Romans 12 – Salvaged Faith

Defeat Evil with Goodness

Posted on March 25, 2012Leave a comment

This past week, I listened to an interview between Terry Gross and Jason Segal – one of the producers and the star of the most recent Muppets movie.

Mr. Segal described what it was like to become a part of the Muppets franchise and how much he learned about Muppet culture. One of the things he discovered was that Muppets don’t ever make jokes at other people’s expense. They don’t ever make fun of other people. They are intrinsically good and kind and well intentioned.

And they do not ever try to get revenge or hurt someone else. Even when faced with their worst enemies – with someone who is trying to kill them or hurt them – they will respond with kindness.

In the very first Muppet movie – Kermit the Frog – was being pursued by Doc Hopper who wanted to loveable Muppet to be the spokesperson for his line of frog leg’s restaurants. Eventually, the story led to a western style showdown.

Even faced with his worst enemy, Kermit reached out in love. He shared compassion. He tried his best to warm the heart of our cold-hearted villain… asking “What’s the matter with you Hopper? Don’t you know what its like to have a dream? Who are you going to share your dream with?” and he was willing to die rather than fight or give in. Thankfully, Dr. Bunsen’s “insta-grow” invention kicked in just in time and Animal saved the day by scaring the villains away.

We might read our scripture this morning from Romans and we might watch that clip and scoff – a real person couldn’t be expected to do that. We have been taught to fight back, to defend ourselves, to seek revenge AND to win…

I know that when my back is against a wall, my first instinct is to do everything that I can to get away from the situation – violence included. Just ask either of my brothers after they have tried to tickle me.

Forgiveness and compassion and kindness towards our enemies is such a difficult thing to fathom. Some of us have been in life and death situations where we have had to defend and protect ourselves. A few of you have served our country and many of us have loved ones who have put their lives on the line in order to protect others. In the real world – you can’t just offer a flower and ask someone to be your friend… You can’t just say, I’m sorry… You can’t be nice and hope that someone who is ready to attack you will go away.

Which is why it is important to remember that the words found in Romans 12:16-21 are not rooted in fantasy. They are not simply wise words to remember and try to live by. They are words written by someone who has experienced the grace of God. They are words written by someone who has experienced the forgiving power of transformation. They are words written by someone who is a living witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This book of Romans was written by an early enemy of the Christian faith. Long before he was the Apostle Paul – the fine, upstanding, young Jewish leader Saul – was one of the leading agents in suppressing the movement. He sought out the Christian followers to be executed for heresy. He not only breathed threats against the disciples of Jesus… he was on his way toDamascusto carry out those threats.

And yet, one of the greatest early enemies of Christianity was touched by Jesus on that road and his life was forever changed. And the disciples of Jesus Christ let him into their lives… witnessed his transformation and offered forgiveness and healing and love.

Paul, himself, witnessed what love could do to hatred. He experienced what forgiveness could do to revenge. He lived a life that exemplified compassion and grace towards his enemies. Whether he was in prison, or on trial, or experiencing the ongoing persecution of Christians himself, he remembered and lived out the faith that Jesus Christ had passed on to him.

In Romans 12: 14-15, Paul encourages us to not only bless our enemies but to weep with them and to rejoice with them. He is asking us to identify with them and to genuinely seek their good. When he and Silas were imprisoned unjustly in Philippi, they ministered to their jailer, and Paul remembered what it was like to be an unbeliever, remembered what it was like to be a persecutor. When we identify with our enemies, when we walk in their shoes, when we see them as human beings, we find it easier not only to love them… but also to forgive them and to share the good news with them.

In many ways, that is the amazing thing about our relationship with Jesus Christ. Because of our sin, because of the ways we had turned our backs to God over and over and over again… all of humanity had become enemies of God. Our love failed. We rejoiced in the darkness rather than the light.

And yet, rather than deliver us what we deserved, our God in heaven decided to become one of us. Jesus Christ humbled himself and laid aside his glory and became one of us – an infant placed in the hands of a humble family, a child learning in the temple, a young man teaching and preaching beside the sea. He became one of us, identified with us, took our life into his own in order that we might not receive justice… but that we might receive grace.

Next week we begin a long and dark week of persecution and trials in the life of Jesus… beginning with his triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem. But as we have read in the scriptures and as we will experience in worship, Jesus not once cursed his enemies. Not once did he wish them harm. Not once did he become like them. He shows us how to love, how to forgive, and in the process to not be a passive bystander.

