Different Types of Pray-ers

October 26, 2025 Luke 18:9-14 Different types of pray-ers 20th Sunday after Pentecost Year C Prelude Greetings Call to Worship (inspired by Psalm 65) Leader: From the east and from the west, we come to praise God! People: Today we celebrate the ways God is at work in our world. Leader: From the fields ready for harvest to the majesty of the mountains, People: from the abundance of gentle rains to the blazing color of fall leaves Leader: God crowns the year with good blessings! People: And today we gather to praise God, Creator and Sustainer of life! (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Opening Prayer Bring us to deep silence, God, as we give thanks for the gifts you pour out on us and on all creation. Help us focus on you, and on the ways you sustain us in this life, even as we offer you our praise. AMEN. (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Song Lord I Want to be a Christian UMH 402 A Sermon for all Ages The Problem with Keeping all of the Rules Object: Picture of a camel Good morning, boys and girls. What is this picture I have in my hand? That's right, it's a picture of a camel. Today, I'm going to tell you a story by Rudyard Kipling about the problem of pride and how the camel got its hump. When God first created the earth and all the animals, He gave each of the animals a different job. All of the animals did their work, except the camel. Whenever the other animals asked the camel to do some work, the camel just said, "Humph!" and walked away. Whenever the other animals asked the camel to play with them, the camel just said, "Humph!" and walked away. You see, the camel thought that he was better than all the other animals. He had too much pride. So whenever the other animals talked to the camel, he just said, "Humph!" and walked away. Well, God didn't like for the camel to have so much pride. Because of his pride, the camel was not nice to the other animals. So God put a heavy hump on the camel's back to remind him of the time when he had too much pride and said, "Humph!" to all the animals instead of being nice. Of course, this is just make-believe. That is not really how the camel got its hump, is it? But it makes an important point. Our Bible story today is about two men who go to church to pray. The first man says his prayer very loudly. He acts like he is better than everybody else. He has too much pride. The second man prays quietly and asks God to forgive him of his sins. God listens to the prayer of the second man, because this man is not proud. God wants us to be like the second man. When we go to pray, we shouldn't act like we are better than others, and we shouldn't be a show-off about our religion. God likes us to be humble, and to glorify Him, not ourselves. Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan Call to Reconciliation When we pray to God, do we do so with pride in what wonderful people we are, or with that humble hope which recognizes how we have not lived as God’s children, and how we need God’s forgiveness and grace in our lives? Join me as we pray to our God, saying, (Lectionary Liturgies, Thom Shuman) Unison Prayer for Forgiveness Watching God, like the Pharisee, we think we can stick our thumbs into life, pull out a prayer, and congratulate ourselves for being such good Christians. Then, we remember the harsh words we have spoken this week, the hurt we have inflicted on someone we loved, the lack of compassion we failed to offer to someone who needed our help. Forgive us, God of Grace, and deal gently with us. May we become more like the tax collector - humble, penitent, acknowledging our faulty lives to you. Then, may we receive the mercy promised to us through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. (Lectionary Liturgies, Thom Shuman) Silence is kept Assurance of Pardon Forgiven and healed, we open ourselves to the grace, the peace, the hope offered to us through our loving God. This is the good news we have received! Graced and blessed, we are able to live our lives for others, taking them by the hand to reach that finish line called the Kingdom. Thanks be to God. Amen. (Lectionary Liturgies, Thom Shuman) Passing of the Peace Scripture Luke 18:9-14 Sermon Different types of Pray-ers Are You Really Listening? In his book Directions, author James Hamilton shares this insight about listening to God: "Before refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve their food. Icehouses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the icehouses, and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer. One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn’t find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch. Amazed, the men asked him how he found it. I closed the door,'' the boy replied, “lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.'' Often the question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are being still enough, and quiet enough, to hear. Yes, Jesus assures us that our heavenly Father always listens to us, but do we really listen to God? Do we follow the instructions of Psalm 46, "Be still, and know that I am God"? Eric S. Ritz, The Ritz Collection,www.Sermons.com Prayer is listening for God’s voice in our lives. When we pray we are connecting our lives to the source of all life. Prayer is at the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Discipleship is connecting our lives and the world to the God. Prayer also lies at the heart of the gospel of Luke. Luke is intended to be a training manual for disciples. Luke demonstrates the power of prayer in all 24 chapters, from the birth of Christ to the resurrection – Luke shows the power of prayer, he tells us stories of Jesus praying, he models what prayer looks like, shoe shows ordinary persons praying, and he even shows how God answers prayer. In chapter 18, he gives us examples of three types of prayer in the mouths of three different lay persons. We didn’t look at the first part of chapter 18 – but it is the story of a faithful widow praying for justice and God hears her prayer. Our text for today is about 2 very different men with 2 very different prayers. When our children were small and we were trying to teach them to pray, we had three kinds of prayer: "Please prayers," Thank you prayers," and "Sorry prayers." S. Briscoe, Getting into God, p. 55. So the widow’s prayer was a please prayer, the pharisee’s prayer was a thank you prayer, and the tax collectors prayer was a sorry prayer. Actually in spiritual life there are five kinds of prayer. The five major types of prayer, intercession on behalf of others, adoration, confession, petition and thanksgiving. Luke gives models of all of them.As a matter of fact, there are 3 models of prayer in chapter 18. Last week we heard of the woman persistent in her prayer. – prayers of petition. You could say that the Pharisee was praying a prayer of adoration – even if it was adoration of his own faith. And the tax collector prayed a prayer of confession. Which is a better prayer? Which is better for us to pray? There is no comparison. There are times in our lives when we need to pray all five prayers. The comparison is not with the widow, the Pharisee and the tax collector. The comparison is with Jesus Christ – does the prayer draw us closer to Jesus. Luke gives us an example of all 5 types of prayer and I would encourage you to use them all at some point in your daily life. So when Jesus tells this parable, it is probably not based on a real story – Jesus is just using examples of people that he knows are in the crowd that day. Another major them of Luke is bridging the gap between insiders and outsiders. Jesus wanted to encourage the beloved community to understand those that they didn’t know so that they could open the door of acceptance. Tax collectors would have flocked to Jesus, because they didn’t feel accepted by the community. Tax collectors were nothing like IRS agents of today. They were considered traiters, because they would take money from their own people. Some time it made it to the government, most of the time it did not. They pocketed it. In a crowded room people would have felt uncomfortable around a tax collector. They were outsiders On the other hand, the pharisees were considered the ultimate insider. They were well respected and were looked up to as leaders. The pharisees were haters, they were in the crowd just to stalk Jesus and find something to criticize. Not only were they insiders, they were the authority for who was in, and who was out. When Jesus uses them in his parable, he is actually giving them a compliment. He is helping his followers understand their role in religious society. Pharisees were the first lay leaders – they studied the bible constantly, they did all that they could to support the congregation, they prayed for themselves and for others, they were expected to always go above and beyond. They were supposed to be better than anyone else. When he says thank you God that I am not like the other people, he is actually praying • Pharisee prays Psalm 17:3-5 “If you try my heart, if you visit me by night, if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me; my mouth does not transgress. As for what others do, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.” His prayers are sincere – yet Jesus points out that prayer is not just words, it is also attitude and actions. The pharisees words were close to God, his attitudes and actions were not. Being a better Christian is about connecting to others – reaching out, not looking down on people. C. S. Lewis once said, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you can't see something that's above you." • The tax collector on the other hand prayed Psalm 51 - Tax Collector prays Psalm 51:1 "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions” In Jesus eyes, the pharisee’s prayer wasn’t wrong, and the tax collectors prayer was not right. Both are equal in God’s eyes. They are both children of God. The pharisee is a model of faith, and the tax collector is closer to the ordinary guy. Jesus knows that in our minds, we tend to look for the good guy and the bad guy. Jesus is counting on us finding good and bad in the story. We like to stalk out the bad, the wrong, the problem. There is a story of a famous well liked knight who was a dragon hunter. He took is task very seriously. Everything that he did during his day, was geared toward making him a better dragon hunter. He thought about dragons night and day. He spent every available minute practicing hunting dragons. For him, in order to catch a dragon, you have to think like a dragon, you had to understand their motivation. His every thought was directed toward hunting dragons. One day, after years of discipline, he happened to see his reflection while looking at a river, and he was horrified at what he had seen. After years of focusing on hunting dragons, he discovered that he had become the thing that he hated the most – he has become a dragon. If we leave the sanctuary this morning focusing on the faults of the pharisee – thinking that he is the bad guy – then the lessons of Jesus has failed you. Jesus wants you to see the self- righteousness in yourself. Our text actually stars out by saying – there were certain people in the audience who had become self righteous. Those people he is talking about is you and me. As soon as we start to draw the line between us and them, between right and wrong, between good and bad, between insider and outsider – Jesus can automatically be found on the other side than us. Humanity is constantly trying to order ourselves regarding power and