gratitude – Salvaged Faith

Thanks!

Posted on June 18, 2023Leave a comment

Text: Isaiah 12:1-6, Philippians 4:4-9

Holy God, speak into our midst this morning. Fill us with hope, grace, and peace. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts and minds honor You this morning. May they be worthy of your calling and accomplish your faithful work in our midst. Amen.

I thank God for you.

I do. I really do.

I thank God for you, the people of Immanuel United Methodist Church.

I thank God for how the love you all have for each other and the world is increasing.

Robert Dunham wrote that “common struggle often forges an uncommon unity and love for one another. Like the peace that holds the community fast in turmoil, love for one another and congregational unity are best received and celebrated as gifts.”

And as we gather today, I cannot help but reflect upon some of the common struggles that we have shared over these last nine years of ministry together.

Some of them were challenges that we set before ourselves: raising money through a concert for DMARC, a gigantic garage sale for Joppa, or purchasing five brand new books for every student at Hillis Elementary.

But we have also been held together through turmoil.

Some of them are simply the realities of human life:

the illnesses, the injuries, the loss of treasured members of our community.

We have prayed and grieved and supported one another – offering God’s strength and peace.

And then there were the realities that we didn’t see coming.

Truly adaptive challenges we faced as the world changed… and is changing… and we’ve had to figure out how to reach new people in new ways.

We have gone through a pandemic… learning how to move worship online and connect with one another in new ways.

We have navigated conflict and conversation about human sexuality and racism and how to welcome immigrants and what kind of church we want to be for the future.

A changing economy impacts not just our church finances, but also demands more of us as we reach out to care for the hungry and the homeless on our doorstep.

When I think about our scripture from Isaiah today, I remember that much of this text was written in a time of great difficulty.

The first half tells of the judgment of the people, who weren’t following God’s will.

And the second half is full of hope and promise… but written from exile, having lived through destruction and removal.

And yet, in all of it, Isaiah keeps an eye on what God has done.

On the grace and mercy of God.

Joy and praise and thanksgiving ring out…

not because everything is hunky dory… but because it is not.

And in our own situations… we didn’t always know what we were doing, or how to do it, but by the grace of God, we’ve found ways to love, serve, and pray together.

Not because we had the answers… or because the work was easy…

but because we knew that God was with us and would help us through.

It is the challenge of Paul and Timothy as they write to the people of Philippi. This is from the Message translation:

“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

Although you have every reason to be anxious… and you have needs and requests to share with God… there is also reason to give thanks.

Or… as Anne Lamott so honestly puts it in her book about the three essential prayers: Help, Thanks, and WOW! :

“…at some point, we cast our eyes to the beautiful skies, above all the crap we’re

wallowing in, and we whisper, ‘Thank you.’

Thank you, God.

And in so many of those kinds of situations, there were moments when we got a little grumpy with one another.

We are human after all, and we are still learning and growing and figuring these things out…

but we are doing it together…

And we’ve taken the time to share when things weren’t working out and have reached out when feelings were hurt and have tried to find a way forward.

Anne Lamott describes the prayer of thanks as a tool to move from “rashy and clenched to grateful.”

I just love that imagery… and I can actually sense it in my body.

There are those moments when we are frustrated or in conflict and we truly are clenched.

It is a posture of being on high alert, always ready to fight or flee or even freeze.

In a world that is so divisive, we see that all around us.

But I think that God has used us and shaped us through gratitude, love, and grace to be God’s people and demonstrate a different path.

We have tried to live out the advice from Paul and Timothy to be gentle with one another and to seek the peace of God.

We’ve stayed in conversation. We’ve taken the time to listen.

And we have found ways to give thanks and celebrate the people who have come into our lives…

All of which takes that posture of abrasive and clenched living and turns it into a posture of openness and grace.

The love we have for one another is a gift…

the bonds formed in the midst of common struggle are a blessing…

and they should be celebrated as such.

Thank you, God.

Anne Lamott writes that “Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides.”

And friends, as we have been grateful for the love of God… we have also let those prayers of thanksgiving turn into joyful service.

[the numbers represent images of ministry projected during the worship service]

[1] Thank you God for the deeper relationships we formed with our neighborhood elementary school, Hillis, as we brought books for so many children and we have more and more people taking just an hour a week to read with those who need some extra help.

[2] And thank you for helping us to continue efforts like Donuts for Dudes and Muffins for Moms where we can be present in our neighborhood and share God’s love with breakfast.

