Sunday, October 23, 2016

October 23 2016 Stand Up to the Stand Off

October 23, 2016  Joel 2.23-32, *Luke 18.9-14 “Stand Up to the Stand Off” Pastor Jacqueline Hines


Jesus tells this parable to a specific audience. Verse 9 says He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves. [slide # 1 verse 9 He also told this parable…] We are all in that audience because we all have trusted in ourselves. From time to time, we wake up and go our own way, forgetting that we do not have to walk this journey alone. We have a guide and a comforter who is always with us!
In this parable, Jesus gives us two examples of praying people to think about. Two is the biblical number indicating a choice that needs to be made. The first choice is the example of the praying Pharisee. A Pharisee in Jesus’ parable is the symbol of one who is identified as a spiritual person, trained in the word of God, certified to fulfill its rituals, credited with ethical composure and moral behavior. The Pharisee had authority and privileges and respect whether they deserved it or not. They were so protected by tradition that they could even get away with murder - by crucifixion.
Our second example, a praying tax collector, on the other hand, had a very bad reputation. Stories about tax collectors were in the ancient news ever week just like police officers and politicians are today.
Jesus reminds us in this parable that not all tax collectors deserved the bad name they were given. All tax collectors did not steal from the poor and middle class citizens of Israel. All tax collectors did not skim off the top before they turned the funds over to the Roman government. Some tax collectors, like police officers and politicians had hearts so pure and innocent that they could have passed for Pharisees.
Both these two who came to pray, no doubt, had their own concerns around money. That’s why Jesus talks so much about money. It matters to us all. In my last lecture with the Financial Leadership Academy on Monday, Jack Brooks director of the United Methodist Foundation noted that on an average Sunday the church receives 121 million dollars. That is 12,000 dollars every minute. Money matters everywhere and no less in the church. There is always a reason to talk to God about some issue concerning money because it effects every area of our life.
When the Pharisee prayed, he stood by himself, thanking God he was not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like that tax-collector in the pew on the other side of the sanctuary. The Pharisee reminded God that he fasted twice a week and gave a tenth of all his income. The Pharisee had great credentials, but when it came to matters of the heart, there was room for improvement which is exactly what Jesus’ parable was highlighting.
From time to time we all live with the inner tension and the moment by moment choice of whether to be holy or haughty. We can choose to look at how great we are compared to others or we can choose to look at how great we are by the grace of God.
The tax collector may have made a few mistakes here and there, but he was humble enough to genuinely and fervently thank God for forgiveness. The tax collector no doubt came to the Temple to pray aware that the scriptures in 2 Chronicles 7 promised forgiveness and healing for those persons who humbled themselves, bowing below God and not above God. Verse 13 says “He stood far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” [slide # 2 verse 13 be merciful to me]
Serious responses are often accompanied by physical reactions. That’s why when we worship we sing, or clap, or smile, or shout hallelujah, or stand or kneel. We take worship seriously.
The tax collector’s prayer brings to mind the image of a youngster lifting his or her arms, reaching high, [slide # 3 child reaching] signaling that they want to be picked up and lifted to a height where love and comfort can be found in abundance. That is exactly what is promised. Verse 14 says “all who humble themselves will be exalted.” [slide # 4 verse 14…] To be exalted is to be raised high in spiritual and physical prosperity, to be raised to dignity, honor, and happiness.
When our hearts are humble [slide # 5 heart with dove wings] we have a habit of recognizing and confessing our limits, our shortcomings, our faults and failures. We bring them to the altar so that we can be healed and delivered and forgiven. Then we can start the day with a clean slate and heavenly hopes.
Last Sunday our lay leader [slide # 6 blue leader on green arrow] ended her prayer in line with the tax collector. She gave thanks for Jesus forgiving our sins. On Tuesday evening, missionary, Pastor Vitali ended his talk with a prayer in the Russian language. The last words of the English translation were thanksgiving for our savior who forgives our sins.
Whether we come to prayer in a spiritual stand-off [slide #7 sheriffs in stand-off] deciding whether to talk to God like a haughty Pharisee or a holy sinner reaching toward Heaven, we will get the answer we need.
At our Charge Conference, Aubrey and Scott Johnson led in the opening devotions whose theme was prayer. [slide #8 plug into…prayer] They were splendid. That evening, I heard about an interview with Mother Theresa. She was asked, “How do you pray?” Her answer was “Mostly, I just listen to God?” “Well,” the interviewer continued, “What does God say?” She answered “God just mostly listens.”
God hears us when we pray. [slide # 9 pray with sincerity…] We need to listen! [slide # 10 man bowed in prayer] Amen.





