Gleaning From Greatness (Esther)

Today we’re supposed to glean from the greatness of Esther, but the biblical book of Esther is a very strange book. In many ways, it is the Bible’s version of an old-fashioned, Dudley Dooright melodrama. It has Snidely Whiplash bad guys conspiring to kill good guys by impaling them on poles 75 feet high. It has good people doing virtuous things in difficult times. Most importantly, it has a beautiful orphan, a Cinderella maiden lavishly embraced by the single most powerful king in the known world. And at the end of the story, the good guys win, all the bad guys get killed, and a huge victory party is held every year thereafter to remember it all.

It is a rocking, action packed story, but it sure isn’t a very religious book. Frankly, I’m not exactly sure what sort of greatness we’re supposed to glean here. The name of God is never once used in the book. No one worships, sacrifices, has any sort of apocalyptic vision or experiences even the tiniest miracle in the entire story. There is a veiled awareness of God but very little concern for God’s Law, proper morality or Jewish dietary law. There is fasting, but no specific mention of prayer. There are heroes, but the two primary heroes in the story do not always act admirably, at least according to our standards. Sometimes they actually seem pretty bloodthirsty, evil, vengeful and violent themselves. The book of Esther is so very strange, as a matter of fact, that for the first seven centuries of the church, not one commentary was written on the book! John Calvin so disliked the story of Esther he never once preached a sermon from it nor did he ever include it in any of his commentaries. Martin Luther actually denounced it, saying he “wished it had not come to us at all, for its too many heathen unnaturalities.” Weird!

In order to properly understand and apply this book, we need to understand the full historical context into which it was written. Understanding the historical period involved is an essential part of understanding the overall teaching and gleaning any lessons from it.

This book was written many, many years after the Jewish people had been carried away into exile for their disobedience and unfaithfulness. Empires had come and gone and, while some of the Jews had returned to rebuild Jerusalem under the decree of the pagan King Cyrus of Persia, many remained in exile in what, by Esther’s time, had become the great and terrible Medo-Persian Empire. The Medo-Persian Empire was an absolutely massive, powerful, terrible domain and many Jews had become so completely absorbed into this colossal empire that very little of their Jewish heritage or practices remained. While they retained their Jewish one-God focus and at least some of their identity, as we can see in this story, their adherence to all the precise details of the Hebrew covenant faith had faded away for many of them. While the violent struggles between the Jewish people and many of their age-old enemies still remained, many of the exiled Hebrew people had settled in nicely under their Medo-Persian overlords.

One of those people was a good Jew named Mordecai. Mordecai was a good, generous man and a prominent Jewish businessman in Susa, the fortress capitol of the empire during the reign of powerful Medo-Persian King Xerxes. But the action in our story begins when, at one point in Mordecai’s life, the great King Xerxes got mad at his queen, Queen Vashti, because she refused to be treated like a sex object by the king and his friends at a party. Fearing other women in the kingdom would start to think they too had the freedom to do as they wished instead of obeying their husbands, the king and his good old boy network decided it was time for a new queen. They scoured the countryside for suitable virgins and finally settled on the good Jew Mordecai’s adopted, orphan daughter Haddassah, also known by her Persian name Esther. Esther was singled out as the most beautiful and acceptable queen candidate in the entire empire. Esther pleased the king like no other virgin and so she was crowned queen.

But just a few short years later, Mordecai got into trouble for refusing to bow down to one of the King’s right-hand advisors, a very evil man named Haman, who was probably a descendant of the Amalekites with whom the Israelites had fought viciously for years. This dastardly, evil man Haman, instead of getting even with just his enemy Mordecai, decided this might be a great opportunity to take care of the “Jewish problem” once and for all. Somehow, Haman managed to bribe the powerful king Xerxes into wiping out all the Jews in the empire. He got the king to sign off on his terrible extermination plan and a date for the awful genocide was actually put on the calendar in all the provinces and languages of the empire. Bizarre!

Mordecai tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes and went into public mourning for himself and his people. When Queen Esther sent one of the king’s eunuchs to cheer Mordecai up with some new clothes and, incredibly, to find out what was wrong, Mordecai begged her messenger to get Esther to directly intercede with the king on behalf of her people, the Jews. But Esther wasn’t very excited about the idea. After her years hiding out as a Jew in the king’s palace, Esther knew quite well that, by law, anyone who approached the king without an official royal invitation faced immediate execution. She was understandably nervous; not excited about risking death by approaching the king for any reason, even a very important reason.

And because of that, Queen Esther sent a selfish, insensitive response back to Mordecai essentially saying, “No way, Mordecai! Don’t you understand what could happen to me if I approached the king uninvited? Don’t you understand I could be immediately killed for doing what you’re asking me to do? Don’t you understand the evil dangers involved in your request? You’re asking me to jeopardize my Cinderella story here, Mordecai! And at the end of the day, let’s be honest here; don’t you understand how legally unimportant I am? For goodness sake, the king hasn’t even asked to see me in a month; I don’t even know if he still likes me?! He could be on to his next girl by now!” Pretty harsh, Queen Esther! Not a very compassionate or sacrificial response to the man who has taken you in and raised you as his own daughter...

But Mordecai, who understood the genuine threat of extermination faced by the Hebrew people; ignored Esther’s selfishness and sent back a terse, perhaps even slightly threatening message to Esther, which changed her mind. And it is this very short, very direct, turning point message we should reflect deeply on today. Beginning with verse 12 of chapter 4, we read...

When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

There are some critically important challenges in these verses. Frankly, for reasons too involved to fully explore right now, I’m not entirely certain of Esther’s motivations at almost any point in the story. Others may speculate about her virtue and greatness, but I believe it is her uncle Mordecai’s comments from which we have the most obvious stuff to glean. Mordecai cuts right to the heart of Esther’s situation and ours. I find five thoughtful challenges here…

The first of these soul-searching challenges is implied in the text and is sort of the harsh hypothesis for Mordecai’s entire response to Esther. Esther, don’t think you have arrived! Don’t think you’ve arrived at some lofty place where you no longer have to concern yourself with the affairs of others. Don’t think your earthly struggles are over. Don’t think of blissful retirement. Esther, you are a young woman living a mostly pagan life with a pagan king in a pagan country – don’t think the end of your story has already been written. Don’t think you are ever allowed to rest on your lovely laurels or put your pretty, new car in park! Don’t think your great beauty pageant success here in pagan Persia is the end point of your story! You have not arrived! As long as any of us have breath in our bodies, we have not yet finished the work God has given us to do on this earth. There is no arrival for any of us on this earth. There is no final rest on earth. There is no completeness on earth. Your work is never done until your Heavenly Father says it is done. Sweet Queen Esther, you have not arrived!

And so secondly, you are not exempt from the suffering around you. “Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape.” Esther, don’t think you’re exempt from suffering, exempt from this awful genocide, exempt from the agony of this moment, exempt from the violence of this world just because you now live in a prettier house than all of us. Some Bible commentators actually believe Mordecai is threatening to expose Esther as a Jew or at least reminding her that eventually she will be exposed as a Jew. Still others feel Mordecai is simply reminding Esther that even though she is now very privileged, there can be no doubt all the suffering will eventually come to her as well. Don’t think your year of beauty treatments is going to make a difference for you in the end! Don’t think you are exempt from the suffering around you, pretty girl! You are not special! You are not exempt.

