Living our Best Life

September 1, 2019 Hebrews 13:1-8,15-16 12th Sunday after Pentecost Year C Living Our Best Life Object: If you can find one, a ladybug. If not, a piece of fruit happiness into another person's life. Good morning, boys and girls. I brought this piece of fruit with me not because I want you to think about fruit, but because I want you to think about ladybugs. "œLadybug, ladybug, fly away home!" we say in the little rhyme. But we better know that ladybugs don't heed that advice. Ladybugs were imported to this country because they destroy pests that can kill fruit trees. They also protect other crops, like alfalfa. They're tiny little insects. You can cram 70,000 ladybugs into a gallon container. But without them, we would be in trouble. Who would think that such a small and seemingly gentle creature could be so important to us? They are like tiny angels watching over the food we eat. Looking at ladybugs we would never think of them being so important to us. But they are. Sometimes we look at other people and we don't see anything important about them either, but they are. The Bible tells us that other people can be like angels to us. They can bring good things into our lives and we can bring good things into theirs. Hey, that means we can be angels too. Everyone is a potential angel when they do their best to bring happiness into another person’s life. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Hebrews 13:1-8 The Message (MSG) Jesus Doesn’t Change 13 1-4 Stay on good terms with each other, held together by love. Be ready with a meal or a bed when it’s needed. Why, some have extended hospitality to angels without ever knowing it! Regard prisoners as if you were in prison with them. Look on victims of abuse as if what happened to them had happened to you. Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between wife and husband. God draws a firm line against casual and illicit sex. 5-6 Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,” we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I’m fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me? 7-8 Appreciate your pastoral leaders who gave you the Word of God. Take a good look at the way they live, and let their faithfulness instruct you, as well as their truthfulness. There should be a consistency that runs through us all. For Jesus doesn’t change—yesterday, today, tomorrow, he’s always totally himself. The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson Hebrews 13:15-16 The Message (MSG) 13-15 So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let’s take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus’ name. 16 Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson Do you believe in angels? What do angels look like anyway. There was a fascinating story in Time magazine sometime back about Melissa Deal Forth, 40, a film maker in Atlanta. It was about the day her husband Chris Deal died. It was exactly one year after he had been diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. The last months had been gruesome: treatments that could not save him, nights when she could not sleep. But Melissa was sleeping soundly at his hospital bedside on the morning of Jan. 4 when Chris managed, somehow, without being seen or heard, to maneuver himself and his portable IV pole around her, out of the room and past the nurse's station with its 360-degrees view of the ward. All Melissa remembers is being shaken awake at 3:00 a.m. by a frantic nurse who was saying something about not being able to find Chris. Melissa hit the floor running. As she approached the elevator she happened to glance toward the chapel, where she glimpsed Chris sitting with a man she had never seen before. Frightened and furious, she burst through the door, firing off questions. "œWhere have you been? Are you okay?" Chris just smiled. "œIt's fine," he told her, "œI'm all right." His companion remained quiet, his eyes on the floor as though not wanting to be noticed. He was tall, dressed rather like Chris usually did, in a flannel shirt, new Levis and lace-up work boots that appeared as if they, too, had just been taken off the shelf. "œThere was no real age to him," Melissa says. "œNo wrinkles. Just this perfectly smooth and pale, white, white skin and ice blue eyes. I mean I've never seen that color blue on any human before. They were more the blue like some of those Husky dogs have. I'll never forget the eyes." Chris seemed to want to be left alone, and so she reluctantly agreed to leave. When he came back to his room, she says, "œHe was lit up, just vibrant. Smiling. I could see his big dimples. I hadn't seen them in so long. He didn't have the air of a terminally ill and very weak man anymore." "œWho was that guy?" she asked. "œYou're not going to believe me," Chris said. "œYes, I will," she answered. "œHe was an angel," Chris said. "œMy guardian angel." Melissa did believe him. "œAll I had to do was to look at him," she says now, "œto know something extraordinary, something supernatural had happened." She searched the hospital to find the man. There was no one around, and the security guards hadn't seen anyone come or go. "œAfter the visit, Chris told me his prayers had been answered," she says. "œI worried for a while that he thought the angel had cured his cancer. I realize now it wasn't the cure, it was the blessing he brought with him. It was the peace of mind." Chris died two days later. In the 11 years since Chris's death, Melissa says not a day has gone by when she has not thought about the angel and what he did for her husband. "œChris' life could not be saved, but the fear and pain were taken from him," she says. "œI know what I saw, and I know it changes lives. Never, never, never will anyone be able to convince me that angels don't exist." (1) The word angel – means messenger. Someone sent by God to give us a message. I believe that angels come to us in all forms. My favorite kind of angels are living breathing angels that God sends to us in the form of friends. God always sends people into our lives to help us out. Ancient people were always on the look out for angels to come to them. They loved strangers knocking at their door, they believed they were from God. When our scripture says to be on the lookout for angels, he is referencing a story in the Hebrew bible where three strangers come to the tent of Abraham and sarah – Abraham is so excited to see them he offers them hospitality and asks for that special message from them before they leave. – they tell them that sarah is going to have her first child. Hebrews message to us to not only believe in angels, but to expect them. But to always be ready to entertain them. As a matter of fact – that is what church is all about. The Church Is Like a Hospital There was a minister who had a favorite slogan that he often repeated in his sermons. He said, "The church is not like a country club; it's more like a hospital." That's what Jesus was saying here when he gave us the direction, "... do not