God Is In Control

The message given in the Wheatland Parish on Sunday morning, March 29, 2020.  The Bible verses used are John 11:1-44.

            As we look at the world right now, one of the things we wonder is, “Where is God in all this?  Why is God not doing something?  It seems like the world is falling apart.  People are getting sick.  People are dying!  People are losing their jobs.  Businesses are closing.  We cannot even go out to see our friends.  What’s going on?   I thought God was supposed to be all-powerful.  I thought God was supposed to love us and take care of us.  And now, here we are, the world is out of control, and what’s God doing about it?”

            I can understand why we ask those questions.  I suspect God understands it, too.  But God still asks us to have faith and trust Him.  And maybe, one of the things that can help us do that is our Bible reading for today, the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.

            Lazarus was a good friend of Jesus.  He was the brother of Mary and Martha, who of course were also his good friends.  Lazarus gets sick, very sick.  Mary and Martha know about the healing power Jesus has, so they send word to Jesus that Lazarus is sick.  And Jesus’ response is, “This sickness will not end in death.  No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

            And the disciples said, “Huh?”

            Well, the Bible does actually say that last part, but I would not doubt if it was true.  They’d have been glad to hear Lazarus was not going to die, of course.  But the bit about God’s Son being glorified through this sickness?  I doubt if they had a clue what that meant.

            And then, Jesus does nothing for two days.  He just goes about his business.  The disciples must have wondered about that, too.  Is Jesus not going to go help his friend?  Does Jesus not care?  Is he not even going to send word to Mary and Martha, so they know he’s aware of the situation?  Is Jesus not going to do anything?

            But Jesus was in control of the situation.  After two days, he tells the disciples they’re going to go to Judea.  And he then tells them that Lazarus has died.  And he says he’s glad he was not there!

            The disciples must have been really confused.  Jesus had said two days ago that Lazarus would not die, and now he says he’s dead!  And Jesus did not lift a finger to help.  He did not even try to get to Lazarus before he died.  In fact, he deliberately stayed away, and he’s happy that he stayed away.  

            And not only that, but now, after it’s too late to do anything, Jesus wants to go to Lazarus.  Why?  What’s the point?  Does he want to go to the funeral?  

            But Jesus is still in control of the situation.  He knows what he’s going to do, even if no one else does.

            Jesus gets to Bethany, and he finds out that Lazarus has been buried for four days.  Martha and Mary find out that Jesus is coming, and Martha goes out to meet him.  And it’s interesting what Martha says.  It’s kind of an accusation, but it’s kind of a plea, too.  She says, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.  But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

            Martha has not given up hope.  She knows Jesus could’ve saved Lazarus.  But she also knows that “even now God will give you whatever you ask.”  She is still holding out hope that there might be something Jesus can do, even with Lazarus dead four days.  And she also says to Jesus, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into this world.”

            Martha still has faith, and she still has hope.  I don’t know if she really thought Jesus would bring Lazarus back to life.  After all, in response to Jesus’ question, she says she knows he will rise again on the last day.  I don’t know if Martha had anything specific in mind that she thought Jesus would do.  But she still believed he could do something, because she still believed that Jesus was the Son of God.

            And Jesus was still in control of the situation.  He knows what he’s going to do, even though nobody else does.  Mary comes out, and Mary does not appear to have Martha’s faith.  She does not appear to have hope, either.  She simply said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

            Now, it’s hard to know how she said that.  She may have said it accusingly, she may have said it matter-of-factly, she may have said it sadly.  She was definitely sad--she was crying.  And Jesus starts crying, too.

            Now, Jesus is still in control of the situation.  Jesus knows what he’s going to do.  Remember, he said this “is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”  But still, Jesus starts crying.  That may have been just out of sympathy for Mary, but I suspect it was more than that.  Even though Jesus knew things had to happen the way they were going to happen, and even though Jesus knew it was for God’s glory that it happen this way, I suspect Jesus still felt some sadness.  He was sad that Mary and Martha had to go through this.  He was probably sad that Lazarus had to go through it, too.  He knew it needed to be this way, and he knew it was going to be for the best in the end, but he was still sad that they had to go through what they were going through.

            They take Jesus to the tomb.  And again, Jesus is in control.  He tells them to open the tomb.  People object, but they eventually do it.  Jesus prays, and then says, “Lazarus, come out!”

            And he does!  Lazarus is alive!  He’s got the grave clothes on him, the strips of linen and so forth, but he’s alive!  And Jesus tells him to take all that stuff off him and let him go.  Just when the situation seemed hopeless, Jesus acted.  And it was for God’s glory, and God’s Son was glorified through Jesus’ acts.  And I would think there must have been quite a party at the house of Lazarus and Martha and Mary that night.

            So, how does that relate to our situation?  Well, some of you are probably already ahead of me on that.  If you’re not, though, let’s look at it.  Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were in a really bad situation.  They thought Jesus was their only hope.  And they called on Jesus, asking, begging him to help them.  And--nothing happened.  Jesus did not do anything.  It appeared that Jesus had failed them.  Their situation became worse.  In fact, it looked hopeless.

            And then it appeared that maybe, just maybe, Jesus would do something.  But it seemed like it was too late.  It seemed like nothing could be done now.  Martha, at least, had kind of a vague, undefined hope.  But no one else had any hope at all.  It was all over.  There was nothing Jesus or anyone else could do.

            Nobody could understand why Jesus had not acted.  Nobody could understand why Jesus had not taken care of the situation.  He could have, they knew that.  They knew the kind of power Jesus had.  And they knew Jesus was aware of it--they’d specifically asked him to come and help.  And yet, Jesus had ignored them.  He had done nothing.  They had thought he loved Lazarus, and yet, he had allowed Lazarus to die.  Jesus had abandoned them just when they needed him the most.

