Jesus Bourne or Jesus Christ - Sermon June 24, 2012

Sermon June 24, 2012: Proper 7, Year B

(James W.)

Mark 4:35-41

Let us pray.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our Redeemer.

This past Tuesday I agreed to bicycle into work with a colleague who lives near me in Sacramento. My bicycle is more of a road bike than his and I tend to ride like a vehicle while he likes to cross streets like a pedestrian. So when we got close to work I ended up beating him by a couple of minutes. I waited for him at the front doors to the library and when he finally arrived I said to him “what took you so long? It’s time to turn around and go home now.” Many of us do similar things. We like to pretend that a feat of strength was no big deal. It makes us look like we are strong, confident and in control.

Amongst the most popular thriller action movies are the Bourne trilogy series, which features the super spy Jason Bourne who has amnesia, but who nevertheless always responds calmly, competently and stays in control when he is repeatedly thrust into danger. As the three films unfold, we gradually learn that Jason Bourne was secretly trained by the CIA to be an assassin, with ice for blood in his veins and he is able to survive anything thrown his way. We would all like to be as icy calm and competent as Jason Bourne, and characters like this are very common in movies.

The reality is that most of us aren’t calm and competent when under stress. I remember reading an analysis after the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank that said that in an emergency situation while only a few people actually panic, the vast majority became passive, not sure what to do. About ten per cent of people take charge and organize the rescue operations. The passive people tend to follow those that take charge.

After reading today’s Gospel reading, what role does Jesus play? Let’s review the action. Jesus suggests to the disciples that they take an after-dinner boat ride. It just so happens that a frightful storm arises – something that is not uncommon for the Sea of Galilee where this event took place. The disciples are thrown into something of a panic, thinking they are about to die. They don’t know what to do, so they look for Jesus to take the lead. But what is Jesus doing? Having a nap! The eyewitness account says he was asleep on a cushion! Talk about someone trying to look calm, cool and collected. But it doesn’t stop there. When the disciples wake him up, Jesus tells the wind and sea to be still and then calmly asks the disciples why they are so worried. I don’t think that even Jason Bourne could pull that off!

So the question we need to think about today is this – was Jesus just being a great big show-off? Was he trying to be a first century Jesus Bourne? Or was there some other point to what he did? Well if Jesus wanted to be Jesus Bourne, then I think that I would not be standing here preaching in church today. In fact, the church wouldn’t be here because Jesus would never have died on the cross. Satan tempted Jesus to be Jesus Bourne, but Jesus didn’t take the bait. Instead we read in Philippians 2:6-8 that Jesus “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!” Jesus wasn’t showing off. So what is the point of today’s Gospel reading?

I think that one of the big clues as to the point of this story can be found in the disciples’ terrified exclamation near the end of the passage “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” Why did the disciples have this reaction? Why didn’t they respond with thankfulness and calm when Jesus calmed the wind and the waves? Why didn’t they say “Thanks Jesus! Cool trick that.” Instead we are told that the disciples were terrified that Jesus could command the wind and the waves. I think that the reason for the terror was that the disciples finally realized who Jesus really was.

Early in the first Jason Bourne movie, The Bourne Identity, Jason meets up with a young woman who he convinces to drive him to Paris. At this point Jason is still not sure who he is, or why he possesses his fighting skills. He has no idea that the CIA is trying to take him out. The young woman, Marie, has even less of an idea who Jason is. When the two arrive in Paris, Jason is attacked by an assassin in front of Marie and then the two are chased through the streets by the Paris police. As this action unfolds, Marie gradually becomes aware of what Jason is capable of, who must be tracking him, and what sort of person he must be. This knowledge terrifies her because she realizes she is in for much more than she bargained for.

This is what happened to the disciples. They had seen Jesus do some healings and heard him preach, but that was nothing compared to seeing him rebuke the storm into silence. Only God could have such power. It was one thing to follow a charismatic teacher and healer, but quite something else to realize that you are actually following God in person. The point of this story is not that Jesus was trying to be Jesus Bourne, but rather that he was revealing himself to his disciples as Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

But should the disciples have been terrified to hear this news? Yes and no. This story brings to mind an excerpt from C.S. Lewis’s famous children’s book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, about the mythical land of Narnia. If you have not read this book, you should find a copy and read it. If you have, you will know that in the books, children from our world magically travel to the land of Narnia where they meet Aslan the lion. Aslan is the hero of the series and C.S. Lewis patterns him on Jesus Christ. In this excerpt, the children are first told about Aslan by Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. Listen to the interchange:

“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.

“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”

“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs. Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you.”

Jesus is the Son of God, and God certainly isn’t safe. Love is never safe. God wants nothing less than all of our life. But he’s good and he’s our King. In Luke 9:23-25, Jesus says “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for you to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit your very self?” If we think that Jesus will leave us to live our comfortable self-centered lives undisturbed, we are wrong. Love never leaves us undisturbed. So, yes the disciples were right to be terrified. They knew that their lives would be changed forever.

But in today’s Gospel Jesus also says to his disciples “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” One pastor writes that it’s easy for us to imagine Jesus speaking sternly and scolding his disciples for their lack of faith. But he writes “I imagine instead that Jesus looked on his trembling disciples with the compassion of a mother or father for a scared child, gently asking ‘Why are you scared honey? It’s OK. I’m here. Have faith!’” Jesus loves us like children.

We heard what Paul told us in Philippians 2:6-8 - that Jesus “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!” Paul also wrote in 2 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and he has awesome power, but he laid aside his power and glory and became nothing so that we might become God’s children. In Galatians 4:4-7, Paul writes

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

No, Jesus isn’t safe. Love is never safe. But he’s good, and he’s the king, and he gave his life for our redemption. We are right to fear God, but we must also realize the tremendous love that God has for us.

Last week Pastor Barbara told us what God could do if we had faith the size of a mustard seed. In today’s passage, Jesus asks his disciples “Do you still have no faith?” If we take Jesus seriously, then we will realize that he isn’t safe, but that he is good, and God, and loves us. We will be filled with awe, trust and gratitude and be ready to follow where Jesus would lead us. That is what faith looks like, and if we are ready to follow God – even with little baby steps at first - we can each begin our frightening but exhilarating journey with Jesus to be what God would have us be.

Amen.