invite your friends ... or your rich neighbors ... invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind...." You and I are not in the church to impress one another or to win power struggles; we are here to minister to one another in our weaknesses. We are here to be hospitable. Richard W. Patt, All Stirred Up, CSS Publishing We are not sure of where the book of Hebrews came from, or even who Paul is talking to. But it is a very special book, with a very special message. It tells us who to be, or more important how to be as followers of Christ. Show love to one another, just like family. Philadelphia – brotherly (and sisterly) love – or we can call it mutual love. A space where there is a giving and a take-. Paul point out that we should extend that mutual love to one another, to the world, and even to those who are not out equal. Soup Like Bread and Wine I love Fred Craddock stories and I haven't told you one in a long time. So here goes. A few years back, Fred was invited to lead some kind of preaching mission in Winnipeg (Friday night ... Saturday morning ... Saturday evening ... twice on Sunday ... you know the drill). When he finished Friday night, he noticed that it was spitting snow. His host told him not to worry, given that it was only mid-October. "Good," said Fred, "because all I brought from Atlanta was this little, thin jacket." Fred went to bed. But when he got up the next morning, he couldn't open the door for all the white stuff that was piled against it. Snow driving. Wind howling. Temperature falling. Phone ringing. It was the host calling Fred's motel room. I hate to tell you this, but we're going to have to cancel this morning's session. Can't tell about the evening. But things look pretty bad. Nobody saw this coming. City's not ready. Plows, not ready. Crews, not ready. Nothing's ready. Worse yet, nothing's open. In fact, I'm stuck in my driveway, meaning that I can't come down to fetch you. So I don't know what you are going to do about breakfast. But I do have an idea. If you can make it out of your room, walk down to the corner ... turn right ... go one block ... turn right again ... and you should be standing within shouting distance of the bus station. There's a little cafe in there. And if any place is gonna be open, it's gonna be open. So Fred curses his luck, zips up his jacket, busts out his door, and goes in search of the little cafe. Two rights. Bus station. There it is. Wonder of wonders, it's open. But it's also crowded. It seems as if every stranded soul in the universe is crammed inside. There is no place to sit. But some guy slides down the bench and makes room for Fred to squeeze in. Waiter comes over ... big burly guy ... non-shaven ... wearing half the kitchen on his apron. "Whatcha want?" he snarls. "Can I see a menu?" Fred asks. "Don't need no menu," the waiter answers. "Didn't get no deliveries this morning. All we got is soup." "Well then," says Fred, "soup it is. I like a little breakfast soup from time to time." So the soup comes in a rather tallish mug. Looks awful. Shade of mousey gray.Fred half-wonders if that's what it could be ... cream of mouse. So he doesn't eat it. But he does use the mug as a stove ... cupping his fingers around it ... warming them on it. Which is when the door opens once more. Wind howls. Cold surges. "Shut the blankety-blank door," someone shouts. Lady enters. Thin coat. No hat. Ice crystals in her hair and eyebrows. Maybe 40. Painfully skinny. Men slide over to make room for her at another table. "Whatcha want?" shouts the guy with the greasy apron. "I'll just have a glass of water," she answers. "Look lady," he says. "We're crowded in here. We don't give no glasses of water. Either you order something or you leave." Well, it quickly becomes apparent that she isn't able to buy something. So she rebuttons her coat and commences to leave. Whereupon a funny thing happens. One by one, everybody at her table gets up to leave, too. Followed by others ... at other tables. Even Fred (who still hasn't touched his soup) gets up to leave. "All right ... all right," says the soup master. "She can stay." And he brings her a bowl of soup. With order restored, Fred turns to his table mate and says: "Who is she? She must be somebody important." To which the guy says: "Never saw her before in my life. But I kinda figure if she's not welcome, ain't nobody welcome." Which pretty much settled the matter, to the point where all you could hear (for the next few minutes) were soup spoons clinking against the sides of the mugs. Even Fred broke down and ate his soup. Which wasn't half bad, really. Some might even call it tasty. Later on, he still couldn't make out the taste ... but he felt as if he'd had it before. But what was it? He couldn't remember. For the life of him, he couldn't remember. Then it hit him. Strangest thing, really. That cream of mouse soup tasted, for all the world, like bread and wine. That was it ... for all the world like bread and wine. William A. Ritter, quoting Fred Craddock, Collected Sermons,www.Sermons.com Hospitality has been described as creating space for people. Allowing people to be themselves – to feel comfortable in their own skin, around you. Things happen, people start to get the messages that were intended for them. There is a story of a young school boy who went to a Christian school – who said that he wanted to grow up and to become a minister. – when asked why because in chapel listening to the minister, that was the place that he saw Jesus for the first time. He didn’t remember what he was talking about, or even what the ministers name was – but he god God’s message. So my question to all of us – what type of hospitality do we need to be showing to the world today. This week I am just overwhelmed with all of the things that are going on. All of the people and places that need prayer. All of the people in the world that need a space to call their own. When we show mutual love – we are angels, but we are entertaining angels as well. We need to give them the message of Hebrews. Chapter we puts it all together. We are all God’s children – we need one another. We need to reach out to one another. Cross lines – and be willing to help out. Some of the most memorable lines in the bible are in the book of Hebrews. Entertaining angels. God is the same today yesterday and forever. In an everchanging world- there are 5 things that do no change – God, God’s word, God’s will, God’s love and God’s plan for our lives. People need to know that. That last line of Hebrews – give God the sacirifice of praise. Hebrew religion was of sacrifice animals, then it moved to ritual. But Jesus came to tell us not what we do, but why we do it. Praise is not just what we do together in worship, it is what we do in our lives. How we carry it out in our lives. Come together in love – be minister to. But the message for the world in so much turmoil – never give up on love. Show it to others – more importantly be willing to give it to others in all that we do. Amen.