            Except he had not.  Jesus had not abandoned them.  Jesus was in control of the situation all along.  And when the time was right, Jesus acted.  And he acted in a way that God was glorified, and the Son of God was glorified, too.

            Right now, we’re in a bad situation.  We’re looking in a lot of places for answers, but nobody seems to have any answers, at least not yet.  And many people are calling on God to do something.  And it does not appear that God is doing anything.  God is allowing the situation to continue, and in fact it seems to be getting worse.

            And some people are losing hope.  Some of us cannot understand why God does not act.  We don’t understand why God has not taken care of the situation.  God could, we now that.  We know the kind of power God has.  And we know God is aware of the situation.  First of all, God knows everything--that’s one of the things that makes God, God.  But also, any number of people are praying, repeatedly, for God to help.  And it appears that God is ignoring us.  It appears that God is doing nothing.  We thought God loved us, and yet God is allowing all this to happen.  It feels like God has abandoned us just when we need God the most.

            But it’s not true.  God has not abandoned us.  God is in control of the situation, and God always has been in control of the situation.  God is not happy about the suffering that’s going on right now.  In fact, I believe God cries with us.  But when the time is right, God will act.  And I believe God will act in a way that results in God being glorified, at least in the eyes of those who are willing to accept it.

            Now, I want you to understand what I mean when I say God will act.  I’m not saying that at some point there’s going to be a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder and a voice from heaven will say, “Begone, coronavirus!”  I mean, God could do that--God could do anything--but I don’t think that’s probably what will happen.  I think God will act the way God usually acts.  God will act through people.  

            In fact, God is already acting through people.  Look at the number of people who are helping each other through this.  Look at the dedication of our medical providers and our first responders.  Look at the dedication of our educational system, working so hard to find ways to reach our kids even when the school itself cannot meet.  Look at the dedication of our religious educators, who are also finding ways to reach kids.  Look at the dedication of our store owners, who are finding ways to serve people at curbside or with drive-thrus.  Look at the dedication of just common, everyday people who are calling each other, checking on each other, making sure everybody is okay.  And I could go on and on.  Whenever any of this stuff happens, God is glorified.  God is giving us all kinds of chances to love our neighbors, and a lot of us are taking advantage of those chances.  And it’s awesome to see.

            It may feel like the world is falling apart.  But it’s not.  God is still in control.  And when the time is right, God will act.  Even if the situation starts to seem hopeless, God will act.  And when God acts, it will be for God’s glory.

The Number One Priority

The message from the Wednesday night Lent service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on March 25, 2020.  The Bible verses used are Mark 8:11-26.

            We’re going through a really unusual time right now.  I guess you did not need me to tell you that.  But maybe you’ve noticed something.  Whenever something unusual happens, whenever things are bad, especially when it’s something that happens kind of suddenly like this, there’s something we always say.  It’s something like, well, this really puts things into perspective.  This really helps us get our priorities in order.

            One of the things that frustrated Jesus about the disciples--and I suspect it frustrates him about you and me, too--is that they had such a hard time getting their priorities in order.  I mean, they had, right there with them, Jesus.  The Christ.  The Divine Son of God.  The Messiah.  And yet, so much of the time, they were concerned with mundane, trivial, every day things.  They were concerned about having enough to eat.  They were concerned about where they were going to go.  They were concerned with which among them was the greatest.  I mean, they were there with God--God the Son.  And yet instead of appreciating that, instead of realizing how fortunate they were, instead of bowing down and worshiping him, they were concerned about all these small, insignificant things.  It had to be really frustrating for Jesus.

            They’re in a boat.  They don’t have anything to eat, other than one loaf of bread.  And Jesus says, “Be careful.  Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”  

            Now, granted, that statement was not as clear as you and I might want it to be.  Jesus did not always just come right out and say what he was talking about.  But how do the disciples respond?   Do they ask Jesus what he meant?  Do they say, “Hey, Jesus we did not quite get that one.  Could you explain it to us?”  No.  Instead, they decide Jesus must be mad at them because they forgot to bring bread!

            Now, is that not about the silliest thing you can think of?  I mean, they’ve been with Jesus for years now.  They’ve seen Jesus work all kinds of miracles.  In fact, as Jesus reminds them, they’ve seen Jesus work miracles with bread!  And yet, when Jesus makes this statement, all the disciples can think about is that they don’t have enough bread.  

            The disciples should have known they did not have to worry about bread.  But again, they did not have their priorities straight.  They did not have a proper perspective.  Instead of rejoicing that the divine Son of God was there with them, instead of feeling honored and privileged that they were allowed to be in the presence of the divine Son of God, instead of feeling really lucky to be allowed to serve the divine Son of God, what are they doing?  They’re thinking about their stomachs!  They’re thinking about whether they have enough bread!

            But you know, do you and I do any better?  Maybe, sometimes.  But I suspect a lot of times we don’t.  We are allowed to be in the presence of God, too.  We are allowed to serve God, too.  Do we rejoice about that?  Do we feel honored and privileged to be allowed to be in God’s presence?  Do we feel lucky to be allowed to serve God?  Or do we spend a lot of our time thinking about other things?

            I’m not here to judge you.  But I want you think about it.  What is the number one thing in your life?  Is it serving God?  I mean, I assume serving God is one of the things in your life.  After all, here you are, watching a livestreamed church service on a Wednesday night.  Even in this time where there are no sports on, you could still find lots of other things to do tonight.  You would not be watching this service if you did not have some feelings for God.  You would not be watching if you did not have some desire to serve God.