Let us pray:

O Lord, the wind and waves listen to your voice, for you are their Creator. Like the disciples, we are right to be terrified by you for you are our Creator also. But you love us and set aside your power and glory and humbled yourself even unto death on a cross so that our sins might be forgiven. Such great love has great power. Give us faith to follow you and let that great love and great power transform our lives. Amen.

Love, Vine and Branches - Sermon May 13, 2012

Sermon May 13, 2012: The Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year B

(James W.)
John 15:9-17

Let us pray.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

Today’s Gospel reading speaks a good deal about love and how God loves us, how we are to love one another, and how we can do that. Some of Jesus’ teaching about love can seem, on first glance to be a little difficult to understand. But Jesus says some pretty amazing things to us in today’s reading, so it is worth our while to make sense of it all.

One of the wonderful things about following a lectionary is that you get to hear from all parts of the Bible over a three year cycle. One of the weaknesses is that sometimes the individual readings miss out on some important context that helps us understand what is being said. Today’s Gospel reading is one such instance. This passage is best understood if you have read the preceding verses.

When we understand the larger context, then some of the potentially confusing parts in today’s readings make sense. Our reading today is only a smaller part of a larger section in John’s gospel. If you open your Bibles to John chapter 15, v. 1, you will read the opening line of this larger passage. Jesus says “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” Then a few verses later, Jesus continues “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” Understanding this vine and branch metaphor is crucial to understanding the passage.

Even though we might not all be gardeners or farmers, we all understand what happens to a branch that is cut off from the vine. The vine gives nourishment and life to its branches. Branches cannot exist independently of the vine. Jesus is telling us that he is like the vine and we are the branches. In order to be productive followers of Jesus, we must remain connected to Jesus Christ and draw our power from him. Just as the branches of a vine cannot bear fruit, or even live, unless they are connected to the vine, so we cannot bear fruit or truly live unless we are connected to Jesus. It would make no sense for a branch to say “I am going to bear some wonderful grapes this year, but before I do that, I will ask the farmer to take his axe and cut me off from the vine.” We all know what happens to a cut off branch – it withers and dies, and most certainly does not produce fruit.

In verse 10 of today’s reading, Jesus says something which might startle us if we didn’t have the vine and branches metaphor already in mind. He says “If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love.” This sounds like quid pro quo – we keep the law and Jesus will love us. But isn’t that antithetical to everything we have been taught about salvation by works? Is Jesus saying here that he will only love us if we follow the law? Isn’t salvation by grace alone? We always like to try to reduce things down to formulas – if we do this, you are obligated to do that. But Jesus is being much more holistic in what he is saying here.

The vine and branches metaphor has just taught us that we can only bear fruit if we are connected to Jesus. In other words, we can only do what Jesus commands if we remain in his love. Disconnect from Jesus and we wither and die. In this way, doing his commands and remaining in his love are two inseparable things. The only way that we can keep his commands is if we are deeply connected to Jesus. Jesus is not presenting to us a contract – if you do x, then I will do y. Rather, he is telling us that if we are his disciples, do the things he would have us do, then it must be that we are deeply connected to him.

Being connected to Jesus is also important to properly understand what Jesus’ commands are. In v. 12, Jesus tells us “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” and again in v. 17 he repeats “This is my command: Love each other.” Jesus isn’t telling us to love one another with a distorted human perspective on love. He is telling us to love as he loved us. We can only love others the way Jesus loved us if we are deeply connected to Jesus. The sort of human love we see in the world around us is often distorted. As we enter into election season, we will undoubtedly see a lot of manipulative love – love given in hopes of reaping votes or campaign contributions. In many interpersonal relationships we also see manipulative love – wherein one person loves another in order to satiate his or her own personal needs and not those of the other person. We also see manipulative love in advertising. Advertisers pretend to care about you, but are really only interested in what you have in your wallet or bank account.

Our society often also equates love with having no boundaries. We see the concepts of tolerance and hatred set up as polar opposites, when, in reality, tolerance is not really love at all, but simply apathy. If you spend a lot of time cooking for someone and when they finally taste your culinary creation, they tell you “It’s tolerable”, you would likely be quite hurt. There is a vast difference between “it’s tolerable” and “it tastes great”. Tolerance is not love. Love often does have boundaries.

The love that Jesus wants us to have for each other is the love he had for us. Jesus said “Love each other as I have loved you.” And Jesus then tells us how to love each other, and, in so doing, also tells us how he loved us. He says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Sacrificial love is the kind of love we are called to. This is the kind of love that can cost us everything. Manipulative love has as its basis what the other person can do for you. Tolerance has as its basis apathy towards the other person. But sacrificial love has as its basis the genuine well-being of the other person. Sacrificial love is the kind of love that parents have for their children – the kind of love that we are celebrating today on Mother’s Day.

This is the kind of love that Jesus had for us. “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” We know that, on the cross, Jesus laid down his life for us, taking our sin upon himself. But listen to what Jesus tells us next “You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because servants do not know their master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends.” We are Jesus’ friends, and he laid down his life for us.

Jesus commands us to love one another with sacrificial love, just as he loved us. Jesus says, in v. 16 “you did not choose me, but I chose you”. Jesus chose us, we did not choose him. Think about that for a minute. We are called to love one another as Jesus loved us, and we know that Jesus loved us FIRST! What does this mean? It means that we aren’t just called to love those who love us already, those people we hang around with. In Matthew 5:46-47, Jesus says” If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?” We need to be proactive at seeking out those to love, and then loving them with the sacrificial love of God. This means looking out and loving those people that the world thinks are unlovable, but not for manipulative purposes, nor to easily and apathetically tell them they are okay, but to really love them sacrificially.

Doing this isn’t easy, and it can only be done if we remain deeply connected with Jesus, as a branch is connected to the vine. Barbara and I are taking a class at a local Presbyterian church near where we live called “Life Together”. This class is intended to make us better disciples of Jesus as we examine what it means to live as a community of Christians in this world. One of the things that the pastor and our readings have emphasized is that you can’t just go and do the hard things Jesus has commanded us to do without training to do them, because we will inevitably fail. If somebody decides to run a marathon, they don’t just begin running 26 miles on the spur of the moment. They will fail. They need to engage in a disciplined training regimine, and only after completing that, will they be able to complete the marathon.

