What's In It For Us?
Sermon
Don't Forget This!
Second Lesson Sermons For Sundays After Pentecost (Last Third) Cycle C
Everybody has a list of personal pet peeves. Here's mine:
Restaurants that charge extra for bleu cheese.
Restaurants that charge for refills.
Restaurants that advertise all-you-can-eat shrimp but only put two of those little critters on your plate when you ask for more.
Speaking of food, when was the last time you went to a fast food restaurant?
What was so fast about it?
And what did you eat that resembled food?
By the way, aren't those drive-thrus a thrill?
They know you're not coming back.
So they throw in whatever's handy.
Have you ever ordered coffee from one of those drive-thrus?
Have you ever tried putting in cream and sugar while driving?
Why can't they make lids that fit tightly?
You know where you set the darn thing.
And you know where the coffee just spilled.
That's why I started taking it black.
Why do men act like Cub Scouts in heat whenever the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders appear on the screen?
Why do some people think God gave them the right to banter and moan so much?
Why can't I use gender generalizations anymore?
Or why is it okay for one gender and not the other?
You figure it out!
Why do I get a call asking how I like my long distance service just as I sit down to dinner?
If Ronald Reagan was the Teflon President, what does that make Bill Clinton?
O.J. is looking for the killers on golf courses in California and Florida.
Aliens did it!
Bubby still thinks the Steelers made a mistake.
Cleveland fans think we should care.
America's Team?
Speed traps.
State Police every ten miles on Route 80.
They ask, "Do you know how fast you were going?"
But I can't answer, "If I guess right, do I win a prize?"
Forget the burglars, rapists, perverts, pushers, gangsters, and really hard-to-catch criminals!
Let's ticket the family going on vacation!
People who haven't seen me in a while who say, "You've gained weight and lost hair."
People who ask after worship with a smile, "What do you do the rest of the week?"
People who frown when I ask after worship, "Is it Easter already?"
Staplers without staples.
Duplicating machines without paper.
Tape dispensers without tape.
I still can't figure out how the person just before me always has exactly enough.
But here's my biggest pet peeve: People who love God by hating others in a Christian kind of way.
I was quite peeved the other day when I heard about another of our denomination's most favored churches in a large city going at it again. But don't worry about confidentiality. There are so many churches going at it in a Christian kind of way that your guess is as good as anybody's.
Predictably as well as particularly, in that congregational discord the minority who hate the pastor have become the majority and flexed their muscles at a recent congregational meeting called to hasten his exit.
Playing out pejorative psychologies, the pastor's fans have lionized him and his enemies have demonized him; proving once more that no one is as good as Mama pretends or as bad as some suggest.
From all I've learned, it was a bad match before the start -- not to mention the relative (read between the letters!) impossibility of following in the footsteps of homiletical giants. Besides, the rule of thumb in ministry as in most professions is following a boob guarantees success. Conversely, following the dearly departed often spells disaster.
So it was never going to work and everybody but the pastor and ecclesiastically blind knew it.
Unfortunately, the church's tragedy will not end with the dissolution of the pastoral relationship. The poison spewing from both sides of the aisle will infect and inhibit its life and ministry for years.
As the for and against mobs go at it, I doubt Christian ethics ever really come to mind. Somehow going the extra mile and turning the other cheek and blessing rather than cursing and kindness and patience and not keeping a record of wrongs or being irritable and resentful or insisting on one's own way remain alien to such less than sacred moments of church history. Indeed, I often wonder if churches going at it ever stop to ask, "What would Jesus say and do if he were in our place?"
Certainly, it's hard to imagine people outside of such churches being attracted to them by what's going on inside. And while I've always believed Jesus shouldn't be blamed for some Christians, some Christians continue to compel observers like Mahatma Gandhi to confess, "I would have become a Christian if it were not for Christians." Or as Frederick of Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters deadpanned, "If Jesus were to come back today and see what's being done in his name, he'd never stop throwing up!"
I've formerly said the church is open to everyone. That's because our Lord's love through the church is supposed to be invitational, inclusive, and unconditional.
I've changed my mind. I've come to believe people who lack love and kindness must be quarantined from everybody else to prevent the spread of their disease.
Or as Paul wrote, "I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites" (Romans 16:17-18 NRSV).
That's not a pet peeve. That's prophecy.
Our organist who has a wonderfully twisted sense of humor -- which, of course, is why I like her so much -- recently asked me, "Why aren't most religious programs believable?" Then she provided the punch-line: "To begin with, the book's always better than the television version."
It's like Jerry Kirk, President of the National Coalition Against Pornography, often says, "When we want to know what to do, we go to God's Word as exemplified in Jesus and explained in the Bible."
Paul summed up the solution to our problems this way: "Remember Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:8).
Remember what Jesus said, ingest his words into your spirit, and incarnate his instruction! Remember what Jesus did and follow the Leader! Remember Jesus!