[3] Thank you God for the ways that young people and their mentors here at the church bonded through hard work, study, and recreation at things like confirmation.

[4] Thank you God for the impact you had on children in our church and community as we worked to help them learn more about your powerful and never-ending love.

[5] Thank you God, for calling us to have hard conversations about your calling for our church in this world.

[6] Thank you God, for bringing us together in fellowship and for new relationships formed over barbeque and basketball.

[7] Thank you for challenging us to stretch beyond our own teams and ministries to build new partnerships with others, like the Interfaith Green Team Coalition.

[8] Thank you God, for those who give so faithfully of their time and energy behind the scenes to make ministry here possible.

[9] Thank you God for the faithfulness of our predecessors like Mrs. Simser and the bibles we give our children and the faithfulness of third grade bible partners and teachers.

[10] Thank you God for a seven year partnership and relationship with Imani church…

[11] … and for our new relationship with Immanuel Gospel Fellowship.

[12] Thank you God for the opportunity to go into the world to serve you through Volunteers in Mission, in our neighborhood, but also as far away as Omaha and Memphis.

[13] and thank you for challenging us to do hard things to raise funds and give time for ministries like Joppa and DMARC.

[14] and for the deep connections that are created when we labor together for a common good.

[15] Thank you God for those who not only prepare meals for us every week, but who care for and minister to one another in good times and in bad.

[16] Thank you God for those who knit and crochet blankets, for folks who feed and care and support, so that we can extend the love of Immanuel to those who need it the most.

[17] Thank you God for our staff and their faithfulness and willingness to serve.

[18] Thank you for the youth and volunteers and chaperones who go out and represent us so well in the community.

[19] Thank you, God.

Thank you.

You know, I started out just trying to find a few highlights of the amazing work God has been doing here among us and the list just kept going on and on and on.

As Paul writes to the church at Philippi, there really is so much to brag about.

He praises their generosity, their support for his ministry.

He encourages them for the work that is still to come.

But really… that’s the outline of all of Paul’s letters.

And I can’t help but borrow Paul’s words… or rather, Eugene Peterson’s translation of Paul’s words.

“My dear, dear friends! I love you so much. I do want the very best for you. You make me feel such joy, fill me with such pride. Don’t waver. Stay on track, steady in God.” (Philippians 4:1, MSG)

Over these past nine years, you’ve made some tough decisions and have stretched in new ways.

I thank God for how you’ve been willing to answer God’s call.

And as you continue to implement some of these changes…

And live out a new kind of welcome…

There will be bumps in the road.

It won’t all be easy.

But in the midst of the muck and the hard stuff, keep your heart full of gratitude and your eyes on Jesus.

As people of faith, God is continually calling us to do hard things.

God is calling us to leave our comfort zones go and be in ministry with the least and the last and the lost.

God is calling us to welcome the little ones and the stranger and whomever else shows up.

God is calling us to give up our preferences for the sake of the mission.

And maybe the hardest of them all…

God is calling us to be honest and real about our own vulnerabilities, our own brokenness, struggle, and pain, so that this community can walk with us, can love us, can remind us over and over again about the love of God in Jesus Christ that can transform even our broken souls.

That’s what church is all about.

Growing in love for each other and in love for God.

Giving thanks in every circumstance.

Singing and shouting to the Lord for the excellent things God has done among us.

May you continue to do hard things.

May you continue to hear and be faithful to God’s call.

May you continue to be formed in love born of our common struggle to truly be disciples of Jesus Christ in this world.

And through it all… may you continue to give thanks… keeping that attitude of gratitude that keeps your eyes above the muck on the one who gives us strength. Amen.

Imagine the Transformation

Posted on October 20, 2019Leave a comment

Text: Matthew 14:13-21 (focusing on verses 18-19), Philippians 1:3-11

Last Sunday in worship, I preached about our limitations.
About how little we have… or think we have… that can be offered up for ministry.
When we see so much need around us in the world, it is easy to believe that we can’t possibly begin to make a difference.

And the truth is, we can’t.
Not on our own.
Not by ourselves.
But the good news is… it isn’t about us and what we can do.
It’s about what God can do through us.

This morning as we heard, once again, the miraculous story of how five thousand men (plus women and children) were fed, I want to focus in on just two verses of this pericope.
First, Jesus invites the disciples to hand over what they have.
“Bring those fish and loves to me,” he says. “Let me see what I can do with it.”
And then he invites people to gather around and he does something that is all too familiar to us when we gather for communion…
He prays.
He blesses the bread.
He breaks it.

