Sermon for June 26, 2016

Today’s reading is one example of Paul seeking contributions for the collection for the saints in Jerusalem.

2 Cor 8:1- 15

We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints— and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, so that we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous undertaking among you. Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.  For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written,

“The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”

                                     

 The message 

Today will be our last week with Paul’s Second letter to the church in Corinth. Next week, we will start a 6 week series on the strange, complex book of Job.  Job would not be my first (or even second or third) choice of Old Testament books to spend 6 weeks with. It can often be a challenge to read and struggle to understand but part of the reason behind changing our readings is to experience the whole history and story of God’s love and communication with the world  Job has its place in the wisdom books and explores issues that people of faith still struggle with.   

That will wait till next week. Now, our focus is on the completion of our look at 2 Corinthians. I wanted to review some of what we have experienced so far.  Paul had a difficult relationship with the church in Corinth, one filled with disagreements, mistrust, doubts, competition with other teachers, harsh words and frustration.  Unlike Paul’s loving relationships with the churches in places like Philippi and Galatia, Corinth is a delicate relationship where they endure a lot of set backs and lapses in faith.  Despite the problems, attacks and failures to listen Paul constantly proclaims Christ dead and risen for the forgiveness of sins.  Paul condemns the inequality in the community there, confronts rival teachers and stresses the doctrines of the church (the resurrection a few weeks ago, original sin last week, the incarnation today).

In Today’s reading, Paul asks the church in Corinth for money (I’m sure the people in Corinth who already didn’t like Paul much, received this well).  I wanted to say a little about what this collection for the saints was and why it mattered so much to Paul.  In the early church, money was not given to the church, it was given through the church.  Through the church, people primarily gave money to those in need and to care for those who preach the gospel. (Paul often advocated for the support of ministers but he often refused payments himself and practiced his trade as a tent or sail maker to survive. Paul argued that workers for Christ should be compensated, he also feared collecting money for himself would be a significant obstacle to his work. It would leave him open to the criticism that he was in it for the money). 

Despite not supporting himself through collections, gifts and people’s offerings, Paul spent 10 years raising money for the church in Jerusalem (a fundraiser often called “the collection for the saints”).  The main reason for this was that the church in Jerusalem needed it.  There was a severe famine that hit the city around the years 45 to 50. This led to scarcity, high prices and a struggle for anyone except the very rich to survive.  Also, like other Christian communities, members of the church in Jerusalem pooled their resources and distributed them as needed.   In Jerusalem, the number of people in need was considerably higher than it was in other churches and cities.  Many people from neighboring cities would go to Jerusalem to retire, when they were no longer able to work or capable of supporting themselves.  This meant an unusually great number of elderly people, widows and others in need in Jerusalem.

The collection effort is successful on many accounts. Paul and others delivery the funds they raise on multiple occasions. (These visits are recorded in Paul’s letter to the Galatians and other letters).  For Paul, this collection was not just about addressing a public need.

It was also a teaching moment, a chance to establish connections between the Jewish and Gentile communities of Christianity, to show faith in action and to talk about the incarnation, God’s generosity through Christ.

Paul does not always have a great relationship with Peter, James and the church in Jerusalem that he 

dedicates over 10 years to this collection for. They were on opposite sides of what I like to call the first great church fight. At that time the issue was if you had to become Jewish and keep the law before becoming a Christian.  For Peter and others, the answer was yes (since they mainly operated in Jerusalem and reached out in Jewish communities, it was not a big issue anyway. Most people were Jewish already or at least very familiar with the laws and traditions).  However, for Paul and others proclaiming Christ dead and risen for the forgiveness of sins in non-jewish areas, that conversion was a major obstacle. It would mean extensive teaching as well as introducing a whole new culture and way of life, which would be exceedingly difficult to practice. It would mean spending a great deal of time and energy, distract from Christ and present a significant obstacle to people’s conversion to Christianity. (Eventually this is settled when Peter has a vision of God telling him to kill and eat animals declared unclean by the law and when the Jerusalem group witnesses the Holy Spirit descend on non-Jewish people just as it did on them).   This collection connects these two groups and reminds them that, despite their differences, through Christ, they are now one. As God’s spirit touches all people and God’s grace extends to all people, so should their care. love and support.  Because Christ was born, died and rose again, things were different.          

