Jenny, Liz (Collins), Audrey (Unruh) just finished preparing the altar and the communion table for World Communion Sunday. We’ll be singing the responses for the Great Thanksgiving.
Sermon on Matthew 20:1-16
Below the fold is a manuscript version of my (John’s) sermon from Sunday, September 24, 2017, on Matthew 20:1-16. It’s a sermon about getting not what we deserve, but what we need.
Heaven Will Work Backwards
In my sermon this Sunday, I quoted a passage that C. S. Lewis. He had placed the words in the mouth of one of his heroes, George MacDonald, in The Great Divorce, a work of fiction about the life to come. Below is a more complete version of that quote:
‘Son,’ he said, ‘ye cannot in your present state understand eternity … But ye can get some likeness of it if ye say that both good and evil, when they are full grown, become retrospective. … That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, “No future bliss can make up for it,” not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say “Let me have but this and I’ll take the consequences”: little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin. Both processes begin even before death. The good man’s past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man’s past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. And that is why, at the end of all things, when the sun rises here and the twilight turns to blackness down there, the Blessed will say “We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven,” and the Lost, “We were always in Hell.” And both will speak truly.’ — C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (1945), Chapter 9.
Puerto Rico and UMCOR
The bad news is that reports from Puerto Rico are growing increasingly dire. The good news is that UMCOR (and other agencies) are on it. Like Texas and Florida, Puerto Rico (though not a state) is part of the United States and Puerto Ricans are United States Citizens (I mention this because only about 50 percent of those of us in the states are aware of it). I would ask you to remember Puerto Rico (and other countries as well) when you pray for Texas and Florida.
The National Anthem Brouhaha, Part 2
A friend and clergy college of mine, Heather Hensarling, wrote the following as an introduction when she shared my post from yesterday. I want to share the meat of it with you. I especially want to share the sentiment of “No judgment here, folks. I promise.”
I first met my friend, Reverend John Collins, at Licensing School in York, NE, 1994. … I’m sharing his blog on The National Anthem Brouhaha (always wondered how to spell that word). It strikes at the heart of what I’ve been feeling as I witness the amount of angry energy church members exert over “a game player” taking a knee during the National Anthem…yet somehow feel no amount of loyalty themselves to remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy. I.e., come to church. I’m not thinking of anyone in particular. I’m thinking of everyone in general who call themselves followers of Jesus, yet somehow muster up more energy about taking a knee on NFL game day than they do about taking a seat on Sunday. No judgment here, folks. I promise. The only shoes I walk in are my own. Just curious, that’s all. …
The National Anthem Brouhaha
I’m feeling prophetic this morning, and that means that there’s a pretty good chance that what follows is going to offend someone. To avoid possible confusion, let me state at the outset that I’m not writing to argue against standing for the national anthem, I’m writing to argue for weekly worship attendance. I welcome your feedback via email, a phone call, or a face to face conversation.
The current brouhaha over standing or not standing for the national anthem at the beginning of a for-profit sporting event has left me slightly bemused. Here’s why.
I think that there is an analogy to be drawn between the singing of the national anthem at the beginning of a sporting event and the weekly service of worship at the beginning of the week (remember the New Testament refers to Sunday as the first day of the week), but it is an unequal analogy. What I mean by an unequal analogy is this: whatever honor and respect we owe to the country in which we live pales in comparison to the honor and respect we owe the Almighty. After all, it is God who formed the earth upon which we live, the air that we breathe, and without whose continuous grace all that exists would cease to be.
The extent to which many people have gotten upset over the fact that a few professional athletes are refusing to stand for the national anthem is surprising when you consider how everyone takes it in stride when a much larger percentage of the population stays away from the weekly worship service. My country has given me a great many things; my God has given me even more and without the God who made all that is, my country would have nothing to offer me. Any argument that can be made for the importance of standing for the national anthem can be made even more forcefully for attending worship. But despite that fact, we get very upset about any neglect of the first no matter what the reason while being sanguine about the most flagrant violations of the second for any old reason at all.
Obviously, we cannot coerce sincere faith in God by mandating weekly worship attendance any more than we can coerce true allegiance to our country by making everyone stand for the national anthem, but shame on us for being so concerned about the latter and so untroubled about the former. It’s almost a textbook case of idolatry. May God have mercy on us.
Please do not confuse my failure to discuss the reasons for taking a knee for indifference to them. Regardless of the efficacy of their protest, I consider the matters of injustice given by those taking a knee to be of grave concern.
Funeral Service for Joan Holmes
A Service of Death and Resurrection for Marilyn Joan (Barnes) Holmes will be held Saturday, October 21, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary. Visitation will be the night before from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
John Wesley on Reading
In honor of our Breakfast Club gathering this morning, I wanted to share the following quote from John Wesley:
It cannot be that the people should grow in grace, unless they give themselves to reading. A reading people will always be a knowing people. — John Wesley [1]
Now I know that not everyone is a reader, but note that Wesley says “the people,” “a reading people,” and “a knowing people.” All of these terms refer to a group of people. Don’t worry if you’re not a reader, other members of your congregation have you covered, simply do what you can and be attentive to the other means of grace.
[1] John Wesley in an unpublished letter dated November 8, 1790. As quoted by L. Tyerman, The Life and times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., Founder of the Methodists (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1871), 632. Found online at books.google.com.
New Members: Greg and Sandi Dutt
We are looking forward to receiving Sandi and Greg Dutt into membership at the 10:30 service this coming Sunday. Jenny and I encourage you to take the time to welcome them to First United Methodist Church.
Racism and the Death Penalty
I have a lot of respect for Shane Claiborne, the activist and author of The Irresistible Revolution: Living as An Ordinary Radical. He has an article on racism and the death penalty out today over at time.com. I commend it to you.
Link: http://ti.me/2xrt6At
God’s Love for Us is Steadfast
The language is a bit archaic, but all these years later, the point C. S. Lewis made in 1952 stands:
On the whole, God’s love for us is a much safer subject to think about than our love for Him. . . . The great [important] thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him. — C. S. Lewis [1]
[1] C. S. Lewis, “Charity,” in Mere Christianity (1952).
Beyonce is United Methodist
It turns out that not only is Beyonce United Methodist, but she’s partnering with her pastor to raise money for hurricane relief.