What does that remind you of?

Communion!

Jesus blesses the gifts, breaks them
And he gives it back to the disciples.
Only then do they give it to the congregation…
To the crowds…
To the multitudes.

Only AFTER Jesus has taken their gifts and blessed and transformed them do the disciples head back out in service.

Or maybe it is simply after we recognize that our gifts are from God that we are truly able to share them with others.
There are times in our lives when we underestimate and we under appreciate our gifts.
We devalue ourselves and others and the most common way we do it is with a tiny little word: “just.”

We “just” have five loaves and two fishes.
I “just” have five minutes to give.
She is “just” a stay at home mom.
They “just” come to coffee time.
I “just” sing at church.

Can you hear the limitation?
Can you hear how we are denying the possibility?

What if instead we claimed:
We HAVE five loaves and two fishes – Jesus, what can you do with them?
I HAVE five minutes that I can give, how can I make the most of them?
She IS a stay at home mom and is able to be present for her children and volunteer in a really special way.
They come to coffee time and build these amazing relationships where they share about their families and check in when no one else is there and laugh until their bellies hurt.
I sing at church and praise and make music to God!

If instead of dismissing our gifts, we offered them up and let God transform and use our minutes and presence and abilities – imagine what could happen.

Now, I want to highlight that last one because it was something that might have been said by a middle aged woman who lived alone with her cat, Pebbles.
But when Susan Boyle stepped on a stage in 2009, she allowed her gifts to be used for something far bigger than she could ever imagine.

When she walked out on that stage, everyone underestimated what she could do and what her gifts were. And, I’d venture a guess that she probably also underestimated herself.
In fact, as much as she might have believed in herself, the immense joy that crossed her face when the judges all said yes was simply amazing.
Stored up inside of her for all of those years were these powerful notes and no one took them seriously.
It wasn’t until she was given a chance to really and truly share her gifts with others and to receive encouragement and affirmation did she realize what a blessing she had received and what it could do to change the world.
In the aftermath of her performance, Susan Boyle caused millions of people to take a second look at their preconceptions and to reach out to affirm the gifts they see in others.

In many ways, I think that is part of what the Apostle Paul is doing in his letter to the people of Philippi.
He sees their gifts.
He notices their generosity.
And he thanks God for the ways that they are allowing themselves to be used by Jesus to make a difference in the lives of others.
One of my favorite lines from this comes in verse six, and here it is from the Message translation:

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.

Friends, God is doing a great work among you here at Immanuel, too.
I look out at this congregation and my heart is full of prayers of thanksgiving as well.
I think about the way a mission trip got started decades ago and how every single year communities are transformed by our Volunteers in Mission who are willing to hammer nails and lay floors and serve their neighbors. THANK YOU GOD.
I think about how a simple garage sale a couple of years ago raised over $7000 for our homeless neighbors. THANK YOU GOD.
I think about how a idea sparked at the worship vision conversation turned into a benefit concert for DMARC this summer. THANK YOU GOD.
I think about all of the adults who joined forces to work on our Vacation Bible School sets – offering up their carpentry or painting or crafting skills… sets that not only blessed our children, but those at other churches, too. THANK YOU GOD.
My mind wanders to the women who gather to knit and crochet on Wednesdays and in their own homes and all of the lives who have been comforted by prayer shawls. THANK YOU GOD.
I think about the parents who are so blessed because people give their time on Wednesday afternoons to come in and prepare meals for our evening programming. THANK YOU GOD.
I think about our neighbors who walk by this building and can look out on our beautiful flowers and plants because some generous souls have given their time and energy to plant and water and maintain our gardens. THANK YOU GOD.
I think about the homebound folks who know they are not alone because one of you has stopped by for five minutes to drop off a simple card or gift or just to say hi. THANK YOU GOD.

And I know and believe and have no doubt that the God who started all of these good works in you will keep at it and keep using and multiplying and blessing your gifts so that they will continue to spill out into this world.
What you do matters.
What you give matters.
And it matters because God is working through you to bless this world.

Never Go Hungry

Posted on November 21, 2016Leave a comment

We are gathered here tonight, as one community of faith, to give thanks.

Throughout this month, I’ve been preaching about gratitude and giving thanks and one of the things that we have highlighted is that God wants us to give thanks for the differences among us. It is only by being grateful for someone you disagree with that you can ever move beyond those differences into community.

