The Joy of Perseverance

The message given in the Ash Wednesday services in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on February 22, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Hebrews 12:1-13.

            Ash Wednesday.  A day to repent of our sins.  Repenting does not mean just asking for forgiveness.  That’s certainly involved in it, but repenting is more than that.  Repenting of our sins means making a decisions that we are not going to continue to live as we have been.  Repenting means making serious, substantial, permanent changes in our lives.  Repenting means leaving behind our old life and living a new life, a life patterned after the life of Christ.

            So if that’s what repenting means, why do we have a day set aside for it every year?

            I mean, if last year we came here, and we decided to make serious, substantial, permanent changes in our lives–if we left our old lives behind and started living a new life patterned after the life of Christ–what are we doing here?  Why do we need to repent again?  Apparently what we did last year didn’t “take”.  It did not work.  We left here and slipped right back into our old ways.

            Well, maybe, but maybe not.  I mean, we probably did not live perfect lives since the last Ash Wednesday.  We probably sinned.  We probably did things we should not have done.  We almost certainly did not do things we should have done.  But that does not mean we did not change.  It does not mean we did not improve.  It just means we did not do it perfectly.

            As our reading from the letter to the Hebrews says, sin so easily entangles.  Sin comes disguised in all kinds of forms.  Harmless forms.  Desirable forms.  Even apparently beneficial forms.  I mean, if we did not see some sort of benefit from sin, at least in the short term, it would not be tempting to us, right?  To put it in somewhat frivolous terms, I cannot be tempted to eat broccoli and spinach, because I don’t like broccoli and spinach.  But I can easily be tempted to eat chocolate chip cookies and Dairy Queen Blizzards, because I love those.  If there was not some way in which we saw sin as desirable, we would not be tempted to do it.

            That’s why the letter goes on to say that we must run with perseverance the race set out before us.  Perseverance means continuing to try to do something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.  

That’s what it takes to do this.  Perseverance.  Continuing to try to make serious, substantial changes in our lives, even when we slide back.  Continuing to try to live a life patterned after the life of Christ, even when sometimes we fail.  We make a new resolution.  We make a new commitment.  We try again.  And again, and again.  Perseverance.  It may be difficult for us to achieve success.  Success may be delayed.  But we keep trying.  We persevere.  It takes perseverance to run this race of life the way God calls us to.

The letter tells us how to do this.  It’s simple, really.  Just fix our eyes on Jesus.  

Look at what Jesus did.  As the letter tells us, Jesus is both the pioneer of our faith and the perfecter of our faith.  Jesus is our leader, our teacher, our guide, our example, our everything.  Then, Jesus endured the cross for us.  Jesus died a painful, shameful, horrible death, for us.

The letter points out all this as an encouragement to us.  The author tells us that, if we consider all this, we should not be discouraged.  We should not get tired.  We should not think, we cannot do this, because we can.  Jesus went through a lot more than you or I are likely to ever be asked to go through.  If Jesus can do it, you and I can do it, too.

And our author gives us more encouragement.  He says, look, God is treating you as His children.  What do good parents do?  They discipline their children.  They have to.  He says, one of the most unloving things a parent could do would be to never discipline their children.  How would the children ever learn?  How would they know right from wrong?  How would they know how to behave?  Do children always like that?  No, of course not.  Discipline is not always a lot of fun, is it?  But when we get older, we understand the purpose of it.  We understand that there are things we need to be taught, and the way they’re taught is through discipline.  Parents discipline their children because they love them.

And that’s what God does for us sometimes.  God disciplines us, because God loves us.  That can be hard for us to accept, sometimes.  When we’re going through a tough time, we don’t want to hear this is God’s discipline.  We want God to do something to get us out of the situation.  And sometimes, God does.  But sometimes, God makes us work through the tough situation, because God wants to teach us some things.  It can be hard to see that at the time.  But sometimes, when we look back on something, we can see that God allowed these things to happen for our benefit.  It’s through those things that we develop the perseverance we need.

But there’s one other thing about that.  Even when God makes us work through a tough situation, God is there with us.  God will not just leave us alone and let us suffer.  God is there with us.  God will help us through the tough situation.  No matter what happens, no matter what we’re going through, no matter how we may feel, God is still there.  God never leaves us.  God’s love never fails.

The letter points out one more thing.  And this may be the most important thing of all.  We are not just told that Jesus endured the cross.  We’re told why.  Jesus did it for the joy that was set before him.

Enduring the cross is one of the hardest things anyone has ever had to do.  What could possibly be the joy that was set before Jesus, that he would find enduring the cross worth it?  Well, I assume it was a couple of things.  

One was simply the joy of knowing He had done what he was sent to earth to do. When the decision was made that Jesus would come to earth as the Messiah, the Savior, Jesus knew what was going to happen.  He knew that he would be born as a baby.  He knew He would grow up the way human beings grow up.  He knew he would then enter into His ministry.  He would teach people.  He would heal people.  He would drive out demons and do miracles.  

But he also knew He would be killed.  He knew He would die a painful, horrible death.  He knew that was the way salvation would come to human beings–through His death on a cross.

            Jesus did not enjoy dying that way.  No one would.  But he still found joy in it.  He found joy in knowing He had been obedient to God the Father, even to the end.  He found joy in knowing He had resisted the temptations of Satan to come down off the cross and take an earthly kingdom.  Jesus did was He was sent here to do, and I would think He found joy in that.

            He also found joy in bringing the chance for salvation to humanity.  Despite everything, Jesus loves us human beings.  And not just as a group–Jesus loves each and every one of us, individually.  Jesus even loved Judas, who betrayed Him.  Jesus even loved the Pharisees, who killed Him.  While hanging on the cross, Jesus asked God the Father to forgive the people who were killing Him.  That’s a pretty awesome love.  And so, to be the one who could bring the chance for salvation to everyone, to be the one through whom our sins can be forgiven, to be the one through whom we can have eternal life in heaven–that had to be an incredible joy for Jesus.  In fact, I suspect that is still a joy for Jesus.  And it makes everything He had to go through more than worth it.

