Love in Action

February 15, 2017 Matthew 5:38-48 Love in Action The Sixth Sunday of Epiphany The headlines from just this weekend in Chicago have been …appalling. An 11 year old shot in the head, minutes later a 12 year old shot. I saw a frantic plea on facebook to find a young activist before he committed suicide on facebook live. The 11 year old declared brain dead and taken off of life support. A two year old killed in gang retaliation. Just this morning lake shore drive was shut down for the second time in 3 days because of a fatal drive by shooting. As you listen to this every day you cant help but to ask what is going on. In 2016 there were 324 shootings involving children under 16, 36 of those were killed. In 2017 43 young people under 16 have been shot, 7 of those have been killed. In the 7 years that I have served as a pastor in Englewood, it seems that the problem is getting worse not better. It seems that the young men behind many of these shootings are being encouraged by the reporting of the statistics. It seems that they have less respect for human life, and that reporting these killings in the headlines makes the problem worse not better. As we sit in the pews of our churches, as we watch the news – Christians are asking when does it end. What can be done to stop this madness? What is the solution. When will people finally learn that violence is not the answer. When does peace prevail, and hatred cease? As Christians, many of us are searching, praying, working for peace. We look to scripture for an answer and a solution to the problems of today. On this day after Valentine’s Day during black history month- I was struck in how I found a message of radical love relevant for today. God always provides a word for every situation. For the last 3 weeks, the gospel lesson in the lectionary has been Jesus sermon on the mount. Jesus starts out his message by reminding the people that even in the midst of suffering they are blessed – loved people of God. Jesus knows that being a person of faith is not an easy task. Jesus understands the world that we live in. He understands the culture of retaliation very well. Retaliation is a form of justice. Of making things right in an unfair world. Even today, if you find the story behind each of these shootings, it is a response to something else that has happened. Jesus understood that the rule of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth was actually a law of mercy. When you retaliate, you repay someone for the act that has been committed and nothing else. Today it seems that we are all a part of this culture of relatiation – even faithful Christians. And yet in Matthew 5 Jesus gives us 6 rules of engagement for us to follow in this culture of retaliation. And with each one, he makes it harder and harder to be a Christian. The world has an understanding of doing things one way and Jesus tells us to do the exact opposite. To be Christian is to be counter cultural in a world of madness. I think puts his rules in a very effective way – you have heard it said, do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not take divorce lightly, watch out for your promises. But I say to you that as a Christian – you should take it one step further and do more not less. Our text for today deals with the last two of Jesus counter cultural moves. Go beyond the law of retaliation and do good those who oppress and victimize you and go beyond loving your neighbor and love all people, even those who don’t love us. Jesus makes it even harder to be a Christian in a crazy world. Many today find the message of turning the other cheek difficult. In the movie "Ghandi", the great Indian leader is walking one day with a Presbyterian missionary, Charlie Andrews. The two suddenly find their way blocked by young thugs. The Reverend Andrews takes one look at the menacing gangsters and decides to run for it. Gandhi stops him and asks, "Doesn't the New Testament say if an enemy strikes you on the right cheek you should offer him the left?" Andrews mumbles something about Jesus speaking metaphorically. Gandhi replies, "I'm not so sure. I suspect he meant you must show courage--be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor will you be turned aside." Yesterday on my facebook page, I shared a memory from 7 years ago… Nonviolent communication is not about winning, but about transforming a relationship. There are no winners and losers. - Andrew Young I wrote that post after visiting the civil rights exhibit at the field museum that year. I was struck with a video that showed the nonviolent training video for the Southern Christian Leadership conference. Where students were trained to respond to hatred by appealing to the humanity of the oppressor. By returning disrespect with respect. By showing radical love when it was not asked for. That concept of love in action has inspired me to not only strive to be in ministry to make the world a better place, but to be a better person in all circumstances. Andrew Young worked closely with martin Luther King during the civil rights movement. He says that his work for peace actually comes from the work of his wife. In the midst of negotiations with the klu Klux klan, he asked her to make sure that she pointed a gun at the head of the leader while they talked and she refused. She said that she would not threaten the life of another person. That she was a Christian and she lived a life of peace. Her attitude transformed his attitude. And he started to teach others to live according to the principles of the bible. the six rules of counter cultural engagement in a culture of relaliation. George