            But is serving God the number one thing in your life?  Or is it just one of many things?  And don’t get me wrong, I need to ask those questions of myself, too.  Just because I’m a pastor, it does not automatically follow that the number one thing in my life is serving God.  It should follow, but it does not follow automatically.  After all, it should be the number one thing for all of us, but it does not happen automatically for any of us.

            There are a lot of things that compete for our attention.  There’s work.  There’s family--a spouse, kids, whatever.  There’s hobbies.  There’s the things we enjoy doing, the things that make life more fun.  And none of those things are wrong or bad or sinful--that’s not the point.  The point is that whether they’re good, bad, or indifferent, any and all of them become bad if they get in the way of serving God.

            Now, can we serve God through your work?  Of course we can.  Can we serve God by taking care of our family?  Sure, absolutely.  We can serve God through our hobbies.  We can serve God in all sorts of ways.  

            But is that truly what we’re doing?  When we focus our attention on these other things--and again, they can be neutral or even good things--are we doing them to serve God?  Are we doing them to serve ourselves?  Or, are we just--doing them?  Doing them without any really thought about whether we’re serving God?  Doing them because that’s what we do, without even thinking about why we’re doing them?

It’s easy for us to have that happen to us.  We just do the things we’ve always done because, well, we’ve always done them.  They’re part of our routine, and most of us like our routines.  And even if we’re not always thrilled with them, well, we’re used to them.  We know how to live in our routines.  They’re comfortable.  They help make life go smoothly.

But the goal of a Christian should not be to have life go smoothly.  Jesus never said, “Follow me and life will go smoothly.”  In fact, Jesus said the exact opposite.  Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

We’re living in an unusual time right now.  I don’t think any of us likes it.  I know I sure don’t.  But one thing about the time we’re living in now is that we cannot just follow our familiar routines.  Whether we want to or not, we simply cannot do it.  School is taught online.  Worship is online.  A lot of businesses are closed, and some are drive-thru only.  People are being advised to avoid getting together in groups.  A lot of people are being told to work from home.  Our routines are being disrupted right and left, whether we want them to be or not.

A week or so ago, I advised people to try to keep the routines of life as much as possible.  I’m not changing that advice.  We all need things to help us feel normal in very abnormal times.  But I would also advise us all to do something else.  While we’re keeping our routines, let’s think about them.  Think about why we have those routines.  And then, think about whether those routines are really worth keeping.  Is this a routine that helps me serve God?  Or is it a routine that distracts me from serving God.  And if so, then, maybe, is this a routine I would be better off without?

Again, I don’t mean this to sound judgmental.  I’m sure most of us have many routines that do help us serve God.  Maybe they even help us keep serving God the number one thing in our lives.  But I suspect most of us also have some routines that do not help us serve God.  Again, they may not be bad or evil or sinful.  But they’re things that distract us.  They’re things that get in our way.  They’re things that keep us from serving God as well as we should.  They’re things that keep serving God from being the number one thing in our lives.

At some point, we’ll have the corona virus under control.  Maybe not this week or this month, but eventually.  The restrictions will start to come off.  Business will open again.  Schools will open again.  Churches will open again.  Life will get back to normal.

But think about this.  Maybe, just maybe, it would be a good thing if life did not completely get back to normal.  Maybe this is a chance for us to re-orient our lives.  Maybe this is a chance for you and me and all of us to improve our focus.  Maybe we can make the clichés come true.  Maybe we really can use this time to gain perspective and get our priorities in order.

And maybe, just maybe, we can use this time to make serving God our number one priority.  Maybe we can truly feel what an honor and a privilege it is to be allowed to serve God.  Maybe we can rejoice at the fact that we are allowed to feel God’s presence with us.

And maybe we don’t have to wait until the virus is under control to do that.  Maybe we could do it now.  Because there are certainly plenty of chances to serve God right now.  There are certainly plenty of chances to feel God’s presence right now.  

Let’s get our priorities in order.  When we do, we’ll know that serving God is our number one priority.  If we focus on that, God will show us how to do it.  Then, the world won’t get back to normal.  It’ll move forward to better.

Being the Light

The message in the Sunday night service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on March 22, 2020.  The Bible verses used are Ephesians 5:8-14.

            I’ve told you many times that I love living here.  I love how you can go out into the country and see for fifteen miles or more.  I love all the wildlife you can see:  the geese, the pheasants, and the deer--well, when they don’t run in front of my car, anyway.  I love watching the crops grow.  I especially love it when the sunflowers are in bloom.  And I love the people here, too.  We have some of the best people anywhere in the small towns that make up the Wheatland Parish.

            There’s only one thing I don’t like about living here.  Winter.  The first day of spring was a few days ago, and I thank God for that, because I do not like winter.  It’s not just the snow, although I don’t care for that.  It’s not just the cold, although I don’t care for that, either.

            What it is, is the dark.  In the middle of winter, we have less than nine hours of sunlight.  And that’s on the days when we can actually see the sun--there are a lot of days in the winter when we cannot.  That makes for a lot of hours of darkness, and I don’t like that.  I love it in the middle of summer, when it’s still light past ten o’clock at night.  But I don’t like it in the middle of winter.  It’s dark when I get up.  It’s dark when I have breakfast.  It’s still dark when I get to the church in the morning.  It’s dark when I have supper.  Dark, dark, dark.  I do not like that at all.

            Most people don’t.  Statistics show that people tend to get more depressed in the winter, when they spend so many hours in darkness.  There’s a name for it--Seasonal Affective Disorder.  You’ve probably heard of that.  Human beings were not designed to love the darkness.  We were designed to love the light.

