Category: Sermons Non-Lectionary

I Pledge Allegiance

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Non-LectionaryLeave a comment

Romans 13:1-10 NRSV

On the day after our country’s 239th birthday, and in light of the recent events that have gripped our nation, I want to add my voice to the voices of preachers across our land who are faithfully proclaiming, even in the face of persecution, that the United States of America is in deep spiritual trouble.

As the prophets warned Israel, we have turned our hearts away from God to follow our own selfish desires. We have replaced the law of God created for God’s divine purposes and for our eternal good with the law of human beings created for our own wicked purposes and temporary pleasures.

Some argue that the law of God is out of date and out of touch with reality. They say it was written for another time, another place, another people.

Others argue that the law of God is too complicated, open to too many interpretations, to be the law of any land.

And others have the gall to pick and choose, to change and to twist the law of God to support their self-centered, self-seeking perversions.

And preachers are just as guilty.

Ashamed of the gospel, we have separated our faith from our politics. Afraid of offending someone, we have been reluctant to call evil “evil” and sin “a sin.” We have been far too complacent, way too silent, all in the name of the false god of tolerance.

And using the excuse of Separation of Church and State, we have spoken far too little from our pulpits about the need for our nation to be governed, not by the will of the people, not by the law of the Supreme Court, but by the law of the Supreme Being.

So, on this Independence Day weekend, I want to join my voice with preachers all over this great land and proclaim that it is high time faithful Christians wake up and rise up to stand up for the law of God.

When I was growing up, I was taught that it was not only my civic duty, but it was my Christian duty to pledge my allegiance to the flag of United States of America. Since then, I have learned that some Christians do not believe in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. Some believe saying the Pledge is disobedience to Christ who said we should not “swear by an oath.” Others believe that we should pledge our allegiance to God and only to God. And some argue that the words “under God” should be removed from the Pledge for reasons of religious liberty.

But in light of current events, I believe it may be time for us to recommit ourselves to this pledge, especially saying it with the words, “under God.” Here’s why…

I

In America, I, as an individual, have certain inalienable rights. As an individual citizen of this country, I have freedom. And with that freedom, comes great responsibility. Each one of us has a voice, has a vote, and has the responsibility to make this country the very best that it can be.

Pledge allegiance

The prophets of the Old Testament and the disciples of the New Testament who were imprisoned by the Roman government for disobeying human laws teach us that our allegiance is not blind. Our allegiance does not mean blindly accepting our faults, never questioning our past, and never second-guessing how current policies will affect our future. Allegiance means faithfully doing our part to “mend thine every flaw.”

It means being loyal, law-abiding citizens committed to our civic duty of voting in elections. However, it also means voicing opposition to laws that need to be changed and to elected officials who need be corrected. Civil allegiance sometimes means civil disobedience.

Like a faithful marriage, pledging allegiance means being loyal to our country in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, never giving up, never becoming complacent, never running away. It means perpetually praying for it, continually correcting it, forever fighting for it.

To the flag of the United States of America

Yes, we pledge our allegiance to the flag. As a child, I remember questioning this, uttering to myself: “It’s just a flag. It’s merely a piece of cloth with a design that someone has sewn together and run up a pole.” But, of course, I soon learned that the flag is much more than that.

And to the Republic for which it stands

The flag is not a mere sign for our country. It is the profound symbol of our country. Signs are limited as signs only give information. Signs do not have the power to stand for something. Only symbols can do that. Whereas signs invoke intellectual responses from the brain, symbols elicit visceral emotions from the heart and gut. For the Christian, the Stars and Stripes is to our country what the cross is to our faith. This is the reason that the Confederate Battle Flag is so controversial. The flag is not a mere historical marker, label, design or brand but a powerful symbol that stands for something. Flags have the power to move us, stir us, and guide us.

One nation

Although heritage and culture are important aspects of life in different parts of our country, they are never more important than the unity of our country. Jesus spoke truth when he said that “a house divided against its self cannot stand.”

Under God

For me, this is the most important part of the pledge. I could not and would not say the Pledge without it.

Not under God because we are down here and God is up there. Not under God because we want some sort of theocracy like ISIS and other Islamic extremists. And not under God because we believe we were established to be a Christian nation like some Christian extremists.

Rather, as Christians, we pledge our allegiance to country under, after, second to, our allegiance to the law of God.

This is why our allegiance is not blind. As Christians, the Commander-in-Chief is not our chief commander. The Supreme Court is not our supreme being. Our allegiance is first pledged to something that is bigger than our nation, even larger than our world.

It is an allegiance that informs our vote, rallies our civic duties, admonishes our obedience to civil law, and yet, sometimes calls us to civil disobedience. For the Christian, it is the God revealed through the words and works of Jesus who becomes our civil conscience. We believe the law of God revealed through Christ supersedes every human law.

And, no matter what anyone says, this law is simple, and it is quite clear.

Immediately following words from the Apostle Paul regarding good citizenship and obeying the law, we read that every one of God’s laws is summed up in just one law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said it this way: “On this hang all of the laws of the prophets “…that you love your neighbor as yourself.”

And just in case some are still confused to what “love” is, Paul defines love by saying: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor.”

This is the law of God. This law is not complicated, and this law is not open to interpretation. This law is not outdated or obsolete. And this law is in no way trivial. In fact, Jesus said, “There is no law greater.” It is as if Christ is saying, “If you don’t get anything else from Holy Scripture, you need to get this: ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” Yet, as evidenced by the amount of hatred, racism and violence that is in our nation today, even in the church, this supreme law is widely ignored, disobeyed or rejected all together.

I believe it is when we first pledge our allegiance to this supreme law, that we have the opportunity to be a great nation. For when we love our neighbors as ourselves, when in everything we do to others as we would have them do to us, it quickly becomes “self-evident that all people are created equal with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Indivisible

When we pledge allegiance to the supreme law of God, when we pledge to love our neighbors as ourselves, we promise to work together under God to build bridges to overcome the gaps and barriers that we have created that divide us: racial, sexual, ethnic, political, economic, educational and religious. We pledge to come together, side by side, hand in hand, for the equality and the inalienable rights of all people.

This does not mean that we are to never disagree with the beliefs or lifestyles of others. We can certainly love our neighbor while disagreeing with our neighbor. It is not hating our neighbor when we disagree with the flag that our neighbor flies; however, when we infringe on their life, their liberty, and their pursuit of happiness by supporting public policies or actions that treat them as second-class citizens, that do harm to our neighbor, it is certainly not loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. As our president said in the eulogy of Rev. Clementa Pinckney: “…justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other. [Our] liberty depends on [our neighbors] being free, too.”

With liberty and justice for all.

We pledge to work for freedom and fairness not just for our educated, rich neighbor who can afford the best attorneys, and not just for our advantaged, abled-bodied and able-minded straight, white, Christian, English-speaking neighbors. We pledge ourselves to stand for liberty and justice for all. And according to the Christian faith, all especially includes the minorities, the poor, the disabled, the marginalized and the foreigner.

All even includes people of every nation. That’s why we are planning yet another trip to Nicaragua. For our love, our faith, our mission to stand for liberty and justice has no borders.

For the Christian who pledges their allegiance first to the Christ who loved all and died for all, all truly means all.

This past week, someone raised the following question on facebook, and to avoid being obscene, I am going to paraphrase: “They only represent 2% of the population. Why do they matter?”

This was not just one lone, ugly, hateful voice, but one that was representative of the sentiment many of my facebook friends who call themselves “Christian.”

“They only make up 2% of the population. Why do they matter?”

Like I said, this nation is in deep spiritual trouble.

For the Christian who pledges his or her allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all: Gay lives matter; Black lives matter; because according to everything for which this flag stands under the supreme law of God, all lives will never matter until all means all.

If They Only Knew

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Non-LectionaryLeave a comment

If+They+Only+Knew

Psalm 139 NRSV

Andy Griffith had a home in the same neighborhood where my uncle once lived in Manteo. They met several times and had many long conversations. One day, Andy Griffith said something that surprised my uncle. He said: “I am a very private, extremely introverted person.  Everyone thinks I enjoy being in the spotlight because of my profession, but I don’t. If they only knew.”

One day, Mr. Griffith visited a produce stand in Currituck where my sister, Jenean, was working. As soon as Jenean saw him, she started running towards him, screaming: “Andy Griffith! Andy Griffith!  I just love you!” Jenean said that he acted kind of funny, like he didn’t like the attention. She said, “When he saw me running towards him, he turned around and started heading in the other direction.”  If she only knew.

“If they only knew.”

There are people who always appear confident, like they have it all together. Others look at them and wished they could be as confident. However, while they appear poised and in control, on the inside, they are falling apart, constantly tormented by feelings of insecurity, self-loathing. If they only knew.