            And that should be an encouragement for us, too.  When you and I have a hard time in this world, we can endure it, too.  We can persevere through it.  We can endure it and persevere through it for the same reasons Jesus endured the cross:  because of the joy that is set before us.  The joy of knowing we are obedient to God.  The joy of knowing we have resisted the temptations of Satan.  The joy of knowing that we have done what God put us here to do–not perfectly, but as best we could.  And the joy of knowing that salvation and eternal life are waiting for us because of what Jesus did for us and because of our faith and belief in Him as the Savior.

            As we enter into the season of Lent, let’s use this time to increase our perseverance.  Let’s run with perseverance the race set before us.  Let’s go through whatever we need to go through, accepting God’s discipline for us.  And let’s endure it with joy, knowing that it’s all more than worth it to receive salvation and eternal life with the Lord in heaven.

 

Intended Consequences

The message given in the Sunday night worship service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on February 19, 2023.  The Bible verses used are John 12:20-36.

             Are you familiar with the Law of Unintended Consequences?  You probably are.  Even if you were not aware that it was called that, you’ve probably seen it in operation.  Basically, the Law of Unintended Consequences says that whenever we make a decision or take an action, that decision or action will have consequences that we never intended.  And the more complex the situation is about which were making that decision or taking that action, the larger the unintended consequences are going to be.

            Now, of course, the Law of Unintended Consequences is a human thing.  For God, there are never any unintended consequences.  When God acts, God knows exactly what all of the consequences will be.  And we can see that in the life and death of Jesus.  

            In our reading for tonight, Jesus talks about his death.  In John’s chronology, this happens right after Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  People were waving palm branches in front of Him, proclaiming Jesus to be the king.  You’d think Jesus would be on top of the world.  This is a mountaintop experience that Jesus has just had.

But of course, Jesus can see into the future, and He knows what’s coming up next.  Jesus knows that He’s going to be betrayed.  The religious authorities are going to arrest Him.  He’s going to be beaten and tortured.  He’s going to be sentenced to death.  And that sentence is going to be carried out.

            But listen to what Jesus has to say about that.  “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

            The religious leaders--the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the teachers of the law, all the rest--thought that the entire Christian movement rested on the life of Jesus.  And so, they assumed that once Jesus was out of the way, the movement would collapse.  If they could just get rid of Jesus, their problems would be over.

            But Jesus knew that his death would not be the end of the Christian movement.  It would just be the beginning.  Obviously, part of the reason is that Jesus is who he is--the divine Son of God.  But there were other, practical reasons why this was going to come about, too.

            Jesus knew that as long as he was there, the disciples, and everyone else, would look to him to be the leader.  And that was appropriate, of course.  Jesus was the leader.  But the thing is, as long as Jesus was there, the disciples would never take any initiative on their own.  They would always wait for Jesus to tell them what to do and where to go.  They would stick with Jesus, and follow Jesus.  But everything would depend on Jesus.  It would all revolve around him.  He would be the single seed that he talked about.

            But then, the authorities had Jesus killed.  And instead of the Christian movement dying with him, it was born!  In dying, Jesus produced many seeds!  And he still is, really.  But the disciples took over from Jesus.  They carried his ministry forward.  And because there were more of them, once they went off separately they could cover far more ground than Jesus ever could while he was on earth.  The disciples, and the others who heard about Jesus from them, spread the gospel all over the world.

            And the disciples going off separately was an unintended consequence of what the religious leaders did, too.  We did not read this tonight, but at first, the disciples stayed together.  They stayed around Jerusalem.  But then, the authorities started coming after them, threatening them with persecution and arrest.  And so, the disciples scattered.  They scattered for their own safety, but they took the gospel of Jesus Christ with them wherever they went.  And the gospel spread, and spread, and spread, all over the world.

            The religious authorities thought they could stop Christianity by killing Christ.  Instead, they made it grow.  The religious authorities thought they could stop the disciples from spreading Christianity by forcing them out of Jerusalem.  Instead, their actions made Christianity reach people all over the known world.

            Those were all unintended consequences for the religious authorities.  But they were all intended consequences for God.  And Jesus, by his words, shows that he knew it would happen.  

            But it’s not just that these things happened.  They happened to glorify God.  That’s referenced three times in Jesus’ statement.  He starts out by saying “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.”  Later he says, “Father, glorify your name.”  And a voice comes from heaven, saying “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

            I want you to think about this.  This struck me as such an awesome thing for God to have done.  You know, we think of the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, and the rest, as the bad guys in the story of Jesus.  And they are, in a lot of ways.  But they were not trying to be the bad guys.  They thought they were doing what God wanted them to do.  They wanted God’s name to be glorified.

            And, as a result of their actions, it was.  Talk about an unintended consequence!  The actions of the Pharisees and the Sadducees resulted in God’s name being glorified, but in a way that never would have occurred to them.  A way they never would’ve dreamed of.  A way that never would have entered their thoughts in any way, shape or form.  The Pharisees and Sadducees had everything completely wrong, and yet God used what they did to bring about what they actually wanted--God’s name being glorified.  That’s a pretty amazing thing for God to do, don’t you think?

            I sometimes mention Romans Chapter Eight, Verse Twenty-eight, that God can use all things for the good of those who love Him.  But you know, when you think about it, when the Apostle Paul wrote that, he was really kind of underselling it.  It’s not just that God can use all things for the good of those who love Him.  God can use all things to bring about His purposes.  God can use all things to glorify His name.  God can take the actions of people whose goal is to stop Christianity, to shut it down, to do away with it, and use those actions to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and glorify the name of God.  It’s incredible.

            And it should give us a lot of hope.  You know, we look at the world, and we see a lot of things going wrong.  There’s violence.  There are threats of war.  There’s a lack of trust.  There are economic problems.  We’re still dealing with the effects of COVID.  There are feelings of isolation and depression.  There are relationship problems.  There’s loneliness.  We could go on and on about the problems of the world.

            And it seems like there are a lot of people opposed to Christianity right now, too.  We don’t feel that as much here, because of where we live, but we’d be foolish to think we’re immune from it.  Things that have been basic tenets of Christianity for centuries are now called “offensive” and are censored.  Satanic worship was promoted on national television at the Grammy awards.  Christians often censor themselves, and don’t want to talk about our faith, because we don’t want to upset anyone.  And in other countries it’s even worse.  There are places where people are literally killed for the Christian faith.

