Friday, June 30, 2023
Thank You!
Tuesday, June 27, 2023
Ice Cream Social - July 22, 2023!
You are invited to our annual Ice Cream Social!
On Saturday, July 22nd, from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M., come to enjoy good food and friendship! Our menu includes hot chicken sandwiches, bar-b-que sandwiches, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, various desserts - and, of course, ice cream! This is a fundraiser to support the ministry of St. Andrew.
For more information, please call (937) 696-2115. See you on July 22nd!
Sunday, June 25, 2023
Sermon Text for June 25, 2023 - Rev. Larry Lindstrom, Guest Preacher
Sermon
for June 25, 2023
Rev.
Larry Lindstrom
Most
of us know the movie, Mary Poppins. Some of us had the chance to see it when it
first appeared in theaters. And even if you’re too young to remember that, you have
probably still seen the movie on TV. Either way, it is a foundational piece of
childhood for many of us.
And
if you remember that movie, you’ll recall that Mary Poppins offered all kinds of
witty and wise sayings. She had plenty of good advice for the children, Jane
and Michael. In fact, you might recall one scene where the kids were trying to
convince her to give them some special privilege. And they promised that if she
could come through for them, they would be little angels for the rest of the
day. In response, Mary smiled and said, “That’s a pie crust promise: easily
made and easily broken.”
And
she was right, of course. The children spoke without really thinking things
through. Could they promise to be little angels for even a few minutes? Did they
really take into account all the obstacles that might get in their way, like
maybe getting distracted by seeing some new bright and shiny thing? Or maybe
getting on each other’s nerves, as kids often do. So when Mary told them that they
had made a pie crust promise, she was really inviting them to think a little
deeper and to be honest and realistic about themselves and the world around
them.
I
think of that scene when we hear the words of the first reading for today
(Exodus 19:2-8). We find the people of Israel, under the leadership of Moses,
reaching the mountain where God is going to reveal the words that they are to
live by. But first God gives to Moses a general statement, an overview of the
relationship that God wants with the people. The focus is on the mighty acts
that God has performed for them: rescuing them from slavery, carrying them
through the wilderness, providing for them at every turn. And then comes a word
of challenge: God says, in effect, I expect you to be just as committed to this
relationship as I am. Give your heart to me, and you will experience a life of
blessings and joy.
And
how do the people respond when Moses shares those words with them? They make an
amazing statement: we will do everything the Lord has said. Now in fairness, you
can see how they might be inspired to say such a thing. It was undoubtedly
exciting to be there at the mountainside. Just to get there, they had to make
their way through all sorts of dangerous and terrifying challenges. And they
had already experienced God’s protection and power firsthand. God had literally
watched over them every hour of every day. There was a pillar of cloud that had
guided them, protecting them from the enemies all around them. And that pillar
became something like a ring of fire at night, surrounding the Israelite camp
and keeping them safe and secure. They knew that God was able to do amazing
things, because they had witnessed them. So it might seem like the most natural
thing for them to say, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” In other
words, we are with you all the way, God.
On
the other hand, we might look at those words and say, Really? Everything the
Lord has said? Are you sure you understand what you’re committing to? For that
matter, do you remember the other side of the story up to that point? Yes, the
people had been blessed by God in countless ways. But they had not always
responded with gratitude. In fact, just a day or so after leaving Egypt, they
began complaining that they wanted more food to eat. God provided them with
manna, bread from heaven. But after a while, they started complaining about
that. It’s boring, they said. They even started complaining about Moses. We
don’t like some of the things you’re telling us, Moses. Maybe we should have an
election and choose a leader that we really like. The fact is, the track record
of the people was not all that great. So I have to wonder if God might have
said to them, you’re making a pie crust promise: easily made and easily broken.
And in fact, it was. Just a few days after this moment of celebration, while
the people were still in that mountainside camp, they set up a golden calf and
danced around it and ignored the presence and power of God.
But
the story isn’t all negative. Even though the people spoke without really
thinking and even though they let their enthusiasm get the best of them, God
did not give up on them. Even though there were times when we might have
expected that, God reached out to the people again and again. God forgave them
for their failings, and God renewed that call to have them live as God’s people
in the world.
