A New Beginning, Sermon, Aug. 26

Pent21C.07.
Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
August 26, 2007
A New Beginning (Beginning of the Christian Education Year)
Isaiah 58:9b-14; Hebrews 12:18-29; Luke 13:10-17

Something common to the parables and stories of the Bible is that they tell us about changed lives. Embedded in many of the stories are words like, rise up, you are free, your sins are forgiven, or “my son who was dead is now alive”. The language is not by accident. The changed life is the Christian message. The changed life is the work of God in us is to give us resurrection.

You see, in Sunday School we learn the stories about the people in the Bible; But knowing the stories is only part of it. The Bible, in a sense, is in dialog with us. We learn the stories so that we can ask the questions the Bible is asking, like: who are you in the story? When it tells about transformation it is asking: what needs transformation in your life? When it shows that the power of God is at work to bring life back for a person or in a relationship, it is asking, in what ways are you in need of resurrection?

One of the most puzzling things I encounter, however, as a Christian leader is that this transformation will happen to some people but not for others. Two people have equal opportunity for transformation. It happens for one but not the other. One has a new life, the other doesn’t.

This morning we hear again the story of two people in need of resurrection. Again it will happen to one and not for the other. Let’s take a look at these people and then allow it to be a lens to look at our self and hear Christ’s call for us to rise up.

Jesus was teaching in the synagogue as the guest preacher for the day. Among the people he sees coming into the synagogue is a woman. This is what it says about her: She is “a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for 18 years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.” And this is what Jesus says about her later: “Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for 18 long years be set free from this bondage?”

I have heard this story many times, but I have assumed that she had a physical disability and Jesus healed her of that. That is not what it says, however. It says that she had a spirit that had disabled her for 18 years and she has been bound by Satan. It could also be assumed that what has disabled this woman was not physical but her disability is in her spirit; it was affecting her relationship with God. It had created a distance in her life between herself and God. Perhaps, it was her life that was bent out of shape for 18 long years. Most of us have had those times when we were bent out of shape about something or we are living with such a person, or we are working with such a person.

Whatever it is that has gotten us bent out of shape, it consumes our thinking. It comes out in what we say; and sometimes it distorts the way we actually look. This distortion can become so much a part of our identity that it becomes the center of our life. Anything that becomes the center of our life, is taking the place of God. That is like a death.

This woman was bent out of shape for 18 years. It was in the way of her relationship with God. She wasn’t living the life God intended for her. She was in need of a new beginning. She was in need of a resurrection. Jesus saw what had happened in her life as a bondage from which she needed to be set free. He touched her. She stood up straight. She was free from what bent her life out of shape. Her life was changed to be one of praise. God was again at the center of her life.

But she was not the only person getting attention in this story. There is also the synagogue leader.

I can’t help but smile when I picture this scene. Here is what seems to be the original church parking lot conversation. Or, what is also called “the meeting after the meeting”. And what is the content of the conversation? He is criticizing the preacher. Isn’t that priceless! Not even Jesus could impress him. Rather than taking his issue to Jesus, he takes it to everyone else in the parking lot.

The synagogue leader had the responsibility to maintain the reading and faithful teaching of the law. This particular leader took his responsibilities very seriously, even to the point of critiquing the preacher. He challenges Jesus’ authority as a teacher and asserts himself as the authoritative interpreter of Scripture.We soon see that he has used his position in the synagogue for self-importance. Jesus knows that the man is in need of a wake-up call.

“You are such a fake,” Jesus says to him. “The very text you quote about working on the Sabbath also says that your cattle and donkey are not to work either; but you will untie your livestock to do a work on the Sabbath; but you will forbid your own kinship to be freed even though she has been tied up for 18 long years.”

The man is unbending. He expects more than even God does. He has put himself above God. He is in need of resurrection; but he doesn’t see the need.

Two people in the same place at the same time. One who is bent out of shape. The other is unbending. Two people encounter the one who can give them a resurrection. One receives a new beginning. She has been healed from whatever it was that separated her from God and distorted her life. The other could have also had a new beginning but he was so unbending. He wasn’t’ ready to receive it.

That’s the story; and now to the questions the Bible asks us: Who are you in the story? Given what we heard about these people, what has been bending you out of shape and keeping God at a distance? Or, what has made you so rigid that compassion is missing in you; and your passion is no longer about God but about being right? Where are you in need of a new beginning? A resurrection?

There are occasions for us to be either one of these people. There are times in our life, our perspective about life, our planning for life is very distorted. There are times when we are so unbending. When you listen to us it seems that we are convinced that we are even more right than God.

