Sermon, 12.20.09 -- "How Can I Keep From Singing?"

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Luke 1:26-38 and Luke 1:46-55

Title: "How Can We Keep From Singing?"

Date: Dec. 20, 2009 (4th Sunday in Advent)

Did you enjoy the Christmas Cantata last Sunday?
I know I did. For me, it was really the beginning of having that sometimes elusive “Christmas spirit.”
And wasn’t the Children’s Choir wonderful today? If that group doesn’t put a smile on your face, nothing will!
Music will be a big part of our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, too – just four nights away. Worship starts at 10 p.m., and I hope you’ll be here, if possible.
What’s more -- I hope you’ll invite someone special to come with you.
Who would that “someone special” be? Here’s the answer – it’s someone who needs to know Jesus. It might be your neighbor, a co-worker, or someone you go to school with. It might even be a member of your own family.
Do you know someone who is hurting? Do you know someone who seems confused, lost, maybe searching for a ray of hope? Then why not invite them to join you here Thursday night, and find out what Christmas is really all about?
The sign board out front says “Hope in Christ is the Greatest Gift.” Wouldn’t it be awesome to help someone recognize the Lord’s love and mercy, and move toward it? You tell your friends – hope is found here!
It’s no wonder that music – and singing – is such a big part of the way we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
That’s fully in tune with the biblical record – not only of Christ’s birth, but also with other miraculous births and events recorded in scripture.
I always imagine the angels are singing the good news when they come to the shepherds abiding in the field.
You know the part I mean, where that multitude of the heavenly host praises God, saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Lk. 2:13-14)
If those words weren’t sung, then maybe they should have been – just like the Christmas hymn suggests:

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains . . .

Echoing their joyous strains.
The Song of Mary, which Janie just read from chapter 1 of Luke, echoes to us across the centuries. It is a song of pure joy.
Earlier, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth to give this young girl the shocking news that would turn her life – and that of all the world – upside-down. This virgin – betrothed to marry Joseph – has been chosen to bear God’s Son, the Messiah who will reign in an everlasting kingdom.
We could hardly blame Mary if she had imitated that Old Testament prophet Jonah and said, “Thanks -- but no thanks,” when Gabriel gave her the news. It surely meant there would be difficult days ahead. How could she tell Joseph that she was pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit? Would he call off the marriage? Would there be public disgrace and scorn?
Frederick Buechner, the Christian writer, once considered this encounter from the perspective of God’s messenger – Gabriel. As Buechner described it, Mary struck Gabriel “as hardly old enough to have a child at all, let alone this child. But he’d been entrusted with a message to give her, and he gave it.
He told her what the child was to be named, and who he was to be, and something about the mystery that was to come upon her. ‘You mustn’t be afraid, Mary,’ he said. And as he said it, he only hoped she wouldn’t notice that beneath the great, golden wings he himself was trembling with fear to think that the whole future of creation hung now on the answer of a girl.” (1)
But young Mary was no Jonah. Whatever doubts she may have had, she responded with true devotion and great faith to God’s call on her life, saying:
“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:37, NKJV)

Maybe it helped knowing that one of her relatives, Elizabeth, also was going to have a child, and in her old age -- no less. Indeed, only a few months earlier Gabriel had gone to visit Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, telling him they would have a child named John, who would be great in the sight of the Lord.
Zechariah was thunderstruck by this message, for after all, his wife had been unable to bear children, and they both were along in years. Because he doubted, Zechariah was rendered speechless until after the birth of the child, who would become known as John the Baptist. God restored Zechariah’s speech on the eighth day after John’s birth, and what do you think came out of his mouth first? It was a song – a Spirit-filled canticle of praise and thanksgiving, as recorded in Luke 1, vs. 68-79.
But Mary’s song came first, and what a song it was . . . I invite you to hear it again,
as paraphrased in The Message, and listen with ears afresh:

And Mary said,
I’m bursting with God-news;
I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.
God took one good look at me, and look what happened –
I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
What God has done for me will never be forgotten,
the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.
His mercy flows in wave after wave
on those who are in awe before him.
He bared his arm and showed his strength,
Scattered the bluffing braggarts.
He knocked tyrants off their high horses,
pulled victims out of the mud.
The starving poor sat down to a banquet;
the callous rich were left out in the cold.
He embraced his chosen child, Israel;
He remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.
It’s exactly what he promised,
Beginning with Abraham and right up to now.
-- Luke 1:46-55 (The Message) (2)

Mary was excited – joyful – and why shouldn’t she be?
For that matter, why shouldn’t we be? Why shouldn’t we be singing?
(You know, Saint Augustine said: “To sing is to pray twice.”)
God chose Mary, perhaps the least likely person in all of Israel; he chose this humble Nazarene girl to give birth to His Son . . . to give birth to our Lord and Savior.
And with Jesus’ birth comes hope and salvation and new life for all people – everywhere.
Jesus is the Son of God, and the fulfillment of His faithful promises to Israel.
Jesus is the Lord of life.
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
And in the words of the old hymn –

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth,
How can I keep from singing? (3)

How can any of us keep from singing?
When we hear the Song of Mary echoing across the ages, we recognize the Truth it contains -- for we have the same spiritual DNA as Mary did. And we, too, are called to respond to God’s call upon our lives, here and now.
Mary could rejoice because the hope of the world was alive within her.
And by the Spirit of God, that same hope is alive in us. If that doesn’t make your heart sing, nothing will.

Did you know we have “Directions for Singing” in our hymnals – directions written by John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement? They’re found in the very front of the hymnal, right before the table of contents. (p. vii) Altogether, seven of them are listed. Why, just the other night the Administrative Council and I read over them together, just before we sang and prayed!
I want to call your attention to the last one, in particular, where Wesley tells us:

“Above all sing spiritually. Have an eye to God in every word you sing. Aim at pleasing him more than yourself, or any other creature. In order to do this attend strictly to the sense of what you sing, and see that your heart is not carried away with the sound, but offered to God continually; so shall your singing be such as the Lord will approve here, and reward you when he cometh in the clouds of heaven.”

Those are pretty good directions, and not just for singing – but also for living. And in a lot of ways, they describe the faith and devotion demonstrated by Jesus’ mother in response to the extraordinary circumstances in which God placed her.
For truly, Mary did aim at pleasing Him more than herself or any other creature. She gave her all to offer her heart to God continually. Is it any wonder she is venerated by believers everywhere? She is indeed a model of faith that “walks the walk.”

This passage – the Song of Mary – is a very famous part of the Gospel message. It also is known by another name – you may have heard it referred to as “The Magnificat.”

Don’t be intimated by the Latin. Magnificat simply means to magnify.
“Magnificat anima mea Dominum. . .”
or in plain English --
“My soul magnifies the Lord.”

Do you hear the power contained in those words?
Do you know that same power belongs to us as believers in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
For we, too -- through our faith, and by the power of the Holy Spirit burning within us – we, too, can magnify the glory of God in this world, when we give our lives over to him.
We, too, can join Mary in her great song of praise, when we say unto the Most High God, “Let it be to me according to your word.”
When we know this Great Truth that is Christ. . . and when we start living with the sure knowledge that Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, I don’t see how we can keep from singing!
For as the Psalmist wrote so long ago:
“While I live I will praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.” (Ps. 146:2)
May it always be so.
Glory to God in the highest! Amen.

-------------------------

1. Frederick Buechner, Peculiar Treasures.
2. Eugene Peterson, The Message.
3. Robert Lowry, How Can I Keep From Singing?

Sermon-posting hiatus

I've decided to stop posting sermons here on this blog for the time being. However, if anyone would like to receive a copy of the draft version of my sermons, I'll be happy to provide them via e-mail as an attached file. Just send me an e-mail, and I'll make sure you're added to a "sermon-mailing" e-mail group.

Sermon #17 @ St. Paris UMC (10.18.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: 2 Cor. 8:1-12 and Mark 14:3-4

Title: “Cultivating Fruitfulness – Part 5: Extravagant Generosity”

Date: Oct. 18, 2009 (20th Sunday after Pentecost)

Internet Link for primary scripture texts used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Cor.%208:1-12&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2014:3-4&version=NIV