worth. The challenge of the Gospel is all people are beloved and that challenge is lived out in the Beloved Community (& the Kingdom of Heaven). In what ways are we humbling and exalting others or ourselves in appropriate (leveling) ways and inappropriate ways? Sometimes our greatest gifts, can become our greatest burden to listening to God clearly. The pharisee prayed a genuine prayer of thankfulness, but he focused on his gifts, and didn’t mention his faults. Discipleship is seeing others as beloved children of God- balancing love of God and love of other That is why prayer is so much a part of our discipleship. All 5 types of prayer ( intercession on behalf of others, adoration for God’s grace, confession of our sins, thankfulness and petition) need to be a part of our daily life. God hears the prayers of both the saints and the sinners. Our prayer life shapes our attitudes and our actions. May the grace that we receive from God be the grace that we pass on to others. Let us pray……. Song Leaning on the Everlasting Arms UMH 133 Pastoral Prayer We know that you listen to the prayers of the faithful, looking in our lives, and looking upon the world. Ask that you be with each and every person here and their concerns. Many things for us to pray about. • Pray for peace within the wars and disagreements in the world • Pray for the tensions in our country. We pray for people who are demonstrating and that you hear their concerns. • Pray for people in danger, and separated form families • Pray for many people and places that have been affected by hurricanes and horrible weather • People who are dealing with loss help in their grief • People who are dealing with illness of themselves and family members • Farmers who are working in the field, keep safe and not let labor be in vain • Violence and crimes unsolved. • Grace, peace, mercy Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment So the question still remains, who do you see yourself as in the story of the pharisee and the tax collector. Are we the model of what it means to be faithful to God, or are we just the ordinary person just trying to be faithful. Most of us are probably somewhere in between. And the next question is which of these two people would Jesus want us to model on our own faith journey? Does Jesus really want us to cheat those around us, and to hoard money for ourselves, and then ask for forgiveness without any thought of repentance. Jesus would probably want us to be more like the pharisee – the pharisee studied the bible, he served his church, he reached out to others, he was in constant communication with God, and he was very intentional about tithing. He took what he gave to God very seriously. If the bible called for him to give 10% of everything to God, he did that. Those are all of the lessons that we are reminded of during our stewardship campaign – giving our gifts, our prayers, our talents, our service and our witness. Jesus wants us to be like the pharisee - like a pharisee who has a little humility and an awareness of the prayers of others. Jesus does not discourage giving 10% of our income back to God. But the good news for us is that Jesus gives us grace. In today’s economy, when we look at our income. 10% may be way too much to give on a regular basis. He encourages us to pray and consider the cost and to give in a way that helps us to feel good about our gift. If 10% is too much, then perhaps we can consider 5%, or 2% or 1%. In a few weeks, we will be asked to consider our gifts to the church. I hope that we can all use our skill in prayer and connection to God as we commit our pledge for the year. God loves a cheerful giver, which is why we usually ask for a pledge and not a straight tithe. Jesus also stressed that when we give, that we consider the mission – what needs to be done and how much does it cost to do it. If each of us gives what we can – we can fulfill that mission. The mission of our church is to grow as disciples of Christ and to create a space for others to have a relationship with God, whether they are a pharisee or a tax collector. As we come to a time of sharing our tithes, offerings and gifts, Today, I invite you to look deep within your own self. What can you offer? What WILL you offer in gratitude for the ways Jesus lifts you up in his love, and God’s Spirit draws you close? Prayer of Thanksgiving God, we want to know, deep down, how we can live into the person you’ve created each of us to be. Receive the gifts we’ve offered here: the finances, the time, and the talents of each of our lives, but also the vulnerable recognition of our individual souls. Today, send us from this time of worship eager to be true followers of Jesus, who ate with sinners; crossed racial, social, and gender restrictions; and called ordinary folk to be his disciples. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook May we leave this house of worship today, quick to listen, slow to speak, open to hearing and responding to God’s truth. May God bless you and keep you, be kind and gracious to you, may God look upon you with favor and bring you peace. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Terri McDowell Ott) Community Time – Joys and Concerns Benediction What greater joy can we know that to go home justified because of our humility before God who redeems? Let us leave this place to live as we came in – openly and desiring to praise God and witness to a saving love. Go in humble grace. In Christ’s name. Amen. Derek Weber, March 2025 Additional Illustrations An Absolute Standard One rabbi said, "If there are only two righteous men in the world, I and my son are these two; if there is only one, I am he!" –Reminds me of two friends talking, one said, "We're the only two honest people left in the world, and sometimes I'm not so sure about you!" With a human measure, righteousness is relative, you can always find someone better and someone worse. Take the right point of comparison and you feel pretty good about yourself. A little boy announced to his mother, "I'm like Goliath. I'm 9 feet tall." "Why do you say that?" asked his mother. "Well, I made a little ruler and measured myself with it; I'm 9 feet tall!" Human standards don't count. The only evaluation that counts is by an absolute standard! The righteousness of God Himself; with that measuring stick, we all come up short! Lee Compson, Holier Than Who? ___________________________________ What Impresses God - Luke 18:9-14 There was a very lost, wicked, rebellious man who decided it would be good for business if he went down to the church and joined it. He was an adulterer, an alcoholic, and had never been a member of a church in his life. But when he went down to the altar to join the church, he gave public testimony to the church that there was no sin in his life, and that he had grown up in the church, and they readily accepted him as a member. When he went home he told his wife what he had done, and his wife, a very godly lady, exploded. She excoriated him for being such a hypocrite, and demanded that he go back to the church the next week and confess what he really was. Well, God used his wife to really break him, and he took it to heart. The next Sunday he went back to the church, walked down to the front again, and this time confessed to the church all of his sins. He told them he was dishonest, an alcoholic, an adulterer, and he was sorry. They revoked his membership on the spot. He walked out of the church that day scratching his head and muttered to himself: "These church folks are really strange. I told a lie and they took me in; and when I told the truth they kicked me out!" The Lord Jesus told a story of two men in a similar situation who had totally different results. One man tried to talk himself into God's kingdom, but he didn't make it. One man tried to talk himself out of God's kingdom and he did make it. Now Luke makes it plain who Jesus told this parable to. For he says in v.9, "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others." I promise you, every one of you will find yourself somewhere in this story. Because at one time or another all of us are guilty of trying to impress God. You are going to learn, surprisingly, what does impress God, and what doesn't. I. The Pharisee Who Fooled Himself II. The Person Who Faulted Himself III. The Principle That Fulfills Itself _________________ Pride I heard about a fifth grader that came home from school so excited. She had been voted "prettiest girl in the class." The next day she was even more excited when she came home, for the class had voted her "the most likely to succeed." The next day she came home and told her mother she had won a third contest, being voted "the most popular." But the next day she came home extremely upset. The mother said, "What happened, did you lose this time?" She said, "Oh no, I won the vote again." The mother said, "What were you voted this time?" She said, "most stuck up." Well this Pharisee would have won that contest hands down. He had an "i" problem. Five times you will read the little pronoun "i" in these two verses. He was stoned on the drug of self. He suffered from two problems: inflation and deflation. He had an inflated view of who he was, and a deflated view of who God was. His pride had made him too big for his spiritual britches. James Merritt, Collected Sermons, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc. Can You Hear the Music - Luke 18:9-14 Who doesn’t like an “attaboy!” when they do something good? It’s why we have “honor society” in school. It is the reason we have scholarship awards as we head into college. “Attaboy!” stands behind all those accolades high achievers get throughout life — Rhode’s scholarships, purple hearts, Silver stars, gold statues, merit raises for school teachers, making partner in a big firm, getting re-elected (in any organization, at any level). “Attaboys!” reward the gracious, good, above-and-beyond behaviors we see in others. Good persons deserve good things. The problem is that our vision of “good behavior” can get extremely myopic, extremely near-sighted. We only are able to see the good in those who stand closest to us. Those far off become, if not “bad,” at least “other.” “Otherness” is perhaps the most insidious form of prejudice. Why? Because “otherness” makes close closed. “Otherness” disassociates our close family and other loved ones from outsiders and strangers. As soon as we identify some people as “others,” the game is over. We have drawn up “us” vs. “them” battle-lines. In this week’s gospel parable the good-living, well-meaning Pharisee and the ne’r-do-well tax collector are set up as ideal types of the “acceptable” vs. the “other.” The contrast could not be sharper. The Pharisee examines himself, and finds no fault with himself. The tax collector lets God examine him, and throws himself on the bar of God's justice (receiving mercy as God does).Ironically, the Pharisee treats God as a debt collector and the Tax collector, who IS a debt collector, treats God as a Savior…. The Best Treatment for Loneliness Dr. Karl Menninger, the famous American psychiatrist, once gave a lecture on mental health & was answering questions from the audience. One man asked, "What would you advise a person to do if that person felt a nervous breakdown coming on?" Everyone there expected him to answer, "Consult a psychiatrist." To their astonishment he replied: Leave your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone who is in need, and do something to help that person. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com Everything He Says Is True When you read the story about the Pharisee, a number of specific statements are made about his piety. Please note this. Everything the man says about himself is true. For instance, when he says, “I thank you that I am not like other men,” indeed he wasn’t like other men. He had a standard of morality that was far above the standard of that day. When he said, “I fast twice a week;” it happens to be literally true. The Pharisees fasted on Monday and Thursday of every week. When he says, “I give tithes of all I possess,” he means he tithes on the gross and not on the net. He went beyond the Law of Moses. That’s no big deal; all the Pharisees did that. And when he says, “I am not a crook,” he really isn’t a crook. When he says, “I am not like this filthy tax collector,” he’s really not like that guy. When he says, “I do not commit adultery,” he really doesn’t commit adultery. He is faithful to his wife. When he says, “I am honest, I am faithful, I am zealous for my religion,” he means it and every word of it is true. He truly is a genuinely good man. When I read his prayer, I am reminded of that country song that says, “Oh, Lord, it’s hard to be humble, when you’re perfect in every way.” What we are to understand is this. When he prayed he was telling the truth. When he said, “Lord, you’re lucky to have a guy like me, because I’m one of the best guys I know,” it was really true. He really was a wonderful guy. While he prayed, people would be standing around watching. And they would say, “He’s a fine man.” While he prayed, they probably applauded. He was the kind of guy you’d want living next door to you. A good citizen. A law-abiding man. A good, religious kind of person. If he were to come to this church today we’d love him because he would be faithful, loyal, and give us a lot of money. We’d probably make him an elder or a deacon. He’s just that kind of guy. He looks really good on the outside. Everything he says about himself is absolutely true. Ray Pritchard, How to Be Right with God ___________________________________ The Cunning Craftsman In her play, "The Zeal of Thy House," Dorothy Sayers imagines a stonemason working on an intricate carving for the chancel of Canterbury Cathedral, who clumsily lets his tool slip and spoils the whole great piece of stone assigned to him. It is a sad moment as the valuable and custom-cut stone stands misshapen. The architect, however, takes the tool out of the artisan's hand and although he remonstrates with him for his clumsiness, begins to enact forgiveness. He redesigns out of the spoiled carving a new and different figure which has its own part to play in the ensemble of the Cathedral, and then permits the blundering mason to complete it in all its glory. "So works with us," concludes Dorothy Sayers, "the cunning craftsman, God." On reading it, I could not shake the phrase from my mind: "The cunning craftsman, God." As used, the word cunning does not mean some kind of craftiness which might be our modern interpretation. But taken in its pure sense it indicates skill, wisdom and ability. The phrase then really means that the Master artist God can take our blundering efforts and still make something useful out of them. He takes our mismanaged lives, our failed efforts, our missed marks, our shameful deeds, our alien attitudes, our sinful lives and out of his divine resourcefulness he saves the day by creating something new, worthy and wonderful that still has usefulness and beauty in the divine plan of things. It is a reassurance that we desperately need, but one on which we cannot presume. Allan J. Weenink, Only The Wounded Can Serve, CSS Publishing Co., Inc. ________________ What Kind of Sinners Can Be Members Samuel Colgate, the founder of the Colgate business empire, was a devout Christian, and he told of an incident that took place in the church he attended. During an evangelistic service, an invitation was given at the close of the sermon for all those who wished to turn their lives over to Christ and be forgiven. One of the first persons to walk down the aisle and kneel at the altar was a well-known prostitute. She knelt in very real repentance, she wept, she asked God to forgive her, and meanwhile the rest of the congregation looked on approvingly at what she was doing. Then she stood and testified that she believed God had forgiven her for her past life, and she now wanted to become a member of the church. For a few moments, the silence was deafening. Finally, Samuel Colgate arose and said, "I guess we blundered when we prayed that the Lord would save sinners. We forgot to specify what kind of sinners. We'd better ask him to forgive us for this oversight. The Holy Spirit has touched this woman and made her truly repentant, but the Lord apparently doesn't understand that she's not the type we want him to rescue. We'd better spell it out for him just which sinners we had in mind." Immediately, a motion was made and unanimously approved that the woman be accepted into membership in the congregation. God accepts us as we are. There's not a sin too black, not a deed too awful, not a thought too horrible for him to forgive. Larry R. Kalajainen, Extraordinary Faith for Ordinary Time, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. I Used to Be an Intellectual Albert Schweitzer was laboring one day, under the hot African sun, building his hospital at Lambarene. A large timber had to be raised into place, and try as he might, Schweitzer couldn't manage it. He looked up and saw a well-dressed African man standing in the shade of a tree, and asked him to lend a hand. "O, no," the man said, "I don't do that kind of work. I am an intellectual." And Albert Schweitzer, with five earned doctor's degrees, said, "I used to be an intellectual, but I couldn't live up to it." When we are Christians we don't have anything to live up to, no pretenses to maintain, no privileges to guard. We can't be too low in the eyes of the world. We can't be losers enough. There is a wonderful peace and freedom in that. William R. Boyer, Sorry, Thank You, Please _________________ Bent to the Ground A city boy visited his cousin who lived on a farm in the country for the first time. The city boy had never seen wheat growing in a field. It was an impressive sight for him, the wheat golden brown and ready for harvesting. He noticed that some of the wheat stood tall in the field, whereas some of it was bent low, touching the ground. The city boy said to his cousin, "I bet the ones standing tall are the best ones, aren't they?" His cousin smiled knowingly and reached over and plucked the head of one of the tall-standing wheat stalks and one that was bent to the ground. He rubbed each of them and the city boy saw that the tall one was almost empty of seeds. But the one bent to the ground was full of the promise of a rich harvest. R. Curtis Fussell, Deadly Sins and Living Virtues, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. Learn To Empty Yourself A martial arts student was meeting with his master and teacher at a table, having tea. The student said to his master, "I've learned all you have to teach me about defending myself. I want to learn one thing more now. Please teach me about the ways of God." The master took the teakettle and starting pouring the student's cup full of tea. Soon the cup was full and began to spill over onto the saucer. But the master continued to pour the tea until it spilled over the saucer and then onto the floor. The student finally said, "Stop, stop, the tea is spilling over. The cup can't take any more." The master then looked at the student and said, "You are so full of yourself that there is no room in your life for God. It is not possible for you to learn the ways of God until you learn to empty yourself." R. Curtis Fussell, Deadly Sins and Living Virtues, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. Worshipping Who She Used To Be Girolamo Savonarola was one of the great preachers of the fifteenth century. He preached in the great cathedral of Florence, Italy, which contained a magnificent marble statue of the blessed virgin Mary. When Savonarola started preaching at this great cathedral, he noticed one day an elderly woman praying before this statue of Mary. He then began to notice that it was her habit to come every day and pray before the statue. Savonarola remarked one day to an elderly priest who had been serving in the cathedral for many years, "Look how devoted and earnest this woman is. Every day she comes and offers prayers to the blessed Mother of Jesus. What a marvelous act of faith." But the elderly priest replied, "Do not be deceived by what you see. Many years ago when the sculptor needed a model to pose for this statue of the blessed Mother, he hired a beautiful young woman to sit for him. This devout worshiper you see here everyday is that young woman. She is worshiping who she used to be." The first and perhaps the deadliest of the seven deadly sins is pride. R. Curtis Fussell, Deadly Sins and Living Virtues, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. ____________________ They Only Ironed The Parts That Showed Mike Cope, in his article "Righteousness Inside Out," tells of inviting a college student and his girlfriend back to his home after church, to have lunch with him and his wife. "When we got to the house, I took off my suit coat and invited him to do the same. The boy hemmed and hawed for a long time until he could pull me aside, and what he whispered to me then reminded me of the way I used to live when I was in college." It seemed he had only ironed the cuffs and collar of his shirt. If he took off his jacket, his girl would see the rest of his shirt and know what a slob he was. He had only ironed the parts that showed. That was one of the major, ongoing complaints Jesus brought against the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day. That they were phony. That they were not what they seemed to be. That they were hypocrites. That they only ironed the parts that showed. William R. Boyer, Sorry, Thank You, Please ______________________ Our Own Vices Dwight L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon were great preachers of the nineteenth century. Moody admired Spurgeon from a distance and looked forward to the opportunity of meeting him in London. On that historic day, Spurgeon answered the door with a cigar in his mouth. Moody was aghast. "How could you, a man of God, smoke that?" Spurgeon took the cigar from his mouth, put his finger on Moody's rather inflated stomach, smiled and said, "The same way you, a man of God, could be that fat." Because we are usually blind to our own vices, we are hardly qualified to judge others. Eric S. Ritz, The Ritz Collection,www.Sermons.com ____________________________ • Ask your congregation who they are- the tax collector or the Pharisee? Why do they think that? Who do they view as the other? Why? Do they feel they deserve to be exalted or humbled? In some ways this could be thought of as a modern day version of the old parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
A Pharisee was a lay person, who committed to following the law to the letter. He did what was right all of the time. He tithed, the prayed, he studied the scripture, he lived right. The tax collector of Jesus day, was not the IRS man of today. The tax collector was thought of as a thief and a traitor. He stole from his own to give it to the government. Sometimes the money made it to the government, most of the time it did not. He kept it in his pocket. Jesus understood the plight of the tax collector very well – he had lunch with them all of the time. Jesus did not get along real well with the Pharisee.