Jesus approached both of these people and he approaches us, too. He has something we can’t give ourselves and that is a freedom from ourselves.

Do you remember what happened to the woman when she was freed? Her life became one of praise of God. Today, it is safe to say, the one who can breathe new life into us and who straightens us out is among us. The questions I want to leave with you are really the questions that the woman and the man in the story were also asked: Are you ready to be freed from whatever it is that distorts your life and has kept God at a distance? Are you ready for the new beginning Christ could give you?

That God can bring healing for us and bring life into us is good news. I hope the transformation that God desires for you today, for whatever it is you need resurrection, will restore you. Amen

Leadership Summit, 1

Every year the Willow Creek Association organizes a Leadership Summit for church leaders and others who could benefit from learning more about leadership. The 2007 Summit was held in Chicago and simulcast throughout the world in real time. There were over 60,000 leaders who attended. I want to share some of the thoughts by a number of speakers. This is the first of my notes.

The speaker was Carly Fiorina. She is one of the most admired business leaders. She served as president and CEO of Hewlett-Packard from 1999 to 2005. Here are notes I took from her interview with Bill Hybels:

• Study what you enjoy.
• the power of the right question.
• I can do what I choose. I can do what I am passionate about.
• People are afraid of what is different. Do not let other people's fear shape you as your burden. Ask: What is the problem we are trying to overcome? What is common ground?
• With "power" there creates a wall that gets in the way. Authenticity means that people feel they can still reach you.

Faith in Uncertainty, Sermon

Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
August 12, 2007
Luke 12:32-40
We learn at a very young age that fear is a great motivator. One of our first fears is to fear our parents. Young children when tempted to do something wrong, will commonly say: “My parents are going to …kill me”. Every parent soon learns to leverage that fear to his or her advantage.

While fear can motivate us, it can also debilitate us. A Fear that is typically described as irrational, unreasonable, and based on unrealistic expectations is called a phobia. Anyone with a phobia knows how debilitating it can be. We are familiar with some of these phobias:

Claustro phobia is (the fear of being trapped in small confined spaces)
Aero phobia (the fear of flying)
Acro phobia (the fear of heights)
Necro phobia (fear of the dead)
Carcino phobia (Extreme fear of cancer)

Recently gephyro phobia that has been brought to our attention. This is the fear of crossing over bridges. Since the bridge in Minneapolis collapsed many people have given crossing over bridges a lot more thought. Recently the newspaper had a story on gephyro phobia, and how one woman manages her fear of crossing over bridges. When I read about that, I thought, I think I have a touch of gephyro phobia. I hate to drive over long and high bridges.

Most of us likely have a touch of some kind of phobia.

The most common fears we seem to have are related to the everyday situations of life, however. We are afraid of what can happen to us. Parents have fears about the care and safety of our children. Students getting ready for school have fears about their classes and how they will fit in. We have fears about starting a new job; moving into a new neighborhood; about reports from our doctor; and about relationships. These fears are not phobias. They are not unrealistic. They come with trying to manage our life and finding stability. Although these fears are about managing life, they absorb a considerable amount of time and energy about our own self and our own well-being.

To the vast majority of us who are trying to manage the everyday things of life we hear the teaching of Jesus: Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid…And he gives us an alternative. The alternative to fears about even the everyday things of life is to trust God. Trust of God is called faith.

The Bible says: faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Assurance is as good as a 100% money back guarantee. Assurance is a sure winner. Conviction is to stake one’s life on something. Conviction is about what we believe to be true. Faith is assurance and it is conviction about God.

So, Jesus says to us: Have no fear, little flock. You can be assured and you can live with the conviction that the life and the future that God desires for you will come to be. Have no fear, little flock.

As many of you know I was in Turkey this summer. It was a surprise to me just how fertile the land in Turkey is. Throughout the countryside there are fields of wheat and vegetables, and groves of olives and oranges. The land was patched with the colors of the fruits of the land. But there was something missing that you see in the fields of the United States. There were no fences. Farmers did not fence off the area of land they owned in order to keep it separate from that of his neighbors. Neither did they build fences to protect it from anything or anyone coming into the field.

No fences. There was a reason for that. There were no fences so that shepherds could lead their sheep through. Where the fields of wheat had been harvested and removed from the field, you might see the field scattered with sheep, feeding on the land. It was the shepherd who led the sheep to where that field was. And the shepherd knew where there was water. And the shepherd knew how to lead them through danger. The sheep went where they were led. They didn’t need to have one thought about what they would eat or drink.

It occurred to me that Jesus saw something similar, and it gave me deeper understanding when he says to us: Have no fear, little flock. It is the pleasure of your Father in heaven to give you. Fear is a fence we construct and it keeps us from going where God our Shepherd, could be leading us.