Thirdly, because she has not arrived and because she is not exempt from suffering, Mordecai argues she cannot be silent. Silence?! Keep your mouth shut about all this evil happening?! Oh dear Esther, don’t think you have the option of being silent about all of the junk around you! If you do not cry out, the very rocks around you will do so! Esther, some things are so enormous even the possibility of silence doesn’t exist. Some things going on in this world around us are so big and terrible silence is not even a consideration. Whether or not speaking out will help make any lasting difference is not even a decision factor. Silence is impossible when people around you are suffering. You cannot be silent!

Then Mordecai makes a fourth statement, which reflects his own profound faith and trust in God. Esther, don’t think you’ve arrived, don’t think you’re exempt, don’t think silence is an option and, for goodness sake, don’t think God isn’t watching. Don’t think Almighty God is not involved in all this! Esther, stop and remember God is well aware of what is going on down here. Oh Esther, stop and realize that even if you chose to keep silent, our God still sees what is going on down here and He will take action to stop it. We are the children of God’s promise! While we have not kept our part of the covenant, while we may have been a disappointment to God, while we are in exile for our awful sin, God will still keep His promises. God has made an everlasting covenant with His people. Do you want to be a part of preserving covenant people or don’t you? My dear Esther, don’t you realize that “if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish.” Don’t you realize God is going to have His way; don’t you want to be a part of it?

And, behind the scenes, what makes this fourth challenge of Mordecai’s even more fun and convicting is that, unbeknownst to either Mordecai or Esther, God has already woken King Xerxes in the night to get the rescue wheels in motion. Completely coincidentally, Mordecai has already done something to win the king’s favor; God is already humorously working that into the whole situation as part of the overall solution to the problem. Oh Esther, do you want to be a part of what God is already doing or don’t you? Esther, don’t think God is weak, disinterested and not involved here! Don’t think God won’t notice. Don’t think God is just going to sit there!

But perhaps the most important thing Mordecai shares in his brief message to Esther is the fifth and final statement. This is the big one. Esther, don’t think you’ve arrived, don’t think you’re exempt, don’t think silence is an option, don’t think God is weak and disinterested and, above all, don’t think, for one minute, that your actions don’t matter; you are not powerless! Don’t think all you are to God is some pretty face in a castle! Don’t think God can’t use you in this incredibly pivotal moment in history! Oh dear sweet Esther, “who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” Oh dear Esther, isn’t it just possible God has allowed you to be in the elevated position you’re in right now precisely because of moments like this? Isn’t it possible you are where you are because Almighty God wants little Esther to do something right where you are? Oh dear Esther, don’t think your actions don’t matter! Just because the people around you might view you as unimportant, frivolous, small, powerless or ornamental eye candy, don’t think your Heavenly Father sees you that way! You matter to Him! You might well be the very vehicle through which God plans to redirect the entire empire!

Do you understand that, Esther? Do you understand that, Elim? Do you understand that Kevin, Monica, Maria, Rick, Don, Brian, Jan, Becky, Chuck and all you fellows reading this sermon on paper in some prison cell somewhere or bleary-eyed insomniacs reading it on the internet? Do we understand how utterly powerful, important and influential we truly are in the Sovereign hands of Almighty God? Do we understand what God might be intending to do with us right where we are right now – wherever or whatever that position might look like in the eyes of the world? Do we have any idea what God intends to do in the empire with one little person like us? Who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this?

May God help us believe in His plans and purposes for us!

Amen.

Gleaning From Greatness (Simeon)

I absolutely adore LeeAnn Chin food! I always get the very same thing, but I always like it, so it all works out okay for me. On Tuesday, I took my friend Rob Boyd from the MBC to lunch there. We were talking about church finances, ministry issues and Hispanic outreach. At the end of our meal, we opened our fortune cookies and laughed to discover that both our fortunes were almost surgically related to exactly what we just spent two hours discussing.

I’ve had a running grudge against fortune cookies for years now. I’ve always thought it would be much more realistic to fill at least half of all fortune cookies with totally bad fortunes. Honestly; how much excitement can there possibly be in any fortune cookie if all the fortunes inside are cuddly? Don’t you think it would be much more fun and exciting to crack open a fortune and read, “You’re a loser! Watch out for the bus when you leave the restaurant! Your 401K is about to tank – dump it now! You’re about to meet a person who will utterly ruin your life if you aren’t careful!” So far, my twisted, depressing fortune cookie ideas have not caught on; people don’t typically like to think about bad cookies or difficult possibilities. Every time we eat Asian food, I make this novel fortune cookie proposition, but nobody ever likes my idea.

I wonder what my old friend Simeon would think. Simeon didn’t seem to have any problem sharing difficult blessings with people…open your Bibles to Luke 2:25-35. Mary and Joseph presented the baby Jesus in the temple in accordance with the Law, when they ran into a strange man named Simeon. As we attempt to glean from the greatness of a few Bible characters this month, we aren’t trying to reduce their entire lives down to a few trite and simple sermon points. That wouldn’t be fair to them or to us. No; we are simply listening to how the Spirit might possibly nudge us each week as we consider some very unique stories. So listen closely for the voice of the Spirit as I read this familiar story of strange Simeon…I’ll read today from the New Living Translation. I like the way it translates the passage.

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, “Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you have promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” Jesus’ parents were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.”

I see three profoundly spiritual challenges tucked into this moment of Simeon’s life.

Simeon Was There

The first striking, Simeon challenge is found in the three simple words at the beginning of verse 28. This stunning, strange and wildly thought-provoking spiritual moment happened because, first and foremost, Simeon was there. He was there at the Temple to meet the Holy Family as they arrived that day.

He was there. Those three little words may not seem profoundly significant, but please consider what brought Simeon there that day. Simeon was there because he was a righteous and devout man, verse 25 says. He was there because he was eagerly waiting for His Messiah to come. He was looking for Jesus! He was there because the Holy Spirit was upon him; so profoundly that somehow Simeon knew God would grant him the privilege of seeing the Messiah before he died, says verse 26. He was there because verse 27 says the Holy Spirit led him there; he wasn’t simply filled by the Spirit, he was led by the Spirit. There is a mountain of reflection and spiritual challenge behind these three pregnant words – Simeon was there.

Where are you today? Where is your righteousness and devotion taking you? What great spiritual secrets is God able to give you the inside scoop on because of the fullness of the Holy Spirit inside you? What Messiah are you truly waiting for? What salvation are you hoping to receive? Where is the Spirit leading you today? Are you standing on the steps of the Temple or are you standing somewhere else entirely? Simeon was there – where are you?

Folks, I’m sure we’ve all heard many versions of the same old expression: all decisions are made by those who show up. History is made by those who show up. The whole world is run by those who show up. This isn’t exaggeration. Where we find ourselves standing, where we show up in this world, determines much about what we do in the world. And where we’re standing isn’t an accident. We will not ever stand in the Temple as Simeon did by accident.