Same thing with loving others in the way that Jesus loved us. We can’t expect to just be able to do this on our own. We need to follow a disciplined training regimine with Jesus at its core. We need to spend serious time in the Scriptures, reading the stories of how God has interacted with his people. We need to spend serious time in prayer, listening to God, and putting our heart right with God. We need to be connected to other Christians. In his book Life Together, on page 32, the German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer had this to say about Christian community:

Christian community means community through and in Jesus Christ.

Christians need other Christians who speak God’s Word to them. They need them again and again when they become uncertain and disheartened because, living by their own resources, they cannot help themselves without cheating themselves out of the truth. They need other Christians as bearers and proclaimers of the divine word of salvation. They need them solely for the sake of Jesus Christ.

If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian community in which we have been placed, even when there are no great experiences, no noticeable riches, but much weakness, difficulty, and little faith—and if, on the contrary, we only keep complaining to God that everything is so miserable and so insignificant and does not at all live up to our expectations—then we hinder God from letting our community grow according to the measure and riches that are there for us all in Jesus Christ.

We need to be part of a loving community in order for us to love others. Our society is an individualistic one and we often think “there are no churches that we really fit in to. We will just be Christian on our own.” But the church is the body of Christ, and we can’t be part of Christ if we aren’t part of his body. There are other spiritual disciplines that would be profitable for us to follow also, but these are the major ones.

Our second reading from the first letter of John also speaks of how loving others is the command of God. John says: “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Our world is full of sin and death, but sin and death are not the last word. The last word is God’s sacrificial love for us – he gave his life for us, and he now calls us to love others with his sacrificial love. This is the victory that will overcome the world. Let us be Jesus’ friends, follow his commands, and stay rooted in him like a branch is to the vine.

Let us pray:

O Lord, let us remain deeply rooted in you so that you can sustain our faith and that we can bear lasting fruit in your name. We pray that you give us a desire for your Word, intimacy with you in prayer, and joy in our brothers and sisters in Christ. We ask this all in your holy name. Amen.

Pastor's Greetings

Dear Saints,

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a Christian pastor, professor and teacher in the Confessing Church in Germany during World War II.  On April 9, 1945, at the age of 39, Bonhoeffer became a Christian martyr or witness for Jesus Christ when he was put to death by the Nazis.  Bonhoeffer is well known for his book, The Cost of Discipleship.  He also wrote a gem of a book entitled Life Together.  Recently I have been re-reading this book which discusses what it means to live with Christ in community.  Bonhoeffer writes; “It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us…Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let them thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.” (p. 20 Life Together)

I take the fact that I can gather with other Christians for granted.  So many people around the world cannot gather publicly to worship Jesus Christ.  Many would give their all to be able to attend Church and worship our Lord together.  I also realize that I cannot grow as a Christian apart from all of you as members of Christ’s body.  Jesus gives us what we need through one another.  Jesus is tangible in the life of another sister or brother in Christ who is filled with the same Holy Spirit.

When I think I can live the Christian life alone I am fooling myself.  A pastor shared with me that this is like a branch of a tree saying to the rest of the tree; “I love flowering and producing fruit but I do not want to be part of the tree.”  It would be crazy of course to think that the branch could exist and live, let alone produce fruit, apart from the rest of the tree.

In a similar way St. Paul writes that we are a part of one another as we are all members of the body of Christ. (see 1 Corinthians 12)  If I am the elbow, I cannot say to the wrist that because I am not a wrist, I do not belong to the body.  Both the elbow and the wrist need each other in order to function and do their part for the sake of the whole body.  In the same way when one of us suffers, we all suffer and when one of us rejoices, we are blessed to rejoice with that person.

I am thankful for the body of Christ and for Jesus calling me into community for as Bonhoeffer writes; “Christianity means community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ” for the Christian life is impossible apart from Christian Community.

With thanksgiving that God has called us into Christian community,

Pastor Barbara Elizabeth+

Sermon April 15, 2012

Sermon: April 15, 2012, The Second Sunday of Easter

Ron Olsen

1 John 1:9

I’ve been preaching since 1996.  In preparing today’s sermon I thought maybe a refresher on preaching would be in order.  So I typed in “What makes a good sermon”  Google came back with 30 million 5 hundred thousand responses. 

Well organized, easy to follow, Bible centered.  But I could have saved my time and just headed Charlie Merkins’ advice as all agreed on one  point: “keep it short.”  The majority also said to keep it on topic, but I ask your indulgence… in my quick internet search, a serendipitous occurrence happened. One seminary instructor defined his position citing: TV, the internet and now textings for shortening our attention span.  He compared this to a 45 minute long sermon (of a 19^th century preacher) he’d recorded on LibriVox dot org,.

The Serendipity: LibriVox is a site that is not well known outside the publishing industry, a site that provides free audio of books in the public domain - a site creation of Hugh McGuire, my brother in law.  

I also typed in “preaching” and found out preaching comes from a Greek word which I can’t pronounce, it is spelled “k-e-r-y” “g-m-a” (Kerygma) which means “preach the resurrection.” 

I’m going to preach from the second reading, the first letter of John.  A little background: The letter is written to the early church, specifically those who advocated that Jesus was God but didn’t really become human and only pretended to suffer. Note: the “we” isn’t an affectation, a ‘royal’ we, but John writing on behalf of the teachers and leaders of the early church.

Unlike Thomas, they can’t see for themselves.  John asks them to believe him and the others who had first hand knowledge.   Besides asking this group to believe, John lays out the relationship we have – or should have – with God.

John starts by using the metaphor of light and darkness. Some understand it to mean that God is light, that is, God is without sin, and we can’t be living evilly, unethically and claim to be walking in the light.  On our own, humans walk in darkness – some darker than others.

 We can also understand light to be the revelation of God’s presence and plan.  Central to his plan, is God’s willingness to forgive us when we admit our sins – reveal ourselves for who we are – we might as will confess since God knows anyway. Should we sin, Jesus will intercede on our behalf with the Father, as our “advocate”. Jesus, through the cross, brings us into unison with God – as he does for all who will believe.

I’ve never studied comparative religions, but one of the resources I read – Daniel Wallace – stated, “One of the most remarkable things about Christianity is this fellowship with God. We don't read of fellowship with God even in the Old Testament. The difference is not a lowering of God's standard, but an elevation of the believer: we are hoisted up to heaven on the cross of Christ.”

Wallace continued to tell us that, “The cross provides access to the Father: it gives us a new birth so that we are indeed the children of God. Yet, we still sin. Even though we are God's children, we often don't walk with God as we should.  It is through the cross that our sins are forgiven.”