            We talk about Jesus as the light of the world.  We were designed to love that light, too.  We were designed to love Jesus Christ.  In our reading for tonight, the Apostle Paul says that we are to live as children of light.  That’s another way of saying we should live as children of God.  He talks about being the fruit of the light, which means to be the fruit of the Lord.  And he defines what being fruit of the light means--all goodness, righteousness, and truth.  That’s what you and I were designed to be.  

But it’s not easy to be that, is it?  It’s not easy for a few reasons.

One is just our inherent sinful nature.  Paul says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”  But it’s easy to slip back into darkness, you know?  And the thing is, we’re so good at justifying ourselves.  We’re so good at telling ourselves that what we’re doing is good and right.  We tell ourselves that, and we convince ourselves that it’s true.  Basically, what we’re doing is telling ourselves that darkness is light.  Deep down, we know better.  We know what we’re doing is not light.  We know that darkness is not light.  But we push that thought away.  We refuse to let it in.  We allow ourselves to believe what we want to believe, even though we know better.  We allow ourselves to believe that darkness is light, even though we know it’s not.

But another reason it’s not easy is the world.  The world is pretty dark right now.  When I say that, of course, the first thing that comes to mind right now is the coronavirus.  But there were a lot of problems before that.  There was a lot of flooding last year, and there are fears of flooding again this year.  There are a crops that never got harvested last year and are still out in the fields.  And of course, there have been storms and earthquakes and all kinds of things happening in lots of places.  It’s hard to be fruit of the light in a world that seems so dark.

But Paul said something else.  He did not just say that we are fruit of the light.  He did not just say that we are children of light.  He said we are light.  The very first verse of our reading for tonight said, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”

That sounds nice, and it is, but in a dark world it’s a challenge.  It’s also a calling.  We are called to be light.  We are called to be light for ourselves, and for our neighbors, and for the whole world.

But we say, well, how can I do that?  How in the world can I be light for the whole world?  I’m just one person.  My little tiny light won’t do anything.

But it will.  And in fact, the darker the world is, the more our lights are needed.  Even if we think all we have is a little, tiny light, it is needed.  And the darker the world is, the more effective our little tiny light will be.

Think of it this way.  You can even try this at home if you want to.  Have you ever lit a candle in a bright, well-lit room?  That little candle does not seem to make any difference at all, does it?  In fact, if you were not looking right at it, you would not even know that candle had been lit.

But have you ever lit a candle in a dark room?  What happens then?  It lights up the whole room, right?  The darker the room is, the more effect even a small light has.  And the darker the world is, the more effect our small lights can have.

Jesus was and is the light of the world.  But as Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, you and I are called to be a light for the world.  That’s our challenge.  That’s our calling.

So think about it.  How can you be a light in the world?  If you don’t think you can light up the whole world, how can you be a light in Gettysburg?  Or Onida?  Or Agar?  And if even that seems like it’s too much, then how can you be a light for the people around you?  How can you be a light for your neighbors?  How can you be a light for your family?  

Yes, it’s harder in this time of isolation and fear.  But it can be done.  We just have to be more intentional about it.  We’re not seeing people casually, the way we normally do.  So, we have to make an active decision that we are going to find ways to be there for each other and to find out how we can help each other.

Luckily, we have ways to do that which people did not have years ago.  One of them is what we’re doing right now.  Livestreaming?  Facebook live?  Not very many years ago, everyone would’ve said what in the world is that?  And now, here we are.

And there are all kinds of other things.  Facetime.  Social media.  Texting.  Email.  Talking on the telephone.  If you want to get really old school, you could even write someone a letter!  You say, well, who in the world writes letters any more?  But I can tell you that if you actually took the time to write a letter and send it to someone, the chances are you’d make their whole day.

There are all kinds of ways we can be there for each other.  There are all kinds of ways we can help each other.  The only limit to it is our imagination.  But where it starts, really, is with desire.  It starts with a desire to be the people of God.  It starts with a desire to be light in the Lord, as Paul says.  If we have that desire, we will find a way to this.  It’s like the old saying:  when we really want to do something, we find a way.  When we really don’t want to do something, we find an excuse.

A time like this is a time when our faith really gets tested.  That’s not necessarily something we like.  For one thing, our faith being tested inherently means there’s some bad stuff going on, and nobody wants that.  But there’s another reason, too.

You know, in the Lord’s Prayer, we say, “lead us not into temptation”.  There are some people who believe that line is better translated “lead us not to a time of testing”.  We ask not to be led to a time of testing because we know there’s a chance we may fail the test.

But that’s something we don’t get to choose.  We are in a time of testing, whether we want to be or not.  And so, this is when we find out.  This is when we find out if we truly do trust God.  This is when we find out whether we truly follow Jesus Christ.  We talk all the time about important our faith is.  This is when we get the chance to prove it.

Jesus’ command to love our neighbors is always important.  In fact, he said it was one of the two most important commandments there are, along with loving God.  But loving our neighbors is never more important than now.  Being a light is never more important than now, when the world seems so dark.  

So, will we pass the test?  Will we love our neighbors?  Will we decide we want to be there for each other and love each other?  Will we be so determined to do that, that we will find a way, even in these times?  Will we be the lights the world needs in these dark times?

            We are called to fruit of the light.  We are called to be children of light.  We are called to be the light.  We are called to be light for the world, just as Jesus is the light of the world.

            The world looks dark now.  Let’s all be the light.

