Joyfully Giving Thanks

Christ the King

Colossians 1:9b-20
24 November 2013
Elizabeth M. Deibert

When I was growing up Thanksgiving Day was always a time of gathering with my mother’s side of the family.  There were four siblings, and they took turns hosting the feast, but of course, everyone brought food.   The host family cooked the turkey and rice and gravy.   Aunt Peggy always made sweet potato casserole, not the kind with marshmallow but with crunchy nuts and brown sugar on top.   Uncle Jimmy always made coconut cake.   My mom made squash casserole with cheese on top and pecan and chess pies.   My uncle Rowland, the Baptist minister/professor and his wife Mary V, the best-dressed aunt, would tell a family history story in tandem, interrupting and correcting each other all along the way.  Their son, the eldest cousin became an expert on genealogy, so he would join in and make the story even longer.  Uncle Frank parked himself in front of the television, determined not to miss the football game.  My dad was usually milling around asking questions and listening to people.   I was the youngest cousin by six years, so it was my job to take care of my cousin’s babies, as they began to get married and have them.   We stopped gathering for thanksgiving many years ago, but I will always remember that thanksgiving is about celebrating the bounty that God has given you.  There was always more food than anyone could eat.   But more importantly, Thanksgiving was a time to appreciate your shared inheritance, your family, those who had gone before you and those who were coming after you.   It did not really matter who was in the family, or what they did or how different they were.   We were all part of something larger than ourselves and we were together to remember that and give thanks to God. 

The scripture we are reading today refers to our inheritance, for which we are called to give thanks and to realize that we are part of something far larger and deeper and broader than we can possibly comprehend.

This family into which we have been adopted is a family of great resources:  wisdom and strength, knowledge and power, of light and forgiveness, and fullness and peace.   This scripture, like the one in Philippians 2 is thought to be one of the oldest pieces of liturgy or hymns in the church – the part that starts in verse 15 – he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.   It probably was recited in the early church, even before this letter to Colossians was written.   Along with the Christ hymn of Philippians, these words make some high and lofty claims about Christ.   And what better day to read these words than on the day the church celebrates the reign of Christ over all creation!   As I read this text, I invite you to say the word “all” with me every time it occurs.

Colossians 1:9b - 20

We have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 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.  (NRSV)

Paul desires and prays fervently for the new church in Colossae that they would lead lives worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit in every good work by being filled with the knowledge of God in all spiritual wisdom, strong in the power of God, and prepared to endure everything with patience and with thanksgiving.  

This desire for Christian maturity should be our desire for one another, as it is the most important, most enduring, most ultimately sustaining and life-giving thing we can want for one another.   It is my prayer for you and the prayer of all your elders for you.   At the session meeting on Thursday night, we walked through the building, stopping to pray for the youth in their wing, the children in their rooms, and all the people in the music ministry.   We prayed for kindness and love to be spoken in the small fellowship hall which has been renamed the café and that we would never stop learning and growing in our adult meeting rooms.   We prayed that Christ would inspire us all in the new chapel and as we stood by the fountain, we gave thanks for the beauty of God’s overflowing love. 

I have joy like a fountain as the walls are coming down at Peace.  Denny has turned that mucky wretch of a fountain into a grace-filled work of art, Troy and Bob have done some amazing work on breaking down the walls and gates that divide us or crowd us.   Jim and Sherry have met with all kinds of contract people for on-going care of the property while Don, Chuck, and Henry have been setting up budgets, and financial and technological systems for our new home.  Last Sunday we had at least sixty Peace Pioneers there turning a land and building into a home.   Gerry Palmer washed windows for three days.   It was a joyous sight to see all of you painting, laying landscape timbers, washing floors, tearing down walls, and cleaning and organizing rooms.   Some sights were better left unseen – like lumberjacks Tom, Rod, and Richard hanging from the trees like monkeys, cutting branches that nearly impaled their friends as they came crashing down.   One thing is clear – this is a church of the people, by the people, and for the people.   If you have not been out yet, we hope you will come today, and will consider your own commitment to Peace for the sake of present and future generations.

Think about how the letters of Paul and others and the Gospel writers have shaped future generations by their enormous effort in a time when preserving words and passing them to others was not just the click of a button.  