Over the years, I’ve learned that if you dig deep enough you can find disagreement and altering views of even what seems like the simplest of scripture.  Chapter 1 verse 9 is one of those lines:  “⁹If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Come to find out there is confusion over what confession involves.

If you are ever a contestant on Jeopardy and you get the word “Greek,” the answer is “what causes all the confusion and disagreement among Bible scholars?” 

Some have argued that the word used here for "confess," I’m going to spell it cause I can’t pronounce it: oi mo lo ge vw (oJmologevw), means “only to name your sins to God.” It does not mean to “renounce your sins." So day after day you can just list out your sins without penance – because it would be blasphemy to reject God’s grace… pretty sweet, but I suspect we can tuck the 1 John 1.9 defense away with the Twinkie defense.  (a diminished capacity defense based on high sugar diet – used in the Dan White’s 1978 trial for murdering George Moscone and Harvey White.)

First and foremost, then, confession of sins is an admission of guilt--an admission which we affirm both in word and heart. Thus, confession always involves belief.

Second, confession of sin involves a recognition of our inadequacy and our need.  We need God’s grace, because we can’t do it on our own.  From prayers of the people form VI (6), “so uphold us by your Spirit that we may live and serve you  in newness of life,” … that with God’s help we change.   That we change our sinful ways – stop doing what we shouldn’t and start doing what we should.

And finally the recognition that Christ paid the price for our sins, we only have to believe in him.  We do this by keeping his law – love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and our neighbors as our self.  

Alleluia. Christ is risen… the Lord is risen indeed.  Alleluia.

That Whoever Believes In Him - Sermon, Mar. 18, 2012

Sermon: March 18, 2012 The Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year B¹

(James W.)

Numbers 21:4-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21

Let us pray.

Living God, help us so to hear your holy Word that we may truly understand; and in understanding, we may believe, and, believing, we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking your honor and glory in all that we do; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

There are times when I look over the Sunday lectionary readings that I just can’t spot very many connections between the readings. But not today. Today’s readings are all on the same topic, and what a topic it is. No less than the very heart of the Gospel.

In today’s reading from John, we join the middle of Jesus’s reply to Nicodemus, a Pharisee. Nicodemus had asked Jesus to explain salvation. Jesus told Nicodemus that there are two options – and only two options. Spiritual death or everlasting life with God through entry into the Kingdom of God. One way to think of this is that Jesus has just told Nicodemus that all humanity has a deadly condition that leads each one of us to spiritual death. This is exactly what Paul writes in the Ephesians passage when he says we “were dead in our transgressions and sins” and “were by nature deserving of wrath”. Jesus says quite plainly in John’s passage “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”

But Jesus tells us that there is a remedy and we join Jesus as he explains this remedy to Nicodemus. Jesus begins by pointing to a curious story from the Old Testament book of Numbers, which we also heard this morning. (See the connections?) This story takes place shortly after Moses had led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, after God had saved them from the Egyptian army, after God had provided for their many needs and given them victories over their enemies. But the people of Israel were bored and so turned against God and spoke against him. In response, God sent venomous snakes amongst them, and many people died.

The people, out of desperation, turned back to God and God rescued them. He ordered Moses to make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Anyone who was bitten by a snake only needed to look upon the bronze snake and they would live. But in order to survive, the people needed to trust God and look to the bronze snake. Don’t you think that a lot of the Israelites would have thought to themselves “Wait just a minute here. This is silly. Surely God should send us some anti-venom, or lead us to another place where there aren’t any snakes.” But God’s solution was the bronze snake, and in order for the people to live they would need to trust God’s solution and look to the snake.

This is what Jesus points to as the illustration for how we can be saved from our spiritual death. This illustration is so very rich. Just as the Israelites needed to be saved from the snake’s venom, so we need to be saved from the venom of sin. Just as the snake’s venom would kill the Israelites, so sin’s venom will kill us. But Jesus says “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” In one of the most quoted passages in the Bible, Jesus goes on to say, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus tells us that the remedy to our spiritual death is to “believe in him.” That sounds simple enough doesn’t it? All we need to do is “believe.” But what does it really mean to “believe in him”? It must mean more than just believing that he existed two thousand years ago, or even believing that he still exists today. It must even mean more than just believing that He is our Savior or that He died for our sins and rose again. In James chapter 2, verse 19, we read that even the demons believe in God. Mere intellectual assent is not what Jesus means here. Think about it, the people of Israel might have believed in God, and they might even have believed that looking at the bronze snake was likely to cure them. But they had to trust enough to actually look at the snake. So we must trust Jesus. And if we trust Jesus, we need to actually do what someone would do if they did believe and trust in him.

We often forget that our relationship with God is a personal one. We sometimes get into a way of thinking in which our Faith is merely a set of assertions that we believe in, or not. It can become almost like an insurance policy. “Yeah, I’ll believe in Christianity. Just so long as it doesn’t impinge on the rest of my life. But I’ll believe if that’s what it takes.”

Believing in a person is different – yes you must believe that the person is what they claim to be, but it is more. You must be willing to trust the person, and trust demands action. Let’s return to a poisonous snake analogy. Suppose that you are on vacation in an exotic land and you go hiking with a tour group. On this hike you step on an especially dangerous poisonous snake and it bites you. You grow weak and your tour guide rushes to get the help of a prominent doctor, recognized as the leading expert in dealing with the poison of this particular snake. After a while, he returns with the doctor, who has a vial of anti-venom and tells you that your only chance to recover fully is to drink the anti-venom and spend two months in physical therapy working your muscles to recover from the snake’s venom. Failure to do either will result in either your death or your paralysis. The doctor is holding the vial and offers to personally guide you through the therapy.

Now you might believe that the snake is poisonous, you might believe that anti-venom will save your life, and you might also believe that only physical therapy will repair your damaged muscles. But will you “believe in” the doctor? Will you trust her? Will you do as she directs you? Or will you want to see if there is a short cut? Or maybe you will want to watch to see if a late-night informercial will promise a miracle cure. Or maybe you think you are done for and all this talk of getting cured is just wishful thinking.