Washington and Peter Miller were very close friends. Miller had done a great many favors for the army; he had given them spiritual nourishment and emotional strength during difficult times. When he came in to see George Washington he said, "General, I have a favor to ask of you." Washington said, "What is it?" He said, "I have come to ask you to pardon Michael Whitman." George Washington was stunned. He said, "Pastor Miller, that's impossible. Whitman has done everything in his power to betray us, even offering to join the British and help destroy us. I cannot be lenient with traitors, and for that reason I cannot pardon your friend." Peter Miller said, "Friend! He's no friend of mine. He's the most bitter enemy I've ever had in my life. For years he persecuted me and harassed me. He did everything he could to hurt my church and to hinder the preaching of the gospel. He even waited for me one time after church and beat me almost senseless, spitting in my face, knowing full well I would not strike him back." He said, "General, let's get this straight—Michael Whitman is no friend of mine." George Washington was puzzled. He said, "But you asked me to pardon him." He said, "I have, and I ask you to do it to me as a personal favor." He said, "Why?" He said, "Because that's exactly what Jesus has done for you and for me." With tears in his eyes, George Washington walked into the next room and soon returned with a paper on which was written the pardon of Michael Whitman. Peter Miller went personally with him to the stockade, saved Michael Whitman from the hangman's noose, personally took him back to his own home where he led him to faith in Jesus Christ. Peter Miller was right. What he did for Michael Whitman Jesus Christ has done for us, and on the cross said to us what we should say to others: "With malice toward none; with charity toward all." Showing radical love to those who show us hate, and retaliation. It worked for Jesus, it worked for the civil rights movement for a time, but will it work today? Will it work in Englewood, in Chicago? The theologican William Barclay says the key to the counter cultural resistance is the focus on personal relationships. I would tend to agree with him. The first 4 of the six countercultural rules apply to the way we treat our family, our friends that people that we meet everyday. The last two rules of engagement apply to those who are outside our circles of influence, but it is still about personal relationships. Barclay says that only a true Christian can fulfill all six of these rules of engagement. He says that the rules are not about what we do, but about what Christ can do. And only Christ can give the grace to have unconquerable benevolence and invincible good will in all of our relationships. It is only when we are solid in our relationship with Christ, that we can deal with the bitterness in the heart of people and still remain positive. Barclay goes on the say that these commandments are not about what other people do to us, it is in how we choose to respond to them. It is tuff being a Christian in such a cruel world. But he reminds us to pray in all circumstances, for all people. And it is pretty hard to hate someone and lift them up to God at the same time. A Christian response transforms the situation. (iv) It must be noted that Jesus laid this love down as a basis for personal relationships. People use this passage as a basis for pacifism and as a text on which to speak about international relationships. Of course, it includes that, but first and foremost it deals with our personal relationships with our family and our neighbors and the people we meet with every day in life. It is very much easier to go about declaring that there should be no such thing as war between nation and nation, than to live a life in which we personally never allow any such thing as bitterness to invade our relationships with those we meet with every day. First and foremost, this commandment of Jesus deals with personal relationship. It is a commandment of which we should say first and foremost; “This means me.” (v) We must note that this commandment is possible only for a Christian. Only the grace of Jesus Christ can enable a man to have this unconquerable benevolence and this invincible goodwill in his personal relationships with other people. It is only when Christ lives in our hearts that bitterness will die and this love spring to life. It is often said that this world would be perfect if only people would live according to the principles of the Sermon on the Mount; but the plain fact is that no one can even begin to live according to these principles without the help of Jesus Christ. We need Christ to enable us to obey Christ’s command. (vi) Lastly—and it may be most important of all—we must note that this commandment does not only involve allowing people to do as they like to us; it also involves that we should do something for them. We are bidden to pray for them. No man can pray for another man whom he is tempted to hate to God, something happens. We cannot go on hating another man in the presence of God. The surest way of killing bitterness is to pray for the man we are tempted to hate. Just ask…. Christ Makes the Impossible Possible A minister, Woody Garvin, spent his first years in ministry working among the Native Americans on the Hoopa Reservation in northern California. He tells the story of two young men who grew up in his congregation. Gerald Marshall was reared by his mother, Marie, a single parent. Gerald was somewhat retarded mentally, but he did all right. He worked at the post office as the night custodian, and served as a leader in