And our three churches probably don’t agree on everything. I think that’s a good thing. We all play a different role in this great big body of Christ. And we choose to view one another not as competitors, but as partners in the amazing mission and ministry of God in this world.

For that, I’m grateful.

We choose to gather around this time of year in particular because of our national celebration of Thanksgiving.

While the fuller history of this gathering is far more checkered and controversial, one thing is certain… there were at least three days of community and peace between the pilgrims at Plymouth and the Wampanoag Nation (Wahmp – uh nahg). The colonists had barely survived the first winter and it was only through the charity and hospitality of these Wampanoag people that this feast occurred. They made sure that they would not go hungry.

Our scriptures call us back to an earlier time of Thanksgiving, however.

Gary Roth draws the connection between the early pilgrims, dependent upon the mercy of the native peoples and the Israelites, who were utterly dependent upon the grace and mercy of God.

As our text from Deuteronomy reminds us – “My father was a wandering Aramean…” The Israelites were brutally oppressed in Egypt, and God heard their cries of distress. They were led out of the land of Egypt, sustained by daily bread from heaven, and eventually came to the land promised to them by the Lord. God made sure that they would not go hungry.

And these Israelites were called to give thanks and to remember that the land and everything it produced was a gift from God.

The first fruits of the land were set aside as an offering of thanks and the people were called to celebrate their blessings and to share them with all.

We, too, are utterly dependent upon God.

And we, too, have been blessed.

As Jesus reminds us in the gospel of John, those Israelites wandering in the desert relied upon manna, bread from heaven to sustain them daily.

We like to imagine that we are self-sufficient and don’t need anyone’s help, but that simply is not true.

Every breath of air that fills our lungs is a gift from God.

Every ray of sunshine and drop of rain that nurtures our crops is a gift from God.

Every grain of wheat is a gift from God.

And so is the bread of life… the love and mercy of God… the incarnation and death and resurrection of Jesus that provided the gift that none of us could even imagine… true life, eternal life, life with God.

Because of God, we will never go spiritually hungry. And so we must give thanks.

The question is, what does a thankful life look like?

What does it mean to live in gratitude, knowing that is only by God’s grace we are sustained?

In Deuteronomy, we discover that one way to live in gratitude is to pay the gift forward again and again.

The Israelites remembered that their father was a wandering Aramean… and then they looked out at the immigrants and refugees who were among them and shared the first fruits with those in need.

The book of Leviticus is full of instructions to leave the gleanings of the harvest and the edges of the field for those who were in need.

We live out our thanksgiving by making sure that others have enough.

Enough food.

Enough water.

Enough grace.

Enough love.

Whether it is spiritual or physical bread… God invites us to share it with others as a mark of our gratitude.

Talk about the DMARC / CWS offering for the Karin people… A Christian community from Myanmar/Burma that has found a home and a refuge here in the greater Des Moines area.

We can give thanks today by sharing God’s love and mercy and physical sustenance with these immigrants and refugees in our community. We can make sure that they will never go hungry.

But we also are challenged to think about sustaining gifts that go beyond immediate needs and create life-sustaining conditions. So the CWS offering will go to help the communities in Myanmar that are most at risk so that they don’t have to flee their homeland in the first place.

Let us give thanks to the Lord for all of our blessings.

And let us never cease to pass them on to others.

Amen.

Transferred into the Kingdom

Posted on November 20, 2016Leave a comment

Over the last two weeks in worship, we have talked extensively about how we should give thanks for one another…

Because of our differences, we give thanks.

We gave thanks as we broke bread together.

We gave thanks around the waters of baptism.

We should give thanks always and everywhere for the people of this world who help us claim our inheritance, who help us overcome division, and who teach us how to practice what is true and holy, just and pure.

Today, we explore one more of Paul’s letters.

Today, we are reminded to give thanks to God who is the reason we all share in the Kingdom.

Let us pray:

This past week, the annual Bucksbaum Lecture at Drake University was given by Krista Tippet.

Many of my Sunday mornings, as I drive in to church, I listen to her broadcast, “On Being,” and I listen as she asks people from all sorts of traditions and backgrounds what it means to be human.

Recently, I picked up a copy of her book, “Becoming Wise,” and like she starts so many of her interviews, she starts by exploring her own background and faith tradition.

One of the interesting things about Tippet’s story is that she served as an aide to the American ambassador in Germany while it was divided.