Lord Have Mercy on Me a Sinner

October 23, 2022 20th Sunday After Pentecost Luke 18:9-14 Lord Have Mercy on me a Sinner Year C Opening Song Welcome Call to Worship Leader: Rejoice! We’re here to sing our joy in the God of our salvation. People: This God – the hope of all the earth! Leader: We offer our praise, for God gives us land, air and water. People: We’re awed by all God provides! Leader: All who are drawn close to God, be happy! People: We rejoice, for God is our deliverer. (Disciple’s of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Opening Prayer God of our salvation, Thank you for drawing us to you in this time of worship, (some of us in person, and some by the gift of technology). Thank you the variety of ways you answer our prayers. Hear us now as we offer you our praise. Receive our heart-felt joy as we raise our songs of thanksgiving for all the beauty of the earth. AMEN (Center for Faith and Giving) Song There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy UMH Children’s Sermon • Good morning! • I’d like to tell you a brief story and then ask you a few questions about it. • There once were two girls and neither of them could play soccer. They were both awful at it. • But Girl #1 THOUGHT she could play soccer and that she could play it well. • She’d walk around talking about how she was the best soccer player in the world and how she was better than everyone else and no one knew soccer better than she did. She would say that she was so good that she didn’t even need to practice. She was so good she didn’t even need teammates. • Girl #2 on the other hand, knew she didn’t know how to play soccer. • But she wanted to learn. • So she asked other people how to play. She went to practice. She listened to the coach and ran drills. • That’s it - that’s the story I wanted to tell you. • So, my question to you: Who do you think became the better soccer player? Girl #1 who thinks she already knows how to play soccer or Girl #2 who wants to learn how to play soccer? (Girl #2!) • And why do you think Girl #2 is going to become the better soccer player? (because she wants to learn instead of thinking she already knows it all) TELL (a.k.a. The Freeway) • So in today’s scripture story, Jesus tells a story just like the one I told you. • But instead of the story being about girls who don’t know how to play soccer, Jesus tells a story about two men who don’t know how to live God’s better way of life. • In the story, one man tells God how great of a person he is. • And because that man thinks he knows how to live God’s way, he keeps telling God while he is praying that he’s super-great at life and is so much better at life than everyone else • That sounds a lot like the first girl who thought she knew all there was to know about soccer, doesn’t it? • The other man in the story, though, tells God, “I need help. I don’t know what I’m doing with my life – help me to live it your better way” – which sounds a lot like the second girl who was always trying to learn more about soccer. • So…of the two men, who do you think will be able to learn from God how to live God’s better way? (the 2nd man) • Why do you think that? (because he wants to learn instead of thinking he already knows it all) SHARE the Good News (a.k.a. The Destination) • That’s right! And, just as importantly, you just said one of the main things that Jesus wants us to understand about ourselves from this story. • When we stop thinking that we know it all and instead ask God and others for help, then we will be able to learn and improve. • And, the things we then learn and receive will also be the things that we can also share with the people around us. • That is the good news for today – let’s pray. CLOSING Prayer • This is a repeat-after-me prayer. Dear God, Dear God, Please help us to remember… Please help us to remember… ...that we don’t know it all... ...that we don’t know it all... …and to ask for and listen... …and to ask for and listen... …for help from you and others. …for help from you and others. Thank you and Amen Originally posted October 5, 2013 Updated on September 22, 2022 By Nathaniel Vissia Passing of the Peace Prayer for illumination God of Wisdom and Grace, you speak through your Word read and proclaimed. Prepare us now to listen well. Open our ears to your truth. Humble us in your presence so nothing will stand in the way of what you say to us today. Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Teri McDowell Ott) Scripture Luke 18:9-14 Sermon Lord Have Mercy on Me a Sinner Jesus Is Mine As people drive to church each Sunday morning, they pass by the houses of neighbors who, although they may get to sleep in on Sundays, also live hopeless lives with no real certainty that there is a God anywhere who cares. They pass by nursing homes and hospitals that house debilitated people unable to go to church (or anywhere else for that matter). A few en route to church may even see the homeless huddled in doorways and under overpasses. Compared to all that, surely there are times when people drive to church and quietly think, "I thank God I am not like other people. I am thank God I have faith, that I have a church to go to and the desire to attend. I thank God I have honest work to do and health in my body to do it. I am grateful not to be addicted to drugs or booze and that my children and I have a roof over our heads. I pray to God and know that God loves me. I give my offerings here at church and volunteer my time in various programs, too. I am so thankful I am not like other people who are lost, lonely, dishonest, and without the hope I have in my heart. I'm so glad to be a Christian." All in all, such prayers sure sound a lot like a certain character in Luke 18. For that matter, it all sounds a little like some of the songs we sing in church: "I am so glad that Jesus loves me, Jesus loves me, Jesus loves ME!" "How vast the benefits divine which WE in Christ possess!" "Blessed assurance, Jesus is MINE!" Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations When we are thinking about others and wishing they would come to church with us – we are grateful for our faith and worried that others are missing out. But we also don’t realize that we are putting ourselves in the story. In the parable, the pharisee is glad that God loves him, the tax collector realizes that he is a sinner and in need of God’s grace. The last thing that we want to do is to be like the pharisee, Jesus is not impressed with the faith of the pharisees. I think that this is one of those awkward stories that Jesus tells – there are always verses in the gospel that when I deal with them I don’t know what to do with them. Luke is the gospel that challenges us to pray and uses Jesus as an example of how to pray. Jesus is know to go off an to pray to God. He asked God for direction, he expected God to be a part if his life, and most important he was always humble and respectful in his request. The pharisee was a little overconfident in his prayer – he didn’t need to ask God for anything, because it appears that his faith was all about his righteousness – not God’s grace. So the first lesson for us is to be humble in our prayer. Our faith is not about our own righteousness. Humor: Worth a Thousand Points Perhaps you have heard the story of the man who came to the gates of heaven to be greeted by St. Peter. Peter asks the man if he can give a brief history of his life with an emphasis on the good deeds he had done in order to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven. "You will need 1000 points to be admitted," Peter tells the man. "This will be a cinch," the man thinks to himself, "I've been involved in church from the days of my youth." Then he begins to list his activities for Peter. He was an officer in his youth group, served in every possible position he could as a youngster. Was on the Church Council and every committee the church had to offer. His list was extensive. "Very impressive," Peter smiles at the man. An angel standing with them also smiled and nodded as he tallied the points and then whispered in Peter's ear. Peter tells the man, "This is quite striking -- we seldom see men of your very good works. You will be pleased to know that you have 327 points! Is there anything else you can think of?" The poor soul breaks into a cold sweat and begins to reach deep for every single act of kindness he could think of. He listed them as the angel scratched furiously on his angelic clip board and nodded his head in admiration. Peter looks at the clip board and says, "This is quite exceptional! You now have a total of 402 points. Can you think of anything else?" The distressed guy strives to recall good deeds -- like the time he helped a little old lady across the street. He finally arrives at a grand total of 431 points and cries out... "I am sunk! There is no hope for me! What more could I have done? O Lord, all I can do is beg for your mercy!" "THAT," exclaims Peter, "Is a thousand points!" So also, the tax collector in Jesus' parable finds his hope in the grace and mercy of God. John Jewell, Qualities of Faith So perhaps on our drive to church, before we focus on all of the people who are sleeping in, we should first focus on why we are headed to church. We are in need of prayer ourselves. Our spiritual journey begins with ourselves. Looking at ourselves. Heavenly Humility One time I was in a department store attempting to purchase a new suit. When I tried on a suit I stood in front of a 3-way mirror. The mirror enabled me to see myself from three different perspectives. As I looked at my image in the mirror I said to myself, “Is that really me?” It was very uncomfortable since I normally see myself in a singular mirror. As I continued to check out the suit I realized that in reality people actually see me in reverse. For example, my hair is parted the other way. What I perceive as my good side is really my bad side. When the Pharisee prayed to God he saw his good side. He was filled with righteousness, proud of his perfect record, especially his fasting and tithing record. On the other hand, the tax collector saw his bad side. He realized his unworthiness and said, “God me merciful to me a sinner.” How do see yourself? Are you like the Pharisee who only saw how good he was, or are you like the tax collector who only saw himself in need of God’s forgiveness? Keith Wagner, Heavenly Humility We come to church because we may all look okay on the outside, but we all have something to work on. We are like the college student. They Only Ironed The Parts That Showed Mike Cope, in his article "Righteousness Inside Out," tells of inviting a college student and his girlfriend back to his home after church, to have lunch with him and his wife. "When we got to the house, I took off my suit coat and invited him to do the same. The boy hemmed and hawed for a long time until he could pull me aside, and what he whispered to me then reminded me of the way I used to live when I was in college." It seemed he had only ironed the cuffs and collar of his shirt. If he took off his jacket, his girl would see the rest of his shirt and know what a slob he was. He had only ironed the parts that showed. That was one of the major, ongoing complaints Jesus brought against the Pharisees, the religious leaders of his day. That they were phony. That they were not what they seemed to be. That they were hypocrites. That they only ironed the parts that showed. William R. Boyer, Sorry, Thank You, Please When we are humble and honest with ourselves and with God, we realize just how much we need God. Whenever Jesus tells a parable, there is always a twist. There is an obvious lesson, but there is also a hidden meaning. The obvious lesson is that we should be humble like the tax collector. But what we don’t realize, is that Jesus uses the pharisees in this story, because he was not wrong in his prayer. It was his job to be righteous and good. He went to church, because he knew that others didn’t. that is why he prays that he is glad that he is not like the others. When we criticize the pharisee, we put ourselves in his place. We start to pray that we are glad that we are not like him. When we point one finger at others, then there are 4 that are pointed at ourselves. The pharisee’s prayer may have been misguided, but it was still a prayer. He is still a child of God. What Kind of Sinners Can Be Members Samuel Colgate, the founder of the Colgate business empire, was a devout Christian, and he told of an incident that took place in the church he attended. During an evangelistic service, an invitation was given at the close of the sermon for all those who wished to turn their lives over to Christ and be forgiven. One of the first persons to walk down the aisle and kneel at the altar was a well-known prostitute. She knelt in very real repentance, she wept, she asked God to forgive her, and meanwhile the rest of the congregation looked on approvingly at what she was doing. Then she stood and testified that she believed God had forgiven her for her past life, and she now wanted to become a member of the church. For a few moments, the silence was deafening. Finally, Samuel Colgate arose and said, "I guess we blundered when we prayed that the Lord would save sinners. We forgot to specify what kind of sinners. We'd better ask him to forgive us for this oversight. The Holy Spirit has touched this woman and made her truly repentant, but the Lord apparently doesn't understand that she's not the type we want him to rescue. We'd better spell it out for him just which sinners we had in mind." Immediately, a motion was made and unanimously approved that the woman be accepted into membership in the congregation. God accepts us as we are. There's not a sin too black, not a deed too awful, not a thought too horrible for him to forgive. Larry R. Kalajainen, Extraordinary Faith for Ordinary Time, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. The lesson is not just about humility, but also about who we are as a community. We are all sinners, and no matter who we are God gives us grace. So we should not be glad that we are not like others, we should be glad that God loves us all. We are all connected. We should see God in all people and all situations. We thank God that we are all together. My final story You're Not Home Yet How revealing is that story of the old missionary couple who had been working in Africa for years in the days when Teddy Roosevelt was President of the United States. They were returning from Africa to New York City to retire. They had no pension for they belonged to no missionary board. Their health was broken, they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. When they went down to the wharf to board the ship they discovered to their amazement that they