A question I’m often asked is “Why did you come to America?” Something resembling an account of the events that led me to this beautiful and spacious land can be found in this past week’s sermon…. which can be found here.
In the sermon I reflect on the way Jonah resisted the call of God and remained unimpressed by God’s grace towards the sinners of Ninevah, even when they repented. I suspect there remains in each of us something of ‘The Jonah Syndrome’. Do you recognize any of these Jonah symptoms in yourself?
When you hear of trouble, you say ‘Somebody should do something about that!’ By ‘somebody’ you mean ‘somebody other than yourself’. When you sing the hymn ‘Here I am Lord’ you are actually thinking ‘There they are, Lord”
When you sense God’s call to deal with injustice, you want to hide? I mean, after all, Ninevites are not nice people. Unpredictable. Threatening. Scary. Why would anybody want to help them? It was their own fault they were in such a mess! I admit it. I find some homeless people scary. I worry about getting involved in certain peoples situations because I’m afraid where it may lead. I don’t like being ‘not in control’
When it comes to a whole host of dilemmas, from immigration to welfare reform, from helping the poor to housing the homeless, there is a part of my that wants to ignore the issues and pursue different directions.
When things turn out good for your opponents, you get a little sulky. It’s hard to rejoice about others well being, particularly if they are people you don’t particularly like! You would much rather see them brought low and get what you believe they deserve. Jonah thought that ‘The blasting of the Ninevites’ would have made a great fireworks show. Why did they have to go and repent? And why on earth would God show mercy to them?
How easily we forget that we are all in the same boat when it comes to being ‘sinners who fall short of the glory of God’. Were it not for the grace of God, we’d all be lost! Who do we think we are presuming upon who and whom not the grace of God should fall upon. Who made us judge and jury?
As I say… I suspect we all fall victims of Jonah syndrome!
Prayer: Lord, thank goodness You don’t treat us the way we treat each other. Help us to see others as being Your much loved and special children. May that particularly be so with those we find it hard to get along with! May our lives reflect your mercy and our ways reflect your loving kindness. In Jesus name we pray. AMEN.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Go Forth…
As part of a series reflecting on some of my own experiences I preached this past Sunday about sensing a call to ordained ministry. That sermon can be found here.
One of the Scriptures referenced in the sermon was Genesis 12:1 “Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you”. Consider the following things about Abram’s calling …
Abram left a lot behind. In the kind of patriarchal world in which Abram dwelt leaving the house of your relatives and your father was a radical move. The extended family was his entire support network. Family ties were not the sort of thing you messed with! It is hard to leave that which we love and have grown accustomed to. Yet such is the journey of faith Jesus calls each of us to make. Declaring Him as ‘Lord’ pushes all other relationships (even our closest ones) into the shade.
Abram didn’t have a destination. Some where “I will show you” is not a physical address. He heard God’s call and followed not knowing where the journey would actually take him. The only assurance he has is that because God is leading him, it would turn out to be somewhere good. God never seems to show us the whole map of our lives at one time. All we hear is ‘Follow”.
Abram was obedient. He followed. He sensed God’s call. He, no doubt, had a head full of questions. But he put all of that behind him and moved forward into God’s promises. Our journey of faith is a one step at a time process. We don’t know where it will take us. We don’t need to know. Our motivation can simply be that we know that our God is with us!
Prayer: Lord, You call us to ‘Go forward’. Yet so often we cling to what we know rather than taking those risky steps of faith. Remind us that wherever it is we are called to go, we have the promise that You go with us. We don’t need all the details. What we need is Your love. Amen.
One of the Scriptures referenced in the sermon was Genesis 12:1 “Now the Lord said to Abram, Go forth from your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you”. Consider the following things about Abram’s calling …
Abram left a lot behind. In the kind of patriarchal world in which Abram dwelt leaving the house of your relatives and your father was a radical move. The extended family was his entire support network. Family ties were not the sort of thing you messed with! It is hard to leave that which we love and have grown accustomed to. Yet such is the journey of faith Jesus calls each of us to make. Declaring Him as ‘Lord’ pushes all other relationships (even our closest ones) into the shade.
Abram didn’t have a destination. Some where “I will show you” is not a physical address. He heard God’s call and followed not knowing where the journey would actually take him. The only assurance he has is that because God is leading him, it would turn out to be somewhere good. God never seems to show us the whole map of our lives at one time. All we hear is ‘Follow”.
Abram was obedient. He followed. He sensed God’s call. He, no doubt, had a head full of questions. But he put all of that behind him and moved forward into God’s promises. Our journey of faith is a one step at a time process. We don’t know where it will take us. We don’t need to know. Our motivation can simply be that we know that our God is with us!
Prayer: Lord, You call us to ‘Go forward’. Yet so often we cling to what we know rather than taking those risky steps of faith. Remind us that wherever it is we are called to go, we have the promise that You go with us. We don’t need all the details. What we need is Your love. Amen.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Called to Be Free
Since moving to my current church a number of questions have been re-occurring. “How did you become a Christian? “ “What made you want to be a minister? “Why did you move from your home in Great Britain to the USA?” To answer those questions I’m preaching a series of sermons (This is my Story, this is my Song) the first of which can be found here.