Paul refers to generosity or similar terms 11 times in today’s reading. He is encouraging the people of Corinth to be generous and he uses an example of God’s generosity towards us.  This was also a chance to teach another theological concept.  A few weeks ago, Paul offered arguments based on scripture, experience, and reason to show that Easter is real, that Christ is risen from the dead. Last week, we heard Paul express the doctrine of original sin to remind the community that human brokenness is real, that we are separated from God and need help healing that distance.  That help comes to us by God’s grace.  This week, we have the incarnation and generosity. The incarnation is most familiar to us in the story of Christmas, when God is born as one of us, when the son, the second part of the Trinity, takes on a human form, when the mysterious and all powerful word of God takes on life and dwells among us. To explain Christmas, Paul writes “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich”.  Although said in the context of asking for monetary donations, Paul’s words here have very little to do with actual money.  Paul explains that although Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, had all power, control and the ability to create or do anything, Jesus is born as one of us, taking on the poverty of suffering, temptation, and bindings of human life.  This is done as a generous gift to all humanity, an act of love to bring salvation and a new relationship with God.

Paul pushes the church at Corinth, if God would do this for you, what should you do for each other. That is the challenge for each of us today.  We are invited to think seriously about what God has done for each of us and then how we should respond, how we should use our resources, advocate for policies, and make decisions. We are also invited to hold each other accountable, to ask what is done is with the resources entrusted to us and what happens to the things given through the church.      

Sermon for June 19

The reading

2 Cor 5:11- 21

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

 The messasge 

 This morning, my message is going to be a little more theological than usual.  You are welcome to ask or write me some questions after church (or if you are feeling bold and totally confused at some point, feel free to text me now).  We are going to look at Paul’s defense of his faith practices and his explanation of the doctrine of original sin 

Paul starts this conversation by addressing one of the many criticisms he faced from the rival teachers in Corinth.  This time they accused Paul of not being “beside himself” enough.  This is a reference to Paul’s lack of ecstatic behavior and experience.  People accuse him of being a false teacher since he rarely, if ever, reports visions, goes into prophetic trances or acknowledges speaks in tongues.  Paul responds to this attack by saying “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you”. Paul’s work is to guide, teach and direct them in the faith through the clearest use of logic, scripture and experience. Being beside himself was a more personal experience, meant to praise, worship, encounter mystery and celebrate God.  It was a cause of joy, hope and great comfort but not really meant for teaching and guiding people in the faith. 

 That work required more clarity and direct focus.  

Paul is also aware that if he encouraged estatic behavior and built his ministry on it, his rivals will simply fake experiences, standing up in the assembly, making a scene and loudly proclaiming a vision where the Lord tells them “Paul is a liar”.  Being beside ourselves, this estatic, profound experience of God is important to personal faith experiences and to the history and life of the church. It can also be a great danger, easily misunderstood and abused for personal gain. The way to measure and judge is to ask, does whatever is being said and done in this moment of being beside yourself proclaim Christ, died and risen for the forgiveness of sins.  No estatic event can lead people astray from the story of God’s love revealed through the death and resurrection of Christ. The people in Corinth were not so clear on that very important point and, therefore, were very susceptible to be being misled.    

Paul’s view on estatic experiences, the ease at which people can be distracted from God by something shinny like wealth, power or fame, is one example of the doctrine on original sin and human brokenness.(here I added some words about the events in  Orlando and the human brokenness we see and feel and mourn everywhere in our world)  Even something as important and powerful as estatic experience could be misused and turned into a tool for human glory. Original sin is basically the idea that something has hurt the connection between God and us. Things like sin, death, and disobedience, have prevented us from being in the right relationship with God.   The origins of this human desire for something that is not God is often told in the story of Adam and Eve.  This early couple created in the Garden of Eden were given everything and very few demands.  All they are told to do is honor God, care for creation and not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  Over time (and with some encouragement from the serpent) they succumb to their desire for the knowledge of good and evil. This choice to disobey God’s command and this desire to have  control, judgment, knowledge and power for themselves, is the original sin.  After this, things are never the same. Adam and Eve are given punishments, thrown out of the garden, told they will die and their relationship with God will be different. 

Now, God does not take joy in this or just accept it as stuff happens.. In fact, throughout history God has constantly made attempts to call people back, to heal this separation. God reaches out with covenants, agreements and deals where conditional, if / then promises are made, with people and God each doing their part. The Lord says  ‘if you love me and obey me, then I will be your God and you will be my people”, The problem was that these things depended on people, who always and often completely, failed to keep their side of the agreement. There is a constant cycle of punishment, repentance, forgiveness and restoration that occurs over and over again. The punishments were meant to drive people back to God and the restoration was meant to show people the joy of being God’s people but neither works for long.  People did not stay faithful to God. Paul announces that through Christ’s death and resurrection God has done a new thing.  The old law and cycle of punishment, repentance and restoration had failed.  Paul writes “Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us”. 