Which
brings us to where we are today. Thanks to the leadership here at St. Andrew,
you and I have this chance to look back and to celebrate. We were partners in
ministry here for more than 30 years. I shared all of that journey with many of
you, while for some the time we had together was much shorter. And I see that a
few of you were not here at all during my time in Farmersville, so we have only
heard about each other. To you, I may be little more than the last name on that
quilt, which is now a little over 30 years old. Way back there, many of the
church members put together that quilt to help tell the story of St. Andrew’s
ministry.
As
I think of all the memories of this place and the people who were part of this
congregation and community, I think in particular about one comment that was a
real blessing to me. I was visiting with one of our elderly saints, who was
living at that time in a care center. She and I were talking about some of the
memories of what her life had been like. It was a good day, and she was feeling
especially good. I got out the Communion set and was preparing the elements to
share with her, when out of the blue she said to me, “I have to tell you, when
you’re around, I just feel closer to God.” It was a short statement, but a
powerful one. I treasured those words, and in fact I still remember them after
all these years. And today I would turn those words around and offer them to
you. During the 31 years that we spent together, I can say that being with you,
I felt closer to God. I came to appreciate the blessings that God has showered
upon the people of this place and upon the work that you do in God’s name. Now
it wasn’t all fun and games; no, we had some lowlights as well as some highlights.
But one of the blessings of having some time to look back on is that those
difficult times tend to fade in the memory, and the joyous times tend to bubble
up to the forefront. There were the weddings, and the baptisms, and the confirmations,
and even the funerals, where we invoked the presence of God in the key moments
of our life together. There were also the carry-in dinners, and the youth
trips, and the church picnics. So many reasons for joy and thankfulness.
Now
today we look, not only backward, but also forward. The reason for our being
with you today is that Elaine and I will be leaving Ohio later this year. We will
seek to serve God in another place. And you will continue to serve God here in
this place. And today all of us can benefit from hearing these words that God
shared with the people back on the mountain so long ago: obey me and keep my
covenant, and you will be for me a holy nation. And what do we say in response
to those words? Like those people long ago, we too have experienced God’s power
and presence in our lives. We have felt God’s touch in times of joy and in
times of struggle. We have shared God’s love with one another. We have been
blessed, and God has used us to be a blessing for others. So we might want to say,
as the people of Israel did, We will do everything the Lord has said. I might
want to assure you that we will continue to be faithful servants among God’s
people in Wisconsin. And you might want to assure me that you will continue to
carry the light of God’s truth and grace here in this part of the world.
But
worship has a way of calling us to take a more serious look at ourselves. Here
we get past the momentary enthusiasm that we might feel as we look back and
enjoy some nostalgia. Here we see another connection we have to the people of
Israel. Like them, we sometimes put off our commitment to God. We say, as they
did later on that mountain, Tomorrow will be a day for serving God. Today we’ll
do our thing. And then later becomes later and still later. We put things off.
And then, before we know it, we begin to wonder if living the life of faith is
really so important at all.
So
we need a wake-up call like this story of Moses and the Israelites at the
mountain. It serves, not only as a window into the past, but also as a mirror
for the present. We can see ourselves in that scene of people making a bold
promise, without really thinking it through. And I hope we can also see our
need to be humble today, to remind ourselves of how much we need the mercy of
God, and to offer thanks for the generous grace that continues to surround us, grace
that never gives up on us, grace that works to make us new people.
“We
will do everything the Lord has said.” Those words were spoken by people who
had experienced God’s goodness and wanted to respond. You and I have also
received God’s blessing and care over the years. I’m thankful that we had so much
time to experience that together. And I pray that each of us will continue to
strive for that great goal of responding to God with our whole life, wherever
we are and whatever we do.