Think about those who spent a lifetime in Great Britain or continental Europe building a cathedral that would bring glory to God long after they were gone.   We are building a community of faith that will outlast us and why?

Because we have seen that Christ 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.  (NRSV)

We are experiencing this fullness of God, in the Christ who has made Peace.   The warmth you feel in this place is the Spirit of Christ moving among people who are thankful for the peace of Christ which renews all things and leads us to forgive as we are forgiven.   It is not a trouble-free, worry-free existence.  No, Paul prays for them, as I pray for you, that you will be able to endure everything with patience.   If it were easy, you would not need to endure it.   The life of a Christ-follower is not easy, but it is wonderful and amazing, because this life is full of grace, as the choir will sing later.  

The wonder of this life is that Christ is everywhere and in all things.  Do you realize just how radical it is to say that in Christ all things were created, that in Christ all things hold together, that in Christ all things are reconciled?   This is a bold and exciting claim – that Christ is before, in the middle, and making peace in the end.  So we say with St Patrick and Christians through the generations.   Christ be with me, Christ within me.   Even in the face of terrible Typhoons and Tornadoes, Christ behind me, Christ before me.   Even in the presence of weird, troubled, and sometimes wonderful relatives and friends, whom you are glad to see depart on Thanksgiving afternoon, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.   Even in times of concern, of financial or relational strain, of illness or even approaching death, Christ in my waking, Christ in my sleeping.  

This cosmic Christ is the reason for our joyful thanksgiving every year – not just the good years.  Because Christ is before us and behind us and between us, everywhere by his Spirit sustaining us and filling us, we can travel on with confident joy, even in challenging times, even when we are uncertain or afraid.   

On this day that we Pioneers of Peace walk out of this one place where the Spirit of God has touched us and blessed us, and we give thanks for the sweet, sweet spirit in this place.  But we also know that Christ goes on with us to the new place, and that God has a plan for us there, a future filled with hope and promise.   Please remind yourselves not to fret over all the details and the differences, but to endure the all the changes with patience, knowing that God has brought us there to make of us a blessing to others.   Most of all, remember this amazing free gift of grace turns us from lost to found, from darkness to light, from having sin-sick souls to people who can say despite the storms of life, “it is well with my soul.”  

This inheritance into which we are reborn in baptism and sealed in Christ’s name makes us richly blessed in every way.   You know someone who is destined to inherit a lot doesn’t need to worry.   Notice that our inheritance as children of God in this passage is a done deal – God has already enabled us to share in it.  It is ours by grace to celebrate.  We are brothers and sisters of the King, the one who is in all and through all from the beginning of time until its end.  He is not just King of the Christians, but King of the Cosmos.  In the name of Jesus  Christ our King we travel from here to there waiting eagerly for all that is in store for us. We are confident that we will be made strong by the strength of his glorious power, as we seek evermore to put Christ first in everything and to live lives worthy of his name.  

 

First Fruits of Peace

 

Dedication Sunday

Deuteronomy 26:1-11                                                      

17 November 2013

Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                         

My brother Curt, who lives with my mom, grows roses.  He has four rose gardens with about 20-30 bushes each.   He tells me that the first set of blooms, the first fruits of spring are by far the most spectacularly beautiful.  

We who live in the two season land of SW Florida, who grow things in the winter and in these modern times of mass transportation enjoy fruit from all around world in every season, have a hard time appreciating the notion of first fruits.   But some of us can remember well that it was a real gift to land in strawberry season or apple season or orange season, or corn season, and enjoy the first fruits of the long-awaited season.   In the Bible, references to first fruits are almost always associated with thank-offerings.   This notion of giving one’s first fruits originates in Ancient Israel and Greece with the requirement of the first tenth of the produce harvested being given to the priest or sacrificed to God.   The leftovers after the harvest, called the gleanings, were to be left for the poor.  

 So in Biblical times, the idea was, you took the first of your produce – first 10^th and gave it – in a rather obligatory way as your gift of responsibility to God.   Then out of kindness you left the corners of the field, the last, hard-to-reach parts of the tree to be harvested by those most desperately needy.   You lived on the middle 80 percent of your harvest.   It’s kind of like the way we ask you on Dedication Sunday to commit to pledging a particular percentage of your income each year.   As a young pastor, I used to avoid talking about giving – challenging the congregation.   But I have seen personally and have seen in others the real joy that comes from giving generously.   Giving not ‘til it hurts, but until it feels really good!  If you’re uncomfortable, it may be because you have not given enough to catch the joy and freedom that comes with giving until you feel good.   We just don’t get it sometimes.

