Friday, October 30, 2009

Looking for the "But"

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Pastor's Reflection of the Day
Sheesh. I don't know about you, but I was getting a little impatient with the book of Lamentations yesterday and today.

I know that there is a place for lament in the life of a Christian. I have lived those times of lament--times of great loss or disappointment or estrangement from God. Lamentations is a great place to go when life is tough. I get that; I embrace that; I don't shy away from lamenting.

However, when I read through laments, I'm always looking for the "but." You know what I mean? Lamentations 1 and 2 are full of just that--lamentations . . . cries for mercy, pleading for release from sorrow. But I know there's always a "but."

And there it is, in all its magnificence: "But this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:21, NRSV).

If there's anything I've learned from my "Ecclesiastes 3 kind of weekend" a month and a half ago(check out my post entitle: "Sunday Sermon: Ecclesiastes 3 sermon do-over" for the story), it's that life is full of seasons, like a time to be born and a time to die. And I've learned that each of those seasons has a beginning AND an end. So a season of lamenting (a time to tear down, a time to scatter, etc) will have an end; it will have a "but" that leads to a sliver of hope to be held on to.

It's appropriate, then, that Lamentations gives us the text for one of the most beloved hymns, "Great is Thy Faithfulness." I haven't included any music in my posts for a while so here's a youtube.com video of a solo jazz guitar performance of this very hymn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcKGXPbeqSQ

Thursday, October 29, 2009

A Bare Bones Story

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Pastor's Reflection of the Day
The gospel of John has taken us along the road to Jerusalem as we read about Jesus and the disciples on their way to the cross. In today's reading, chapter 19, Jesus is crucified.

I wasn't quite sure exactly what I wanted to reflect on today that wouldn't turn into a full-blown Holy Week kind of sermon. So, I do what I always do when I'm not sure what to say: I read what someone else has to say about it!

So in my trusty NIB Commentary on John's gospel, I read this: ". . . the Fourth Evangelist narrates Jesus' death with dignity, respect, and solemnity. There is none of the turmoil of the Synoptic accounts--no jeering crowds, no loud cry when Jesus dies." It seems that he provides no narrative details that will distract us from the bare bones story of crucifixion.

I don't think I ever noticed that before. When I imagine the crucifixion, there are always jeering crowds and sobbing women and people standing in stunned silence. But John gives us a pretty sparse account; it covers barely more than a couple of verses. The picture John paints for his readers is "Jesus' serene and controlled gift of his life in love" (NIB).

I kinda like that. We know that Jesus gave up his life willingly for us; I like the idea of it being a serene (though surely painful) death. Only God could die in such a way under such circumstances, which might actually be the point the gospel writer is trying to make . . . the crucifixion "marks the completion of Jesus' work of making God known to the world" (NIB). What more could Jesus possibly have done to make Himself known to the world?!

So, if you're looking for an excuse to ignore the leaves that you really should rake (like in my front yard!) here's a little homework assignment: try looking at all the crucifixion scenes in the gospels. What might the writers be trying to say about the way they portray Jesus' death?

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

From Aleph to Taw

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www.frankfortpresbychurch.com

Pastor's Reflection of the Day
I took a class in Seminary called "Prophets and Psalms." The professor liked to open class by asking someone to read a psalm. Let me tell you, it didn't take long for someone to volunteer to open the class by saying, "I'd like to start today's class today by reading Psalm 119. . . " hoping that reading the entire psalm would take up a significant portion of the class!

Today's "Year of the Bible" reading is a part 4 of 7 of Psalm 119. The whole psalm is 176 verses long! One of my commentaries says this: Simply by virtue of its length, Psalm 119 is impressive and imposing, perhaps even intimidating. (Psalms, NIB Commentary).

I wonder how you feel about it. Are you impressed? Are you intimidated? Personally, I have always been fascinated by this particular psalm.