Specifically, Paul urged us to remember Jesus as "a descendant of David." He was personal. He shared humanity with us. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses," the author of Hebrews reminded us, "but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (4:14-15). Indeed, He is Emmanuel -- God-with-us.
Paul reminded us of his power. Jesus was "raised from the dead." He has the power to encourage existentially and save eternally. So we sing with Bill and Gloria Gaither, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone."
Existential encouragement. Eternal salvation. That's what's in it for us.
I think of Corrie ten Boom and The Hiding Place. It's the story of a Dutch family that hid Jews from the Nazis and extermination.
Once their compassion and inclusive Christian hospitality were exposed, the whole family was thrown into concentration camps.
Shortly after being arrested, Corrie received word that her father died. She prayed, "Dear Jesus, how foolish of me to have called for human help when you are here. To think that father sees you now, face to face! To think that he and Mama are together again, walking those bright streets...." Then she wrote on her cell wall, "March 9, 1944. Father. Released."
Shortly after that, Corrie cradled her dying sister, Betsie, in her arms. Betsie said to Corrie as she died, "We must go everywhere. We must tell people that no pit is so deep that God is not deeper still. They will believe us, because we were here."
Existential encouragement. Eternal salvation. That's what's in it for us.
Or as God inspired Paul to write for persecuted Christians of all ages from the first century throughout history and even for those suffering saints in that polemically assaulted church in the city:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David -- that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him ... Remind them of this!
-- 2 Timothy 2:8-15
Remember Jesus! He incarnationally identified with us! He died for us! He rose to glory! He lives! He loves!
And he did it for all of the below -- you, me, and them (cf. John 3:16-17).
That's what's in it for us.
I've been teaching another confirmation class. You know how it goes. We take a few weeks or months to review what younger folks already know from years of Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, youth programs, and so on. We continue the spirit of the Reformation of enabling informed faith. And so despite their youth, we expect mature confessions of faith from even our youngest members.
Or at least that's what lots of folks expect from them.
I don't. I've been around long enough to know that isn't going to happen.
It's like seminarians. Ninety-nine percent of them forget Hebrew and Greek the day after graduation. Or at least the day after being examined for ordination.
So I've got only two goals for new members of any age.
First, I want them to be familiar with Jesus -- who he is and what he has done for us.
Second, I want them to feel good about the church. I want them to feel invited to, included in, and unconditionally loved by the church.
I think that's a good start.
There's plenty of time to get to the other stuff.
But at the start, it's simple: Remember Jesus!
And if we do that every step of the journey, maybe he won't get peeved.
Restaurants that charge extra for bleu cheese.
Restaurants that charge for refills.
Restaurants that advertise all-you-can-eat shrimp but only put two of those little critters on your plate when you ask for more.
Speaking of food, when was the last time you went to a fast food restaurant?
What was so fast about it?
And what did you eat that resembled food?
By the way, aren't those drive-thrus a thrill?
They know you're not coming back.
So they throw in whatever's handy.
Have you ever ordered coffee from one of those drive-thrus?
Have you ever tried putting in cream and sugar while driving?
Why can't they make lids that fit tightly?
You know where you set the darn thing.
And you know where the coffee just spilled.
That's why I started taking it black.
Why do men act like Cub Scouts in heat whenever the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders appear on the screen?
Why do some people think God gave them the right to banter and moan so much?
Why can't I use gender generalizations anymore?
Or why is it okay for one gender and not the other?
You figure it out!
Why do I get a call asking how I like my long distance service just as I sit down to dinner?
If Ronald Reagan was the Teflon President, what does that make Bill Clinton?
O.J. is looking for the killers on golf courses in California and Florida.
Aliens did it!
Bubby still thinks the Steelers made a mistake.
Cleveland fans think we should care.
America's Team?
Speed traps.
State Police every ten miles on Route 80.
They ask, "Do you know how fast you were going?"
But I can't answer, "If I guess right, do I win a prize?"
Forget the burglars, rapists, perverts, pushers, gangsters, and really hard-to-catch criminals!
Let's ticket the family going on vacation!
People who haven't seen me in a while who say, "You've gained weight and lost hair."
People who ask after worship with a smile, "What do you do the rest of the week?"
People who frown when I ask after worship, "Is it Easter already?"
Staplers without staples.
Duplicating machines without paper.
Tape dispensers without tape.
I still can't figure out how the person just before me always has exactly enough.
But here's my biggest pet peeve: People who love God by hating others in a Christian kind of way.
I was quite peeved the other day when I heard about another of our denomination's most favored churches in a large city going at it again. But don't worry about confidentiality. There are so many churches going at it in a Christian kind of way that your guess is as good as anybody's.
Predictably as well as particularly, in that congregational discord the minority who hate the pastor have become the majority and flexed their muscles at a recent congregational meeting called to hasten his exit.
Playing out pejorative psychologies, the pastor's fans have lionized him and his enemies have demonized him; proving once more that no one is as good as Mama pretends or as bad as some suggest.