            When we think about these things, we can get depressed.  We wonder what the future holds.  But we don’t have to be depressed.  As the old hymn says, we may not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future.  We know that it’s all in God’s hands.  We know that God remains in control.  God always has been in control, and God always will be in control.  And God is going to work all these things to bring about God’s purposes.

Anyone who thinks they can stop Christianity is doomed to failure.  They are as doomed to failure as the Pharisees and the Sadducees were when they killed Jesus.  They may think they’re winning.  Everyone around may think they’re winning, too.  But they’re not.  They are going to see the Law of Unintended Consequences take effect, big time.  Or, another way to put it is that they are going to see the Law of God’s Intended Consequences take effect, big time. 

Christianity cannot be killed, just as Jesus could not be killed.  And anyone who tries is only going to see their actions result in Christianity growing all the more.  And they’re going to see God’s name glorified.  God has glorified His name, and He will glorify it again.

So, no matter what you see around you, do not give up hope.  Do not lose faith.  Know that God is still here.  God sees everything that’s happening.  And God is going to use it all.  God is using it all now, in ways that we do not know and cannot see.  We talk about God being all-powerful, and of course that’s true, but even though we say it I don’t know if we actually realize how true that statement is.  Even when we think of all the amazing things God has done, I don’t think we come anywhere close to realizing the incredible, awesome power God has.  We also don’t come anywhere close to realizing the incredible, awesome love God has for us, that God would use God’s power for our good.

God cannot be stopped.  God cannot even be slowed down.  Everything that’s happening now is being used by God.  The single seed is falling into the ground.  It is going to produce more seeds that we can ever imagine.  God’s name will be glorified.  That may be an unintended consequence of what humans do.  But it’s a consequence that’s fully intended by God.

 

Give God a Chance

The message given in the Sunday morning worship services in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on February 19, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Mark 12:38-44.

            We’ve all heard the saying, which comes from the book of James, that faith without works is dead.  I think sometimes that saying gets misinterpreted.  The point is not that works are more important than faith.  The point is that, in our lives faith and works need to go together.  Our faith needs to be revealed in our works, and our works need to be inspired by our faith.  Neither one, by itself, is anything.  Both are needed if we’re going to live lives that are pleasing to God.  And both come from our trust in God.

            In our reading for today, Jesus makes this point by words and by actions.  It starts out with Jesus talking about the teachers of the law.  Now, the teachers of the law had faith, or at least they thought they did.  They knew exactly what the rules said.  They knew exactly how to live a perfectly religious life.  And in their eyes, they were.  They were following all the rules that a follower of God was supposed to follow.

            But their faith was not revealed in their works.  They were not doing anything to help anybody.  They could see people in need and completely ignore them.  Listen to how Jesus describes them.  They walk around in flowing robes.  They like to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.  They have the most important seat in the synagogue.  They have the places of honor at banquets.  They “devour widows’ houses”--in other words, they try to cheat widows out of their property.  And then they make a big show of how long they can pray, probably using all kinds of fancy words, too.  Jesus had no use for them, because while they may have had faith, their faith was not shown by the way they lived their lives.

            Then the scene shifts.  Jesus sits down opposite the temple treasury and watches people putting money into it.  And he sees wealthy people putting large amounts of money into the treasury.

            Now, most of us would say that’s a good thing to do, right?  Certainly those of us in the church would.  Especially those of us who know what the church’s finances are like and who know how it’s not always easy to find the money to pay the bills.  For the most part, in the church, we like it when someone puts a large amount of money in the collection plate.  We would say that’s a good work.

            But Jesus was not impressed.  Because Jesus knew that good work was not inspired by faith.  As Jesus said, those people gave out of their wealth.  In other words, the money they were putting in was nothing compared to how much money they had.  They could put in that much and even more and not even miss it.  It did not take any particular faith for them to put a large amount of money into the treasury.  They could give all that and more and still have plenty left over.  They were not relying on God to take care of them.  They were taking care of themselves.

            And then, of course, the poor widow comes up.  She puts in a very little bit of money, a few cents worth.  But it was all she had.  That was a work, too, of course, but most people would not consider it a particularly impressive one.  A few cents?  What’s that good for?  What’s that going to do?  You cannot buy anything for that.  You cannot even rent anything for that.  Why even bother with it?

            But of course, Jesus was impressed.  Not because of the amount of money she put in, but by the faith she showed.  The widow did not give out of her wealth.  She had almost nothing.  And yet, she took the little that she had, and gave it to the temple.  After the widow gave, she had nothing left.  She was relying on God to take care of her, because she had just given up the little she had that she might have used to take care of herself.

            The teachers of the law had faith, but they did not have works.  The wealthy people putting money into the church treasury had works, but they did not have faith.  The poor widow had both faith and works.  And that’s why Jesus praised her, rather than the others.

            It’s tempting, at this point, to launch into a message about how we all need to give more money to the church and put more faith in God.  It’s tempting, but I don’t think it’s correct.  I don’t think Jesus’ point was that we should give more money to the church.  I think he was using the poor widow to make a larger point.  The larger point is that we should put our entire lives in God’s hands.

            Giving is one way we can do that.  I’m not suggesting everyone put their life’s savings in the collection plate, but I suspect all of us, if we’re honest with ourselves, could give more than we do.  One of the reasons we don’t is that we don’t trust God as much as we should.  We’re afraid that if we give more money to the church, we won’t have enough money for other things, things that we need, sometimes things that we want, things that we think we need to save money for.  We don’t trust God enough to believe that if we give more to the church, God will provide us with enough for everything else we need.

            But again, Jesus’ point was not just that we don’t trust God enough in regard to money.  Money was just one example, an example that presented itself to Jesus.  His larger point was that we don’t trust God enough in most aspects of our lives.  We don’t trust God enough with our time.  We don’t trust God enough with our talents.  We don’t trust God enough with our health.  We don’t trust God enough in all kinds of things.

            Again, I’m not suggesting that we be foolish.  I’m not suggesting that we cross the street without checking for traffic because, hey, God will take care of me.  But I am suggesting that we could all trust God more than we do.  And I’m also suggesting that our lack of trust in God causes us to miss chances to serve God.  We miss chances to do works that serve God.  And when we do that, we show a lack of faith in God.