There are others who always seem to be happy. They always greet you with a smile and always seem to have an encouraging word for you.  But on the inside they are crying. For reasons unknown, their hearts are breaking.  “If they only knew.  If they only knew how depressed I am. If they only knew how much I really hurt. Oh, if they only knew.”

There are some outside of the church who drive past our church building on the way to the grocery on Sunday mornings. They appear not to be bothered by the large number of cars parked around this building during this hour, while they mutter to themselves, “If they only knew how lonely, how left out I feel. If they only knew how much I wanted to be included, loved and accepted.”

If they only knew. Perhaps we have all said it.

If they only knew how much pain I was in.

If my family only knew how unimportant I feel.

If my parents only knew how hard I am working to please them.

If my friends only knew just how fragmented our marriage really is.

If they only knew how much debt we were in.

If people only knew how bad you treat me.

If my children only knew who much it hurts when I don’t hear from them.

If they only knew how lonely I am since losing my husband.

If she only knew how much I missed her.

If they only knew how much I loved them.

The truth is, we humans long to be known. We desperately want someone to know our feelings, our pain and our joy. We seriously want someone to truly understand us. I think that is one of the reasons that facebook has become so popular in this last decade. For it gives people an opportunity to share their feelings with the world.

However, at the same time, ironically, we are also afraid of people truly knowing us. For we all have thoughts, feelings, desires, secrets and motivations that really do not want anyone to know about. We all have secrets that we want to keep secret. “If they only knew. And I am so glad they don’t!”

However, I believe the only fear that is greater than being fully known, is the fear of someone never really knowing who we are or ever truly understanding us. In spite of all of our mistakes and flaws, I believe most of us want to be known. We want to be understood.  If they only knew.

But the sad reality is that they do not know. And what is more sad, they will probably never really know. Yes, people may say it. And they tend to say it all the time: “Oh, I know exactly what you are going through.” “Yes, believe, me I understand.” “Hey, I get it.” “Been there, done that.” But the truth is that they do not have a clue.

When someone gives me a compliment, I usually say something like, “Well, you don’t know me very well.” Or “Well, there’s a lot of things about me that you don’t know!” And it’s true.

There’s a lot of truth in that old spiritual:  “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.”

If they only knew, but nobody does, and nobody probably ever will. Nobody truly knows all that there is to know about you.

They may know your name, where you live, where you work, something about your family, but nobody knows your greatest disappointment. Nobody knows your deepest hurt. Nobody knows your greatest joy. Nobody knows your deepest fears. Nobody knows the very best thing about you that lifts you up, and nobody knows the very worst thing about you that brings you down. If they only, knew, but, sadly, they don’t.

“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…”  What’s the rest of that song? Nobody knows, but Jesus.

The good news of our faith is that somebody does know. Somebody does know your greatest hurt, your greatest disappointment, your greatest fear, your greatest joy, and the greatest thing about you. The good news is that God knows everything about us.

Wait a minute!

If God knows the best thing about us, God also knows the worst that is within us. If God knows all of our feelings, God knows some of our feelings of unresolved anger and hate. God knows of the intense bitterness which often wells up within us. God knows how selfish we can be.

When someone comes up to the person who knows me better than anyone and says, “Lori, your husband is so wonderful,” guess how she usually responds?

“If you only knew.”

Maybe God knowing it all isn’t such good news after all. But that all depends on your view of God doesn’t it?

If your God is a God of wrath, a power for whom you must work hard to earn it’s favor, then the idea of a God knowing you is very bad news. However, if your God is a friend who loves you, one whose grace abounds and whose mercy has no limits, then you can rest assured that the God who knows your very worst and most scarlet sin is the one who will always love you and forever forgive you. This week, one of our church members said it best when she wrote this on facebook: “So much judgement being tossed around every day. So thankful I serve a merciful, forgiving and AWESOME God. We all would be in trouble without His mercy and grace.”

Our faith is that God loves us so much that God became one of us and died for us. And it was on the cross that God identified God’s self with every human being. The cross is the symbol that our God understands like none other. Our God truly knows us. Through Jesus, God even knows how it feels to be understood by no one, as he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” God knows the desire that is in every human heart to be known and to be loved.

The good news is that God knows our very worst, and God continues to love us. And the really good news is that God also knows our very best, the best that is within each of us, that no one else knows. Yes, we all have secrets, but not all of our secrets are bad. Some of our secrets are very good. God knows the best, the secret best that is within us all.

Many of you have deep love and affection for others that you just have not been able to communicate because of fear or embarrassment.  Many of you have very generous hearts. You would give so generously to others if you were not limited financially. Many of you would participate in countless mission projects if you were not limited by health or age. There is, in each of us, some secret, some hidden secret, some wonderful secret that has perhaps only partially been exposed to others. If they only knew.

When Robert Lois Stevenson died, one of his friends made the statement: “Robert died with a thousand stories still inside.” We are all a lot like Robert. We will die with a thousand stories still inside of us. We will die with a thousand kind words unspoken, a thousand good deeds undone, a thousand encouraging notes unwritten, a thousand feelings of compassion unacted upon, a thousand good secrets untold. If they only knew.

We will all die with a thousand good stories inside. The good news is that God knows those stories. God knows the very best inside of us that no one else knows, all of the beautiful potential, all of the wonderful promise that is inside of us.

And, more than anything, God wants to work with us to bring some of that potential and promise to life. And I believe that is one of the great purposes of the church: to help bring out the best that is in all of us; to help us build a handicap ramp for the disabled, purchase clothing for a child whose house burned, deliver meals to the elderly, raise money to provide food and shelter for the poor, plant and tend garden for the hungry, make quilts for the sick and grieving, pray for the hurting, welcome and embrace those who have been marginalized, give a voice to the voiceless, fight for justice on the behalf of minorities, plan a Vacation Bible School for children…and who knows what else we and can do? Who knows? God knows. Thanks be to God.[i]

[i] Words inspired and adapted from a sermon written by Charles Poole with the same title while he was a pastor of First Baptist Church, Macon Ga.

The Untouchables

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Non-LectionaryLeave a comment
BS and Joan on November 15, 2014
BS, Joan and me on November 15, 2014

Mark 1:40-45 NRSV

As was pointed out a couple of weeks ago, for Mark, Jesus is a teacher. He is a teacher with a new teaching, one with authority. Last week, when Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, we were taught by Jesus that it is not God’s will for anyone to be sick or even have a fever. As Jeremiah prophesied: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm…”

I have said before, albeit somewhat selfishly, that I believe it is God’s will for all men to live to be over 100 years-old and perhaps be married to a much younger woman, which is, of course, perhaps the only way a man can get to a hundred.

However, living in this broken and fallen world, we rarely encounter people who have been so blessed. Because not everything that happens in this world is the will of God, we seldom encounter people with the vitality and longevity of BS and Joan Smith. That is why we are having a party today. This is why we are celebrating today as a community of faith. For their long life together is a special thing. It is a good thing. It is a God-willed thing.

Some of you may say, “Well, I don’t want to live to be 100.” I dare you to say that the last day of our 99th birthday if you look as good as BS Smith! You know who wanted to be a hundred? Well, this past Thursday, it was BS!

This morning, we are still in the first chapter of Mark, and Jesus is still teaching.

“A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling, he said to him…”

Can’t you just picture the desperation? You can almost see it: “begging,” “kneeling.” This picture teaches us that when we are desperate, when we are despairing, when we are anxious, we can always come to Jesus.

“If you choose, you can make me clean.”

Well, of course Jesus chooses. As we have already learned, Jesus never wills for anyone to suffer.

We are then told that Jesus is “moved with pity…” It is important to note that the Greek word here is a visceral, gut-wrenching word. Jesus was moved from deep within his soul. Jesus literally felt this man’s pain. Because he was suffering, Jesus also suffered. Some scholars have said that the word is better translated: “angry.” When Jesus encountered human suffering, it angered him.

Here, Jesus teaches us that God is moved by human misery and suffers with us. As I tried to say yesterday at Alawoise’s memorial service, God never willed for her have Parkinson’s disease. When Alawoise felt the very first symptoms of the disease, God felt it too, from deep within God’s very soul. So, of course, Jesus chooses for him to be made clean, whole and well.

Jesus immediately reaches out his hand and touches him, saying, “I do choose. Be made clean!”

Here is where the story gets interesting. It is interesting, because Jesus reaches out his hand and “touches” this one who was considered by faith and society to be “untouchable.”

Leprosy was the most feared and dreaded disease of Jesus’ day, one that always brought horror and despair. Leprosy is an indefinite and general term used for a whitish rash on the skin. Spots, sores and swelling may also be present. It was an uncomfortable disease; however, what made leprosy so feared was no so much what it did to a person physically, but what it did not a person socially. The disease excluded one from the general population, and thus, from the people of God.