It is an acrostic of the Hebrew alphabet--which means it is made up of 22 sections using each letter of the Hebrew alphabet in alphabetical order. In the first section, all the lines begin with the letter "aleph" (or A). In the second section, all the lines begin with the letter "beth" (or B).

What ingenuity and thoughtfulness must have gone into this psalm! There are many other smaller patterns and repetitions within this poem, all of which must have taken an enormous amount of brain power. Though some people might consider this repetition tedious and boring, I think it is fantastic.

And it totally makes sense: the psalmist's point is that God's torah (or revelation) is pervasive and all encompassing--from aleph to taw in the Hebrew, or A to Z in the English. The poem is overwhelming because God and His revelation are overwhelming! (Psalms, NIB Commentary)

In today's particular section, verses 73-96, the psalmist is expressing that he (or she) belongs solely to God for His hands "made me and formed me." The psalmist explains that the Lord is central to his life--in His Word is his hope and that His law is his delight. There are a number of verses that fall in the lamentation category (indeed, the whole psalm is a lament) before the psalm turns back to God's revelation and Word.

Today's text ends with an affirmation of God's words, God's faithfulness to all generations, and the endurance of the truth and God's law. Again and again, the psalmist wanders from the path of thanksgiving for revelation but always returns to his main point; lament always gives way to a profession of faith.

I hope you find that pattern in your life too: that your times of lament always give way to your own profession of God's goodness and faithfulness! It's a theme that should permeate the lifespan of Christians; like Psalm 119, it should be overwhelming and imposing!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

In Peter's Shoes

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http://www.frankfortpresbychurch.com/

General Apology
After a long hiatus, I'm back. I'm so sorry that I've neglected you so much. I'll have questions starting next week. For now, I'm going to try to get back in the habit of reading and reflecting.

I'm going to guess I'm not the only one who is struggling to keep up. I'm not sure exactly what happened to me. Maybe you don't know what happened with you either. (Of course, maybe I'm in the minority and the rest of you have been able to stay on schedule, in which case you can just skip down to the reflection at the bottom :0).

I'm probably not the only one who wants to finish up this "Year of the Bible" on a high note. I want to make a new commitment for the last 65 days of our journey through the "Year of the Bible." (Can you believe we only have 65 days left?!)

So, I'm going to plan some sort of mini-recommitment ceremony for us to use during worship. I'll post it here to and you can do it on your own if you happen to attend another church. Do whatever you have to in order to finish strong!! What we are doing is not easy--I was actually pretty impressed at the number of people who signed up to do this in the first place. I don't want us to look back and have regrets that we just let our enthusiasm fade away. Let's fight the good fight and finish the race; let's keep the faith (2 Tim 4:7).

Reflection of the Day
It's interesting to read the passion story NOT at Easter time. It seems a little out of place to read it now, at the end of October instead of during Lent.

Generally, when I blog or preach or teach, I try to find a part of the Scripture that is new, something maybe we haven't thought about before. I enjoy the challenge to dig a little deeper into a text and move past what it says on the surface.

But as I read through John 18 today, I can't seem to get past Peter's denial. Usually, I'd like to ignore the obvious and get to something more noticeable and easy to miss. But today, I can't get past the obvious.

Peter denies Jesus three time: verses 17, 25, and 27. I can't imagine what it must have felt like to be Peter as the rooster crowed. I can't imagine what it must have felt like to be Peter and have everyone around him know of his denials. Word must have spread quickly among the crowds . . . almost as quickly as Peter's guilt did, I would guess.

I said before I can't imagine what it must have felt like to be Peter. But the more I think about it, the more I realize I know exactly how Peter felt. I know the dread he must have been feeling when he heard the rooster crow and remembered the warning Jesus gave him. I know because I have been in Peter's shoes. I have sinned; I have denied God. Maybe I was a little more subtle about it than Peter, but I deny Jesus more often than I'd like to admit--whether it's by my actions or words or priorities.