So where are you standing today? What temple steps are you planning to enjoy? All the rest of Simeon’s story, all the rest of our story, flows from these first thoughts…

Simeon Was Satisfied

The second striking, Simeon challenge is found in the happy words of verse 29: “Lord, let your servant die in peace, as you have promised, because I have now seen your salvation.” Oh dear Father, I am satisfied enough at this moment to die and be content. I am satisfied!

This section of the passage actually came to be known in church history as the third great hymn of the birth narrative of Christ. It used to be called the Nunc dimittis (“now dismiss”), from the first words of the Latin translation. It is the singing satisfaction of Simeon – now dismiss your servant in peace, dear Lord, because I am satisfied.

How satisfied are we? While we “still haven’t found what we’re looking for” as U2 sang years ago, in many ways we have all found exactly what we’re looking for. We have not yet fully experienced Jesus, but we certainly know him as well or better than Simeon here did.

So how satisfied are we today? Are we truly able to join in these “nunc dimittis” songs of Simeon or are we so twisted and damaged by the obsessions, desires and definitions this world gives us of this life we will never be satisfied? Is Jesus honestly enough for us? Have we truly learned, as the Apostle Paul said so beautifully in his letter to the Philippians, the secret of being content in any and all situations? Do we truly believe we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength? How would…no, how will our experience of God be different if and when God inevitably changes our circumstances? If the world economy sinks even deeper into the tank, will you still be satisfied in Jesus? If your toys break, your relationships are strained, your boss get crabby, if you, as so many of our dear friends here at Elim have in recent months lose that person who makes you happy and satisfies you – if all those favorite, sweet sources of happiness and satisfaction in your life disappear in one way or another, will you still be satisfied to find yourself holding nothing but Jesus in your arms?

My goodness, how this Simeon moment utterly exposes me! I have come to profoundly believe my irresistible satisfaction in Christ is supposed to be possibly the most infectious thing about me and yet, I am so very frequently a crabby, dissatisfied wretch. “Nunc dimittis” to all that junk! I have already found exactly what I’m looking for! This Jesus I hold in my arms, this Jesus who holds me in His arms must be enough for me just as He was for Simeon!

You may have heard the wonderful story Erwin Lutzer told years ago in old Preaching Today sermon. It seems a man walked into a mental institution one day and was taken on a tour. On the tour, he saw a man was beating his head against the padded walls of his room. The man kept saying, “Linda, how could you do it? Linda, how could you do it?” The guide explained that the man was in love with a woman named Linda, and when Linda jilted him, he drifted off into the ozone. He just couldn't handle it. But then they went on to the next cell, and there was an equally upset man inside muttering to himself, “Linda, Linda, how could this happen? Linda, Linda.” The visitor said, “Well now, who's this guy?” The guide responded, “That’s the man who married Linda.”

Folks, if we’re looking anywhere at all for our satisfaction in life other than Jesus, we’re just crazy. Sooner or later, one way or another, we’re inevitably going to find ourselves trapped and in pain with a broken and absolutely dissatisfied heart. So be satisfied in Jesus.

Simeon Was Prophesying

And that leads us to the blessed third and final Simeon challenge in this passage. Here’s where the fortune cookies really come slamming back into the story. Simeon was there that day; his godly life led him to exactly the right place and the right time. Simeon was satisfied that day because he found his Jesus that day. And at the end of everything, Simeon ended up prophesying that day. It was Simeon ready to speak truth to the Temple and to world that day.

But do you notice the precise nature of the prophecy this great man of God shared with the world that day? This isn’t cuddly, meandering, politically correct fortune cookie advice; a friendly little bit of sugar to chase down the egg rolls. This is bombastic, unexpected prophecy! This is disturbing and divisive talk! This is painful, pointed and powerful truth! I wonder how many times we have read this familiar story and failed to notice what Simeon actually says.

Simeon boldly declares that this baby Jesus will be salvation “for all people, a light to reveal God to the nations.” This baby is a sign from God. This baby will be a glory to Israel and bring joy to many people. Wow! This stuff is stunning. This baby hasn’t even preached a sermon, done a miracle, healed the sick or fed the hungry yet. What are you saying, Simeon?

Yet Simeon also turns to Mary and Joseph and “blesses” them by telling them that this baby will cause many to fall in Israel. What? Wait a minute, Simeon! What sort of good news is that? Who wants that sort of news in their cookie after lunch? But Simeon goes on to say “many will oppose him.” He says this child will expose the deepest thoughts in our hearts. He says this child will cause a sword to pierce your very soul.

Simeon prophesied. Simeon spoke truth into the world. Simeon sugarcoated nothing.

Folks, this world does not need another cuddly preacher or sugary fortune cookie. This stunning gospel prophecy is categorically not “one size fits all.” What was it Jesus said back there in Matthew 10:34? “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” This baby will be the downfall of many! This baby will expose us all for exactly what we are! This baby is the ultimate line in the sand! Please believe me when I say adamantly that this world does not need for us to tell its itching ears whatever they wish to hear. All roads categorically do not lead home. This world does not need some silly, high priced Balaam to walk into its halls of power and speak whatever lies he is paid to speak. This world doesn’t need yet another trivial, aspirin solution for its cancerous condition.

This world needs Simeon, standing ready in the temple, satisfied in Jesus, speaking boy God’s joyous and also sometimes very painful truth to a dissatisfied, scared and dying world.

This baby Jesus came into the world to bring us joy, life and satisfaction. But it is only by standing ready in the temple and seeking our satisfaction in Jesus that we will ever be able to share the truth of these things with the world.

If you came here this morning broken, hopeless and dissatisfied with the world and your place in this world, I prophesy to you this morning that this baby can bring you what you need most. Listen to what Simeon is saying to you! Regardless of how we came here this morning, I beg you to listen to what Simeon is saying to us. There is only one way home. There is only one source of satisfaction. There is only one truth worth prophesying and embracing.

May the LORD raise up Simeons in this place! May we find ourselves with a positively Simeon sort of “nunc dimittis” satisfaction in Jesus! And may we give up on all the shallow, fortune cookie junk and speak only the wonderfully raw truth of God to the world around us!

Amen.

Those Risky Swedes

“Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
~ Matthew 28:18-20

I had an interesting moment at the Minnesota Baptist Conference (MBC) office yesterday. I was up there taking my friend Rob Boyd to lunch and the office manager stopped me as I went by her door. It seems an elderly woman donated some historic books to the MBC and one of them contained extensive information about Elim Church. It was a 25th Anniversary history book discussing the years 1888 – 1913. She thought we should see it before it was donated to the BGC History Center at Bethel University. I brought the book back to the church and showed it to Nancy. She recognized it immediately and pointed out the unique partially Swedish, partially English character of the book. Then she drew my attention to the following passage…

The Willing Workers Society was organized in February, 1901, by a group of younger members of the Elim Church, who were filled with a sincere desire to do something for their Master. After much deliberation, it was decided that the word of the Master, “Go ye into all the world” – applied to all time and that there still were many who hand not hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. At this time, Dr. Frank Peterson submitted a proposition to us, in which he suggest that we take upon ourselves the support of one of three native missionaries in Burma.