Sunday, June 18, 2023
Sermon Text for June 18, 2023 - "A Father's Faith"
“A Father’s Faith”
June 18, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Today, on this Father’s Day, we give thanks to God for all of the fathers, and father figures, who are here with us today, whom we remember, and who, in different ways, have influenced us and have given us the life we now live. No one of us have had the exact same kind of father or father figure, and no one of us who are fathers are the same in our own experiences or styles. So today, we value our fathers and father figures for who they are and have been; we give thanks for husbands and partners who are fathers; and we who are fathers value and affirm ourselves for who we are, and give thanks for the wonderful gift of our families. More importantly, we give thanks to God that He is our heavenly Father, and the best father we could ever want or hope for.
We already know that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-seeing. We also already know that God created and continues to sustain everything, and that all good things happen because of Him. But we have to be reminded every so often that, because all this is true, God has a special interest in caring for us. The reason He created this world was so we could live in it, and enjoy a close, personal, loving relationship with Him. Even though we may not always love God, He loves us unconditionally. As our provider, nurturer, and protector, God is our loving Father. He is always with us, watching over us at every moment, giving us comfort in moments of trouble, help and assistance in moments of struggle, and guidance in moments of uncertainty. He is always on our side, with us to defend us, and here in both good and bad times. While there may be times when He may seem far away, He is actually never so: He is always near to us. What causes Him to seem far away is whenever we allow our own circumstances to overwhelm us, and focus on our problems and what could or is going wrong, instead of on our Father, and what is or could go right. He is always dependable and reliable, and never lets us down. Sometimes we may not always receive what we want or expect from Him, but we always get what we need. Especially for those for whom this Father’s Day is a struggle, because of negative experiences with fathers, God offers Himself as the best father of all, who is always genuinely and honestly loving caring, with everyone’s best interests at heart, who is always there, never distant, who never leaves, and who is always attentive to everyone’s needs at all times. We also call God our heavenly Father, not only because He lives in heaven, but because He has all the qualities of a heavenly being. Besides being all-powerful and immortal, He is also perfect in His love and mercy: His love for us is, once again, unconditional, freely offered and freely given, without any fear of reneging on that promise. He is also welcoming to everyone, and accepts us, and everyone, just as we are. All these qualities make Him perfect, because He is all of these things without any selfish or ulterior motive: He gives Himself only for the sake of giving, without even necessarily demanding anything in return. This is what Jesus reminds us of when He quotes the passage from Hosea, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” God does not want anything from us except to trust Him and accept what He has to offer us; and accept others the way He accepts us.
All of these were things I actually learned not just from reading the Bible: in order to be able to be inspired to read the Bible, I had to have someone guide me there and help me understand what I was reading. And that was, of course, my own dad. I’m happy to say, by the way, that I’ve just made plans to fly back out to California after Christmas to visit my parents for the first time in four years. I ask for your prayers that, when the time comes, the weather would actually cooperate this year and I would be able to fly out west safely, without any issues. And even though I have been living thousands of miles away from my parents for the last six and a half years, I thank God that I am still as close with them as I’ve always been, especially with my dad. As I’ve mentioned on previous Father’s Days, my dad is still the same man he was when I was growing up: I can still always count on him to provide me with helpful advice, genuine encouragement, wise guidance, and unconditional love, just as he did when I was younger, and as I’ve gone through many different stages in life. He’s been an excellent role model for me for being a dad, especially as I became a dad fourteen years ago, and recently became a stepdad. Though both of us have our own unique and distinct styles when it comes to being pastors, my dad has been a patient mentor and encourager for me over the almost twenty years that I have been ordained. Also, although my own personal and private views on many issues have evolved, and continue to evolve, this has not in any way affected my relationship with my dad, nor has it caused me to stop seeking guidance and advice from my dad, especially as I have struggled in different ways over the years. And one of the most important ways he’s encouraged me is to trust in God at all times, whatever might be happening, and no matter how impossible things may seem.
