Do The Do's!
Sermon
Sermons On The Second Readings
Series I, Cycle C
It was just unthinkable! The unbelievable had to be believed because it had just happened! In just a few short hours the darkest evil that inhabits the hearts of men had been revealed. Innocent blood was shed. Chaos reigned. There was no sense in the nonsense. The ugly power of brute force had bared its hideous yellow teeth. Death lingered so heavily that it seemingly filled the air.
For so many who had waited so long, their world had collapsed in a few short hours. All their dreams, their hopes, their highest aspirations were cast down and nailed to a cross. They were as dead as the man who hung there. It was all over, for Jesus was dead.
The women were there. They saw it all. As others fled in fear, the women faithfully witnessed the eventual events. They saw him murdered. They saw him taken down from the tree and they saw him laid in the borrowed tomb. And then they waited! But they did more. According to Luke 23:56, the women "went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment." They did what they knew to do. They went to church! They went about the work of work and worship.
What do you do when you don't know what to do? You do what you know to do. What else could they do? They did what they knew to do. They did what they could do. They went about their normal routine in very abnormal times. They went about the work of work and worship.
It is a question that is raised today in light of the horrible events of September 11, 2001. What do you do when you don't know what to do? You do what you know to do. You go about the normal routines of work and worship.
Laura Bush was asked in the days after the attack how we could help our children during this crisis. The First Lady responded that we must first talk to them and listen to them. She then went on to iterate that we should go about our normal routines as much as possible. These routines would help to bring about in our children a sense of stability.
You may have seen the interview of the woman who owned a flower and vegetable stand very close to the rubble of the World Trade Center. "Why did you reopen so soon?" the interviewer questioned.
"I had to do something," she said. "I did what I had to do."
So, what do we do? What do we do when we don't know what to do? We do what we can. We give blood. We light a candle. We go to work. We spend quality time with our children and other loved ones. We pray. We do the work of work and worship. We do the very things that made America strong and great in the first place. These routines help to bring a sense of security, to bring order out of chaos, to help bring some sense to the nonsense.
Our time is not completely unlike the time in which the writer of Hebrews wrote his sermon and sent it to the exhausted congregation. The church was tired. The church was tired of being tired and was emotionally and physically spent. Their faith was being tested. Some were on the verge of losing their faith. Others had just about quit coming to church. All because they were tired. Fred Craddock states that "tired" should be a theological category. When we are tired, we are not the same person as we are when we are not. When we are tired, we do things that normally we would not do. Thus, we need something to bring us back to a sense of the normal patterns of work, worship, and rest. These normal patterns produce stability, renewed energy, and self-confidence.
Perhaps that is why the preacher in Hebrews produced a series of moral and ethical imperatives for the church to stick to in order to bring back a sense of order. When times are abnormal, when we don't know what to do, we return to those patterns of life that produce normalcy. In short, we do the do's. We keep on keeping on! We do what we know to do whether we feel like it or not. That is what Christians do!
There must have been a point in time along the journey when there came a knock upon the door of Christopher Columbus. "Captain, we have only enough provisions to return to Spain. If we go any further, there can be no turning back. It is turn back now or never. What is your order?"
There may have been a moment of silence, even prayer. Then the voice rang strongly from the captain's quarters, "Sail on!"
That is what we Christians have done. We have signed on to set sail with Jesus. It does not matter if the sea is serene or stormy. In fact there will be times for both, but we have signed on for the journey. We are under his orders. We take our cue for the living of our lives from Jesus. We take our cue not from the world or the events around us, whether they be calm or chaotic. We have no option. We follow Jesus.
So, what would Jesus have us do? We, too, are emotionally spent from the events of that horrifying Tuesday. We are tired. What can we do when we don't know what to do? We do what we know to do. The preacher of Hebrews shows us some things for us to do.
We can "keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters" (v. 1). Now, of course, the original context of these words was with the fellowship of the church. Could it not also be true of us today as Americans? We are to continue to love each other as brothers and sisters and fellow citizens.
Maybe it is just me, but I noticed that people were kinder to each other in the days after the attack. They seemed to be more tolerant. There seemed to be less road rage. Crime was down fifty percent in the first five days after the attack. People seemed to be aware of the need to realize that we are all Americans and we are in this together. We need to love each other.
