OUR MISSION We are …a Christian Congregation, …welcoming all who want to grow in grace, …passing on our faith to our children, …caring for others and …reaching out with warm hearts and willing hands.

News & Happenings 2010 CALENDAR OF EVENTS August 22 Sunday Worship at 10am, Guest Preacher: Elaine Winward 29 Sunday Worship at 8am and 10am; Church Picnic at 4-7pm at Raymond residence   September 5 Sunday Worship at 10am 12 Sunday Worship at 10am; Rally Day 19 Sunday Worship at 10am 26 Sunday Worship at 10am     >> See full Calendar of Events   >> Visit our news archive

Pastor Eric's sermons are presented here in reverse chronological order...in other words, the most recent sermons are at the top of the list, working backwards through time.

John 10: 22-30

If we were to line up the four Gospels and begin to compare them we would quickly discover that each of the Gospel writers had a different perspective or worldview.  Each of them was writing to a different community at a different time. The writer of John's Gospel sees everything through the resurrection which means everything is seen from a post-resurrection perspective. Unlike the other Gospels in John's there is no doubt as to who is in control; God in Christ. For the writer of John there is s clear distinction between Christians and Jews, the faithful and the unfaithful. This distinction allows the writer to proclaim: 

"You do not believe because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and follow me. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand."

Sadly too often this has lead to anti-Semitism and persecution as people have not understood the historical perspective. Nor have they appreciated the struggle of early Christianity.

Thankfully this is not all the writer says. In John's Gospel there is no Holy Week trial, so when asked in the court of Solomon, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah tell us plainly." Jesus is in effect on trial.  The reason for the questioning is because he, Jesus is not the Messiah those questioning him are seeking.  In his response, "The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me." Jesus is telling them I am doing what God wants. He is underlying the message that it is about unity of purpose, not piety. The writer is proclaiming that one’s belief must be portrayed in action. Christian faithfulness is not about wearing a badge, it is about a commission. Being one with God means living as God would live; living with solidarity of purpose and vision.

Our challenge today is to hear these words, this call not in a post-resurrection world, but rather what some call a post-Christian era. A time when for many Christianity is seen as irrelevant and archaic. An out of date way of thinking that does not meet their needs. The question for many today is, "What does Christianity have to offer? How does being a Christian make one distinctive or unique?"

After all, non-Christians are very capable of doing "good." Often times they are very willing to help others.  In fact in certain circumstances they do a great deal of good.  They look for the good in others and respond to that goodness. They can and often are very caring, sympathetic and supportive. They are often well intended, nice, decent people. They can and often are wonderful role models and mentors.

To the casual observer these good people appear to be "Christian" that is until something happens, until life takes an unfortunate turn and we discover we need a deeper inner strength that on our own we are not capable of. When they are called out of their comfort zone, or asked to think differently the resources needed are not readily available. They become unwilling or unable to sacrifice their good for the common good. They are unwilling to put others needs first because they do not seek first the kingdom of God.

Fredrick Buechner in Listening To Your Life describes it this way.

Some think of a Christian as one who necessarily believes certain things.

Some think of a Christian as one who necessarily does certain things.

Some think of a Christian as just a Nice Person.

Jesus said I am the way, and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”  He didn't say that any particular, ethic, doctrine or religion was the way, the truth and the life.  He said he was.

He didn't say it was by believing or doing anything in particular that you could "come to the Father.”  He said that it was only by him – by living, participating in, being caught up by,

the way of life that he embodied, that was his way.

A Christian is one who is on the way, though not necessarily very far along it, and who has at least some dim and half-baked idea of whom to thank.
A Christian isn’t necessarily nicer than anybody else. Just better informed.
 
To be a Christian is to struggle with the truth that it is not about us. It is about God and serving God, not just when it is convenient, but all the time or hopefully more of the time more often. This doesn't mean we will always do it correctly, or even all the time. It means that we have some awareness of the struggle and are willing to enter into the struggle trusting that God will lead us in the journey. It is this belief that allows us to be thankful. It is this belief that gives us any hope for a unity of purpose; an awareness of how we can hope to be one with God and Christ.

Embracing this need and hope brings a humility born of gratitude; one that frees us from the need to believe that we are better than. It brings a humility that helps us remember it is not about us. It is not about our looking good or better or more faithful than someone else. It is a humility that allows us to embrace the truth that religion is not primarily a set of beliefs, a collection of prayers or a series of rituals. Religion is first and foremost a way of seeing. It cannot change the facts about the world we live in, but it can change the way we see these facts, and that in and of itself can often make a difference. (Source unknown)

This "way of seeing" allows us to be better informed as we give thanks that "what God has given us is greater than all else." Indeed it is greater than anything we can achieve on our own, for what we achieve on our own can be taken away from us.  While "what God gives us cannot be snatched out of God's hand." 

Believing this allows us to see from a post-resurrection perspective. It empowers us to embrace the commission to live as God desires we live as we affirm that despite what some may say for those who are better informed it is not a post-Christian era. Rather it is an opportunity to live with God and Christ in solidarity of purpose and vision, not just when it is easy or convenient but today and every day. Amen.
    