My dad is certainly an example of putting this into action. As many of you, my dad was diagnosed with cancer back in 2010. Now, thirteen years later, I am pleased to say that he is still very much with us. He’s been able to keep going, even though at times the effects of the chemo, pain from his deteriorated bones, or overall discomfort has been too much to bear. A lot of that can be attributed not only to the excellent medical care he’s received, but to the hard work and dedication my mom has given these many years to making sure he’s had the best life at home he possibly can. But, through everything he’s been through for the past thirteen years, the most important quality he’s demonstrated has been faith. He especially has demonstrated the same kind of faith Abraham had, which Paul talks about in today’s Second Reading in Romans. Even though Abraham couldn’t see how God was going to fulfill the promise He made to make him, Abraham, the father of a great nation, he still believed that God was going to do as He promised, because He had been faithful in everything up to that point. And that’s exactly what happened: God did as He promised Abraham, and Abraham did become the father of the Jewish people – the people from which Jesus, the Savior of the world, was born. In the same way, my dad didn’t know how or whether God would help or deliver him through his cancer, but he continued to trust God every day. While he was going through his chemo and other treatments, he prayed for strength and guidance. He’s also been able to participate in many groups and boards, nowadays virtually, where he’s received a lot of prayer and encouragement. And the result has been that, again, thirteen years later, he is still here, God has preserved his life, and he is still here to be a blessing to me and all my family. And all because he has faith which trusts in God.
Now, normally we think of faith as simply agreeing with theological ideas or propositions. But faith is something more: it is believing that God is who He says He is, and accepting that who He is is something special and personal for us. The statement “God is love,” for example, is actually not a theological proposition or abstract idea: it is a fact which God Himself has demonstrated in visible, real ways. Even in our Old Testament reading from Hosea, God still demonstrates His fatherly love. Even though His people have gone through a severe period of trial and trouble, God will rescue them, bind up their wounds, heal their hurts, and restore them. In fact, He has already done this, by sending His Son, Jesus, who took the consequences for human brokenness on Himself, dying on a cross, remaining dead for two days, and then rising again back to life on the third day. What this also demonstrates is that, again, just as we hear in Romans, God is faithful in everything He promises. Speaking through Hosea, He promises to restore and give life to His people again, and He makes that same promise to us today. If any of you have been broken, your life is messy, you’re going through a major struggle, or you’re having to deal with something you have no idea how to handle, then accept the promise God gives you today. If you come to Him, trust what He promises, and place your life and problems in His hands, He will give you a fresh start for life; clean up whatever mess is in your life; and fight your battles and resolve your struggles for you. In some ways, what you are going through may also be lessons to help you be able to trust and rely on God; and believe that what He promises you is true. I myself can speak from experience that this is true: before coming here to Farmersville, I had to go through a period of trouble and struggle, especially as I was starting to go through a divorce, wasn’t able to see my son regularly, and was finding that many of the approaches and views I held had been harmful for me both as a person and as a pastor; and had caused a number of messes in my life. So, I had to ask God for help, for Him to show me guidance, forgive those things I had done to throw my life off track, and restore me to going in a more healthy direction: all of which I had to undergo in order to start off on the right foot here and be an effective pastor. But none of which I would have been able to endure or know what to do without the example of my dad and his strong faith. So, on this Father’s Day, we are all encouraged to think of the qualities our own dads, and those who have been like dads to us, have passed along to us, and live out the examples they gave us. And let us give thanks to our heavenly Father for being who He is, thank Him especially for His love, care, and power, and trust Him, and His help, with everything at all times.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Sermon Text for June 11, 2023 - "What Foundation?"
What Foundation?
June 11, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Many years ago, some people decide to build a neighborhood out on the ocean, by erecting houses on top of a metal platform right out in the middle of the sea. In the past couple of years, there has been apparently been a trend toward building homes, especially luxury houses, in the middle of the ocean, like in this picture. You have to admit, that does look like a pretty peaceful and beautiful place to live, and, of course, you’d have a lot of privacy out in the middle of the ocean. However, I’m no architect, but I can see one major design flaw with putting a small building like that right out in the middle of the water. Anyone care to guess what it might be? Right. No real solid foundation. What happens when a major storm, like a hurricane, comes up in the ocean? Is that house really going to be secure? Or is it just going to blow away in the wind? Without a firm, solid foundation, such houses are going to be destroyed.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells us a story of two men who built houses: one put his on rock, and the other on sand. When heavy rains came, the house built on rock was shaken, but not destroyed, while the one built of sand was washed away almost immediately. He tells this story to illustrate what happens whenever we listen to Him and follow His teachings. Now, here we have to be really clear about something. We often say that the foundation for our religion, even our faith, is the Bible, and that we stand on the Word of God as our foundation. But it’s actually far more than that. The foundation for our faith is ultimately not just the Bible. Hear me out. Very often we treat the Bible as a rule book, law code, or theological textbook. But instead, the Bible is the written record of God’s love and care for all the world, and especially His people, throughout all time, culminating, and best illustrated, in the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.