Chapters 13 and 14 of Leviticus discuss the social side effects of this disease at great length. Because a person with leprosy was considered to be “unclean,” a leper had to wear clothes which had been torn so they could be easily recognized and avoided. Lepers also had to cover their mouths and cry “unclean, unclean” in the presence of others so no one would approach them. Eduard Schweizer comments that rabbis considered a leper to be a “living corpse.” They were alive, but not alive. They were here, but not here; in the community, but not a part of the community. They were unalive, unaccepted, and untouchable.

So, when Jesus was deeply moved, or angered at the man’s disease, he was angry not only by the physical pain of it, but by the social pain of it— how this dehumanizing disease took people out of community, how it made them social outcasts, outsiders, untouchables.

However, at least one person did not regard the leper as untouchable. Mark writes that Jesus reaches out his hand and touches him. And “immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean.”

The passages that we have been studying the past few weeks teach us a lot about healing. We learn that Jesus is against all forms of suffering. Jesus wants to deliver us from afflicting spirits, break our simple fevers and cleanse us of our most dreaded diseases. But, notice in this morning’s lesson that after Jesus touches and heals the leper, he gives the leper some “stern” instructions.

“After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Although Jesus had made the man clean, he wanted him to follow through with the cleansing rituals that would restore him back into community. Yes, God is concerned about our physical well-being, but God is more concerned about our spiritual well-being and our acceptance into community. More than anything else, Jesus wanted this outsider to become an insider. Jesus wanted this untouchable to be touchable.

I think I speak for everyone when I talk about the admiration I have for BS and Joan Smith. Some might say, “Well, of course, you have. You have to admire couple who is 90 and 100 years old. However, it is not so much their physical age or physical vitality that I admire, as much as it is their determination to be in community. Almost every time I visit with them, they ask me about the well-being of others. How is “Jimmy Cowan? Have you heard from Joyce Letchworth? Tell me about Alawoise. How is Harold holding up?”

And on more than one occasion it has been one of them who actually informed me of a concern in the community. I can clearly hear BS asking: “Jarrett, did you hear about so-in-so? And with compassion obviously arching from deep within his soul, he shakes his head, and closes his eyes with almost an agony and anger and says: Shhhhhhhh.”

Both BS and Joan want to meet every new person than joins or even just attends our worship services. And they don’t just want to know their names. They want to know where they live, where they went to school, where they work; who are their parents? Who are their grandparents? They are genuinely interested in truly knowing them, loving them.

And BS constantly asks me about the whereabouts of certain people that he has missed from our gathered community of faith. “Jarrett, have you seen so-in-so? She has not been here in several Sundays. Jarrett, you need to go see her.”

And you should never be fooled by his poor eyesight and selective hearing, for he doesn’t miss a thing, especially when it concerns this, his community of faith.

And have you noticed something else about BS? He not only is concerned about you and others, he not only expresses his compassion and empathy for others, BS likes to reach out his hand and touch you. No matter who you are or where you are from, BS likes to hold your hand. For no one in BS’s book is an outsider. Through his eyes, it is as it is in the eyes of God, no one is untouchable. Everyone’s hand is to be touched, grasped, held. This morning, I am proud to say that BS and Joan are the epitome of who we are as a church.

For all are truly welcome here. This is indeed a safe place. We accept you as Christ accepts you: Just as you are. If you are sick, we pray for your healing. If you are grieving, we pray for your peace. Because we know that when you suffer, God also suffers, and because of that, we suffer.

And know this, here, in this place you will never be alone. Here in this sacred space, there will always be a hand to hold. For here, there are no outsiders. There are no untouchables. There is truly room at the table for all.

Mark continues: “But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word…and people came to [Jesus] from every quarter.”

May we go out this morning from this sacred place and do the same.

Choosing to Listen

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Non-Lectionary, UncategorizedLeave a comment

smart phone distractionsLuke 10:38-42 NRSV

I believe we can learn a great deal from remembering that Luke’s story about Jesus and these two women took place in the first century.  A Jewish woman named Martha invites a well-known Jewish Rabbi into her home. His name was Jesus. Apparently, Martha and her sister Mary were both single women living together—living in a time and place where single women have little or no societal worth. The mere fact that Jesus would even accept such an invitation would raise more than an eyebrow or two in this day and age.

Immediately, Mary, has the courage, or you might say the audacity, to sit down at the feet of this rabbi named Jesus to listen to what he had to say. Now, remember, this is not storytelling hour at your local library where little children and parents sit down on the floor to hear a fairytale or two. In this time period, only disciples were permitted to sit at the feet of a Jewish Rabbi. And disciples were always, always male.

So not only does Jesus elevate the status of women by accepting the invitation to enter the home of these two single women, he affirms their equality with men by allowing Mary to sit at his feet and listen to his teachings, making her one of his disciples.

This is one of the reasons I am honored to serve with this church. For in this church, there is absolutely no distinction between male and female, but all are one in Christ Jesus. Here, women teach, pray, serve communion, read scripture, lead ministry teams, are ordained to ministry, and preach from this pulpit.

And in our church, the worth of the woman has absolutely nothing to do with any man that they may or may not be married to. Here we believe all people are worthy because God created them, God loves them and God in Christ challenged and defied first century societal norms when he encountered them.

Luke also tells us that while Mary was listening to Jesus, Martha was busy, assumedly preparing dinner in the kitchen for their house guest. Luke says: “Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But [but, such a powerful word, but] Martha was distracted by her many tasks.”

Of course she was distracted by many things. Remember this was the first century, and there was a lot to distract a woman, especially in an ancient kitchen without all of the modern conveniences that make our lives so much easier, so much simpler so much less distractible. Because here and now, twenty centuries later, modern technology enables us to live free from all of those distractions…hold on. My phone is buzzing. I need to respond to this text. Sorry about that. Oh, just got an email.

Like I was saying, thank God life today is void of first century distractions. Would you look a there, it is going to be 74 tomorrow with thunderstorms and 22 degrees Tuesday night! Oh, and would you look at that. My new profile pic with Betty Lacoste has well over 50 likes now.

Luke says: “Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted.”

Can you relate?

Life is full of distractions, perhaps more today than ever. Today we have on our very person all kinds of distractions as we carry not only our phones around with us, but our mail, our cameras and photo albums, our news and weather, our newspapers and magazines, and even our television and entertainment.

This past week, I had a wonderful opportunity to go to Christmount, a Disciples of Christ retreat and conference center up in Black Mountain. It was especially wonderful for me as it gave me the opportunity to get away, to sit down and to listen with very few distractions.

It was good, for just a few days, to get away from all of the busyness of life, even the busyness of this our church, to sit down and just listen.

But that’s the one thing I love about this church: our busyness. Do you remember last year someone telling me that we had so much going on here, had so much on our church sign one time, that they had to pull over to read it. I said: “We have far too much going on here for twenty miles an hour!”

And I am proud of that. I am proud of you because like Jesus going into the house of two single women, this church has people talking. Everywhere I go in this town, I hear people talk about our extravagant hospitality and gracious welcome. And I hear people talk about how incredibly busy we are.

They say, “Jarrett, every time I ride by the Christian Church there are cars everywhere! I drive by sometimes at six in the morning and the parking lot is full of cars!” What in the world is going on over there?”

I say, “It is something going on all the time! We sometimes have people drive from Wilson and Greenville to run with our running group early on Sunday mornings. There are people working on our basement, our windows and our bricks. Before it got cold, you probably saw people working or picking vegetables in our community garden. We had a great Consecration Sunday which led to increasing our budget for 2015 over 25 percent. We had around 250 people attend Homecoming, and maybe twice that many to attend our Halloween festivities. New people are volunteering to serve meals on wheels, work in the soup kitchen and serve with Farmville Benevolent Ministries. The Quilters have been busy making quilts for people in the community who need our prayers. We have groups going to the Nursing home to sing and to lead devotions. Several of us just got back from West Virginia repairing the homes of folks living in extreme poverty. We just had a huge yard sale and dinner auction where we raised over 15,000 dollars so we can do more missions. We have started planning our Advent and Christmas activities, getting ready to once more host the Breakfast with Santa before the Christmas parade. We are collecting she box Christmas gifts for Samaritans’ Purse and coupon receipts to feed families during the holidays. And just this morning, at the Christian Men’s Fellowship breakfast, we talked about building a handicap ramp for someone in need in Farmville.”

“Jarrett, don’t you think you all are doing too much?” they say.

“Nooooooo,” I say, we believe Jesus is always telling us to go and to do. After he preached his first sermon on the mount, he said, “Blessed are those who hear these words of mine and does them, for they are like wise ones who build their house on the rock.”

“After Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan, who stopped and extravagantly helped the man he found wounded lying in a ditch, Jesus said, ‘Go and do likewise.’”