Sunday, October 9, 2016

October 9 2016 Luke 17. 11-19 “Mercy Me”

October 9 Jeremiah 29 1, 4-7, *Luke 17. 11-19 “Mercy Me” Pastor Jacqueline Hines

Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem. Jerusalem has as its root word “Salem.” “Salem” resembles the word “shalom.” [slide # 1 Shalom] So Jerusalem has come to mean “the city of peace” or “the place where peace abides.” Those following Jesus to Jerusalem were en route to a place of peace. Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem was interrupted by ten lepers.
Have you ever been on your way somewhere and got interrupted by someone? Last summer I was on my way out of the King of Prussia Mall and a police officer stopped me and searched the back seat of my car as all the exiting cars were searched. [ slide # 2 police searching car] They were looking for a baby who had been kidnapped that evening. The baby was found a few hours later.
Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem and ten lepers shouted for him from a distance. “Jesus. Jesus. Jesuuuuus.” [slide # 3 Keeping their distance,…] Jesus was a household name. He had a reputation in the region. People recognized him even from a distance. He usually traveled with his armed security guards Peter, James, and John. Jesus was famous not only for his teaching within the academic setting, but for his hours of debates in the political arena. [slide # 4 donkey vs elephant] Those debates were no doubt just as tense as the ones we experience in our day. Some encountered Jesus in the medical field because they had either been healed at the hands of Jesus or they were curious about his very different methods of treatment. Everyone found Jesus entertaining and captivating.
The ten lepers kept their distance because they were contagious. [slide # 5 contagious] So they shouted his name Jesus, in the Hebrew language -Jeshua, in the English language Jesus means “savior,” and they asked the savior to have mercy on them. What is mercy? Mercy is what you need right now. Mercy is a matter of urgency.
Mercy is many things. It is compassion, forgiveness, sympathy, love, patience, kindness, forbearance, humanity; soft-heartedness, tenderheartedness, kindness, liberality, indulgence, tolerance, and generosity. Our God is full of mercy [slide # 6 God’s mercy is new every…]
Mercy is what we are holding our breath for, what we hope will come NOW, right away, in an instant. Mercy is what we are crying out for and fervently waiting for. When mercy is delayed, loved ones around us, encourage us by saying, “Hang in there. Hold on.” Or we pray desperately, “Lord, have mercy! [slide # 7Lord have mercy] Help me please, Jesus!” [slide # 8 patience…hurry]
The ten lepers cried out for mercy. The disease had hit them like a hurricane. As soon as their skin started looking a little abnormal, they were hustled overnight to live in an isolation camp. [slide # 9 isolation]
There are many situations that can change overnight. This week Matthew, the storm isolated people overnight. [slide # 10 typhoon] Wrong attitudes shut doors of opportunities in our faces and stop us cold in our tracks. [slide # 11 bad attitude] Certain diagnosis drive us suddenly to spend hours and days with our doctors [slide # 12 running from doctor] when we would rather go fishing. [slide # 13 fishing]
The ten lepers were simply a symbol of what happens to all of us in life sooner or later. Ten is that number signifying things that are established in God. When we see ten in the bible, we are reminded that God is present at the very foundation of everything in our lives, whether good or evil. If we trust God in all of our situations, God will help us get to the bottom of things. God will help us deal with every situation as only a loving God can. Though there are situations we would never choose, if God sends us to it, we can be sure that God will bring us through it. We all have something. [slide # 14 We all have crosses…]
Scientists have helped us understand that leprosy is not caused by some secret sin or divine punishment or a witch’s curse, and it is not hereditary. Leprosy is caused by bacteria noticed by Norwegian doctor Armauer Hansen in 1873. Dr. Hansen, for which leprosy is now named Hansen’s disease, happened to be an atheist which shows that God uses whomever God chooses and we ought to be careful about OUR connections.