Nowhere does it say that we are to hate. Bring to justice? Yes! Hate? No! If we succumb to the tendency to hate, then we are no better than the conscienceless cowards who perpetuated the evil act. We follow Christ. We must refuse to allow anyone's actions to determine our behavior. We must be like Martin Luther King, Sr., who, after his wife was killed by a crazed gunman while she sat at the organ in church, quoted Booker T. Washington, "I will allow no man to degrade my soul by making me hate him." We must continue to love each other. We must never hate anyone.
We also can "not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels with out knowing it" (v. 20). One great temptation in our current crisis is to begin to look at others as if they are strangers. It would not be difficult to see others with suspicious, even critical or blaming eyes, especially if the color of their skin or the face of their faith is different from ours -- even though they may be our fellow Americans. We all are Americans. It is time to realize our commonalities, not time to point our differences. We are in this together.
Yes, such a stance involves risk. No one ever said that being a Christian or being an American, especially now, would be easy. It involves vulnerability. But the risk of not doing so is greater than seeking to do so.
These days give us great opportunity to show true Christian and Yankee hospitality to each other. As you know, the word hospitality comes form the word hospice. Hospice can be defined as the host or the one being hosted. True hospitality is done in such a way that one cannot distinguish between the host and the guest, between the one extending hospitality and the one receiving it. They are the same. Today, we are all the same.
Besides, the serendipitous surprise is that some, in entertaining those who seem strange to them, have actually entertained angels unawares. Who knows?
It reminds me of the story of the man who went into a grocery store in Plains, Georgia, and boasted that he had just taken a picture of the Plains Baptist Church, the one where former president Jimmy Carter attended. Someone asked the bragging man if anyone were down there at the church at this particular time on Saturday. "Yeah, some old man, shabbily dressed, was cutting the grass. He quit long enough for me to take the picture." The questioning individual laughed quietly and said, "If you had asked that man cutting the grass to pose for you, then you would have had a picture of President Carter in front of the church he attends!" Who knows?
The writer of Hebrews goes on to name some more do's that we can do. We can "remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering" (v. 3). Remember those who have suffered for their faith, for what they believed in, even to the point where you suffer with them. We continue to remember many in the aftermath of the attacks who acted upon what they believed and paid the ultimate price. We remember firefighters, police persons, and rescue workers who went about their work of saving lives and lost theirs. They did what they knew to do. They believed that human life was worth saving, even at the risk of their own. They put their faith into concrete action.
We remember Pentagon workers who reported to their usual job of trying to make this country safe for the rest of us. Because they were faithful to their task, they paid the ultimate price. We remember the passengers of Flight Number 93, the one that crashed in Pennsylvania. These everyday individuals who thwarted the evil intentions of the hi-jackers are heroes whose story may never be fully known. Their sacrifice may have actually saved the lives of some of our highest officials. We continue to remember these who stood for their faith and did what they knew to do.
Then the Hebrews preacher adds a word to the sequence that at first seems to be out of place. He admonishes us to manage our marriage and money. "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have" (vv. 45a NIV). He states that simplicity and discipline should characterize our stewardship of our sexuality and our money. We all are aware that our management of sex and money contains the potential for the highest goal and the worst evil. We can show our faithfulness in these two potentially powerful areas as part of our faithfulness to Christ.
The Hebrews proclaimer then challenges us to remember our leaders in the church, especially those who "spoke the word of God to you" (v. 7). Who knows? We may actually have opportunity to share the same word with others. I also believe that it is certainly in the arena of the interpretation of this text to say that we should and can remember our national leaders in prayer as they continue making some very complicated and long-reaching decisions.
The Hebrews preacher exhorts us to "be content with what you have" (v. 5), for you have God and he will never leave you. Thus, we do not have to be afraid. With this confidence and assurance, our posture can change from "Please, God" to Please God. This stability allows us to remove the comma and change our entire paradigm on life.
What do you do when you don't know what to do? You do the do's. Be faithful. Continue the work of work and worship. Do what you can. Do what you must.