From all I've learned, it was a bad match before the start -- not to mention the relative (read between the letters!) impossibility of following in the footsteps of homiletical giants. Besides, the rule of thumb in ministry as in most professions is following a boob guarantees success. Conversely, following the dearly departed often spells disaster.
So it was never going to work and everybody but the pastor and ecclesiastically blind knew it.
Unfortunately, the church's tragedy will not end with the dissolution of the pastoral relationship. The poison spewing from both sides of the aisle will infect and inhibit its life and ministry for years.
As the for and against mobs go at it, I doubt Christian ethics ever really come to mind. Somehow going the extra mile and turning the other cheek and blessing rather than cursing and kindness and patience and not keeping a record of wrongs or being irritable and resentful or insisting on one's own way remain alien to such less than sacred moments of church history. Indeed, I often wonder if churches going at it ever stop to ask, "What would Jesus say and do if he were in our place?"
Certainly, it's hard to imagine people outside of such churches being attracted to them by what's going on inside. And while I've always believed Jesus shouldn't be blamed for some Christians, some Christians continue to compel observers like Mahatma Gandhi to confess, "I would have become a Christian if it were not for Christians." Or as Frederick of Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters deadpanned, "If Jesus were to come back today and see what's being done in his name, he'd never stop throwing up!"
I've formerly said the church is open to everyone. That's because our Lord's love through the church is supposed to be invitational, inclusive, and unconditional.
I've changed my mind. I've come to believe people who lack love and kindness must be quarantined from everybody else to prevent the spread of their disease.
Or as Paul wrote, "I urge you, brothers and sisters, to keep an eye on those who cause dissensions and offenses, in opposition to the teaching that you have learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites" (Romans 16:17-18 NRSV).
That's not a pet peeve. That's prophecy.
Our organist who has a wonderfully twisted sense of humor -- which, of course, is why I like her so much -- recently asked me, "Why aren't most religious programs believable?" Then she provided the punch-line: "To begin with, the book's always better than the television version."
It's like Jerry Kirk, President of the National Coalition Against Pornography, often says, "When we want to know what to do, we go to God's Word as exemplified in Jesus and explained in the Bible."
Paul summed up the solution to our problems this way: "Remember Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:8).
Remember what Jesus said, ingest his words into your spirit, and incarnate his instruction! Remember what Jesus did and follow the Leader! Remember Jesus!
Specifically, Paul urged us to remember Jesus as "a descendant of David." He was personal. He shared humanity with us. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses," the author of Hebrews reminded us, "but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin" (4:14-15). Indeed, He is Emmanuel -- God-with-us.
Paul reminded us of his power. Jesus was "raised from the dead." He has the power to encourage existentially and save eternally. So we sing with Bill and Gloria Gaither, "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone."
Existential encouragement. Eternal salvation. That's what's in it for us.
I think of Corrie ten Boom and The Hiding Place. It's the story of a Dutch family that hid Jews from the Nazis and extermination.
Once their compassion and inclusive Christian hospitality were exposed, the whole family was thrown into concentration camps.
Shortly after being arrested, Corrie received word that her father died. She prayed, "Dear Jesus, how foolish of me to have called for human help when you are here. To think that father sees you now, face to face! To think that he and Mama are together again, walking those bright streets...." Then she wrote on her cell wall, "March 9, 1944. Father. Released."
Shortly after that, Corrie cradled her dying sister, Betsie, in her arms. Betsie said to Corrie as she died, "We must go everywhere. We must tell people that no pit is so deep that God is not deeper still. They will believe us, because we were here."
Existential encouragement. Eternal salvation. That's what's in it for us.
Or as God inspired Paul to write for persecuted Christians of all ages from the first century throughout history and even for those suffering saints in that polemically assaulted church in the city:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David -- that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him ... Remind them of this!
-- 2 Timothy 2:8-15
Remember Jesus! He incarnationally identified with us! He died for us! He rose to glory! He lives! He loves!
And he did it for all of the below -- you, me, and them (cf. John 3:16-17).
That's what's in it for us.
I've been teaching another confirmation class. You know how it goes. We take a few weeks or months to review what younger folks already know from years of Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, youth programs, and so on. We continue the spirit of the Reformation of enabling informed faith. And so despite their youth, we expect mature confessions of faith from even our youngest members.
Or at least that's what lots of folks expect from them.
I don't. I've been around long enough to know that isn't going to happen.
It's like seminarians. Ninety-nine percent of them forget Hebrew and Greek the day after graduation. Or at least the day after being examined for ordination.
So I've got only two goals for new members of any age.
First, I want them to be familiar with Jesus -- who he is and what he has done for us.
Second, I want them to feel good about the church. I want them to feel invited to, included in, and unconditionally loved by the church.
I think that's a good start.
There's plenty of time to get to the other stuff.
But at the start, it's simple: Remember Jesus!
And if we do that every step of the journey, maybe he won't get peeved.