We are reminded in today’s Second Reading from Romans, that even the law and the prophets testify to what God had ultimately planned to do through Jesus – to fulfill the requirements of the law by dying on the cross; and then rising again to save all people from eternal death and the power of the enemy, the devil, as the prophets had predicted. This means that we are saved not by anything we do, but by everything Jesus has already done. We especially hear in Romans 3:28, that “we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.” We’ve heard before that what makes us unique as Christians is not that we follow a certain set of rules, but instead that we believe and trust in Jesus as our Lord, God, and Savior. In order to really understand the Bible, we have to have faith in Jesus. The Bible has to be understood and interpreted in light of the life, example, and words of Jesus. Also, as Jesus Himself says, what helps to build up our foundation is putting His teachings into practice. And that is also how we are to approach the Bible, and figure out what it is teaching us: how can we put the teachings and example of Jesus into practice based on what we read? Does what we do agree with Jesus’ example of love, compassion, care, and concern for people? This even goes for the Old Testament: for example, in today’s First Reading from Deuteronomy, we are encouraged to follow God’s commandments so closely that it is as if we were binding them on our hands and foreheads. We are to make them a part of our heart and soul. But what does this mean? It means that we follow God’s ultimate and most important command: to believe in His Son, follow Him, and put our trust only in Him for how to live. We are to have such a close personal relationship with Him that He is deeply embedded in our hearts and souls. And, indeed, choosing to follow and listen to Jesus, or not follow and listen to Jesus, does have consequences. We are blessed with peace, calm, comfort, and assurance by trusting Jesus and listening to Him, especially during times of trouble or struggle. We are also more able to live in peace and harmony with others if we follow Jesus’ example. However, if we choose to ignore what Jesus offers us, then we find that our lives can be more filled with trouble, and even our relationships can become problematic, if we try to stand on our own and go without any help from anyone, especially Jesus. And there are a lot of things which can cause us to do so.
Most of us are familiar with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Well, there’s a particular reason why it’s leaning: in the late twelfth century, when it was first built, it was laid in weak and unstable topsoil, which made making a firm foundation nearly impossible. Over time, the soil has continued to erode, making the foundation even more unstable and insecure. Even though in 1990 something was done to prevent the tower from leaning any further, eventually there will come a day when the erosion underneath the tower will be so great it will cause the tower to fall. Here’s the lesson from the tower: challenges to faith, which can potentially damage or even destroy faith, do not always come as one-time disastrous events or major life happenings. Instead, they take the form of small things that happen over time, causing faith and trust in Jesus to be eroded. These can be things which, if left unaddressed and unchallenged, can destroy our faith. Also, if we allow the failings of other people to get to us, or if we confuse the opinions of other people with the voice of Jesus, that will get to us over time, and allow our faith and trust in Jesus to be eroded.
