Sunday Sermon - September, 6

 September 6, 2020
14^th Sunday after Pentecost
 
Ezekiel 33:7-11
Psalm 119:33-40
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20

Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and suitable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen. 

I’m glad we are reminded in today’s gospel less that wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, Jesus is there among them. 

I’ve often heard it said, wherever two or three are gathered, there is conflict. 

Am I right? 

Not always….but as soon as there is more than one individual present, there is the opportunity for different ideas, practices, or beliefs that can either open up the door for dialogue, discussion and growth or it can cause arguing, shouting, not listening and in essence shutting the door, if not slamming it on any future conversation. 

So, it is good for us to be reminded, today, and every day, that wherever two or three are gathered…Jesus is among them. 

And while it is all too easy to get caught up in the step by step actions that Jesus talks about today, and turn it into a neat plan for conflict resolution, the gospel lesson goes beyond that. 

It’s important for us to read this lesson in the context of the rest of the chapter of Matthew.  Chapter 18 begins with the disciples asking Jesus…who is the greatest?  To answer the question, Jesus places a child among them…saying that whoever is humble and welcomes this child…welcomes Jesus. 

Then Jesus, with the child still in their midst, talks about putting a stumbling block in front of children…it’s better to tie a millstone around your neck and be cast into the sea…and to cut off the parts of the body that cause you to sin…

And then…(we are almost to today’s passage, I promise) Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep and how the shepherd will leave the 99 to go find the one that is lost. 

And now we’ve made it to today’s lesson and Jesus’ guidelines as to how to respond to someone who sins…but we do so in light of the previous verses. 

It’s important for us to know that Jesus has been talking with his disciples about how actions of humility and welcoming the smallest among us is living into the kingdom of God here and now. 

Jesus has been talking with his disciples about how we are called not to get in the way of welcoming the least of those around us into the kingdom. 

I mean, in the center of this conversation on greatness and who is welcome into God’s kingdom is a child.  In Jesus’ day and in our day, children are those among us for whom we are called to care for, love, teach, nurture and welcome. 

And the message of the lost sheep?  Clearly God wants all of God’s children safely in the kingdom.  So much so, that the other 99 are left so that the one that is lost, the one that is hurt or the one who has been abandoned is brought back into the fold, or in this case literally brought back into the flock. 

All of these lessons and the one we hear today are about being in community. 

A friend and colleague of mine, Pastor Carol Kehler talked about this gospel being about the 3 Rs. 

Not reading, wRiting and aRithmatic….although with school starting back up, those could be the 3 Rs that pop into your mind. 

The three Rs Pastor Kehler talked about were:

Relationship

Reconciliation

Restoration

First of all, this lesson is all about relationship. 

In the beginning when God created us, God did so in relationship with God and into relationship with one another. 

We are created to be social beings, some more social than others, but in the overall picture we were created to be together, to live in community. 

God created us and calls us to live in community. 

So how is it that we choose to be in community? 

How do we engage with one another? 

I think when we are together there are some times that we do this really well. 

We are welcoming, we are open, we are ready for diversity and the beauty of God’s diverse kingdom to envelope us and be present in and among us. 

I also think, that when we are together there are some times that we don’t do community as well as we could.  I mean, we are human right? 

And human beings are messy. 

We fall short of one another’s and God’s expectations. 

We hurt each other - knowingly or unknowingly.

We fail to see beyond ourselves…and the ways we can mend and heal relationships…because it’s just plain hard. 

Allow me this brief side bar…

Being a pastor is pretty great. 

And it’s wicked hard. 

We (pastors) are called to a specific community to love and serve a group of folks who are at the same time - faithful and beautiful but also messy and broken.

And so, we, as pastors, come.

We deepen our relationship with God and with others. 

We listen.

We love.

We get connected. 

And then we get hurt. 

And it’s hard. 

I have had friendships that developed in the context of a faith community that are not a part of my life any more. 

Sure, you would think the pastor could and would be humble enough and flexible enough to repair any broken relationship in her life…but I haven’t. 

I struggle to forgive.

I struggle to mend broken relationships because I’m not sure what they will look like, or if they will be healthy for me - or the other person - especially if one of us has been hurt or betrayed. 

It’s hard. 

But life is hard. 

Being church is hard.  Because we are called together into this wild community of beautiful, faithful yet messy and broken individuals….and in this community we learn to listen, to love, to forgive and to move forward together. 

Called together into this community is hard…but also so incredibly life giving, because we are not going through it alone. 

I mentioned 3 Rs at the beginning of the sermon, so I guess I should at least tell you the other two….

The first one was relationship. 

The second one is reconciliation. 

Because of God’s great love for us, Jesus calls us and wants us to be reconciled in this community.  To repair broken relationships.  To talk through and work through the differences among us, so that we may welcome others into or back into this flock. 

Reconciliation – the act of repairing what was broken…so that life in this community, life in this nation, and life in God’s creation can be restored. 

That’s the third R – restoration. 

Just as the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep to bring back the one, God desires all the lost, lonely, forgotten, and forsaken to not just be welcomed back, but to be brought back into the fold. 

That is the ongoing restoration of God’s kingdom…and the Body of Christ. 

The healing and mending of broken relationships, through reconciliation so that the kingdom can be restored. 

Day by day it happens. 

Day by day new cracks and breaks happen.

So, day by day we are called through our relationship with God and one another to reconcile our differences and work towards the restoration of the kingdom here and now. 

Dear ones, I hope you know that as the gospel calls us into relationship, reconciliation and restoration…we know that this is a place where all three of these can and do happen. 