The great storyteller Father William Bausch first related to me the following true story. It seems that a small village had located itself around the seacoast lighthouse and dedicated itself to the rescue efforts necessary when the storms raged upon the sea. On this particular occasion, the storm was particularly violent. It seemed to spend its fury endlessly. It was known that a ship was in jeopardy. Rescue teams were sent out. They returned and were sent out again. Some workers returned; a few did not.
The last of the teams came back, exhausted and spent, with the news that there was at least one more survivor, one more to save. A young man raised his hand and volunteered to lead a team back upon the stormy sea to rescue the lone survivor. His mother protested. "You cannot go. You are too young. I have already lost your brother, Paul. I cannot lose you."
"But I must go," he said. "It is what I should do."
"You cannot," his mother cried clinging to him.
"I have to," he replied. And with that he broke away from his mother to lead the life-saving efforts.
They were gone and gone. Hours crept past. Fires were lit upon the coast as beacons. Some went to pray. Others paced furiously and worried nervously. After what seemed to be an eternity, word was heard. A message was sent from the young man. "Tell Mama I'm okay. Tell Mama we found the survivor. Tell Mama, it's my brother, Paul."
What do you do when you don't know what to do? You do what you know to do. You do what you can. You sail on. You do the do's!
Revised from a sermon preached on September 16, 2001, and accompanied by the following "letter."
To Whomever:
If you sought to hurt us -- you have succeeded!
Today we mourn and grieve the too many lives so unfairly taken.
If you sought to divide us -- you have failed!
You have only brought us closer together in a unity we would not have known otherwise.
If you sought to discourage us -- you have failed!
You have only given occasion for untold bravery and courage that displays the true character of the American people.
If you sought to dishearten us -- you have failed!
You have only made us more firm in our resolve to protect the precious freedoms we possess for which so many, some this past week, have sacrificed.
If you sought to question our God -- you have failed!
You have only reminded us how present God is, for no one shed more tears over what you have done than our Heavenly Parent.
If you sought to make us hate -- you have failed!
You have only caused us to refuse to sink to the depths of degradation in which you live. We pledge to pray for you as we bring you to justice.
If you have sought to make us in your image -- you have failed!
We choose to live in the image of the One who willingly gave his life in selfless sacrifice and already has won the victory over every form of evil.
From one who follows the Prince of Peace, who turns evil into good, who turns hatred into love, who turns death into resurrection.
And He will this time.
Gary L. Carver
Pastor of First Baptist Church
Chattanooga, Tennessee
For so many who had waited so long, their world had collapsed in a few short hours. All their dreams, their hopes, their highest aspirations were cast down and nailed to a cross. They were as dead as the man who hung there. It was all over, for Jesus was dead.
The women were there. They saw it all. As others fled in fear, the women faithfully witnessed the eventual events. They saw him murdered. They saw him taken down from the tree and they saw him laid in the borrowed tomb. And then they waited! But they did more. According to Luke 23:56, the women "went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment." They did what they knew to do. They went to church! They went about the work of work and worship.
What do you do when you don't know what to do? You do what you know to do. What else could they do? They did what they knew to do. They did what they could do. They went about their normal routine in very abnormal times. They went about the work of work and worship.
It is a question that is raised today in light of the horrible events of September 11, 2001. What do you do when you don't know what to do? You do what you know to do. You go about the normal routines of work and worship.
Laura Bush was asked in the days after the attack how we could help our children during this crisis. The First Lady responded that we must first talk to them and listen to them. She then went on to iterate that we should go about our normal routines as much as possible. These routines would help to bring about in our children a sense of stability.
You may have seen the interview of the woman who owned a flower and vegetable stand very close to the rubble of the World Trade Center. "Why did you reopen so soon?" the interviewer questioned.
"I had to do something," she said. "I did what I had to do."
So, what do we do? What do we do when we don't know what to do? We do what we can. We give blood. We light a candle. We go to work. We spend quality time with our children and other loved ones. We pray. We do the work of work and worship. We do the very things that made America strong and great in the first place. These routines help to bring a sense of security, to bring order out of chaos, to help bring some sense to the nonsense.
Our time is not completely unlike the time in which the writer of Hebrews wrote his sermon and sent it to the exhausted congregation. The church was tired. The church was tired of being tired and was emotionally and physically spent. Their faith was being tested. Some were on the verge of losing their faith. Others had just about quit coming to church. All because they were tired. Fred Craddock states that "tired" should be a theological category. When we are tired, we are not the same person as we are when we are not. When we are tired, we do things that normally we would not do. Thus, we need something to bring us back to a sense of the normal patterns of work, worship, and rest. These normal patterns produce stability, renewed energy, and self-confidence.
