Sermon: October 19, 2008

Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

 

 

                                                            Matthew 22:15–22

 

 

 

            I thought that we would start off different today.  So I have some riddles for you.  What do you call a kitten drinking lemonade – a sourpuss.  How about – why did King Kong climb to the top of the Empire State Building – he was too big for the elevator.  What do you call a zipper on a banana – a fruit fly.  OK.  I got one more for you.  What do lazy dogs do for fun – they chase parked cars.

            OK now before you come and take me away for finally having gone over the edge, there is a point to all of this.  You see the Pharisees in our story were giving Jesus a riddle of sorts.  They were trying to get him to make a mistake.  They ask Him a question that there is no way for Him to answer without getting into trouble.  They ask Him if it is permissible under Mosaic Law to pay taxes to Rome.  There is just no right answer to that question.  If he says no – don’t pay your taxes to Rome – the Roman soldiers will come and take Him away for preaching sedition – telling the people – in public – to disobey their government.  That’s treason – or something like that. 

            Now if on the other hand He says that they should go ahead and pay their taxes, well, the people aren’t going to be too happy with Him.  They hated Rome.  They hated having to pay their taxes to an occupying army.  They were looking for a Messiah.  They were looking for someone who would help them get rid of Rome – someone who would re-establish the Kingdom of David.

            The Pharisees thought that they finally had Jesus.  If He says, don’t pay your taxes the people will love the answer but the Roman Soldiers will come and take Him away and they will be rid of this Jesus.  If on the other hand He says, pay your taxes, the people will get angry and Jesus will immediately lose His popularity with the people and He will soon disappear.  It’s a win – win for the Pharisees.  Either way they get rid of this Jesus once and for all.

            But Jesus is too cool for their trick question.  What does He say?  He says give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.  Give to God the things that are God’s.  Cool answer.  I know what that means.  As far as being a citizen of this country, it means that I should pay my taxes.  I should obey all of the laws.  Do what my government tells me to do.  In short be a good, loyal and model citizen.  On the other hand, I should give to God what is God’s.  I should go to church.  Pray.  Study my Bible.  Give my tithe.  And be kind to women, children, and dogs.  That’s our understanding in this country of what we call Separation of Church and State.

            If we are honest.  That is how we have always understood this story.  But that – I don’t think – is what Jesus meant.  You see, I think that He answered their riddle with a riddle of His own.  Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and give to God the things that are God’s.  What is that are Caesar’s that we should be giving to him and what exactly are the things that are God’s that we should be giving to God.  And the understanding of His riddle is found, I think, in the answer to one simple question.  Exactly what is God’s – what exactly is it that we owe to God?  The answer is – everything.  I owe Him my allegiance.  I owe Him my loyalty.  I owe Him my obedience.  I owe Him all that I am and all that I hope to be.  I owe Him my Time.  I owe Him my talents.  I owe Him my treasures.  I am to love the Lord my God with all of my heart, with all of my soul, with all of my mind.  And if I do that, then I am to show my love for God by also loving every other person who inhabits this planet.

            I love my country by bringing who I am – who I am as a Christian – my faith in God – my values – my ethics – my morality – my love for God and my love for my fellow man to bear on everything that I am and do as a citizen.

            I love my job by bringing who I am – who I am as a Christian – my faith in God – my values – my ethics – my morality – my love for God and my love for my fellow man to work with me every day.

            I love my family by bringing who I am – who I am as Christian – my faith in God – my values – my ethics – my morality – my love for God and my love for my fellow man by bringing that home every day.

            I love this world by taking the Good News of Jesus Christ out into my world and showing my world how my Jesus speaks to the economic crisis that we are in – how my Jesus speaks to the issues of world peace and justice – how my Jesus speaks to my being a good loyal worker on the job – by being a good spouse who loves His children – by living out my vows.

            I believe in what I said last week.  What we have here – the Good News of Jesus – that message is important.  It can change lives.  It can change families.  It can change nations.  It is the one word that makes a difference.  And God has given us that word.  He has entrusted that word into our hands.  And He asks us to take it out with us – every where we go.  You want to change your world.  Take this Jesus that we have here out into that world.  You want to make your job better.  Take this Jesus with you to work every day.  You want to make marriage better.  Take this Jesus with you to your home today.  You want to stop road rage.  Take this Jesus into your car today.  You want to stop greed and dishonesty.  Take this Jesus with you today.  And share it. 

 

 

Amen!