This past week, Rev. Dan R. Dick told a story on his blog that gives an interesting example of what we might call “extravagant generosity.”
Dick, a United Methodist minister now serving in Wisconsin, wrote about a time years ago he attended worship in a small New England church in the fall of the year during the annual “stewardship” campaign. Listen to the story in his own words:
“The pastor was a quiet gentle man who obviously cared for his congregation, which is a good thing because he was a poor preacher. He read his sermon from a manuscript in a soft monotone voice, uhm-ing and uh-ing every few words, and rarely looking up at the congregation. Approximately 50 people sat in the pews, and shortly after worship began many developed ‘the nods’ and drifted into sleep.
“Drowsiness spread like a virus, affecting just about everyone but one young boy – maybe 3 or 4 years old – attending church with his dad. While the preacher droned on and on, and the congregation battled sleep, the little boy climbed up and down on the pew, waved to people, flipped through the Bible and Hymnal – just as chipper and alert as he could be.
“The young boy’s dad, however, lost his fight with sleep and fell into a deep, bracing unconsciousness. The pastor was speaking of the importance of “giving all to Jesus,” and tied this concept to the weekly offering. He wrapped up his comments and called the ushers forward to pass the plates.
“The little boy looked at his sleeping father, then snaked his hand into his father’s jacket and came out with his dad’s wallet. As the plate came by, the boy took the entire wad of cash out of dad’s wallet, and he didn’t just place it in the offering plate, he slam-dunked it with both hands, making the metal plate clang.
“Dad came to with a start, just in time to see his worldly wealth pass away down the pew – and from where I was, it looked to be a sizeable amount, with twenties, fifties, and hundreds in evidence. He looked at his son, then at the plate, then at his son, then at the plate – undecided what to do. It was obvious he wanted to dive down the pew and tackle the usher and retrieve his cash, but his son was watching him closely – beaming with smiles and laughter. Truly, if God loves a cheerful giver, at that moment he must have loved that little boy best of all.”
Dick then comments: “The little boy knew what the offering was – he was ready to give. But being young as he was, he didn’t for a moment debate how much to give. He didn’t think about what he could afford. He didn’t worry about what would be left over. He wasn’t thinking of all he couldn’t buy if he gave too much away. No, when the opportunity came, he gave it all, with a laugh, and a smile, and an unreserved joy.” (1) . . .
OK, I could be wrong, but I have a hunch no one here is going to fall sleep during today’s sermon!
I’ve preached a few sermons on stewardship from time to time – especially in the fall of the year. But I’m now in my 11th year as a fulltime pastor, and you know what? I’ve decided I don’t want to preach on stewardship anymore.
On the other hand, I’ll be happy to preach about generosity. And when I preach on generosity – extravagant generosity -- it won’t be as a means of stoking your contributions to the church coffers, desirable though that may be. But rather, I will strive to joyfully preach the message of extravagant generosity as a lifestyle – a way of life. It is the Jesus Way, and with God in control, anyone can do it.
I thought this was well-illustrated by the story told Friday in the “Cultivating Fruitfulness” books we’ve been reading as a congregation. The author tells of a downtown church in a moderately-sized community where they often had transients and homeless persons come to seek handouts. I think the story bears repeating.
Here’s how Bishop Robert Schnase tells it:
“As the pastor was leaving the church one afternoon, he noticed the part-time custodian carrying out the garbage to the large trash bin in the alley. There was a homeless person sprawled out beside the bin, looking barely conscious. As the custodian approached the trash bin, he set down the garbage bag he was carrying, pulled out his wallet, and removed a few dollar bills.
“Without having been asked, he walked over to the homeless person and gave him the money, said something, then continued his work and returned to the church. The pastor was amazed and humbled by this extraordinary display of generosity. The part-time janitor who earned less than anyone else on staff gave generously without even being asked, while the staff had spent hours trying to figure out policies and procedures.
“The pastor asked the custodian why he gave the money without even being asked and also pressed him about whether he thought the homeless person might misuse the money for alcohol or drugs.
“ ‘I always do that when I can,’ the janitor answered. ‘I give them a little money and say, God bless you, because I figure they are some mother’s son, some father’s child, and so I give them something. What they do with the money – well, they have to answer to God about that. I just have to answer to God about what I do with mine.” (2)
There are many examples of extravagant generosity in the Bible, a couple of which we just read for you. One of the most wonderful is the passage Gene shared from the Apostle Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church.
The subject matter is a special offering being collected for the "mother church" back in Jerusalem, which has become destitute. The Church in Jerusalem and its people are in desperate financial straits -- they are clinging to survival. So Paul and others have been working on a special collection as they visit the developing Christian communities, in the Gentile regions of Turkey and Greece.
And this special fundraising project has been going on for a while. Indeed, when writing his first letter to the Corinthian Church some time before, Paul already made reference to this unique offering, in I Cor. 16:1-4.
But a year or so has passed since that time. Paul is now on his third missionary journey, and he continues to collect donations, to send this special gift on to Jerusalem. Paul has become concerned about the Corinthians and their commitment. For as dedicated as they are to God, it seems those in Corinth may have lost heart for meeting this special need.
Ah, but what a different story Paul has found in the Macedonian churches -- including those in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. Paul can hardly believe what he's seeing unfold among these Macedonian believers, who are facing severe trials and their own "extreme poverty."
Listen to how Eugene Peterson puts Paul's words, in Peterson's biblical paraphrase, The Message:
"Fierce troubles came down on the people of those churches, pushing them to the very limit. The trial exposed their true colors: They were incredibly happy, though desperately poor. The pressure triggered something totally unexpected: an outpouring of pure and generous gifts. I was there and saw it for myself. They gave offerings of whatever they could -- far more than they could afford! -- pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard."
What explains this astounding desire to share from what little they had?
The Apostle Paul continues: "What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God . . . the other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives."
Oswald Chambers, the great Bible teacher who authored “My Utmost for His Highest,” wrote that if we believe in Jesus, “it is not what we gain but what he pours through us that really counts.” Then Chambers noted something that fits rather nicely with our “Cultivating Fruitfulness” theme: “God’s purpose,” he wrote, “is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that he may squeeze the sweetness out of us.” (3)
In one of his devotionals, Chambers alludes to the extravagant generosity of Mary of Bethany, who broke a flask of very expensive perfume – made of pure nard – and used it to anoint Jesus.
“It was an act for which no one else saw any special occasion; in fact, there were some who said, ‘Why was this fragrant oil wasted?’ But Jesus commended Mary for her extravagant act of devotion, and said, ‘Wherever this gospel is preached, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.’
Chambers added: “Our Lord is filled with overflowing joy whenever he sees any of us doing what Mary did – not being bound by a particular set of rules, but being totally surrendered to Him . . . Now is the time for us to break ‘the flask’ of our lives, to stop seeking our own satisfaction, and to pour out our lives before Him.” (4)
Take a look at this envelope I’m holding in my hand. I know it’s hard to see, but let me tell you about it. It’s addressed simply to God, and it has a number of stickers attached to it. In fact, the word “God” is surrounded on all four sides by pictures of flowers. There are also a couple scripture passages on the envelope, like this one in the corner from Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Last Sunday morning, I spent some time in Sunday School with our older group of children, who were being led by Mary Tron. Mary asked the youth to write thank-you notes to God – thanking Him for His forgiveness and for any blessings that they may have.
Mary told the kids to place the notes somewhere as a reminder of what God has done for them.
Kelly Bailey placed his note on the altar, which is where I found it.
You know, it is a good thing – a very good thing – to say thank you to the Most High God, the most extravagant Giver of them all. I’ve heard people say “it’s impossible to outgive God,” and I believe it.
After all, as we read in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
No one is more generous than God, who gave his beloved Son for each of us – indeed for the whole world.
Maybe one of the ways we can thank the Lord is through our response – by living lives of extravagant generosity. Remember, it’s a lifestyle we can adopt – it’s a way of life we can embrace – when Jesus comes into our hearts.
There’s a great old hymn I was thinking of the other day, called “How Can I Keep From Singing?” – written by a fellow named Robert Lowry.
Listen to the last lines of the song:

“The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart,
A fountain ever springing:
All things are mine since I am His –
How can I keep from singing?”

To which I might add:

Since Christ is Lord of Heav’n and earth,
How can I keep from giving?
How can we keep from giving?

Let us pray . . .

_______________________

1. Dan R. Dick, “The Joy of Giving,” United Methodeviations blog, Oct. 12, 2009, http://doroteos2.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/the-joy-of-giving/
2. Robert Schnase, “Cultivating Fruitfulness: Five Weeks of Prayer and Practice for Congregations,” pp. 91-92, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.
3. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, “The Sacrament of Sacrifice,” p. 246, Barbour & Company. Inc., Uhrichsville, OH, 1963.
4. Ibid.

Sermon #16 @ St. Paris UMC (10.11.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Matthew 25:31-46

Title: “Cultivating Fruitfulness, Part 4: Risk-Taking Mission & Service”

Date: Oct. 11, 2009 (19th Sunday after Pentecost)

Internet Link for primary scripture texts used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/index.php?search=Matt.%2025:31-46&version=NIV&interface=print

