A story of hope...our story of hope.

            His name was Ernie. He was a mischievous young man; born with a chip on his shoulder. So much so that he began stealing things early in life. He did not steal televisions, cars, or things like that. He was known for stealing pies and cakes that ladies would put in their windows to cool. Ernie grew up in the 1920’s. Because of his stealing, he had to make sure he got away really quickly; so one of the things he learned in his life of crime was to run. He got faster and faster. People saw this gift in him and he ended up running track in high school. Ernie got so good at running he found himself in the Olympics in Berlin. Ernie was set to beat everyone in the world; he was the favorite. That was until the night before his race, he decided to go out and have a little fun. The next morning when it came time to run his race, he did horribly. The race he was supposed to win had a different winner; Jesse Owens won the Gold medal that day while Ernie was eliminated early on.

            Some might say that Ernie got what he deserved. Some might think that God was against Ernie; he never had a chance. Some might think that Ernie was bitter for losing the race. He might have been angry or even hated Jesse Owens for showing him up. That is not what happened. Ernie was disappointed but Ernie did not stew on this bad choice that he made. He looked to the future. He began preparing for the next Olympics when he got home. He started running, working on his times, and became more disciplined because he did not want to suffer the same fate as he did before.

            Our reading today from Romans talks about suffering and many other things. Today we hear the words: justification, peace, suffering, and hope. Four very powerful words and there is so much that is packed into them. SO let’s start with justification. Our faith tells us (and sometimes this faith can be shaky) that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Our faith tells us that God sent Jesus into the world because…as John says…”God so loved the world that he sent his only Son into the world to save it.” I am paraphrasing a little bit but this is important to know. It is important to know that our faith is what we hold onto in good times as well as bad times that Jesus Christ is with us, has gone to the cross for our sake…to save us from our sin, death, and the devil (as Martin Luther would say). Jesus saved us from those things that seemed to be THE END, saved us from those things that would try to keep us from God. From that faith in knowing and believing who Jesus is, we can have peace in knowing that God’s love for us has been displayed.

            I think one of the most challenging parts of this reading from Romans is what Paul says about suffering and hope. “We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces HOPE.” I believe this might be the part where people think of a couple of sayings: “what doesn’t kill ya makes you stronger” or “God doesn’t give you any more than you can handle.” Paul seems to be saying that it is a good thing to suffer; OR that suffering is some kind of badge of honor that we should all wear proudly.

            That is not what Paul is saying. Paul is saying that Jesus Christ, the Son of  God, has shown us God’s love through his teachings and his journey to the cross. Because of Jesus actions and words, we have experienced God’s grace and compassion. He is saying that because of the love of God, through Christ on the cross, God’s grace and promises are that we ARE loved. God has shown us how much we are loved and it is through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that we are not left in a sinful, broken world. God walks with us and feels what we feel because of Jesus Christ who underwent suffering AND it is because of Jesus suffering that God understands our suffering.

            Paul still writes about boasting in our suffering. Does this mean that we are supposed to suffer? Are we meant to suffer? Or does God want us to suffer? I don’t believe that suffering is something to wear like a badge. We know that suffering hurts. It is painful when we lose a loved one, when one of our family members suffers from medical issues (cancer, disease,). It is painful when we lose a job, lose our trust in something or someone, when someone suffers from addiction…let’s face it…we all have seen loved ones suffer or have suffered ourselves at one time or another.

            God does not want us to suffer. It is easy to say that our suffering must be “God’s will.” If that is the case then we would be compelled to ask ourselves,  “what did I do wrong, God?” I don’t believe that a God who would send his only Son to the cross out of love would turn around and say “now I am gonna make you suffer.” What Paul is saying is that amid our suffering, in those times when we are hurting because of our actions or the actions of someone else, we can hold onto God’s promise that God is with us. We can hold onto God’s promise that we will not be left alone or abandoned.

Paul is saying we can hold onto the promise of God’s love because in that love and in that promise is HOPE. Through holding onto the words and actions of Jesus, holding onto our faith in Jesus Christ and God, we can know, with confidence, that God is in our lives and in our hearts. God weeps with us when we mourn, God hurts with us when we hurt, God says bring your burdens to this cross when need to be forgiven and forgive. Paul is telling us that when we do suffer our faith in God and knowing that God is with us will produce endurance to make it through whatever we are going through. That when we begin to endure and keep going (knowing that God is walking beside us) we can make choices that are in keeping with who God calls us to be. And finally, That character builds hope; the hope in that God will get us through all things, no matter how big or small, it is the hope that we live, speak, and act with God at the center of all that we do.