Sermon: October 12, 2008

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.’ But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.’ Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests. But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

 

 

                                                            Matthew 22:1–14

 

 

            You know, over the past several weeks we have been looking at the Gospel of Matthew.  And every time I have read from the Gospel of Matthew I have told you two things.  First, Matthew loves to tell the parables of Jesus.  There are more parables in the Gospel of Matthew than there are in any other Gospel.  Second, Matthew didn’t like the Pharisees very much.  These were the people who always looked down their noses at him.  They were the good people.  He was just “scum” – a former tax collector.  And beside that he didn’t like them very much because he saw them as the ones responsible for plotting Jesus’ death.

            Well this is just another one of those parables of Jesus that he loves to give us, and secondly the point of the parable is to “sock it to” the Pharisees and the leaders of the Temple.

            The story is pretty simple.  A king has a son who is getting married.  So he invites all of his friends and neighbors – all of his loyal subjects – to come and join him in celebrating his son’s wedding.  That’s something that we would all do.  One of our kids is getting married so we invite all of the relatives and all of our friends.  But what happens?  None of them show up.  They all have something more important to do.  Now the king realizes what’s going on.  Things that are important to you – people that are important to you – you make time for.  If you don’t make time for them, then they just aren’t all that important to you.

            The king realizes what is going on.  My son is just not that important to you.  His wedding is just not that important to you.  “I” am just not that important to you.  So the king sends out his servants to invite others.

            The point:  The people of Israel – the chosen ones of God – the children of Abraham – they have rejected God.  The Pharisees – the Leaders of the Temple – the “Good People” – they have turned from God – so God has turned to others.

            Well, that was a point that the early Christians learned well.  NOT!!  In the early church one of the big controversies that had to be settled by calling a meeting of all the leaders.  Peter and Paul were both there.  The issue was does one have to be a Jew before you can become a Christian.  After all Christ came for the Jews – the children of Abraham.  He didn’t want just anybody in the kingdom.  They had to have a convention before they could agree that people like Timothy could be part of the Christian Church.  People like you.  Imagine these Christians who knew Jesus – who walked and talked with Jesus – they had to have a church convention to decide if the Kingdom of God was for everyone.  HELLO!!!  Did any one bother reading the Gospel of Matthew? 

            You know, last Sunday we talked about the problem that the Christian Church has.  We spoke about how the church is dying.  How fewer than 26% of our people are involved in a church.  How fewer than 4% of our youngest generation is involved in a church.  How if we don’t turn this around, the church will disappear.  It means that we must focus on taking the precious message of Jesus to all the world.  It means that we can’t sit around here waiting for them to come to us.  We have to go out and get them.  Remember the story of the Wedding?  What did the king do?  Why he opened the doors to the place where his son was getting married and hoped that people would show up?  No!!  Well, he put an ad in the local newspaper and hoped that a few would make it?  No!!  What he did was to send his servants out to the highways and to the byways to invite them to the banquet.  We are the servants.  We need to go out to the highways and the byways.  That’s what we are doing every time you put an offering in the plate.  Last year we sent $65,000 to missions – to send servants out to the highways and the byways – to send others where we could not go – to do what we could not do.  That’s why we collect food on Harvest Home Sunday and deliver a 100 bags of groceries to people in the neighborhood.  That’s why Sandie heads up our DZ@6 and Food Pantry – to invite those to come and be with us.  That’s why, I think, Jeff and Daphne and the choirs are doing the Reformation Hymn Festival – to bring others from the highways and the byways to come to the great banquet feast.  That’s why Al got folks to go out on Kids Day and hand our brochures on our SS and VBS – to bring others from the highways and the byways. 

            We have got to do just what the servants of the king did in this parable.  We have got to understand that they won’t come to the banquet unless we are out there bringing them in.  We have got to understand that we have got to do what we got to do so that they will want to come to the banquet. 

            That’s why the great commission says Go – Go out into the world – Go to where the people are – Go to them and bring them to Jesus.  Don’t wait for them to come to you.  Go and make disciples of all nations.  Go to where they are.  Go to them at work.  Go to them on the streets.  Go to where they play.  Go and make disciples of all nations.

 

Amen!