I don’t know about you, but I like safety, I like comfort, and I like convenience.
But there have been times when I stepped out of my comfort zone for the sake of the gospel, and I bet you have, too.
In fact, if we haven’t taken a risk or two because of our faith in Christ, we may be missing out on some of the most joyful experiences life has to offer.
Living for Jesus – seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness – has always been a risky business. It also is the only true pathway to peace and freedom in this world.
And as the Lord suggests in the parable of the sheep and goats, how we respond to opportunities for mission and service also can have eternal consequences, for good or ill.
Indeed, there’s something downright “judgmental” about this story Jesus tells in Matthew 25. That’s a little shocking, perhaps, to our 21st century mindset, where judging others sometimes is seen as the greatest sin of all. But there’s no getting around it, for in this parable Jesus is talking about his eventual return to this earth and along with it, a final judgment of our lives.
It sounds like Jesus wants us to make a difference in this world. It sounds like He really cares about the least, the last and the lost.
Which leads to the topic of “Risk-Taking Mission and Service,” the theme for our worship today as we continue our sermon series on “Cultivating Fruitfulness.”
When I began reading the devotions about “Risk-Taking Mission and Service” from the Cultivating Fruitfulness book, I was pleasantly surprised to find a reference to Kairos prison ministry and to a gentleman who has served in that program.
It’s been a while since I’ve thought much about my own experiences with Kairos at the Lebanon Correctional Institution.
If you’re not familiar with Kairos, let me explain. It is an ecumenical Christian ministry, which operates to help grow and nurture strong Christian communities within state and federal prisons. With God’s help, Kairos volunteers provide prison residents the opportunity to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – or to renew that relationship – starting with a three-day “short course on Christianity.”
During the Kairos weekend and follow-up activities, residents are challenged to accept God’s call to a life of Christian witness and service to one another and the prison staff during their stay in the institution – and beyond.
Notice we call them residents – not prisoners or inmates. That’s just a way of keeping the dignity of these men in the forefront, reminding ourselves that Jesus died for every one of them, too. As a matter of fact, one of our firm rules in Kairos is that we don’t ask the residents what crime led to their incarceration, or how long their sentence might be.
I remember my very first Kairos weekend back in 2003. How nervous I was that first afternoon inside the gymnasium at Lebanon Correctional, waiting for the arrival of the 42 residents taking part. Maybe it was something about the security waivers we had all been asked to sign, or some of the stern cautions we had received from the prison chaplain about being inside the walls.
Most of the 50 or so lay and clergy volunteers on the Kairos team had been asked to “sponsor” one of the 42 residents. This involved writing them a note which they received prior to the weekend, and also greeting them on that first afternoon, to give them a welcome and help break the ice.
The fellow I sponsored went by the nickname “Alabama,” and he was a short, stocky, bearded fellow – very cheerful – and he appeared to be about my age. He quickly volunteered that he had been convicted of murder, a disturbing fact I couldn’t entirely put out of my mind. Alabama was one of many violent offenders in our midst for those three days.
Nevertheless, as the weekend proceeded, those 42 men in prison garb became our “brothers in blue,” as we shared from our journeys, sang praises and gave testimonies, ate together, laughed together, cried together, prayed together. It didn’t take long at all for the nervousness of that first afternoon to melt away.
In its place came a sense of joy and peace as I watched a unique fellowship blossom -- reminding me of the miracle of the Church that was born in Acts 2. Remember, we read about it last week, how “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done.” (Acts 2:42-43)
A few years later, by the time I took part in my fourth Kairos weekend, I could even laugh when one of the corrections officers joked about pulling me aside for a strip search as we awaited entry to the prison. OK, it might have been nervous laughter, but still . . .
In this adventure of “Risk-Taking Mission and Service,” I experienced the reality of these words from 1 John 4:18 – “Perfect loves casts out fear.”
I have concluded that risk-taking mission and service can bring all of us to know the joy and peace of the perfect love of Jesus Christ, and I believe it is part of God’s call upon all who follow Jesus. Indeed, our Lord made it clear from the start that mission and service to the least, the last and the lost are central to his Kingdom.
In the gospel of Luke, you may recall, Jesus began his ministry at his hometown of Nazareth. On the Sabbath day, he went into the synagogue. He must have been the liturgist that day, because someone handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah to read. “Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ ”
And then, Luke tells us, “He rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ ” (Luke 4:16-21)

Rev. Allen R. Bevere, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Cambridge, Ohio, warns that the future of churches everywhere depends upon Risk-Taking Mission and Service.
In his message “Risky Business,” Bevere says: “A congregation that loses the profound reason for its existence will slowly wither and die. The church of Jesus Christ exists for others; it exists for the world.
“What can happen (and Bevere says happens all too often) is that congregations move from existing for the world to existing for their own sake. They see their mission not as reaching those outside the church for Jesus Christ, but as catering to the current constituency.
“As important as it is for the church to care for its membership,” Bevere adds, “focusing inward on those who are members instead of outward on those who need to know and embrace God’s saving love is a recipe for eventual stagnation and decline.
“After 24 years as a pastor,” Bevere concludes, “I have become convinced that the primary reason the church turns inward is because we are afraid. We are not afraid to be in mission and service; we afraid to be in Risk-Taking Mission and Service.

What about us and our church? What about you and me?
I know this church has a heart for mission and service. It has been evident to us from the time of our arrival a few months back. I believe there is a strong desire to share the love of Jesus Christ in the community. And what’s more, I trust we know in our hearts the “community” extends well beyond the boundaries of the Graham School District, indeed, beyond Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
But are we truly risk-taking in our mission and service? Or is there room for growth in our lives as we trust in the Lord at a deeper level?
Are we ready to take the leap – a leap of faith – into the risky business of being vulnerable, of stepping outside our comfort zones, for the sake of Christ and His Kingdom?

Bishop Robert Schnase, author of our “Cultivating Fruitfulness” devotional books, notes that the stories, teachings and parables of Jesus consistently point toward God’s love for the poor, the sick, the outcast – those who have often been beaten down by life.
Schnase writes: “Against the resistance of the religious elite and contrary to the advice of his disciples, Jesus lifts up the bent-over woman on the Sabbath, touches the unclean with healing power, releases the paralyzed from his bed, eats with tax collectors in their homes, and risks the violence of the mob to (help) … the woman caught in adultery.
“In teaching and in action,” Schnase goes on, Jesus “shows that God’s way includes costly demonstrations of God’s love to the least likely.”
And finally, as we see in today’s gospel lesson from Matthew, Jesus tells that in every act of compassion, people touch Christ:
“I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed me; I was naked and you gave me clothing; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.” (Matt. 25:35-37)

I want to close with a story I received by e-mail the other day. I don’t normally use this kind of stuff in a sermon, but somehow it seems like I’m meant to share this one with you today. It’s about a woman named Ruth.
The story goes that Ruth went to her mailbox one day and found a single letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address. She read the letter.

Dear Ruth,

I’m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I’d like to stop by for a visit.

Love Always,

Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table.
‘Why would the Lord want to visit me? I’m nobody special. I don’t have anything to offer.’
With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. ‘Oh my goodness – I really don’t have anything to offer. I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.’ She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and 40 cents.
‘Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.’
She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk, leaving Ruth with a grand total of 12 cents to last her until Monday. Nevertheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
‘Hey lady, can you help us?’
Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans she hadn’t even noticed the two figures huddled in the alley – a man and a woman – both of them dressed in little more than rags.
‘Look lady, I ain’t got a job, you know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it’s getting cold and we’re getting kind of hungry and, well, if you could help us … Lady, we’d really appreciate it.’
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.
‘Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.’
‘Yeah, well, OK lady, I understand. Thanks anyway.’
The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
‘Sir, wait!’ The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.
‘Look, why don’t you take this food. I’ll figure out something else to serve my guest.’ She handed the man her grocery bag.
‘Thank you lady. Thank you very much!’
‘Yes, thank you!’ It was the man’s wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.
‘You know, I’ve got another coat at home. Here, why don’t you take this one.’
Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman’s shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street – without her coat, and with nothing to serve her guest.
‘Thank you lady! Thank you so much!’
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried, too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn’t have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.
‘That’s odd. The mailman doesn’t usually come twice in one day.’

Dear Ruth,

It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.

Love Always,

Jesus

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed. . . .

. . . Whenever we do anything for these, the least of our brothers and sisters, we do it for the Risen Christ. Thanks be to God!

Sermon #15 @ St. Paris UMC (10.04.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Acts 2:41-47

Title: “Cultivating Fruitfulness, Part 3 – Intentional Faith Development”

Date: Oct. 4, 2009 (World Communion Sunday)