After Jesus broke the bread, representing his broken body, after he shared the cup, representing his life outpoured, Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me. And when Jesus said ‘do this,’ we don’t believe he was only talking about observing the Lord’s Supper, we believe he was calling us to sacrificially break our bodies, calling us to selflessly pour ourselves out. And each Sunday we gather together to worship, we remind ourselves of this. So we are a church that goes, and we are a church that does.

Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.

I believe Jesus is saying that in all of our 21st century busyness, with all our email and texting and skyping, facebooking, and googling, with all of our running around, even with all of our ministry, our service, there are times when we need to slow down, stop, sit down at the feet of Jesus and listen.

Now, Martha was not doing anything wrong. She was doing what she was taught to do as a faithful Jew, serving the guest who had come into her home. She was practicing the hospitality that was taught over and over in her Bible. She was doing ministry. But Jesus suggests, it may do her more good to slow down, to stop and to listen.

I believe we do so many things well here because we have been doing them for years. Sometimes we don’t even need to think about it. And to be honest, we are sometimes tempted to believe we don’t need to pray about it. We just come, go to work, do what we need to do, and it gets done. And it gets done very well.

But what would happen if we stopped, sat down, and listened to Jesus. Listen, in the silence.

Silence

What is the Christ is calling you to do.

Silence

Who is the Christ calling you to be?

Silence

Where is the Christ calling you to go?

Silence

To whom is the Christ calling you to see today, to care for today, to love today?

Silence

Listen to the Christ. What is God calling our church to do? Who is God calling our church to be? Where is God calling our church to go?

Voices from the Grave

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Non-Lectionary1 Comment

AllSaintsSundayCandleHebrews 12

Years after her husband died, Betty told me that she still goes to the cemetery, almost daily, to visit his grave. “And Jarrett, I need to ask you something,” she said. “Oftentimes when I go, I stand there and talk to him. Sometimes I even bring a chair to sit in so I can talk to him for hours. I talk about my day, the good parts and the bad parts, and, of course, I talk to him about how much I miss him. Jarrett, here’s my question: “Do you think I am crazy?”

I said, “I guess that all depends. Let me ask you this: Does he ever talk back?”

However, when one considers the response of Jesus in the gospels, perhaps hearing voices from the dead is not so crazy. The Sadducees, who did not believe in eternal life, were trying once again to entrap Jesus by questioning his teaching on resurrection. Jesus responds:

“The fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive” (Luke 20).

So perhaps Betty would not have been that crazy after all, if she heard her husband’s voice from the grave.

Now, of course, I am not talking about hearing audible voices from the grave. I am talking about the hearing voices from the dead the way the writer of Hebrews describes it when he writes:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely,* and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…”

He is talking about being inspired by, encouraged by those who have lived before us. In the previous chapter, we read a list of those he is talking about: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Esau; Moses and each Israelite who escaped slavery in Egypt; Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, all of the prophets and every person had has ever been persecuted or martyred for their faith.

The writer to the Hebrews is saying, when life is hard, when the way is difficult, remember these, remember their voices, remember their actions, and especially remember how they point you to the way of Jesus, and be encouraged, be strengthened, and gain perseverance to continue not only life, but a life of courageous faith and selfless service.

I absolutely love worshipping in this place. Because every person that first worshipped in this sacred place that was built in 1909 ran their race and kept the faith long before us. Every time I gather here, I can hear their voices: voices of those who sang the great hymns of faith in these pews through World War One and the Great Depression. I stand behind and preach from a pulpit and hear the voices of preachers who preached the gospel amid World War Two, the Korean Conflict, Vietnam and the Cold War. I hear voices of those who preached for the rights of African Americans during the Civil Rights movement.

I hear the voices of those who have served the poor in this community and around the world for decades, those who have donated generously, and served sacrificially.

Every time I gather here, I hear the particular voices of those who served faithfully with me through Farmville Benevolent Ministries while I was the pastor of First Baptist Church. I hear the compassion in the voices of AC and Vivian Turnage for the poor of this community. I hear the love in the voice of Gay Johnson who would always have jars of Molasses in the trunk of her car to distribute to those in need.

Listen, can you hear them? Can you hear the voices of the saints echoing through this place this morning? When I listen carefully, I can hear the voice of Marie Allen. I hear great perseverance in the voice of an extraordinary mother who selflessly gave her all in loving her family. I hear the voice of an extraordinary mother who got up each morning, made everyone breakfast, packed lunches, and then went to work herself every day at her full-time job at the drug store or the dry cleaners in town. Then, somehow, some miraculous way, in a world without fast food and microwaves, still managed to prepare a hot supper and have on the family dinner table each night. And whenever little Pete or Donna needed new clothes to wear, with needle and thread and some material, Marie could always create whatever they wanted with her own hands. I hear the voice of a faithful mother who made a point to raise Pete and Donna in this church giving them a foundation for a faithful life that is being lived out today.

Listen, do you hear them? I hear sincere gratitude in the voice of William Meeks. I hear a voice that thanked God, even amid struggle and difficulty, for his opportunity to selflessly and sacrificially serve his country through military service during the Korean War. Although he freely admitted that those years changed him, affected him, not always for the good; in some ways it broke him; he was still very grateful for the opportunity to serve these United States.

William was also very grateful for his opportunity to serve through the First Christian Church of Farmville, especially as an electrician. And the First Christian Church is very grateful that we were able to give him that opportunity! When you worship in a church building that was built in 1909, you appreciate someone with the skills and the generosity of William Meeks. There is no telling how many hours William freely gave to the church doing all kinds of needed repairs. William loved his church. Like his love for his country, there was perhaps something deep within William that yearned to be a part of something that was larger than himself.

William always talked about how good his church was to him, especially when he needed the church the most. I don’t think I ever visited him when he did not express his gratitude to God for Jimmy Lethworth and for the many times that Jimmy picked him up and carried him to the VA Hospital in Durham for his cancer treatments.

Listen, do you hear them? I hear gracious hospitality in the voice of Kenneth Ross. One could say that Kenneth Malcolm Ross lived his entire life preparing a place at the table, preparing a home for others, for Marilyn, Amelia and Ken, and even for all Americans, each one of us, through his service to this country.

I think this explains why life was so difficult for him these last eight years. When Marilyn died in 2006, something inside of Kenneth also died. For Marilyn was such a large part of his purpose for living. And having been diagnosed with lung cancer himself, at the same time Marilyn was diagnosed, undergoing chemotherapy alongside of Marilyn, Kenneth did not only survive with a great loss of sense of purpose, Kenneth survived with the guilt associated with surviving. He also survived with severe physical limitations, COPD and other side effects from his battle with cancer that prevented him from living and breathing, preparing and providing for others as he had his entire life.

However, although he struggled much these last few years, although he was limited physically, it was evident through each of my visits with him that he never lost faith. Kenneth continued to love and care for the First Christian Church where he raised his family, served as a deacon and practiced the greatest commandment of loving God and neighbor as self.  Each visit I had with him, he would always inquire about the state of the church and of the needs of the church.

Listen, do you hear them? I hear great hope in the voice of Marie White. I will never forget the confident faith in her voice that I heard from her the week she passed away. Each time I visited her in the hospital, although she was very sick and felt terrible, it was evident that she was never separated by the love of God. She was sick, but she was not despairing. She was neither eating nor drinking; neither was she giving up hope. Although she was in the valley of the shadow of death, she feared no evil. Although her body was tired and broken and in pain, she was at peace. Although she was near the end of her life, her cup runneth over. It was so evident, that although she was separated from her friends, most of her family, her youth, her health, she was not separated by the love of God through Christ Jesus her Lord. She was a living testimony to the truth that spiritual wholeness is more important that physical well-being, even more important than life on this earth.

Listen, do you hear them? I can. Thanks be to God that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. So let us set aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, [always] looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith. Thanks be to God that we clearly hear the voices of the saints that have lived before us.

And no, we are not crazy. We just worship the God of the living; not of the dead, for to God, all of them are alive.

Why Bother with Church (Renewing Our Partnership Mission)

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Non-LectionaryLeave a comment

church-why-botherEphesians 4

Over the last several years, I have talked to many people about church, specifically, about why they no longer are, or have never been, a part of a church. The four most common responses are as follows:

#1: “Faith in God is something that is very personal. Thus, my relationship with God is a very private matter between God and me and no one else. I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.”

Then there are all the criticisms.

#2: I used to go to church. But I kept hearing church people say that everything that happens in this world is God’s will; that God is in control of everything. Then, some very bad things started happening in my life.” They will then share something like: “Our child was killed in an automobile accident” or “my spouse was diagnosed with a chronic illness” and then they will say something like: “So, frankly, if the church thinks all of this bad stuff in my life is the will of God, then I don’t need the church in my life.”