Sermon: October 5, 2008

Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.”
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:
‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom. The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

 

 

                                                            Matthew 21:33–46

 

 

 

                  You know, I remember when I first arrived here at Zion almost 20 years ago, one of the first things that I had to adjust to was the church going computer.  Before that we just had typewriters.  I was comfortable with a typewriter.  I knew where the paper went.  I knew how to make it work.  I knew how to make corrections.  Life was good.  Life was simple.  And then someone got the idea that things would be so much better if only we all had computers.  Well, I got to tell you at the beginning I thought that that was a great idea.  I love getting new things.  I love gadgets.  I am a typical “guy.”  It is like they always say – “The only difference between a man and a boy is the cost of the toy.”  I love toys.  I loved the idea of getting a computer.  But then I had to attend classes.  I had to learn how to make the computer work.  I can still remember how Martha Bollinger set up training time for us at Rubbermaid.  On a Saturday morning I and the entire staff had to go up to the Rubbermaid Offices.  We were greeted at the door, by the way, by Stan Gault.  That was the first time that I met him.  We were then ushered down to a room filled with funny looking key pads and TV’s which I later learned were actually called monitors.  And there I sat with the rest of the staff of Zion trying to learn computer.  How to make the page appear.  How to capitalize.  How to indent.  How to save.  How to delete.  There was so much to remember.   I was overwhelmed by all the stuff that they were throwing at us.  And when I walked out of the building that day, I was convinced that I was going back to my IBM Typewriter.  The rest of the staff could go computer.  Me.  I was sticking with the old way – the things I knew.

                  Change is never easy.  And the older that I get the harder it is for me to change.  I like things the way they are.  I want things to stay the same.  That’s what this lesson is all about.  The Pharisees that Jesus was talking to didn’t want to change.  They wanted things to stay the same.  They were comfortable in their roles at the temple – what they knew – what they did.  Jesus came in and basically told them that everything was going to change.  Everything was going to be different.  God was changing everything.  God was making everything new.  They resisted it.  They fought against it.  They eventually had the change agent arrested and killed.  They wanted everything to stay the way it was, and they thought that once they got rid of Jesus then everything would stay the same.  Problem solved.

                  Well, you know we are all like that.  I don’t like change.  But, you know, several months ago I lead the Church Council in a book study.  By the way, it is the same book study that I am now doing on Sunday Morning at 10am in the Chapel – The Present Future.  The book tells us some sobering facts.  Today only about 26% of the people in America go to church.  That means that on an average Sunday 74% of the people in this country are sitting home.  It also tells us that younger people have stopped coming.  People who were born before 1946 – 65% of them come to church.  But for those who were born between 1946 and 1964, it drops to 35%; for those who were born between 1965 and 1976, it drops to 15%; and for those between 1976 and 1994, it drops to 4%.  And yet surveys are showing that people are more spiritual than ever before.  People are more interested in spiritual truths than ever before.  People are seeking God as never before.  So what is that telling us?  It is telling us, I think, that we have to find new ways to tell the old, old story.  Because the old ones aren’t working.  We have to find new ways to reach people with the Good News of Jesus.  You see, I think that what the church has – what we have is pretty wonderful.  The story of God’s love as it is found in Jesus Christ.  That is something pretty wonderful.  It is the one thing that gives us hope in this world that at times seems to have gone completely mad.  The economic mess that we are in which is threatening the life savings of millions of Americans – causing seniors to worry about the future – but also making many Americans wonder if they will have jobs tomorrow – will their companies even exist tomorrow.  Will they have homes?  Is the American dream dead?

                  Every time we turn around there seems to be more and more threats to world peace.  Crazy dictators and terrorists getting their hands on the bomb.  New places where we see genocide and war.

                  And in the midst of this it seems to me that there is only one thing that  brings any kind of sanity to this insane world and that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That is the Good News of God’s love for us and for all who live in this world.  And yet I see less and less people coming to hear this Good News in spite of the fact that they are out there searching for answers.  So we have got to go to them.  We have got to find new ways.  We, as a church need to find new ways to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is the only hope for this world.  And yet I got to tell you there are times when I feel completely lost.  When I just don’t have a clue as to what to do.  But I know that we have to keep trying.  We have got to keep struggling with these questions.  We have got to keep looking for answers.  We have got to be willing to change.  We have got to turn to our Lord as never before for answers.  Together we need to find the way.  Together.  You.  Me.  And Him.  What we have is so precious.  So wonderful.  It is the hope of the world.  Together we need to pray for God to show us the way.  But then we have got to walk the walk.  He is the cornerstone.  He is the Rock.  He is our Hope for all of our tomorrows.  Not only for us.  But for all our children.

 

Amen!