            We all admire the poor widow.  But in reality, we tend to be more like the rich people.  And sometimes we’re even like the teachers of the law, wanting to be greeted with respect and given places of honor.  And I most definitely include myself in that.

            So the question is, what can we do about it?  But before we get to that question, there’s an even more important question.  Do we want to do anything about it?

            We know we should.  That’s not the point.  The problem is one we’ve talked about before.  Most of us are comfortable with our lives the way they are.  Maybe they’re not always great, but they’re what we’re used to.  If we put complete faith in God, well, who knows what might happen?  Will God really take care of us?  Or will we have to take care of ourselves, and not be able to?

            I wonder if those thoughts occurred to the poor widow.  It seems like they must have.  Maybe not on the day Jesus saw her–maybe she was past it by that point–but there must have been a time when she thought, am I doing a smart thing here?  Does it really make sense for me to take the little bit of money I have and put it all in the temple treasury?  If I do that, will God really take care of me?  Or am I going to be left with nothing, struggling to find a way to survive?

            It had to be at least a little scary for the widow, the first time she did this.  In fact, maybe the first time, she did not do it.  Maybe the first time she just gave a part of what she had.  And in fact, that in itself might have been scary.  I mean, she had very little to begin with.  If she put even a little bit of that little into the temple treasury, she’d have even less.  

            She probably thought about it.  She probably prayed about it.  Maybe she prayed a lot.  And then, somehow, she got the courage, and the faith, to trust God.  And she put in that little.  And God came through, and she had enough.  So eventually, she decided to put in a little more.  And God came through again, and she still had enough.  Eventually, she worked herself up to a quarter of her money, and then half, and then three quarters.  And by the time Jesus saw her, she was able to put in, as Jesus said, everything.  All she had to live on.  Because she knew she could trust God to provide for her.

            Maybe we can do it that way, too.  And again, I’m not just talking about money, any more than Jesus was just talking about money.  Money is just the example I’m using, because it’s the example Jesus used.  But in every aspect of our lives, most of us need to trust God more than we do.  Most of us need to be more willing to step out in faith, to take chances to serve God, to give of our time and talents and abilities to serve God.  Most of us need to be willing to reach out to others, to spread the gospel message, to go and make disciples of Jesus Christ.  We need to be more willing to do that, and more willing to trust that when we do, God will take care of us.

            Maybe the way we can do that is to just take small steps.  Take a small step out in faith.  Take a small chance to serve God.  Give just a little more of our time and talents and abilities to serve God.  Take a small step to reach out to others.  Take a small step to spread the gospel message.  Make a small effort to go and make disciples.  See what happens.  See if when we do that, God takes care of us.

            I think He will.  And when He does, that can encourage us to take another step.  Maybe a little bigger step.  And then a little bigger one, and then a still bigger one.  And maybe, after a while, we’ll find ourselves fully trusting God to take care of us, just as the poor widow was able to fully trust God to take care of us.

            God wants to show us we can trust Him.  So let’s give God the chance to do that.  Let’s take some steps in faith.  If we do, I think God will come through for us, just like God came through for the poor widow.

 

Greatness Through Service

The message given in the Sunday night worship service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on February 12, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Mark 10:32-45.

            Do you ever get confused about your faith?  I mean, not necessarily in the sense of doubting God or Jesus, although that can certainly happen to us, too.  What I mean is, getting confused about how it all works.  Why things are the way they are.  Why things in Jesus’ life happened the way they did.  Why things in our lives happen the way they do.  

            There can be a lot to process in regard to our faith.  The “why” questions can drive us crazy.  We know that we should trust.  We know we should have faith.  And we do, but still...it would be so nice if we could just understand more about it.  I always tell my confirmation students that I don’t just want them to believe, I want them to know why they believe what they believe.  I think that’s important for all of us.  And yet, sometimes it seems like the more we read, the more we study, the more confused we get.

            Well, if it makes you feel any better, know that the gospels are full of examples of the disciples not understanding and getting confused, too.  And the disciples had advantages we don’t have.  They were right there with Jesus.  They heard these things from his own lips.  They had the chance to ask Him questions, to get clarifications.  And yet, so many times, they did not even get the basic concepts of what Jesus was doing.

            We have an example of that in our reading for today.  Jesus and the disciples were going to Jerusalem.  This was the last trip Jesus would make to Jerusalem, the trip that would end in his death on a cross.  And as they go, Jesus tells the disciples what’s going to happen.  He tells them that he’s going to be delivered to the religious leaders.  They’re going to condemn him to death and give him to the Roman rulers to execute the sentence.  And he will be killed.  And then, in three days, he will rise.

            And the disciples listened.  And they probably nodded their heads.  Yes, we understand.  Jesus is going to be arrested and killed.  And then he’ll rise three days later.  

They heard it all.  They knew the facts.  But they had no clue what it actually meant.

You can tell that by the next thing that happens.  As soon as Jesus tells them all this, James and John come up to Jesus and ask Jesus to let them sit next to him, one at his right and one at his left, when Jesus comes into his glory.

Now, that’s obviously a pretty arrogant and selfish thing for them to ask.  To think that they deserve to sit next to Jesus in His glory.  We think sometimes about how they’re putting themselves ahead of the other disciples, but it’s more than just that.  They’re putting themselves ahead of Moses and Elijah and Isaiah and Joshua and every other great leader and prophet Israel ever had.  That’s quite the position they’re asking Jesus to put them in.  You’d have to have a pretty high opinion of yourself to ask for something like that.

But the thing is, you’d also have to have a basic misconception of what Jesus was talking about.  When Jesus said he was going to rise in three days, they must have thought that Jesus was going to take over at that point.  That Jesus was going to return to lead the nation of Israel back to its former glory, and even more.  They must have thought that Jesus was going to establish his kingdom on earth right then.  And they wanted to get in on the ground floor and have the top spots, to be Jesus’ number one and number two assistants when he became king of the world.

I would think Jesus must have been pretty disappointed when this happened.  After all he’d tried to teach the disciples about love and about humility.  After all the times he’d tried to show them that we need to put others ahead of ourselves.  After all the time they’d spent together.  And then they come to him with a request like this.  Jesus must have just shaken his head when he heard that.