Also, where I come from in Southern California, right now is the beginning of the most intense part of fire season. It’s being predicted that this fire season is going to get even worse than ones before, because all the rain in recent months caused massive growth, which means more plants, and especially underbrush, to dry out. And since this summer has already become hotter than most, everything’s going to dry out faster. Which means all it takes is one small spark and – boom! – a miles-wide fire can get started in a matter of minutes. At the same time, people have built houses on cliffs overlooking the ocean. Those cliffs are mostly made up of soft dirt, rather than solid soil or rock, and the soil is usually held together literally only by trees and plants. And when the trees and plants dry out or burn up, this means no foundation for the houses, which means whenever rain comes, it causes the mud to slide, erode away at the foundation of the house, and cause the house to be destroyed. In the same way, there are lot of things we are actually doing to allow our faith to be dried out and burned out, which maybe we don’t even realize. A lot of it has to do with how we react when things go wrong in our lives, and how we let it affect us. Furthermore, how we treat other people, or talk about other people, can also affect our faith and our relationship with Jesus. If we focus on anything else except Jesus, then our faith will be eroded. But if Jesus is embedded deeply in our heart and soul, then nothing can force Him out. So, every day, with Jesus’ help, we are to get rid of those things which are wearing us down, and keeping us from a close relationship with Jesus. We are also to do so not on our own, but together with other Christians – which is why it is important for us to continue praying for each other; and supporting and encouraging each other, rather than tearing each other down.
We Christians especially need to focus more on building each other up and supporting each other. Unfortunately, for far too long we’ve allowed opinions, politics, ideologies, prejudices, and differences, especially when it has come to interpretations of the Bible, to cause us to tear each other down. For the sake of pursuing peace and greater cooperation among Christians, and especially among Christian individuals, groups, and churches, there are certain interpretations of the Bible over which we have to agree to disagree. Instead, we are to focus on what our common foundation is: our faith in Jesus. We are to think of it as living in the same neighborhood, and underneath all the houses in which we live is one common solid foundation holding up all our houses: Jesus. If we are able to build each other up, and cooperate more closely, then we will be able to bring about a revival.
There is no doubt that we need some sort of revival in our country. But the revival we need is not some sort of moral or social renewal, or a return to any particular value system. It is also not defending Jesus: Jesus doesn’t need to be defended, He needs to be imitated. So, it is instead a return to following Jesus, heart and soul. It is laying aside everything which has been keeping us from following Jesus and trusting only in Him, and letting it be consumed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, burned away never to trouble us any longer. We also need a revival from the Holy Spirit to set us on fire to make us burn with an even greater desire to follow Jesus by imitating Him, which will cause others to want to know and believe in Him. It is also bearing those fruits which come from following Jesus, which are the fruits of loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves. This is where the true revival is going to come from, and this is how it can start with us. If we put ourselves back on the firm foundation of Jesus, we will not only stand firm, but we will help others to do the same. So, let’s put aside everything else, put ourselves back on that foundation, and start listening to Jesus again today!
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Sunday, June 4, 2023
Sermon Text for June 4, 2023 - "Authority!"
“Authority!”
June 4, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and
peace be to your from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
Amen.
Who’s in charge here? We look around, and we ask that question. Though in some ways things have improved, in other ways they have been going downhill. We have recently had to deal with debates over raising the government debt limit; continually rising prices at the grocery store; rising energy and resource costs; and uncertainty in other areas. We are in many ways dealing with a changing world. So we ask, who’s really ultimately in charge? Is it the government, the market forces, or even the media? And the answer is, thank God, none of the above.
Today we remember, and rejoice, as
to who is really in charge, and who has true authority over us and this world.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says, “All authority in heaven and on earth
has been given to me.” We celebrate that Jesus died to free us from sin’s power
and death, and now has risen again, victorious and never more to die. We also
celebrate Trinity Sunday, and remember that Jesus is part of that Trinity, the
Son of the Father, who has given us the Holy Spirit, as we talked about last
week on Pentecost.
Even though it would be easy to preach
an entire sermon trying to explain, in a highly theological manner, the nature
of how the Trinity works, what is needed instead is to be motivated to action. It
is time for us to move on past doctrine and into living – living out what we
believe in response to who God has shown Himself to be to us. But we still have
to keep in mind who God is for that to happen: He is our Father who created us,
gives us life, and continues to provide us with everything we need; Jesus, the
Son, who died and rose again to save us and give us eternal life; and the Holy
Spirit, who continues to sustain us with the power and ability to follow God
and live for Him. Each of the three are distinct from each other, and shown to
be distinct from each other in the Bible, yet are all worshipped together as
one God. All three, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, are equally divine, immortal,
all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-seeing. Yet if we try to explain how the
Trinity works in a logical manner, we will probably end up being distracted, if
not confused. There are certain parts of our Christian faith which we simply
take on faith – even though we may not be able to explain or fully understand
them, we simply believe because the one who is who He is has shown Himself to
be the authority time after time. He has especially done so in acts of love and
kindness to us, as He has used His supreme and sovereign authority to help us,
often in unexpected or seemingly impossible ways. God does not just exist for
Himself: He exists to be fully in relationship with us. And that is how we are
to think of God today: as someone we are in a lifelong relationship with.