There are many fences erected by fear, even among people of faith. There are people who even have fear about what will become of the church. Will the church survive conflict? Will the church have enough money? Will people worship God? These also are fears about the everyday things of life; these are fences we build even though Jesus assures His church that not even the gates of hell, not even a fence erected by the evil one, can stand against God’s mission with God’s church.

Jesus tells us: Have no fear, little flock. What Jesus says does not make sense apart from faith. He isn’t saying to get a grip. He is saying to have faith. Assurance. Conviction. Trust in God. How do we get this faith rather than fear? How do we take the lead from God and trust that God will provide what is needed?

First of all, Faith is a gift that God gives to us. Faith is the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the will of God to give faith to any and all of us.

But secondly, I think Jesus is teaching us that faith is also something we need to work at. Faith is not about ignoring our fears but it is to face our fears with the confidence that God will provide even through the darkest and scariest times of life. That takes some work on our part. Working at faith is as the Bible says: to humble ourselves before God (rather than to humble ourselves to the things we fear), casting all our fears on God.

We have to work at this. Naming our fears, and, then, rather than thinking that we have to be brave enough or courageous enough to face them, humble ourselves before God and give those fears over to God. Jesus goes on to teach us, then, that when we cast our fears upon God that something changes in us. Jesus tells us about the transformation of life that happens when we trust God. Because of this transformation we engage life differently. Rather than giving our attention to securing things for our own life, we give attention to what matters to God.

This morning we have shared in an awareness event about what matters to God and that is the God-given right of every person to have food. There are a whole lot of things we can say about how the gathering and distribution of food happens or fails to happen. The concern for justice about these things should be enough to motivate people. But for we, who are Christ followers, this is for us a faith issue. It is about our convictions and our assurances that God will lead us to work at this.

The Bible says: "What does it profit if a man says he has faith but has not works? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.”

This week the ELCA churchwide assembly was in Chicago. One brief report said that within the ELCA we raised $20 million last year for World Hunger. The challenge for the coming year is $25 million. That is a lot of money, one would think. But when you start putting the numbers together, it comes to about $4 a person. And for the coming year, $5 a person. That might be amazing to some but I think it is pathetic. People who live by faith can do much better! And we will when the things that break the heart of God also break our hearts.

Jesus tells us that people of faith are prepared for our master to make himself present at any time. Will he find us doing the work of faith? Or will he find us managing just our own daily existence? Will he find us building our fences? Or will he find us working at faith…working with assurance of things hoped for; working with the conviction of things to come…working with trust of God?

Jesus says that if the master finds those of faith doing the work of God’s kingdom; the master will invite the servants to sit at the table while he serves them. He will provide for their needs. When our master, who is Jesus Christ, finds us motivated by faith, he honors the conviction he sees; he serves us with the abundance of his grace and mercy; He serves us by helping us to see where value for life is found.

Have no fear, little flock.
Your Father in heaven is deeply overjoyed to give you life that matters.
Live by faith. Do the work of Faith with assurance and conviction and trust. Amen.

Sermon, So Long Self (Luke 12:13-21)

Herb Palmer
Faith Lutheran Church, Bellaire
August 5, 2007
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21
“So Long Self”

Today is our day to take a critical look at just what role money has in our life; what does it mean for us to have it; how is it used; and what does our money have to do with God?

Money has always been of interest to people. After his teaching about the Kingdom of God, money is the subject Jesus talks about more than anything else; likely because money has such an important place in our life.

With money we can super size our lives; we can accumulate things for comfort, ambition, travel, education. With money, or the credit to “buy now and maybe pay later”, we can provide the lifestyle we desire. Without money we can’t do most of those things… With money we can plan how to make money work for us; without money we spend our time finding ways to make ends meet. Families are divided over inheritances; marriages that end in divorce can be pretty ugly when it comes to money; the settlement of an insurance claim can go to court over money.

There eventually comes those moments for everyone of us when we expose just how important money is for us and what we are willing to risk in order to have it or at least to have what we call “our fair share”.

Jesus addresses this head on and teaches us a different way of living with money or possessions. The parable Jesus teaches… illustrates an extreme in order to make a point of where life can end up when we live as though life consists of the abundance of possessions.

First of all, let’s take a look at what money is not. Money is not the measure for your value.

The things we have are very often equated with the value of one’s life. When a person’s net worth is calculated it is said, for example: “she is worth $10 million.” Actually the value of all the things that she has is worth $10 million… but the way it is said… is that this is what she is worth. A person’s worth is not measured in money or possessions.