Together, by the grace and love of God, we are community together. 

And for that, we give thanks to God. 

And now may the peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen. 

Sunday's Sermon - August 30, 2020

August 30, 2020
13^th Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah 15:15-21
Psalm 26:1-8
Romans 12:9-21

Matthew 16:21-28

Please pray with me,

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable and suitable in your sight, O God, our rock, our strength and our redeemer.  Amen. 

Hey friends, remember last week?  When in the gospel reading Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” 

And Peter responded…  “You are the Messiah.  The Son of the Living God.” 

He gets it.

He really gets it. 

And then this week…he doesn’t. 

There’s this scene in one of my favorite movies that kept popping into my head as I thought about Peter getting it and then not getting it. 

The movie is The Goonies.  It’s a great adventure flick from the 1980s and a group of kids who search for treasure.  In one scene, Chunk – one of the boys bumps up against a water cooler, which back in the day was a big glass bottle…unlike this plastic one.  He bumps it, catches it before it falls…and says, I got it, I got it, I got it.  (Drop) I don’t got it. 

It made me think of Peter and how in one moment he proclaims who Christ is, and in the next moment, he doesn’t comprehend the fullness of who the Messiah is and what being the Messiah means for Jesus life and death. 

And for me, it’s all about grace…that last week Peter proclaimed Jesus the Messiah, the Son of the Living God and is named the Rock and this week,  he is shocked by the role that the Messiah must play and is rebuked by Jesus, called Satan and goes from the Rock on which Jesus will build the church to a stumbling block to those in the faith. 

It’s all about grace, because time and time again, we, like Peter, get it right.  We see God at work in our world, we tell others about where we see God at work in our world, and the message of the gospel is proclaimed through our words and actions.  The kingdom of God is revealed.  Woohoo! 

It’s all about grace, because time and time again, we, like Peter, get it wrong. 

We – either by doing something or not doing something – we become stumbling blocks to ourselves and others around us eager to grow in their faith and relationship with God.  And we fall short.  We stumble…causing others to stumble as well. 

I’m not sure if you had a chance to see a certain video this past week, but I encourage you to check out the Opening Day video for the Reading School District.  Any Reading teachers with us today? 

**I shared the link to the video on Trinity's Facebook page after worship, but here's the link for you: Reading School District Opening Day Video 

It opens with the Superintendent speaking about the beginning of the school year and he is about to explain how it’s like the Robert Frost poem, when he is pleasantly interrupted by “Kid Superintendent” who is basically a kid version of the superintendent. 

Kid Superintendent steps in insisting that we all need a pep talk. 

He lifts up how 2020 has been kicking our butts…and then names all the feelings the watchers may be having like feeling anxious, overwhelmed or nervous…and says they are all okay. He mentions that he’s worried himself and everybody else. 

He reminds us all that we are doing the best we can and that’s all that matters. 

He reminds us to be good humans. (Unless you’re an insect or a blobfish.)

He reminds us to sprinkle kindness.

He reminds us to give one another grace, not grief. 

 I know that I am not doing justice to this video…

But he reminds us to give one another grace, not grief. 

In the midst of challenging times, we are encouraged to give one another grace, not grief.

Grace in our listening to one another.

Grace in our actions towards one another.

Grace in our presence with one another. 

Grace in our reactions when things don’t go the way we thought they would.  And when plans change, and change, and change again. 

When we talk about grace it is the love and mercy given to us by God – not because of anything we have done, but out of God’s great love for each and every one of us. 

Thank God we begin worship together the same week after week after week: In confession, with one another. 

We, you and I, together, we confess our brokenness, our need for forgiveness. 

We, you and I, together, confess that we have turned from God and given ourselves into the power of sin. 

We apologize and repent. We ask for forgiveness of our sins…known and unknown…things we have done and things we have failed to do. 

We ask God to turn us away from ourselves, our selfish words and actions and towards God once again. 

Thank God we start worship this way every week.  I don’t know about you, but I need it.  I need to confess.  I need to admit my failures, faults and foibles. 

I need to be forgiven by a loving God.  One who loves and forgives over and over and over again.

I need to hear those words.  You are forgiven. 

I need to be turned again and again…away from myself and towards God in the world around me. 

To see the beauty in creation.

To see the face of Jesus in my neighbor.

To feel the love of God as we hold one another in our hearts and prayers and journey together in faith and life. 

Know that you are abundantly washed in the grace of God this day and every day.  The abundance of God’s grace flows and flows and flows…into our hearts and lives…and out of our words and actions as we live our lives each and every day. 

And here’s the thing…some days that grace will wash over us and we will respond out of that grace with love and grace to all those around us.  Like when Peter named Jesus as the Messiah…I got it! 

And some days, that grace will wash over us and we will not respond…or we will hold onto that grace for ourselves…because we’re human and that happens to all of us.  Let when Peter didn’t like how Jesus described what must happen as the Messiah…I don’t got it!

But on those days when the grace flows in and out…we are representing and presenting the kingdom of God here and now. 

As we go about this week, I encourage you to respond with grace, not grief.  Some days will be easier than others. 

But each and every day…each and every moment, we have the opportunity to live out from and respond with grace. 

We will ebb and flow in this river of grace. 

We will live and learn washed in God’s grace.

And we will do all of this as the Body of Christ, together. 

And now may the peace, which surpasses all understanding, keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let all God’s people say, amen. 

PS.  Want to watch me drop the water jug?  It's in this clip on Trinity's YouTube channel

PPS.  Want to watch Chunk drop the water jug?  Check it out: "I got it!" - Chunk