The passage then goes on to excitedly detail the work this group did. But then the passage takes a different and far drearier turn.

After a time, however, an opposition developed among the older people of the church, the chief argument against the society being the use of English at our meetings. The feeling that there was no room for the society grew and as there was no pleasure in continuing to a work which did not meet with the approval of the church, the meetings were finally discontinued and the work dropped.
Friendship formed among that band of Willing Workers, however, has not died, but has grown stronger with the years, and recollections of the happy days when we imagined that we were winning at least a part of the world for the Master often brings a smile to the lips or a tear to the eye. Perhaps what we did in our youth and ignorance was not altogether in vain after all. Who can tell?

It is easy to look back through the rose-colored lenses of history and feel amusement at difficult church struggles over moving away from Swedish in the congregation. But I wonder what people will be saying about our struggles fifty or a hundred years from now, should the LORD tarry? What will cause our grandkids to chuckle and point fingers?

This fellowship has taken a fairly stunning number of risks in just the last decade. We are intentionally reaching out to homeless and poor friends in our neighborhood. We are making space in our building and time in our schedules to provide clothing for the poor, food and friendship. We took a big risk last year and committed very intentionally to improving our student ministry efforts. And you should all know that, through Pastor Mayme’s efforts, we have won a grant from the Youthworks Foundation to become their pilot program location for studying inner city youth ministry. Among other things, this gives us $12,000 to hire a part-time student ministry intern to work alongside Mayme to multiply her efforts even further. Pretty cool, huh? This is a church where things are always tough, but things are always happening! We take risks here. We are working hard to keep an affordable preschool program running. We have opened our doors to many other groups, most recently the Abbey Way and Tree of Life congregations. We have not settled for the easy path. This church has been very intentional about trying to be “an oasis in the city” as we believe God is calling us to be.

But now, interestingly enough, in addition to all this other stuff, Almighty God has given us sort of a second-chance opportunity to revisit a sticky ministry language issue a century after some young folks felt Elim Church stifled their missionary efforts…

Pastor Joel Ramirez, the MBC Director of Hispanic Ministries, has made a proposal to myself, the Leadership Team and our pastoral staff to help us begin a work among Hispanics here in our neighborhood. This work will start very small – a weeknight language class and small Bible study. Pastor Joel, who is a seasoned Hispanic church planting expert, is so excited about the potential of our location, he is willing to lead the effort here personally even while his support will initially come from other places.. How cool is that?

Additionally, I have also been asked to chair the MBC’s Hispanic Ministries Action Committee, which seeks to direct and coordinate the Hispanic ministries of the conference all across Minnesota and, very soon, the Iowa district we’re merging together with. Frankly, this request makes Monica and I chuckle a bit, since my ministry experience in this area is currently limited to marrying a cute and feisty dictionary! But we believe God might well be in this thing…

Does Elim Church continue to believe “go ye into all the world” still applies? Do we honestly believe that challenge includes Hispanic friends and neighbors right here in Northeast? I know we do.

So I propose we rewrite history. I propose we continue to work together so that, years from now, people will be amazed at our spiritual sensitivity and not our silly stubbornness. I challenge all of us to pray about yet another opportunity God seems to be putting on our plate. As always, there are details to be worked out and questions to be answered. But we believe Almighty God continues to move in Elim Church.

You each have an important place in this church. This is not a church where we can content ourselves with a few of the people doing a majority of the work. Even though we already have a disproportionately large number of people actively engaged in one ministry or another, we need to push ourselves even further. There is a place here at Elim for every single one of us to do our little part. If we do that, who knows what people will say of us a hundred years from now!

Bless you Elim Church! May God show us all how to handle the blizzard He is walking us into!

Amen.

Gleaning From Greatness (Ruth)

In the long genealogical record of Jesus at the beginning of Matthew, we find mention of a simple, wonderful woman named Ruth. After Boaz is named, whose mother was Rahab, some sort of prostitute, we find his son Obed, whose mother was Ruth from the morally tainted tribe of Moab. Strange people to find in the family tree of the Son of God, don’t you think?

The world into which these characters were born was a truly wicked and broken place. The great victories of General Joshua, rooting out evil corruption and conquering the Promised Land, had been followed by a stark period of decline to the point where, by the time of the Judges and our sweet, little story today, the faith of the Hebrew people was extremely weak and their conduct very sinful. This was a time of darkness and great faithlessness in Judah.

It is also important to remember the position of the Moabites at this moment in Jewish history. The Moabites, as we are told in Genesis 19, were the result of an incestuous coupling between Lot and his daughters. They began badly and got worse. The Moabites were such a wicked people, as a matter of fact, Deuteronomy 23:3 says: "No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation." The Hebrew people were not to associate with them and regularly went to war against them. Hebrew women were not to marry Moabite men. Yet our Ruth, even though she was a Moabite woman, was not only recognized and blessed by God for her virtue but she was honored to be included in the very genealogy of Christ himself! God blesses who he wishes to bless!

Another background detail which must be understood is the absolutely destitute status of a widowed woman in the ancient world. In a world where no Social Security, welfare, or any other benevolent programs would come to their rescue, family connections meant everything. A woman without children was thought to be cursed by God and a woman without either children or a husband was in an even more desperate situation. So we can only imagine the social position of a Moabite woman, with no children and no husband living in enemy territory!

How even more wonderful it is then to see the glorious truths God reveals to us through her story. Simple Ruth challenges us in all sorts of wonderful, godly ways. It is interesting to note that in the Hebrew Bible, Ruth follows immediately after the book of Proverbs. And since the very last chapter of the book of Proverbs is focused around the theme of a godly woman, a godly wife of good character, some ancient Jewish scholars saw the story of Ruth as a perfect example of what had just been discussed in the book of Proverbs. I agree.

Much as I would love to read the entire book of Ruth to you this morning, it is too long for even me to chance reading in just one sermon. I hope you’ll do so later. While we’ll look closely at a couple passages, I will only summarize the story for us now.

During the dark and evil period of the judges in the history of Israel, a Jewish man named Elimelech and his wife Naomi and two sons moved to the land of the Moabites to escape famine in Judah. The two sons married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. Unfortunately for everyone, Elimelech and both his sons died and left all three women as widows. Naomi, hearing the famine had ended in Judah, decided there was nothing holding her in Moabite country and made plans to return to Judah. After some tears and a soul-searching discussion, Orpah decided to stay home and Ruth determined to stay with Naomi, her mother in law.

When the two women returned to Bethlehem in Judah, they were poor, unprotected and completely vulnerable. Humble Ruth looked at their situation and decided she would go glean the stray grains fallen in the fields behind the harvesters to keep the two from starving. As she was doing this, she was noticed by a wealthy and powerful landowner named Boaz. After being told about humble Ruth and her situation, Boaz blessed the beautiful Ruth and instructed his harvesters to treat her well as a reward for the type of person Ruth obviously was.