In the sermon I reflect on a verse from Galatians 5:13; “You were call to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. Rather serve one another in love.” Note from this verse these things about freedom;
Freedom is a Calling. God calls us to come out of lives that are self-seeking, self-satisfied and self motivated and discover that seeking the Kingdom of God is the true path of freedom. This involves us making some hard choices and definite decisions. We choose to listen for God’s direction through scripture. We decide that the pressures of this world will not mould our existence, but rather the prompting of God’s love.
Freedom is not self-indulgence. We have this warped notion that freedom is doing whatever we want to do. In reality following such a path leads to nothing but ingrained habits, addictions and the inability to make realistic choices. Jesus invites us to make His love the center of our being, a love we can know and experience through the Holy Spirit.
We are set free to serve. As we allow ourselves to be inspired by the Holy Spirit our focus shifts from ourselves to others. The two great commandments about “Loving God” and “Loving our neighbor” take on a sharper focus. We find ourselves not only wanting to help make a positive difference in peoples’ lives, but greatly enjoying it!
Prayer: Lord, You call us to freedom. But freedom is not what we always think it is. True freedom can only be found as we surrender to the influence of Your love. Help us to find our center in You. Amen.
In the sermon I reflect on a verse from Galatians 5:13; “You were call to be free, but do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. Rather serve one another in love.” Note from this verse these things about freedom;
Freedom is a Calling. God calls us to come out of lives that are self-seeking, self-satisfied and self motivated and discover that seeking the Kingdom of God is the true path of freedom. This involves us making some hard choices and definite decisions. We choose to listen for God’s direction through scripture. We decide that the pressures of this world will not mould our existence, but rather the prompting of God’s love.
Freedom is not self-indulgence. We have this warped notion that freedom is doing whatever we want to do. In reality following such a path leads to nothing but ingrained habits, addictions and the inability to make realistic choices. Jesus invites us to make His love the center of our being, a love we can know and experience through the Holy Spirit.
We are set free to serve. As we allow ourselves to be inspired by the Holy Spirit our focus shifts from ourselves to others. The two great commandments about “Loving God” and “Loving our neighbor” take on a sharper focus. We find ourselves not only wanting to help make a positive difference in peoples’ lives, but greatly enjoying it!
Prayer: Lord, You call us to freedom. But freedom is not what we always think it is. True freedom can only be found as we surrender to the influence of Your love. Help us to find our center in You. Amen.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
World Communion Sunday
This past Sunday was ‘World Communion Sunday’ and as we gathered around the World Wide Table we reminded ourselves that our family of faith is much larger than just our local church. The sermon for the day can be found here.
We also received a special Peacemaking offering, indicative of our hope that peace may yet come to our fractured world.
After 2000 years of history, Christianity can be found in many different forms and guises. Though Scripture talks of us as being ‘One Body’ we also sadly have to acknowledge that some of our bones are broken, some of us are ‘out of joint’ with each other and the picture we present to the world is not one of unity.
One of the places that healing can take place is around a shared table. Regretfully, because theologians can’t agree about a mystery, our differing traditions are not always welcoming of ‘outsiders’ to sit with them. But ‘times they are a changing’ and we can but hope and pray that our divisions may yet be healed in order that we can more realistically embody hopes for the peace of all.
So today I lift up the work of all those agencies that are seeking to bring our churches together. We all have so much to learn from other traditions! Our local organization is the Long Island Council of Churches. I’m sure you have similar organizations in your own neighborhood and would encourage you to support them in whatever way you can.
Prayer: Lord we are not a united church. We do not witness well to our world through our divisions. Increase our love for those who are different from us. Break the hardness of hearts that cannot see beyond their own limited perspective. Amen.
We also received a special Peacemaking offering, indicative of our hope that peace may yet come to our fractured world.
After 2000 years of history, Christianity can be found in many different forms and guises. Though Scripture talks of us as being ‘One Body’ we also sadly have to acknowledge that some of our bones are broken, some of us are ‘out of joint’ with each other and the picture we present to the world is not one of unity.
One of the places that healing can take place is around a shared table. Regretfully, because theologians can’t agree about a mystery, our differing traditions are not always welcoming of ‘outsiders’ to sit with them. But ‘times they are a changing’ and we can but hope and pray that our divisions may yet be healed in order that we can more realistically embody hopes for the peace of all.
So today I lift up the work of all those agencies that are seeking to bring our churches together. We all have so much to learn from other traditions! Our local organization is the Long Island Council of Churches. I’m sure you have similar organizations in your own neighborhood and would encourage you to support them in whatever way you can.
Prayer: Lord we are not a united church. We do not witness well to our world through our divisions. Increase our love for those who are different from us. Break the hardness of hearts that cannot see beyond their own limited perspective. Amen.
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