Perhaps one of the best examples of this is his encounter with the moneychangers in the temple. While John’s gospel includes this event at the beginning of his ministry, in each of the other gospels it takes place during that final week in Jerusalem. Knowing the persecution he would face, knowing the anger he would stir up, Jesus was not afraid to speak truth to power. He was not afraid to protest at an injustice and make a scene without hurting people, work for change without diminishing another human beings dignity. It is okay to be angry – but it is not okay for than anger to rule your heart. The real question is, how can our outrage, our frustration, our pain be used to work for love and justice and change in this world?

Theologian John Mabry writes:

Rosa Parks is an imitator of Christ, not because she suffered for taking her stand (or keeping her seat, in her case), but because she had the courage to believe in her own dignity and fought for it in spite of the conflict that resulted. Nelson Mandela is an imitator of Christ, not because he suffered in prison, but because he held out for peace and justice, and led a nation to resurrection. In each case it is not the suffering that is redemptive, but the courage to pursue justice in the face of pain and evil.

And that is what Christ did. He sought to share the good news of God with the world. He proclaimed the reign of God in the face of the reign ofRome. He sought to reconcile his enemies and restore the love of God in the temple and inJerusalemand in the world. And he was killed for it.

In the face of injustice and evil and oppression, we are called to overcome with goodness. We are called to overcome with love. We are called to overcome with compassion. We are called to not let those forces to control our own hearts.

Share the story of the Danish resistance to the Nazi occupation during WW2.

Maybe you have heard this before, but it is a parable worth repeating and remembering:

A Cherokee elder was teaching his children about life.

A fight is going on inside me,” he said to them. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandchildren thought about it and after a minute one of them asked, “Which wolf will win?”

The elder simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Let us feed the wolf of love in our lives. Let us be imitators of Christ Jesus – standing up for what is right, blessing and not cursing our enemies, showering them with love and compassion and forgiveness… so that we do not ourselves become that very thing which we despise.

Amen and Amen.

You Are the Body

Posted on March 11, 2012Leave a comment

Description of my Christmas tree: White lights, built into the tree. Part of a strand wasn’t working. Had to go through and replace every single light down the row to find the right one that was loose or had burned out. Scratched face and arms. A lot of work! But when it is finished and the hard work is done and everything is untangled, that tree looks amazing!

I got to thinking about how a strand of Christmas tree lights is like the body of Christ. Every single one of those bulbs is important. They might be small. They might shine with different colors and brightness. Some might twinkle and others might not. But if you take one light out – the strand stops working.

Each one of us is an important member of the body of Christ. We may be simple, ordinary people, but we are necessary. We shine with different colors and brightness. Some of us twinkle and others do not. But if you take just one of us out – our strand stops working.

As we continue deeper into the twelfth chapter of Romans today, Paul tells us what happens when we not only hand over our ordinary lives to God, but also let God’s will transform our hearts. We find our place in the Body of Christ. We find that we are individuals in community. We find that God not only has a purpose for us – but that God has already given us everything we need to fulfill that purpose.

I keep all of our Christmas stuff in a large trunk that we store underneath the stairs at our house. And in the bottom of that trunk (which is why I didn’t get a chance to drag it out and bring it this morning) is a small box. And in that box are replacement light bulbs. They are just ordinary little bulbs – much like the ones here. Some of them are twinkle bulbs and cause the whole strand to blink on and off. Some of them are twinklers themselves. Some of them are clear and others have color to them. But you know what – inside that box, not plugged in or connected to anything, they are really good for nothing.

I got to thinking about those spare light bulbs when I read our gospel reading for this morning: Jesus spoke to Philip and Andrew and said:

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Unless a light bulb is connected to the strand of lights, it remains simply a spare bulb; But if it dies – it if is connected – it if gives up its role as a spare part, a simple individual bulb – then it gives forth light. And not just its own individual light… it becomes a part of a greater light that shines forth and brings joy to the world.

Who knew you could learn so much from light bulbs?!

In many ways, we are like those spare parts. We might have great color or potential for twinkling or steadfast shining… we might have the ability to bring joy and warmth into the world… but unless we recognize who we truly are – and whose we truly are… unless we let go of our individual lives and give ourselves over to God… we might not ever discover the beauty and the power of walking in the light.

As Jesus goes on in this gospel passage from John, we are reminded that discovering our gift and our role does not mean that everything will be easy. Jesus recognizes that his journey takes him straight to the cross. But he also knows that this is why he is here. This is why his light shines. He understands his purpose in the larger picture of God’s will and in gratitude he is able to say – Father, I do this to glorify your name.