were booked on the same ship with Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big game hunting expeditions. They went aboard the ship and no one paid any attention to them. They watched all the tremendous fanfare that accompanied the President's arrival, how the band played as he came aboard, and everyone was agog over the thought of traveling on the same ship with the President of the United States. Passengers were stationing themselves at vantage points throughout the ship to see if they might catch a glimpse of the great man. As the ship moved across the ocean this couple became more and more discouraged, especially the man. He said to his wife, "Dear, something is wrong. Why should we have given our lives in faithful service for God in Africa all these many years and no one cares a thing about us. Here is a man who has been on a big-game hunting expedition and when he comes back everybody makes over him but nobody gives two hoots about us." His wife said, "Dear, you shouldn't feel that way. Try not to be bitter about it." But he said, "I can't help it, I just can't help it, it doesn't look right. After all, if God is running this world, why does he permit such injustice?" As the boat neared the American shore, his spirit became more and more depressed. He said to his wife, "I'll wager that when we get to New York there will be another band there and more fanfare over his arrival, but there will be no one to meet us." Sure enough, when they got in, the ship docked and a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor of New York City was there and other leaders of the nation, and the papers were full of the President's arrival, but no one said a word to this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city. But that first night the man's spirit just broke. He said to his wife, "I can't take this, it's not fair, God is not treating us fairly. Why should we give ourselves like this and have no one to meet us, no one to help us, no one to care. We don't even know where to go. If God is a faithful God, why doesn't he meet our need and send someone along?" And his wife said, "Dear, you mustn't feel this way, you simply must not, it isn't right. Why don't you go in the bedroom and tell the Lord the whole thing?" So he went in, and about a half hour later he came out again and his face was different, his wife could see it. She said, "Dear, what happened? Everything is different I can see. You feel better, don't you?" "Yes," he said, "the Lord settled it with me." "Well," she said, "what did he say?" He said, "I went in and knelt beside the bed and I poured out the whole thing to him. I said, 'Lord, it's not fair. We have given our lives, we've given our blood and sweat and tears in Africa, our health is broken, we have no place to go.' And I told him all -- how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous welcome over nothing! Especially I felt bitter about the homecoming he received when no one met us when we returned home." He said, "You know, when I finished it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and simply said, 'But you're not home yet!'" Ray Stedman, The Nature of Prayer _______________________ None of us are at home yet, but may we find our home in being in service to God. Amen. Song I am Thine O Lord UMH 419 Affirmation of faith (From Philippians 2:6-11) Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess to the glory of God: Jesus Christ is Lord! Amen. (Presbyterian Outlook, Teri McDowell Ott) Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment In Luke 18, Jesus tells the parable of two men, praying in the temple. One we would, today, call a braggart or an egotistical show-off. The other we might call a reserved man, or one who did not think of himself more highly than he ought. If you could imagine these two on a spectrum of financial givers, where woould you place yourself on that spectrum? Are you closer to the one who stood up in public, declaring aloud how great he is because of what he does (including giving 10% to the temple)? Or are you closer to the one who takes a back seat, knowing he could be doing much more, and praying for God’s mercy? The truth is, we can never out-give God! And most of us will never be able, if we’re honest, to brag how we give 10% of our worth to the church. But we ALL are able to step away from the temptation to be brassy, bragging, and belittling others. All of us might be inspired by this parable as we seek to embody a humble spirit and stretch ourselves toward significant financial support of the church and the ministries of this congregation. As we receive our morning offering, may each of us find courage to be BOLD in our giving, and humble in our heart. God whom we exalt, Your generosity continues in every moment. Thank you for all you provide for us and for this amazing planet on which we live. Please accept these gifts as one way for us to signal our desire to be part of your abundant provision for life. Help us use this cash, these checks, and our on-line contributions to extend your care to the lost, the lonely, and the least among us. AMEN (Disciples of Christ Center for Faith and Giving) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook May we leave this house of worship today, quick to listen, slow to speak, open to hearing and responding to God’s truth. May God bless you and keep you, be kind and gracious to you, may God look upon you with favor and bring you Peace, Amen (Presbyterian Outlook, Teri McDowell Ott) Community Time Benediction May you be blessed by the least expected people, recognize plenty after empty, and feel an incognito inner urge to be the Spirit’s lungs and tongues. (United Church of Christ Worship Ways, Maren Tirabassi) Additional Illustrations re You Really Listening? In his book Directions, author James Hamilton shares this insight about listening to God: "Before refrigerators, people used icehouses to preserve their food. Icehouses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the icehouses, and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer. One man lost a valuable watch while working in an icehouse. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn’t find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch. Amazed, the men asked him how he found it. I closed the door,'' the boy replied, “lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.'' Often the question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are being still enough, and quiet enough, to hear. Yes, Jesus assures us that our heavenly Father always listens to us, but do we really listen to God? Do we follow the instructions of Psalm 46, "Be still, and know that I am God"? Eric S. Ritz, The Ritz Collection,www.Sermons.com The Best Treatment for Loneliness Dr. Karl Menninger, the famous American psychiatrist, once gave a lecture on mental health & was answering questions from the audience. One man asked, "What would you advise a person to do if that person felt a nervous breakdown coming on?" Everyone there expected him to answer, "Consult a psychiatrist." To their astonishment he replied: Leave your house, go across the railroad tracks, find someone who is in need, and do something to help that person. Brett Blair, www.eSermons.com Bent to the Ground A city boy visited his cousin who lived on a farm in the country for the first time. The city boy had never seen wheat growing in a field. It was an impressive sight for him, the wheat golden brown and ready for harvesting. He noticed that some of the wheat stood tall in the field, whereas some of it was bent low, touching the ground. The city boy said to his cousin, "I bet the ones standing tall are the best ones, aren't they?" His cousin smiled knowingly and reached over and plucked the head of one of the tall-standing wheat stalks and one that was bent to the ground. He rubbed each of them and the city boy saw that the tall one was almost empty of seeds. But the one bent to the ground was full of the promise of a rich harvest. R. Curtis Fussell, Deadly Sins and Living Virtues, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. _________________________ Learn To Empty Yourself A martial arts student was meeting with his master and teacher at a table, having tea. The student said to his master, "I've learned all you have to teach me about defending myself. I want to learn one thing more now. Please teach me about the ways of God." The master took the teakettle and starting pouring the student's cup full of tea. Soon the cup was full and began to spill over onto the saucer. But the master continued to pour the tea until it spilled over the saucer and then onto the floor. The student finally said, "Stop, stop, the tea is spilling over. The cup can't take any more." The master then looked at the student and said, "You are so full of yourself that there is no room in your life for God. It is not possible for you to learn the ways of God until you learn to empty yourself." R. Curtis Fussell, Deadly Sins and Living Virtues, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. The Beginnings of a Spiritual Journey One of my sources of my spiritual grounding is the blues. Van Morrison's Hymns to the Silence has become the sound track of my soul. It floats around me and catches me in moments of solitude. It speaks to me of my journey, the things that have made me, the yearning for depth in prayer. It reflects a nostalgia for the innocence of youth, time that is gone, and a longing for a safe place to be ... the thirst for God. There is a spirit of rejuvenation and rebirth in Morrison's blues - there is no us and them. He sings.' No matter where I roam/ I will find my way back home/ I will return to the Lord." The point of the story is the old one - "know yourself." The beginning of deep spiritual examination begins here. This is not a beating oneself up, but a prayer of have mercy on me. It is a modest understanding of oneself - that I need others to be more fully myself. I don't have to go it alone. George Hermanson, A Modest Faith - A Subtle Shift In Grammar Worshipping Who She Used To Be Girolamo Savonarola was one of the great preachers of the fifteenth century. He preached in the great cathedral of Florence, Italy, which contained a magnificent marble statue of the blessed virgin Mary. When Savonarola started preaching at this great cathedral, he noticed one day an elderly woman praying before this statue of Mary. He then began to notice that it was her habit to come every day and pray before the statue. Savonarola remarked one day to an elderly priest who had been serving in the cathedral for many years, "Look how devoted and earnest this woman is. Every day she comes and offers prayers to the blessed Mother of Jesus. What a marvelous act of faith." But the elderly priest replied, "Do not be deceived by what you see. Many years ago when the sculptor needed a model to pose for this statue of the blessed Mother, he hired a beautiful young woman to sit for him. This devout worshiper you see here everyday is that young woman. She is worshiping who she used to be." The first and perhaps the deadliest of the seven deadly sins is pride. R. Curtis Fussell, Deadly Sins and Living Virtues, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. We Watched His Eyes It was late New Year's Day when the showdown finally came. The number one and two college bowl teams in the nation were set to fight it out in the Fiesta Bowl at Tempe, Arizona, deciding who would lay claim to being the "Beast of the East" and the best in the nation. Among those who predict such things, there was agreement that the nation's number one team would remain number one that night. Their passing attack had been unstoppable all season long, and it would remain so. A high-scoring game was predicted. Both predictions were wrong. A defensive struggle prevailed, and the number one team was upset, beaten. Interviews and national news stories alike toyed with the obvious question: "How did you stop their passing attack?" Several strategies had been employed, such as mixing up defensive formations, intimidating receivers by hard tackling, and of special significance, watching the mannerisms of the quarterback. Careful study of earlier films had discovered that he "telegraphed" the direction of a pass. "How did you stop him?" "We watched his eyes!" These words may hold the key to our discovery of the "central luminous truth" of the parable about two men who went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The key to this parable has to do with the direction of each man's eyes. Theodore F. Schneider, Until the King Comes, CSS Publishing Company. The Transformation of a Hideous Beetle One afternoon, a man, lying in a canoe close to shore, saw many beetles in the muddy bottom of the lake. He felt sorry for these lowly creatures which would never know any other world except gloom and mud and water. Then a big, black beetle came out of the water. He crawled up on the gunwale and sat there blinking at him. Under the heat of the sun the beetle died. Then a strange thing happened. His black shell cracked down the back. Out of it came a shapeless mass whose hideousness was transformed into a beautiful, brilliantly colored life. Out of that mass gradually unfolded four iridescent wings from which the sunlight flashed a thousand colors. The wings spread wide as if to worship the sun. The man realized that he had witnessed the transformation of a hideous beetle crawling in the mud to a gorgeous dragonfly soaring above the waters. The body that was left behind still clung to the gunwale of the canoe. While the dragonfly explored the wonders of his wings and his new world, the other beetles were still crawling in the mud. He knew that he had seen a miracle of nature. Out of the mud had come a beautiful new life. The thought occurred to him, if the Creator worked such wonders with the lowliest of creatures, what must be in store for his children created in his likeness! That is our hope and our victory on this day. That is our comfort and our peace. O. Garfield Beckstrand II, In Sure and Certain Hope, CSS Publishing Company, Inc. Our Own Vices Dwight L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon were great preachers of the nineteenth century. Moody admired Spurgeon from a distance and looked forward to the opportunity of meeting him in London. On that historic day, Spurgeon answered the door with a cigar in his mouth. Moody was aghast. "How could you, a man of God, smoke that?" Spurgeon took the cigar from his mouth, put his finger on Moody's rather inflated stomach, smiled and said, "The same way you, a man of God, could be that fat." Because we are usually blind to our own vices, we are hardly qualified to judge others. Eric S. Ritz, The Ritz Collection,www.Sermons.com