An Update From Pastor Jeff

Good morning!  I just wanted to give you another update on how things stand with the church this morning.  At the recommendation of the bishop, and in consultation with our church councils, we have decided to suspend in-person worship until May 10.

Now, two things about that.  We will continue to livestream all of our services, Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening during Lent.  We’ll also livestream all of our Holy Week services.  Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and of course Easter Sunday.  So please keep watching them.  We know quite a number of you are, and we really appreciate that.  And I thank Katie Frost and Alyssa Roseland for their work in making those livestreams possible.

And the other thing is that the May 10 date is not etched in stone.  If things should improve, we can take a look at having in-person worship sooner.  And, of course, if things go the other way, it’s possible we may have to wait longer.  That’s one of the frustrating things about this--no one knows how long things will be like this.  We just have to hang in there and do our best.

And I know a lot of you are.  I said a week or so ago that we all need to keep our sense of humor during this time, and I know a lot of us are doing a good job with that.  God created human beings to be very adaptible, and a lot of us are adapting very well.  I applaud you for that.  Keep it going.

But I know some of us have some serious concerns.  Some of us have had their hours cut back or have lost your jobs.  Some of us are concerned about losing businesses.  Some of us have loved ones we’re concerned about and are not able to go and see.  Some of us already have health issues, and so are very concerned about what might happen if we got the coronavirus.  And there are lots of other issues as well.  And they’re not easy to deal with.

So, as you deal with them, please know that your church is here for you.  Wanda and I are not doing much in-person visiting right now, for obvious reasons.  But we are still here for you.  You can call us, you send a text, send an email, send me a message on facebook.  We want to be here for you as much as we can.  So if you have concerns, or if you just want someone to talk to, please get hold of us.

And please keep taking care of each other.  Again, I know a lot of us are doing a good job with that.  But keep it up.  When there are no events going on, when we cannot go and see each other in person, we need to be more intentional about this.  Again, I know a lot of us are doing that already.  I just want to encourage you to keep going.

And keep your faith.  God is there, and God will see us through this.  Think of all the terrible things that have happened in human history.  God was with us through all of them, and God saw us through them.  Think of some of the tough times you’ve had in your life.  God was with you through them, and God saw you through them.  God will be with us through this, and God will see us through it.  Keep trusting God.

It’s a tough time right now, but it’s not going to last forever.  Things will get better.  We will all get back together again.  God is still great, and God is still good.  And you know what?  All of you are pretty great and pretty good, too.  If we stay together, if we find ways to be there for each other, if we keep loving each other, then together we’ll get through this.  So hang in there, keep smiling, and keep praying.  And have a blessed day.

The Most Important Person Around

This is the message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on Sunday, March 22, 2020.  The Bible verses used are John 9:1-41.

            It’s amazing to me how many of Jesus’ miracles don’t seem to have been planned out ahead of time.  Think about it.  Jesus just goes to a wedding as a guest, and the next thing we know he’s turning water into wine.  Jesus is trying to get off by himself, but a bunch of people follow him, he speaks to them, and the next thing we know he’s feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish.  Those are just a couple of examples where Jesus was really just kind of minding his own business, and all of a sudden circumstances prompt him to work a miracle.

            And our story today is another one.  Jesus is walking down the road, sees a blind man, and decides to heal him.  The way it’s written, it does not sound like Jesus set out that day to heal a blind man.  It does not sound like Jesus had any particular plan, really.  It just says “as he was walking along, he saw a man who was blind since birth.”  The disciples ask him whose fault it was that this many had been born blind, and Jesus says, “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed through him.”

            You know, as I read this, I have all kinds of questions.  First, how did the disciples know this man had been born blind?  I mean, I can see how they could’ve figured out that he was blind, but how did they know he was born that way?  Was he somebody they knew?  Did Jesus tell them?  

            And then, I wonder how the blind man felt when he heard this conversation between Jesus and the disciples about whose fault it was that he’d been born blind.  I mean, the way it sounds, they’re having this conversation right in front of him.  Have you ever had that happen, to have people talk about you like you were not even there, even though you are right there, right in front of them?  Talk about feeling insignificant.  This guy might just as well have been a rock by the side of the road, for all the disciples noticed him.

            But then, he’d have heard Jesus say that bit about him being blind “so that the works of God might be displayed through him.”  What must he have thought about that?  He was pretty confused, probably.  We don’t even know if he knew who Jesus was.  He’d have heard the disciples call him “Rabbi”, so he’d have known that much.  But did he know Jesus could work miracles?  

And how was his being blind going to let the works of God be displayed.  What works of God, anyway?  Was Jesus saying his blindness was a work of God?  He must have really wondered what was going on.

So Jesus spits on the ground, makes some mud, and rubs it on the guy’s eyes.  He tells him “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam.”

As the story comes to us, that’s the only thing Jesus said.  He did not explain who he was.  He did not explain what he was doing.  He did not say what, if anything, would happen after this guy washed in the Pool of Siloam.  He just said to do it.

And the guy did it!  That’s pretty amazing, really.  Again, we don’t know that he had any idea who Jesus was.  We don’t know that he had any idea that Jesus had special healing powers.  When he was going to the Pool of Siloam, what was he thinking?  Did he really believe he was going to be healed?  Or did he think, well, what have I got to lose, really?  

And it worked!  Can you imagine how he must have felt?  Can you imagine what that would be like?  To have been born blind, to never have seen anything, to not even really understand what it meant to see something.  And then, all of a sudden, you can see!  I mean, that had to feel incredible.

And then come the questions.  First from his neighbors.  Now, you really cannot blame them for having questions.  I mean, they’d known this guy for years, they knew he was blind, and now he can see?  How’s that work?  How’s it even possible?