Our story of Ernie takes a few bad turns. Ernie joined the military when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He was a pilot. His aircraft went down in the Pacific and he was captured by the Japanese. Ernie was tortured by one particular guard for four years because Ernie, even though he lost to Jesse Owens, was famous. Ernie held onto hope every day that he would be freed or just that the torture would stop. Along his journey, he did find some hope. He found a guard that treated several of the prisoners with dignity and respect. This guard even helped them to heal by not beating them and actually giving them food that was nutritious to sustain their bodies.

Ernie went on to struggle when he got home with all that he had been through. His marriage almost ended until he heard a young preacher named Billy Graham. His life changed to be a life of forgiveness and healing and sharing that with others.

Ernie’s story is not much different from our story. We have made choices in our lives where we suffer from those choices. We have said and done things we are not too proud of, and we have watched loved ones, if not ourselves, go through things none of us want. BUT know this: God does love you and me. God has made promises and keeps those promises no matter how bleak or bad the future looks. The hope that Paul talks about is that our future as children of a loving God is bright and full of love and life, grace, and mercy.

So this is the day when we give thanks to all who served their country and gave their “last full measure.” We hold in prayer all who had hope in protecting their country, whether they be military, civilian, or first responders. This is a day when we look to hope…hope in our present, our future, and hope in one another as children of God to share that hope…”because hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us:” AMEN! 

Pentecost Moments

            I have a confession to make. Another one of my favorite shows was a show called “Touched by an Angel.” I liked the show for its message. For those of you who never saw it, it is a show about angels. God sends the angels, Della Reese who was the Supervisor angel, Roma Downey who was the angel in training (For a lot of years if you noticed), and then Andrew who was the angel of death. He escorted the deceased to heaven. The basic premise of the show was that someone would get into some kind of trouble and God would send the angels to help the person out. The outcome was not always the outcome that people were looking for. But, in typical television fashion everything would be resolved in about an hour (give or take eight minutes in commercials).

            Now we are going to look back to a week and a half ago, which was the ascension of Jesus. He had been raised and met with the disciples to continue teaching them. The time came for Jesus to ascend to heaven. He promised that the Holy Spirit…the advocate or Holy Spirit would guide them and remind them of all he had taught. All seemed to quiet down when on the fiftieth day (Pentecost) after the resurrection the Holy Spirit’s presence was made known. This Pentecost also fell during the festival of weeks a time that the Jewish people celebrated the first Harvest and celebrated when God gave Moses the law.

The disciples were locked up in a room thinking that they were next. Remember, their Lord, teacher, and the Son of God, not long ago, had undergone suffering and death at the hands of the religious leaders and the Roman leaders. It might seem natural that they think they are next. So they are in this place hoping they aren’t discovered.

All of the sudden, things change. Without warning, the wind kicks up making incredible noise, and tongues of fire appear and now they are speaking different languages. I can imagine all this as if it were a movie. I can imagine the wind and this fire pushing them out into the streets as they are talking and it just seems chaotic. We know that the people already in the streets hearing the disciples thought they were drunk; Peter gets up and sets them straight, telling they are not drunk and then pointing out that this all came through Isaiah, “God declares, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh.”

This is one of those times in scripture that the Holy Spirit becomes visible. It came upon the disciples like a rushing wind and tongues of fire. Quite impressive, isn’t it? This is where I get put off and even upset with the show “Touched by an Angel.” The show had these visible markers; meaning, when the angel was about to announce themselves as an “angel sent from God,” A light would go on over their head. Wouldn’t that be nice if we all had that…ya know…when you want to feel the power of the Holy Spirit a light would come on over top of your head. It sure would make life a little easier; make the decision making process go a lot quicker in my life.