the little reservation church. Pliny Doud was the other young man. His father, George, was also a single parent, and had raised Pliny. Pliny drifted away from the church. He started drinking heavily, and fell in with a rough crowd. One night, he and his friends decided to have some fun. They went to the post office to harass Gerald Marshall, the night custodian. But things did not go well. Gerald became confused, and began to resist. One thing led to another. Pushing turned to hitting. When it was all over, Gerald was lying on the floor. He didn't move. The other boys ran. When someone finally found Gerald lying on the floor, he was dead. Both the Marshall family and the Doud family had been members of the little reservation church. Both families left the church after the murder. Sometime later, Marie Marshall, Gerald's mother, began to attend church again. So did George Doud, the father of the boy who had killed Marie's son. One day, George came late to church and searched for a place to sit. The little church was nearly full. There was only one seat available. It was right next to Marie Marshall. So George sat down. It was Communion Sunday. Woody Garvin, the pastor, wondered what would happen when the communion elements were passed. What he saw was this: When the bread was passed, George Doud handed Marie Marshall the bread and said, "The love of Christ be with you!" And Marie responded, "And also with you!" When he handed her the cup, he said, "The peace of Christ be with you!" And she replied, "And also with you!" Christ always challenges us. He always calls us to be better than we are. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. Sometimes he asks the impossible. But then he makes it possible. Richard Niell Donovan, Peacemaking As we continue to read the headlines of the day – we will continue to ask when does it stop. What is the solution, what is the answer. Well at this moment, we don’t have an answer, there seems to be no solution. But I don’t think that it is our job as Christians to find solutions, but to develop personal relationships. To love and understand those who don’t understand and love us. TO appeal to the humanity in all situations. And to follow Christ 6 rules of engagement : control your anger, watch your thoughts, take responsibility for your own actions, watch your words, have not need of retaliation, and love those who consider themselves your enemies. The "peacemakers," therefore, are not simply those who bring peace between two conflicting parties, but those actively at work making peace, bringing about wholeness and well-being among the alienated. Robert A. Guelich, Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Understanding (W Publishing Group, 1991) SERMON ILLUSTRATION Martin Luther King's Greatest Achievement Not long before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the congregation at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church: If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that's not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. William Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, (Abingdon Press, 2002), p. 53; submitted by David Slagle, Wilmore, Kentucky [ read less ] Let us pray….. Amen. Extra illustrations…….. SERMON ILLUSTRATION Many Think Jesus Overstated Commands "Most people really believe that the Christian commandments (for example, to love one's neighbor as oneself) are intentionally a little too severe—like ... [ read more ] Save "Many Think Jesus Overstated Commands" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Freed from Greed When a fourth-century desert Egyptian monk named Macarius returned to his monastic cell one day, he found a thief stealing the few possessions he owned. ... [ read more ] Save "Freed from Greed" Not rated SERMON ILLUSTRATION Painful Revenge The mother ran into the bedroom when she heard her seven-year-old son scream. She found his two-year-old sister pulling his hair. She gently released ... [ read more ] Save "Painful Revenge" SERMON ILLUSTRATION "The Jackie Robinson Story": Turning the Other Cheek The Jackie Robinson Story is the 1950 movie about the life, challenges, and achievements of baseball star Jackie Robinson. With the help and vision of ... [ read more ] Save ""The Jackie Robinson Story": Turning the Other Cheek" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Students Battle Over Who Jesus Would Vote For In the 2004 presidential election, partisan fervor visited the University of North Carolina. Two students—one supporting George Bush, the other supporting ... [ read more ] Save "Students Battle Over Who Jesus Would Vote For" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Pastor Punched, Continues Sermon A pastor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, recently had an opportunity to practice what he preaches regarding turning the other cheek and showing forgiveness. The pastor ... [ read more ] Save "Pastor Punched, Continues Sermon" SERMON ILLUSTRATION Author Anne Lamott on Forgiveness Forgiveness means it finally becomes unimportant that you hit back. [ read more ] Save "Author Anne Lamott on Forgiveness" SERMON ILLUSTRATION The Bloodiest Century The 20th century was the bloodiest in human history. In Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century, Jonathan Glover estimates that 86,000,000 people ... [ read more ] Not rated Save "The Bloodiest Century" Not rated SERMON ILLUSTRATION Our Role as Peacemakers In his book Sermon on the Mount: A Foundation for Understanding, author and professor Robert A. Guelich writes of the role Christ-followers play as peacemakers: The peace intended