Every one of us has the opportunity to glorify his name – to serve him, to follow him, to honor him. And we do that when we are aligned with God’s will and connected to the Body of Christ.

When we become connected to God’s will and the body of Christ we:

A. understand our individual role – an essential and yet same part of one Body

each of us has different gifts… sharing of the results from our spiritual gifts inventory.
The church needs you… your particular gift was given so that you would help this strand of lights to shine.
But you also need need the church – we need to understand our part in the bigger story.. we need the gifts of others to encourage us, teach us, pray for us, serve us. We need to church to connect us with the power of god… even when we are broken and our individual lights don’t work. One of the amazing things that I discovered with these strands of Christmas lights is that even when a light is broken, it is still necessary. The power still flows through it, even if it will not light up. But take it out – then the whole strand suffers. In the Christian faith, we talk about how sometimes the community of faith carries our faith for us. When we baptize a little child, we are committing to hold the faith for them, to raise them up in the faith, until one day they are ready to claim that faith for themselves. In the same way, when we are burn out spiritually – the last thing we need is to leave the church. We need to surround ourselves with those who can love and care for us and continue to help the Holy Spirit flow through our life until we are ready for transformation and new life and faith.

B. understand our communal role

in many ways our church is like one light bulb as a part of the worldwide body of Christ – so we ask a similar question – what is our church’s gift? What do we uniquely offer this community? How can we manifest God’s will and glorify his name?
In our church, we have discerned that our unique offering is to help reflect the light of Christ in three ways: Care, Grow, Send
In looking at the spiritual gifts of people in this church, the top gifts that God has blessed us with are healing and miracles… so how does that translate into our Prayer/Healing ministry: sharing the good news, bringing hope, walking with people… being a beacon and reflecting the light of God to this community
Soon, our new prayer site will go live

C. Practice needs to be consistent with our gifts. We need to honor them. We need to care for them. We need to serve in ways that glorify God.

John Westerhoff: As stewards of God, we are invited to join God’s action, God’s mission in the world. We are Christ’s body, God’s sacrament, so that God can be present in human life and history. It is for this purpose that God calls us into the church.”
Our witness is our witness – we can serve all we want, but if we do not do so with gentle hearts, it comes across as cold. If we tell the good news but we do it shouting from the street corner, we seem to be better than others. If we tell the truth about God but neglect the truth of our own lives, then we come across as hypocrites.
We are Christ’s body. Sometimes we are the only Christ that this world ever sees… in the gospel of John we are reminded that when we spent time in the light – when we spend time with Jesus – when we believe in him and follow him and serve him – then we ourselves become children of the light.
As the familiar hymn goes: I want to walk as a child of the light. I want to follow Jesus. God set the starts to give light to the world. The star of my life is Jesus. In him there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alike. The lamb is the light of the city of God.

Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus. Shine in our hearts, Lord Jesus. Lead us deeper into this community. Connect us with one another so that we might share these amazing gifts that you have given us. Transform us into children of the light so that we might share your love and grace with this community and this world and truly glorify your name. Amen.

Do Not Conform

Posted on March 4, 20122 Comments

Weekends in the fall seem to be a portrait of contrast in my life. I experience in those two short days each weekend my best moments and my worst ones.

You see in my family… Saturdays in the fall are good for only one thing: Hawkeye football games (okay… you Cyclone fans can insert yourselves in here to, just change the words in your mind).

Now, I’m not sure that this would be a big problem, if it weren’t for the fact that while enjoyable… and while a great source of community and family time… I also have some of my worst moments during football games

I get very wrapped up in my Hawkeye football.

A bad call? I’m jumping up out of my seat and yelling at the zebras.

A dropped catch? That poor Marvin McNutt heard plenty from me last year.

Yes, even Kirk Ferentz… especially Kirk Ferentz… gets an earful from me.

Now – never mind you that I’m sitting on a couch at my parent’s house or in my own basement and they are at least 30 miles away.

It doesn’t matter to me. My whole self – mind, body, and soul – is focused on that game. It gets very personal. I’m sure my blood pressure is rising just thinking about it. I want to see them win and succeed and when they don’t, it is disappointing. And when they intentionally do dumb things and make mistakes… well, then sometimes a curse word or two slips in there.

I am NOT the same person during a football game that I am when I come to church on a Sunday morning. And you might not be the same person at work on a Tuesday afternoon that you are here in worship either. We have become so comfortable with putting on and taking off our holiness and exchanging it for the ways of the world. We do it seamlessly… without blinking… without even being aware of it ourselves.