Pentecost is a transformational event. We see this time when people speak different languages but it is so much more than words. The disciples are able to share, in the languages of all the people who came to the festival from other nations, the work of God in their lives. Their words are so that others may hear the Word of God and the works of God through Jesus Christ; his teachings, healings, and even his death and resurrection. The disciples are able to speak all these different languages telling the story of God in the world…God’s Word that became flesh. These people that are telling the story are transformed, by the Holy Spirit, from cowering in a room being afraid that they are next to bursting out into the street to tell God’s story in their lives.

That is why Pentecost is so important. Because these lives…these people…who were followers of Christ, who asked “are you the Messiah? just tells us if you are,” Are transformed from followers who ask lots of questions and still may not get it into people who proclaim that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; they are now a people who share God’s Good News of salvation and redemption to all the people. We see this and the church points to this moment in Acts where the church is formed and it is indeed a day to celebrate.

But one of the problems is that we only believe that it occurs once. This is not the only Pentecost moment in the bible. This time where transformation and the work of the Holy Spirit appears happens more than one time in the bible. Stephen’s call to ministry is the work of the Spirit, Saul’s conversion, a few weeks ago, Paul was guided to the house of Cornelius, and of course this morning’s reading of the Spirit entering the disciples. These are moments where we get a glimpse of Pentecost moments…transformational moments.

So the question is this: “If Pentecost moments occur more than once in the bible, do they occur in our world?” I would argue that “yes, they do.” The Church in the world has had Pentecost moments; As we started our monthly Bible Study, we started with the Emperor Constantine. When he formed the Council of Nicea in 325, the church was transformed. It was not so much a free for all but became a little more organized. Throughout the history of the church with councils that came later, the Church was transformed. Martin Luther’s Reformation was also a Pentecost moment in that an understanding of God TRANSFORMED people’s hearts and minds. When he translated the Word of God into German so that everyone could read and hear God’s words is a Pentecost moment.

We also have Pentecost moments within our own church. Here in Woodsboro/Chapel, this church was altered 211/150 years ago when a group of people wanted to build a house of worship. When a pastor convinced the congregation to tear down the wooden structure of a church and rebuild a brick structure almost 100 years ago OR when a group of people, amid a war that pit brother against brother, decided the Word of God was important enough to build a sanctuary while stragglers are probably still passing by the general area on their way across the Potomac.

We also have those Pentecost moments in our own lives. When there is a new addition to the family either by child, marriage, or new relationship. These are transforming Pentecost moments because we know our lives will be different OR whenever we hear an inspirational story and we feel moved to do something to help others; starting a feeding ministry or helping the food bank. These are moments that transform our lives and our ministries.

These Pentecost times may not come with the light over the head, the Halo getting brighter, or someone saying, “I am an angel sent by God…” But these Pentecost times might appear in a friend saying, “I got your back.” They may come in the words of “As a called and ordained minister in the church of God and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the forgiveness of all your sins.” Pentecost moments may come in hearing “this is my body and blood, given and shed for you.” These moments may come in a smile or a hug or a phone call of someone just checking in.

May we all be on the lookout for our Pentecost moments and may we see the Holy Spirit through the actions of others: AMEN

John 14: 23-29; The Work of the Holy Spirit

            One of my favorite movies of All TIME is a movie called “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” It is about a music teacher. He shows up on his first day of school in the early 70’s and he believes himself to be a composer not a teacher. He needs this job in order to be able to make money while he is writing his big major work; because all composers want to have that one big work. So he takes the job as teacher and the movie follows him through decades of teaching. It also shows him dealing with family life challenges: a son who, through testing, is discovered to be deaf and his struggles in communicating with this son, marital challenges, and he begins to get away from his composing.

            This story from the Gospel of John relates to this teacher, Mr Holland. It relates in a way that we all might not look at on its surface. Our Gospel reading this morning is part of what is called the farewell discourse of Jesus. Jesus is preparing to say “goodbye” to the disciples. Imagine someone you love telling you these things. The statement alone that someone is leaving can be a painful experience. Especially, when this is a person that you have walked with your entire life, shared happy times, and shared times of challenges and struggles…if they told you they were leaving it would be devastating. So imagine how the disciples felt at this news. Jesus whom they have shared so much of their lives with is now going away. I know that we have all experienced that feeling at one time or another.