is not merely that of political and economic stability, as in the Greco-Roman world, but peace in the Old Testament inclusive sense of wholeness, all that constitutes well-being… When Martin Luther King, Jr. began to stand up for the civil rights of black Americans, many who were full of prejudice subjected him to incredible injustice. His home was bombed. For thirteen years everyday of his life he lived under constant threats of death. He was accused of being a Communist. He was stabbed by a member of his own race. He was jailed more than twenty times. Most of his sermons were written in jail cells. Yet, Martin Luther King said, "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. I would add only one word to Dr. King's words, and that is the word-divine. Divine love can indeed turn an enemy into a friend. The only way we can even begin to have that kind of love is to look to the Father. Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 1964. Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Stockholm, Sweden, December 11, 1964. Later Martin Luther King, Jr. would take this principle from the Sermon on the Mount and use it to revolutionize America. King used to say, "No man can pull me down so low as to make me hate him." The real goal, said King, was not to defeat the white man, but to awaken a sense of shame within the oppressor and to challenge his false sense of superiority. "The goal is reconciliation, redemption, the creation of the beloved community." These words of Jesus are totally out of step with the world. The real world believes in retaliation. 75 percent of Christians believe in capital punishment because they think we can stop the killing by killing the killers. That's retaliation. CHRISTIAN LOVE 2. The Reason for it Matthew 5:43–48 (continued) WE have seen what Jesus meant when he commanded us to have this Christian love; and now we must go on to see why he demanded that we should have it. Why, then, does Jesus demand that a man should have this love, this unconquerable benevolence, this invincible goodwill? The reason is very simple and tremendous—It is that such a love makes a man like God. Hebrew is not rich in adjectives; and for that reason Hebrew often uses son of … with an abstract noun, where we would use an adjective. For instance a son of peace is a peaceful man; a son of consolation is a consoling man. So, then, a son of God, is a godlike man. The reason why we must have this unconquerable benevolence and goodwill is that God has it; and, if we have it, we become nothing less than sons of God, godlike men. Childrens sermon…… Object: A bandage. Good morning, everyone. I hope this is a good day for you. Things are almost always good for you, aren't they? I suppose that the only really bad times you have are when you get hurt while playing. Is that right? Has anyone been hurt this summer? [Let them respond ... look for leg or arm cuts.] Boy, that must have really hurt! Did you cry? I suppose if it was that serious you had to quit playing. [Now work for the answer that they had to stop what they were doing and go home to be fixed up.] If you had to quit playing because of the cut, I suppose you went home to be helped. What kind of help do you get for a cut like that? Do you ever have to use a bandage? I thought so. By putting some medicine and a bandage on it we know that it soon will be better and then we can start playing again. Right? Well, God said that sometimes we need to use another kind of medicine that will help fix us up just like the bandage we use when we are hurt. Let me tell you what I mean. Sometimes we think about going to church on Sunday, but we remember that we have had a bad fight with one of our friends. It may even have been his fault because he started it. Still, we really hurt because we are not friends anymore. God says we need a bandage -- a special kind of bandage that will help us to stop hurting. This bandage is called "forgiving love." When we go to our friend and tell him that we are sorry and that we don't want to fight anymore, then our hurt begins to feel a lot better. God then says when we have used that kind of a bandage on ourselves we should come to church and he will make us completely healthy again. Do you know what I am talking about? You remember when you had a fight or an argument with your friend and how badly you felt. Just think how good it would have been if you had gone and told him that you forgave him and that you were sorry that it ever happened. That's called reconciling. That's a big word, but that's God's medicine for making peace here on earth. Now the next time you see a bandage, remember that God wants you to make peace with all who are not happy with you.

Help us Accept Each Other

September 4, 2011
Year A
“Help Us Accept Each Other”
Romans 13:8-14
Matthew 18:15-20
12th Sunday After Pentecost

Sanibonani – that means hello to you all in Zulu – the language of blacks in South Africa. And you would respond…..
Another important zulu word is ubuntu. Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu have made this word popular around the world. It is a very important word in all of African culture. It means I am because you are. It means that my humanity is tied up in who you are. It means I am a human being because of you. You define my life.

It is a spirit of community, togetherness. It drives us to help others. It is also the definition of love. Because true love is not a feeling, or emotion. True love is who we are as a church, how we treat one another, how loyal we are to the whole and not just to some of the parts. The way in which we love one another is a reflection of God.