I don't think I'm the only one who knows what it's like to be in Peter's shoes. There might not be a rooster crowing to be a sign for us, but we've all denied Jesus and immediately regretted it. It's probably even happened to us rather publicly, just like Peter. We've done something wrong and everyone knows it.

So what comes next? John 18 ends in the middle of Peter's story. We have to stay tuned to see Peter's repentance in the rest of the story.

But that doesn't mean you should put off repenting until Peter does. Now is your chance to repent; now is your chance to receive the forgiveness that God died to give to you. If you'd like, you can use the prayer written below as part of your repenting process.

Lord, I have denied You. There are things I have said and done that have not only hurt others but also have hurt You. My priorities are skewed to make myself more important, instead of making You important. Some of my sins have been public for all the world to see and some are sins that I keep to myself, silently struggling over them. Publicly and privately, I have been disobedient and defiant. And I am sorry. Grant me Your forgiveness once again and strengthen my will that I might have the power to resist sin the next time it comes knocking at my door. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Sunday Sermon: Pool Parties

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SCRIPTURE READING: John 5:1-18
After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. 3 In these lay many invalids-- blind, lame, and paralyzed. 4

5 One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"

7 The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; and while I am making my way, someone else steps down ahead of me."
8 Jesus said to him, "Stand up, take your mat and walk." 9 At once the man was made well, and he took up his mat and began to walk.

Now that day was a sabbath. 10 So the Jews said to the man who had been cured, "It is the sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."

11 But he answered them, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'" 12 They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Take it up and walk'?"

13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had disappeared in the crowd that was there. 14 Later Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "See, you have been made well! Do not sin any more, so that nothing worse happens to you."

The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

SERMON-INTRO
As I was thinking about John 5 this week, it occurred to me that Frankforters ought to have extra special insight on this passage. After all, we have our very own Bethzatha pool right up the street.

That’s how the borough of Frankfort Springs got started: the waters of the springs were thought to be powerful healing waters. People traveled on the train into Burgettstown and caught a ride out to the resort that grew up around the springs.

Imagine that . . . little ole Frankfort Springs being a hot-spot destination for all the rich and powerful folks. They traveled from Washington, Steubenville, and even Pittsburgh to bathe in and drink from the springs.

Listen to this description I found in the Beaver County archives:
"Here silks and satins were worn and poke bonnets tied down with colored picot edged ribbons and adorned with plumes of many colors. The Springs were [bright] with the latest patterns from New York, the porches filled with pretty maids and ladies embroidering. At candle-lighting the brass sticks from the old corner cupboard were lighted in the long ballroom [while] the polka and the Virginia reel were performed with graceful bows and turns. When the grandfather clock at the foot of the ballroom sounded the stroke of eleven, all lights were snuffed from the candles and the merriment ceased."[1]

It sounds lovely. I can just imagine what Frankfort must have looked like, back in the day.

#1
But it doesn’t sound too much like the scene we read about in John 5, does it? For over a hundred years, people came from all over to southern Beaver County, dressed in their finest clothes and driving their finest surreys, to sit and relax around a pool thought to have healing power.

But underneath all their fancy clothing, these people were desperately seeking relief from pain and healing. They were willing to go to pretty much any length, or in our case, any distance for a chance at finding healing.

THAT much we can see in the John 5 passage. Though this pool was also surrounded by porches and columns, probably a lot like Frankfort Springs, it was also surrounded by the poorest of the poor—the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the invalid.

Day after day, they would gather around the pool, believing that when the water stirred, much like Frankfort Springs must have stirred, an angel of the Lord was stirring the waters. What ensued was a footrace to see who would reach the waters first and receive healing.

The crowd at Frankfort Springs was probably a little less chaotic in their behavior when the waters began to bubble. But there was still a rush to get in the water when the waters began to stir. Did those gathered at the Frankfort Springs resort thought that it was an angel stirring the water? I don’t know. What I do know is that those people had faith in the power of that water, wherever that power came from.