But Jesus had incredible patience.  He used this as yet another learning opportunity.  He tells them, first, that it’s not up to him who will sit as his right and his left, that God has that all worked out already.  But then he says this:  “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

I suspect that the disciples still did not get it.  And I wonder how many of us get it now.  I wonder if I do.  The idea that whoever wants to become great must be a servant.  Whoever wants to be first must be a slave to all.  Even today, that idea really does not make a lot of sense to us.

Becoming a slave, or even a servant, is not exactly a popular lifestyle choice.  It’s not something very many people aspire to.  And yet, Jesus tells his disciples, and us, that becoming a servant and a slave is the path to greatness.

It’s confusing.  It certainly is not how most of us would define greatness.  I mean, we might praise it in theory.  We might admire someone like Mother Teresa, who spent her life helping the lowest of the low.  We admire people like that--but very few of us actually want to be like them.  People like that stand out precisely because there are so few of them.  

Now, don’t misunderstand.  I’m not saying that we’re all a bunch of selfish jerks who never think about anyone else.  I’m aware that there are people here who are very generous.  And not just with money, although some of you are generous with that.  But you’re also generous with your time, with your abilities, with your talents.  This church, and this community, would be much poorer if you were not that way.

But can we really say that we’re slaves of all, the way Jesus put it?  Can we really say that we’re even servants?  I mean, some of us are at times, but probably not all the time.  And yet, that’s how Jesus defines greatness.

It’s a tough standard.  And it’s not one that makes a lot of sense to us.  But Jesus said it.  And what’s more, Jesus lived it.  As he said, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus would not have had to do that, you know.  I mean, he was Jesus.  He could’ve been the sort of king the disciples expected.  He could’ve taken power on earth.  He could’ve ruled the world.  He could’ve made everyone worship him.  He could’ve made them worship the disciples, too.  James and John probably would’ve loved it.  So would the other disciples.

And you know who else would’ve loved it?  Satan.  Because that’s exactly what Satan tried to get Jesus to do when he was tempting Jesus in the wilderness.  In Matthew Chapter Four, Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.  And Jesus turns him down, because Jesus knows that’s not how it’s supposed to go.  Jesus knows he’s not supposed to seize power.  He’s supposed to be a servant, not a ruler.

But the thing is, there are times when Satan makes that same offer to you and me.  Not exactly, of course.  None of us is likely to be offered all the kingdoms of the world.  But we’re offered other things.  We’re offered money.  We’re offered an easier life.  We’re offered various pleasures.  If only we’ll just focus more on ourselves, and less on others.  If only we’ll stop thinking about being servants.  If only we’ll be a little more selfish.

But of course Satan does not want that word--selfish--to occur to us.  We know we’re not supposed to be selfish.  So we think of it as just getting what we deserve.  After all, we work hard.  We’re good people.  We deserve good things.  Other people have them, and they’re not as good as we are.  Why should we not have them, too?  It’s not selfish.  It just making things fair.  We’re not getting more than we should.  We’re just getting our fair share.

Soon, we’ll be in the period of Lent.  We’ll have an Ash Wednesday service.  We’ll talk about how the period of Lent is one in which we need to take an honest look at ourselves.  We need to see how far short we fall of who we should be.  We need to repent of our sins and ask God to help us make real changes in our lives.

This is one of the changes we need to make.  It’s one of the changes I need to make.  To put away our selfishness.  To truly become a servant of others, and by doing so be a servant to God.  

It won’t happen overnight.  But are we willing to try?  Are we willing to make this change in our lives?  Are we willing to put others ahead of ourselves, to become a servant to others?  Are we willing to serve God in that way?

It may not make sense to others.  It may not even make sense to us.  But Jesus said to do it.  And what’s more, Jesus did it.  By doing it, Jesus achieved greatness.  If you and I follow His example, that same greatness is available to us, too.

 

Get Closer to Jesus

The message given in the Sunday morning services in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish February 12, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Mark 10:46-52.

            How close do you feel to Jesus?  How eager are you to feel close to Jesus?

            In asking those questions, I don’t want you to think I’m assuming what the answers are.  I’m sure the answers will be different for each of us.  But I do want you to think about those questions.  How close do you feel to Jesus?  And how eager are you to feel close to Jesus?

            What makes these tricky questions to answer is that feeling close to Jesus is not necessarily related to things we do.  It can be, but it does not automatically follow.  We can read the Bible and do devotions every day and still not feel close to Jesus.  We can pray every day and take part in Bible studies and still not feel close to Jesus.  We can donate to good causes and give our time and talent to the church or to other ministries and still not feel close to Jesus.  

Don’t get me wrong–those are all good things to do.  And they may, sometimes, help us feel close to Jesus.  But it’s not automatic.  Because what we’re talking about here is feelings.  We’re talking about emotions.  And we’re talking about desire.  Those are matters of the heart.  Yes, it’s true, as James wrote, that faith without works is dead, but it’s also true that works without faith are dead, too.  After all, the letter to the Hebrews tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith, no matter what we do.

What that shows is that feeling close to Jesus has a lot to do with our attitude, with how desperately we want to feel close to Jesus.  I think that’s shown by our Bible reading for today, the story of Bartimaeus.  Bartimaeus was a man who did not feel close to Jesus at all.  But boy, did he want to.  And when he got the chance to get close to Jesus, he did everything in his power to take advantage of that chance.

Let’s look at the story.  Bartimaeus is a blind man.  And understand, blindness was a lot more serious thing back then than it is now.  There were no government programs to help blind people.  There was no welfare or food stamps or anything like that.  About the only thing a blind person could do at that time was beg, hoping people would give him enough to keep him alive.  

And so, that’s what Bartimaeus did.  I’m sure he was not happy about it.  After all, beggars were considered the lowest people around.  But he had no alternative.  So, day after day, he would sit by the side of the road.  I don’t know if he was in the same spot every day, or if he moved around, but every day, there he was.  Begging.  Hoping to get enough to get through the day, so that he could get up tomorrow and try to get enough to get through tomorrow.  It was not much of a life, but it was all the life that was available to him.