But Boaz, as God arranged things, was actually a close relative of Naomi’s and, thereby, a relative now of Ruth’s, Naomi encouraged Ruth to present herself to Boaz as a prospective wife. Ruth obeyed, using strange, humiliating local customs, property law and in accordance with Levitical law, which said the “kinsman” of a dead relative could (and should!) marry that relative’s widow and have children by her in order that the dead relative’s line should continue.

Boaz, apparently an older man, was now even more impressed with Ruth since he felt she could have had a much younger man if she wished. Even though he was impressed with her, however, he insisted that the full letter of the Levitical law be fulfilled and the position of “kinsman-redeemer” be offered to one who was an even closer relative than he himself was.

But after this closer relative declined to redeem Ruth and marry her, Boaz stepped forward and publicly announced to the community he would redeem Ruth. They were married and the previously childless Ruth was blessed with a son to continue the family line. Both Ruth and Naomi are now restored in the community – Naomi finally has her grandson! And in a final dramatic flourish, that son became the grand-father of a little boy named David who grew up to become very important in Jewish history and the family line of Jesus! What a story!

For the next several weeks, as we prayerfully consider the character qualities of six Biblical figures, as we attempt to glean from greatness, I think there are three absolutely godly character qualities modeled in Ruth’s story we would all do well to ponder and apply.

Determination

The first stunning quality is exemplified in the first chapter, verses 8 - 18 where Naomi, understanding the desperate condition she herself is in, tries to convince her two Moabite daughters-in-law to remain in Moab. I believe Naomi loved her two girls so much she couldn’t stand to see them suffer in the way she knew she was about to suffer. Eventually, Orpah decided to return to her gods and her people and remain in Moab. Ruth, on the other hand, chose another route: ‘Look,” said Naomi, ‘‘your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.” But Ruth replied, ‘‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.” When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Naomi stopped trying to turn Ruth back because she realized Ruth was determined to go with her. That is the first quality of Ruth in this story I find so attractive: determination. Ruth made a decision and she stuck to it. She decided Naomi’s way and Naomi’s God was the way to go and she was going to go in that direction regardless of the cost she had to pay. How much easier it would have been for her to stay near her people where she would have had a much better chance at finding another husband and another life. But she didn’t do that; she recognized something better than the Moabite way and she went for it with both fists!

What kind of determination do we have this morning to go God’s way? Do we allow the well-intentioned prodding of others to deter us from God’s path for us or do we say, like Ruth in this story, “where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay!” Do we allow the “rational” and the “reasonable” to prevent us from experiencing God’s best for our lives? Or do we grab on to God with both fists and determine to follow Him no matter what? Ruth was determined!

Bob Welch told the story years ago of his son in a baseball game who was supposedly hit by a pitch and given a free walk to first base. His boy turned to the umpire and said, “But sir, the ball didn’t hit me.” The umpire argued with the boy for a moment, but the boy was determined to do the right thing. Finally the umpire said, “Alright, play ball.” On the very next pitch, the boy rapped a hard double into center field off a blistering fast ball. A man sitting on the bleachers next to Bob Welch, not knowing the boy was Bob’s son, spit out a mouthful of sunflowers seeds and very excitedly said, “Man, you just gotta love that kid!” Yes indeed!

How fully determined are we to go God’s way? Ruth was determined.

Loyalty

Another intriguing quality is the loyalty all three of the main characters display. When Naomi tried to dissuade Ruth from coming back to Judah with her, Orpah kissed Naomi good-bye. But Ruth didn’t; Ruth remained loyal to her older mother-in-law. And Naomi, upon her return to Judah with a Moabite woman in tow, certainly must have had to deal with pressure to disassociate herself, as a good Jewess, from this tainted Moabite woman. But she didn’t; she remained loyal to this girl that had been loyal to her. And Boaz, the knight in shining armor of the story, even though it appears obvious he loved Ruth, still remained loyal to the Levitical laws under which they all lived and risked losing this girl he loved because of that loyalty. And Boaz again, instead of showing any shame or hesitation about marrying this tainted Moabite widow, expressed his loyalty and his love for her by apparently making his marriage as public as possible. Over and over again in this story, we see loyalty in the face of terrible pressure.

What a convicting message in a selfish and disloyal time. What is loyalty anyway? I suspect our culture is fast losing all comprehension of what the word “loyalty” even means. I believe God stands above our culture this morning and asks how loyal we are to anything! How loyal are we to our employers or employees? How about our neighbors or political leaders? How loyal are we to our community and country? And how about our deeper loyalties?

How loyal are we to God? How loyal are we in our marriages or other relationships? How loyal are we to our friends? How loyal are we to our children? What sacrifices will we make to see our children and grandchildren grow up as men and women of God in this crazy culture? How loyal are we to our churches, pastors, leaders and missionaries? How much damage is done to the church of Jesus Christ by the frequent disloyalty of its members? The story of Ruth establishes a beautiful standard of loyalty we would all do well to ponder.

Hard-Working

A third and final outstanding characteristic of Ruth is found in several places. In addition to her determination and loyalty, our sweet Ruth was also a hard-worker. When Boaz was first discussing with his headman who this new woman in his field was, we see a very interesting and complimentary comment about Ruth. Look at verse 6 of chapter 2: “The foreman replied, ‘‘She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”

Because the Hebrew phrase used here varies depending on which Hebrew text is used in translation, some Bibles have a slightly different translation. The NRSV and the King James say that she worked steadily in the field from morning till now “without even” a break in the shelter. In any event, it is clear from this passage and others, Ruth was a very hard worker.

I find it also interesting to note that Ruth was not only hard-working, but she was hard working even though what she was doing could not be more humiliating. She had sunk from being a normal Moabite wife to the role of outcast beggar, the lowest of the low, picking up scraps and leftovers in a dangerous field. How could anyone possibly get excited about that kind of work? How could anyone want to work hard doing something like that? But Ruth did!

I believe God asks us this morning how our often menial work glorifies Him. Can our co-workers and superiors look at us and recognize we are Christians by our hard work? Or do we work hard only when we clearly see the great paycheck or “golden carrot” on the stick in front of us? Do we work hard even when our tasks are anonymous or humiliating? Do we work hard when circumstance forces us into a position we don’t prefer? God calls each of us to remember this morning that our hard work always matters. Our sweet Ruth was a worker.

As we leave this morning, as we go home and read this simple story of Ruth, I believe God is calling each of us through this text to new levels of determination and commitment to Him. I believe God is calling us to explore what it means to be loyal to Him, to our spouses and children, to our friends, to our churches, to our employers and our employees. And I believe God is calling each of us to sink our hands deeply into whatever work God has given each of us to do, whatever kind of work that might be – to do all things to the glory of God.

And we are to do all this because who knows what place God might have for us in His hall of heroes! Who knows what Boaz might await us along a road paved with determination, loyalty and hard work? May God apply these things to our lives as only He can do!

Amen.

Pray For Jesus!

It has been quite the afternoon! Jesus Flores Flores called me from Chihuahua, Mexico today. He is a friend I made in prison many, many years ago. He called to tell me he had gotten out about a month ago, after about a decade in Minnesota and Texas prisons, and been deported back to Mexico. He is staying at his mother's house while his papers are processed and he can move around the country again.