She writes:

More riveting to me in the end than the politics of Berlin was the vast social experiment its division had become. One people, one language and history and culture, were split into two radically opposing worldviews and realities, decades entrenched by the time I arrived. I loved people on both sides of the Wall that wound through the heart of the city.

I keep thinking about the division of Berlin… the division of Germany after WWII… and the division of our own nation in this moment.

Especially in regards to our letter from Paul this morning.

As Paul writes to the Colossians, Gentiles who lived in what is now modern-day Turkey, he writes to encourage them in their faith… to help them grow into this new relationship they have found with Jesus.

And as Paul talks about the transition, the shift they have experienced in their life by accepting Jesus, he uses this really interesting phrase.

God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. (1:13)

Transferred us into the Kingdom.

As Neta Pringle describes this word – transferred, she writes that:

His image conjures up pictures of refugees, rounded up after battle and taken to the victor’s land, of Israelites marched far from home to live in Babylon – a kingdom so different, so far from home in both geography and style. Here the rules are different, the ruler is different. All assumptions about the way in which life goes on – indeed about its very meaning- are different. (Feasting on the Word)

Transferred into the Kingdom… much like those who found themselves on the eastern side of the wall in Berlin suddenly found themselves living in a different country, under different rules.

Transferred into the Kingdom… much like after an election a nation wakes up to a world where different people are in charge and different priorities come to the front.

You don’t always have to physically shift your location to feel like the world has changed all around you. For better or for worse.

Except, Paul is not writing here about a temporary shift in power that comes and goes with various political leaders and world events.

Paul is writing about a cosmic shift…

God has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.

And not just the people of Paul’s day and time. Not just the Colossians, or the Ephesians, the Philippians, or the Romans.

All of us.

We have been rescued from the powers of evil, sin, and death.

We all have been transferred into the kingdom of forgiveness, redemption, and life.

Thanks be to God.

Today in worship, we celebrate that Christ is King. That he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise.

We celebrate that through his death on the cross, the blood of Jesus rescued humanity from its captivity to the powers of this world.

In the cross, in the resurrection, Jesus declared victory over the powers over evil, injustice, and oppression.

And friends, in that great and glorious act, we have been transferred into God’s kingdom.

We have been transferred into the Rule and the Reign of God.

We are no longer merely citizens of this place, of Iowa, of the United States… Jesus is Lord.

Thanks be to God!

To emphasize this new reality, Paul continues his letter by breaking out into song.

While we don’t know the melody, while it isn’t a familiar tune to our ears, these lyrics in Paul’s letter would have been as familiar to the Colossians as Amazing Grace is to us.

They might have even started singing along.

And this song reminds the people in familiar words that when we look at Jesus, we see God.

They remind the people that in Christ all things in heaven and on earth were made.

They remind these new citizens of God’s kingdom that everything… every nation, every King or President, every Prime Minister or Governor, every Mayor and every Councilperson… everything is from God and finds purpose in God.

From the clouds in the sky to the microorganisms in the dirt beneath our feet, God in Christ holds everything together.

And Jesus is in charge of it all.

From beginning to end, Alpha and Omega, this kingdom will never end.

Thanks be to God!

And like any change in leadership… whether temporal or heavenly… the rules under which we live change a bit.

So this letter to the Colossians is a reminder that them and us that we are called to grow in love and faith.

Paul encourages us to bear fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.

And we are reminded that just because Christ has already won, does not mean that evil death and sin are forever gone. Paul’s letter, in fact, is full of the reminder that we will be made strong in Christ and is meant to help us endure with patience the trials and tribulations that will come.

That is why when we gather around the baptismal font and we welcome new ones into our midst we make these familiar pledges:

We pledge to renounce the spiritual forced of wickedness and evil powers of this world.

We repent of our sin.

We accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice and oppression, in whatever forms they present themselves.

And we must hold one another accountable to the rules of God’s kingdom.

All because we confess Jesus Christ as our Savior.

All because we promise to serve him as our Lord.

When Krista Tippett talks about life in Berlin, she also talks about the day the wall came down. It was her twenty-ninth birthday.

She writes that “no one imagined that it could fall or the Iron Curtain crumble…. The wall finally collapsed with a whimper, not a bang, as fear lifted all at once from an entire nation. I had walked through Checkpoint Charlie hundreds of times, respecting its absurdity as authority. On the night the Wall fell… the entire city walked joyfully through it. The border guards joined them. It was truly nearly that simple.”