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:41-47&version=NIV


For those of you who missed Bible Study last week, you can get extra-credit by paying close attention to this message. :-)
As it happens, we studied the 2nd chapter of Acts at our new Bible Study Tuesday night. Perhaps as no other segment of the Bible, Acts 2 demonstrates what the Church of Jesus Christ is all about.
This chapter records with electrifying clarity how this miracle called the Church – the Body of Christ on this earth – came to be formed. It happened on a Jewish feast day in old Jerusalem, when the city was packed with religious pilgrims from every corner of the world.
When the day of Pentecost came, those who believed in the resurrection of Christ were all together in one place. All told, they numbered about 120 – not that many more than we have gathered here today. It was then that the miracle happened.
Just as the prophet Joel had foretold, and just as the Lord Jesus had promised, the power of the Holy Spirit was poured out from Heaven in dramatic fashion. The transforming power of God filled those who believed in Christ, and bubbled over to touch the lives of others.
Less than two months earlier, Simon Peter had grossly failed the Master by three times denying that he even knew Jesus. Sick with guilt and shame, Peter then joined the other disciples in hiding – fearful for their lives because of their association with Jesus.
But now, filled with a holy boldness made possible by the Spirit of Christ bursting alive within the believers, Peter courageously proclaimed the Truth of God’s saving grace in the streets of the holy city – surrounded by a throng of eyewitnesses. It was the first Christian sermon, and it hit the mark. “Those who accepted his message were baptized,” and the fledgling Church added about 3,000 people in a single day.
Acts 2 is an ideal chapter to focus on as we continue our series on “Cultivating Fruitfulness,” because it’s all there – Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. We see:
* People of all nations and races being added to and included in the faith community.
* People receiving the Good News and being saved.
* People being cared for as they had need.
* People demonstrating wonders and signs of God’s Kingdom power.
There they are in glad and passionate worship that praises and magnifies God’s presence, and in devotion to the teaching of the apostles, as they fellowship and pray together – growing as believers -- drawing strength from one another, and from the Lord.
Isn’t it amazing what God can do when His people come together as one in the Spirit?
Some people think they can practice the Christian faith without being part of a community of believers – but they’re just fooling themselves. As John Wesley put it, “The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.”
Filled with the Holy Spirit, the apostles and the earliest disciples of Jesus bore much fruit for the Kingdom of God. As members of the very same Church – the Body of Christ on this earth – we, too, are called to bear fruit, and plenty of it.
If you’ve been keeping up with your daily devotions in the “Cultivating Fruitfulness” books, you know we’re concentrating on “Intentional Faith Development” in today’s worship.
Of all these five practices of fruit-bearing congregations, this is the one with the clunkiest name. Intentional Faith Development – what the heck is that? Well, what does the book say?
The author, Bishop Robert Schnase, defines Intentional Faith Development as being “all the ministries that help us grow in faith outside of weekly worship: Bible studies, Sunday School, small groups, and retreats where we learn in the community of other Christians. By these practices we mature in faith; we grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God.”
Schnase add that Intentional “refers to deliberate effort, purposeful action, and high priority. Growing in grace does not come without purposeful commitment to learning the faith and cultivating our love for God.”
You know some people think all they need to do is believe in Jesus, maybe join a church, and then they can kick back and relax. Friends, it doesn‘t work that way.
Being saved is just the beginning of the journey. It’s not about getting our ticket punched for heaven. It’s about living for Jesus Christ here on earth, and knowing that come eternity, He’ll hold us in the everlasting arms of grace.
Following Jesus Christ isn’t the golden path to an easy life. He never said it would be. But it is the path that brings abundant life here on this earth – life filled with meaning and purpose. And it is the path that ultimately leads us home to our King.
There are many opportunities for Intentional Faith Development here at our church, or related to our church. We have Sunday School classes for all ages, and a regular Bible Study, too. There’s Vacation Bible School, and the School of Christian Mission. There’s the Friendship Class, and the great ministry of United Methodist Women, not to mention our various choirs, and the potential for youth activities.
Each of these groups, in some way, contribute to and strengthen our life as disciples – helping us to grow in grace.
But there’s always room for improvement, always new ideas and possibilities to explore, with the Holy Spirit as our guide.
For example, I am thinking about offering a Confirmation Class next year for some of our older children, to help them prepare for a deeper level of commitment to Christ.
Now I’m tempted to run through a bunch of other suggestions off the top of my head. But you know what? I’d rather see what the Holy Spirit brews in your hearts and minds over the coming weeks and months. I bet some of you will have ideas for wonderful new ministries that could be led by anyone here with God’s help, and with the backing of this congregation.
You know prayer can be a really dangerous thing, especially if we pray for knowledge of God’s will, and the power to carry it out. In the same vein, Bible Study can really mess with your life. Because when we learn together in small groups, it helps us explore possibilities that God may have for us that we never would have considered on our own.
Intentional Faith Development isn’t for the faint of heart – but then if we’re serious about it, neither is being a Christian. Like Simon Peter, we may find that being a disciple will lead us into places and situations where we might not normally go. And that’s a good thing. Remember, Jesus doesn’t call us to be successful. He calls us to be faithful.
Rev. Allen Bevere, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Cambridge, Ohio, told an interesting story about Intentional Faith Development in one of his recent sermons. He writes:
“Many years ago in a previous church I served, I had a parishioner who, though very faithful in his weekly worship attendance, never attended Sunday School or one of the several weekly evening studies being offered. Over time I managed to strong-arm him (in a pastorally loving way, of course!) into taking DISCIPLE Bible Study. He came the first night reluctantly, saying boldly to all the other participants that he was far too busy to do all the reading required, and that he received all the Bible he needed in the sermons each week.
Rev. Bevere continues:
“I asked him in front of the group if he would agree to attend the study for a month, do all the assigned reading during that time, and complete the lesson each week. In other words, if he promised to be intentional in giving his best to the group and to the experience, I promised him that I would not protest if he wanted to quit after a month.
“After four weeks of DISCIPLE he not only chose to continue for the entire 34 weeks, but he also readily signed up the following autumn for DISCIPLE II and then, the year after, for DISCIPLE III; and he eventually moved forward in his faith development to . . . (be a leader for) future DISCIPLE groups.
Bevere concludes:
“Intentional Faith Development had opened up the world of discipleship in a way this man had never experienced before. He went from being content in his faith to being hungry for God. He truly exhibited what the psalmist said so many centuries ago: ‘As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.’ ” (Ps. 42:1) (1)
What about you? Are you hungry for God? Do you have all the faith you need? Or is the Holy Spirit stirring within you a desire for more faith? Stirring a desire to experience more of who God is?
Rev. Gary Bullock of Florida notes that if worship lights our fire, “being in a small group with others keeps the fire burning and makes it stronger.” (2) That is what Intentional Faith Development is all about.

Would you like to go a deeper level in your walk with Jesus Christ? Or perhaps, if you’re new to the church, offer your life to Him for the first time, putting it all in His hands?
It can begin right here, right now – this morning – as we come to His table, share in this holy meal, and make a commitment to be a disciple of Jesus.
That same Holy Spirit that gave birth to the Church all those years ago is here with us. With great power – wonder-working power – the Spirit stands ready to give us new life.
Thanks be to God!

-------------------------

1. Allen R. Bevere, Five Practices Leader Manual, p. 117, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.
2. Gary D. Bullock, Five Practices Leader Manual, p. 120, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.

Sermon #14 @ St. Paris UMC (9.27.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Isaiah 6:1-8 and Psalm 98

Title: “Cultivating Fruitfulness – Part 2: Passionate Worship”

Date: Sept. 27, 2009


Internet Link for primary scripture texts used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%206:1-8&version=NIV

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2098&version=KJV


When it comes to Passionate Worship, the good news is we’re not starting from scratch.
As a matter of fact, that’s true for all of the “Five Practices of Fruit-Bearing Congregations” that we are looking at during this sermon series.
We are already doing all these things in some form or fashion at Saint Paris United Methodist Church. Indeed, you have been doing them for decades. So why bother with this sermon series, and all these daily readings in the “Cultivating Fruitfulness” books? What’s the point? Why not just continue with “church as usual?”
Well, the thing is, there’s this Jesus fellow. He is the One who persistently calls his disciples (that’s you and me) to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him. And Jesus wants us to bear LOTS of fruit. In John 15, the Lord said:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. … No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will be bear much fruit … This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Worship and – in particular – passionate worship is one of the ways we “remain” in Christ.
What are some of the times when you have felt especially close to God during worship?

Passionate Worship can come to us in the Sacraments, those special ways in which Jesus showed us – using the things of this world, things like bread and wine, things like water -- that He will be with us always, until the end of the age. What is it they say about the sacraments, of which we have two in the United Methodist Church – Holy Communion and Baptism? They are outward signs of an inward grace.
Have you ever experienced Passionate Worship as we share together in the Lord’s Supper?
Do you know that as we partake of the elements, we are receiving the very life of Christ – the One who looked down from the cross and said, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they are doing.” When we smell the gift of bread and the sweet fragrance of the grape juice, does it occur to us that through faith we are assured of a heavenly banquet yet to come?
And what about those wonderful days of baptism – be they for a young child, or a person well along in years – each being claimed as God’s very own, as amazing grace is poured into their lives.
Passionate Worship can occur in times of great joy and excitement, such as a wedding, or at a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, or in times when the music is especially joyful and uplifting, or when the children come forward to hear about God’s love – some of them, perhaps, for the very first time.
Passionate Worship also can occur in times of overwhelming grief and sorrow, such as at a funeral service, where perhaps the message of resurrection is followed by the singing of “I Can Only Imagine.” How does the chorus go?

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still?
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine . . .

Passionate Worship can occur when our hearts are broken, or when we’re ready to trust in Him absolutely – and on occasion those two things occur at the same time.

I know a church where we used to have a healing service once or twice a year. People were invited to come forward if they wished to be anointed with oil and receive prayers for healing and the laying on of hands. On one occasion, a man came forward who had been carrying a heavy load of grief over the death of his father. It had darkened every area of his life for more than a year.
Something happened to him that day. Not only did God free him of the despair that engulfed him, but he became energized with a restored faith and wholeness that has allowed him to become a leader in mission and service in the name of Jesus.
Passionate Worship . . . there isn’t anything God can’t do when we come together in Christ.
He can restore us and cleanse us and give us a brand new beginning, no matter what we may be going through. He can give new meaning and purpose to our lives when we experience his presence in a deep and powerful way.
Isn’t that what happened to Isaiah in the dramatic story of our first lesson today? Suddenly, mysteriously, Isaiah receives a stunning gift, when he is granted a vision of being in the very presence of God in the Temple in Jerusalem – within the Holy of Holies.
In some ways, it is a terrifying vision because Isaiah, like all of us, knows deep-down of his weakness and his failings. He is a sinner, like all of us – “a man of unclean lips” – and he knows that he will surely die, for he is not worthy to see the King of all Creation, the Lord Almighty.
But God has another plan for Isaiah – a plan for life, not for death. And to Isaiah’s surprise and amazement, one of these strange winged creatures – one of the seraphim – flies over to Isaiah with a live coal which he had taken from the holy altar, and he touches it to Isaiah’s lips.
And like a refining fire, the touch of the burning coal removes Isaiah’s burden of guilt, and cleanses him from the sin that would otherwise separate him from God. In some ways, this whole scene foreshadows what God will later do for all of us when he sends Jesus into the world to bring the hope of salvation to everyone.
Having been touched by God in this extraordinary fashion, Isaiah then hears the Lord calling him into service as a prophet. Surrounded by God’s glory in the Holy Temple, Isaiah’s response is joyously unrestrained and enthusiastic:
“Here am I. Send me!”

