This Sunday is World Communion Sunday; a day that celebrates the diversity that exists in the Christian family around the world who are all celebrating communion in different time zones. Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist (which is a Greek word that means Thanksgiving), whatever name we call it - is one of our most sacred, special and holy celebrations. We proclaim God’s grace in this sacrament and celebrate God’s love for us as we experience a foretaste of the great heavenly banquet that awaits us. World Communion Sunday was established by the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1936 and was originally called “World-Wide Communion Sunday.” This day reminds us that when we gather at the table, we celebrate not only with those present, but also with sisters and brothers around the world. Back in 1933, when the day was first conceived, the world was a fractured place. 1933 was a year that saw Adolf Hitler’s rise in popularity and his consolidation of power in Nazi Germany. And in 1933, a second great war in Europe was becoming inevitable. It was also the worst year of the Great Depression, with Americans and people around the world in financial trouble. By 1940, the war had begun but in spite of this, World-Wide Communion Sunday was approved by the Federal Council of Churches (which later became the National Council of Churches). This special day was meant to bring churches together in Christian unity during extremely turbulent times. Today, celebrating the sacrament of the Lord’s Table together reminds us of this ideal goal of unity, despite our differences and despite the turbulent times we do live in today. We may seem so deeply fractured, but this unity, however elusive, is still present and God is still moving in our world to make us one in Christ. In the words of Ephesians 4:4-6, World Communion Sunday reminds us that “you are one body and one spirit, just as God also called you in one hope. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all, who is over all, through all, and in all.” This has been true during hard times in the past, is true today, and will be true tomorrow — no matter what. On this special World Communion Sunday, we celebrate the fact that there is room at God’s table for everyone. As Paul writes in his letter to the church in Galatia, “There is neither Jew nor gentile, slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28). Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians to counter the message of missionaries who visited Galatia after he had left and who had said people must follow parts of the Jewish Law in order to be saved. But Paul, on the contrary, said this was not needed for salvation and we are equal in God’s eyes. The Jewish believers thought they were special. Paul himself was a Jew, if you recall; and he was bent on persecuting Christians until he had his conversion. (Acts 9:1-19) After being changed by his encounter with Jesus, Paul started spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews) during the first century, and his missionary journeys took him on travels throughout the Roman empire. He truly loved the Gentiles and saw all people as children of God. Paul believed that no one is better than another. Just like my friend, Ruth Ingulsrud, shared in her children’s message last week, when her puppet pig and puppet dragon were fighting over who was better, we need to remember that no one is better than another child of God, and we all have different gifts. We are all sinners. We are all children of God. We are all loved by God. We are the body of Christ - the “ecclesia” (“gathered”) and we belong to God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Triune God is so vast that everyone belongs, and no one is turned away. Long ago, there were issues that divided the church just as there are today. Paul saw a link between issues that divided people and the Lord's Supper. In Corinthians 11:18-22, he describes division within the church in Corinth. The Corinthians were being rebuked by Paul for their misuse of the Lord's Supper. The early church practiced the celebration of the Lord's Supper much differently than most churches do today. In the very early church, the Lord's Supper involved eating an actual full meal together. This was fine when handled with respect and honor towards the Lord and all those in attendance… and if everyone got enough food and shared. But in many cases, the wealthy members came early to the meal, ate up all the best food and maybe drank up most of the wine, and those who were poor and maybe had to work, so they arrived later, didn’t get enough. It was not an equal sharing. The problem was that they were not actually sitting down together as a church community. There were divisions in the church – some of these divisions were maybe over loyalties to one apostle or another, and there social and class divisions. This was the context within which Paul wrote this passage. Paul warns that communion should be a time of sober self-reflection about our sin and Christ's sacrifice, as well as a time to unite the body of Christ, the church, while taking in representations of the blood and body of Christ. John Wesley described the Lord’s Supper as “the grand channel whereby the grace of God’s Holy Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God.” A well-known question in the Jewish tradition (which Roy Mislang could tell us as he is our resident Jewish holidays’ expert) is that during part of the Passover meal this question is asked:“ Why is this night different from all other nights?” This question can help us as we look at World Communion Sunday. “Why is this day different from all other days?” It’s a day set aside where we seek to cross the boundaries of nationality, language and denomination to remember that we’re one in Christ Jesus. The original intention was to focus on bringing together a variety of Christian groups, and the idea has grown and spread to 38 different traditions. Though there are far more denominations beyond this group, it’s a start toward Christian unity. Christians striving for unity is not something new. Long ago there was a debate called the Marburg Colloquy at Marburg Castle, Marburg, Hesse, Germany. This debate took place between October 1 and October 4, 1529. This gathering or debate attempted to solve a dispute between Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli and the reformers of Germany and Switzerland. They debated over The Lord’s Supper and over the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. (“Marburg". Encyclopædia Britannica) Both Luther and Zwingli agreed on 14 points of doctrine but could not agree on the 15th point which was the Eucharist. They both agreed that the bread in the Supper was a sign. For Luther, the bread signified the body of Christ was really present in the sign itself. He believed it was a visible sign of the promises of God but it actually became the body and blood of Christ. There are those who believe that today. "Credere est edere"; said Zwingli: "To believe is to eat"; To eat the body and to drink the blood of Christ in the Supper meant to have the body and blood of Christ present in the mind. It was a sign of the believers’ faithfulness to each other, but the bread and wine were not actually the body and blood of Christ. (George, Timothy. Theology of the Reformers). There are those today who see it as symbol of God’s grace. But the table isn’t ours to control, and so in the Spirit of God’s presence we gather today around the One Table of the Lord, as the one body of Christ, inclusive of differences of ethnicity, traditions, gender, age, and background. All are welcome to the Lord’s Table - - no matter who they were or who they are, and no matter what we think of them. We are all God’s children. God has made us his family, a family that stretches around the world, a family that is called to love as we have been love, to forgive as we have been forgiven, to give as we have been given. The Parable of the Chopsticks
Once upon a time, a man dies and goes to heaven and sees St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter asks him if there’s anything he wants before he enters heaven, and the man says he’d like to see hell. So St. Peter takes him to a room full of miserable, starving people with a huge banquet table in the middle filled with delicious-looking food. The man asks St. Peter, “Why is THIS hell?” St. Peter replies, “Because the people can only eat the food with one- meter-long chopsticks.” The man then says he’s ready to go to heaven, and St. Peter takes him to a similar room with a huge banquet table in the middle filled with delicious food. Although the people there also have to eat with one-meter-long chopsticks, they are all happy and well-fed. The man asks St. Peter why, and St. Peter replies, “Here in heaven we feed each other.” We also need to remember this Sunday as we are connected to our neighbors around the globe. We must share resources to feed one another physically and spiritually. Every time we come and take Holy Communion, we bring with us all that we are… our sin, our anger, our fear, our doubt… and we offer them all to Christ, who in turn, offers us Himself. At the table, Jesus offers us his body, the bread; his blood, the cup; and gives us unmerited love, grace, forgiveness and salvation. This is the best meal that can be offered. John Wesley described the Lord’s Supper as “the grand channel whereby the grace of his Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God.” As we take communion today, remember that if you are hungry for community, Christ invites you. If you are thirsting for hope, Christ welcomes you. If you need forgiveness, Christ forgives you. If you are hungry for the grace of God, then eat this bread (or cracker) and drink this cup. We are nourished and sustained. We are all children of God and all equal in the sight of God and all loved by God. Let us know sing the refrain and one verse of “One Bread, One Body.” And the Table Will Be Wide by Jan Richardson A Blessing and Benediction for World Communion Sunday And the table will be wide. And the welcome will be wide. And the arms will open wide to gather us in. And our hearts will open wide to receive. And we will come as children who trust there is enough. And we will come unhindered and free. And our aching will be met with bread. And our sorrow will be met with wine. And we will open our hands to the feast without shame. And we will turn toward each other without fear. And we will give up our appetite for despair. And we will taste and know of delight. And we will become bread for a hungering world. And we will become drink for those who thirst. And the blessed will become the blessing. And everywhere will be the feast.