Even though it may be a cliché to
some, we really can say, with confidence, that being a Christian is a
relationship, not a religion. Strange as it might sound, being a Christian is
not defined by adherence to certain doctrines or interpretations, but instead
by living in a daily, close relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
This means that anyone, of any background, experience, or lifestyle, who is
walking daily with God, is called a Christian. And as a Christian, someone who
is both living under the authority of God, and who has authority from living
for Him.
But what is authority, exactly? There
are, in fact, two definitions of authority: the first is “The power or right to
give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience.” The second is “The right
to act in a specified way, delegated from one person or organization to
another.” That first definition of authority belongs only to God. God, and God
alone, has the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce
obedience, because He alone created the world, and knows what really is best
for the world. He alone has the right to make decisions, and He frequently uses
His decision-making power for our benefit. He alone also has the right to
enforce obedience, but He does so not in a forceful, unfair, or coercive manner;
instead, He gently guides those who have gone astray with love and compassion,
seeking to spare and preserve, rather than destroy vengefully. However, we must
remember that we ourselves do have authority – but that authority is one which
is derived from the second definition, the right to act in a specified way, delegated
from one person to another. We have the right, and freedom, to act in a specified
way, to act as God would act toward other people – with love, compassion,
forgiveness, understanding, fairness, and acceptance. And if we act in this
way, then we will be exercising our authority to make this world into the kind
of place God wants it to be. We are to hear the words which God speaks through
Moses in today’s First Reading from Deuteronomy, verse 40: “Keep his decrees
and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you.” So,
it is time for us once again to live out what we are really commanded, in order
to live a better life – and make life better for other people.
Which means it’s time for us to
reclaim our rightful authority. As followers of Jesus, we start with the
authority we have in prayer: believe it or not, whenever we pray, we invoke the
power of God over sickness, trouble, struggle, and the devil. We claim and
exercise authority – divine authority – whenever we pray for God to come and help
us, or someone else. But we also need to exercise our other kind of authority. We
are not called to dictate, but to act. We are not called to police the culture,
but to seek out relationships across boundaries, and build bridges. We are
called not to defend our faith, but to live it out visibly with humility. We
are not called to hold the line, but to make cooperative relationships with
other Christians, and with the world – for the purpose of seeking out and
making disciples, as well as making the world a better place. We are called not
to keep people out, but to reach out, welcome, and embrace – just as God has welcomed
and embraced us. We are not called to impose rules or standards, enforce
obedience, but instead simply to live out the command of Jesus: love God, love
people, and love ourselves, and teaching others to do the same.
Here’s a question: have you ever
wanted to rule the world? Be honest. All of us have said, at some time or
other, “If I was in charge…”, or “If I ruled the world…” and then said how we
would make things. Well, guess what – today’s your lucky day!
You can actually be in charge,
and you can rule the world! But not in the way you think. Remember, authority
is delegated from another person. But believe it or not, God has delegated us
to rule the world. If you really want to be in charge, live as God lives toward
others. If you want a better world, start today, where you’re at right now,
with loving God, your neighbor, and yourself. If you want to make your own
world better, start with nurturing your relationship with God, and growing
closer to Him. If you want a better society, follow Jesus’ command by going, and
teaching others to follow Jesus by your own example. When you take Communion in
just a few minutes, be filled with the power of God to live as He lives; and,
as we will sing together afterwards, tell everyone what He has done. Exercise
your authority today – and go follow God!
Now may the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord,
Amen.
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