But then the Pharisees question him.  He tells them the story, and they refuse to believe it.  So they ask him again.  And he tells them again.  This keeps happening, over and over and over.  The Pharisees keep asking him questions, he keeps answering them, and they keep refusing to believe it.

But here’s the thing.  Think about this.  The day before this--in fact, earlier that same day--the Pharisees would not have had any interest in this guy at all.  They would’ve walked right past him.  I mean, he was a blind man.  He was a beggar.  In their world, he was being punished by God, either because of his own sins or his parents’ sins.  He was essentially a non-person in the eyes of the Pharisees.  They would’ve ignored him.  They would not have given him the time of day.  They’d have had zero interest in anything he had to say.

And now, just a few hours later, this guy is the most important person around.  The Pharisees pretty much demand to talk to him.  And they keep talking to him, questioning him.  And as you look at the answers he gives to the Pharisees, it sounds like this formerly blind man loves the attention he’s getting, and you cannot blame him.  It also sounds like he gives no deference to the Pharisees, and you cannot blame him for that, either.  He tells the Pharisees Jesus is a prophet.  He asks them if they want to be Jesus’ disciples.  He tells them that Jesus could not do what he’d done if he was not from God.  This guy has to know he’s making the Pharisees mad, but he does not care.  And there’s no reason he should care, because he knows he’s telling the truth.  If the Pharisees don’t want to accept it, that’s their problem.  But he’s going to praise God, and praise this prophet who has cured him of his blindness, because he knows what happened.  He knows the truth.

Think about what Jesus did for this man.  When you think about it, Jesus really worked two miracles first man.  Jesus cured him of his blindness, of course, and it would’ve been awesome enough if Jesus had just stopped there.  But Jesus did more than that.  Jesus elevated this man from essentially being a non-person to being the most important person around.  He went from being someone who people ignored to someone people could not stop talking to  That had to feel almost as good, maybe even better, as being able to see.  

In the end, of course, the Pharisees threw him out.  But it looks like he did not care, and why should he?  He did not need them any more.  He did not need anyone.  Except for one person.  He needed Jesus.  When Jesus caught up with him again, he said to Jesus, tell me who the Son of Man is, so I can believe in him.  And was Jesus told him, he worshiped Jesus.

You see, that’s what makes Jesus the great healer.  It’s not just because of his physical healing.  That’s what we always think of, the miraculous physical healing he gave so many people.  That’s important, but it’s not the most important way Jesus heals us.  Jesus provides spiritual healing.  He can take us from feeling like we’re lost, feeling like we’re not important, feeling like no one cares about us, to feeling like we’re the most important person around.  Because in Jesus’ eyes, we are.  Each one of us, to Jesus, is the most important person around.  No matter who insignificant or helpless we feel, each one of us is incredibly important to Jesus.

We’re living in an uncertain world right now.  Some might say it’s a scary world.  It’s a world that seems to be changing every day.  Things that we thought we fixed in our world are no longer there, at least not right now.  We feel kind of lost.  We feel unimportant.  We feel like we have no control over anything.  That’s one of the reasons people start to hoard things--it’s an attempt to have control over some aspect, any aspect, of our lives in a world that seems totally out of control.

But it’s not.  The world is not out of control.  God is still there.  Nothing happens that God does not allow.  And Jesus is still there, and Jesus is still the great healer.  Jesus can heal us physically, and that’s very important.  But Jesus can also heal us spiritually.  In a world where we feel totally insignificant, Jesus can come and make us feel like the most important person around.  Jesus will do that, if we put our faith and trust in him.  If we worship him, like the blind man worshiped him.  Because then we will know the truth, just like the blind man knew the truth.

You and I are not insignificant.  We are not unimportant.  When we experience Jesus’ healing, we’ll know that.  Because then, we will know the truth.

Changing Our Mindset

The message given in the Gettysburg United Methodist church at the Wednesday night Lent service on March 18, 2020.  The Bible verses used are Luke 6:17-49.

            Most of the time, when we read the words of Jesus, he’s having a conversation with someone.  Someone has asked him a question.  Or someone has asked him to heal them.  Or he’s trying to tell the disciples what’s going to happen to him.  But it’s Jesus talking to someone, for the most part.

            But Jesus could give long speeches, what we would today call sermons.  And we have a few of his sermons in the Bible.  There’s the Sermon on the Mount, for example.  There’s what I call Jesus’ farewell address, the speech he made to the disciples just before he went to the Garden of Gethsemane.  We’ll deal with that one in a few weeks.  And we have the one we read tonight, the Sermon on the Plain.

            The Sermon on the Plain is basically a shorter version of the Sermon on the Mount.  Some people think Luke just took the Sermon on the Mount, cut it down and put it in a different setting.  It seems more reasonable, though, to assume that Jesus was talking to two different audiences in two different places, and so gave two versions of the same message.  

            We can tell, from the speeches that we have, that Jesus was a good preacher.  And we can see that, when he preached, he was not at all hesitant to tell it like it is.  He came out and said what he had to say.  And he did that even if what he had to say was not what people wanted to hear.  

            Jesus started out with the blessings, and of course people liked hearing that.  He went on with the woes, which people did not like as much.  But still, you know how that goes.  People found a way to say those woes did not apply to them.  They were not rich or anything.  And so, for the most part, people were okay with that, too.

But then comes the part that nobody likes.  Jesus said, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

            Most of us have heard that before, of course.  And we pay lip service to it.  But let me ask you--and I’m not asking for a show of hands or anything, but I want you to think about it:  

Do you love your enemies?  