That’s what he was doing on this day.  Sitting by the side of the road.  Begging.  And all at once, Jesus comes by.

We don’t know if Bartimaeus knew that Jesus was going to come by that day.  We also don’t know if Jesus knew Bartimaeus would be there.  Either or both of those things are possible.  The way the story is presented to us, though, it sounds like this is just a chance encounter.

So there’s Bartimaeus.  Sitting by the road.  Begging.  And he hears some people coming toward him.  We’re told that Jesus and his disciples, “together with a large crowd”, came by, so most likely Bartimaeus could hear them from quite a ways off.  

Just that probably gave Bartimaeus some hope.  After all, a large crowd meant there was a chance that some of them would take pity on him.  Some of them might give him something.  Maybe a lot of them will.  Maybe he’ll even get enough for a few days, you never know.

We don’t know if anyone gave him anything.  But at some point, he hears that Jesus is part of this crowd.  

He’s obviously heard of Jesus.  We don’t know what he’s heard or how much he knows about Jesus.  Does he know that Jesus is the divine Son of God?  Does he know anything of Jesus’ teaching?  Does he know what Jesus said the two greatest commandments were, that we love God and love our neighbors?   Does he know that salvation and eternal life can be found through faith in Jesus as the Savior?

We don’t know.  He may or may not have known any or all of these things.  We assume that Bartimaeus has heard about Jesus’ power to heal people.  And so, as soon as he hears that Jesus is there, he starts shouting.  “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Now again, there’s a huge crowd there.  And anytime there’s a huge crowd, there’s a lot of background noise.  People are talking with each other.  Some of them are probably talking to the disciples.  Maybe some of them are even talking to Jesus.  

We don’t know if Jesus even heard Bartimaeus when he started shouting.  Some people did, though.  And they told him to be quiet.  More than that, we’re told they rebuked him.  They were probably telling him, shut up.  Don’t bother Jesus.  He does not have time to talk to you.  Who do you think you are, anyway?  Jesus has places to go and people to see.  You’re just a worthless blind beggar.  Just keep your mouth shut and stay out of the way.

But Bartimaeus ignored them.  He shouted all the louder.  “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Think of how loud he would’ve had to be, to make himself heard over the crowd.  He was probably shouting at the top of his voice.  And despite all these people trying to shut him up, Jesus hears him.  And Jesus says, “Call him.”

They tell Bartimaeus.  And Bartimaeus is going to get to Jesus just as fast as he can.  And so, he jumps to his feet and immediately runs to Jesus.

That would be remarkable enough.  But we’re told one other thing Bartimaeus did.  We’re told he threw his cloak aside.

We sometimes miss that.  But remember, Bartimaeus was a beggar.  He had nothing.  This cloak may have been the only possession he had.  It was almost certainly the most important one.  This was the garment that protected him on the cold desert nights.  It shielded him from the heat of the sun.  This cloak was something Bartimaeus needed.  But it was bulky, and it might have slowed him down.  And so, when Jesus called, he threw it aside.  Bartimaeus was not going to let anything keep him from getting close to Jesus.  That cloak might be important, but getting close to Jesus was more important.

And you know the rest of the story.  Bartimaeus comes to Jesus, tells Jesus he wants to see, and Jesus heals him.  And Jesus tells Bartimaeus, “Your faith has made you well.”

Bartimaeus did have faith.  Bartimaeus knew there was only one way he could change his life.  And that was if he got close to Jesus.  And when he got the chance to get close to Jesus, nothing was going to stop him.  His blindness was not going to stop him.  The criticism of the crowd was not going to stop him.  Even the most valuable thing he had, his cloak, was not going to stop him.  There was nothing in Bartimaeus’ life, and there never would be anything in Bartimaeus’ life, that would be as important as getting close to Jesus Christ.

So, we come back to the questions we asked at the start of this message.  How close do you feel to Jesus?  And how eager are you to feel close to Jesus?

You and I are probably not in the same situation Bartimaeus was in.  We are not the lowers of the low in society.  We’re not at the top, probably, but we’re not at the bottom, either.  We’re probably not living bad lives, but we know our lives could be better.  And, just like with Bartimaeus, the only way we can change our lives is if we get close to Jesus.

Again, maybe you already feel close to Jesus.  Maybe you don’t need to do anything to feel closer to Jesus.  But if you do, what is it that’s stopping you?  What is it that’s stopping me?  What is it that’s keeping you and me from getting closer to Jesus Christ?

Those are not easy questions to answer.  And one of the reasons they’re not easy to answer is that it can be hard for us to be honest with ourselves about these things.  Because if we admit that there’s something that’s keeping us from getting closer to Christ, what we’re really saying is that there’s something that’s more important to us than getting closer to Christ.  And a lot of times, we really don’t want to admit that.  

It’s not just that we don’t want to admit it to others.  We don’t want to admit it to ourselves.  Because if we admit to ourselves that there’s something that’s more important to us than getting closer to Jesus Christ, then we have to make a decision.  We have to decide whether we’re going to let that situation continue.  We have to decide whether we’re going to continue to let there be things in our lives that are more important than getting closer to Jesus Christ, or if we’re going to throw those things aside, and let nothing be more important than getting closer to Jesus.

We know what the choice should be.  It’s the choice Bartimaeus made.  Bartimaeus threw away the most valuable thing in his life, his cloak, in order to get close to Jesus.  Bartimaeus chose to let there be nothing more important in his life than getting close to Jesus.

So let’s think about these questions.  How close are we to Jesus?  How eager are we to get close to Jesus?  What’s stopping us from getting closer to Jesus?  Let’s think about those questions, and let’s answer them.  And let’s decide that we’re going to let nothing be more important than getting closer to Jesus.

 

Christing

The message given in the Sunday night worship service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church February 5, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Galatians 5:22--6:2.

            There’s a word that’s come into fashion in recent years.  The word is “adulting”.  It means “the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.”  In other words, if you speak or act or live the way a mature, reasonable, intelligent adult is supposed to, you’re said to be “adulting”.

            The thing is that adulting--learning how to speak or act or live like a mature, reasonable, intelligent adult--is not something that happens overnight.  It does not just come to you all at once.  It’s a process.  It takes time.  We have to learn it.  Each of us, had to learn how to be an adult.