            Despite this leaving, Jesus tells us that God is sending an advocate to teach and remind the disciples of Jesus’ words and actions. I am sure that may not sound to comforting but Jesus is giving words of comfort to the disciples. He is telling them that they are not left alone to fend for themselves or to give up living as God’s children because I am going away…se ya. Jesus is telling the disciples…and us…that God is still in this world whether Jesus is here or not. This advocate or Holy Spirit will be in the world to tell us again of all Jesus actions and words. The Holy Spirit reminds the disciples of Jesus healing the blind and the lepers. The Holy Spirit harkens us back to the time when Jesus reached out beyond the boundaries of laws that determined who was in and who was out, beyond the boundaries of geography; he went outside the boundaries of the temple [the place where God resided]. He went into the world proclaiming God’s love, mercy, and grace to the world.

            The Holy Spirit reminds us of that love that holds no bounds. We hear through Jesus’ words that we are not left alone; because despite Jesus’ return to the Father, the Holy Spirit remains with us to guide us and teach us about God and Jesus in the world. This is where the movie and this Gospel can connect. Mr. Holland was set upon writing that one good music piece. Who can blame him with all the money spent on his education? Yet he was guided in a different direction. He began to pay more attention to his students and their lives. Mr. Holland reached out beyond his education as a composer and began helping students that were in need, he helped shape their lives and he was an advocate for his students. He became that person that instilled in them a sense of pride in their own work, he gave them that boost that they needed to make their lives better. I think we may all have someone in our lives that did that for us.

            I am not saying that Mr. Holland is anything like Jesus. First of all, this was fiction and it was a movie. Society would like us to have local people that we lift up like Mr. Holland. Society would have us lift up this celebrity, sports star, politician…insert whatever celebrity’s name here to be our savior for this or that; and then several months later it is this same society that tears that person down. God does not want us to live in a world of building up for the purpose of tearing down. How do I know that, because that is not what Jesus taught us to do. Jesus said “keep my words” and what were some of those words. Some are found in our Gospel from last week; “love one another as I have loved you.

            Jesus is telling us to keep those words and they are not always easy to keep. In a time when there is so much unhappiness, war, and death it is very hard to keep these words. It is difficult to keep God’s words in your ears, let alone your heart, when you are looking for work or not knowing if you will have a job the next day, when the bills come due and there doesn’t seem to be enough money to cover the bills, or when so many people are pulling you in so many different directions that you just want the world to stop so that you can take a breath. Its hard when the people you love are coming to the end of their life, or illness…you name it…trying keep Jesus’s words “love your neighbor” is not easy…IT IS HARD.

            The Gift of the Holy Spirit is with us to remind us of these words and actions of Jesus. The Holy Spirit calls us to love our neighbor. Take a look around…seriously…take a moment to turn your head to the left and to the right. These are your neighbors and there may come a time, if the time is not now or was some other time in the past, when your neighbor might upset you or be hurting for any reason. The Holy Spirit reminds us that Christ paid the price for our sin and that we can seek forgiveness from one another and although we may disagree we can still do the work of Christ together.

            Loving your neighbor is not only for inside this room. Outside this room and these doors are our neighbors. There are people in this community who struggle the same way that we do. They may not know where their next paycheck is coming from, they may struggle with health issues, addictions…you name it…they may be having the same problems. So where does the Holy Spirit call us to be and what does the Spirit call us to do? If we keep Jesus words, then God calls us to offer to anyone outside these doors the love of our neighbor that God has shown to us, the broken, human, sinful people that we are.

            The Holy Spirit reminds us and teaches us that everyone is valuable. We know that because Jesus Christ on the cross showed us that we are valuable. The Holy Spirit calls us to go out in Woodsboro, Libertytown, where we worship and where we live to love our neighbor; to help our neighbors so that they have enough to eat, have shelter, or having a voice in the community. Loving our neighbor means looking past the stresses of the world to share with one another that God says we are all valued and valuable; that each one of us has different gifts and it means welcoming people who might look, think, and act differently than we do and realize that we need these relationships because we are ALL in this same boat (a broken world) together; to work together, and help one another, and to bring all our burdens of this world here to the foot of the cross, TOGETHER. The Holy Spirit reminds us that Jesus invited to come and hear the Word, invited to come and share in the bread of life and drink from the cup of salvation. Thanks be to God:

AMEN