Here is where trust comes in. If you really do trust her, you will do as she directs. But if you don’t do what she says, that is a sign that – no matter what you say – you don’t really trust her. Trust demands action. And so the Bible, in James chapter 2, verse 17 says “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

This doesn’t mean that the actions that we take in response to our faith, are what save us. Paul writes “for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift from God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” Again, remember that we are in a personal relationship with God. We are not saved because we guessed right on the divine multiple choice quiz, or because we did this thing or that thing.

Salvation is not an end in itself. Rather, the end of our salvation is a relationship with God. Or we might say the purpose of our salvation is so that we can be in a relationship with God. Relationships require actions by the parties, not just words. How would your marriage work if all that you did on Valentine’s Day was tell your husband or wife that you believed that he or she existed? Or recite knowledge about your spouse, such as the location of his birth, or where she went to college, or what his height was? It won’t work!

To be saved means to be in an active relationship with God – and that means being in a relationship with our creator, God the Father, our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our guide here on earth, the Holy Spirit. This is what salvation is all about. You can’t just passively be in a relationship with somebody – that’s not a relationship. So it is our actions which point to whether we really are in a relationship or not.

If we truly believe in and trust Jesus, we will act on that belief. But the key is that it is God who pursues us, not we who pursue God – this is the grace that saves us. Jesus tells Nicodemus “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” God does not want anyone to experience spiritual death. God would love for every person to be in a relationship with him – but it is always our choice. In the Ephesians passage, Paul writes “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ” and further Paul writes that “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

God has pursued us. Think of it in this way – you are teetering on the edge of a pier and you know you are going to fall into the ocean. But Jesus is there holding out his hand to you. Will you take it? Will you trust Jesus’s diagnosis of your life and heed his prescription?

Trusting Jesus is our only hope for life, but we need to understand what that means. In Ephesians Paul writes “for it is by grace that you have been saved.” The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was killed by the Nazis for standing up for his trust in Christ during the Second World War, wrote about this grace, what he called costly grace. Bonhoeffer said “Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.”

Following Jesus costs us our previous life which ends in spiritual death, but gives us a much better, everlasting life lived in relationship with our God. Recently Pastor Barbara shared with us a quotation from the missionary martyr Jim Elliot, who wrote "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." We cannot keep our life here on earth, that life filled with sorrow, decay and death. But when we accept new life in Jesus, we cannot lose this new life.

When we decide to trust Jesus and follow him, one of the things we do is follow his teachings and allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit, thus becoming more like Jesus. Then we will become new people – desiring to be God’s people. And, according to the Bible, this is what we are all called to. Paul writes “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.’

So we have heard Jesus’s diagnosis of our condition. Jesus said “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” And Paul wrote “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.” But Jesus has offered us a remedy from this spiritual death, if only we believe in him and trust him. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The ball is in your court now – will you take sin’s anti-venom that is trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and live? Your move.

Let us pray:

O Lord, we acknowledge that we are dead in sin without you, and we thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to die for us, and redeem us from spiritual death. We pray that you give us belief, faith and trust in you. Belief that you are our Savior, faith that you alone can save us, and trust so that we can take your hand and follow you. Amen.

¹I am indebted to this sermon from Pastor Jeff Chapman at Faith Presbyterian Church in Sacramento.

Lenten Greetings

Dear friends in Christ,


On the first Sunday in Lent we read the Gospel of Mark’s account of Jesus’ baptism and his time in the wilderness. It is a very brief account, but we learn that God the Father was well pleased with God the Son, Jesus our Lord. Jesus’ baptism was, in a way, a commissioning and a strengthening for his life, ministry and special vocation or calling as our Savior. In a similar way we are commissioned in our baptism. God adopts us as His children in baptism and God commissions each one of us for our life of ministry and discipleship with Him.

After Jesus’ baptism, the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness where Satan tempted him. We like Jesus, will also spend time in the wilderness…times when we might feel challenged in our lives of Christian discipleship. Jesus was strengthened by his time in the wilderness. He trusted God’s will for His life and He trusted God’s ways. Jesus was steeped in the Bible and when tempted by Satan, Jesus was able to stay faithful by claiming the truths and promises of Scripture.

The Lenten season is always a wonderful time to strengthen our relationship with God and to deepen our trust and faith in Christ. May we spend more time praying and meditating on God’s word as we seek to draw nearer to God. And may we prepare ourselves to join in the events of Jesus’ last week of earthly life and ministry.

During Holy Week we will gather in the courtyard and new memorial garden on Palm Sunday at 10 am. At 7 pm on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday we will remember our Lord’s passion and his death on the cross. Then on Easter Sunday we will celebrate with joy the victory of Christ’s resurrection!

Blessings to you this Lenten and Easter Season,

Pastor Barbara Elizabeth+

On The Transfiguration Of Jesus - Sermon February 19, 2012

Sermon: February 19, 2012, The Last Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B

Mark 9:2-9

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

Today is the last Sunday of the church season known as Epiphany. The first Sunday of Epiphany traditionally focuses on the Baptism of Jesus when heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove and God the Father declared “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” The last Sunday of Epiphany, today, traditionally focuses on the Transfiguration of Jesus, Mark’s account of which we read today. We read how Jesus shone with a bright light after which God the Father spoke from a cloud saying “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” These stories have a lot in common and both are epiphanies focusing on who Jesus is.

According to the dictionary, the word epiphany can mean one of two things. First, it can be a manifestation or appearance of a divine or superhuman being; and second it can be an illuminating realization or discovery, often resulting in a personal feeling of elation, awe, or wonder. Both of these definitions are present in the Bible’s epiphanies relating to Jesus. Today, we are going to look at the Transfiguration story. When I first got to thinking about the Transfiguration, I had a difficult time understanding what it meant and what its purpose was in the Gospel. But after reflecting on it, I think it plays a very important role with a critical message for us today.

Recall the second definition of epiphany – “an illuminating realization or discovery, often resulting in a personal feeling of elation, awe, or wonder.” Let’s look at an illustration of a transfiguration moment from the novel and popular film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The scene takes place as three companions are searching for two friends who have gone missing. They have heard rumors that a wizard known as Saruman the White is in the vicinity. He was the head of the wizard order but betrayed his friends and joined the Dark Lord. It is indeed a dark time, especially as the good wizard Gandalf the Grey is thought to have died earlier in the story. The three companions sense the immediate presence of the white wizard, and they prepare to meet him. 