While we live under the rule and the reign of Jesus Christ, we work and pray for the day when all people will joyfully walk through the walls of division and hatred.

We work and pray for the day when fear is lifted for all people.

We work and pray for the moment when the powers of this world that keep us apart let go of their last grasp upon our hearts and we are finally free to simply be in Christ.

And until then… we live as people who see all things and all people in their true light… as the ones who already belong to Jesus.

Thanks be to God.

Practice These Things…

Posted on November 13, 2016Leave a comment

Last week, we broke bread in spite of our differences.

We shared at the table of the Lord with people who would vote differently than us and with some who would not or could not vote at all.

And we touched [will touch] the waters of baptism and remember our baptism in Christ and that we are all children of God.

And we did so because our heritage… our inheritance as a church… our tradition as people of God… is to overcome any division among us.

Paul exemplified this in the way he gave thanks for the Gentiles in Ephesus… in spite of the vast sea of differences between them.

In today’s scripture reading, Paul is writing to a different community… to the people of Philippi in Greece.

This, too, was a diverse community, and one of the interesting features is that there were many descendants of Roman army veterans living there.

Later on this morning, we will share together in a potluck meal and celebrate and honor our veterans… all of those who have faithfully served our country, who sacrificed in countless ways for us. Every step of the way, they put the rights, the lives, the needs of other people above their own.

I believe that self-giving spirit… that spirit of love that would cause someone to lay down their life for another person… is part of what has made our country great. We don’t sit back when people are in need, but we show up. We have showed up to fight back tyrants and dictators, oppression and evil… and not always because it was on our doorstep, but because it was on the doorsteps of others.

All throughout the letter to the Philippians, you can see that kind of self-giving spirit we honor in our veterans. Practice these things… practice that holy, radical, sacrificial love… Paul writes.

And yet, the context of Philippi was very different. This was the site, if you appreciate history, where Brutus and Cassius were finally defeated by the armies of Marc Antony. And much of the land was taken away from the original inhabitants and given to the soldiers and their families as a reward.

This was a place of division, dislocation, and disparity and the gospel of Jesus Christ took root in the people who were the most vulnerable in this community.

For some, everything had been taken away from them: their citizenship, their land… everything that made them who they were.

Until they found their identity in Christ.

And as Paul writes this letter of encouragement to these displaced people, that identity, that love, that faith is what he reminds them of over and over again.

In chapter 3 he writes: “All these things were my assets, but I wrote them off as a loss for the sake of Christ. But even beyond that, I consider everything a loss in comparison with the superior value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have lost everything for him, but what I lost I think of as sewer trash, so that I might gain Christ and be found in him.”

These are not empty words of someone who had privilege… as Paul was. As a Roman citizen, he had rights that many of them had just recently lost and this might have felt like salt thrown onto open wounds…

Except, Paul really did let go of all of his power and privilege for the sake of the gospel.

This letter is being written from a jail cell – because Paul is awaiting trial for preaching the good news of Jesus Christ.

He is living out with his very life every word he writes on the page… including the call to “adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus: though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit. But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings. When he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (2:5-8)

Practice these things…

In every part of this letter, Paul reminds the church at Philippi to put others ahead of themselves. To love fiercely, in spite of what might happen. To overcome conflict and difference, anger and fear.

And friends, that’s not easy.

When there are deep divisions in a community it is easy to hunker down with people who are like-minded, to grumble and argue, to weep and be overcome with discouragement or to hold our victories over one another.

But Paul tells us to be grateful.

Paul tells us to rejoice.

Paul tells us to let love reign in our hearts.

The key to unity we heard last week… the key to overcoming division… is gratitude for the people who are different than us.

It is echoed all throughout this letter, too.

“Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.” (2:2-4)

And in our scripture this morning, from the Message translation:

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. (4:4-5)

Friends, I need you to know that there is real pain and fear across this nation right now.

There have been acts of hate and violence and aggression in our communities and neighborhoods. And in this neighborhood, there are families who fear they will be separated and there are people who have been targeted because of their gender, or sexual orientation, religion or ethnicity, or even because of the clothes they are wearing. I cannot and will not utter the hateful and horrendous words that have been used to diminish the value of our neighbors.

There have also been acts of violence as a part of generally peaceful protests and marches.

So I need you to know that I am not calling for a unity that blissfully ignores conflict.