In fact, we do it so well that we begin to blur the lines between the two. We look at all of the good things that sports and work and shopping and national pride and money and the like provide that we start to see them as goods that are on the same par, the same level as our divine calling.

So it is no big deal with we give up a Sunday morning for a round of golf or skip our morning devotions in order to be at work early. They are equally good and important in our lives.

Eh… except, they’re not.

In our gospel lesson for this morning, we find Peter making a similar mistake. He knows that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ and he is so proud of himself for correctly identifying his Savior.

But then his mind goes to other places….

I want to invite you to hear this scripture again, this time rewritten by Kyle Childress:

Jesus starts asking them questions about what people are saying about him. Who do they think he is? And more, what do you fellows think about me? Of course, Peter spoke first, “You are the Messiah!” Jesus responded, “Yeah, but you guys need to be quiet about this. Let me explain what being the Messiah is.”

Then he began to teach the hard stuff; he began to teach that he would suffer and die and be raised. Peter interrupted, “No, No! We’ve got a good thing going here. People are having their needs met and more and more of them are joining up. For Pete’s sake, we have a movement started. We’re going to be successful. Some of the boys are already drawing up the blueprints for a new Center for Ministry complex inCapernaum. James and John want to be co-directors and I’m putting together ‘Jesus Tour: A.D. 31’ with t-shirts and kid’s action figures and a possible book deal. Jesus, just think, you could become an author. People might even start quoting you.”

Jesus whirled around, “You don’t get it! The stuff you’re talking about is satanic! It’s the complete opposite of what God wants and who I’m called to be.” And Jesus got back to the hard teachings: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me …”

Ministry centers might be good. T-shirts with your ministry on them, definitely good. Books about Jesus – awesome…

But the problem is, those things have nothing to do with what God wants right now. They have nothing to do with God’s will at that moment. They directly contradict God’s plan for Jesus and for all of human history.

There are so many competing goods out there in the world, and our lines get blurred and sometimes we can no longer tell the difference between divine things and human things, between what we want and what God wants.

So what do we do? How do we weigh the options? How do we choose?

Human things vs. Godly things: How do we tell the difference?

A) YOU don’t: when we come up with these things, we excuse our human actions.

Daniel Deffenbaugh writes:

In our sin and unbelief, we like to think of ourselves as “free thinkers.” In reality, we are only thinking like Satan and like the fallen world system in which we live. Our culture constantly seeks to shape us. Like teenage children, we think we are expressing our individuality and independence when we differ with God. In reality, we are merely following the world, the flesh, and the devil in rebellion and unbelief. When we give our lives to God, we give ourselves over to His influence and control. When we turn to God in obedience, we turn away from the world’s shaping influence on us. Its influence should diminish, and God’s infinite wisdom, contained in Scripture and conveyed by His Spirit, should begin to transform our thinking and our actions. Giving our lives to God as a living sacrifice is the decision to be shaped and influenced by God and not by our fallen world.

B) Not talking about a list of right or wrong – something we can post on a wall and check-off… we are talking about something written on our hearts.

This might be different for everyone… a different choice, not a universal set of ways of being.
Take someone which a gift for public speaking who has a successful job at a corporation. A) stay in job, use money for God’s will, B) quit job and become preacher, c) stay in job, volunteer on the side
Really reminds us of the importance of discernment… and not not imposing our ways of following God upon others.

C) HOW does it get written there?

We have to spend time with God
You are who your friends are… be friends with God.
Letting God shape our lives/fixing our attention on God
Means of grace in the Methodist tradition: Prayer, bible study, small groups, communion, worship, service, visiting the sick, tithing
We really have to do these things intentionally… we have to do them so that we are paying more attention to God and what he wants for our lives than we are to our own wants and desires. When you spend time focusing on God, there starts to become less room for your own base thoughts.

When we let God transform our hearts and our minds, then we will KNOW what God’s will is. The best of God will be dwelling in our hearts. It will spill out of us when we talk, when we listen, when we act in this world.

If I started my Saturdays in the fall with prayer… If I spent some time reading the scriptures with my breakfast on those days… If I spent some time with a person in need before the football game even started – my whole attitude and energy would be in a different place. I would understand that its only a game… a good human enterprise… but that it doesn’t need to take such a huge spot in my life. I would be able to enjoy it for what it was, knowing that I don’t live and die on the outcome, but on the grace and mercy of my God and Savior…