Let’s take a look at the scene (begin watching at the 1:10 minute mark and continue until the 2:55 minute mark):

What they see is a wizard hidden from view by a dazzling white light, and the three who are greatly afraid, attack him thinking he is the evil Saruman the White. But he beats back their attacks, and his identity is revealed. He is not Saruman the White, but rather the good wizard Gandalf, who has apparently come back from death to claim the title of White Wizard. The three companions fall to their knees in awe and beg forgiveness for trying to kill him.

Listen to how the novel describes what happened:

They all gazed at him. His hair was white as snow in the sunshine; and gleaming white was his robe; the eyes under his deep brows were bright, piercing as the rays of the sun; power was in his hand. Between wonder, joy, and fear they stood and found no words to say.

At last Aragorn stirred. ‘Gandalf!’ he said. ‘Beyond all hope you return to us in our need! What veil was over my sight? Gandalf!’ Gimli said nothing, but sank to his knees, shading his eyes.

‘Gandalf,’ the old man repeated, as if recalling from old memory a long disused word. ‘Yes, that was the name. I was Gandalf.’

He stepped down from the rock, and picking up his grey cloak wrapped it about him: it seemed as if the sun had been shining, but now was hid in cloud again. ‘Yes, you may still call me Gandalf,’ he said, and the voice was the voice of their old friend and guide. ‘Get up, my good Gimli! No blame to you, and no harm done to me. Indeed my friends, none of you have any weapon that could hurt me. Be merry! We meet again. At the turn of the tide. The great storm is coming, but the tide has turned.’

He laid his hand on Gimli’s head, and the Dwarf looked up and laughed suddenly. ‘Gandalf!’ he said. ‘But you are all in white!’

‘Yes, I am white now,’ said Gandalf.

In this meeting, the companions learned that their great friend Gandalf iss still alive; that he still possesses great power; that he has taken on the mantle of the White Wizard; and that, even though a great storm was coming, the companions can have confidence that the tide had turned in favor of what was right. This greatly emboldened the three companions to continue on and do what they needed to do.

Now it is well known that Tolkien based this scene on the Transfiguration of Jesus, but only very loosely. This provides us with but an illustration of a transfiguration. So what message does the Transfiguration of Jesus have for us? The Transfiguration comes immediately after a number of conversations centered around the question of who Jesus was, and of dark times to come. In Mark chapter 8 verses 27-30, Jesus asks the disciples who people thought he was. In verse 31, Jesus tells them that he will be killed and raised again. In verses 34 and 35 Jesus warns them that they would undergo suffering in order to follow him.

Just as the companions in the Lord of the Rings must have felt pretty dejected before Gandalf’s transfiguration before them, so the disciples were probably feeling a bit overwhelmed also. They were having a difficult time understanding who Jesus was, and their presuppositions about who the Messiah was were being seriously undermined. Like all good Jews at the time, their expectation of a Messiah was of a conquering military and political hero, who would be embraced by the Jewish leaders and defeat all enemies of the Jewish people. Instead, they had Jesus who claimed to be the Messiah, yet also told them he was going to be rejected by the Jewish leaders and put to death.

I think that we can all identify with this dejection because we probably have all felt it at some point in our lives. With all the bad news, evil and suffering in this world, how can God really be in charge? It’s a natural thing to feel this way at times. And the Transfiguration was an opportunity for God to reveal to the chosen disciples – and to us – a glimpse of Jesus in his power and his glory. Jesus took his inner circle of disciples up a high mountain with him, and the disciples probably thought that he was going to teach them some more, as they were used to. Well Jesus was indeed going to teach them, but in a way the disciples were most certainly not expecting.

Jesus suddenly was transfigured before them – his clothes became dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appeared with him. You may wonder why Moses and Elijah would have appeared. They were two iconic figures in Jewish history – Moses represented the Law, and Elijah the prophets. Let me try to illustrate what it meant for these two figures to appear with Jesus. This year is a Presidential election year. Now just imagine what effect it would have, if on Monday, November 5, the day before the election, a candidate was suddenly transfigured before us, and George Washington and Abraham Lincoln appeared at his side, thus endorsing him. Is there any doubt that that candidate would win in a landslide? This is the effect that Moses and Elijah would have had on the disciples. It would have cemented for them that Jesus represented the culmination of God’s redemption plan for Israel, whatever the Jewish religious leaders said.

But the most convincing statement of all comes from God who says “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” The disciples were told – and through them, we are told – that Jesus is God’s own Son, and that we are to listen to him. Just as Gandalf’s transfiguration had multiple messages to the three companions, so did Christ’s Transfiguration have many messages for the disciples, and by extension for us.

Jesus had already told his disciples earlier that a storm was coming – indeed he told them of his impending death and of their coming suffering. But in the Transfiguration, he revealed his supernatural power and glory. He also revealed that he was the culmination of God’s plan to save Israel. God the Father revealed that Jesus was God’s Son, whom the Father loved. In other words, the disciples were told that, despite the coming storm, the tide had turned. They could have confidence in Jesus.

Lastly, the disciples were told to listen to Jesus. This encounter wasn’t just about lifting sagging spirits, but it was also about preparing the disciples for what was to come after Jesus’ death. They needed to listen to Jesus and absorb what he taught them. This is made clear when, after the Transfiguration, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until he had risen from the dead. Why would Jesus have given such instructions? Remember that the disciples themselves had a very difficult time understanding who Jesus was, and what it meant for him to be the Messiah. It would have been very easy for significant misunderstanding if the disciples had gone around telling everyone that Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus. Nationalist heros expected to drive out invaders coupled with visions of historic national heros would have been a recipe for much violence and death.  Almost certainly, people would have come to the wrong conclusion. But after Jesus had died, such confusion would not have been possible. At that point, nobody would still be confusing Jesus with the expected nationalist warrior hero Messiah who was going to conquer all Israel’s enemies.

What does this story tell us today? I think a number of things. First, while we probably shouldn’t expect to experience any transfigurations of Jesus in our lives as Peter, James and John did, we do have something that these three disciples didn’t have – the New Testament. We have the resources to learn all about who Jesus really is and was. We don’t need supernatural appearances. And just as it was vitally important that the disciples listen to Jesus and absorb his teachings in order that they would be prepared for what was to come, so we need to study Jesus’s life and teaching so that we also can be prepared for what is to come. This means engaging in Spirit led Bible study with fellow believers.