Don't Sing When you are Mad

October 6, 2013 Psalm 137 Luke 17:5-10 20th Sunday After Pentecost Year C Don’t sing when you are mad A few years back, I went to a talk – it was a Rotary meeting in which one of my high school teachers talked about his trip to Russia. He told us a Russian folktale, and as you know I love stories. I don’t think that I told you this one yet, but if I have, it is in a different context and meaning. It is the story of a little bird – a little bird who loved to sing. One day a peasant was walking done the road, and he noticed this little bird singing his heart out. He was so happy to listen to the bird. But he also noticed that it was getting cold outside and the bird was cold. He tried to think of a way to keep the bird warm. Being a peasant, who relied on the simple solutions of life, he covered the bird in cow dung to keep him warm. As the bird got warmer, he sung even louder. And soon another peasant came down the road, and he too was impressed by the birds singing. He stopped to admire the bird’s singing, but he felt sorry for the bird. Somebody had covered him in cow dung. How cruel. So he set about cleaning the bird up and setting him free. Unfortunately, with the changing temperature from being covered up, and sweating, and then exposed to the cold – the little bird died. The moral of the story – sometime it does not always matter who it was that put us in the mess, sometimes it doesn’t matter who it was that got us out of the mess. The one thing to remember, is that when you are in the mess up to here, don’t sing. Don’t sing? Isn’t that what we do as Christians – we sing our faith in God. Is there ever a situation in our lives when we don’t sing. I am sure that you can see – coming from Russia – a country that was once communist and did not believe in God. It is a political statement about faith. Saying that in the realities of life that sometimes our faith, our need to sing, to pray, to have faith in God can sometime get us in trouble. 3786 No Singing At His Funeral When the noted agnostic Robert Ingersoll died, the printed funeral notices said, “There will be no singing.” Look not for hymns, anthems, oratorios, carols, and spiritual songs among infidels, agnostics, or skeptics. Without God, without Christ, without redemption, without a divine revelation and without hope, what have they to sing about? —Sunday School Banner 85 Two Singing Religions Judaism and Christianity are singing religions. Atheism is songless. It has nothing to sing about. The funeral notices of Robert Ingersoll, the noted agnostic, stated, “There will be no singing.” The psalm-singing of Christian martyrs going to their deaths in the arena alerted the Roman Empire to the fact that a new and revolutionary force was coming into being. When the pleasure-bent populace saw the Christians singing as they fearlessly entered the amphitheater where hungry lions awaited them, they were filled with awe. Heaven is vibrant with song: “And they sing the song of Moses … and the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:3). —Walter B. Knight 3786 No Singing At His Funeral When the noted agnostic Robert Ingersoll died, the printed funeral notices said, “There will be no singing.” Look not for hymns, anthems, oratorios, carols, and spiritual songs among infidels, agnostics, or skeptics. Without God, without Christ, without redemption, without a divine revelation and without hope, what have they to sing about? Atheist have grief, pain and suffering in their lives just like we do – but they don’t have a relationship with God. With no connection to God – there is no need to sing. People of faith sing all of the time, we sing when we are happy, we sing when we are sad, we sing when we feel blessed, we sing when we are in need. Singing is at the heart of our faith, and at the heart of God. October is domestic abuse month, I went to this workshop on the causes of abuse and how to stop abuse. It was sponsored by the salvation army. One of the director’s started out the program by talking about the scripture that you should not sing when you are angry. But for some reason, he did not quote the scripture that he was referring for. Don’t sing when you are angry, or perhaps when you are in it up to here – don’t sing – where is that in the bible? I spent all last night searching for a scripture that talks about singing when you are angry. And wouldn’t you know - I couldn’t find one. As a matter of fact – psalm 137 is an angry psalm. The Isrealites have been taken from their land and forced into slavery. And if that isn’t bad enough, their captors torment them by forcing them to work and expecting them to sing while they are working. And to sing not just any songs – but the sing the songs of God. I love that question – how can we sing the songs of God in a strange land. Or some of us who are truly in a painful situation, who are truly in a hopeless situation, in a situation where there is no way out – may truly begin to ask – how can I sing when I am angry, or hurting, or sad, or grieving or in pain or discouraged? I remember going to annual conference one year, feeling deeply discouraged by the church, feeling like my faith had been betrayed, and that there was nothing that the bishop could possibly say that would make me trust him or this conference, again. I remember him looking at me and noticing my anger at everything that happened. There wasn’t anything that he could say to make me feel better. But after his sermon, we stood and and sang amazing grace. And somewhere in the midst of the song – it became more important to sing than to be mad. By the time the song was over, the situation was the same, but my feelings about the situation disappeared. The song that had deeply touched my heart, took to another place and allowed me to go on. I don’t think it is so much that we should sing when we are angry, but we shouldn’t sing and stay angry. Because it is our singing that brings us to the heart of God and the source of our faith. There are 150 psalms in the bible – psalm means song – and they run the gamit of human emotion. Some are songs of triumph, some are pleading for vindication, some are thankfulness for what God has given, some are praise for when God has done, some are a celebration of community, some are a plea for health. Anything that happens in our live, is mentioned somewhere in one of the psalms. As a matter of fact, when I think of singing in anger – psalm 137 is an angry psalm. Not only does the person say I really feel like singing right now, but it is also a request that their captors be killed, and that their babies be killed – how angrier can you get than that? There is not peace in this psalm, no resolution, no forgiveness, just anger and a request for vindication. And yet even in the midst of the anger – is a need to praise God. To be faithful to God, and a promise that they will never forget the home that God promised them. A psalm is a praise of God in the midst of all of the circumstances of life. Serving God begins with how I feel. In order to be honest with God about how we feel, we have to have a relationship with God. God is God all by himself. Faith is where we are in our lives in relationship with God. And sometimes, in order for us to get right with God, we first have to deal with how we feel. In order to make peace with the situation, we have to make peace with God. Faith is not about God – Faith is about us, and our feeling and our lives. It is how we feel about God. Faith does not have to do with God, heaven, or anything else spiritual. On the contrary, faith changes the landscape of this world. It moves mountains and transplants trees. It is not a passport to heaven nor is it a belief about God. Faith is not even belief in God. It is a new understanding of the way this world can be. Faith sees with amazing clarity a reality that others do not yet see. Sometimes we long for a faith that can move mountains, uproot trees, heal the sick, or raise the dead, when sometime all we really need is faith to get us through the day. Luke chapter 16 talks about having that faith to move mountains. We all know the story of the faith of the mustard seed. But before we think about that kind of mountain moving faith, I want us to think about the rest of the story. Jesus starts to talk about the role of a slave, he says that a slave should not expect a place at the table, when they are expected to serve. He says that we are worthless slaves, we have done only what we have ought to have done. Jesus is reminding us that we are the slave and that God is the master. More importantly he is reminding us that we can never have any claim on anything that God does. In other words, no matter what happens in life – we can never tell God that he owes us. He is the master – and he doesn’t owe us anything. I will always remember the words of Job 1:21 – the lord giveth and the lord taketh away – blessed be the name of the lord. Whatever we might be feeling about life right now – God is always worthy to be praised. Life could always be worse. Our anger is not about God, it is about how we feel about God. How can I praise God when I am angry? In Luke 17:5 the disciples ask Jesus – how can I have more faith? If I am angry, or hurt or discouraged and need to get right with God, then that must mean that I need to have more faith. Because if I had more faith, I wouldn’t have negative feelings? Right? In this life that is wrong. Jesus reminds us – trusting in God is not so much about how much faith we have in God – it is whether we have any faith in God at all. A little faith does just as much as a lot of faith. How many times in our life, have we truly believed that if we think hard enough, or pray hard enough, or fast enough that things will get better, and they don’t. and the reality is they wont. Because our faith doesn’t change anything – it is only the grace of God that changes things. A seeker once challenged a faithful servant – “convince me of the existence of God.” Knowing that the man had traveled in the seas, the preacher asked him, “Have you ever been caught in a fierce storm in the middle of a voyage, your rudder gone, your sails torn, your vessel in danger of capsizing, and no land in sight? The man replied yes. The Iman then asked him, “Yet was not there always, despite your black despair, a glimmer of hope in your heart that someone, somewhere – some unnamed and unknown power- could still save you? Yes, the man answered again. To which the faithful servant replied, “that power is God”. We don’t have to have great faith in God, we have to have faith in a great God. Someone asked the question Why do we sing? When we lift our hands to Jesus What do we really mean? Someone may be wondering When we sing our song At times we maybe crying. And nothings even wrong I sing because I'm happy I sing because I'm free His eye is on the sparrow That's the reason why I sing Amen. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Homework Is a Duty by WESLEY T. RUNK Passage: Luke 17:1-10 • Lectionary: Proper 22 Item 1 of 12 | Back to Results "So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.' " Objects: Some homework papers. Lesson: Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you are glad to be in school? (Let them raise their hands.) Most of you like to go to school, but some of you are not too happy about it. Not all of us like the same things, but I am glad that most of you like to go to school. School is really very important, because it is there where we learn to read and write and work with numbers. All of those things and many others are really very important, and school is the place where we learn them. How many of you have homework to bring home with you after school is out? (Let them answer.) Do you like to do homework? Most boys and girls like to play outside, or watch TV, or do something else when they come home instead of doing their homework. But still we must do it. It is our duty. How many of you know what the word "duty" means? (Let them answer.) Most all of you know the word "duty." It is when we have something to do that is our responsibility, something that we do not receive special thanks for doing. It is something that is expected. I think that there are things like that between us and God. There are some things that are our duty to God, and we should not expect God to send us a special message of thanks, or have one of his workers pat us on the back, for doing it. I know some people who think that they are doing God a favor when they come to church or Sunday church school. That is not a favor, or something that you should be thanked for doing. That is your duty. Some people think that they should be thanked for telling the truth or helping someone who needs help. If you see someone who needs you, then you should help them because you are a Christian. We don't need to be thanked and patted on the back for doing good things, because that is what we are supposed to do. No one thanks you for doing your homework. Doing homework is your duty. No one should thank you for doing Christian things, either, because you also have Christian things to do. That's what Jesus thought, and he told the disciples that very thing one day when they asked him about doing special things to be special people. Do what is right, and you will be doing your Christian duty. The next time that you do some homework and you think about it, I hope that you think about your Christian duties, and then remember to do them. CALL IN THE CLOWNS!, WESLEY T. RUNK, C.S.S. Publishing Co., 1988, 1-55673-071-3 Back to Results | Item 1 of 12 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Acts, Not the Dreams The sales manager of a large real estate firm was interviewing an applicant for a sales job. "Why have you chosen this career?" he asked. "I dream of making a million dollars in real estate, like my father," the young man replied. "Your father made a million dollars in real estate?" asked the impressed sales manager. "No," replied the young man, "but he always dreamed of it." Have you ever noticed that the Bible never mentions the dreams of the apostles? It doesn't even mention the ideas of the apostles. However, it devotes an entire book to the "Acts of the Apostles." Chane M. Hutton, Jesus Says, 'Just Do It' One day the great Michelangelo attracted a crowd of spectators as he worked. One child in particular was fascinated by the sight of chips flying and the sound of mallet on chisel. The master was shaping a large block of white marble. Unable to contain her curiosity, the little girl inquired, "What are you making?" He replied, "There is an angel in there and I must set it free." Every Christian at their confirmation or conversion is handed a large cold white marble block called religion. We must then take the mallet in hand and set to work. Religion is not our goal but we must first start there. Now there are many names for religion. At times we do call it religion but we often use other words and images to describe it. Sometimes we call it our faith. Jesus spoke in terms of the Kingdom of God. We say we are the Church, Christians, or Disciples. There are many names with varying nuances of meaning but in the end they all describe the same thing. We are a people of Faith, faith in Christ to be sure, but faith nonetheless. We are not a business or institution. We do not sell or produce anything. We advocate no earthly cause. We serve no worldly authority. We come to a church building made by men. And to do what? Practice our faith. But we just as well could have met on a hillside or cave… 3787 She’d Rather Sing PARABLE OF THE CANDLES There was a blackout one night. When the lights went out, I fumbled to the closet where we keep the candles for nights like this ... I lit four of them. I was turning to leave with the large candle in my hand when I heard a voice, "Now, hold it right there." "Who said that?" "I did." The voice was near my hand. "Who are you? What are you?" "I'm a candle." I lifted up the candle to take a closer look. There was a tiny face in the wax. "Don't take me out of here!" "What?" "I said, Don't take me out of this room." "What do you mean? I have to take you out. You're a candle. Your job is to give light. It's dark out there." "But you can't take me out. I'm not ready," the candle explained with pleading eyes. "I need more preparation." I couldn't believe my ears. "More preparation?" "Yeah, I've decided I need to research this job of light-giving so I won't go out and make a bunch of mistakes. You'd be surprised how distorted the glow of an untrained candle can be..." "All right then," I said. "You're not the only candle on the shelf. I'll blow you out and take the others!" But right then I heard other voices, "We aren't going either!" I turned to the other candles, "You are candles and your job is to light dark places!" "Well, that may be what you think," said the first one, "You may think we have to go, but I'm busy ... I'm meditating on the importance of light. It's really enlightening." "And you other two," I asked, "Are you going to stay, too?" A short, fat, purple candle with plump cheeks spoke up. "I'm waiting to get my life together, I'm not stable enough." The last candle had a female voice, very pleasant to the ear. "I'd like to help, "she explained, "but lighting the darkness is not my gift ... I'm a singer. I sing to other candles to encourage them to burn more brightly." She began a rendition of "This Little Light of Mine." The other three joined in, filling the closet with singing. I took a step back and considered the absurdity of it all. Four perfectly healthy candles singing to each other about light but refusing to come out of the closet. Here is a question for you--when was the last time you shared the gospel to someone? This world is full of darkness, with many people stumbling around trying to find their way. You can be a light for them, and believe me, there's a light waiting for you. It can all happen with something as sharing the faith, to just a smile across the room, to a quick hello to a forgotten friend. "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS, AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN." Matthew 5:14-16 - Author unknown