John Wesley felt that same response May 24, 1738. As you may know, John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement which brought about a tremendous revival of faith in England, later spreading to America in the 18th century.
But Wesley was a deeply discouraged man in the spring of 1738. Though committed to serving God, he had failed in some of his missionary efforts, and his own personal connection with God had grown dim. All that changed on an evening in May of 1738, when Wesley attended a worship service on Aldersgate Street in London which moved him deeply. He later gave this account in his journal:
“About a quarter before nine, while the leader was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” (1)

Sometimes tears come with passionate worship. Sometimes they are tears of joy and thanksgiving. I’ve heard people express their thanksgiving in the middle of a church service with a testimony about how God has touched their life in the past week.
Sometimes they are tears of sorrow, as when a young person whose marriage is falling apart comes to the altar rail to pray, searching for light in the midst of darkness, searching for hope to carry on in a world that seems filled with pain.
As singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen once put it in a song called Suzanne, perhaps its true: “Only drowning men” can see Jesus.
Passionate Worship . . . the possibilities are endless, both in the things we are already doing, and the things we could be doing. Wherever we will give Him an opening, God is more than ready to come and be with us in our worship. He’s always knocking on the door of our hearts, both as individuals, and as a congregation.
Pride doesn’t want to let Him come in.
Pride says, ‘I’m doing just fine by myself, thanks anyway, God.’
A friend from my newspaper days once put it this way: “Religion has its own hassles, but if you don’t go to church somewhere, your life fills up with everything else, and the next thing you know you’ve stopped trying to think about God. Then push comes to shove, and you’re out there all lonely and spiritually empty, and you’re ashamed and too proud to turn to God because you waited until you were in trouble.”
Humility leads to Passionate Worship.
Humility says, Jesus, I love you and I need you. Apart from you, I can do nothing. Left to my own devices, I will always be a man – or a woman – of unclean lips. Only You can set me free.

What has the power to move you and touch your soul as you worship on Sunday, or on other occasions?
You know worship doesn’t just happen on Sunday mornings, and it doesn’t happen exclusively in church buildings.
For instance, tonight we’re concluding our church picnic down at the park with a thing called “vespers” – which is a fancy word for a time of prayer and praise at the end of a day. It is another chance for us to draw close to and experience the presence and power of the Living God. God will be there. He’s had it on his appointment calendar for weeks.

In closing, I’d like to mention a story about another Englishman, this one from our own time, a fellow by the name of Matt Redman. In a working class town in the outskirts of London, back about 15 years ago, Matt was a musician who was leading a cutting edge contemporary worship service at an evangelistic outreach ministry. They had all the bells and whistles – a full band, top-notch sound equipment, and a stream of songs that seemed tailor-made to help people “get down to business with God.” But something was missing.
Here’s how Redman’s pastor, Mike Pilavachi, later put it:
“We had forgotten that we are ALL the performers of worship and that God is the audience . . . We were challenged to ask ourselves individually, “When I come through the door of the church, what am I bringing as my contribution to worship?’ The truth came to us: worship is not a spectator sport, it is not a product molded by the taste of consumers. It is not about what we can get out of it. It is all about God.” (2)
The church made some drastic changes. For a time, they even got rid of the band and fired Redman!
“After a while,” Pilavachi writes, “we began to have some very sweet times of worship. We all began to bring our prayers, our readings, our prophecies, our thanksgiving, our praises and our songs. Someone would start a song a cappella and we would all join in. Then someone else would take it on to another song. The excitement came back. We were not having Church; we were once again meeting with God. . . . We worshiped from the heart.” (3)
Having regained their focus, they brought the band back, and Matt Redman began to sing the song he had written out of the whole experience. You might have heard of it, because it has since become very well known. It’s called “The Heart of Worship,” and these are the words of the chorus:

I’m coming back to the heart of worship,
And it’s all about You,
All about You, Jesus.
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it,
When it’s all about You.
All about You, Jesus.

In the end, Passionate Worship is always all about Jesus.

You just never know when Passionate Worship might happen.
As Margaret Becker once said: “He needs no candles, no special music. He needs only a heart that is ready for Him.”
Are your hearts ready for him?

May His name be ever praised. Amen.

______________________________________

1. Ignatius, verbum Dei, “May 24, 1738 – What Happened at Aldersgate?” May 25, 2006.
2. Paul Martin, “When the Music Fades: The Eternal Truth Behind “The Heart of Worship,” www.higherpraise.com
3. Ibid.

Sermon #13 @ St. Paris UMC (9.20.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Luke 7:36-47

Title: “Cultivating Fruitfulness, Part 1: RADICAL HOSPITALITY”

Date: Sept. 20, 2009 (16th Sunday after Pentecost)

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%207:36-47&version=NIV

I trust most of you have been reading the daily devotions in Cultivating Fruitfulness.
Frankly, I’ve been enjoying them more than I expected. They are short, well-written, biblically-based, and have been genuinely helpful in providing a deeper understanding of what “Radical Hospitality” is all about.
That one we read for Wednesday – Day 4 -- grabbed me, in particular.
It was about the pastor who was working in a hospital training program, and who was called in to support an older man whose wife had been brought to the hospital by ambulance. Soon, a doctor told the man his wife had died, leaving him stunned with grief.
The poor man had no pastor of his own – no church connection of any kind. His family members were scattered across the country. He was about as alone as could be as he left the hospital that day, to cope with his wife’s death all on his own.
Bishop Robert Schnase, the author of “Cultivating Fruitfulness,” notes that “life is not meant to be lived that way. God intends for people to live their lives interlaced by the grace of God with others, to know the gift and task of community from birth to death, to have faith to sustain them through times of joy and periods of desperate agony.” (1)
Schnase adds: “Practicing hospitality is not inviting people to join a club in order to enhance revenue through dues. We invite people into that mysteriously sustaining community that finds its purpose in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (2)
Let me repeat that last statement: “We invite people into that mysteriously sustaining community that finds its purpose in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
That’s who we are. That’s what we are called to be. We are the church!
And what we have received through God’s amazing grace is simply too good to keep to ourselves. We must open our doors, and extend the invitation to experience God’s love and mercy to everyone. Jesus himself calls us to radical hospitality, for it is the way he lived during his earthly walk. It is the way the Holy Spirit beckons our hearts to follow.
As a newcomer to Saint Paris United Methodist Church, I have seen and appreciated all that you are already doing in the area of hospitality. The Fellowship Time before worship is a wonderful way of welcoming people on a Sunday morning. The Block Party, which I’ve heard about, has been a meaningful outreach to the community. The rocking chair in the back of the sanctuary affirms the message that mothers with young children are always welcome in this place. (And as pastor, I want to go on record that the sound of a crying baby on Sunday morning is not a problem at all – it is something to be cherished.)
Our bulletin reminds us weekly that this is a “Come as you are church,” as it should be, for God loves us just the way we are. Not only are casual clothes OK, but so are people who may not look like us . . . people with tattoos and piercings, people in tattered clothes, people for whom the thought of stepping inside a church may be a scary thing.
I think radical hospitality means we operate on the assumption that each new person who comes through our doors, whether a bank president or an outlaw biker, deserves to be treated with love and respect – indeed, treated as an honored guest as if Jesus himself were the one being received.
Yes, we are already doing some things well in the church when it comes to Radical Hospitality, and the other areas we’ll be looking at in the coming weeks, such as Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission and Service, and Extravagant Generosity. Those are the five practices of fruitful congregations. And these are practices we must continue to work on, if we are to fulfill our calling as the Church of Jesus Christ.
Maybe you’re thinking: “But we’ve been doing those kinds of things for years, in one way or another. Why do we need to put so much emphasis on all that now? Why can’t we just do our usual “church thing” and go home and get on with our lives?
Well, the thing is, we never outgrow the need to work on – and improve -- the basics. Bishop Schnase gives a wonderful example of this, when he writes:
“When elementary-age Little League baseball players practice their sport, they practice batting, catching pop-ups, scooping up ground balls. When professional Major League players practice – adults at the height of their abilities – what do they do? They practice batting, catching pop-ups, scooping up ground balls. Players at all stages and abilities repeat and deepen and improve upon the same basic practices. The same is true for congregations.” (3)
And Schnase adds: “The greatest difference between stagnant and declining congregations and those that are continually growing is that in fruitful congregations, the pastor and staff are constantly learning, the leaders and volunteers are constantly learning, and even the members and guests are practicing and improving the basic elements of ministry.” (4)
Now it’s not that hard to practice hospitality, but the call to “Radical Hospitality” suggests we go the extra mile to welcome people into the community of faith – in whatever form or fashion it may take. This is where we may start to quietly cringe a little bit on the inside.
Because sometimes, in our humanness, we struggle with the notion that the mission of making disciples for Christ takes precedence over our own comfort and convenience.
Nevertheless, it is true.
Today’s gospel lesson shows us two extremes concerning the all-important matter of hospitality. Let’s set the scene.
A Pharisee named Simon – one of those religious leaders who were always challenging and testing Jesus, because they saw him as a threat – invites the Master to have dinner with him at his house. So far, so good – it seems like the religious man is offering some hospitality to Jesus. But is he really?
For as the story unfolds, one of the women in town who had kind of an unsavory reputation got wind that Jesus was at the Pharisee’s house, and she decided she had to do something special to show her love for the Lord. Clearly, she was one of those sinners that the Pharisees always wanted to keep at arms length – but that Jesus seemed more than willing to associate with.
So this unnamed woman boldly entered Simon’s house and then does an amazing thing. She washed the Lord’s feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair, and she kissed his feet, and then anointed them with a jar of expensive perfume.
Simon was appalled. If Jesus was such a big-deal prophet, he thought to himself, surely he would never allow this tramp to touch him in this way. But Jesus, knowing what Simon is thinking, offers a parable to illuminate matters. He tells the story about the two men who have their debts cancelled, and how one of them has a debt that is 10 times greater than the other.
“Now which of them will love him more?” Jesus asks Simon.
The Pharisee, perhaps warily, not knowing where Jesus was going with this, replied: “I suppose the one who has the bigger debt cancelled.” And that, of course, was the right answer.
Then Jesus speaks about matters of hospitality – and radical hospitality.
“Do you see this woman?” Jesus asks, knowing full well Simon had been upset about her presence. Jesus notes that Simon has failed to show him even the basic hospitality that guests had a right to expect in ancient times.
Simon did not give Jesus any water for the cleansing of his feet after a day out on the hot, dirty roads of Palestine. He did not give Jesus a welcoming kiss to show his friendship, nor did Simon anoint Jesus’ head with oil. In short, Simon had not done much of anything to make Jesus feel special or welcome in his home.
On the other hand, the woman with the “bad rep” was so moved by the presence of Jesus, that her own tears bathed his feet, and in the deepest humility, she showed her love by using her hair to wipe those feet clean. She humbled herself further to kiss those feet in what must have been both reverence and awe, and finally she anointed the feet of the Master with perfume.
If that isn’t radical hospitality, I don’t know what is. And this woman wasn’t even the hostess for this dinner party – she just came on in because she knew Jesus was there.
With such an attitude as this, one that clearly demonstrates her profound love for Jesus, the woman’s many sins have been forgiven, Jesus tells Simon.