Second, there will be times when we have private epiphanies – when, during Bible study, the Holy Spirit illumines our hearts about a significant truth or aspect of Jesus that fills us with awe and joy. Such epiphanies can be a tremendous boost to our faith. But in order to receive such epiphanies, we need to be immersed in studying the Bible under the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

Third, we need to not only listen to Jesus, but also do what he told us to do. Fr. Eaton, an Episcopal priest friend, has commented that the Transfiguration story summarizes our job as Christians. At the Transfiguration, God the Father revealed Jesus in power and glory, proclaimed him as his Son, and told us to listen to him. So Fr. Eaton says “Here, then, is the most basic definition of the mission of the church: pointing to Jesus and telling others that the Almighty God has proclaimed who he is, and to do what he says.” So, with the power of the Holy Spirit, let’s get to know Jesus better, let’s be open to God working in us, and let’s witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ to the world. Amen.

Let us pray:

Almighty Father, whose Son was revealed in majesty before he suffered death upon the cross: give us grace to perceive his glory, that we may be strengthened to suffer with him and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

All Things to All People - Sermon, February 5, 2012

Sermon: February 5, 2012, The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B
Ron Olsen


1 Corinthians 9:16-23

“I have become all things to all people.” That sounds like a quote from one of the would-be candidates as they scramble around the country rather than something St. Paul said. And, out of context, it sounds pretty shallow and insincere. But I think we do Paul a disservice if we think he’s being manipulative or insincere – though he is certainly brisk. His communication style can be impersonal – take him seriously, but not personally.

This reminds me of one of the things I admired about both The Bee and The Record – their commitment to training. I especially remember communications seminars based on personality types.

A number of consultants offer training based on personality type. The names of the types vary, but most identify four types. The names I’m familiar with are: dominant, expressive, analytical and amiable . The idea was to understand how each type of personality liked to give and to receive information, and then modify your style to fit how the customer liked to receive information and make decisions. (This was for the sales department.) I think that’s what Paul is doing – modifying how he communicates his message of Christ to fit his audience.

I’d guess Paul to be a dominant – bottom line, he’d say, “get to the point, I’ve got souls to save.” Though he probably wouldn’t have explained why he wanted you to get to the point. He would expect you to know there is only one thing on his to-do-list: bring people to Christ.

St. Peter must have driven Paul nuts… I’d peg Peter as an expressive –thinks out loud, meet him and he is your new best friend, everything is about relationships – so he is ready to leave his nets to follow Jesus when asked. This “quick to react” characteristic could also get him into trouble. For example when Jesus was walking on the water towards him: (Matthew 14: 28-31), “ And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?””

St. Thomas was definitely an analytical – they are the type of people who need a lot of information before they can act. (John 20: 24-28) Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” But the following week when Jesus showed him his hands… Jesus “said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”” He’d gotten the information he needed …his commitment to spreading the word of Christ took him to India where he was martyred for converting a high official’s wife and son to Christianity.

The last group is amiable; from the little we are told about Peter’s brother Andrew I’d classify him as an amiable … they like to get other peoples opinions, they are sensitive to others. After he and another of John the Baptist’s disciples spent the day with Jesus , Andrew went and found his brother and gave him the good news “we have found him.” Amiables want to fit in.

Along with adjusting to these personality types, Paul would also need to adjust to how much they already knew. Paul was a Jew, so he and his Jewish audience would know the Old Testament and the laws. For non-Jews he would have to explain Jewish customs.

As gentiles we are “ones outside the law,” though like Paul, we are “not free from God’s law but are under Christ’s law,” under the new covenant – the new relationship with God. Christ promised that we would join him and have life in all its fullness. Our part of the covenant is to believe in Christ and keep his commandments: Love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind. And to love our neighbor, not just as ourselves, but as Christ loves us.

The message is simple: Jesus came into the world to save sinners, because we can’t do it on our own. Now I know that Episcopalians are not known for evangelizing, but just for a few minutes lets pretend we are Paul – and we just happen to have our prayer book with us. We meet someone who notices the prayer book and comments that they are kind of looking for a church, but don’t know anything about the Episcopal Church. After the time and location of services what information, would we share? How about The Catechism which begins on page 845. For Dominants – I’d go directly to the “New Covenant” on page 850 – it is short, to the point and tells what action must be taken. The Creeds would answer any questions they might have. Relationships are what ring Expressives’ bells so I’d include God the Father, God the Son, Corporate worship and then the New Covenant. Analyticals are easy, start at the beginning and go through the Catechism line by line. Amiables would require the same information as the Analyticals, only they’d be best served hearing it at an inquirer’s class so they could hear what others think. Paul was not manipulative, he was just ahead of his time when it came to communicating his message.

It is not so much that Paul was all things to all people, but that his message was: Jesus’ saving grace is open to all, it is the message that is everything to all people. Amen.

The Greatest of These is Love - Sermon, January 29, 2012

Sermon: January 29, 2012, The Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B

I Corinthians 8:1-13

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer.

A couple of weeks ago, Barbara and I were discussing which passage I should preach on today. Barbara told me that I should preach on the passage from I Corinthians because unless I explained what it’s about, you probably wouldn’t pay much attention to a discourse on something that none of us will have any personal connection to- whether we should eat meat sacrificed to idols. I mean, isn’t this one of those Bible passages that we can safely ignore? Isn’t it irrelevant to our Christian life today?

No, we can’t ignore it, and no, it isn’t irrelevant. What we need to do is peel back the outer skin of the story so that we can get to the heart of the message. Scripture passages sometimes remind me of cutting up a clove of garlic. First of all you need to unwrap the skin around the bulb, in order to get at the individual clove. Then you need to peel the clove before you can dice it up and add it to what you are cooking. Today’s passage from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is just such a passage. In order to understand what Paul was trying to say, we first need to understand the context of this passage.

Biblical scholars believe that Paul wrote his letter to the church at Corinth in response to a letter that he had received from them. This is made clear, for example, at the beginning of chapter 7, where Paul writes “now for the matters you wrote about”. This Epistle is also sprinkled with phrases such as “you say” and “now about” before Paul begins to address an issue. Our reading begins with “Now about food sacrificed to idols” and Paul continues addressing this issue in chapters 8, 9 and 10.

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians deals with a number of specific topics, such as factionalism, lawsuits, spiritual gifts, and food sacrificed to idols. There are, however, some overarching themes that seem to run through all of the more specific issues. These themes are an overbearing pride on the part of some at Corinth in their supposed great knowledge, a creeping into the Church of the rampant paganism that was present in the ancient city of Corinth, and some people misusing their freedom in Christ to do things which were destructive to the community at large.