One time on Dedication Sunday this ten year old kid was at lunch with his parents after church, he started asking about the tip money left on the table.   After they got in the car, the kid says, “So let me get this straight, God gets 10% and the waiter gets 15 or 20?   That doesn’t make sense.”  The math for 10% is easy but the giving level can be daunting.   I encourage you to start with a small percentage.   If you are barely making it, think of growing into a tithe, increasing your pledge each year.   Sometimes the joy of giving can overwhelm you – like the two guys who walked out of church with just their boxers on.   Standing outside the church, half-naked, the one guy says to the other – that was the best sermon on giving I’ve ever heard.   

Okay, well, trust me, I want you keep your clothes on, but just stretch a bit beyond your comfort zone in your generosity because we can do so much together here at Peace – that we cannot do separately.   Eight years ago, we did not exist except as an idea.   But people began to give their first fruits of time, talent, and treasure – and Peace became a church.  First fruits – off the top of our paycheck or monthly income because we know we are likely to spend what’s left, if we don’t give to God first.  But then in there are opportunities at Peace and in any faith community to give what’s left (the gleanings) to special offerings for other people.   So it’s like a sandwich with top and bottom going to God and neighbor and the middle of the sandwich is for yourself.

Speaking of special offerings, we are collecting today for the victims of the typhoon in the Philippines.  I read yesterday the heart-wrenching story of a twenty-seven year-old family breadwinner who died from complications of a broken leg.  I watched a video of two children, whose parents were crushed under rubble while they, the kids huddled together and miraculously lived.   What a desperate situation.   Let us allow our hearts to be broken for our Filipino brothers and sisters.  I also saw the story of a church which is being used for shelter, with people sleeping on the pews, even while continuing to hold services.   So we ask for gleanings – leftovers for the most needy today, even on the same day that we ask for a commitment from you about first fruits of next year.  With thanksgiving, with gratitude.  

As the Israelites were charged to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt and that it was God who brought them out and gave them a land.   So we as we make our pledges and offerings each year and each week are challenged to remember that all we have comes from God.   The reason we are so joyful about having our “promised land” is that we have been tenants for eight years.   The joy of the congregation over having our own land and building is fresh now, but we must not forget from where we have come and how God brought us here.    

I’d like to ask the early founders of Peace to stand up.  Gary and Junie, and then everyone else who dreamed early, who met on Sunday nights at Living Lord Lutheran.   Then those who arrived in our first year of worship at MCC.   You believed God could do this thing, despite looking around and seeing 30-40 people.   Please remain standing now, while I ask all the charter members who came in time to be at Peace on that great day in October of 2009 when Peace New Church Development became an official church in the PC(USA).   Without you coming along as the first fruits of our ministry in the college and in our homes and at the park, we would have fallen in discouragement.    But you took the yoke from our shoulders and plowed the earth, and made us a real church, not just a little group of people wishing they were a church.   Please continue standing.

About a year later, we moved to this location for a new season of harvest.   Please stand if you came to Peace after charter, in 2010 or 2011, a surge of new growth for the church, which made us confident for the first time that we might one day afford a building to house our ministry.   Here we saw the fruit of having 24/7 space to conduct our ministries.   We moved tables and chairs, but we left nursery and classrooms and offices all week long – what a joy!   Keep standing now as we add all who have come in 2012 and 2013 to Peace – even those who have not joined yet but who are coming and thriving and celebrating with us.   You are the ones who have made it possible for us to go to our “promised land.”   You have ridden this year’s roller coaster with us, without screaming or running away while our plan kept evolving.  Build here – NO!  buy this foreclosed church – NO, moldy!   Wait a minute, here’s the place God is calling us to go and what a perfect plan –only we did not know until now when God’s time was right.   Thank you, everyone.   You may be seated.