Now today, I don’t think we are necessarily called to wash, dry, kiss and perfume the feet of people we want to reach out to in the name of Jesus. But there are no shortage of ways and means that we can use to share the love of Christ with people who don’t know the Lord – and may never know Him if we don’t stir ourselves . . . if we don’t stretch ourselves.
Maybe some of you already have ideas percolating for how we might go a little deeper as a church in demonstrating the Radical Hospitality that is so pleasing in God’s sight. I hope you do – or soon will.
Here’s one for starters. What if we invited the whole town to come and take part in our Christmas Eve service at the United Methodist Church this year? I’ve heard there were only 50 to 75 people here on Christmas Eve last year. I know we’ve got room for a lot more people than that. I’ve also been told we’re the only church in town that has worship on Christmas Eve.
What if we made a concerted effort to reach out to people, to invite people, to come and spend part of that holy night with us – and with Jesus -- here in God’s house?
Down the road, we’re going to be forming some small groups to focus on each of these five Fruit-Bearing Practices – such as Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, and all the others. My prayer is that this will prove to be a great adventure for all of us as we see where God may be leading us a group of disciples here in Saint Paris!
I want to tell a short story from one of my own memories of being touched by “Radical Hospitality.” It comes from a time several years ago when I visited the Philippines for a couple weeks, along with a group of five other people from United Theological Seminary in Dayton. (I mentioned this last month during one of the Sunday School sessions that Becky Black and Dolly Pond were leading, and today I want to share it with all of you.)
It was Jan. 18, 1996, and the sun was broiling hot. We were staying for a few days in a fishing village near the shore of the Philippine Sea. Later in the afternoon, we walked over to be with some of our poor neighbors who were living in the shanties. We visited the homes of a couple families who had invited us, and their hospitality was so overwhelming it simply melted our hearts.
These people – who truly had nothing in the way of material possessions – had spent their precious pesos to buy Coca Cola and crackers to serve us, despite our pleas that it was not necessary. Their hospitality was radical indeed! They were Christians, and they were a people after God’s own heart.
At the second home we went to, they didn’t have any electricity, and light was provided by a couple small lamps, burning fuel. It was very touching and heartwarming to be with these people, who described their lives as being “hard but happy.” Later, we would sing some songs and join together for Bible Study with our new friends. I remember telling them that we Americans could learn much about hospitality from them.”
In closing, I call to your attention the words of Jesus in the Parable of the Wedding Banquet. This is in Matthew 22, where the Lord tells of a king who is frustrated that the guests invited to his son’s wedding have all sent in their RSVPs – and are refusing to come! A sumptuous feast had been planned and everything was ready, but those on the guest list couldn’t have cared less.
As a result, the king is ready to try some radical hospitality. As Jesus continues the story, the king orders his servants to “go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (Matt. 22:9-10)
You know what that sounds like to me?
That sounds a lot like “Sharing the Love of Jesus Christ in the Community.”
With God’s help, may we go and do likewise.
Amen.
______________________________________

1. Robert Schnase, “Cultivating Fruitfulness: Five Weeks of Prayer and Practice for Congregations,” pp. 15-16, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.
2. Ibid.
3. Robert Schnase, “Five Practices – Radical Hospitality,” Abingdon Press, Nashville, 2008.
4. Ibid.

Sermon #12 @ St. Paris UMC (9.13.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: “Bread for the Journey”

Title: “Luke 24:13-35”

Date: Sept. 13, 2009 (15th Sunday in Easter)

A meditation on the gospel, leading into Holy Communion . . .

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024:13-35&version=NIV

You may not have realized it was Easter morning when you crawled out of bed today.
But if that’s the case, you’re in pretty good company.
Mary Magdalene and Simon Peter didn’t realize it either, on that very first Easter Sunday.
Nor did those disciples who were walking along the path to Emmaus later on.
For all of them, as the day dawned, their hearts were filled with grief, continuing sorrow and confusion – for their beloved Master lay dead in a tomb.
What they didn’t know – and what we sometimes forget – is that the tomb is now empty.
Christ is risen -- Alleluia! And because He arose, every morning is Easter morning from now on. Every Sunday is – in fact – a “little Easter.” We gather here on the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Though the leaves will be soon be turning, our hearts are filled with springtime as we ponder the Empty Tomb – and all that it promises.
Who knows? If we close our eyes . . . if we try really hard . . . then maybe – just maybe:
We can still imagine the cool touch of the morning dew in that garden, so close to Calvary.
We can still visualize the strange sight of the grave cloth, neatly folded in that tomb.
We can still picture the breathless excitement of Mary Magdalene, running to tell Peter and John: “I have seen the Lord!”
The tremendous thing about being a Christian – though we sometimes fail to focus on this great truth – is this: Every day of the year is part of the Easter Season.
Easter isn’t a one-shot deal.
Easter IS the deal.
As the Apostle Paul wrote: “if for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Cor.15:19)
In reality, the possibilities for new life surround us always – if we have eyes to see them.
Jesus said “I am the Resurrection.”
That’s not past-tense. That’s the Living God, present-tense in our lives today. And if we hold on to that, there’s no reason for any of us to BE tense.
You see, we’ve got Jesus! . . . We’ve got everything we need.
The promise of eternal life is more than a promise for those who put their faith in Christ. It is a blessed assurance.
We are an Easter people – just like those disciples who trekked to a town called Emmaus with a peculiar stranger, on that first Easter Sunday. Before day’s end, they, too, would be running breathlessly back to Jerusalem with a stunning message for their brothers – just like Mary Magdalene a few hours before.
That’s how Resurrection affects us, when it becomes real. When we experience the truth – that Jesus really is alive, right here, and right now. It electrifies us. It takes our breath away. And we can’t wait to tell about it.
Those two disciples, Cleopas and the other fellow, were at the end of their rope. Jesus, the one they hoped was the Messiah – God’s hand-picked Savior for Israel – was dead and buried.
The one they “hoped” was the Messiah – as in past-tense.
That was all over now. Their hope was gone.
They couldn’t have been more dejected when the stranger came along and joined them in their journey.
But after the two disciples poured out their sorrow to this stranger, he began to speak.
He had kind of an odd way of ingratiating himself to them, for what is the first thing out of his mouth? It is this:
“How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”
Basically, he calls them blockheads! Because God has been constantly trying to get their attention, constantly trying to show them the way that leads to salvation and eternal life, and they have failed to grasp it.
Before we get too smug about all this . . . before we make fun of Cleopas and his friend, who couldn’t even recognize Jesus as he walked beside them, we need to remember: That’s us out there on that road, too. That’s you and me making our way on the journey each day – with Jesus.
Do we recognize this Risen Christ in our midst when we’re stuck in line at the bank, and we’re running late for a doctor’s appointment?
Do we sense the Risen Christ at our side when we’re at the Job and Family Center, trying to get our unemployment benefits . . . or get our food stamps straightened out?
Do we perceive Jesus, the Living God, praying for us at the funeral home, as we cry over our fallen loved ones? Do we feel Him put his arm around us? Do we hear the One who wept outside the tomb of Lazarus whispering to us: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
If we don’t recognize him, if we don’t sense his presence, if we don’t hear his comforting shepherd’s voice, it could be we have forgotten to invite him into our lives.
Whatever else we say about Cleopas and his unnamed cohort on the road to Emmaus, they knew there was something special – even wonderful – about this stranger who walked with them. They didn’t want it to end.
Luke says they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.”
In other words, they invited Jesus to stay with them, and be their companion.
The invitation is the key. Jesus doesn’t force his way into anyone’s life.
Will you invite Jesus to be your companion in the journey of life?
The literal meaning of the word companion is “with bread.” A companion is someone we break bread with.
We can all be companions with Christ – and He with us – in the breaking of the bread.
And if we take in this bread of life – through faith – we will never go hungry again. To put it another way, we will never be without life again, for our faith in Christ brings us to eternal life in His company – both now and forevermore.
In the gospel of John, Jesus declared: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
We know that death does not have the final word.
And as Christian writer and historian Martin Marty puts it, “That is what Easter is all about, that love is stronger than death, that the power of God is greater than the power of forces that would thwart life.” (1)
“The stranger is still with us,” Marty adds. “If we say we had hoped He would redeem us, we can change that now to say that hope is present among us and we, too, can know Him in the breaking of the bread.” (2)
Thanks be to God!
______________________________________
1. Martin Marty, “Easter on the Road,” March 31, 1991, http://www.csec.org/csec/sermon/Marty_3424.htm
2. Ibid.