Sermon: September 28, 2008

When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus said to them, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?” And they argued with one another, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ He answered, ‘I will not’; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, ‘I go, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

 

                                                Matthew 21:23–32

 

 

 

            Remember the story about how Jesus drives the money-changers out of the Temple?  The story is told that one day Jesus and His disciples entered the Temple Grounds in Jerusalem and when they entered they saw all of these merchants who had set up business.  Some were selling various animals that the visitors could offer as sacrifices to God.  Some were there to exchange money for the coins that people needed to make their offerings to the Temple.  Others were probably there selling souvenirs for visitors to take back home of their visit to the Temple during the time of Passover.  You can just imagine the sights and the sounds and the smells.  All of this so angered Jesus.  He thought that the purpose for the existence of the Temple was to provide a quiet place where people could gather and worship God – pray to God – offer their sacrifices to God.  All of this business stuff was creating so much noise and so much distraction that none of that could happen.  So what did Jesus do?  He made a whip and drove these business people out of the Temple.

            Well, you can just imagine how word spread quickly of what was going on in the Temple.  There is this mad man knocking over tables – throwing people out of the Temple.  So some of those in charge came running and when they found Jesus they said to Him – “What do you think you are doing?” – “Who gave you the right to kick these people out.” – “We are the ones in charge here, and we told them that they could set up shop.” – “What gives you the right?”

            So in our lesson for this morning Jesus tells them that He will answer their question if they answer His.  And He tells them the story about two brothers.  Both of them are asked if they will go out and work in the father’s vineyard.  The first says that he is must too busy – no he will not go out.  But then later he changes his mind and goes out and works.  The second tells his father that he will go out and work in the vineyard but then doesn’t.  Which of these two brothers was a true son of the father?

            Do you get the point?  Jesus is talking about them.  They are the brother who says that they will go out and work in the field but then doesn’t.  They are the ones to whom God first came.  They were the Jews.  They were the chosen ones.  They were the children of Abraham.  They were the ones who were led out of Egypt by Moses.  And these folks to whom Jesus was talking.  They were the pastors.  They were the leaders of the church.  They were the ones who were to lead people to God.  Instead they saw the church as a business.  They were looking for ways to make money.  They had forgotten the reason for which they existed.  The reason for which the church existed.  To worship and praise the Lord.  And to lead others to God.  In short, they forgot that the reason for which the church exists is to “Be Disciples.  Make Disciples.”  Does that have a familiar ring to it?  Oh, yeah, that’s right.  That’s Our Mission Statement.  That’s the reason for which we say that we exist..  We exist to worship the Lord our God.  We exist to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and with all of our soul and with all of our mind.  We exist to serve God with all every breath that we take – with every thought that we think – with every action that we take – as a church – as individuals – as families.  How are we doing?

            The other day I was sitting in my office working when I heard somebody come into the church office.  I overheard the conversation between Chris and this young man.  Basically he wanted to know if he could rent the warehouse.  Of course, Chris pulled out the fee schedules for renting the warehouse, and she asked him if he was a member of the church.  He, of course, responded, “Yes.”  And, I guess, on some level he was correct.  His name still appears on our mailing list.  But I don’t think that this person has been to this church in the last fifteen years.  What does it mean to be church?

            To be church means to be the people of God who have been called out to worship the Lord our God with all of our heart – with all of our soul – with all of our mind.  To be church means to be the people of God who come together to worship the Lord our God with every breath that we take – with every action we take – with every thought that we think.  To be disciples means that everything that we do and everything that we are is an act of worship.  What we do here in this place on a Sunday, but also what we do out there on a Monday.  All of our life is to be an act of worship.  Worship is not an option.  Worship is not what we do when there is nothing else going on.  This is who we are.  This is what it means to be children of God.  This is what it means to be a member of a church.  This is what it means to BE A DISCIPLE.

            And then that impacts everything else that we do.  We bring our children to Sunday School because that is what worshiping Christians do.  We attend Bible Classes and Prayer Groups because that is what worshiping Christians do.  We make Prayer Shawls and we help at DZ@6 because that is what worshiping Christians do.  We give of ourselves in lives of service because that is what worshiping Christians do.  We live by a certain ethical and moral code at work – at home – at play.  Because that is what worshiping Christians do.  We take seriously our commitments to family – parents – children – spouses – because that is what worshiping Christians do.

            Being a worshiping Child of God is not what we do.  It is who we are.  Through the Gospel Lesson for this morning, Jesus asks us which brother are we?

 

Amen!