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24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. -- Genesis 32:24-29 (NIV) —————————-- Wrestling Prayer in the Dawn Our scripture today features a wrestling match. It’s an exciting story with interesting twists and turns. And in the original Hebrew, it’s an even richer story: there's wordplay, allusion, and symbolism which is, unfortunately, lost on those of us reading it in English. Lost in translation. ☺ But the wrestling story is worth grappling with. This wonderful story has so many lessons in it. It is one of my favorite Old Testament narratives. When I read this story again before writing my sermon, the words in the story that popped out at me were these: Prayer. Wrestle. Dawn. Blessing. So, I reflected on these words as I wrote my sermon. Most of you probably know the story of Jacob but let me recap it for you. Esau and Jacob were fraternal twins. They were born to Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 25:21–34). Esau was born before Jacob, but Jacob came out grabbing onto his older brother Esau’s heel as if he was trying to pull Esau back into the womb so that he could be firstborn. The name Jacob means “heel grabber” (or “he who grasps the heel”) which is still now a common Hebrew idiom for deceptive behavior. “You’re grabbing my heel,” means, “You are trying to deceive me.” This sounds like another expression you might be familiar with: “You’re pulling my leg,” which means, “You must be trying to trick me.” So, let’s call Jacob “Grabby.” His brother Esau’s name sounds like the Hebrew words for “hairy.” Now Jacob (aka Grabby) was smooth- skinned and Esau (aka Harry) was indeed hairy. This is how their dad Isaac, (once he became elderly and was going blind), could tell the adult brothers apart. One was hairy and the other was not. As the firstborn of Isaac and Rebekah, Esau was heir of the Lord’s promises (Genesis 26:1–5) and Esau should have had the birthright as the eldest male child. The benefits would include the headship of the clan and a double share of the inheritance (Deut. 21:15–17). But we read in Genesis 25:29–34 how Jacob deceived his brother – twice. First Jacob “sells” lentil stew by asking a very hungry Esau for his birthright in exchange. Then in Genesis 27, we read how Jacob tricks his dad, Isaac, into giving him, Jacob, his blessing which should have gone to the firstborn son, Esau. The fact that Jacob deceived Esau and grabbed his blessing from their dad that was meant for him, does not sit well with Esau — so Esau vows to kill his brother Jacob (Genesis 27:41). Jacob flees in fear to his mother’s homeland (Genesis 27:42-28:29:14). There, Jacob who is a deceiver, is deceived by his Uncle Laban. Laban promised his younger daughter Rachel to Jacob in return for seven years' service, only to trick him into marrying his elder daughter Leah instead. Jacob then served another seven years so he could marry his first choice, Rachel, as well (Genesis 29). God eventually blesses Jacob with many flocks and possessions, and Jacob decides to return to his homeland and reconcile with his brother. While on his way, he somehow hears that his brother Esau is coming toward him with four hundred men. Jacob is “greatly afraid and distressed” (Genesis 32:6-7) and rightly so. Jacob says, “[Esau] might cut us all down, the women and children,” but then he sends the women and the children on ahead of himself… which is interesting. However, he does divide them into two groups so if one group gets killed, the other group can at least escape. Jacob, seeking to reconcile with his brother (who twenty years before swore to kill him), first begins by humbling himself and prefaces his message to his brother with “your servant Jacob.” He sends gifts ahead which are his peace offerings to Esau — hundreds of goats, sheep, camels, cows, bulls and donkeys as he hopes for the best outcome. After doing that and sending the groups away, Jacob finds himself alone on the edge of the Jabbok River (Genesis 32:22-24) where he is possibly considering a panicked last-minute attempt at flight, or perhaps because he just wants to spend the night alone in prayer, uncertain of his reconciliation attempt outcome. Prayer:This is one of the words that I focused on when I read the sermon. I don’t know about you, but there have been a few nights in my life where I could not sleep and so I spent the time in prayer. There are times I have felt afraid. Maybe I have not felt so alone, distressed and afraid to the extent of what Jacob was feeling, but there have been times that I wondered if God was hearing my prayers. Perhaps you can think of a time you might have felt alone or afraid or anxious. This is when we can turn to God in prayer. So, we have Jacob, who is alone, scared and praying when he meets up with someone he does not recognize. He starts to wrestle with this mysterious person. Genesis 32:28 and 30 refer to this person as God. Hosea 12:4 says that this person was an angel. God or angel — what do you think? We can agree that the person Jacob wrestled with was no mere man. This was God in human form. Rev. Charles Spurgeon said this about the mysterious man: “I suppose our Lord Jesus Christ did here, as on many other occasions preparatory to his full incarnation, assume a human form, and came thus to wrestle with the patriarch.” Wrestling and Blessing:Jacob wrestles with this man, and keeps wrestling him and this goes on and on throughout the night until the sun comes up. Jacob does not release the God-man he has been wrestling with until he’s blessed and given a new name. His blessing is this; “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Gen. 32: 28-29. Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, which means “He who wrestles with God.” Israel is a new name that reflects his struggle and the destiny of an entire people, the “children of Israel.” Wrestling with God changed Jacob’s identity. Jacob has struggled, prevailed and he is blessed. But at the end of the wrestling match, Jacob is injured at the hip. Do you have anything for which you would wrestle all night? Our post-wrestling scene now has Israel (formerly Jacob) walking away with a limp that will forever reminded him of his encounter with God. For the rest of his life, Jacob had to use a crutch. He had to have a staff to lean on. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:21: “By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped leaning upon the top of his staff.” He continues to do what needs to be done, but he does so with a limp. What is your limp? Some of us may have a “limp” from our own wrestling struggles in life; a limp that will continue to remind us of hard times. Still, we can be continue living our lives knowing how God got us through them. The pain or wound or “limp” might stay, or it might heal, or it might turn into a blessing that translates into reaching out to others. God is always with us and can use us because of that “limp.” Pastor Rick Warren once said, “Other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts.” Our limp may make us imperfect, but because of our imperfection, we can help others who notice our limp and understand how we might have prevailed. Others might be limping along too and wrestling with issues in their faith and in their lives. They may need help your help. You can direct them to the light and love of the church community. You can lead them to God’s forgiveness and love. Dawn and Blessing:The morning for the former Jacob, (now Israel), brings light and a blessing. He is different after dawn has come. He has a new blessing and a new wound. He also was touched in the thigh, and so now he limps. With the morning light, Jacob has experienced something new. As Christians, we are illuminated by the light of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 says, “For you are all children of the light and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night nor to darkness.” Struggles in the darkness may seem hopeless, but the light can shine rays of hope into our lives. In the Gospel, we see that Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, who became one of us and struggled here on this earth, is indeed with us. He was crucified for us to make us into a new creation. “The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through faith in Jesus Christ, we are given a new identity and a new name. “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12) Jacob became a new person. Each of us also becomes a new person in Christ. The next morning, the former Jacob, (now named Israel), limps off to go to meet his brother Esau. Before greeting him, Israel bows seven times. And what do they do? They embrace and they both weep. What happens next is a surprise because Esau initially refuses his brother’s gifts (his peace offerings), saying that it’s ok and that he already has a great deal and doesn’t need them. But Israel insists, replying: “No, please; if I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God….” (Gen. 33:10). Israel now sees “the face of God” in the face of the very brother who had sworn to kill him. What are you wrestling within your life? Relationships? Addiction? Anger? Forgiveness? Fear? Anxiety? Depression? Life is a struggle — it can seem like a wrestling match. But God does not want us to give up, even when things get tough. No one sails through life without a struggle. We all wrestle. It’s part of life. Struggling and prevailing makes us stronger and guides our life choices and our life results. We may know that God is there even during our struggles but we might not stop wrestling with the issues affecting our daily lives. How we wrestle and what we wrestle with affects us spiritually; it affects our relationship with God and our relationship with others. The brothers finally reconcile. Reconciliation involves risk. It may come with struggle or sacrifice or even injury. But it takes faith and trust in one’s God to reconcile. It has to be a true reconciliation from the heart and not just words. You also need to approach any reconciliation with humility as Jacob did when he approached his brother Esau. When reconciliation does happen, we are blessed and are finally able to see “the face of God.” Blessing comes with the dawn. Let us pray.We may struggle in life but you, Lord, remain with us. Give us in new identity in you. With your grace and mercy, bless us and help us. Show us how to depend on you until the end of the age. Amen. Let us pray. May the words of my mouth and meditations of our hearts together this morning be pleasing in your sight O Lord. You are our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
So some of you might have noticed or some might not have noticed, but I have actually been doing a sermon series! So far, I’ve been doing this series to explore the size and scope of God, talking about how “God is Bigger than Us.” The point I’ve been making in this series is that God is bigger; bigger than our problems, bigger than our insecurities, bigger than our anxieties, and bigger than all the worries we have in our lives. God is bigger than our hurt, our trauma, and all the things in our past. God is bigger than our jobs, our grades, and all the weight of our identity that society has placed on us, or that we have placed on ourselves. God is even bigger than the things we do for God, and for the church. In every possible aspect of our lives, God is so much bigger, so much greater! It might seem a bit simple, but this is an important point, and something we need to accept if we want to continue to grow in our faith. We need to let God be bigger than us in every aspect of our lives, in our career choices, in how we use our energy, our money, and our time. We need to let God be bigger than us in how we deal with our troubles and our conflicts, in how we treat our family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues, and even in the ways we want to serve in church. When we do that, when we manage to take a step back from ourselves and let God be bigger than us in our lives and the life of our church community, as a result, we also become bigger. When we let God be bigger, we also become bigger. Wait…what does that even mean? Well obviously I’m not talking about our body size! In fact, I think I’m getting to the age where I’ve started to shrink; Claire is taller than I am now! No, I’m not talking about height or weight; what I’m talking about is the majesty, the importance of God; how great, how big we make God in our own lives. When we know that God is bigger, when we accept that fact and respond to it as children of God, we can also grow to be bigger. It means that we can grow to be bigger than the desires of our flesh - all those things we selfishly want to do in our own lives, or in the life of our church. We can be bigger than the stubborn convictions of our own hearts, our certainty in the rightness of our own judgements, and all that confidence in what we think is right and wrong in our lives, and the life of our church. God speaks to us. And through God’s speaking to us, God always gives us an opportunity. God speaks to us, whispering to us through God’s word so that we might be given a chance; a chance to reflect, and a chance to be transformed by reflecting. And I think in today’s Word from the Bible, God is giving us the opportunity to grow bigger than all the judgmental thoughts we have grown and nurtured in our hearts and minds. Today’s Word of God is quite simple: “Do not judge!” Let’s face it; we humans are judgmental people. We judge every day, moment-to-moment. There isn’t a day that passes when we don’t judge someone, or where we aren’t judgmental in some way. But as much as we all do it, judging others threatens our relationships with each other. It threatens the unity of our communities, even our church community, and leads to division, disunity, grudges, and even hatred. But what does it really mean to judge? We are familiar with the judge in a courtroom, someone whose job it is to make decisions about what is right or wrong, who is guilty or not guilty. But what does it mean for us, who don’t have that particular job, to judge in