#3: “The church is full of condescending, judgmental, mean people who think they are better than everyone else. I believe in God, and I love Jesus and his teachings, but I can worship and serve God better by myself while having a cup of coffee on my back porch, or on the beach, a mountain or a lake, than I can sitting in church all dressed up with a bunch of hypocrites.”

And lastly, #4: “Organized religion has always been bad. Much of the hate and violence that has been a part of our world, and is in our world today, is because of religion. Not only do I think the world is better off without church, I am better off without it too.”

Now, during the first half of my ministry, back in my good ol’ Baptist days, I used to defend and make all sorts of excuses for the church. I used to argue with people who said negative things about the church, telling them that they really did not know what they were talking about. But today, in what I hope is only the beginning of the second half of my ministry, I am no longer defending the church. As a Christian pastor who feels more free than ever to simply tell it like it is, I am no longer making excuses.

Because the truth is that almost everyone I have spoken with who has given up on the church has made some very valid points.

Of course, faith is very personal. For God is personal, and I believe God desires to have a very personal, intimate relationship with each one of us.

And yes, I cannot agree more that the church is guilty of preaching some very bad theology. Preaching that everything that happens in this fragmented world is God’s will has led many to believe that God is an uncaring, immovable, distant God who is sitting on some throne arbitrarily pushing buttons making some very bad things happen to some very good people.

And people are absolutely right when they say some church people are condescending, judgmental and mean-spirited people who really do think they are better than everyone else. Some are arrogant, rude, pretentious, and are just not any fun to be around.

And, to the charge that organized religion has done, and is doing, some very bad things in this world, I will be the first to say: “Amen!” After all, it was organized religion that killed Jesus.

I believe it is time for the church to stop making excuses and honestly acknowledge that the church is certainly at fault for the number of people who have decided once again to stay home this morning or go any place this morning except to a church. However, although I believe the criticisms about the church could not be more accurate, I believe the conclusions that these criticisms have led to cannot be more inaccurate.

When Jesus went into the Temple and saw some very bad things happening, he did not make excuses; however, nor did give up on the Temple and stay home on the Sabbath with a cup of coffee to worship and serve God on the back porch. Jesus confronted the badness by flipping a table or two, telling the religious folks that they had made “a house of prayer” into “a den of robbers.”

More than anything else, not only do I believe the church today needs to confess that we too have been “a den of robbers,” I believe the church needs to rediscover what it means to be “a house of prayer.” And I believe we need to be the house of prayer that Jesus taught us to be.

Of course, faith in God is personal. We worship and serve not a static thing, not some vague idea or some spiritual force, but a very personal God who desires more than anything else to get personal with us. However, one’s faith in God was never meant to be, and can never be, a private matter.

There’s a very good reason that when Jesus taught us to pray, he said pray: “Our Father who art in heaven,” and never: “My father who art in heaven.” There’s a reason Jesus said, pray “Give us this day our daily bread,” and never “give me this day my daily bread.” God wants us to pray, not alone on our back porches with a cup of coffee, not in the park or on the beach, but together, as a community, as partners in faith and ministry.

Of course, the church has taught and currently teaches bad theology, and no one needs bad theology in their life. However, I believe everyone who wants to have a relationship with God needs the church in their life. Church is where you can hear some bad theology, but it is also the only place in the world you can hear some very good theology, theology that helps us grow into the persons God is calling us to be.

In spite of what you may hear a few people say, church is where are reminded that everything that happens in this fragmented world is not the will of God, as Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” If everything that happens on earth is God’s will, then there would be no need to pray for it to be done. Church is where we pray for it together, where we seek to be the people God is calling us to be together, where we partner together to use our individual gifts and our talents to do the will of God together in our communities and in our world.

Of course, churches are full of people who can be mean; however, it is simply impossible for one to serve God better alone than it is being a part of a congregation with those mean people. Over and over in the gospels Jesus admonishes us to love our enemies and forgive others as we have been forgiven.

Jesus never said stay home away from people who get on your nerves, who push your buttons and pray: “Forgive me of my trespasses, period.” “Come into my life and save me, period.”

As we have seen for several weeks now, Jesus never calls us to a selfish, self-absorbed life. Jesus calls us to deny ourselves, give of ourselves, partner up with one another, and together, pray, “Forgive us our trespasses, (comma; not period) as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Being a part of a community, especially with people who have trespassed against us, is the only way we have the opportunity to practice forgiveness, to love our enemies, to live as Christ calls us to live, to move beyond a selfish, self-absorbed temporary religion into a selfless, sacrificial, eternal life.

And of course, organized religion is bad, and many churches are bad; however, I do not believe anyone one is better off without a church.

Like all human organizations, churches can give into the great temptations of the world: power, exclusivity, greed, hate. However, instead of sitting at home and complaining about how bad the church is, Jesus calls us to join the church, to partner with and pray with the church, “Lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Being the church that God is calling us to be requires all of us praying this prayer together. And sometimes it may require someone summoning the courage to flip a table or two.

Nowhere in the New Testament are we taught that one can be a Christian alone, at home, on a beach, mountain or lake. We were not given life, grace, and salvation so we could have some sort of private, self-absorbed relationship with God, but we were given life, grace, and salvation, and we were given certain gifts and talents to selflessly partner with others to do ministry. We are called to build up the Body of Christ, to share with all the life, grace and salvation that has been given to us.

So, next time you encounter someone who criticizes you for being a part of a church, or the next time someone gives you an excuse for why they no longer attend church, or the next time someone upsets you at church and you are tempted to start staying home on Sunday mornings, remember the words of Jesus that we have been talking about during these last four weeks.

Jesus said, if you want to be my disciples, you must deny yourself, pick up a cross and follow me. Jesus is continually calling us to give ourselves away, lose ourselves, die to ourselves. Jesus expects us to suffer with others. Last week we read a story about Jesus praising a woman for giving away everything that she had to something larger than herself, all that she had to live on. Now ask yourself: “Where else on this planet, other than the church, is this type of lifestyle being encouraged?” “What other group is asking you to give your life away?” “Where in this world does another group meet together in a room where a cross, a table, a loaf representing a broken body and a cup representing a life outpoured?”

The church is not perfect and will never be perfect. The church often teaches some bad theology and has some bad people. Organized religion has been and continues to be bad; at times it is even evil. However, despite all of its badness, I believe the church is the best way in this world we can truly be the people God is calling us to be.

Renewing Our Stewardship Mission

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Non-LectionaryLeave a comment

faith and giving

Mark 12:41-44 NRSV

As we give some thought to renewing our mission to be good stewards of what we have, as we consider what we give back to God as a response to all that God has given us, I believe as Christians we need to consider the responses of Jesus to those he encountered who gave and those who did not give.

One day Jesus sits down and watches the crowd put their offerings into the treasury of the temple. Many rich people come and drop in large bags of money. Then a poor widow comes and puts in only two small copper coins which were only worth a penny. Jesus immediately calls his disciples together and says, “The truth be told, this poor widow has put in more than any one else today. While others have been giving out of their abundance, she gave out of her poverty, putting in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

I imagine the disciples being absolutely shocked by this, asking:  “But Jesus, isn’t that just a bit too generous? Everything she had? Don’t you think she was overdoing it just a bit?”

And I imagine Jesus responding: “Why are you surprised? Too Generous? Overdoing it? Have you not learned anything about who God is and how God relates to this world?  Do you know nothing about the grace of God? Were you not paying attention in Sabbath School or Vacation Torah School? The whole story of God is about God surprising us by generously overdoing it!”

Adam and Eve selfishly decide that they want to live in the garden on their terms instead of on God’s terms. In the process, they gain the painful knowledge of good and evil. With all of their sin exposed, in fear they hide from God whom they hear walking through garden in the cool of the day. But God lovingly and generously makes garments of skin and clothes them with a grace they did not deserve.

Cain does the unthinkable and kills his brother Able. He is exiled from the community because of his actions, but God promises to go with him, graciously protecting him.

Moses kills an Egyptian, breaking one of the Ten Commandments. But God surprisingly chooses that murderer to reveal those commandments to the world and to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

David not only commits adultery, but kills the husband of his mistress. Yet, the Bible surprisingly calls David “a man after God’s own heart.”

When it comes to grace, when it comes to love, God always surprises, shocks, and generously overdoes it.

I then imagine Jesus reminding the disciples all that has taken place since they had chosen to follow him.

“Don’t you remember the first sign of God’s grace that I showed you?  Do you remember what happened when we ran out of wine at that wedding reception? I turned water into more wine. And not just some water into a little bit of cheap wine. But I surprised everyone by making 180 gallons of the best-tasting wine anyone ever tasted. And yes, I admit it. I overdid it. But that was the point. It was the first sign that the Kingdom of God was coming near.

It is why I overdid it feeding five thousand people that day. Don’t you remember all of those leftovers?

And think about all of the stories I tell everyday about the nature of our God.