            How did you learn it?  Probably in a lot of ways, but the chances are you learned adulting from people who were adults.  First it was your parents, then it may have been teachers or pastors or other influential people in your life.  It might even have been people you saw on television.  And the way you learned was probably not from the things they said.  That may have been part of it, but the chances are the way you learned from them was by watching them.  You watched them, and you imitated them.  You tried to do the things they did and live the way they lived.  That’s the way we learn adulting--by imitating the adults who are important in our lives.

            It seems to me that there’s a faith lesson for us in that.  Just as children learn adulting by imitating adults, we can learn to be Christians by imitating Christ.  We could refer to this as “Christing”.  The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of Jesus Christ.

            That’s what the Apostle Paul told us to do in our reading from Ephesians.  The version of the Bible we normally use, the New International Version, says “follow God’s example”, but a lot of versions actually come out and say, “Be imitators of Christ.”  Either way, though, the point is that, as Christians, our goal is to be as much like Christ as possible.

            And Paul tells us ways in which we can do that.  Here’s what he says:  Speak the truth.  Try not to get angry, but if we do, get over it.  Don’t get carried away by anger, so that our agner makes us sin.  Don’t steal.  Work hard.  Share with each other.  Watch the things we say.  Let the things we say be encouraging and build people up.  Let our words benefit people who hear them.

            And then, to sup it all up, Paul says this:

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you...And walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Now, that’s a pretty good checklist that Paul gave us.  If each of us did all those things, we’d probably do a pretty good job of Christing.  We’d do about as good a job as a human can do of being like Jesus Christ if we did all of those things.

But here’s the thing.  A person really cannot live their life by following a checklist.  Every time we go to act or speak, we cannot pull out a list to see if what we’re about to do or say is on it.  We cannot even do that mentally.  Most people’s minds simply do not work that way.

If you doubt me on that, think about this--how many times have you spoken before you thought?  How many times have you done something without really thinking it through?  For most of us, it happens quite a bit.  We speak before we think and we act before we think.  We regret it, later, but we still do it.  For a lot of us, it happens pretty regularly.

Or, think of it this way.  Think of a time you were learning to do something.  Learning to swim, learning to sew, learning to work on machinery, learning to cook, learning to play a sport or a musical instrument, whatever.  What’s the best way to learn?  Is it to read a book about it?  Is it to listen to a lecture about it?  Or is ti to have someone work with you and show you how to do it?  For most of us, that’s what we need.  We need someone to show us how.  We need an example to follow.  And that’s the best way for us to learn how to be like Jesus Christ, too.

And that’s why Jesus did not, for the most part, teach “Christing” with lectures.  There were times when Jesus told us things we should and should not do.  But Jesus did not stop there.  He provided examples.  

First, he provided the example of his own life.  The life Jesus lived--a life of love, a life of healing, a life of giving, a life of self-sacrifice--is the ultimate example of how a Christian should live.  If we could all imitate Jesus’ life, we’d all be Christing perfectly.

But Jesus provided examples in other ways, too.  That’s one of the reasons for jesus’ parables.  Think of how most of the parables came about.  The way it usually worked was that someone would come up to Jesus and say, “Here’s a situation.  Now what do you think about it.  What should we do.”  

How did Jesus respond.  It was never by giving a direct answer, right?  Jesus never answered by saying, “You should do this.”  What Jesus would say, in effect, is “let me tell you a story.  It might be a story about a man with two sons.  It might be a story about a guy who was traveling and was attacked by thieves.  It might be a story about a man who went out to plant a field.  

Story after story after story.  Jesus would tell the story, and then say, “Now, what do you think the right thing to do is?’  And of course, the answer would be obvious.  Jesus taught t hat way because he knew that just telling people what to do does not work.  We need to be shown what to do.  We need examples to follow.

So what does that mean for our lives?  Well, it means a few things.  For one thing, it shows the importance of reading the Bible, especially the gospels.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the books that tell us about Jesus’ life.  After all, if we want to be like Christ, we need to get to know Christ.  The old phrase “What Would Jesus Do” is still a good guide, but in order to know what Jesus would do we need to know what Jesus actually did.  So if we want to get better at Christing, we need to know how Jesus lived his life on earth and know the examples Jesus gave us for how we should live our lives.

But again, it’s not enough to read about it.  We need to be shown.   So what do we do?

The letter to the Hebrews answers that.  In Hebrews Thirteen, Verse Seven, we read, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you.  Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”  And in Hebrews Six, Verse Twelve, it says, “Imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.”

We may not be able to see Jesus.  We may not be able to see Paul.  But there are people we can see.  There are people whose way of life shows their faith.  There are people who are imitators of Christ.  There are people who are Christing.  And we can imitate them, and so learn Christing ourselves.

Who are those people for you?  Who are the people you know whose way of life shows their faith?  Who do you know who you believe, through faith and patience, will inherit what God has promised?

Those are the people who can show us how to imitate Christ.  Don’t get me wrong--Jesus is still the ultimate standard.  Jesus is the one to follow.  But to the extent we need someone we can see, these are the people.  These are the ones who can help us with “Christing”, with imtiating Jesus Christ in our lives.

But here’s another thing to think about.  Who might you be an example to?  In fact, who might be looking to you as an example right now?  Because I’m pretty sure someone is.  Whether you know it or not, whether you intend it or not, whether you like it or not, someone is.  Someone is learning Christing from you.  Even if you don’t think they should be, even if you don’t think you’re worthy fo that, it’s true.  Someone is learning Christing from you.  And someone may be learning Christing from me, too.

What are they learning?  If someone patterened their Christian faith after yourse, what would they be like?  How good at Christing would they be?

You’ll have to answer that for yourself.  If you’re happy with the answer, that’s great.  But if you’re not, then it leads to another question.  What are you going to do about it?

Little kids learn adulting by imitating adults.  You and I learn Christing by imitating Christ and by imitating Christians we respect and admire.  And others will learn Christing by imitating us. 

May we learn well.  May we follow Christ in our own lives, and may we also help others learn to follow Christ in their lives.

 

Sharing the Load

The message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on Sunday morning, February 5, 2023.  The Bible verses used are Galatians 6:1-16.