Sermon #11@ St. Paris UMC (9.6.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Mark 7:24-37

Title: “Crumbs From the Table”

Date: Sept. 6, 2009 (14th Sunday after Pentecost)

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%207:24-37&version=NIV

We’ve been hearing a lot about health care lately.
There are many strong opinions about the pros and cons of the proposals coming out of Washington. There have been and will be impassioned debates, and people of good faith can agree to disagree on these matters.
If I’m not mistaken, that’s the American way.
In fact, I’ll go a step further and say that even though there are many things that we as Christians may not agree about, there is much more that brings us together as one people. Above all, we are one in the Spirit, and we are one in the Lord – and that is something special, in a world that is given over to division and strife.
Even as the health care debate unfolds, we continue to see and hear reports about the H1N1 virus – or “swine flu” as it’s also known. We wait and watch nervously, especially as we send our children and grandchildren off to begin a new school year.
Meanwhile, the day-to-day challenges of maintaining health and wholeness touch all of our lives, and there is seldom any let-up.
Our church’s prayer chain has been busily attesting to this. In the past week alone, we have had prayer requests for at least four persons with cancer, including a 4-year-old boy. In his case, the request was for “healing this side of heaven,” which is always our hope – though it doesn’t always work out that way.
We also had a sad request Friday for a teen-ager named Josie, who remains hospitalized after a horrendous beating by an ex-boyfriend. She is experiencing paralysis. We are reminded again – we live in a broken world.
But friends, there is One who has all power.
He is the source of life – both in the here and now, and in the eternity that lies just beyond.
He is the source of all health – in body, mind and spirit.
He is the source of the boundless hope – and the endless love – that we can experience in our hearts through faith.
His name is Jesus Christ, and He is the Master Physician. And he calls us to be “physician’s assistants” – through our prayers, and our actions.
We see Jesus the healer at work in both parts of today’s gospel lesson.
In the first part, Jesus and his disciples have left their home base in Galilee, and headed north, going near the Phoenician city of Tyre on the Mediterranean coast. Jesus already had done a lot to attract attention back home – whether he wanted it or not. You may remember from last week some Pharisees and teachers of the law had even come from Jerusalem to check him out as word of his teaching and healing spread.
It could be Jesus wanted a chance for him and the disciples to get off by themselves for a while – get a break from the crowds, and recharge their batteries. Mark tells us in v. 24 he found a house to stay at, and he didn’t want anyone to know it. It sounds like he really needed that time apart. But it wasn’t to be. Soon the community was abuzz about the presence of the Jewish teacher from Galilee.
Keep in mind, Jesus and the disciples were on foreign turf. Tyre and the region around it are part of the modern-day nation of Lebanon, and for Jesus and his cohorts, this was definitely a place to be wary. This was pagan country – populated by Gentiles. In other words, these were people who were outsiders – they were not part of God’s covenant relationship with the children of Abraham. As a matter of fact, faithful Jews considered it a point of decency not to associate with Gentiles. (Sort of makes you wonder why Jesus chose Tyre for this getaway trip.)
Even Jesus appears uncomfortable or annoyed – at least at first – when he is approached by one of these Gentiles. To make matters worse, it’s a woman. She was breaking a lot of cultural taboos by approaching Jesus, but she didn’t care. Somehow she had a sense of who Jesus was – and what he could do – and her circumstances were dire.
I’m sure many of you who are mothers can relate. There was something desperately wrong with her little girl. We are told the child was possessed by an evil spirit, and whatever form it takes, evil always seeks to destroy. And in her great need, this mother came and fell at the feet of Jesus. She begged him to do something to drive the presence of evil out of her daughter.
And what a response she gets.
“First let the children eat all they want,” Jesus told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
Now, this is not exactly the kind of thing we’re used to hearing from Jesus, because frankly the Lord seems to be insulting this woman – because of her Gentile background. When Jesus speaks of letting “the children” eat all they want, he is actually using children as a metaphor for the people of Israel – God’s chosen ones – the focal point of his mission.
Jesus himself is the bread – the sustainer of life – and guess what? He is saying the Canaanites and all the other pagans are no better than a bunch of dogs. Trust me when I say, this was not intended as a compliment.
But the woman is undaunted. If anything, her resolve is steeled because she absolutely believes this man can save her little girl. Humbled by her fears for her daughter, she takes no umbrage at the seemingly harsh words of Jesus. Rather, she further demonstrates her humility – and her faith – by countering: “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
And though Jesus knew he was “sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24), there was something about this woman’s passion that touched him deeply.
In Matthew’s account of this same story, Jesus responds: “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed instantly.
The Canaanite woman returned home and found her child well, just as Jesus had said.
And you know what? Like salvation itself, this healing was a gift of pure grace, a beautiful byproduct of faith. The Son of God looked beyond the cultural and religious divides of his time to extend the touch of mercy.
Soon, Jesus and his band of brothers were on the move again – going back to the south and around the Sea of Galilee into another pagan territory – the region of the Decapolis (or the 10 cities).
Once again, health care was on the agenda. Some people brought a man who was deaf and could hardly talk to Jesus. They begged Jesus to place his hand on the man. They really believed “the touch of the Master’s hand” could make all the difference.
Jesus led the man away from the crowd, and attended to him in a way that seems strange to us – the fingers in the ears, the spitting, and touching of the man’s tongue. But it is that final part of the healing that gets my attention. Mark says Jesus looked up to heaven. In other words, he was looking to his Father.
And then he gave a deep sigh – which maybe, in some way, reflects the deep compassion and desire to heal that Jesus always feels for those who are suffering. Finally, he declares emphatically, “Ephphatha!” – an Aramaic word which means, “Be opened!” And with the power of Christ at work in his life, his ears were “opened,” and his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly.
Poor fellow. Who knows how long he has been unable to speak? And yet the first thing Jesus says is don’t tell anyone. That hardly seems fair! In fact, Jesus told them all to keep quiet about what he had done – but it was like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. “The more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.”
You see, that’s the way it is when Jesus touches our lives.
If we’ve been down and out.
If we’ve been in that place where there just doesn’t seem to be any hope.
If we’ve lost faith – or maybe we never had it in the first place.
If we’ve been hurt or disappointed time after time after time . . . by people, in general – or maybe by our own family – or maybe even by the church.
And then – in the midst of the darkness – Jesus touches our lives . . . and things begin to change. Sometimes quickly. Sometimes slowly. And what a relief it is when the healing touch of Christ comes into our hearts.
Just like that man who was rescued by Jesus, we’re going to want to tell others about it!
We’re going to want to let our light shine before others, so they may know, too, that our God of Love is right here, in our lives, today.
Jesus has come to our town, too. He’s come to Saint Paris, and to Urbana, and to Piqua, and to Tipp City, and all kinds of places.
And Jesus still comes to bring healing.
He comes to bring hope.
He comes to bring life – new life – abundant life – eternal life.
And you know what? I don’t think Jesus minds us talking about it.
I think on this side of the Resurrection, we’re supposed to share the good news.
We’re supposed to “share the love of Jesus Christ in the community” – and beyond.
What was it the Lord told his disciples in the first chapter of Acts – his final words before he ascended to Heaven?
He told them to get ready for a power surge.
It’s right there, in Acts 1:8 – Jesus says: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
But I digress. Forgive me – sometimes I get kind of excited about what the Lord’s done in my own life, and some of the healing I’ve experienced. There are many types of healing that are available to all of us yet today, through the power of the Living God.
So what are we to do with all this? What’s the “take-away” from these stories in Mark 7?
Maybe it’s as simple as – what was that word again? Ephphatha! Be opened!
On Friday I got something in the mail from Vectren Energy. As I was looking it over, I read a sentence at the bottom of the page where it said that Vectren – and here I’m quoting – “delivers not just power but possibilities” to their customers.
Now I don’t tell you this to put in a plug for the gas company.
But I think in there somewhere – along with good news of Mark’s gospel – is a message that God has for us today . . . a message that God wants our hearts and minds to be opened to – and that is this:
Jesus Christ delivers not just power but possibilities – to you, and to me, and to anyone who comes looking for him.
And you know what’s even better? Because God loves us so very much, we don’t even have to wait until we’re ready to go looking for Christ. Because the Son of God is already looking for us. He’s looking for the lost sheep of Israel. He wants to fill our lives with His power, and free us from ourselves. He wants us to experience the new possibilities that will be opened when we come seeking crumbs from the table.
We are called to receive these gifts – the gifts of:
More love . . .
More power.
More of Christ in our lives.
Let’s not let any false pride keep us from claiming these gifts right now.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon #10 @ St. Paris UMC (8.30.09)