So now our wandering has ended, our fear of failure is behind us, we have landed, Peace will settle, but not really – not in a lazy way.   Because you see, harvest time is every year, and in Florida, all year long, and especially in winter.   Peace has a home, but not to sit down and rest.   Peace has a home into which we can welcome more workers into God’s field.    Peace has a home from which we can go out to harvest, to serve, to love.   Peace has a home to nurture faith, hope, and love in children, youth, and adults at every stage of life, so they have more to take with them into the world where others are hurting and need peace.   Hear how God calls the Israelites to enter the land, taking the first fruits and giving them up and not just giving them up, but recounting the challenging story of how God lead them to the Promised Land.    The gifts and the story are to remind them to have grateful and generous hearts, especially after they are blessed with a land and its wealth.
  

                                           Deuteronomy 26:1-11

When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, ² you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. ³ You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” ⁴ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, ⁵ you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. ⁶ When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, ⁷ we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. ⁸ The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; ⁹ and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. ¹¹ Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.    (New Revised Standard Version)

Together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, you shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given you.   So you see, all the bounty that is ours over at 12705 Highway 64 has been given us for our sharing with others.  It is not just for us.

And we celebrate that so many of you have given so much of yourselves – remembering that the church is not just here to serve you – but you to serve God in the church.   What a joy to watch you stream into our new property all week long, tackling tasks!   Gia and I could barely get any worship work done this week the building was so alive with excited people.  I can hardly wait to see the building and grounds full of you this morning, as we leave this place and go there.  

As those of old their first fruits brought, so we bring the first fruits of our time, our talent, and our treasure to God.

Peace would not be here, apart from each of you and the role you play.   When I invited you to consider who needed to be thanked, most of you named names and honestly there were so many names mentioned that I cannot begin to name sixty or eight people by name with all that you have done for Peace.   So here’s my summary of all you said:  “Thank the newer Peace family members who have really contributed to this move.”  Others of you said, thank the people who founded the church and served on three different teams to keep it going.   Many of you said, “Thank the people who have given so generously of their resources so we could afford this property, and thank those who have given so much time, working on this purchase and the predecessor decisions, and all who have scrubbed and carried and cleaned – here at MAR but also at college, and most of all, at our new home, and to all who will do so today.  

Thank the quiet people who are always here, working behind the scenes to help children, to make coffee, to set up for worship, help in the office, or take attendance so we know who might be missing, might be struggling.   Thank all the people who are so caring, so attentive to people and all those who teach any age. 

Thank God for those who were with us previously and have died or moved or moved on to other callings.  Thank the task masters who organize and lead.   Thank the role models, whose peaceful personalities, whose spirit of gratitude, whose encouraging love, whose faith and prayer sustains us all.   Thank all the talented people who make music and design artfully and inspire us all.   Thank those who pick up jobs dropped by others, without hesitation.   Thank those who never said “no” to any job and tell them you will do it this time so they don’t have to. Thank those who never get discouraged, even in discouraging times.   Thank all people at Peace for being the people of Peace, loving God, loving one another, loving beyond the church to the community and world.   Thank you for being gracefully and lovingly determined to fulfill our mission to make God known by growing as disciples, building a community of peace, and caring for the needs of others.    

God is Great and God is Good

Gratitude Sunday

Psalm 145
10 November 2013
Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                                                  

God is great and God is good.   Thank you God for a new neighborhood.   Yes,  Peacemakers, you have a new home.   What an amazing job you did responding to the need at the beginning of this calendar year, responding with generous pledges and gifts.   What a super job you did yesterday moving from warehouse to Aurora.   And I’m going to stop calling it Aurora.  It is the home of Peace Church now, thanks to the generosity of God.  Let’s praise God in Hebrew:  Hallelujah.   I say, ‘great” you say “good”  God is great.  God is good.   God is great.   God is good.   

I asked to make your list of 100 things for which you are thankful.   I made a list every week since I started asking.  Here’s my first 100:  For the one God, whom we see in Jesus Christ’s life and experience in the presence of the Holy Spirit with us wherever we go, for thirty-five children and youth, teaching us that we should not just glorify God but enjoy God.   For thirteen elders on session helping lead the church to full maturity, for about eighteen of you who can remember when Peace met at Living Lord, for these eight years together building new friendships with all the people who have become Peace with us, for the twelve ministry teams, for the five music groups and their one fabulously fun director, for two building vision plans that fell through, while God was leading us to a better promised land, for my five immediate family members whom I love dearly and this loving church family.