Do you do good for those who hate you?

Do you bless those who curse you?

Do you pray for those who mistreat you?

If someone hits you--physically or otherwise--do you not only not hit back, but allow them to hit you again?

If someone takes something from you, do you offer them something else as well?

Do you give to everyone who asks you?

None of those things is easy to do.  In fact, they’re very hard.  Some of them don’t even make sense to us.  Our instinct is to try to come up with some way to explain them away, to try to come up with excuses for ourselves, to say, well, Jesus really did not mean that literally.  He was just trying to make a point.

He was trying to make a point, of course, but it’s not a point that allows us to make excuses for ourselves.  Listen to what Jesus says next:  “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Now, Jesus did not say that we have to do these things to get to heaven.  Eternal life is based on faith in Jesus Christ and not on good works.  But what I think Jesus was saying was, look, if you truly believe I am the divine Son of God, then your life needs to be different from the people who don’t believe.  And it’s not just a matter of being a little nicer and a little kinder.  What I’m calling for you to do is to change your entire mindset.

Our human mindset is that we’ll love those who love us.  Our human mindset is that we’ll be nice to people who are nice to us.  Our human mindset is that we’ll give to people who can pay us back.  And Jesus is telling us, that’s not God’s mindset.  God’s mindset is to be love everyone, whether they love Him or not.  God’s mindset is to help people who call on Him, and even to help people who don’t.  God’s mindset is to try to be there for everyone, even if they choose to turn away from him.

That’s the mindset Jesus is calling us to have.  Jesus is calling us to give up our human mindset and take on God’s mindset.  In other words, Jesus is calling us to be as God-like as possible.  Not in power, obviously, but in love.  Jesus calls us to love people, not as humans love them, but as God loves them.  Jesus calls us to love people with no conditions, with no strings attached.  Jesus calls us to love people no matter how they treat us.  And the love Jesus calls us to have goes beyond just tolerating people or putting up with them.  The love Jesus calls us to have goes beyond just accepting people.  The love Jesus calls us to have means embracing people as they are.  

That’s hard.  But remember--Jesus did it.  Jesus loved Judas, who would betray him.  He even allowed him to be part of the Last Supper, knowing that Judas was about to betray him.  Jesus loved Pilate, and Pilate was the one who allowed Jesus to be killed.  And as Jesus hung on the cross, he looked at the people who were responsible for killing him and asked God the Father to forgive them.

That’s love.  That’s the kind of love Jesus had.  It’s the kind of love Jesus still has.  And it’s the kind of love Jesus calls us to have, too.

Our instinct, when we hear that, is to kind of dismiss it.  I mean, we might nod our heads in agreement with it, but there’s a part of us that’s thinking, yeah, yeah.  That all sounds good in theory.  But I’m not Jesus.  I cannot love like Jesus.  God cannot expect me to love like Jesus.  And so, while we agree that this is what we’re supposed to do, we don’t really take very many steps to try and do it.  And believe me, I’m as guilty of that as anyone, maybe more.

Jesus knew these things would be hard for us.  But still, knowing that, he did not make them optional.  He did not give us excuses and he did not grant exceptions, because Jesus knew that if he gave us excuses we would take them, and if he granted exceptions we’d all want one.  Jesus knew these things would be hard for us, but he told us to do them anyway.

One of the things Lent is about is for us to examine our lives.  We are to look at who God is, look at who we are, and see how far short we fall from who God wants us to be.  But then, we are to make whatever changes are necessary to make up the difference.  In other words, what Lent is about is for us to change our mindset.  You and I need to change from a human mindset to a God-like mindset.  And this is what Jesus is telling us to do in our reading for tonight.

So the question for each of us, including me is:  are we going to do this?  Are we going to take Jesus’ words seriously?  I asked a series of questions earlier.  Let me ask those questions again, a little differently:

Are you willing to love your enemies?  

Are you willing to do good for those who hate you?

Are you willing to bless those who curse you?

Are you willing to pray for those who mistreat you?

If someone hits you--physically or otherwise--are you willing to not only not hit back, but allow them to hit you again?

If someone takes something from you, are you willing to offer them something else as well?

Are you willing to give to everyone who asks you?

None of it’s easy.  And we can make all kinds of excuses not to do any of it.  I know we can, because I’ve made all kinds of excuses.  Sometimes I still do.  But are we willing, tonight, to stop making excuses?  Are we willing, tonight, to change from our human mindset to a God-like mindset?

We know what we’re supposed to do.  Are we, in this season of Lent, willing to do it?

Is the Lord Among Us or Not?

The message from the Sunday night service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on Sunday, March 15, 2020.  The Bible verses used are Exodus 17:1-7.

            You know how sometimes you can be reading the Bible--well, you can be reading anything, really--and a line just jumps out at you?  That’s what happened when I was reading this passage to get ready for tonight’s service.  The last verse of our reading just jumped out at me.  It says Moses “called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord, saying ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’”

            Moses is leading the people of Israel during their time of wandering in the wilderness.  Now, we say “wilderness”, but a lot it was desert.  And what’s the main characteristic of a desert?  Right, there’s no water.  The people start complaining, and since Moses is the leader they complain to Moses.  And Moses goes to God and says, “What am I to do with these people?  They are almost ready to stone me!”

            Now, it’s not clear whether the people were really that upset or if Moses was being a little melodramatic.  Or, maybe Moses was a little panicked--after all, he knows they need water, and people are looking to him to get them water, and where’s he supposed to get water from in the middle of the desert?  But of course, God provides them with the water they need. 