Did you say thank you today?

October 10, 2010
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7
Luke 17:11-19
Did you say thank you, or just keep going?
20th Sunday after Pentecost
Year C




Introduction

Two angels are sent to earth to collect all of the prayers of the people. One was sent to retrieve all of the request, and the other all of the thanksgivings. Each was given a basket to collect the prayers and take them to heaven. Expecting to be overwhelmed with request, the one to collect thanksgivings got a huge basket. It turns out that the one collecting request had to return to heaven time and time again to empty his basket. The angel collecting thanksgivings returned with a basket half full. We all have things to be grateful for in our lives, and we are truly grateful for the gift that we have, so what is it that keeps us from remembering to say thank you each and every day? I think that sometimes it is the very gifts of life that stand in the way of us being grateful.

Explanation of the text

Imagine being a young man, in the prime of your life, just married the woman of your dreams, and one day she notices some white spots on your neck – and your life as you know it is over – because she has to report to the community and the priest that you have leprosy – and have to immediately move away from the community. Or imagine that your first child has been born two months ago – a son to carry on your name – and you too are diagnosed with leprosy- Or after a long period of trying to find your life work – you realize that you want to go into farming with your father – and as you celebrate your new found life – you lose it to leprosy. The laws in the book of Levitcus are very clear – if anyone notices a swelling in his skin or a scab or boil or pimple with transparent skin they are to be brought to the priest for examination. If the spot turns white – or if it looks more than skin deep, then the priest must declare him a leper. It could happen to anyone at any time in life. If they were a leper- the most important thing was protecting the rest of the community from they – so they were to live outside the gates of the city. They were to keep their distance from everyone and to declare to all that they were one of the untouchables. Life as they knew it was over – no family, no job, no meaning in life.
With everything taken away from them, their gratefulness turned into a deep need to be healed. And they knew exactly where to turn to.
No one really knows why Jesus would have been in this no man’s land on his way to Jerusalem. He was somewhere between Galilee and Samaria. Galilee was the home of the Jews, the people he was trying to reach with his message. Samaria was the home of their cousins – those who were no longer considered Jews. Yet Jesus noticed that these were the people most likely to listen to his message and to apply it to their lives. So as he was traveling to Jerusalem, this was the perfect place to stop and to preach. As he passes by the lepers – they cry out – Lord have mercy on us. To ask for mercy is to ask for what it due to you – what you deserve but for some reason it has been denied you- They wanted their lives back – they wanted the right to return back to their lives, their wives, their children, their jobs, their community – all the things that made life worth living. They had heard enough to know that Jesus had the power to give them just what they asked for. With no special potions, no special words – Jesus tells them that they will be healed. All they need to do is to show themselves to the priest, so that they can be restored into community.
They don’t even question Jesus – they immediately go back to their lives. Only 1 returns to thank Jesus for what he has done. Jesus gives him an additional blessing and tells him that his faith has made him whole. The others are healed on the outside – and yet Jesus knows that this one has been made whole on the inside too.
Jesus was in between Galilee and Samaria – his audience was mixed – we really have no idea how many of the lepers were Jewish and how many were Samarian. We never hear what happens in their lives after they return. What we do know that the one who thought to return to thank Jesus was a Samarian. Maybe he did not have a priest to return to. Maybe he did not have a family or life to return to. Maybe his mom had always taught him to say thank you – we don’t know what it was that made this one leper out of ten return to Jesus.
The one who stood out from the rest
What we do know is that this one was different – when all ten asked for mercy – nine were looking for cosmetic changes. Leprosy back then was understood as any type of skin condition. One was looking for changes in mind, body and spirit. Nine lepers were looking to get on with their lives – one wanted to live. Nine were looking for the acceptance of society – one was looking for the acceptance of God. One was looking for their past to be restored – one was looking toward the future. Nine were looking for changes – one was looking to be transformed. He was changed from the inside out. He was not the same person that he had been. He knew that from this moment on, once he had been touched by Jesus – things would never be the same. His life would be so much more than those dreams of the life that had been taken away from him. God had shown him a love that he could never imagine in a million years.
The interesting thing about this story, is that it is not about lepers. Jesus knew that no matter who they were, what was going on in their lives, or where they were from. There was nothing really wrong with them – but that they lives in a community of insiders and outsiders. You were considered a part of the church or not, by how pure you were. And it was very easy to be considered unclean. An outsider. Leprosy is not a deal breaker today – but what is. Many pastors I know are using this Sunday to talk about the large amount of young people who are committing suicide because they are gay – and feel that they have no place in society. Who are the people who stand outside of our lives, who we don’t accept, or talk to or deal with, or even remember to tell them that they are a child of God, thus always welcome.