A farmer sows way too much seed. Most of it is “wasted,” falling on the wrong type of soil. But when sowing good seed in bad soil, you have to overdo it. And the seed that did take root produced an abundant, overflowing, overdone harvest.

A father not only welcomes home his wayward son, he way overdoes it with the hospitality. He says to his servants, “Quickly bring out a robe, the best one, and put it on my son. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the best calf we have and barbeque it. Then let us eat and celebrate!”  The older brother is shocked by the whole generous, overdone scene.

The Good Samaritan not only stops and helps a wounded man in the ditch, he overdoes it, by pouring expensive oil on his wounds, by putting the wounded man in his SUV, by taking the man to the hospital and telling the doctors, “Forget about filing insurance! Here’s all my credit cards, my checkbook, everything. I’ll be back in a week, and if that’s not enough money to treat the man’s wounds, I’ll give you even more!”

And then, in the greatest story that will ever been told, the one that I have been talking about for months that you still don’t quite understand. For God so loved the world that has sent the very best gift that God had to send into the world, all that God had, all that God was and is, all that God had to live on, the gift of God’s life. But the world is going to reject this gift. The shocking, overdone grace of it is too much for this sinful world to handle. They are going to torture, humiliate, and kill this gift in the most painful and degrading of ways.  But three days later, God will transform death into life, forgiving the sins of the entire world, proving once and for all, that when it comes to grace, there is something built right into the very nature of God always generously overdoes it.

The question for each of us as we think about stewardship is: how have we responded to this grace? As people who have been called to inherit the generous, self-giving nature of God, as the Body of Christ in this world, how do we live? How do we give? Are we stingy with our love?  Are we miserly with forgiveness? Do we scrimp on grace? Are we tight-fisted with the good news? When it comes to giving to God, when is the last time any of us have generously overdone it?

When we talk about stewardship in the church, Christians love to talk about tithing: giving ten percent of one’s income to the church. We keep 90% and give God 10%. There are a few verses in the Old Testament that allude to it. It seems reasonable, comfortable enough. So we pick out those verses, and we preach it. The problem is: Jesus and the entirety of the Holy Scriptures never once even hint that, when it comes to giving, when it comes to responding to grace, God wants us to be reasonable and comfortable. And when God gave to us, thank God that God was not reasonable. Thank God that God did not remain in the comfort of some heavenly cloud. God came. God emptied and poured out God’s very self. When God gave, God overdid it. God gave it all.

Thus, Jesus never talked about giving ten-percent. He talked about giving it all. The entire Bible says when we give, God expects us to overdo it.

We all know what it means to overdo it. And the sacrifice that overdoing it requires. We have all said it. “I better tighten the old purse strings, because I really overdid on vacation last week.” “We better not go on that ski trip in January, because we really overdid it this year on Christmas.”

We overdo it at the mall. We overdo it at the spa. We overdo it in restaurants. We overdo it on trips. We overdo it at the beach. But when have we ever overdone it at church?

“We better skip going out for lunch today and go home and eat some leftovers, because when that offering plate came my way today, I really overdid it.”

“I don’t think I am going to take that trip this year, because I am really going to overdo it with my pledge to the church.”

Giving ten percent for some may be overdoing it. For others, it might be a sacrifice to give 5%. However, for others, giving 10% may be simply reasonable and comfortable. For some, giving 25% is still reasonably comfortable.

And I believe we all know that God does not want us to be the reasonable, comfortable church on the corner of Church and Main. When it comes to giving to others, when it comes to love, when it comes to grace, when it comes to selfless ministry in our community and in our world, God wants us to be a church that overdoes it in just about everything we do.

One day as Jesus is setting out on a journey a man runs up to him, kneels down at his feet and asks: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this he was shocked and probably silently  responded: “Isn’t that overdoing it a bit?” And he went away grieving, for he had many possessions (Mark 10:17-31).

A very wealthy member of the church was asked by the minister to share a brief testimony during worship about why he believed in stewardship. He agreed. It was the Sunday before the pledge cards were due. He stood up in front of the congregation and said: “You all know me to be a man of great wealth. And it is true. I am a millionaire. But I want to say that I attribute it all to something I did in church as a young boy. I had just earned my first dollar for feeding my neighbors’ dog while they were on vacation. I went to church and there was a missionary speaking. He challenged us to give sacrificially to the work of missions, and since I only had one dollar, I knew that I either had to give all of it to God or none of it. So at that moment, I made a decision. I decided to give my whole dollar, the first money I’d ever earned, all that I had, to God. I believe God blessed that decision and that is why I’m a millionaire today.”

The gentleman made his way back to his seat and there was a sort of awed silence in the room at the power of his testimony. But just as he was sitting down, a little old lady sitting in the pew behind him, leaned over to the man, and in a loud whisper that could be heard throughout the entire sanctuary said, “I dare you to do it again!”

Welcome!

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Sermons Non-LectionaryLeave a comment

jesus_children_orthodoxGenesis 18:1-8 NRSV

Last week I said that the first four stories in our Bible are stories that are considered to be pre-history, that is before the call of Abraham and the history of God’s people. The story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood and the Tower of Babel teach us some very important characteristics about who God is and how God relates to our world. They teach us that our God is a gracious, loving Creator who is committed to suffering with and for all people, people of every nation, race, color and creed.

The stories that follow in Genesis teach us what should be the very important characteristics of the people who claim to worship and serve this God.

Verse one of chapter eighteen is one of the most loaded verses in the entire Bible. “The Lord appeared to Abraham* by the oaks* of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day.”

When you worship the Lord, the creator of all that is, the one who graciously loves and forgives, the one who is compassionately involved in the creation, stirred by it, moved by it, then you never know when the Lord may appear. It could be the most ordinary of days while you are doing the most ordinary of things, like sitting on your front porch in the heat of the day. You may or may not be in the right frame of mind to recognize the presence, but the presence is nonetheless real and nevertheless powerful.

Abraham is minding his own business in the middle of the day when, out of nowhere, three strangers appear on the street. Next, Abraham simply does what the Bible says the people of God do for others, he very welcomes them with a generous hospitality.

When he sees them, he does not safely call out to them from a distance. He does not cautiously walk over to them. And he certainly does not practically ignore them and allow them to walk on by. When he sees them, the scriptures say that he runs to meet them.

And when he encounters these strangers, he does not stand arrogantly over them, above them, but humbly bows himself to the ground before them and speaks to them like a servant.

“Please do not pass me by. Let me get some water and wash the dust off your feet. Let me make a place for you to rest in the shade. My wife, Sarah, bakes the best bread. Come and allow us to serve you. Then, you can continue your journey, refueled and refreshed.”

When the strangers agree to stay a while, Abraham can hardly contain himself. He runs back inside, “Hurry, Sarah, prepare three cups of choice flour, knead it, and bake a delicious cake. He then runs out back to the field and takes the best looking calf of the flock and has his servant prepare a delicious dinner. He brought it to them under the shade tree and waited on them while they ate.

And as verse one suggested, we later discover that these three strangers were actually angels, messengers from God. When we welcome the stranger, the Bible tells us, we may be welcoming God. When we welcome others, the Lord appears.

We also see this very clearly in the New Testament. In chapter 10 of Mark’s Gospel we read the following words of Jesus to the disciples, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me” (Mark 10:40-42). In the previous chapter we read where Jesus took a little child in his arms, and said, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me” (Mark 9:36-37).

And in Matthew we read Jesus’ words, “I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me.”

Do you see the pattern here? Jesus said that when we welcome others, we are welcoming Jesus. And Jesus said when we welcome him, we welcome God.

When we open the doors of the church wide, when we invite others in, when we let them know that we are glad that they are here, we are welcoming the Lord himself.

There was once a monastery that had fallen on hard times. The order was dying out. There were only five monks left, the abbot and four others.

The monks feared that the monastery would have to be closed. In their desperation, they went out and sought counsel from a wise man they knew who lived in a hut in the woods that surrounded their monastery.

The wise man agreed to a meeting to talk with the abbot regarding the fate of their monastery. The meeting was very brief. The wise man said that he really did not have any great advice to give them, but he could say this: that the Messiah was among them.

The abbot returned to the monastery, where the monks were waiting eagerly to hear what the wise man had said. “Please tell us! What do we have to do to save the monastery?”  “Well,” the abbot replied, “the wise man was rather cryptic. He simply said that the Messiah is among us.”

“The Messiah is among us?” All of the monks scratched their heads. How could the Messiah be among them? As they pondered the meaning of these words, the monks soon began to think of each member of the order as a possible Messiah. They started to treat one another with tremendous respect and kindness. And when people came to visit, they treated each of them as if they could be the Messiah, too.