 This is at the heart of who we are as a church, the comfort and joy of the Gospel that Luther looked for in the late medieval world and realized was missing from an uncertain and anxious church. Being in the right relationship with God would no longer be an if / then agreement.  It would be a gift of Grace.  We would be forgiven because of God’s love (not because we were rightly repentant and earned it). We would inherit eternal life because Christ died and rose again (not because we followed the law well enough).   We could not free ourselves from the power of sin and death by being nice, figuring out riddles, offering sacrifices or praying a lot, so God does it for us.   

 
This is one thing that the people in the churches of Corinth were having some trouble understanding or realizing and living out the implications of.  They wanted to replace God’s grace with great ideas, reason their way into heaven instead of receiving God’s gift.   The Augsburg Confession (the document that summarizes the teachings of the reformation, that they are called to defend before the Roman Catholic church and world) starts with the affirmation of the nicean creed and doctrine of the Trinity. Then it moves on to the idea of Original Sin.
 

Article 2 reads:  Also they teach that since the fall of Adam all men begotten in the natural way are born with sin, that is, without the fear of God, without trust in God, and with concupiscence (strong desire or lust); and that this disease, or vice of origin, is truly sin, even now condemning and bringing eternal death upon those not born again through Baptism and the Holy Ghost.  They condemn the Pelagians and others who deny that original depravity is sin, and who, to obscure the glory of Christ's merit and benefits, argue that man can be justified before God by his own strength and reason.

I’m going to repeat that in English (as opposed to church speak or whatever language that was). Since the first disobedience, when Adam and Eve give in to the promises of great power and knowledge, all people carry that original sin or longing for things that are not God.  Without God’s intervention sin will damn people to eternal death. We are made new and free through Christ’s death and resurrection, which we are joined through in baptism and the Holy Spirit. That is how we escape the power of sin. Any attempt to say people can be justified before God by their own strength and reason is a dead end and a reflection of our longing for glory, choice and control instead of trust in God.   

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to share the opening message with the Street to Street  basketball program holding a tournament here in the gym.  I sat down with 60 or so young people of various or no faiths and talked about who we were and how we use what we have. I know there is a lot of bad impressions about churches, especially among young people. I wanted to show them who we were.  I talked about how we use this space to help, serve, create, improve and share God’s message with our community.  I then challenged them to think about how they use their own skills, knowledge and resources and finally invited them to think about what we can do with God’s grace, inviting them into the comfort and peace that comes from knowing you are forgiven and loved by God.  I share that same invitation here.  You have been made new, your sins are forgiven, through Christ you have been reconciled with God.  Go, trusting these things are true, Go with joy to love and help others, Go, show the world who we are.     

Sermon for June 5th, 2016

(please note I will be away on Sunday, June 12 so there will not be a post)

The reading 

2 Cor 4:1- 15

Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.  For while we live, we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh.  So death is at work in us, but life in you. But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and so we speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us with you into his presence.  Yes, everything is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

The message

When we were growing up, my brother and I would each get a Hess truck every Christmas. Over time, we learned to recognize the rectangular boxes sitting under the tree and we instantly knew what they were.  We also knew that we would have about 20 minutes to gently play with them before they were wrapped up, placed back in the boxes and put into a safe place for storage. The trucks were sort of toys but mainly a collectable or investment, meant to be held onto and kept boxed in prefect condition until they were each worth a small fortune. We also collected baseball cards and comic books for a while. As we grew up, we would look through them every few months and try to put them into some sort of order. With the help of pricing guide, we would pick out what we thought would be really valuable someday, the rookie or early cards of players that we  recognized the names of and comic books that had first appearances or early numbers.  Those select cards and books would be put into plastic cases and special boxes meant to keep them even more safe and help them remain in good condition. Again, the idea was to keep them protected and perfect until each of them were worth a small fortune.  We had big dreams. We were part of that generation of kids who grew up hearing about old baseball cards, rare comic books and other collectables being sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars and obviously, we wanted our cut of that.  Eventually we learned that the storage room packed with stuff would not be our key to fame and riches. There were two problems: First, collectables are only really worth what someone is willing to pay for them. Book values were one thing but finding someone who actually wanted to buy it for anything close to that amount was another. The second thing was that everyone heard those same stories of people making a fortune with cards, comics or even Hess trucks so everyone kept everything. The value of those well known, high auction cards and books was in the fact that there were not a lot made and most kids destroyed them by playing with them or just threw them out when they got bored.  They were very rare. Our treasures were not. It seemed like everyone had 5 of them.