Paul is not calling for a unity that ignores the trials and tribulations of our brothers and sisters and siblings OR neglects truth-telling and accountability.

Paul is in prison because he refused to be silent… because he challenged the powers-that-be with the radical love and gospel of Jesus Christ.

No, the type of unity Paul speaks of is a unity of resistance against the forces of this world that seek death, division, oppression, and hatred.

Paul calls us to “be blameless and pure, innocent children of God surrounded by people who are crooked and corrupt. Among these people you shine like stars in the world because you hold on to the word of life.” (2:15-16)

Stand firm in your faith, in spite of your enemies.

Be united in love and compassion.

Be united against injustice.

Be united against hateful rhetoric.

Be united in protection of the most vulnerable.

Put into practice all that we have learned from Paul – and won’t worry about it, don’t be paralyzed by fear, but lift up petitions and supplications and praises to God.

As Paul writes to the people of Phillipi:

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse… (4:8)

So let me close by telling you a story… a first-hand account from a Muslim woman:

Yesterday my husband and I attended a football game, it was Duhur time and we needed to pray.

Finding a place to pray at a football stadium is tough, but we managed to find an empty corner.

I was a bit nervous to pray because it wasn’t private at all, particularly in front of everyone, maybe i’m silly but i’m always paranoid i will get attacked while focused in prayer. My husband started praying and i get approached by stadium security.

I thought in my head, here comes this guy, he’s gonna escort me out and tell us we can’t do this here.

I was wrong…

he came up to me and said “i am going to stand here and guard you guys to make sure nobody gives you any problems, go ahead and pray.”

He allowed us to pray and stood in front guarding us to make sure we are safe. When i finished he came up to us shook our hands and told us to enjoy the game.

The key to unity… the key to overcoming division… is gratitude for the people who are different than us.

The key to unity is to listen with grateful ears the stories of another person… even if it is a story of hurt and fear and pain… it is holding open spaces for people when they are scared… standing by their side when they are in pain.

The key to unity is to seek out someone who is different from you and to tell your story – even if it causes conflict BECAUSE we are grateful they are part of our community and because we want to continue to be in relationship with them.

The key to unity is to practice what is good and true and holy… putting others before yourself and giving thanks to God that they are in your life…

May it be so.

Lots to Brag About

Posted on October 31, 2016Leave a comment

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote this letter of encouragement to people who desperately needed some good news, and my prayer for today is that the word of God heard this morning might be encouragement for our troubled souls, too.

Let us pray:

I thank God for you.

I do. I really do.

I thank God for you, the people of Immanuel United Methodist.

I thank God for the way that the love you all have for each other and the world is increasing.

That love is born from a common struggle.

And as we gather today… not only in worship this morning, but also at our charge conference later this afternoon, we reflect upon another year of ministry.

This year, we did some hard things…

Some of them were challenges that we set before ourselves: like raising money for Joppa or purchasing brand new books for every student at Hillis Elementary.

Some of them were difficulties that arise out of the reality of earthly life: the illnesses, the injuries, the loss of treasured members of our community whom we will celebrate next week with all the Saints.

And some of the struggles we have faced together in the last year, like trying to discern and implement new times for worship, are born out of a reality that the world we live in is changing and we as a church are trying to adapt and provide opportunities for new generations and new people.

But we did these things together… and they helped to form and shape us as the people of God.

The love we have for one another is a gift… the bonds formed in the midst of common struggle are a blessing… and they should be celebrated as such.

Thank you, God.

[the numbers represent images that were projected during the worship service]

[2] And Thank you for helping us to continue efforts like Donuts for Dudes and Muffins for Moms where we can be present in our neighborhood and share God’s love with breakfast.

[3] Thank you God for the ways that young people and their mentors here at the church bonded through hard work, study, and recreation through confirmation this year.

[4] Thank you God for the impact you had on children in our church and community as we worked to help them learn more about your powerful and never-ending love.

[5] Thank you God for the ways that members of our community show up to support the work of each other… even when their efforts aren’t related to Immanuel… like these runners did in supporting the Clover Dash organized by one of our youth.

[6] Thank you God, for calling our leadership to deeper faithfulness and helping us to have hard conversations about your calling for our church in this world.

[7] Thank you God, for bringing together men of all ages in fellowship and for new relationships formed over barbeque and basketball.

[8] Thank you for challenging us to stretch beyond our own teams and ministries to build new partnerships with others, like the Interfaith Green Team Coalition.