Here’s my most recent list:  for Bob Seiter coming home on Friday, for forty-eight people at Faith & Film on Friday night, for one peaceful grass snake found yesterday, for truckloads of yard clippings cut and taken away for us at great discount, for the ministry of the Aurora Foundation, making cassette tapes, especially the Bible on cassette for the blind in 70 different languages, for the patience of a dozen or more strong men yesterday, who did not lose their patience yesterday when we sent them the wrong way with heavy furniture, for new paint colors on the wall to consider, and for 250 freshly cleaned chairs.

For three guys named Don & Bob & Grant leading a super diligent and unflappable Building Vision Team, for two newspaper articles coming out soon, thanks our zealous Outreach Team, for the tireless and cheerful service of the Property Management Team, for two refrigerators, three sofas, a grill, desks and bookcases and truckloads of stuff that we did not have eight years ago when we started, or even three years ago when we moved here.   For the generosity of so many of you without whom we would not be here and for those who will join us in making building fund commitments to carry us through to the building of a sanctuary in 2015 and who knows what by 2025 – maybe an assisted living facility on the far side of the lake for all of you will need it by then.  I can see it sitting the sanctuary in my imagination every time I drive onto the new property.

Here’s my list of 100 from a week ago: for twenty-seven wonderful years of marriage to a very kind, prayerful, and generous man (we’ve been married twenty-eight but you know, there were a few rough patches), for four wonderful children and their two dogs and three nice boyfriends, for my mom still with us and three parents praying for us on distant yet nearby shore, for siblings and in-laws and nieces and nephews, for Montreat, for friends in Alabama, England, N. Carolina and SW Florida.

And now for my stream of consciousness list:   For laughter, walks, moonlight, gardening, warm showers, hugs and gentle, caring conversation, trees that change color, for Stephen Ministers and other caring listeners, movies, Sunday night freedom, Monday morning rest, sunsets, Dove dark chocolate, Asian food, red wine and full bodied beer, for cell phones and computers – when they work, for moody teens transforming into mature young adults, for vegetables of all types and soups, for faith, hope, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, generosity, and self-control.  For singing and prayer and scripture and sacrament.  Forgiveness, renewal, and courage.  Energy, intelligence, imagination and love.   For saints and sinners.   Old and young, male and female, people from many backgrounds and cultures living in harmony.

Let us read Psalm 145 now, a psalm of gratitude for God’s attributes:

Psalm 145

I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless you, and praise your name forever and ever.
³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.
⁵ On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
⁶ The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed, and I will declare your greatness.
⁷ They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
⁹ The Lord is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.

¹⁰ All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you.
¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power,
¹² to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
¹⁴ The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
¹⁶ You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.
¹⁷ The Lord is just in all his ways, and kind in all his doings.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He fulfills the desire of all who fear him; he also hears their cry, and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

This is a Presbyterian psalm.   It’s all about the sovereignty of God, the theme-song of the Reformed tradition.   This psalm says that God and great and God is good.    The psalmist gushes with praise in the first paragraph.   I will bless you name forever and ever, praise your name forever and ever.  Every day.   Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.  God’s greatness is unsearchable.

Then the second paragraph speaks of the generational nature of faith traditions.   I love to think about the fact that we are in a very tangible way telling the next generation of the greatness of God by not just being the church, but by planting a church house -- a physical structure which when we finish will communicate something of the glory of God and of our commitment to love God and neighbor, through the faithful use/management/sharing of this wonderful resource.   

When you make donations to Peace’s building fund, you are shaping the future generations toward Christian faith, just as faithful people who gave and developed churches did generations before us. You are saying to all the cynicism in today’s world about the decline of the church and to all those who think that one can be spiritual but not religious, to all who think that God is just a figment of our imaginations, we give an emphatic “No”   God is great.   God is good.   God is great.   God is good.

Hear now all the exalted language about God’s greatness and goodness and think about which one of these attributes or actions of God you most appreciate:   Greatness unsearchable, might acts, glorious splendor, majesty, wondrous works, awesome deeds, greatness, abundant goodness, righteousness, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, good to all, compassionate, glory of your kingdom, your power, your mighty deeds, everlasting kingdom, enduring dominion, faithful in all words, gracious in all deeds, upholds the falling, raises up the bowed down, giving food, satisfying desires of all living things, just in all ways, near to all who call in truth, fulfills desires of all who revere God, watches over all who love God, gets rid of wickedness.