John 21: 15-17

Sometimes it can be a struggle to stay connected to the greater world. This is so not because we don't care, I believe we care, but because there is a part of us that wonders whether or not our efforts matter all that much. We wonder if we really do make a difference.

The list of horrors can seem overwhelming. There have been five major earthquakes since January. We are living with record unemployment. There is the recent coal mine disaster. Iran is making nuclear threats again. Goldman Sack's is under indictment for fraud. We are still fighting two wars. The number of needless deaths around the world because of famine and a lack medical care is staggering.  Add to this our own personal struggles and the struggles of those closest to us.  There is little wonder why we are tempted to pull back, to pull away.

The call of faith is to not pull back, to not give up and pull away. Jesus said it plainly, "if you love me care for others, feed my sheep, tend my lambs." Part of doing this is believing it can be different and working to make it so. Call it modeling or living the difference you want to see, the message is clear. In the words of Adrienee Rich, "we are called to cast our lot with those who day after day without any extraordinary power seek to reconstitute the world." Why, because as people of faith we know of an extraordinary power.  We may not have the power, but we journey with one who has the power, God in Christ. Romans 8 says it plainly; "If God is for us, who can be against us." With God more things are possible. Believing this means we live in hope. Doubting this means we live in fear. We also run the risk of giving in to what is called "The Paradox of Our Time."

The paradox of our time is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers;

wider freeways but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less; buy more but it enjoy it less.

We have more conveniences, but less time;

more knowledge, yet less wisdom and more problems;

more medicine, but less of the whole person.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduce our values.

These are times of steep profits for some and shallow relationships for many.

We talk too much, listen too little, love too seldom and hate too easily.

There is much in the show window yet little in the moral stockroom.

(Source unknown)

Journeying with God in Christ means we see the world differently. It means staying faithful despite the way some define life today. It means doing it anyway, whether or not it will last. 

In his book Simple Truths, Stephen Bauman writes the following on page 137. 
Recently my wife told me I had been sounding whiney and childish. I didn't like her
telling me that and told her so, but later realized that I had indeed descended into a narcissistic funk. I had slipped into a mode of thinking that things just weren't going my way and feeling sorry for myself. I picked up an old copy of M. Scott Peck’s best-selling book, The Road Less Traveled, and read this: "Life is a series of problems. 

Do we want to moan about them or solve them?... What makes life difficult is that the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful one." Once before that had struck me as truthful, sober, and obvious wisdom, and it did so again. This prompted a question: was I more of a problem solver or a problem generator?  Certainly when I'm whining or carping about this or that I'm far from being a problem solver. And it has become increasingly clear to me that the most effective people I know, whether in their professional or personal lives, are problem solvers. 

I lose sight of this when I forget to ground and care for myself. When we are so busy doing it is easy to forget to ground ourselves, as we focus on caring for others and forget to care for ourselves. We run the risk of burn-out, of giving up and giving in, of quitting. We become selfish and self-serving; problem generators. 

Maybe we don't stop doing, caring, loving, but inside we are just going through the motions.

The Easter joy is not what we know. All we hear is the obligation and not the opportunity. We lose sight that it is not about the work we are called to do. It is about the relationships; our feeding and being fed.

There is more to the Gospel story than I shared this morning. Before talking with Peter, Jesus prepares breakfast. Once again he feeds the disciples. I wonder; "how good are we at letting God and others feed us? Are we so concerned with not appearing needy that we forget to receive?"

I believe this is a real danger especially for doers; and this is a congregation of doers. The danger is we run the risk of becoming problem generators and don't even recognize that we are. How do we safe guard against this? Asking these questions can help us.

Are you unwilling to hear another’s advice?

Does a differing opinion anger or frustrate you?

Do you miss the gift because you are so focused on the task?

Have you forgotten to celebrate the little victories?

Are you becoming desensitized to the world’s pain and suffering?

Have you stopped listening? Do you feel disconnected?

Do you feel overwhelmed, resentful, angry, jaded?

Have you started keeping score?  Are you aware of what others don’t do?

Loving God means we are called to offer healing. Sometimes the healing involves healing ourselves.

It is hard to stay connected to the greater world. It can be a struggle. It is always a balancing act because loving God means serving. There is so much to be done and we are limited in what we can do. Combine this with our desire to not be seen as needy or out of control; well you can see how the struggle emerges.

The message is clear; if you are feeling overwhelmed, tired, resentful, jaded and cynical you have become a problem generator. If this is the case, step back, take a breath. Remembering that God works through other people allow yourself to be fed, for that too is part of offering healing and hope. Don't worry so much about whether or not you are doing your part. Such worry means you are problem doing more than your part. The nature of life, love and faith is such that your tie to feed another will come again. It always does. Allowing ourselves to be fed makes it easier for us to feed others. It allows us to help, but because we have to, but because we choose to.

I do believe that we are called to cast our lot with those who day after day help reconstitute the world. We are better able to do this when we remember it is not about who we are. It is about who God is. Who is God? A loving, healing presence who seeks to fed us long before asking us to feed others. Amen.

 

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