            And Moses calls the place “Massah and Meribah”.  The word “Massah” means testing and the word “Meribah” means quarreling.  That’s what the people of Israel were doing.  And remember, God had appointed Moses to lead the people.  So when the people argued with Moses, they were really arguing with God.  When the people tested Moses, they were really testing God.  And, as that last verse tells us, they were asking “Is the Lord among us or not?”

            And when you put this in context, you have to ask, “How in the world can the people of Israel be asking that question?  How can they doubt that the Lord is among them?”

            Think of all the things God had done for the people of Israel.  God had put a series of plagues on Egypt, so that Pharaoh would release them from slavery and let them go.  And not only did Pharaoh release them from slavery, we’re told that they plundered the Egyptians before they left.  They took all kinds of valuable stuff--gold, silver, fancy clothing--and after all the plagues, the Egyptians were happy to give it to them, just to get them out of there.  

And then, when Pharaoh changed his mind and tried to recapture Israel, God parted the Red Sea to let them escape.  And then God put the Red Sea back together again and drowned the Egyptian army.  And then, when the people were hungry in the desert, God provided the manna for them to eat.  I mean, you read several chapters before what we read tonight, and it’s all “God did this for Israel, and God did that for Israel, and God did something else for Israel”.  And yet, here they are.  They want water, and they don’t see any, and so they say, well, is the Lord among us or not?

You cannot blame Moses for being a little frustrated with the people.  In fact, you cannot blame God for being a little frustrated with the people.  God does all this stuff for them, time after time after time.  And then, when there’s one thing they want and they don’t get it right away, they question whether God is really with them.  I mean, Israel was God’s chosen people, but when God kept hearing all this griping and whining and complaining and questioning, I would think there had to be times God wondered if maybe He should’ve chosen somebody else.

But you know, are the people of Israel really all that different from you and me?  Probably not.  Think about your life.  Think about all the times God has been there for you.  Think about all the times God gave you what you needed when you needed it.  I don’t know about you, but for me it’s happened time after time after time.  Every time I got into a spot where I really needed something, God provided it.  Every time I’ve been in a situation where I really needed God to be there, God has shown up.  Every time.  Time after time after time.

And yet.  And yet, every time I get into a spot, I get scared.  I wonder if God will really be with me this time.  I wonder if God will really help me this time.  I wonder if God will really take care of me this time.  Even though I know all the times God has been there for me, I still have trouble trusting that God will be there for me this time.  I’m just like the people of Israel.  I’m asking “Is the Lord here with me or not?”

Do you do that?  I mean, I’m not asking for a show of hands, but think about it.  Do you do it?  Do you get into a tough spot and wonder if the Lord is really there for you?  No matter how many times God has been there for you, do you still have trouble trusting that God will be there this time.  Do you ask, as the people of Israel did, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

It really does not make a lot of sense, does it?  It seems like at some point we would stop doubting.  It seems like at some point we would learn that God is worthy of our trust.  And the thing is, we know that’s true.  We know God is worthy of our trust.  God is more than worthy of our trust.  We know that--and yet, we still have trouble totally believing it.  At least I do, many times.  And I suspect I’m not the only one.

Now, I do want to make one thing clear.  Saying that God has always been there for me is not the same as saying God has always done exactly what I wanted.  That’s not true at all.  There are many times when God has not done what I wanted God to do.  Sometimes God did not do what I wanted because God knew that what I wanted was not the best for me, and God had something better in mind.  Sometimes God did not do what I wanted because what I wanted was for God to take me out of a tough situation and God knew it would be better for me to see the situation through.  Sometimes God did not do what I wanted, and I still don’t know why--I’m still waiting to see what God has in mind.  

But the point is that God has always been there.  God has been with me every step of the way, even when that way did not lead where I wanted it to.  And any time it felt like God was not there, it was because I was trying to insist that God do it my way.  When I stopped trying to force God to do things my way, when I said “thy will be done” and let God do things God’s way, I felt God with me again.  God was there, and God helped me through it.

If you’re wondering whether God is with you, try to remember all those times God has been there for you.  If you still have trouble feeling confident that God is with you, try to see where God might be at work.  If you cannot see God at work anywhere, ask yourself:  am I really looking for where God might be at work, or am I looking for God to do things my way?  

And if it looks like God is not going to do things your way, ask yourself if it’s possible that God might have something better in mind?  God does know better than we do, after all.  God sees farther into the future than we do.  God knew better than I did for what my career should be.  God knew better than I did for who my wife should be.  God knew better than I did for where I ought to live.  Over and over and over, God knew better than I did.  And God knows better than you do, too.

And if it looks like God is not going to take you out of a tough situation, ask yourself if there might be some reason for that.  Could God be leaving you in this situation to teach you something?  Could God be leaving you in this situation because someone needs you to be there?  And if you cannot see a reason, can you still say “thy will be done” and trust God enough to let God do things God’s way?

Because there is good news.  The people of Israel asked “Is the Lord among us or not?”  I said earlier that you could not blame God if God was a little frustrated with them.  But if God was frustrated with the people of Israel, He did not show it.  God did not get angry with them.  God did not punish them.  Instead, God showed that the answer to their question, “Is the Lord among us or not?” was yes.  God was with them.  God always had been with them, and God always would be with them.

God understands our doubts.  God understands our fears.  God will not get angry with us for that.  God will not punish us for that.  When we wonder if God is with us, God will show us that the answer is yes.  God is with us.  God has always been with us, and God will always be with them.

But we’d sure save ourselves a lot of worry if we could just learn to trust God.  So let’s do that.  Let’s be confident that God is with us, and God always will be with us.  God may not do what we want.  But God will always do what is best.