The same goes for the folks gathered around the pool in Jerusalem called Bethzatha. Did they ALL believe that it was an angel stirring the water? Maybe. Probably. All they really knew for sure was that some who had gone in the water before them had emerged with their health restored. Like the folks in Frankfort Springs, the blind and the lame had faith in the power of that water, wherever that power came from.

#2
One thing Bethzatha had that Frankfort Springs didn’t is Jesus. Well, Jesus may have been at Frankfort Springs too, but we don’t have any written accounts of that. We DO, however, have a written account of Jesus’ interaction with one particular invalid, lying near the pool.

We don’t know why Jesus picked this particular fellow. I’m sure there were dozens of other regulars at the pool he could have chosen. The first verse tells us Jesus was in town to celebrate a festival. So chances are there were a lot of extra people who also came into town for the festival. So maybe Jesus had hundreds of people to choose from.

But Jesus picked only one person, much to the dismay of the others gathered around the pool, I’m sure. He saw the invalid lying on his mat and knew that the man had been in his current state for thirty-eight years.

We don’t know if this means the man is thirty-eight years old and has been ill since birth or maybe is suffering from a disease he contracted in his teenage years or even in early adulthood. All John 5 tells us is that he’s been ill for thirty-eight years and he thinks he hasn’t been healed because he doesn’t have anyone to help him get in the healing water.

For thirty-eight years, he has lost the footrace when the pool began to stir. For thirty-eight years, we presume, he watched others make it to the water first and emerge healed. For thirty-eight years he has watched life go on around him while he watches from the sidelines.

No wonder when Jesus asks him, “Do you want to be made well?” he avoids answering the question. It looks like this guy is totally beaten down; he has given up all hope. I’m not even sure he really believes he can be healed anymore by the water or by anything else.

Maybe that’s why Jesus picked him. Maybe Jesus knew he was the one who had been there longest, the one everyone knew, the one everyone pitied because, year after year, he couldn’t make it into the water. Maybe Jesus knew that by healing this particular guy, he knew he’d be making the biggest splash around the pool.

#3
All it took was even simple words: “Stand up, take your mat and walk.” With seven simple words, the invalid who had waited desperately at the edge of Bethzatha for thirty-eight years, stands, picks up his mat, and walks.

The man quickly learns that the power isn’t in the water; the power is in the person of Jesus Christ.

The power is never in the water—not in the waters of the Frankfort Springs or even in the waters of Bethzatha. The power is always in the person of Jesus Christ, who works THROUGH the water.

And Jesus works through many things—doctors and nurses, hospitals and nursing homes, modern medicine and home remedies. I suspect Jesus works through even ordinary, non-medical people. Maybe not the faith healers we see on TV—but you never know, right? For the sake of all those people you see on those shows, I pray that Jesus DOES work even through faith healers.

People are desperate for healing. WE are desperate for healing—maybe healing from something physical, maybe something emotional or spiritual. Whatever it is, we are desperate for it.
We go to all kinds of lengths to find that healing, wherever we think we can find it. Some people are carried on their mats to the side of a pool. Some people dress up in fancy clothes and drive their buggy to a fancy resort. Others wander into a church on a Sunday morning.

The journeys are different, but the destination is the same: the person of Jesus Christ. The power isn’t in the water; the power is in the person of Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION
Jesus asks the man, “Do you want to get well?” And the man all but says to Jesus, “It is impossible for me to get well.”

But with God, all things are possible. The invalid knows that now.

To heal is “to restore to health.” God will heal us each in different ways. For some, healing comes in the form of a cure, a disease or an affliction erased and full health restored. For others, healing comes in the form of release from disease, leaving this earthly tent behind to dwell in a city built and designed by God.

With God, all things are possible. Our job, then, is to be faithful in our search for healing, remembering that the power isn’t in the water; the power is in the person of Jesus Christ.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

[1]http://www.bchistory.org/beavercounty/BeaverCountyCommunities/FrankfortSprings/FrankfortSpringsFolder.html/FrankfortSpringsM76.html