Okay, let’s talk about that wickedness line.   We had an interesting discussion of this at the women’s pray walk.   What to do with verses like this?   All the wicked God will destroy.   Believing that God desires good for all people, and believing that God is powerful enough to get what God really wants, I have a hard time believing that God simply destroys people.   No, God purifies the wickedness out of us, so that ultimately, there are no more wicked people.   But God never takes our freedom away. God limits God’s own power to preserve our freedom.   Real love is not coercive, so God must win us over freely.   This is what I believe happens when we trust in a God who is all powerful and all loving.   God’s love trumps the wickedness in every one of us in the end.   God is great and God is good.
And that’s why we have ten thousand reasons to bless the Lord because God’s love wins, God’s love is greater than evil, God’s grace and mercy is wider than the ocean, higher than the sky.   God’s sovereignty is a mysterious thing.  While I was rejoicing in the successful closing of Peace’s property purchase, my first cousin Cynthia, was losing her husband to a long battle with cancer.   Cynthia lost one sibling to alcoholism at 33 and another to AIDS at 25.  I’ve got all three siblings still living.  Both her parents died in the last ten years.  I still have a living mother, and Cynthia now has lost her 51 year old husband.    

Andrew, our son, went to the memorial service today.   The pastor read three beautiful statements of faith and love by the 18 and two 15 year old children of Cynthia and Frank.   Such a tragedy that for most of their lives, they had a dying father, but such a joy that with a dying father, they learned to trust in God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Cynthia has had tremendous losses in her life, but with three children who can beautifully articulate their Christian faith, she is truly blessed, even in her grief.   God is great and God is good.

As I was reading over this sermon, I looked at the BBC news online today to discover that the estimated deaths in the Phillipines, due to the horrific Typhoon – 10,000.   How fragile this life is! Just as I was reading about that, Rebecca came in the door with tears in her eyes.   She was driving home last night on Lorraine Road, just at the old Faith Church that we did not buy, when she suddenly hit a wild boar.    But this is what makes it even more strange.   She had moments before hitting the boar been thinking about how terrible it would be to have an accident.   That thought made her alert in the darkness of Lorraine Road.   We can never understand why tragedy strikes in some places and why others are spared, but we do know that the Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds, good to all and compassionate toward all.  Just in all ways, kind in all ways.   Near to all who call.   God is great and God is good.   Let us thank God for our new neighborhood.
Gratitude Brunch

So let’s figure out mathematically how each of us can thank God ten thousand times.  You could stay up 24/7 for one week, dozing off only occasionally and thank God every minute of every day, and that would be 10,000 thank you’s.  You can volunteer 25 hours/week for the church for 50 weeks/year for eight years, and that would be 10,000 hours of work.   But it might actually be easier to find 10,000 ways to give money in response the thousands of gifts that come from God.  Some of us have given $10,000 to the building fund this year and/or $10,000 to the operating fund.    

If you’re on a tight budget, you could give the equivalent of 10,000 dimes, which is $1000/year.  That’s 20/week.  Most of can simplify our lives to free up $20/week if we work at it.   Peace is happy to receive 10,000 dimes or 10,000 Abe Lincoln.   In fact, without the 50,000 special gift this year, we’d be challenged to meet our goals as we move into a new building, but every gift counts with God, and together we can do this.   

This talk about numbers got me thinking of other numbers, so I’ll tell you, as I always do, what Richard and I will give this year, to stretch ourselves beyond our comfort zone, challenging ourselves to give more generously every year.   The joy of giving is sort of like the joy of any other disciplined activity – it comes with a little hard work.   To get better at running, you run a little further each week.   To develop generosity, you push yourself to give a little more than you think you can.   Giving builds trust in God.   We all want to make a difference somehow because we believe in the vision of this growing congregation.   We have seen the power of God at work, building Peace.   