He thanked me for the sermons each week. Like many men in prison, our weekly mailing was often the only mail he received during his incarceration. Jesus was one of those guys who devoured the sermons and made good use of them with his friends.

He also told me about a church in Juarez, near Porvenir, he is about to pastor. He said "Pastor, it only has four walls, you know." I thought he was being metaphorical, so I pushed for clarification. "No seriously, Pastor. It only has four walls, no windows, roof or doors. We're really going to have to start working from the ground up, you know?" Wow! Okay, so much for metaphor.

So pray for Jesus! The situation in Mexico has grown even more dangerous and terrible, with the worldwide economic situation and the increase in drug-related crime. So pray for Jesus and his four walled church.

Who would have ever thought someone would ask you to pray for Jesus?

Same Kind of Different As Me - Hall & Moore

Well, I finally got around to reading this book everyone has been talking about.

What a wonderful story! A modern-day slave, an international art dealer, and the unlikely woman who bound them together - a homeless man meets a rich couple learning to love Jesus and everyone ends up different because of it.

I won't completely spoil the book for you, but there are several important reasons people must read this book.

First of all, it is yet another great introduction to what it means to be homeless in America. While this is not the intention of the book, it serves this purpose nonetheless.

Secondly, it is a lovely picture of the place of suffering and difficulty in the Christian life. And this treatment of suffering is made even more lovely by the fact that the authors do not give in to the Christian tendency to platitude. Pain is pain, disappointment is disappointment - confusion and anger at God are openly expressed. Yet faith is here.

Third and finally, it is a gorgeous picture of God's ability to transform lives. And not simply lives in obvious need of transformation, but also those lives we superficially consider to be already complete. God has truly chosen the foolish to shame the wise.

Please read this book. And please do so when you have time to let the ripples of this book go deep. This is well worth shutting off the television for an evening...

Sometimes You Just Have To Cry

I don't know who photographer Kirsten Bole is, but her picture seems to fit my afternoon...

A thin man in need came to the church today. He managed to get into the building with a young family that came to visit the preschool office downstairs. He didn't have our access code and shouldn't have gotten into the building that easily. That's not right; I better check on that...

He just needed a bus token and a little help to get back home to South Minneapolis. Apparently, he came up here to visit the food shelf next door, but it was closed when he got here. He was agitated and too aggressively nice, asking to see "the minister, the Pope or whatever you've got here." There was something off about this fellow. I couldn't smell alcohol or anything strange, but he wasn't quite right. Something wasn't working inside. I knew I probably needed to get this guy out of the building sooner rather than later.

We don't typically give cash to anyone, the potential for abuse and problems are just too great. It is almost universally a bad idea. But in this case, I thought the best thing would be to give the guy a little cash for the bus just to get him back home. We did so, he kissed my hand and asked how he could work to repay the money. I told him it wasn't necessary, helping people is what we're here to do. I escorted him to the door and blessed him as we parted. But as I went back in the office, I watched through the office window to make sure he left the building.

He didn't.

He stopped by the door for a moment and his hands came to his face. Then one hand came up to the standpipe, to brace himself, and the other to his eyes and he slumped over. I realized he was crying. I stepped back out of the office and asked him if he was okay and if there was anything else he wanted to talk about. He looked back up the stairs at me and exhaustedly said, "No man, sometimes you just have to cry, you know?"

May God bless this tired, frantic and tearful man. May God grant us wisdom to know how to love the tearful folks around us...

Amen.

Fearless - Max Lucado

I am reading constantly. I am not really content unless I'm reading. As a pastor and happy bookworm, reading is a blessing I believe I have to offer the busy people around me. Some of this reading is profitable and some less so.

But in all the reading I do, there is one sure and certain way to tell a book is connecting with me. After decades of bookwormism, I now have a distinct pattern. Somewhere in the middle of the second chapter, I will put down the book, go get a good pen and a cold Diet Pepsi. Then I plop back down in the easy chair, take a lusty gulp or two of the soda and start making a mess of the book with the pen. If I haven't picked up the pen and the Pepsi by chapter four, chances are good I'm only finishing the book out of duty or because I promised someone I would.

Max Lucado's newest book, Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear got inked up and messy by the second chapter. To be honest, it would have gotten inked up in the first chapter, but I was feeling lazy when I started reading.

This book is wonderful not because it is particularly novel or inventive. It really isn't. It is wonderful because it is a comfortable, favorite old Sunday shirt freshly laundered and pressed. It is an old friend reminding us of all those things we know to be true at just the very moment we most need to be reminded.

Lucado's faithful, meticulous use of Scripture, familiar use of stories, and colorful prose always make for an encouraging read. True to Lucado form, there is almost always a tiny biblical insight that might possibly stretch the text a little, but not enough to negate the value of the application Lucado draws from it. For example, at one point Lucado is discussing Jesus' mention of five sparrows sold for two pennies. He says that price works out to two sparrows sold for a penny and a fifth tossed in for free. He then draws a lovely metaphor around that freebie fifth sparrow. He says,"Society still has its share of fifth sparrows: indistinct souls who feel dispensible, disposable, worth less than a penny." Lucado says God doesn't want us to feel that way. God wants us to fearlessly understand how valuable and remembered we are. This is such a lovely discussion, Max! While Jesus may well not have been thinking specifically of this "fifth sparrow" stuff when he spoke these words, Lucado's application is still tender, profound and truthful. I'm quite sure Jesus doesn't mind any possible stretching of story...

The whole book reads that way. It is a very nice Sunday afternoon read. Even the dust cover of the book will make you smile and remember "true love casts out fear." Even the dust cover gives us a metaphor to remember and be encouraged.

Thanks for another great afternoon of ink pens and easy chairs, Max!

Sincerely Surprising (Romans 12:9-21)

Monica and I were accosted both by Mormons and Christians on Tuesday evening. We were out for our walk, holding hands and enjoying the gorgeous weather, talking about serious and very important stuff, when two sweaty Mormon boys riding bicycles and dressed like 1955 stopped and tried to engage us in conversation. Not at all interested in their sales pitch, I said, “Hey, fellas, we’re just out for a nice walk in the evening. We’re not interested in talking right now.” But as we continued to walk down the street and get away, they yelled after us, “Be sure to check out Mormon.com! There’s some really great stuff there! It’ll change your life!” Yeah thanks, guys, I’ll be sure to check that out just as soon as I possibly can…

But then, on our return trip down Central, we came across some Christians working the streets. This strange group consisted of one guy singing and accompanying himself on electric guitar while two other guys sat in lawn chairs on the other side of the sidewalk listening to him. And as we walked through this noisy sidewalk Jesus gauntlet between the loud guitar and his two man audience, one of the lawn chair guys leaned forward, without hint of warmth or smile, shoved a business card into my hand and muttered something mostly unintelligible about Jesus.

Eew! I appreciate the intention, but...