our daily lives? Let’s talk about that word for a moment; “judge.” The Oxford dictionary defines it as forming an opinion about someone or something, based on the information you have. That’s pretty broad, when you think about it. If judging is just forming an opinion, this is something we do all the time! I’ll use myself as an example. I’ll try to go through all the different ways I judged yesterday! First, I woke up, and I judged that my daughter needed to go to the doctor because she had a pain in her neck. I judged that my youngest son also needed to go to the doctor because he’s had a bit of a cough. I also judged that I needed to sleep in, because I had gone to bed quite late the night before. When we went to the doctor’s office for my daughter - a bit late because I definitely slept in! - we were told that the wait would be 40-50 minutes, so I judged that we should go try to get my youngest son in to the doctor while we waited for our turn. Of course, once we got there we were told that the hour when we were there was specifically reserved for COVID patients, so we judged that a mild cough wasn’t worth the risk. Instead, I judged that we should all go get lunch. Judging is forming an opinion about someone or something, based on the information you have. We all do this. We judge this way all the time. By itself, judging isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, let’s look at verse 5 of today’s scripture where Paul, the author of the letter to the Romans, says, “Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds (Romans 14:5).” Here, Paul is talking about observing Holy Days, such as the Sabbath. The church community in Rome at the time was a mix of people who were very familiar with the Jewish law concerning observing the Sabbath and keeping it holy, and people who firmly believed that strict obedience to Jewish law was unnecessary since Christ had come. So it is in this place that Paul says, “Some judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days to be alike (Romans 14:5).” Some people think Holy Days are important and need to be set aside, and others don’t believe that. People are judging, forming their own opinions, and making their own judgments, and what does Paul say about this? “Let each own what they believe.” “Let all be fully convinced in their own minds (Romans 14:5).” Paul is saying that judging, by itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. But if we really read today’s Scripture carefully, we start to realize that “forming an opinion” isn’t exactly the kind of judgment that Paul is saying “no” to. What he’s talking about is “passing judgment” on another, particularly against other siblings in Christ (Romans 14:3, 14:4 and 14:10). Passing judgment; it’s the same word, but that already sounds a bit more intense, judgemental, doesn’t it? Let’s dig a little deeper and find out exactly what Paul means here when he says not to “pass judgment,” shall we? The word that Paul is using here in Greek is “krino,” which does include the meaning of judgment we’ve already discussed; thinking, forming an opinion, and deciding based on that information alone. But krino also means more too; it means to separate, distinguish, condemn, and even to punish. More than simply gathering information and deciding, it can also mean to separate that information right from wrong, to decide things in black and white terms, and to condemn those things which you find wrong, even to punish. It means more than simply deciding for yourself that one thing is more preferable than another, it means to decide that one thing is more right than another. This is the kind of judgment that Paul says not to do within our church community. Krino. Judgment that goes beyond information, but rather goes into condemnation. You see, it’s ok to have opinions about things, to decide what you want to believe or not to believe, but we are not meant to decide what others ought to believe based on the information they have received and the experiences they have lived in their own lives. Can you see the difference? Just as we form our own opinions and beliefs, we are called to allow others to do the same, existing in harmony with each other as we live our best lives and let others live theirs. Rather than pushing our own beliefs and forcing everyone to be the same, think the same or do the same, we make a church community by allowing others to think and feel in different ways than us. What? This is a church! How can that work! We all have to believe the same things, that God is our creator, Jesus Christ is the Son and our Lord and Savior, and that the two are one being with the Holy Spirit as well. We believe in the power and redemption of the body and blood of Christ given as forgiveness of sins, and the renewal we all have through the Holy Spirit, right? If we are all part of this community because we believe the same God, how can we have unity if we allow people to believe differently? Just as it was in Paul’s time, the different opinions and ways of thinking that happen in a church can create tension and conflict, and result in division and disunity within a church. In those days, the big topic was whether or not it was allowed to eat the meat which had been dedicated to gods other than our God, or whether or not we were meant to honor God’s holy sabbath strictly. These things seemed so very important to the church members in Rome, but Paul’s concerns were bigger; a divided community in Rome wouldn’t be able to support Paul’s mission to Spain, and the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ out into the world. Their concerns, their small judgments, were standing in the way of God being bigger, and of the church growing bigger too. In our age today, in our context, what are the opinions that divide us? Ways of baptizing, maybe? Some denominations allow for infant baptism, while others don’t. Maybe it’s communion, for you; some restrict communion only to members of the church, while others will offer communion to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, just as we do here. I believe that a Union church like ours is meant to be a church that lives out exactly what Paul is saying; a community where we try not to pass judgment on one another. We respect those who believe in infant baptism, just as we respect those who believe that a verbal confession of faith is necessary for baptism. Of course, as a church we have to decide upon a certain way of doing and being, so on those things where there may be disagreement, we strive to be and do those things which are the most open to all, most welcoming to all, and most loving to all that which do not pass judgment on one another. We choose the path of least judgment, which is why the communion table is open to anyone who has faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Since we are a union church, I think most everyone here attends our church because we agree with that vision of respecting all these diverse ways of worshiping and building relationships with God. I love union church and I believe in what a union church