Today, in our reading from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he also talks about treasure.  Paul starts Chapter 4 with a summary of his defense which he outlined in the past 2 chapters. Some of Paul’s opponents in Corinth accused him of peddling or selling God’s word. They said he was trying to convince people that Christ is Risen from the dead for profit, that his message was veiled so he could sell a secret word or so that people would exchange gifts and money for insider information, spiritual blessings or power.  To this accusation, Paul responds by pointing to God’s grace and God’s role in their ministry of telling people Christ is Risen from the dead for the forgiveness of sins and salvation of all people. Paul says something I missed when I first looked at this text and you might have missed now in your hearing. Paul tells them “but we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us”.  There is something important to realize about clay jars. They were very useful for storage, for keeping things safe and protected from the desert elements. The problem with them was that they were fragile and if they broke, they could not be repaired.  A broken clay jar was garbage. At the time the jars were created and fired in a way that made patching or fixing them impossible.(duck tape had not been invented yet) Anyone who ever broke one and had to throw it away, knew that. Only a fool would store something valuable in one.  (Even today in museums, most of the clay pieces in the ancient greek and roman collections are broken or simply fragments found in trash heaps).    

In response to the claims that Paul was selling this new faith and trying to profit off the good people of Corinth, he tells them “we have this treasure in clay jars”.  Paul and his fellow missionaries did not show up in Corinth with magic trinkets and pretty objects. They did not perform a magic show or make great promises of wealth and power to whoever converts.  They showed up with this news of God’s love in rather poor containers. The news was carried by people who were just like everyone else, complete with sin, doubt, mistakes, and moments of anger, (many of which Paul directed at them).  The news of Christ’s death and resurrection was the story of the arrest, trial and public execution of an oppressed jewish teacher, who couldn’t even really influence his closest followers (one of them betrays him).  There were lots of more amazing stories that could have been told. It was told to all people, rich and poor, old and young, local and outsider, priests and non-believers, the powerful and peasant.  It would have been more profitable to only speak to the rich. It was told by broken people, who doubted, argued, persecuted the church, sinned and suffered. There were lots of more amazing people who could have told it. If Paul were making this up for his own profit and glory, he could certainly have done a better job.  

The stoics, a greek philosophical movement at the time in Corinth, would often share a list of hardships, suggest that means we are powerless against the world and we should be indifferent to suffering.  Paul shares a similar list, We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  At this point, Paul differs from the stoics.  The fact that they were such poor travelers and always in trouble, constantly on the edge of being destroyed but still speaking, still telling the news of Christ’s resurrection was proof that this was God’s news and God’s work. How could a man who survived so many shipwrecks and arrests, who pressed on despite ridicule, sickness and persecution, be still going. How could women be such a significant part of movement that was growing in societies that did not value or respect them on so many levels.  If Christianity was make believe, they could have certainly made believe a better story. If Paul was trying to exploit and cheat the people of Corinth, he could have come up something better. Instead, he preaches Christ crucified and people broken, he points to God’s redeeming grace. Paul does not change God’s word to make it easier to accept or seem more awesome, Paul gives away God’s word. Paul does not protect it by hiding it away until the perfect moment or hold it back to make it seem more valuable (there were groups like the Gnostics that did deal in secret knowledge).  .   

The other interesting part about these clay jars is that God’s word is not supposed to be contained. God’s word is not something we need to keep safe, to play with for 15 or 20 minutes and then put back in the box or needs to be placed in a plastic case to keep safe and wait for it to appreciate in value. No we are entrusted to take God’s word and give it away, to share it openly and freely, with joy. We are not gatekeepers deciding who is in and who is out, who can enter and who has to leave, we are sort of like those sort of annoying automatic doors that open whenever someone passes by.  This building (all churches really) are like those clay jars, fragile but containing great treasure.  For the past few years here at church, we have started to clear off the table (also called the altar) after communion.  For me, this is a visual reminder that the gifts of God do not just sit here waiting for us to come back next Sunday, the gifts of God go out with us, shaping our hearts, minds and actions.