Gratitude is faith
When you look at your life, which one are you – one of the nine or the one who stood out? Bear in mind that in those days- to say thank you was the last thing that you said to someone when the knew the relationship was over. If you knew you would never see the person again – you said thank you. The nine others had their lives restored – they were a part of the community again – they probably were not quite ready to saw good bye to Jesus – whereas the one – realized that no matter how hard he tried – things would never be the same for him- he could never go back to the man he used to be. That gesture of thanks seemed to really make a difference to Jesus. But this is not a sermon on gratitude – but on faith.

Story of ungratfulness
I can really relate to the story of Edward Spencer – he and I went to the same seminary – Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston. Edward attended that school in 1860 – a little bit before my time. One night, he was woken in the dorm – people were shouting that there had been an accident in the Winnetka harbor. A cargo ship has hit a cruise ship- people were in lake Michigan drowning. Edward was a good swimmer – so he ran the 31/2 miles to Winnetka to do what he could to help. He jumped in the water and started pulling people out- by dawn he had been able to rescue 15 people. He lay exhausted on the beach, when someone yelled that two more people were trapped on the ship. He swam back into the water and rescued them two. 300 people perished in the accident. 98 were rescued – Edward had saved 17 by himself. Unfortunately, Edward was never able to run the 3 ½ miles back down Sheridan Road to Garrett. As a matter of fact, Edward never returned to Garrett. After that night he lost the use his legs. He died an invalid in California. Late in his life, a reporter from the LA times interviewed him about his heroic rescue- he was asked what he remembered most about that night. He said that he remembered that of the 17 people that he rescued – not one of them ever said thank you. At least Jesus did get a thank you from one person. That one person who made all of the difference in the world.

I am sure that we can all identify with those 17 people. Some probably were healed – some did go on with their lives – some were genuinely grateful for being saved on that night, some probably even remembered that courageous seminary student who saved them. They just never got the chance to say thank you in person to him. Having no idea of what difference it would have made in the life story of the one who gave his legs, his hopes, his calling to save them. We are all grateful for the saviors that God has sent into our lives – who have given us life in so many ways. We really are grateful in our hearts – even though we don’t think to say it with our lips. Today is a perfect day to write a note, to make a phone call, to take someone out to lunch – to say thank you for all of the Edward Spencers in our life. But this is not a sermon about being thankful – this is a story about being faithful.
This is not a sermon about the nine lepers who went on with their lives – it is a sermon about that one who had been transformed and given new life by Jesus Christ. Jesus told the Samaritan- that his faith had made him well – not his thank you.
It is our faith that makes us well- not our thank you’s. The more faith is focused on Christ – the easier it is for us to remember to say thank you for each and every gift that we have been given.
Christ is always faithful, Christ always hears our cries of mercy. Christ always gives us love and life, but it is our response to Christ that gives us transformation and new life. It is our desire to say thank you that indeed makes the world a wonderful place to live for all people. What do you have to be thankful for today? How will you choose to live a thankful life today?

Story of thankfulness
In 1973 a missionary had been sent to acapolco to start a church, with no money, no building, no people. It was a struggle, but in the midst of his tears, he would look up on a hilltop every day and see a large cross. It was that cross that kept him focused on what needs to be done. He kept praying for guidance. One day he decided to climb the hill to find out why the cross was there. Expecting to find a church – he found it on top of a hotel. He asked to speak to the owner to say thank you. When he got to the owner, the owner cried. Everyone else stopped by to complain about the cross, he was the first person in five years to say thank you.
What most people thought of as a complaint, one faithful person found to be a source of gratitude. The hotel owner allowed him to have church services, and the Presbyterian church of America was born.
Gratefulness is faithfulness
Gratefulness is faithfulness. Every moment we have on earth brings a gift. Every person we meet is here for a reason, every word that we hear brings a lesson. Even if it is a lesson of faith, to become a stronger person and to receive our blessings in unexpected packages. Let us pray…..

Is God the answer to our modern questions?

October 18, 2009
Job 38:1-7 (34-41)
Hebrews 5:1-10
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
Year B
Is God the answer for our modern questions?

Joe was going to bed when his wife, Susie, informed him he had left the light on in the garden shed; she could see it from the bedroom window. But Joe said he hadn't been in the shed that day. He took a look, and there were people in the shed stealing things.

He called the police, but they told him that no one was in his area, so no one was available to catch the thieves. Joe said okay, hung up, counted to thirty, and called the police again.

"Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were thieves in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now; I just shot them all."

Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars in the area, an armed response unit-the works. Of course, they caught the burglars red-handed. One of the policemen said to Joe, "I thought you said you shot them!"

Joe replied, "I thought you said there were no cops available."[1]

In these days of budget cuts, this story cuts very close to home. As we expect help from others, and get an answer that no help is available. I just recently called the police myself, and was surpised when asked if I was expecting them respond to my call. In many ways I guess that is a sign of the times.
But the call for help in times of need is universal. The concern when those you depend on don’t help is also universal. That is why we have the story of Job. Where is God when I need God – is a universal question that we have all asked at some time or another.
God seems to hear Job asking questions and demanding personal audience, and comes to speak to Job personally. Job is convinced that he is innocent. He has done nothing to deserve all of these horrible things. And he does not intend on changing or doing anything to get out of all of this stuff. God has a responsibility to rescue him and make it all better. But when God does speak to him – God could care less about whether he is innocent or not. Whether he has been faithful, or even whether he deserves all of this bad luck.
Job has some unanswerable questions, but God has God’s own set of Questions. Where were you during creation? Do you know how to make the sun set? Do you know how to call the wind to blow? Job realizes that his ways are not God ways. And that God is always much wiser than we could ever be. God is much more in control of the the world than we could ever be. And we are a part of God’s plan, God is not a part of our plan. God has a reason for doing everything in life. And there is no way to be privy to God’s plan. Faith in tough times is just a matter of trusting that God has a reason for everything. Faith that things turn out for the good of those who believe in God.
Life is full of suffering – we cant do anything about it. Sometimes going through that suffering makes us stronger that we could ever believe. When we think about who we are today – much of what forms our character and personality comes from overcoming adversity and challenge in our lives.
God’s point to Job still applies to our modern day lives and our modern day problems. Today we experience illness, economic problems, accidents, times when we are doing the right thing, yet still suffering, Times when we see loved ones struggling and stand by feeling helpless. All of these things are in the Job story, all of these things are in our story. And yet God wants us to know that when we stop and think about it – God is with us. We can see the presence of God in our lives. We can see the hand of God, when we feel out of control. For me I can see that so clearly. And even when I don’t see that – I still trust in that. God is on control – even in times when I am at loss for what is going on – which is most of the time.
Last Thursday I went to the Borders in Schaumburg – hoping to get Julie Andrews to sign my book. Something told me to call ahead of time – but no, when I got there, they were not allowing anyone else to get in line for her signature. In order to pass the time away – I looked at al l of the bestsellers. One really caught my attention. It is called “The New Atheism”. New atheism – I have enough problem with the old atheism, for there the be a new one. Isnt that why our churches our dying? – because people don’t want to believe in God. When they see the evil of the world – they don’t know what to think, they don’t know how to recognize God’s presence in our lives. So people conclude that there is not God. Our experience tells us that once a person dies, they cant come back to life – so there is no need to take the story of Jesus seriously. When faced with the answerable questions in life – an atheist cant look beyond the questions.
It seems that the new atheism is a movement that has come out of observations of the events of 911. A group of scientist concluded that the events of 911 would never have happen if it wasn’t for religion. Thus it is their task to free the world of ignorance, myth and doctrine. They believe that believing in God has hurt more people than anything else. They take offense that in the aftermath of 911 that our politicians seemed to justify their policies of war and destruction with religious language.
I find it interesting that many of those call themselves new atheist are scientist. Scientist who believe that everything in the natural world can be explained by scientist, so there is no need to explain it by an outdated notion of God.
Yes it is true- science can explain most things in the natural world. Today we know why the sun rises. We know how the sun rises. We even know that heaven not up there in the sky- in the sky is the atmosphere of earth, space, the solar system, the sun and many universes beyond. And yet science has not found anything that resembles a heavenly throne room. As we look at the natural world – we can explain how everything that exist today came into being.
And yet when God talks with Job, he does not ask how creation came into being. Science has a very different answer than faith to that question. God consistently asks Job if he was there when creation came into being. Job says no, we have to say no, and the atheistic scientist have to answer that question no. you can explain the wind, but can you make the wind blow – can you control the weather? We may not understand why God makes the wind blow, but I can assure you that if it were humanly possible to stop a hurricane or to change its course – we would but science cant do that. We can explain nature, but we cant control it. Which is God’s reminder to Job. As much as we want to be in control of our lives – God is still in control. Our ways are not God ways. And and how and why God does anything is still mystery to us. How do we explain the events of 911 – personally I think it goes much beyond the fact that there were a few people zealous for God wanting to hurt us. There was history, there were consequences, there social reality, there was the human spirits desire to move beyond hurt and pain and learn to heal. All things which cant be defined simply be a scientific explanation.
Job came to God because he wanted to prove his innocence. There was no reason for these things to happen to him. God never doubted that Job was innocent. As a matter of fact, God had enough faith for Job to hold onto to his innocence and his faith no matter what happen to him. It was faith that bought him through to this point. Victor Frankl – a jewish man who went throught the holocaust said that as long as you have a why – you can endure any of the hows that life throws at you. As long as you have something to look forward to – all that happens to you is just a means to an end. It is not the end for you.
Job has many chances to become a new atheist and to say that there is no God. We have those same chances – to walk away at any moment and to join others in the world. Yet Job made a choice – to hold onto his faith in God not matter what. To know that God would make things clear if he asked in faith, and to accept whatever answer he received. If I am faithful – then I have to choose obendiance in good times and in bad. The lord giveth, the lord taketh away blessed be the name of the Lord.
I believe in the sun, even when the sun doesn’t shine. I believe in the daylight, even when it is dark, I believe in God even when God is silent, and out dated. What about you?