tries to accomplish. Unity in diversity. But, let’s face it, any church can become a judgmental community if we are not careful; if we aren’t deliberate in avoiding exactly what Paul tells us to avoid; passing judgment on one another. As a pastor who has been here for nearly four years now, I have to say that I have seen, experienced, and even committed myself this exact type of judgment. I’ve heard it all, and I bet some of you have too: “Children are loud, and interrupt the worship service. They should be kept quiet!” “Female pastors aren’t biblical, and women shouldn’t be allowed to lead!” “The worship service must end at exactly the right time, so that people can come to the Bible study without any delay.” “Look at this person, they must not know how to be a parent, because their children act out.” “This person doesn’t come to church regularly, so their commitment and devotion to the Lord is low.” “Church activities should only be led by Christians.” “That person needs to repent and apologize to me first. How terrible they are!” “This person isn’t a good singer, so they shouldn’t be allowed to take the lead during worship.” “This person stutters, or doesn’t speak English perfectly, so they shouldn’t be allowed to read Scripture in worship.” “This person isn’t mature or faithful enough to serve in the church.” “I cannot stand this person at work, or at school.” “My spouse, my kids, my parents need to behave a certain way.” You might not say these things out loud, or at least not all of them, but if you dig deep down inside yourself, you probably have felt at least some of these things. In your heart, I’m sure that you, just like me, have passed judgment on one person or another in your life, or even here in the church. Once again, I want to emphasize the difference between just forming an opinion, and the way Paul talks about passing judgment on each other. It is natural, and even OK for us to form opinions, to look at the world around us and to make decisions in order to try and understand it. We can’t stop ourselves from doing that, but when we pass that judgment onto another person, when we make our own thoughts and opinions bigger than ourselves and push them onto others, when we make our way the only way, the better way, the more righteous way… …we make them bigger than God. And when we do that, at church or at home, at work, at school, conflict and division happens. In our home, we see arguments happen like this all the time, especially when it comes to getting the kids to do homework. Often enough, Don or I will tell the kids that they have to do their homework before they can go out and play. And it never fails that every time we say that, the kids come back with “But mooooooom! Can I go play first, and then do my homework??” And right there, if we’re not careful, the argument, the division begins. One of us parents tries to explain that if they do your homework first, and then go out to play, they ’ll have far more time, and less stress, than if they put it off. It makes sense! Clearly, as parents, we’re the ones who are right here, so you should just do it this way! And if it all just stopped here, the kids would (and sometimes do) feel as though they’ve been forced to do what we think is best for them, and as though their wants and needs - their very identity - has been ignored and not listened to. Because, even though they’re kids, they have a totally different, but still valid, way of thinking. From their point of view, they’ve just come off a long day of school, and the last thing they want to do is sit in a chair and study! It’s just too much, no matter the reason! And the truth of the matter is that, as long as the homework is finished before school starts the next day…it doesn’t really matter, does it? Neither our way nor the kid’s way is really better in that way, but when we hold on to our convictions strongly, when we pass judgment on each other, when Don or I insist that our way is the best, or the kids insist that us parents just don’t understand…fights happen. Tension, conflict, and arguments intensifies. And the peace of our home is broken.. “Who are you to pass judgment (Romans 14:4)?” Paul says this to the church community in Rome. Who are you? Do you have the authority to distinguish what is good from bad? What is right from wrong? Do you have that authority? Do we? No. Because we are not God. We are the Lord’s. (Romans 14:8). God is the Lord of all of us. No one person of us is held over another, no one opinion, no thought, no way of doing is lifted up over another. We don’t stand against those who have different ideas or opinions; we don’t bow to each other, or force others to bow to us. The one we bow to, the one we obey, is only the Lord (Romans 14:11) . Please know that I am far from being innocent when it comes to judging. I have passed judgment on others at home, at our children’s school, in this church, and in my neighborhood. I am one who needs to confess and receive God’s mercy the same as anyone else, and this week’s Scripture has really helped me to be able to see the ways in which I have passed and still pass judgment on others. But our hope is in this, KUC family, that our God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God forgives us. God does not deal with us according to our sins. (Psalm 103:8 and 10) Because God loves us and has compassion for those who fear the Lord, who listen to the Word of the Lord. KUC family, do we truly fear and revere the Word of our Lord who says, “do not pass judgment onto another?” We need to be bigger than our own judgment. We all judge, and we all judge in the way that hurts God and each other. That is the reality of our lives as human beings. But the good news we share is that because our God is bigger, we can also be bigger than our judgment. But in order for that to, we need divine help; we can’t do it on our own. So Let us pray. ______ (Prayers and Song of Confession): Lord, We all have people in our hearts and minds that we judge; we don’t like who they are, or the things they have done. We don’t like the way that they speak, or we cannot forgive the things they have said or done to us. Without God, all we can ever be is this kind of person; someone who judges, but can never forgive. Someone who can never let go. But this is what God says to us; "Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God.” In Silence, let us sing, "The Lord, Be Merciful To Me" (Words of Assurance from Psalm 103) "God will not always accuse, nor will God keep God's anger forever. God does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. As a parent has compassion for their children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear the Lord. " Through the grace and mercy of the Lord, our sins have been washed away. We are renewed. So now let us bring our renewed selves before the Lord and offer our gifts of gratitude. It does not matter how much we give because, as cleansed and forgiven peoples, whatever we bring is an offering of ourselves before our God. May the Lord consecrate our offering. Sermon Script (English ver.)