            As Christians, the way we are supposed to live our lives can sometimes lead to tension and contradiction.  What I mean is this:  we are supposed to live our lives in the world.  After all, we’re supposed to love others and we’re supposed to go and make disciples, and the only way we can do that is to be a part of the world.  And yet, as Christians, we are not supposed to follow the ways of the world.  We’re supposed to keep our hearts and minds focused on God.  To focus on the concerns of God, rather than human concerns, as Jesus said to Peter in Mark Chapter Eight.

            That’s not always an easy thing to do.  In fact, it seems kind of contradictory, really.  How can we be part of the world and yet not be influenced by the world?  How can we live in the world and yet not let the things of the world affect how we live.  

            Our reading from Galatians for today tells us something about that.  And it does so with two seemingly contradictory statements.  Did you catch them?  I don’t know that I ever have until I was looking at this passage this week.  In verse two, Paul says, “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  But then, in verse five, Paul says, “for each one should carry their own load.”

            Well, which is it?  Are we supposed to carry each other’s burdens?  Or are we supposed to carry our own load?

            I think the answer is:  Both.  As Christians, we are supposed to carry our own load.  We’re not supposed to expect other people to do everything for us.  Paul himself took pride in the fact that he had a trade, that he was a tentmaker.  That meant he could support himself and did not have to rely on the Christians in the towns to which he traveled to support him.  

And of course, Paul’s statement about carrying our own load was not limited to finances.  He makes some other statements in this passage that add up to the same thing:  each of us is responsible for who we are and what we do.  He says, “Each one should test their own actions.  Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else.”  He says, “If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.”  Paul is telling us that each of us is responsible for our own actions and for our own faith.  When need to be honest with ourselves about who we are and what we are.  Each of us is responsible for our own load and how we carry it.  And when we fail, we need to own up to that.  It’s no good to try to blame anyone but ourselves.

But, we are also supposed to be there to help others.  We are, as Paul says, supposed to carry each other’s burdens.  That truly does fulfill the law of Christ.  And Paul also says this, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

And this is one of the things that can make Christianity hard.  We are responsible for carrying our own load AND carrying each other’s burdens.  

That can feel like a lot to carry sometimes.  It’s all very well for Paul to say, “let us not become weary in doing good”, but there are times when we do.  There are times when just carrying our own load seems like more than we can manage, and yet we’re supposed to help others carry their burdens, too.  It seems like that’s quite a bit to ask of us.

And that’s where we get back to living in the world but not following the ways of the world.  Because there are times when the world will tell us the exact opposite.  The world will tell us, hey, don’t worry about carrying your load.  Make someone else do it.  You’re not responsible for taking care of yourself.  Other people should be taking care of you.  And the world will also tell us, hey, you don’t need to help anyone else.  If they cannot take care of themselves, that’s their problem, not your problem.  Let somebody else take care of them.  Let the government take care of them.  It’s none of your concern.

And you know, there are times when what the world tells us starts to make sense.  And that’s especially true when what the world tells us is something we want to hear.  There are times we’d really like to not be responsible for ourselves.  We’d like to be able to just do whatever we want and let someone else take care of things.  And there are times when we’d like to just be able to focus on ourselves and not have to deal with other people’s problems.  It’s a message that can be very appealing to us sometimes.

It can be tempting to give in to the message of the world.  That’s why Paul says, “watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.”  It’s tempting, but it’s a dangerous temptation.  Look at verse eight:  “Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

That’s the choice we have.  And of course, we know what we should do.  I mean, if someone came up to you and asked, “Would you rather have destruction or eternal life?”, it’s pretty obvious what the right choice is.  And it’s not that we don’t want to make the right choice.  It’s just that, well, the right choice can be hard sometimes.  Sometimes it feels like a heavy load, and we do get tired.  Whether that’s good or bad, right or wrong, it’s just the truth.

Jesus never promised that being a Christian would be easy, of course.  In fact, he often promised the exact opposite.  That’s why, after Paul tells us not to become weary in doing good, he tells us this:  “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Did you catch that last part?  We should do good for everyone whenever we can, of course.  But Paul says we should especially do good to those who belong to the family of believers.  Why would Paul say that?  I mean, we hear all the time that we should be focused on outreach, on reaching those people who are not part of a church and are not believers.  And Paul does not contradict that.  But still, Paul goes out of his way to tell us to especially do good to our fellow Christians.  Why would Paul do that?

I think the reason Paul says that is because Paul knows just how heavy that load can get.  When you think about it, Paul had a really unique perspective on just how heavy the load can be.  You remember, he started out as one of the leading persecutors of Christians.  He was one of the people making the load heavy.  And then, after he converted to Christianity, he became a target of the persecution.  He was one of the people carrying the load.  And as one of the leaders of this new movement of people called Christians, he had one of the heaviest loads of anyone.

Because of that, Paul knew that there’s only one way we, as Christians, can do what we’re supposed to do.  There’s only one way in which we, as Christians, can both carry our own load and reach out to carry the burdens of others.  And that’s if we support each other.  If we encourage each other.  If we are there for each other.  If we love each other.

That’s why it’s so important for us, as Christians, to be part of a church.  Can someone love God and believe in Jesus and not be part of a church?  Of course they can.  But they’ll be missing something.  They’ll be missing that support system.  They’ll be missing that help in carrying the load.  They’ll be missing that group of believers who can encourage each other and love each other and be there for each other.  They’ll be missing that group of people who, in Paul’s words, do good to each other.

That’s not to say that in the church we always do that perfectly.  Of course we don’t.  Churches are not perfect.  They’re made up of people who are not perfect and they have pastors who are not perfect.  But we try.  In our flawed, bumbling, imperfect way, we try.  We fail more times than we’d like to admit, but we try.  We try to be there for each other, and support each other, and encourage each other.  We try to carry each other’s burdens, so that no one’s load becomes heavier than they can carry.

            As Christians, we live in the world.  But, as Christians, we are not supposed to follow the ways of the world.  We are to fulfill the laws of Christ.  That means we need to carry our own load AND carry each other’s burdens.  It’s not easy.  But if we will keep trying, and if we keep helping each other, we can do this together.  We can fulfill the laws of Christ.  And we can be the people God has called us to be.