This year for our operating fund pledge, in celebration of our new building, Richard and I will give one dollar for every square foot over there.  We have already pledged to the three-year building fund, but we are going to make an $800 extra contribution now to pay for the pulpit, communion table and two flower stands which are already ordered.    We are giving those special pieces in honor of all of you – for your dedication and your generosity in bringing Peace this far, and this is just one more new beginning.   You might think of some meaningful gift you’d like to give Peace – please make it something that Peace already wants.    Or you can give an amount that has significance.  One hundred dollars for every child and youth at Peace – 3500 dollars.  One thousand dollars for every year of Peace existence, or since Peace chartered or one thousand for every year you’ve been at Peace or 100 dollars for every year of your life or every year of your child’s life.  That’s not much to give back – considering all God gave you in each of those years.   

Or if all these different numbers are making your head spin, then go back to the tried and true Biblical plan:  10% of your income/your wealth.   Eight years ago we had about ten pledges to enter the 2006 year.    In 2014 I hope we will have 100 pledges – of all sizes – the gift is acceptable according to whatever you have.   Prayerfully consider & bring these back next week, or even better, take that leap of faith today before you leave.   Be an early giver so we can encourage the congregation with a growing total from today.

 

No Wimpy Christians

All Saints Sunday/Baptism

Luke 6:20-31

3 November 2013                                                                               

Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                                  

The Gospel lesson for All Saints Day, which was Friday, is the Sermon on the Plain from Luke, which is similar to the Sermon on Mount in Matthew that Richard and Mickey’s class has been discussing for some weeks now.   But Luke’s version is tougher.   It is not for wimpy Christians.   I’m don’t think we can wiggle out of these hard words by saying that they are trapped in a first century context and not applicable to our own lives.  So put on your big girl and big boy pants and let’s dive into these challenging words from Jesus to his disciples.

Luke 6:20-31

²⁰ Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹ “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
²² “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you,
and defame you on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
²⁴ “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
²⁵ “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
²⁶ “Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
²⁷ “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹ If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰ Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

(New Revised Standard Version)

Blessed are you who are poor, hungry, sad, and hated.   Not a natural way to think about life, Jesus.   In fact, we think the opposite.   We think we are blessed when we are rich, comfortably well-fed, happy, and well-liked.   How could you possibly say this,  Jesus?   Did Luke forget to add the “poor in spirit and meek” part that Matthew included?   It would be easier to get around this passage if he did not go on to say hungry, sad, and hated.   Whether you read Matthew’s or Luke’s version, the message is fairly clear that Jesus thinks it is better to be on the weaker side of life, because then you are strong, then you are filled, then you will rejoice, then you will laugh.   Is he giving an instruction or an encouragement to those who are already poor, hungry, sad, and hated?   It seems more like an encouragement, because he doesn’t say and I cannot believe he would intend us to go out and strive to be poor, hungry, sad, and hated.  However if we are truly faithful, we will find ourselves in these circumstances.

But unlike in Matthew, Jesus does go on to warn against the dangers of being rich, full, laughing, and popular.   The woes follow the blessings in Luke.   And we read all the woes, and go “Whoah” Wasn’t it enough to remind us that there are long-term rewards for having suffered in this life?  Now Jesus has to tell us that there are long-term negative consequences for having it all now.

It is only after Jesus issues this description of who is blessed and who should take warning in God’s eyes that he moves to giving instructions:   

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. ²⁹ If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. ³⁰ Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. ³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

For many people, these instructions seem like the imperative to be a wimp – not to stand up for yourself and your rights.   But I think it is really the opposite.  It takes great courage to love your enemies.   Popular culture tells you to hate them.   It takes great courage to pray for those who abuse you because by doing so, you are saying, “the one who has hurt me does not have ultimate power over me.”  

You are trusting God to be sovereign, even over the pain of your life, to help you forgive and find the paradoxical blessing of loving when it hurts.  It takes great courage to turn the other cheek, because you are being strong enough not to be drawn into battle –the battle of fists or of words.   You have the guts not to lower your standards for peacemaking.   To give freely, without expecting anything in return, is courageous because you are trusting God to provide for you, even after you give away things that you might need.   Any wimp can give away what they don’t need.   Give away your coat in Florida – who needs one?   Give away your old clothes, your old TV, your old computer, your old furniture.   Give a donation to the church large enough to benefit you in your taxes, but not to be felt by you.   Any wimp can do that.   