The Verse “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”(Mathew 25:40 NIV) Introduction Praise the Lord. Thank you, Rev. Claudia for introducing me. Good morning,everyone. It is a blessed moment to be here again at KUC, to be able to share about the volunteer activities. I am Miwa, I have been engaged in volunteer activities as a director of the Kayoko Fund. Our group is called Kayoko Fund, and we directly go to the areas that are experiencing the war, disasters, or any other crisis. If there are any orphans who survived through disasters all alone, who are left behind from any connections including families, welfare, or any other help, we stand by those children. Today, I would like to reflect with you on what it means to be on the side of the oppressed and what it means to follow the word of Jesus Christ by sharing the short report on Syria. (1) Syria ― In the Land of Fresh Milk On February 6, 2023, 4:00 a.m., an earthquake occurred in Gaziantep, southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. From August 7th to August 17th, we visited Aleppo, the most affected area, to find miserable orphans. We heard the voice of the people affected by the disaster. They are crying. (It is one of the oldest cities in the Syrian region and was known in ancient times as “Harpe”) Aleppo is called "Halab" in Arabic, meaning "fresh milk”. I am sure you immediately recognize the links with the biblical expression of "a land flowing with milk and honey”. Aleppo is the second biggest city of Syria, after Damascus. Aleppo and northern area of Syria(ex. Idlib, Hama, Latakia) were the hardest hit by the earthquake, with an estimated 56,000 people affected, the number is almost all the population of the whole Aleppo city, also the number is as big as that of the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake happened in 1995. The affected number in Aleppo was bigger than that of Tohoku, compared with the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. Some say that the number of victims is 20,000 people, or about half of the current population of 30,000 to 40,000, 70 to 80% of the city was destroyed (according to the field interviews conducted on August 11th, 12th, and 13th, 2023). Aleppo was at least 70% damaged. However, due to the international sanctions policy, relief supplies are not delivered. One Christian citizen of Aleppo told me that the sanctions do not hurt the politicians and that it is the citizens who suffer the most. At the same time as the earthquake occurred, Mr &Mrs. Baheed contacted the Kayoko Fund with a request for rescue. (Photos 1 and 2). They were the ones who were taking care of the orphans of the Kayoko Fund’s Children Home before. (Photo 1, 2): These are the photo sent by Mrs. Baheed. The house of a friend of Mrs. Baheed's that collapsed due to the earthquake. Mrs. Bahed was brought up in the Armenian Church (Melkite Greek Liturgical Catholic Church). Her liturgical language is Classical Syriac, a type of ancient Aramaic. The language spoken by Jesus and his disciples in the movie "Passion" is Aramaic. In the West, the terms “Catholic” and “Roman Catholic” are used interchangeably. The former is misunderstood as a shortened form of the latter. But in the Middle East, “Catholic” is a catch-all term for all Christians. (2) Rising up from the local after the earthquake in the midst of the war After the earthquake, Mr. and Mrs. Baheed raised their voice to the Kayoko Fund for cooperation. The Kayoko Fund received blueprints for the construction of a house for orphans, including children with disabilities, to live in a 300m x 300m plot of land in Aleppo, the disaster area (Photo 8). They are the ones who are facing the disaster, but they themselves want to stand up for the least of the oppressed. A major earthquake occurred amidst the triple suffering of civil war, terrorism, and air strikes. The whole of Syria is on the verge of a situation that cannot be described as a triple hardship: war, bombing including cluster bomb by Israel, the Islamic State, and occupation by the Western nations. Then there hit by the earthquake. (Photo 26): Apartment in Aleppo city center. Mrs. Bahed's friend Marna Tenekezian (50) passed away along with her only son, Albert Tenekezian (13). (Photo 28): This is the historic city called “Old City” in English, we can find the oldest bazar or market in the world history. One female resident said to me, “The war took everything from us. What makes me cry is that not only this city destroyed but also its history has been erased.” (3) Have a compassion for the weakest “one of the least of these” Mathew 25:34-40 (NIV). Let us read Mathew 25:34-40 (NIV). 34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Mathew 25:40 reads, “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”(Mathew 25:40 NIV) Here it is Christ who is speaking the parable of the King. The Body of Christ, or what Christ call “the brothers and sisters” of Christ, are “one of the least of these.” Christ is not saying that exemplary Christians are brothers and sisters. Those who are hungry, those who are thirsty, those who are stranger, those who need clothes, those who are sick, those who are in prison, are ones that are referred as “one of the least of these,” who Christ call brothers and sisters. In Jesus’s parable, “the righteous” did not remember when they reacted for “one of the least of these.” Among those whom we do not even remember, or among our enemies, among those whom we are led to believe we do not have to love, or among those whom we think are heresies, among those whom we think the people going to hell, among them, we might have Christ’s “neighbors” and friends, whom Christ calls "brothers" and "sisters.” “Whatever you did for one of the least of these,” you did for “me,” that means, for the Christ (Matthew 25:40). If the body of Christ, or “one of the least of these” is groaning and the groaning, the pain, is not reaching us, then we do not belong to the same body of Christ. (“so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Rom 12:5); “in Christ”= evn Cristw/| en Christō.) The righteous did not remember what they did, but they could take the inheritance of the Kingdom. It is because they reacted to “one of the least of these.” They reacted to the Christ. Our Lord has been always cared for “one of the least of these brothers and sisters,” through out the Old and New Testament. There is a command that appears in almost every volume of the Old Testament, and it occurs more than 42 times. For example, Exodus 22:22 “Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. Deuteronomy 10:18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. Deuteronomy 24:17 Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. (…and more…) A command to never neglect orphans/fatherless, widows (single mothers) and sojourners (refugees). The same commands are in the New Testament as well. James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. ”New International Version (NIV) Mr. and Mrs. Baheed, who live in Syria and were affected by the disaster, but they have been willing to take care of the orphans. As “the King” said in the Christ’s parable, people who react to “one of the least of these” are the ones taking “the inheritance, the Kingdom.” “Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” (Mat 25:34 NIV) There are also other supporters of the Kayoko Fund besides the Baheds, who are doing the work for “one of the least”(Gk tw/n evlaci,stwn tōn elachistōn one of the least). What they are doing for “one of the least” means that they are doing to Christ. In the parable of good Samaritan, Christ mentioned about the Samaritan, whom the religious judged as people who would not be saved. Christ used the Samaritan to show as a role model, how should we live. The Samaritan cared for the wounded. The Kayoko Fund is also cooperating with Laila, who is a Muslima. She has also been taking care of orphans herself while living in Syria under the sanctions and under the war. Despite the 356-km distance between Aleppo and Damascus, I regret that I could not meet Ms. Laila this time, who takes care of orphans. We will continue to work with those who serve the locals. In Syria, the small way to live one’s life is blocked for those who are suffering from the triple burden of war, terrorism, and a major earthquake. The Kayoko Fund activity was interviewed at Aleppo by the Syrian national newspaper, SANA (Photos 30 and 31). The Syrian local TV broadcast, Suboro TV also responded to the cooperation from the Kayoko Fund and reported through the nation. Photo 31: Syrian Public Broadcasting Agency (SANA). You can read the reports in English. It is one of the most valuable sources of information on the current situation in Syria. I would like to thank all of you for listening to my brief report and sharing today. And if you would like to help us build a home for orphans in Aleppo, we are soliciting your donations. Amen. Greetings in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ our Lord. ”Encourage, Love and Build Up” - September 10, 2023 - Kobe Union Church - Rev. Claudia Genung9/9/2023 1 Thessalonians 5:11-13