Jesus taught this in very simple math by taking the value of what someone might own and illustrating their value. There was a market, at that time, for birds. They were sold for sacrifices and for food. Jesus, looking at this market economy said: “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?” So, if all you had were 5 sparrows, is your worth two pennies? Jesus teaches: “No, you are of more value than the price of 5 sparrows. You are of more value than many sparrows.” In fact, you are of more value than anything in the marketplace.

We have often heard the teaching of Jesus from John that we are invaluable. There is no way to put a price on a human life: “For God so loved the world that God gave the only Son.” God has valued the world with a love that God was not willing hold back anything of value in order that we would know God’s investment for us.

What might happen if we began to measure the value of life, not by the sum of a person’s possessions, but according to the value God has placed upon them? How might that change your life if you began thinking that your value is not in the things of your life but that your value is given to you by God? And, God is not willing to put a price on what you are worth to God?

If we began to see the value of a person by the value God has for them, how might that influence what we think of people who are different from ourselves; what we think of people who are poor or people who live in other places around the world? That would not only help us to have a proper understanding of what to make of all the things in life; but will help us to place value where God places value.

First of all, then, money is not the measure of one’s life. God determines the value of life. Secondly, God desires to be consulted about the use of our resources.

The parable Jesus shares seems to be one of overwhelming success until we get to the end of it and we are confronted with the reality that this man never bothered for even one second to consider what God would want him to do with his resources.

Jesus makes it clear to us: God will not be ignored. We can gain a lot, Jesus says, and loose our soul. That is exactly what happened to this man. He lost his connection with God and the good that he could have done never happened; the faithful use of his resources was never considered.

How would you like the end of your story to go? How would God tell the story of the decisions we made about our life’s resources? Would it begin with “you fool”; or begin with something like: “Well done good and faithful servant.”

The Bible teaches us that we come into the world with nothing and that is how we are going to leave it. Between our coming and going is life. A significant part of our life is how we use the resources we have. Jesus teaches us to do what the man in the Parable did not do. He teaches us to consult with God. It completely changes how we think about money and how we make decisions about it.

Money is not the measure of one’s life; God desires to be consulted about the use of our resources; and Thirdly, Our life consists of the people around us.

The man in the parable didn’t consult with God and neither did he consider that he was connected to the people around him. Therefore, he never considered the good he could do in his community. He stores up a harvest that even took him by surprise and he fails to see it as a way to make a difference in the lives of other people.

This community of people Jesus was teaching was almost exclusively people who really did not know if they would have food tomorrow. Their produce from the fields in which they worked was for a small elite group of people who took it away at their own discretion. They were familiar with men like the one in the parable; for whom they worked and received very little in return.

Even for the fishermen, if they caught nothing they had nothing to give to their families; and nearly all of what they gathered in was taken from them. It was a very unjust economic system. For the people who were listening to Jesus teach they were hearing that this economic system was contrary to God.

From very early on Christ-followers used their resources, regardless of how much or little they had, to care for one another and to care for the larger community. The Bible says that they shared everything in common so that no one lacked anything that was needed.

They tried to put into practice the words of Jesus: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. Strive for the kingdom of God.” The kingdom of God is lived out or ignored in the witness of our generosity, our compassion, our sharing, and our sacrifices. We are connected to the people around us.

So what does this mean for us? The teaching seems to be very clear: Be blatantly, extravagantly, rich toward God. Consult with God about the matters of how to invest your life. Live with gratitude for what you have. Whatever you have is a blessing; and can be shared.Value your part for the wellbeing of the community. We are not only to be about our own business. We have resources to value what God values. God values people. We have endless opportunities to be part of what matters to God. AMEN

DANGER

The anxieties of the week: grocery store stickers on fruit and crossing bridges.

There was a child who ate, along with their fruit, the sticker that is on fruit and it created an infection. The news about this spread across the country within a day. DANGER when eating fruit. Every parent was instructed to immediately remove the stickers from the fruit as soon as they unpacked their groceries.

And then later this week was the tragedy of the bridge collapsing in Minneapolis during rush hour. Many people were injured and some have died. Immediately the news agencies were questioning the safety of every bridge around the country.

Obviously, these concerns are real. We should have compassion for those who have suffered. The anxiety around these things and the public awareness overload takes a greater toll on us, however. We are being trained to be anxious about everything; what we eat, what we wear, what we breathe, and where we drive. It is accurate to say that we are given "the anxiety of the week".

I don't want to live like that. There are many things around me that can potentially put me in danger. So much of it is random and out of my control. Jesus said something about do not be anxious about life in an unpredictable world and seek the unexpected presence of God. I think that I would rather do that.