People from the surrounding area often came to picnic on the monastery’s beautiful grounds, to walk along the paths, and to pray in the chapel. The visitors were amazed by the welcome they received from the monks. There was an aura of respect and love that filled the place, making it strangely attractive, even compelling. Hardly knowing why, they began to come back to the monastery more frequently, to picnic, to play, to pray. They began to bring their friends to show them this special place. And their friends brought their friends. Some of the younger men who came to visit talked more and more with the old monks, and they began to join the order. So before long, the monastery had once again become a thriving order, and a vibrant center of light and love for people all over the realm.

When I first joined the conversations you were having a year ago to renovate our windows, to remove the stained plexiglass and replace it with a clear plastic so the windows could be seen from the street, I said that the need was not only aesthetic, as they looked horrendous, but it was also theological. To keep this beauty, the beauty of our Lord and Savior, inward, only unto ourselves, inside these walls was simply a theological travesty.

I have said recently that our education building needs to be renovated or at least refurbished. And like the windows, the need is not only aesthetic, it is also theological.

We have a great building and grounds committee; however, they cannot do it all by themselves. Our buildings are too old, have too many needs for just one committee to do it all by themselves. To be good stewards of our property, to make this a warm, welcoming place, we need to have many more work days like the one we had yesterday in the basement. I want to encourage you to walk through the education building, do it today if you have time, make sure you go upstairs, and ask yourself: what would you do to the building if you knew the Messiah was coming for a visit? Would you paint the walls? If so, what color? Would you paint the windows? Would you replace the ceiling tiles that are stained? Would your replace ceiling tiles that are missing?  What would the plaster in this room look like? Would it be chipped, stained, faded, discolored?

I want us to work hard in these nine months to finish the basement,  and make it a place of welcome for children; renovate our education building, and make it a warm and inviting place for all children; put up a playground right off of church street and make it a sign to the community that this church welcomes children; not so much because we want our church to look nice and pretty, not so much because we want to be proud when we invite over 100 children and their families here next June for the community Vacation Bible School, but because we take the words of Jesus very seriously when Jesus, holding a child in his arms, says, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me” (Mark 9:36-37).

Fred Craddock, one of my favorite preachers, tells a story about going to church when he was a boy. He said that every Sunday morning, his mother took him to church with his sister. When the service was over, he said they followed their mother like little ducks out of the church. As the preacher stood at the door greeting folks, he would always say, “Mornin’ Mrs. Craddock.”  Then he would address the kids, “Good mornin’, Sonny. Good mornin’, Honey. The next Sunday, “Good mornin’ Mrs. Craddock, Good mornin’, Sonny. Good morning, Honey.” Every Sunday, “Good mornin’ Mrs. Craddock, Good mornin’, Sonny. Good morning, Honey.”

Then one day there was a new preacher. After he had been there a few weeks, as the Craddock family filed out of church, he said, “Good mornin’, Mrs. Craddock. Good mornin’, Fred.” And Fred Craddock said, “He was the best preacher we ever had, because there’s a big difference between Fred and Sonny.”

What a difference a genuine welcome makes. We all long for a place to call home. We all long for a place of welcome. Where we look around and it is obvious that someone cares about us, wants to know our names. Even the walls say they care.

As Disciples of Christ, we do not have a creed we follow. But we have a statement of identity. Part of it is on our church sign today. More than anything else, I want it to be the identity of this special place on the corner of Church and Main. I want it to be clear to all, not only through our actions and our words and our living, but also through our bricks and our mortar: “We welcome all to the Lord’s table as God has welcomed us.”

So let us commit ourselves to welcoming all, for when we welcome others with all that we are and with all that we have, we are welcoming God in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Grace in Genesis: Tower of Babel

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Grace in Genesis Sermon Series, Sermons Non-LectionaryLeave a comment

Tower_of_Babel

Genesis 11:1-9 NRSV

The pastor stands up behind the pulpit, clears his throat, and announces: “This morning we are going to talk about race and racism.”

All over the sanctuary the congregation winces, and beg under their breaths: “Preacher, please don’t do it, for you’re about to open up a giant can of worms!”

But the old preacher, who has opened up more cans of worms than anyone could possibly count, ignores the grimaces and metaphorically gets out the can opener.

I hear many people in the church say that we should not talk about race or make race an issue. However, I believe we make it an issue when we pretend that it is a non-issue. I believe we do great harm to the cause of Christ when we ignore racism or deny that it exists. Furthermore, if we are to accept and do the will of God that I believe is revealed in the story of the Tower of Babel, the church must be willing to openly talk about race and the inherent racism that is prevalent in our families, our town, our region, our world, even in our own hearts.

In the eleventh chapter of Genesis we read:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

The whole earth was one. One language. One people. One tribe. One race. And they all came together to live in one place. They all came together to build something special, something big, something wonderful that would be a symbol of their unity, pride and patriotism.

Now, what is not to like about that?

Unity, oneness, togetherness, harmony, people of the same minds living in one accord.  Isn’t that the aspiration of all? Isn’t true that great minds think alike? Isn’t this the will of our God, God’s great purpose for humanity?

So what’s not to like in this seemingly perfect picture of unity in Genesis chapter 11? As it turns out, according to God, the creator of all that is, not very much.

Let’s look at God’s reaction to this oneness in verse 7 of our story: “Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.”  So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth…”

What? Are you serious? What is wrong with this great portrait of human unity, of one race of people, one nation, under God indivisible, all of one mind, coming together to make a name for themselves, to build great things, to be on top of the world, to celebrate their purity and pride as one master race?

The truth is that the builders of the great tower in Shinar had accomplished not what God wants for humanity, but what many throughout history, including the likes of Adolf Hitler and the Ku Klux Klan, have wanted for humanity: One master race of people coming together to form one supreme social order, one culture, sharing the same ideals, values and moral principles. Diversity is a threat. Diversity is something to fear. Diversity is something to segregate and discriminate. Diversity is something to send to the gas chambers or lynch in a tree.

I am not sure if anyone in my lifetime has articulated the thinking of the people of Shinar better than Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker back in 1999. Some of you may remember his response when he was asked by Sports Illustrated if he would ever play for the New York Mets or New York Yankees.

Rocker said:

I’d retire first. It’s the most hectic, nerve-racking city. Imagine having to take the number 7 Train to the ballpark looking like you’re riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It’s depressing… The biggest thing I don’t like about New York are the foreigners. You can walk an entire block in Times Square and not hear anybody speaking English. Asians and Koreans and Vietnamese and Indians and Russians and Spanish people and everything up there.[i]

The story of the Tower of Babel teaches us that what John Rocker said racked his nerves in the world is what God wills for the world. In verse 4 we read that the purpose of building the tower was to avoid what depressed John Rocker on the No. 7 train leaving Manhattan for Queens, and to avoid what John Rocker heard in Times Square. The purpose of settling in Shinar and building that tower was to live in a world with no foreigners, no confusing babbling in the streets, no queers or kids with purple hair to encounter on the way to work, no eating in the marketplace with people on strange diets, no rubbing elbows with people wearing weird clothes, head coverings or dots on their foreheads. So they came together and said, let’s build a tower of unity “to not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” And God’s reaction to this racial purity and pride was to “scatter them over the face of the whole earth,” to create a world of diverse languages and cultures, to create a world of foreigners.

God was only accomplishing what God had always willed for the creation: diversity. In chapter one of Genesis, we read that the original plan for creation was for humankind to “multiply and fill the earth.” And after the flood in chapter ten we read where God sanctions and wills all nations to be “spread out over the earth.” (Gen 10:32). Simply put, from the very beginning of time, in spite of our will, in spite of our fear and our racial pride, God wills diversity.

Therefore, if we ever act or speak in any manner that denigrates or dehumanizes another because of their race, language, nationality or ethnicity, we are actually disparaging the God who willed such diversity. According to Genesis, diversity is not to be feared, avoided, prevented or lynched. If we want to do the will of God our creator and redeemer, diversity is to be embraced. In other words, if we love God, we will also love our neighbor. And this is what God wants us to be united by. It is why Jesus called it the greatest commandment—love God and our neighbors as ourselves. Love is what should unite us; not racial pride or patriotism.

The story of the Tower of Babel belongs to the same genre of the stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel and Noah and the Flood. They are considered to be “pre-history stories.”[ii] That is, they are describing God’s relationship to the world before the call of Abraham and the history of the Jewish people. It amazes me how God in each of these stories is so often misinterpreted by Christians who believe that the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath; not a God of grace. They say that they believe Jesus Christ is God; however, they fail to see Christ in these stories.

Consequently, God is often seen as one who curses Adam and Eve by kicking them out of the garden instead of as one who bends to the ground and clothes them with grace. God is seen as someone who curses Cain by sending him to the land of Nod, instead of as one who protects his life with a mark of grace. God is seen as one who curses all of humanity with a great flood with the exception of one family, instead of one who makes a decision to graciously suffer alongside all of humanity. And here in this story, God is seen as one who curses the builders of the tower by scattering them over the face of the earth, instead of being seen as one who reacts to racial pride and unity by fulfilling the purpose of creation from the very beginning, filling the earth, by graciously creating diverse languages, races and cultures.