On the way to do what Jesus told them to do, the lepers’ situation changed drastically. Luke tells us they were cleansed. It is so exciting when our situations change for the good overnight! No matter how great we are, for every one of us, life remains uncertain, unpredictable, unfair, and imperfect, but in the end, good things happen when we obey the one who comes to save us. We will always have to face and wrestle with the evils of disease or war or something, but there is one who always comes to save us. [slide # 15 …our savior]
In Girl scout camp, someone pushed me into the deep end of the poor and I began to drown. I heard them laughing, but someone realized I could not swim and they handed me a stick and told me to hold on. I did exactly what I was told.
Sometimes we hesitate to obey like the man who fell off of a mountain cliff. He was holding onto an edge when he cried out, “Is there anybody up there? Please help me.”  He heard a voice from above saying, “Jump. Jump.” The man replied. “Is there anybody else up there?” Finally, he jumped only to discover that he was just two feet from a safe landing.
The lepers were made clean when they asked the savior to help them and when they obeyed. Clean is relative when you think about what I heard the other day that most of the cells in our body are friendly, foreign cells, not human cells. We get in trouble when we wash away all of those friendly bacteria cells that are there to protect us from the bad bacteria.
In any case, the lepers were left with a clean bill of health and they were on their way to the priests who would officially confirm that. It was like they were going to get the doctor’s note that would release them to get back to school or work and no longer have to remain in isolation.
That was good news. One of the ten lepers who was healed could not contain himself, verse 15 tells us  [slide # 16 Then one of them… ] 15Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. [slide # 17 he prostrated…and thanked him] 16He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.
I do not know about you, but nine times out of ten it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to remind me to give thanks. I keep a gratitude journal every week and there are days that I procrastinate and procrastinate writing down at least ten blessings that I have been blessed with during the week. Once I get started, it is just like the song says, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.”
Giving thanks to God and celebrating like we did with the Thanksgiving Celebration Pig Roast – thanking God for helping us install an elevator and a warm, welcoming space for worship – is another way of humbly worshipping God and humbly serving one another. [slide # 18 worship]
When we worship God and serve one another, we exalt God, we lift God high for everyone to see. We shine a spotlight on the fact that we are Christians and we prove it every day by our love. [slide # 19 love 1 another]
Do you remember the last time in worship when it was a challenge to contain yourself like this grateful leper who was cleansed? Our spiritual memories are milestones that keep us from going under. They give us joy that strengthen us for the journey. [slide # 20 joy for the journey]
There are moments when we are touched by God’s mercy and we cannot hold back the tears. Or our hands make a sudden clap. Our toes get to tapping and we whisper a clear “amen” that only God and the person next to you in the pew may hear. We may smile broadly at a certain Godly insight that captures our attention.  We may bow our heads low, utterly speechless as our spirits are prostrate at the feet of Jesus. We may feel warm all over as Holly shared gratefully a few weeks ago as her pain subsided.
Alone in your room or in your car, you may even praise God with a loud voice!! You may sing along with that cd or radio in a loud voice or in the pew during that song that touches your heart. We hear you. We celebrate with you. There are nine out of ten moments when we like that leper return to Jesus and gave thanks for the tender mercies that we have been given.
As we call to our savior in our need, this day, we know that our urgent cries will be heard. We will never be left without something. It may not be all we want, but God has a purpose and a plan, a very precise plan. Whatever mercy is ours this day, may we return to Jesus, this day, not hold back and give thanks. Amen. [slide # 21 rejoice…pray….thank]