On Wednesday I went home to eat lunch with Maria. I had a lot of difficult, important things on my mind and we were talking about stuff together. She had just come from the gym so I challenged her to arm wrestle. I was surprised at her strength. She actually moved my arm a little bit. Then the conversation went back to the serious stuff for a few moments. But before I could say very much more, Maria stopped me in my tracks saying, “I’m sorry, Dad, but I simply must cut your eyebrow hairs!” And she got up, went and got the scissors and told me to sit down in the chair. As she clipped away the offending hairs, returning to our conversation, it suddenly overwhelmed me how very wonderful it is to have people who sincerely love me.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We’ve been talking for the last month about “being the surprise” in the lives of others around us. We’ve been pondering what it means to truly love and be useful in the world. And yet I wonder how many of us have yet grasped that this conversation is less about what we do in the world than what we are in the world. Do we get that? Doing good in the world is good, but being good in the world is what will ultimately change the world. This experiment isn’t just about finding some good things to do – it is about finding something good to sincerely be.

When the Apostle Paul shared what he did about sincere love in the Romans 12 passage I just read, he sandwiched his rambling sincere love thoughts between an encouragement to present ourselves as living sacrifices and a blunt call to submit ourselves to the authorities God places over us – in Paul’s day that meant submission to some very bad people. Paul shares this glowing stuff about loving sincerely as the meaty center of a sacrificial, submissive sandwich. And I study this passage; I am forced to ask myself how truly ready I am to eat this lunch? Do we really understand the stunningly sincere sort of love Paul is describing? Paul isn’t talking about a kind of love we need to aggressively market to disinterested strangers on the street. Sincere love doesn’t need a marketing plan. Paul isn’t describing a love we need to smartly strategize how to sell. Paul is describing a sincere, miraculous sort of love that sells itself.

Don’t just talk about love. Don’t just argue for Jesus. Don’t just market your brand.

Love people! Sincerely love people! This is our high calling and working hypothesis… As I read and study this passage, it almost seems the Apostle Paul understands most people don’t see the difference between love as an idealistic principle and love as behavioral reality. Paul wants his friends to understand love is something we live, not something we simply talk about. Love people! As impossible and difficult as that often is, we must sincerely love people.

Be holy. Understand your Heavenly Father and His ways so well you will come to hate what is worthy of hatred and cling to whatever is good. Love is fully holy – both hating evil and loving good. Make no shallow mistakes about it – there are two sides to the purity of our love. There is stuff we must reject and stuff we must embrace. Sincere love does both.

One of the most disturbing trends I’ve seen in the church in the last thirty years is the tendency of some Christians working so hard to love their enemies, they end up treating their brothers and sisters in Christ like dirt. In the name of “rooting out Pharisees” and the evils of “organized religion,” they bend over backwards to accommodate even the most ludicrous, sinful nonsense from non-believers and then attack their brothers and sisters viciously for even the slightest offense. One of my very favorite Christian authors has fallen so repeatedly into this trap I have a hard time reading his books any more. Sincere love doesn’t behave that way. Sincere love foundationally hates evil and hungrily clings to all the good it can find.

We are devoted to each other. Don’t just talk a good game; really love people. Wash whatever feet you must, trim whatever creepy eyebrows – sincere love is devoted to others.

Honor each other. We’re not supposed to be primarily interested in ourselves. As Rick Warren so beautifully and famously put it, “This thing isn’t about us.” We long to see others honored because we sincerely love them so much. We are in the business of raising people up.

Be zealous for God. Don’t expect others to keep your spiritual life burning hot. Don’t depend on some pastor or Christian author to lead you to the throne. Fan into flame the gifts given you. Love God sincerely, zealously hungry to serve Him however He allows us to serve.

Be joyous. The world doesn’t need yet another whiny, grouchy cynic. Any idiot can see all the bad things there are in the world around us to whine and complain about. It doesn’t take much intelligence at all to point out all the “true but useless” realities swimming all around us. We are called to be joyous in our hope – an encouragement to whatever room we enter.

Be patient. This life is going to throw some real curve balls and downright knuckle balls our way. Jesus promised us we would suffer and be treated unfairly from time to time. A servant is not above his master. We have an enemy out to get us. Get over it! Accept the fact that affliction is inevitable. Be patient as our LORD was patient. You are not alone in this stuff.

Be prayerful. Depend on prayer as oxygen in your life. Talk to your Father constantly! We have been given the opportunity to spend time with the LORD of the Universe. Why would we not want to take advantage of that? Your Father loves you and longs to spend time with you. Your Father carries your picture in his wallet – sincere love enjoys talking with God.

And for goodness sake, share your stuff! This should go without saying. This world is absolutely not our home and all these wonderful toys are not ours to keep. Sincere love always expresses itself in lavish generosity, towards other believers in particular. The very idea we would be selfish or greedy while others are in need is incomprehensible to a sincerely loving person. Sincere love doesn’t sanctimoniously wait for the government or someone else to take care of neighbors next door. Sincere love isn’t about spending someone else’s money on a need – it is about giving of what God has given me, pressed down, shaken and flowing over.

We are hospitable people. Sincere love makes a home available to others. Sincere love longs to make people feel loved and welcome in its life. Sincere love doesn’t just generously give money and possessions away. Sincere love happily opens the doors of its home to others. Everyone is an honored guest in the life and home of the sincerely loving person.

We are a blessing people. This is the most challenging and difficult I suspect. Sincere love means we genuinely long to bless others, even those who refuse to bless and perhaps even curse us; those who drive us crazy! This is love impossible to manufacture on our own. Sincere love longs good for others, even the bad others. Only God can give us love like this.

Sincere love is sympathetic. Sincere love rejoices with those who rejoice and mourns with those who mourn. We are partying in the good times and sitting down in the dirt with Job when the wolves consume in the bad times. We are with people in the way Jesus was with us.

Sincere love is harmonious. While sincere love may well not often sing the same tired notes the world is singing, it does all it can to sing in harmony.

Sincere love is humble. It does not push itself or draw attention to itself. Love realizes the greatest among us must be the servants of all. Love is hungrier to learn than teach. Love humbly sees the value in all the little things and all the little people. Sincere love sees itself as absolutely one of the little people. Sincere love is humble.

It is forgiving. When we are moving in the sincere love of Jesus, we never forget all we ourselves have been forgiven and so we are always the first to forgive the sins of others. The sincere love of Christ has a very short memory for the wrongs done unto it. It forgives.

It is peaceable. When we sincerely love others in all these other ways, we naturally become a peacemaking influence in the world around us. Our very presence brings peace. Sincere love is not in the fight-picking business – such an attitude is anathema. It is peaceable.

And at the end of the day and at the end of Paul’s long rambling love list, sincere love overcomes. Sincere love overcomes the world around with love. It doesn’t seek to win with votes, money, might, slick wisdom, marketing savvy or brute power. Sincere love overcomes when hate, selfishness, sin and evil can simply no longer stand in love’s warm presence. It overcomes as light overcomes the darkness. Love enters the room and darkness just flees.

Wow! When was the last time somebody sincerely loved you? When was the last time you sincerely loved somebody else? And even more importantly, how in the world do any of us think we will ever become sincere lovers like this without God’s constant help? There is scarcely a day that passes in which I do not fail miserably, in each and every one of these ways, in my efforts to sincerely love. This miraculously sincere love Paul is describing is a love that will constantly surprise the world because this is a love the world simply cannot manufacture.

