewish tradition. It is said that a man was in prayer one day; and he began to ponder all the brokenness in our world. As he realized how much need was all around him, he sank into despair and cried out to God, “Why do you let this happen? Why don’t you send somebody to fix all this?” Deep in his heart, he heard the still, small voice of God answer him, “I did send someone. I sent you.”

Eternal Community

November 1 was All Saints' Day, a religious holiday that is not often observed in Protestant churches. Our church celebrates it, however, because it gives us a chance to remember our fathers and mothers in the faith. This sermon preceded a service of candle lighting and remembrance. Maybe it will bring to mind some cherished memories to you, as well.

Well, we’ve made it through Halloween for another year. We’ve seen jack o’lanterns, black cats, and dancing skeletons for weeks now. We’ve listened to spooky music on the radio, and we’ve watched Halloween episodes of our favorite TV shows. We’ve even gone out trick-or-treating with the little ones despite the windy, rainy weather. Yes, Halloween is a big deal these days.

The very next day, November 1, is All Saints’ Day, another day that focuses on the dead. At first glance, it appears to be very similar to Halloween.  But the two holidays are really very different. Halloween was originally a pagan holiday. It was a time to pacify evil spirits who might want to harm the living. That emphasis on evil is why being frightened is such a big part of Halloween. The scarier it is, the better people like it. Ghosts, ghouls, zombies, monsters – they all show up on Halloween. All Saints’ Day, in contrast, is Christian to the core. On All Saints’ Day, we focus not on evil spirits; but on our loved ones who are now resting in the arms of God. On All Saints’ Day, we are surrounded not by werewolves and vampires, but by cherished memories of family and friends. On All Saints’ Day, we rejoice in the reality of the community of saints that includes both the living and the dead – our mothers and fathers in the faith who have gone before us, as well as those of us here who are still among the living.

That great community of saints is why there is such a difference between Halloween stories and the stories that we tell on All Saints’ Day. On Halloween, we tell stories about people who are alone. Ghosts in Halloween stories are always alone. That’s why they haunt places. They are searching for the companionship that they had in life, but have now lost forever.

When Fred and I were in Wilmington, North Carolina on vacation recently, we went on a ghost tour. The tour took us to several places near downtown Wilmington that claimed to be haunted. At each stop, our guide told the story of its particular ghost. For example, at a stop on Third Street, we heard about a young man named Llewelyn Markwick. Markwick lived in Wilmington in the mid-1700s. He disappeared one night after spending an evening with his friends. Although an intensive search was conducted, he seemed to have vanished into thin air. Some years later, a large portion of Third Street blew away when a hurricane swept through the city. Someone noticed a bony hand protruding from the sandy roadbed. It turned out that the hand was attached to the remains of Llewelyn Markwick. Wilmington residents claim that he can still be seen walking around on Third Street, dressed in colonial garb. Sometimes, he’s even riding a horse. Is he looking for his family? His friends? His murderers? No one knows. But he is always alone. Eternally alone. (You can read this story and others in Ghosts of Old Wilmington by John Hirchak, Haunted America Press, ©2006.)

You’ll never hear a story like this on All Saints’ Day. That’s because God’s saints are never alone! They enjoy eternal community with God, with each other, and with those of us who are still in this life. We might not see them or hear them; but they are with God, and God is with us; so they are with us, as well. This community that transcends even death is one of the most profound gifts that God gives us through the risen Christ. Because Jesus lives, not even death can break the connection between us and those who are now living eternally with God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are still one community of faith and love.

We know that, don’t we, deep down in our hearts? Sometimes we feel the loving presence of someone who hasn’t been with us in this life for years. Perhaps a familiar phrase springs to our lips; and after we’ve said it, we smile and say, “Ah! I sound just like my Aunt Helen.” We are never alone. The connections of love are just too strong. And those connections begin in this life, long before we cross the boundary of death. We come together to worship, to study, and to share our joys and sorrows. And when we are not physically present with one another, we lift up each other in prayer. Participating in a community of faith is part of the foundation of being a Christian!

I sometimes hear the question, “But can’t I be a Christian by myself? I don’t need other people around me to be a disciple of Jesus.” And technically, that’s right. There’s nothing in the Old or the New Testament that says, “Thou shalt gather in community on a regular basis.” But all of scripture assumes that we do that anyway! The Bible was written by a faith community for a faith community. And how much richer our lives are when we join together in community! Those of us who are strong in our faith are able to support those who are weaker. Folks who have read scripture for years can help others to learn about it. Younger people with physical strength can help those who are growing frail. And Christians who have financial resources can share with others who have less. Sure, each one of us could work and study and worship by ourselves. But why would we want to? The saints we remember today showed us what it meant to live for one another. They taught us, supported us, challenged us, nurtured us, and loved us. Isn’t that why we remember them? They set an example for us to follow – a community of believers who trusted God, loved Jesus, and lived their lives through the Holy Spirit.

That community is still alive. It lives on in the lives of each one of us here today. The saints who are gone still inspire us, guide us, and sometimes even correct us. By the grace of God, they are still a part of this community of faith. And so are we all, until time has ticked out its last second, and the eternity of God’s kingdom has arrived in its fullness. We are always in a community – an eternal community – by the grace of God. We are never alone.

 
Thanks be to God!