[9] Thank you God, for those who give so faithfully of their time and energy to create this amazing space for us all to worship and learn about you in.

[10] Thank you God for the faithfulness of our predecessors like Mrs. Simser and the bibles we give our children and the faithfulness of bible partners and teachers.

[11] Thank you God for a seven year partnership and relationship with Imani church

[12] and for blessing both us and them as they moved to a new location and continue their ministry there.

[13] Thank you God for the ministry of Joppa and the relationships we are creating with the homeless in our community as we go out to where they live and bring them items they need.

[14] and thank you for challenging us to expand our ministry to provide new resources… and in the process helping us to build new and deeper relationships with each other through the MASSIVE garage sale.

[15] Thank you God for sending our VIM team back to Milwaukee to build new relationships and work again in familiar places

[16] and for the deep connections that are created when we labor together for a common good.

[17] Thank you God for those who not only prepare meals for us every week, but who care for and minister to one another in good times and in bad.

[18] Thank you God for those who knit and purl and crochet and create blankets and shawls that we distribute to those who are experiencing transition or loss or health problems… extending the love of Immanuel to those who need it the most.

[19] Thank you God for life groups that push us to try new things, including leaping off of cliffs

[20] Thank you for our nursery and for Wendi and Pat, Gretchen and Zach.

[21] Thank you for our staff

[22] Thank you for the youth and volunteers and chaperones who go out and represent us so well in the community.

[23] Thank you, God.

Thank you.

You know, I started out just trying to find a few highlights of the amazing work God has been doing here among us and the list just kept going on and on and on.

As Paul and company write to the church in Thessalonica, there really is so much to brag about. There is so much to tell about. There is so much to give thanks to God for.

But I also don’t want to gloss over the challenge that is presented within this text.

I chose our passage for this morning because it is part of what we call the Revised Common Lectionary. And each week, four texts are assigned for Sunday morning worship – something from the Old Testament, something from the Epistles, something from Psalms, and a gospel reading.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be focusing on the Epistles… the letters to the early church… and looking for all of the ways that we are called to be grateful and to give thanks in this writings.

Today’s assigned scripture skips a section of the text, however.

And the more I thought about what we have been learning over these past few weeks about discipleship and the more we lean into a life of gratitude over the next few weeks, I don’t think we have the luxury of skipping those passages.

This is the text in its fullness… without skipping the hard parts:

³Brothers and sisters, we must always thank God for you. This is only right because your faithfulness is growing by leaps and bounds, and the love that all of you have for each other is increasing. ⁴That’s why we ourselves are bragging about you in God’s churches. We tell about your endurance and faithfulness in all the harassments and trouble that you have put up with. ⁵This shows that God’s judgment is right, and that you will be considered worthy of God’s kingdom for which you are suffering. ⁶After all, it’s right for God to pay back the ones making trouble for you with trouble ⁷and to pay back you who are having trouble with relief along with us. This payback will come when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his powerful angels. ⁸He will give justice with blazing fire to those who don’t recognize God and don’t obey the good news of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the Lord’s presence and away from his mighty glory. ¹⁰This will happen when he comes on that day to receive honor from his holy people and to be admired by everyone who has believed—and our testimony to you was believed.

¹¹We are constantly praying for you for this: that our God will make you worthy of his calling and accomplish every good desire and faithful work by his power. ¹²Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored by you, and you will be honored by him, consistent with the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are reminded in this text that the journey of faith is not easy.

As Robert Dunham puts it, “the Christian calling is seldom to a vocation of ease and comfort, but to a unity with Christ in suffering.”

And this isn’t the suffering of aches and pains, of loss and difficulty that every person experiences… it is the suffering, the harassment, the struggle that comes because we claim to be people of God.

As people of faith, God is continually calling us to do hard things.

God is calling us to take unpopular stands on important issues.

God is calling us to stand with the poor and the marginalized.

God is calling us to leave our comfort zones go and be in ministry with the least and the last and the lost.

And maybe the hardest of them all… God is calling us to be honest and real about our own vulnerabilities, our own brokenness, struggle, and pain, so that this community can walk with us, can love us, can remind us over and over again about the love of God in Jesus Christ that can transform even our broken souls.

That’s what church is all about. Growing in love for each other and in love for God.

May we continue to do hard things.

May we continue to hear and be faithful to God’s call.

May we continue to be formed in love born of our common struggle to truly be disciples of Jesus Christ in this world.

Amen.