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. When I first came to Kobe at the end of August in 2011, I was a missionary at the Kagawa Center and served the Japanese church there. I had just moved from Tokyo, where I had been a pastor at West Tokyo Union Church for 17 years. While living in Tokyo I also worked at the NCCJ office where I had been an editor of a Christian newsletter and supporter of NCCJ human rights, peace and social justice activities. As a pastor of another union church, when I moved to Kobe I reached out to Pastor Bruce Bradburn, who was the Pastor at KUC at that time. I wasn’t sure how Pastor Bruce would feel if I came to KUC so I called him, we met for coffee, and he welcomed me into the community of KUC. Bruce and I had talked on the phone a year before when I introduced him to ARI(Asian Rural Institute, now a mission partner of KUC). ARI was going to be coming to Kansai and needed a place to stay so I knew Bruce a little already before moving to Kobe. I joined WOW as Wednesday was my day off. I met so many wonderful women! I started coming to KUC whenever I could, sometimes I would just come to the first half of worship since back then we started at 9:30am and the church in Kagawa Center started at 10:45 am. I believe it was on my second or third Sunday here at KUC in September 2011 when I learned that the homeless ministry coordinator had left Japan quite some time ago. There was a need for a new coordinator for the homeless ministry lunch in Onohama Park so I prayed about it and felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit telling me to take on this position. The position involved buying the food, finding volunteers, and driving the volunteers to the park on the Saturdays where we made lunch for the homeless. (Now we are blessed to have Ikeda-san organize the homeless ministry lunches.) In November of 2011, I joined the KUC Global Missions Ministry team led then by KUC member Shane Taber and later it was led by Yoko Sawada and then Chisato Shingu. KUC has had a few Ministry Fairs in the past which were fun, I was usually involved with the Global Missions ministry table highlighting our partners in ministry. Throughout my time here at KUC I have also help to organize a few Moments of Mission in the worship services as a way of hearing from and connecting with our mission partners. Global Missions Ministry has always been near and dear to my heart. Today, I hope you take time to look at the Global Missions Ministry table as well as the other ministry tables and see where the Holy Spirit might be leading you to become more involved. Or, perhaps you can just learn more about our ministries so you can share the information with others. This is how we, as a church family, network and make connections. We also invite you to pray for our ministries! Take a look around you – we are surrounded by ministers of our church! I am grateful for all of you who are participating today through either manning a table or learning more about our ministries. As it says in today’s scripture, we can “... appreciate those who diligently labor among you..” In Romans 12:10, we have another verse about respecting one another. “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. --Romans 12:10. We serve in love. God loves us and we are to love one another. (I give you a new commandment:* love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.—John 13:34) “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers...” I Peter 2:17) (1 Th 5:15 says “we have a duty to comfort and edify one another.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 which is just before today’s scripture says, “11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” Let me say it again, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” This duty is true of all us who are members of the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16). We support each other and grow and build up the body in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16) Each member of KUC has a part in which he or she does their share We strive as followers of Christ in working together and building one another up in love. I will share a little back ground from Thessalonians. The Church at Thessalonica was perhaps about a year old when Paul wrote his letter to them. Most of the members were Gentiles, former pagans who now are in Christ. The church in Thessalonica was composed of different cultures: Jews and Gentiles worshipping and fellowshipping together. There were also those who were wealthy and those who were not so wealthy. There were probably a couple of former slaves as well who were now helping the church as leaders. It was a rather diverse congregation in many ways. KUC is also quite diverse in our backgrounds, culture, nationalities, theology, etc., but we come together as a body of Christ to worship each Sunday and work on ministries together. Today’s ministry fair highlights these ministries. Applying Paul’s letter to Thessalonica, we can reaffirm the respect for each other and look at ways we can be more involved in our ministries. “. Yet the Lord has also blessed His body with those who edify the body through their service in certain capacities. “ (Ep 4:11-12) Paul’s point is that the work of the church is important. Paul describes the work that they do as “toilsome labor,” the very same word Paul used to describe his own work in 1 Thess 1:3. The work that these leaders are doing is had work, taxing physically and emotionally. But they are encouraged to continue on behalf of the church. We are encouraged to respect, love, and build up each other and build up our ministries. There are many ways we can help by caring, praying, teaching, learning, giving, and loving. In closing, I will share about a monument of Rev. Toyohiko Kagawa, the famous Christian pastor, evangelist, activist born in 1888 who did so much for Japanese society. Please go to the Kagawa Center museum in Sannomiya to learn more about him, or just google his name. I want to tell you about a huge pillar you can see on the road not far from the Kagawa Center. Heading down Route 2 you will see it on the left hand side, it’s on the corner just after the road going to Shin Kobe Station and the tunnel to Suma. When you visit the site, you will notice that there are four pillars, one pillar is not touching the top. The significance of this is because the other pillars represent how we do need to carry others in the church who might not be as strong or who might be in need of more care. We serve by respecting each other regardless of abilities as well as also encouraging one another. There are some people at KUC who carry heavy loads in our church and some lighter loads. In spite of this, we can all serve in ministry in some way, helping to build one another up, caring for those in need within KUC as well as in our own communities and in throughout the world. We will now hear from Dr. Miwa Sasaki who will share her message of helping others. Amen. Let us pray. May the words of my mouth and meditations of our hearts together this morning be pleasing in your sight O Lord. You are our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
I am not the greatest singer, but when I was preparing for today’s message and meditating on the Scripture, this song came to my mind, so I’ve been singing it quite a bit this week. It’s called, “Be Still for the Presence of the Lord.” I think some of you know the song, so let’s sing it together. If not, this is a good chance for you to learn the song, too! “Be Still for the Presence of the Lord. The Holy One is here. Come bow before Him now. With reverence and fear. In Him no sin is sound. We stand on holy ground. Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here.” Let’s sing this one more time, but pay close attention to the lyrics. Don’t you think these lyrics really describe today’s Scripture? Moses, a shepherd, meets God on the mountain, and God tells him to be still. And when Moses moves to respond to God’s call and approach, God says “Come, no closer! Remove the sandals of your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:4-5) “Be Still for the Presence of the Lord. The Holy One is here. Come bow before Him now. With reverence and fear. (In Him no sin is sound.) We stand on holy ground. Be still for the presence of the Lord, the Holy One is here.” On Thursday I came together with our bookkeeper, Misako-san, and Jeanne Ono-san (who is helping us with cleaning the church building while Ted is out), here in the sanctuary at the end of the work day. We sat together, right here in the pews, and just…waited for a moment, in the stillness; not talking, but just remaining in the silence. I don’t remember who said what exactly, but after a time we all agreed that there was something truly special about being here in the sanctuary. It was hard to put into words, but we all felt something holy, majestic; something greater, bigger than ourselves. In that space, I was reminded of what God said to Moses: “Come, no closer! Remove the sandals of your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:4-5) The place on which you are standing is holy ground. Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you all to take off your sandals right now; especially since summer is over, and I bet most of you aren’t wearing sandals anyways! We don’t need to literally follow God’s command to Moses of course, but what I would like us to focus on is this: How do you respond when you realize that you are in the presence of God? Let’s start by looking at how Moses reacted, in today’s scripture. Moses was just going about his daily tasks, which had been assigned to him by his father-in-law, Jethro. He was out shepherding the sheep, just as he always did. But then, one day, his eyes left the flock for a moment and he saw a bush, burning in the desert. And as he looked closer he noticed that, somehow, this burning bush wasn’t being consumed by the fire at all. Now a man in his position could very well have kept his focus on the task his father-in-law had given, and stuck to the sheep he was tending. But instead, in that moment, this is what he said to himself: “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” (Exodus 3:3) Instead, Moses turned aside. Moses departed from where he was, from where he had been told to be, and looked in another direction, so that he could see what was happening to the burning bush. Moses looked (Exodus 3:2). Moses turned aside (Exodus 3:4). Well…then what happened? “When the Lord SAW that he (Moses) had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” (Exodus 3:4) The Lord saw Moses glance over, but then stop, and walked across to look even closer. And after the Lord saw Moses do all these things, after the Lord saw Moses’ attention focus on the presence of God and act accordingly, that is when Moses first heard God calling his name. “Moses, Moses!” Moses stopped, and looked, and then looked closer. That’s why God talked to him. Sometimes I hear people say - and sometimes, I admit that I even say this myself - that they don’t hear from God, or that they don’t really know what God is thinking. And in those moments, I wonder if it might not be that we don’t hear God, so much as that we haven’t stopped for God. Is it possible that we maybe glanced at what God was doing in our lives, but didn’t turn our attention to God as fully as Moses did? Is it possible that God was actually present with us, but that we didn’t realize that we were standing in God’s holy presence? Is it possible that we weren't still for the presence of the Lord? To put it another way, there are many times where we make ourselves out to be bigger than God; where we let the things we want to focus on, the things we want to look at, be more important to us. Our God is a kind God, who invites everyone into the presence of the Lord; God’s holy ground is open to everyone, always. But if you don’t turn your attention to God, if you, if you don’t make the choice to look toward that burning bush, you might never hear the voice of God. Moses had the right attitude in that moment; he stopped what he was doing. Moses looked more closely, heard the voice of God. And the voice of God told him what he could have ever have imagined: freedom for Israel, and rescue of Israelites. When Moses comes into the presence of the Lord, God tells him “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings. The cry of the Israelites has not come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them. So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7, 9 and 10) God tells Moses about the big problems facing the Israelites in Egypt; slavery, suffering, and oppression. And God chooses Moses as the person to put God’s grand plan into motion, to deliver the Israelites from all their suffering. Moses stopped what he had been doing, listened, and looked towards God. Moses prioritized being in the presence of God, and allowed God to be bigger than anything else in his mind, right until he heard exactly what it was that God had in store for him. Then, in that moment, Moses’ worries suddenly felt a whole lot bigger than God. “Who am I to do such a thing to go to a king of Egypt and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11) “I am no one. In fact, I escaped from Egypt because people found out that I killed an Egyptian. I am a murderer. I am a criminal.” “Who am I?” “Certainly not the person you think I am.” Moses’ concerns just got bigger and bigger, his fears about what to do and what to say seemed even greater than the God who was right in front of him. “Let’s say, I go to the Israelites in Egypt and say, ‘ The God of your ancestors has sent me to you.’ If they ask your name, what shall I say to them”? (Exodus 3:13) God has come to him personally, but all he can think about is many different ways it could go wrong; what he should do if he doesn’t have an answer. Making our fears, making ourselves bigger than God is something we all do, whether we are aware of it or not. God may be bigger, but we don’t allow for God to be bigger in our lives, and in the life of our church.Instead, we focus on our own issues, the offenses of others, our worries, our disappointments, our hurts, the things we want to do and the things we don’t want to do. We focus on what we want to say, and what we don’t want to say. “I am alone,” we say to ourselves, “No one talks to me, or likes me.” “Those people did things to me, and they have to apologize.” “My family problems will never resolve; I should have done this, or that, and if I had, maybe my family or I wouldn’t have suffered so much.” We tell ourselves that we want God to open this specific door, in this specific way. We tell ourselves that we don’t want to follow God if God tells us to go where we don’t want to, because it seems risky, or doesn’t make sense. This is so very human; so very us, isn’t it? Take a moment just now, place your hands on your heart, and be still. And in the stillness, ask yourself: What are some of the things you are holding on to, things that seem so much larger in your head and your heart, bigger even than God? Maybe it’s your career choices, or your future path? Maybe relationship problems, financial decisions, or even your church life? Maybe it’s how you plan your day or your week. What is it that comes to mind when you enter the presence of God in your heart? What are you making out to be bigger than God? Let’s see how God responded to Moses, when his heart and mind were so preoccupied with the greatness of his fears. God’s answer to Moses was so perfectly simple. God said “I will be with you.” (Exodus 3:12) And God said, “I AM WHO I AM.” (Exodus 3:14) I AM WHO I AM. In the middle of Moses’ fear, the only thing that God needed to say is that God is enough. Fears, concerns and problems can overwhelm us for sure, deciding to be who God made us to be can be scary; but God simply being who God is is more than enough for today, tomorrow and all the days of our lives. That is the answer. No matter how big we make our fears, concerns, problems out to be, God is bigger because that is who God is. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts….so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:8, 9 and 11) God’s thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and our ways. God is bigger, God is higher, God is greater. No matter what our fears, our own voices in our heads tell us, no matter how big they seem, that is the truth about God; God is always bigger. Knowing that, how do you respond to God? Do you still hold tight to everything you want to do, everything you want to say, everything you want for yourself, your family and your community, everything you worry about; do you hold yourself, your wants, your fears, your insecurities, and your own viewpoint to be bigger, higher, and greater than God? Or do you lay yourself down, submit, and surrender to the Lord, yielding to the God who whispers your name in the quiet stillness of God’s holy presence? Let us pray. “Be still for the Presence of the Lord, v.3” Be still for the power of the Lord, Is moving in this place. He comes to cleanse and heal, To minister His grace. No work too hard for Him In faith receive from Him Be still for the power of the Lord Is moving in this place Lord, please help us to be still and be more aware of your presence and power. Help us to yield to you in surrender once again. Amen. |
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May 2024
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