The specific focus of today’s passage has to do with the eating of food sacrificed to idols, and so we need to ask what the big deal about this was in ancient Corinth. Well, we first need to understand some things. In the ancient world, few people ate meat because it was rather expensive and considered a delicacy. At many of the ancient pagan temples, animals would be ritually slaughtered as sacrifices to the gods, however, only a few select organs were actually needed for the ritual and so the temple would butcher the rest of the animal and use the meat in two ways. First, the temple would sell the meat in the marketplace, and temple meat would normally be a cheaper but better cut than the non-temple meat. Second, the temple would hold feasts in honor of its pagan god. These feasts were not like a church potluck of today. In those days, pagan religion was the civic religion, which every good citizen was expected to follow. So these would be public affairs, like official community events. However unlike community events of today, these feasts would have been held in honor of a pagan god.

Now we need to think about the early Christians in Corinth. The early Corinthian church was made up of a very diverse group of people, two groups of which are particularly relevant to today’s passage. One group was made up of relatively recent converts from paganism, hot on fire for the Lord, but still very young and immature in their Christian lives. They would still be very spiritually sensitive to any involvement with paganism, and might be seriously undermined in their faith if pressured into following, what they believed, were pagan practices. Another group were older converts from paganism, and many of these people seem to have been attracted to the freedom that Christianity brought. This group was also inordinately puffed up with pride thinking themselves to be exceedingly knowledgeable about the Christian faith, yet apparently lacking love and pastoral concern for their fellow believers.

It would appear that the prideful Christians, in their supposed knowledge and freedom, had argued that since idols were false, there was nothing special about the meat that had been offered to them, and that Christians could therefore freely eat whatever they wanted and could attend whatever temple feasts they wanted. The new sensitive converts, however, Paul knew still seemed to believe that the pagan gods had some power, and that they would somehow be affected by eating meat sacrificed to idols. What’s more, the faith of these new converts could be irreparably harmed if they were pressured into eating such meat, since their consciences told them it was wrong. We all know that when we ignore our consciences when they tell us we are doing something wrong, it becomes easier and easier to ignore them. Our conscience acts to convict us of our sin, and when we ignore it, we are shutting out God from our lives.

So what was Paul to do? Should he simply reassert the theological truth that idols are false, chastise the weaker Christians, and let the chips fall where they may? Thankfully, Paul does not do this. His response is aimed primarily at those who were puffed up with pride in their supposed knowledge and freedom. He begins by bursting their bubble of pride, saying that “knowledge puffs up while love builds up.” In other words, boasting of great knowledge without showing love just shows you are full of hot air, and that you don’t really understand what God is all about. Paul writes that pride in one’s supposed knowledge is not what Jesus Christ is all about – rather love is what the Gospel is about.

Paul then affirms the theological truth that idols are false and points out that only the God of the Bible is true. He states that there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made and through whom we live. Note that in this reply, Paul does not compromise on the truth of the Christian faith, but he does insist that the lens through which we see the faith, and through which we act out our faith, must be one of love.

So let’s look at how Paul applies these principles to the issue at hand – that of eating meat which had been sacrificed to idols. He begins be affirming the truth, but in a pastoral way. He reminds the overly proud Christians that some of their weaker fellow believers don’t yet fully understand that idols have no power and that if they would bow to peer pressure and eat food sacrificed to idols, their consciences would be seriously harmed and they could lose their faith. Paul even throws in a little wisdom of his own - saying that food doesn’t bring us closer to God and that abstaining from controversial idol meat won’t hurt you.

Paul finishes up the passage we read today by repeating the principle that love trumps knowledge. Even though there is nothing inherently wrong in eating food sacrificed to idols, Paul makes it clear that that isn’t really the issue. Instead, for Paul, the issue is the effect that some Christians eating such food would have on their weaker brothers and sisters. Their consciences told them eating idol meat was very wrong, and they might have been encouraged by peer pressure to do it anyway. Thus these weaker colleagues would violate their consciences by doing something they thought was a serious sin, and this would contribute to their falling away from God.

Think about it – suppose your young nephew, who has always looked up to you but who previously has had problems with alcohol abuse, comes to visit you. You learn that he has just converted to the Baptist faith and is on fire for the Lord, but you also learn that he believes that all drinking is of the devil. Would you, knowing how much he looks up to you, then pull out a beer in front of him, and laughingly tell him not to be such a tea-totaller and to join you with a brew? You could be destroying his conversion. No, you would wait, and out of love for him, abstain from drinking when he is around. And, maybe, after he has had time to mature as a Christian, you could talk with him later, and explain your point of view.

Paul writes that the momentary pleasure we might have in exercising freedom isn’t worth the soul of our brother or sister. And this is the very important principle that we can learn from this passage and apply to our own lives. We all have choices to make in our lives. While some things God has clearly commanded us to avoid, there are many things that are permissible. But we completely miss the point of the Gospel if we just focus on all the things we can do, and forget about loving one another. Rather, an integral part of the Gospel is to give over everything to God, to subordinate our freedom to the Gospel, and certainly, never to insist upon our rights and freedoms when to do so would undermine the faith of a fellow believer.

This message is particularly relevant to us today. We are barraged on all sides by messages telling us that it is all about us – what we want, what we deserve. Companies tell us in their advertising that our primary focus should be on pleasing ourselves – indulging ourselves with material goods. Politicians of all stripes tell us that we should insist on our civil liberties, no matter the cost to others. They tell us that we should get to keep all of our money, and make everyone else pay instead. Think of some of the early American slogans – “live free or die” and “Don’t tread on me.” Our culture is one in which we are expected to demand that our rights and freedoms are pre-eminent. But Paul tells us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ points to a more excellent way. That way says that even when we are right, even when we can legitimately claim a right or a freedom, we should not do so, if it would be a stumbling block to the faith of a brother or sister. Rather the guiding principle for Christians is not personal freedom, but love.

And so a little later in this letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes the famous chapter on love. Let’s turn to it together as a fitting conclusion for today’s sermon – 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Paul writes:

If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Amen.

Let us pray:

Lord, you have shown us so much love, coming down from heaven to live amongst us, and suffering death on our behalf. We ask you to send your Holy Spirit on us today, that we might love each other as you have loved us. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.