Perhaps that is why the preacher in Hebrews produced a series of moral and ethical imperatives for the church to stick to in order to bring back a sense of order. When times are abnormal, when we don't know what to do, we return to those patterns of life that produce normalcy. In short, we do the do's. We keep on keeping on! We do what we know to do whether we feel like it or not. That is what Christians do!
There must have been a point in time along the journey when there came a knock upon the door of Christopher Columbus. "Captain, we have only enough provisions to return to Spain. If we go any further, there can be no turning back. It is turn back now or never. What is your order?"
There may have been a moment of silence, even prayer. Then the voice rang strongly from the captain's quarters, "Sail on!"
That is what we Christians have done. We have signed on to set sail with Jesus. It does not matter if the sea is serene or stormy. In fact there will be times for both, but we have signed on for the journey. We are under his orders. We take our cue for the living of our lives from Jesus. We take our cue not from the world or the events around us, whether they be calm or chaotic. We have no option. We follow Jesus.
So, what would Jesus have us do? We, too, are emotionally spent from the events of that horrifying Tuesday. We are tired. What can we do when we don't know what to do? We do what we know to do. The preacher of Hebrews shows us some things for us to do.
We can "keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters" (v. 1). Now, of course, the original context of these words was with the fellowship of the church. Could it not also be true of us today as Americans? We are to continue to love each other as brothers and sisters and fellow citizens.
Maybe it is just me, but I noticed that people were kinder to each other in the days after the attack. They seemed to be more tolerant. There seemed to be less road rage. Crime was down fifty percent in the first five days after the attack. People seemed to be aware of the need to realize that we are all Americans and we are in this together. We need to love each other.
Nowhere does it say that we are to hate. Bring to justice? Yes! Hate? No! If we succumb to the tendency to hate, then we are no better than the conscienceless cowards who perpetuated the evil act. We follow Christ. We must refuse to allow anyone's actions to determine our behavior. We must be like Martin Luther King, Sr., who, after his wife was killed by a crazed gunman while she sat at the organ in church, quoted Booker T. Washington, "I will allow no man to degrade my soul by making me hate him." We must continue to love each other. We must never hate anyone.
We also can "not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have entertained angels with out knowing it" (v. 20). One great temptation in our current crisis is to begin to look at others as if they are strangers. It would not be difficult to see others with suspicious, even critical or blaming eyes, especially if the color of their skin or the face of their faith is different from ours -- even though they may be our fellow Americans. We all are Americans. It is time to realize our commonalities, not time to point our differences. We are in this together.
Yes, such a stance involves risk. No one ever said that being a Christian or being an American, especially now, would be easy. It involves vulnerability. But the risk of not doing so is greater than seeking to do so.
These days give us great opportunity to show true Christian and Yankee hospitality to each other. As you know, the word hospitality comes form the word hospice. Hospice can be defined as the host or the one being hosted. True hospitality is done in such a way that one cannot distinguish between the host and the guest, between the one extending hospitality and the one receiving it. They are the same. Today, we are all the same.
Besides, the serendipitous surprise is that some, in entertaining those who seem strange to them, have actually entertained angels unawares. Who knows?
It reminds me of the story of the man who went into a grocery store in Plains, Georgia, and boasted that he had just taken a picture of the Plains Baptist Church, the one where former president Jimmy Carter attended. Someone asked the bragging man if anyone were down there at the church at this particular time on Saturday. "Yeah, some old man, shabbily dressed, was cutting the grass. He quit long enough for me to take the picture." The questioning individual laughed quietly and said, "If you had asked that man cutting the grass to pose for you, then you would have had a picture of President Carter in front of the church he attends!" Who knows?
The writer of Hebrews goes on to name some more do's that we can do. We can "remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering" (v. 3). Remember those who have suffered for their faith, for what they believed in, even to the point where you suffer with them. We continue to remember many in the aftermath of the attacks who acted upon what they believed and paid the ultimate price. We remember firefighters, police persons, and rescue workers who went about their work of saving lives and lost theirs. They did what they knew to do. They believed that human life was worth saving, even at the risk of their own. They put their faith into concrete action.