The tragic irony is that throughout history many have used the story of the Tower of Babel to support slavery, apartheid, segregation and other forms of racism. Bob Jones University once used this story to ban interracial dating on campus. However, this story teaches something very different. The story of the Tower of Babel is God’s gracious stamp of approval, of blessing, on every race, every tribe, and every language in every land. It is the fulfillment of God’s original purpose for creation. The song we learned as little children cannot be more true: “Red, yellow, black and white, they are all precious in God’s sight.” God is not color-blind, as I hear some say, for God creates, wills, blesses and loves color. And it is this love that unites us all, as we have all been created to harmoniously see humanity as God sees it: as a beautiful, diverse, colorful rainbow created by, sanctioned by, and graced by God.

As a Bible-believing Christian, it confounds me when I hear that another, supposedly, Bible-believing Christian, has decided to put their house on the market and move because a person or a family of another race has moved into their neighborhood. I often think about this story in the first book of our Bible that describes a beautiful and diverse creation willed by God. But I also think about a passage in the last book of our Bible that describes an eternity willed by God. And I wonder what in the world these people, who claim to be Christian, are going to do if they do get to that place they think they are going after they die to live forever and ever.

Because guess what? According to Revelation, heaven looks more like Times Square and that No. 7 train on the way from Manhattan to Queens than some affluent suburb outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

In Revelation 7, we read these words:

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’  And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures [each representing the diversity of all creation], and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’

[i] Read more: John Rocker – At Full Blast – York, Braves, City, and League – JRank Articles http://sports.jrank.org/pages/4014/Rocker-John-At-Full-Blast.html#ixzz39oVUCEtA

[ii] See Walter Brueggemann Genesis

 

Other Sermons in this Series:

Grace in Genesis: Adam and Eve

Grace in Genesis: Cain and Abel

Grace in Genesis: Noah

 

Grace in Genesis: Noah

On By Rev. Dr. Jarrett BanksIn Grace in Genesis Sermon Series, Sermons Non-LectionaryLeave a comment

Rainbow-flood-ark

Genesis 6-9 NRSV

The Ebola virus is spreading throughout the world, recently killing a renowned doctor. Financial turmoil has seized Argentina. A Malaysian plane was shot down over Ukraine, and fierce fighting has broken out around the wreckage. The death toll rises in Gaza as deadly violence occurs every day. Israel has attacked a UN school killing 20 evacuees. Mobs of Islamic militants have killed dozens in China. Christians in Iraq are being murdered for their faith. An unprecedented crisis at our own border continues. Immigrant families are being torn apart. Kidnapped Nigerian girls for whom churches all over the world prayed, including ours, are still missing. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright summed up the state of the world last week in one simple sentence: “To put it mildly, the world is a mess.”

I am sure I am not the only preacher to point out that the state of the world today is reminiscent of a story found in the early chapters of Genesis. It begins just one chapter after of the story of Cain and Abel, the world’s first two brothers. In Genesis 6 we read:

The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.

In other words, the state of the world, the state of the human heart, caused God great suffering. Other translations read that the state of the world “broke God’s heart.”

We know the rest of the story. The Lord said, “I will blot out from the earth the human beings I have created” and in Genesis 7, we read that for forty days and nights the rains fell as God intended to start the whole thing over with Noah and his family.

It is an absolutely dreadful chapter. Whoever that first person was who decided to sentimentalize the holocaust of Genesis 7 into some sweet, adorable bedtime story for children needed to have their head and quite possibly their soul examined.

And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all human beings; everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth.

We even teach our children silly songs to dull the horror:

The ark started moving, it drifted with the tide The unicorns looked up from the rocks and they cried And the waters came down and sort of floated them away That’s why you never see unicorns to this very day.

“Sort of floated them away.” That’s certainly a nice way to put it.

The scene is horrific; however, it makes perfect sense to many of us. And some of us, deep down, may even like it. For this is how we would rule if we were God; thus, this is how we like to picture our God. Our God is an awesome God. There is “thunder in his footsteps and lightening in his fists.” If you are wicked and evil, if you are mean and hateful, if you are not a Christian, you better look out, for our God will come down and blot you out! Our God controls the sea, creates and steers the hurricanes, breathes tornadoes and spits wildfires, speaks earthquakes and sends or withholds the rain. Our God is an immovable force with which to be reckoned. Our God is a volcanic eruption, an avalanche, a tsunami, a hail storm, and a great flood. After all, we don’t call those things acts of God for nothing. So you better be believing, be shaping up, be straightening out, and be getting yourself right. This is the portrait of the God made in our own image.

However, in spite of what we may have learned in Sunday School, and in spite of what we may want to believe, this is NOT the portrait of the God that is painted in the story of Noah. The God of Noah is not an immovable force that stands safely behind, lords comfortably over, or reigns painlessly above the brokenness and suffering of humankind. The God of Noah is very much moved by it, broken by it. The God of Noah grieves and suffers with, alongside it, in it, and through it.

Just one chapter after the flood scene, the futility of the intentions of the God made in our own image to rid the world of evil became painfully obvious, as the state of the world had not changed. It is the concept, the understanding of God that changes. After the flood “…the Lord said in his heart, ‘I will never again curse the ground because of humankind, for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done.’”

In the following chapter, we read where the rainbow is forever a beautiful reminder of this great promise.

Sadly, I believe we tend to forget what this promise truly means. Perhaps it is due to the selfish inclination that we have had since our youth. But for whatever reason, we tend to only remember that the rainbow means that God will never again try to “blot us out.” Selfishly, we think the rainbow is about us.

However, this promise means so much more. And it is not about us at all. It is about who our God truly is and how our God acts and relates to this world. The rainbow means that our God has freely and deliberately chosen a path of suffering. God has intentionally chosen to grieve. The rainbow is a reminder to each of us that the state of our world, the state of our hearts, continually breaks the very heart of our God.

And again, those of us who call ourselves “Christians” or “Disciples of Christ” should not be surprised.

There is a reason that when we read the words of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah about “a man of suffering acquainted with infirmity who is wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities,” there is no doubt in our minds to whom the prophet is referring.  And I do not think it is a coincidence that we find following words in the very next chapter:

“With everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer, “This is like the days of Noah to me: Just as I swore that the waters of Noah would never again go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

Our God is an awesome God. But not because God is an immovable force to be reckoned with. Our God is an awesome God because our God is a suffering and grieving, merciful and gracious, compassionate and deeply-moved Spirit who beckons us to join with this Spirit in a loving relationship.

There is a reason Jesus said to his disciples that the “Son of Man must suffer many things.” It is the very nature of who our God is. There is a reason whenever Jesus encounters human suffering, sickness and death, the gospel writers tell us that he was moved at the very core of his being with compassion.  There is a reason at the death of Lazarus we read, “Jesus wept.” There is a reason Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” For unimaginable suffering and inconceivable pain was his lot. Furthermore, there is a reason the soldier standing at the foot of the cross, standing under a bruised, bloody and crucified body exclaimed: “Surely this man was the Son of God” (Matt 27).

There is a reason that each Sunday we break bread, symbolizing the broken body of Christ and drink from a cup symbolizing the shed blood of Christ. And there is a reason those symbols of suffering give us hope and lead us to follow this way. There is a reason we sing: “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all”

There is a reason we are called to be with, and minister to, the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned, the sick, the grieving, the least of these our brothers and sisters. And there is a reason that when we do, we encounter God.

Before I went to seminary and thoroughly studied the scriptures, I used to think that the job as a minister was to have all of the answers for the suffering of this world. Stand above the suffering, over the pain. Thus, when I would visit the hospital or a nursing home or go the home of someone who had just lost a loved one, I thought I was supposed to say something that would bring healing and hope. I thought I was supposed to say something that would bring some type of cure. I was supposed to come with power and might, come with thunder in my footsteps and lightning in my fists, come with a vengeance and a cure, wipe out, blot out the source of their ill. However, I quickly learned that all I really needed to do was just show up, be present and care. Care; not cure. Be present with compassion, which means to suffer with, grieve alongside and hurt together with another. And when I truly care, when I truly have compassion, someway, somehow, I believe God also shows up. And it is through God, through God’s presence and God’s compassion, through God’s suffering and grief, through God sharing the pain with and alongside us, through God’s heart breaking with ours, through God’s care, that a cure comes. Healing and hope and salvation come.

This is the great promise of the rainbow in this world that, to put it mildly, is a mess. And this is the good news of the gospel. This is grace, and this is hope, yesterday, today and forever.  Amen.