In Matthew 24:12, when Jesus was describing how people were going to be at the end of time, he said, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.” As this world moves closer and closer toward the painful birth pangs of the end, sincere love is going to be a rare and surprising commodity indeed. When the reasons to hate become easy to see and all too easy to embrace, sincere love will be harder and harder to come by; harder and harder to find in our hearts. It will never get any easier to sincerely love others than right now.

Yesterday, some high school and college friends of mine went to the State Fair together. I couldn’t go this year because of a funeral I had to officiate up in Ely, but the State Fair has become an annual, greasy, corn dogs in Mecca pilgrimage for the rest of these old friends. On Wednesday, as the coordinating emails were flying around, my friend Tom sent the following email to the group: “My friend & co-worker Gary will be joining us, if there are no objections. And if there are objections, well then he will be accidentally running into us at the Fair. As for when we are meeting, does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?”

I laughed at his friendly, humorous, utterly presumptuous little note, but it also warmed my heart to glimpse the simple, genuine flickers of sincere love and friendship there. Love behaves that way. Love is unguarded. Love presumes stuff. Love knows others are always welcome to the party. Love knows all the little inside jokes and favorite song lyrics because love really gets to know people. Love is always chuckling a little as it wanders through life…

May God help us love sincerely. May the pure sincerity of our love surprise even we ourselves! May our love sell itself! May Elim Church be a place where sincere love overflows!

Amen.

A Surprisingly Golden Life – John 15:1-17

In 1983, Francis Ford Coppola produced a coming of age movie called “The Outsiders.” It was a movie, based on S.E. Hinton’s book, about some boys growing up on the outskirts of society - not looking for a fight, just looking to belong. I don’t remember much about the movie, but I have never forgotten one of its most enduring and lovely themes – stay gold. Stay innocent. Stay excited, optimistic and engaged with life. Stay young, stay fresh. Stay gold in spite of all the truly crummy things we’ve already been through; stay golden in spite of all the stuff this world will inevitably throw at you. Stay gold! I love the Stevie Wonder theme...

Seize upon the moment long ago
One breath away and there you will be
So young and carefree again you will see
That place in time...so gold

Steal away into that way back when
You thought that all would last forever
But like the weather nothing can ever
and be in time…stay gold

But can it be when we can see
So vividly a memory
And yes you say
So must the day too, fade away
And leave a ray of sun - so gold

Life is but a twinkling of an eye
Yet filled with sorrow and compassion
Though not imagined
All things that happen will age too old
Though gold

Stay gold, Ponyboy; stay gold!

Is that possible? Is it possible to stay young, to stay fresh, to stay optimistic and engaged with the world in spite of everything that comes our way? Or is all this just a nice, dreamy song in a movie – just a sweet memory we learn to politely chase until the sun behind our eyes finally goes dim and we can’t chase anything anymore?

Toward the end of Jesus earthly ministry, he took his disciples aside to share some truly “stay gold” instructions with them. The disciples were confused by much of what Jesus was telling them and, in just a few days, they were about to be traumatized in a way they weren’t ready for. And so Jesus sought to prepare them. He comforted them, he reminded them to follow only him, he promised them the Holy Spirit and then, in John 15, he explained to them how to stay gold – how to stay fresh, powerful and engaged with life come whatever may.

We’ve been talking about “being the surprise” in the world around us – how might God use us as instruments of peace, joy and hope in a world with precious little of all three. And yet if we have any hope at all of doing so, if we have any hope at all of being useful in the world, we must ourselves first remain golden. We must remain connected. Listen to Jesus…

I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.
I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.

If any of us long to “stay golden,” Jesus has a simple, one point sermon for us all this morning. Remain in me and I will remain in you - stay connected and I will stay connected. We stay golden and wonderfully surprising in the world around us when we stay connected to Jesus, the one true vine. And if we do that, we’ll see five wonderfully golden things in our lives.

The Power

We’ll see power operating in and through us beyond all we can ask or imagine. Jesus says we will ask whatever we wish and it will be given to us. We will start getting what we ask for simply because, slowly but surely, we will only ask for what we know God wants to give us. If we are connected to the Vine, we’re supposed to be seeing power. There is supposed to be stuff happening through our lives we can’t explain but for the power of God.

The Fruit

We’ll see fruit growing everywhere. While every tree and its branches go through varied seasons of fruitfulness, if we’re connected to the apple tree, sooner or later, we will see apples hanging from our lives. We will bring fruit to the world and to ourselves. Fruit just happens!

The Love

And if we’re connected to the Lover of all souls, we will know and happily share with others the love of that Lover. We will love others, not only because we’re commanded to love (as Jesus clearly does here), but because, increasingly, it will be in our nature to love. We will not be able to stop loving others around us, because God’s golden love will be constantly flowing into us. Slowly but surely, almost inevitably, we will love as we have been loved.

The Obedience

We will be obedient. As we remain in the Vine, we will do what we know we are supposed to do. We won’t argue or look to sneak around the rules. We will demonstrate our golden connection to Jesus by studying and doing whatever it seems Jesus would have us do. We will be absolutely and ravenously hungry to obey. We will be known not only by our love, but by our stunning, joyous obedience! Our obedience will lead us to joy. We will increasingly discover obedience is not only morally correct, it is always the very best, most joyous, most carefree and absolutely golden way to live. Obedience is the golden way to live.

The Friendship

And at the end of the day, we will know truly golden friendship with God. We will fully come to understand what it means that we have not been treated as slaves and servants, but as friends of God. We will understand more and more of what God is doing in the world around us because God will be able to trust us with more and more. He has not treated us as our sins deserve – he has called us friends. We will enjoy this golden friendship and quite naturally introduce others into this friendship as well. We will know true friendship with God – we will once again find ourselves walking through the Garden with him in the cool of the day!

This morning as I was preparing for my Sunday School class, I couldn’t get the projection system to work. Since my class was very important and very content heavy, I really needed that system. I rebooted the computer, I reinstalled the file – I did all sorts of things. Finally, as I was using the function keys to see where the images were being sent, my laptop told me “no external display found.” It was only then I discovered the projection system cable was not connected to the laptop. Duh!

We can’t accomplish anything in this world on our own. Apart from him, we can do nothing! Apart from him, we are dry and dead branches destined only for the fire. And as for surprise, well…I suspect there is nothing less surprising or useful in this world than dull religiosity and disconnected church folks. So stay golden, Elim! Stay young, stay fresh, stay connected! Remain in him and he will remain in you.

You all know I love teaching. I love studying and sharing whatever I learn with others. I have a thing for books and solitude that might not even be healthy – I love connecting with people intellectually and academically. As much as I adore and find value in my study, what we all need most this morning is not something all my books are ever going to give us. We need gold that only God can give. We need gold refined in the fire – true vine gold that will not fade or disappear. We need gold with surprising staying power.

May God meet us in our weakness and reconnect with each one of us in lovely ways.

Amen.