We remember Pentagon workers who reported to their usual job of trying to make this country safe for the rest of us. Because they were faithful to their task, they paid the ultimate price. We remember the passengers of Flight Number 93, the one that crashed in Pennsylvania. These everyday individuals who thwarted the evil intentions of the hi-jackers are heroes whose story may never be fully known. Their sacrifice may have actually saved the lives of some of our highest officials. We continue to remember these who stood for their faith and did what they knew to do.
Then the Hebrews preacher adds a word to the sequence that at first seems to be out of place. He admonishes us to manage our marriage and money. "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have" (vv. 45a NIV). He states that simplicity and discipline should characterize our stewardship of our sexuality and our money. We all are aware that our management of sex and money contains the potential for the highest goal and the worst evil. We can show our faithfulness in these two potentially powerful areas as part of our faithfulness to Christ.
The Hebrews proclaimer then challenges us to remember our leaders in the church, especially those who "spoke the word of God to you" (v. 7). Who knows? We may actually have opportunity to share the same word with others. I also believe that it is certainly in the arena of the interpretation of this text to say that we should and can remember our national leaders in prayer as they continue making some very complicated and long-reaching decisions.
The Hebrews preacher exhorts us to "be content with what you have" (v. 5), for you have God and he will never leave you. Thus, we do not have to be afraid. With this confidence and assurance, our posture can change from "Please, God" to Please God. This stability allows us to remove the comma and change our entire paradigm on life.
What do you do when you don't know what to do? You do the do's. Be faithful. Continue the work of work and worship. Do what you can. Do what you must.
The great storyteller Father William Bausch first related to me the following true story. It seems that a small village had located itself around the seacoast lighthouse and dedicated itself to the rescue efforts necessary when the storms raged upon the sea. On this particular occasion, the storm was particularly violent. It seemed to spend its fury endlessly. It was known that a ship was in jeopardy. Rescue teams were sent out. They returned and were sent out again. Some workers returned; a few did not.
The last of the teams came back, exhausted and spent, with the news that there was at least one more survivor, one more to save. A young man raised his hand and volunteered to lead a team back upon the stormy sea to rescue the lone survivor. His mother protested. "You cannot go. You are too young. I have already lost your brother, Paul. I cannot lose you."
"But I must go," he said. "It is what I should do."
"You cannot," his mother cried clinging to him.
"I have to," he replied. And with that he broke away from his mother to lead the life-saving efforts.
They were gone and gone. Hours crept past. Fires were lit upon the coast as beacons. Some went to pray. Others paced furiously and worried nervously. After what seemed to be an eternity, word was heard. A message was sent from the young man. "Tell Mama I'm okay. Tell Mama we found the survivor. Tell Mama, it's my brother, Paul."
What do you do when you don't know what to do? You do what you know to do. You do what you can. You sail on. You do the do's!
Revised from a sermon preached on September 16, 2001, and accompanied by the following "letter."
To Whomever:
If you sought to hurt us -- you have succeeded!
Today we mourn and grieve the too many lives so unfairly taken.
If you sought to divide us -- you have failed!
You have only brought us closer together in a unity we would not have known otherwise.
If you sought to discourage us -- you have failed!
You have only given occasion for untold bravery and courage that displays the true character of the American people.
If you sought to dishearten us -- you have failed!
You have only made us more firm in our resolve to protect the precious freedoms we possess for which so many, some this past week, have sacrificed.
If you sought to question our God -- you have failed!
You have only reminded us how present God is, for no one shed more tears over what you have done than our Heavenly Parent.
If you sought to make us hate -- you have failed!
You have only caused us to refuse to sink to the depths of degradation in which you live. We pledge to pray for you as we bring you to justice.
If you have sought to make us in your image -- you have failed!
We choose to live in the image of the One who willingly gave his life in selfless sacrifice and already has won the victory over every form of evil.
From one who follows the Prince of Peace, who turns evil into good, who turns hatred into love, who turns death into resurrection.
And He will this time.
Gary L. Carver
Pastor of First Baptist Church
Chattanooga, Tennessee