October 2 2016 World Communion Sunday Luke 17. 5-10 “More Faith”


October 2 Lamentations 1.1-6, *Luke 17. 5-10 “More Faith” Pastor Jacqueline Hines
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” If the apostles asked for more, we the little people do not feel so bad asking Jesus for more. The apostles were the top guns, the prominent leaders. [ slide # 1 apostles] The book of acts tells us that during the early church persecutions the Christians ran into hiding like overwhelmed children taking refuge in the heavenly fathers skirts, but the apostles stayed strong in Jerusalem City, ready to fight, ready to sacrifice everything in order to make their point that Jesus was the king of kings, [slide # 2 Jesus is king]  that he was the light that scattered the darkness, [slide # 3 Jesus is light]  that he was the bread of life. [slide # 4 bread of life]
The apostles were great because God had given them the gifts and talents and resources and the will to be great. They had been called to be the front of the line and they had agreed like prepared soldiers. Soldiers do what soldiers do because they are soldiers. Just because one of us is at the top of our game and another is at the bottom, does not mean God cares about us any less or any more than all the other of God’s children. [slide # 5 God loves each…]
Jesus said 9Do you thank the slave [ or the servant] for doing what was commanded? 10So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’”  [slide # 6 We have done only…] The apostles were very special but not more special than any of God’s children.
When they asked for MORE faith, this is what Jesus told them: All you need is a little bit of faith, [slide # 7 mustard seeds]even the size of a mustard seed. [slide # 8 One seed in finger]
I have a confession to make. I usually ask God for more when I am feeling overwhelmed and do not want to do what I need to do. I want to do what I want to do and I want someone else to do what I need to do. When things get hectic, I need to be reminded of the small things that I need to do to stay on track. For example, sometimes I do not want to cook. I want to snap my fingers and have the meal jump out of the freezer and cook itself or go to McDonalds and have it appear instantly on the counter. What I need to do is just take a few minutes, even a few seconds and organize the day and prepare a simple meal ahead of time that is more nutritious, delicious and to my liking.
There are lots of little things for all of us that can make a gargantuan difference in our lives and the lives of those around us. For example, just one teensie, weensie [slide # 9 Compliment] compliment can put a big smile on a child’s face. [slide # 10 Children  smiling] Just a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down. [slide # 11 spoonful of brown sugar] Just an itsy bitsy smile [slide # 12 smile on a subway] can calm a distressed stranger in a grocery line or on a subway car or grocery line. Just a four-second hug [slide # 13 hug from Jesus] can warm the hearts of those who mourn. Even one gesture [slide # 14 positive regard] of positive regard can lift another toward their next level of excellence. [slide # 15 lifting] One soft remark [slide # 16 soft answer] can transform someone’s[slide # 17 angry woman] anger into laughter. [slide # 18 laughter] As well as we understand this, there are days we need to be reminded.
The apostles had sacrificed so much and worked so hard. Why in the world would they ask for more faith when they had already proven to have great faith? Were they like spiritual Olympians, wanting to reach the limit in exercising their spiritual strength? Did they want to break the esteemed records for the deepest sermons, greatest debates, most jail time or best heartwarming testimonies?
Yes, the apostles were good, they were the top of the line disciples – learners, followers, disciplined ones, and Jesus was reinforcing the lesson they knew but had quickly forgotten. Little things matter and little things can be very hard to achieve. [ slide # 19 little things…]
A little habit is hard to break because it may have very deep roots in fear and pain that we have not yet surrendered to our God. A little kindness is hard to share with someone when we keep reminding ourselves of the many reasons they don’t deserve it, even if God says he or she deserves good things. Forgiving others, even a little, seems impossible until we can give God the little things that shame and embarrass and guilt US. Others may have the things that shame, embarrass and guilt us. Others may want them, but they belong to God and God alone knows best what to do with us.
The apostles had used great faith to be star witnesses, remaining in Jerusalem for the showdown with the Romans and the people of God with whom they had religious disagreements. What the apostles did was a really big deal. What Jesus had for them to do this day was something so small in their eyes that they had not paid any attention to it.
So it is for us as disciples, learning and following. We may have a habit that can be broken if we would date to take the tiniest first step. Do we have a relationship that would be blessed if it were t sweeten it up a bit? Is there a tiny bit of kindness in your hands that belongs to someone with whom you been withholding because you have bitter feelings? Does even a hint of forgiveness seem like a faraway country?
These are the situations that Jesus calls us to exercise a little bit of faith so we can do great things for God, so we can heal and open the floodgates of blessings. Like the little mustard seed that grows into a great tree, [slide # 20 mustard tree]  large enough for birds to build a nest, we can grow something large enough to overcome evils of violence and poverty,  brokenness and distance and danger and hatred and holding grudges. By faith, we can begin this moment to do the small thing that we know to do to put an end to something that is overgrown and needs to be weeded out.

On this World Communion Sunday, let’s show the world that even a little bit of faith matters. [slide # 21 faith matters] Amen. [slide # 22 more smiles] [slide # 23 Keep Calm]