What Jesus is calling for here, in this passage, and I believe, in this church today, is strong Christians.   Christians bold enough to stand up and be baptized as Jordan  Duncan is doing today, in a culture that increasingly devalues the mystery of Christian faith.  We are bold enough to own the mysteries like baptism and communion that we cannot explain but we know mark us by the Holy Spirit as God’s children, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.   We are Christians bold enough to keep reading scripture, seeking God’s message to us today, even though many would have us despair because some verses of scripture are trapped in the cultural context of the 1^st century and harder to appreciate.  Yet we continue to dare to shape our lives according to the narrative of God and the people of the Way, because we’ve seen how it changes lives.

Jesus needs us to stop being wimpy Christians when it comes to generosity, because you know we have, by global standards, had it very easy.  Notice I did not say, “We have been very blessed, because Jesus says, we are not blessed by riches but by poverty, hunger, sadness, and being mistreated.”  So let’s make sure we pare down our riches by making generous pledges toward God’s kingdom here and now through the ministries of Peace.   Feel the pinch – identify with the poor by giving more in the coming year.   

You know the more studies on nutrition and health show that people who go a little hungry are healthier than those who are always full.   I can eat that leftover Halloween candy (and yes, I have a lot of butterfingers and peanut butter cups) but they don’t really satisfy.   They just make me want more.  Woe to us to keep filling ourselves with processed, high fat and high sugar foods.   It’s time to get healthy, and go a little hungry.  We pray to God “lead us not into temptation,” but we like to lead ourselves into temptation.   That’s why we bought the candy that we like – for the kids.   :  )   The average person in this country spends $75 for Halloween candy, decorations, and costumes. Let’s make sure that we spend just as much money feeding local hungry children real food this week as we have done poisoning local children and ourselves with sugary junk food.  Thank you for your donations to Peace today, especially extra gifts designated for the Food Bank.

Finally we end with everyone’s favorite verse in the whole passage:   Do to others as you would have them do to you.   It all sounds so sweet if you’re talking about letting someone in the grocery line in ahead of you or driving on the road kindly as you would have others drive in the lane beside you.   Do to others as you would have them do to you is all well and good if you’re teaching a 2^nd grader to share.    But what about if Jesus was talking about more serious matter like the global economy?   Or immigration law?   Or healthcare?  Or interfaith relationships?  Or a lawsuit that you could easily win?   No easy answers then.

So as I said before, “No wimpy Christians”  We are called to be courageous and strong, for the Lord our God will never abandon us.   After all, while we know that in Jesus Christ, we are all by grace through faith, called saints of God, we still recognize that certain people through the ages have excelled at faithfulness.   And by their example, we are inspired and propelled to greater faith.   Like Mary, the mother of our Lord, who was able to receive by the Holy Spirit, the human-divine person of Jesus Christ in her womb and to raise him, saying to the angel of God “let it be with me, according to your word”  

People like St Francis of Assisi, the son of a wealthy silk merchant, who took a vow of poverty and shaped the lives of so many by his generosity toward the poor and the animals.   When St Francis was about the age of Jordan Duncan, he was selling his father’s silk, and was approached by a poor man, who was asking for help.   Apparently Francis was so moved by mercy, he emptied out his pockets of all the money he made that day, and gave it to the poor man.  His friends made fun of him and his father was enraged.  But Francis knew who his real Father was.

People like ST PATRICK who was taken captive  in the years of his adolescence, when growing boys are most hungry, from fourteen to twenty.   While hungry St Patrick experienced the blessing of God and a profound closeness to God in prayer.  When released, he went back to Britain, but after being ordained, he returned to Ireland, the land of his captors, where he satisfied the hunger of many for the good news of the Gospel.   He proclaimed the Word for forty years there.

Weeping people like Julian of Norwich who lived in solitude as an anchoress in the sad, sad season of the Black Plague, who had the courage and the vision to believe that “All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.” No wimpy Christian.  It takes guts to say that when everyone around you is dying, you yourself are sick unto death, and all people think that it is God’s judgment against the world.

Hated people like Archbishop Oscar Romero who spoke out for human rights in El Salvador, who was assassinated while thanking God as he lifted up the cup of salvation, celebrating communion with a congregation.   

These people are blessed, blessed even in their suffering as they lived out the Gospel with courage.  Don’t wimp out on me, and I’ll try not to wimp out on you.  I believe God is calling us to a courageous and generous faith, one that will endure the test of time and still be strong when Jordan has grandchilddren.   We might look like fools for Christ, if we live like this, but if we dare to follow him, we will be blessed.