Pastor Dave Kepple

Text: Mark 7:1-8; 14-15; 21-23

Title: “An Inside Job”

Date: Aug. 30, 2009 (13th Sunday after Pentecost)

Internet Link for primary scripture text used in this sermon:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%207:1-8;%2014-15;%2021-23%20&version=NIV

This is an old, old book.
But through the power of the Holy Spirit, it is alive in our hearts – and our minds – this morning, this very day.
When I was in seminary, I once had a professor of Christian history – a wonderful man named Jim Nelson – who compared the words of the Bible to freeze-dried coffee.
I know that sounds a little odd, but actually I think it makes a lot of sense.
Dr. Nelson said this book contains within it a living, breathing Truth – the Word of God.
But just as freeze-dried coffee only becomes what it is fully meant to be when piping hot water is added to it, so, too, the wonders and treasures of the Bible can only be fully experienced when the Holy Spirit is added.
When we read and hear these words, with the Holy Spirit alive in our hearts, it can change everything about our understanding and appreciation of God’s Word for us today.
There’s a chemical reaction – or more precisely a spiritual reaction – that occurs when these ancient words are liquified and brought to life by the Holy Spirit within us. Suddenly, we can smell the sweet aroma of the gospel – the good news of God’s love, mercy and grace. This is one of the many blessings of our faith. God speaks to us anew.
So this book – and these words of the Master which we just heard – have a message for us today. Can we discern it? Can we hear Him speaking to us?
Some of this story from Mark’s gospel seems strange to us – this discussion of rituals and tradition. How can we relate to it in the here and now?
I need your help. Actually, I think we all need God’s help, as we try to sort this out together. Would you bow your heads and pray with me, for a moment, as we invite the Spirit of Truth to illuminate our hearts and minds? Let us pray. . . .

Let's take a moment and set the scene in and around Mark 7.
Jesus is still operating in his home region – Galilee – in the northern part of Israel. But his reputation is growing rapidly. King Herod has gotten curious about this fellow from Nazareth who is attracting so much attention. An enormous stir is caused when Jesus feeds 5,000 people -- gathered in a remote area to hear him teach – with just five loaves and two fish.
As chapter 7 opens, we are told that a group of Pharisees and legal scholars has come all the way from Jerusalem to investigate Jesus.
The Pharisees don’t come off very well in the New Testament. You can almost imagine people hissing at the mention of their name, when this story was first told in the early Christian communities.
Jesus, who shows kindness and concern for all people – especially the lowliest of the low – reserves his harshest words for the Pharisees and other religious leaders, such as the scribes and teachers of the law. At different times in the gospels, he calls them a bunch of snakes. He says they’re like whitewashed tombs, and that a fresh coat of paint can’t cover up the death and decay that lies underneath.
Often, Jesus says, these religious leaders are hypocrites – phonies. They talk a good game, but inside their hearts are far from the LORD. They claim to be godly men, but the truth is they’ve made an idol out of self-righteous, man-made rules and traditions that have nothing to do with the commands of God.
A good example is the controversy in today’s lesson. The Pharisees are appalled that the disciples of Jesus were eating without the ceremonial handwashing – one of many traditions which devout Jews practiced to set them apart from the pagans all around them. By failing to do this, according to the Pharisees, the Lord’s disciples allowed themselves to become “unclean,” or in the words of some other translations, they were defiled.
To say that someone was unclean was basically to say they weren’t fit to worship God.
I don’t suppose we have any traditions like that today . . . Or do we?
Do we need to have people look good on the outside before they can come to this house to worship?
I’m very pleased by the fact our church makes a point of inviting people to dress for worship in a way that makes them comfortable. “Casual is OK if you so desire,” the bulletin states.
I decided to test that myself earlier this month, as some of you may have noticed. For two straight Sundays, I came to preach wearing jeans and a T-shirt. I’m happy to say no one asked me to leave!
But I have to admit I felt a little self-conscious. I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I did have a sense that I was going against the grain of longstanding tradition, perhaps violating some unwritten, unspoken rules.
And if that’s the case, then I’m glad I did – because I don’t know of anything in scripture that says we have to impress God – as if we could -- with how good we look on the outside. And I’m pretty sure there’s nothing in the Bible that says we need to impress each other, as brothers and sisters in Christ, with how good we look on the outside.
Now don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing inherently wrong with dressing up for church – if you so desire. I do own a couple suits – and have even been known to wear one now and then. I even have some priestly robes hanging downstairs in the choir closet.
One of them is a dazzling white robe – I sometimes wear it on Easter or Christmas Eve, just to accentuate the joy and magnitude of the occasion.
I’ve even thought of wearing that robe for Rachel and Nick’s wedding in a couple of weeks. But I don’t want to upstage the bride!
Yes, I can look the part of a United Methodist pastor (whatever that is supposed to be in the 21 century). But you know what? If I’m not “right with God” in my own heart, then none of it matters.
In Mark 7, Jesus says the Pharisees have it all wrong. They’ve put too much emphasis on human tradition, while distancing themselves from the commands of God. They have distanced themselves, in other words, from the things God actually cares about.
And as Jesus would say later, the commands of God aren’t all that complicated. They don’t involve rigid adherence to 745 rules and rituals layered on top of the Mosaic Law.
As a matter of fact, Jesus says elsewhere, the commands of God come down to this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matt. 22:37) And “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:39) The entire Law – and all the godly teaching of the ancient prophets – hang on these two commands, according to Jesus.
After criticizing the Pharisees, Jesus turns his attention to the crowd and continues his teaching. He tells them nothing from the outside has the power to defile a person – to make them “unclean.”
Rather, the things that make us unclean . . . the things that erode our relationship with God . . . the things that eclipse the sunlight of the Spirit in our lives – all are generated from within people. These dark shadowy thoughts are born in our hearts – which means they come from the core of our being. It here that all of us, most desperately, need the touch of His saving grace.
It turns out salvation is an inside job.
This was foreshadowed in the Old Testament, by the Prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied:
“The time is coming,” declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. (Jer. 31:31) . . . This is the covenant I will make . . . I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” (Jer. 31:33)
Elsewhere, Israel’s King David – having committed adultery, and then murder and having lied repeatedly – acknowledged in his sinful brokenness that all the evil he committed had come from inside.
In Psalm 51, the repentant king cried out in prayer:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10)
And as David goes on to say: “The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”
So there’s the heart of the matter.
It’s what’s inside of us – in our hearts – that determines who we really are.
Did you notice Jesus quoted from another prophet -- Isaiah -- when he criticized the Pharisees as hypocrites? Jesus cited Isaiah’s words, saying: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain.” (Isaiah 29:13)
That passage reminds me of a disturbing quote from Brennan Manning, the author of The Ragamuffin Gospel.
Manning states that “the greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

Friends, Jesus doesn’t call us to be successful. Jesus calls us to be faithful.
Jesus doesn’t care so much if we talk the talk. (I suspect the Lord would rather “see a sermon” than hear one any day.)
Jesus wants us to walk the walk.
And the journey of faithfulness begins in our own hearts.
The basic question for all of us today is this:
Do we have Jesus in our hearts?
Have we welcomed Jesus into our hearts, to be the Lord of our lives?
Is Christ the center of our lives – our interior lives – and do we try to operate on that basis every single day – with God’s help?
It could be that some of us here today look pretty good on the outside, but may be struggling on the inside. We may be feeling far removed from God’s presence. Perhaps we feel embarrassed or ashamed by some of the things we’re carrying around in our hearts – things that make us feel “unclean.”
If so, we have come to the right place.
God is still in the business of forgiving – and renewing. If we are feeling lost, disconnected, confused, hopeless . . . if we are feeling discouraged because we keep thinking things or doing things that are “unclean” in the sight of God, then help is just a prayer away.
For God wants nothing more than for us to turn to Him in humility, and ask Him from the core of our being:
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10)
The Church of Jesus Christ isn’t a hotel for saints. It’s a hospital for sinners.
The Divine Physician is always ready, willing and able to touch us with His healing grace, if we ask Him.
But he likes to be asked.
What about you? Will you ask him today?
Will you give your heart to Jesus?
Oh, and by the way – for those who think this is a nice message, a good sermon, for those folks who need it . . . I’d like to close by saying – just maybe – this one is especially for you!
Amen.