Over the next few weeks in our lessons we will deal with who we are as a church and what Jesus calls the church to be. We will talk about how we are supposed to treat one another. Matthew 15-35 will deal with the very topic. Christ realized that the only way his disciples could carry on his work was to work together in community. If there were things that stood in the way of loving one another, there were things that stood in the middle of the mission.
Ubuntu is unity.
But I also need to say that not all unity is healthy. There are times when we are united by our own survival and self interest. There are times when we are united because we have a secret. Sometimes we are united because of unhealthy emotions.
Only unity in Christ is ubuntu – true love.
We only have two more chapters of Romans until we start to deal with the four chapters of Phillippians. In Romans, Paul is telling new Christians how to be the body of Christ in the face of Roman oppression. In Matthew Jesus is preparing the disciples for the persecution ahead. It is interesting that Jesus mentions the word church in these verses, and yet Jesus would not have known what a church was. Matthew was writing in the second century of the early church. There too was a small struggling community, struggling against the circumstances of life.
Jesus knew, and Paul came to realize that the biggest threat to the church was not out there somewhere. It continues to be right here in this room. It is ourselves, and the ways in which we treat one another. And the ways that we explain away the behavior of others, and we allow others to be treated.
It is inevitable – whether we are a family, a church or just a gathering. Wherever 2or 3 are gathered, there is going to be some form of woundedness, someone is going to feel hurt, someone is going to feel offended, someone is going to feel victimized. Whereever 2or 3 are gathered there is going to be sin – jealousy, resentment, nosiness. Sin is something in your life that at the moment is more important to you than God and God’s commandment to love one another. Romans 13:8 says – Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The 10 commandments are instructions to love one another is a world that shows no love. Sermon on the mount – sermon on unconditional love. There is really no way that you can escapte the law of love.
In the fall there is this new show coming on called Revenge. I am dying to watch it. It is a series about a beautiful young woman whose father was killed. The tag line of the show says this is not a show about forgiveness. I have been scratching my head all summer dying to understand what that means. Even the Hebrew bible says an eye for an eye. In other worlds once you kill the person that killed your father – its over, the debt has been paid and it is time to move on. Revenge for revenge sake is crazy thinking. And people who walk around thinking that it is their job to seek revenge become crazy soul sick people. They not only put their souls in a very dangerous place, they become dangerous people. Forgiveness and reconciliation is not about the other person, it is always about you. It cleans your soul and allows you to move on. Forgiveness and reconciliation are the major part of God’s law of love. There is no escaping it, and we all have to come to that realization in life whether we want to or not. Every story is a story of forgiveness and reconciliation eventually. Creation is God’s law, justice is God’s law, mercy is God’s law and love is God’s law. You cant escpae it no matter how hard you try.
Where 2or 3 are gathered there is sin – but in the midst of it all there is also love. Because there is Jesus Christ in the midst.
If you look at Matthew 18 – it spells out the rules for confronting sin within the Christian community. Confronting sin means stop pretending that there is nothing wrong. Whatever it is, it needs to come out in the open.
Things that live in darkness, secrecy and unspoken understandings become the devil’s playground. When the meeting in the parking lot becomes more important than the meeting at the table, something is wrong. Problems that are never dealt with continue to fester and get worse. When they come to the light of Christ – they are resolved and they go away. Matthew 16 says that there is a process to the way that you confront. First you come face to face with the person and you confront them alone to tell them what they did wrong (or what you think they did wrong). Then you being a witness along with you, and then you confront them with the entire church. And you pray through the whole process. Another person put it this way…
1. Put Your Complaint into Words
2. Tell the Person about It in Person
3. Counsel with Other Wise Christians.
4. Make Use of the Christian Fellowship.
5. Never Give up Trying


The most important thing to remember is that you cant have confrontation without reconciliation. The point of the process is to learn to forgive.
A story of 4 friends
Four friends gathered for lunch after church as they did every Sunday. They went into their favorite café to talk. They had gathered for so long – that the conversation could go anywhere. They could be talking about their gardens and which vegetables didn’t come up this year. They could be talking about the new sewing project one had started, they could be talking about the new garage one just had designed. Then the conversation flows to more practical issues – the sermon they heard, the music the choir sang/
Today as the four picked their seat – one noticed that there was a young man at the table next to them – sitting all alone. She seemed to have recognized him – she could see the family resemblance – she must have known his father.
But she too immediately got into the conversation. The conversation always goes from church business to church gossip. And she had a good one to talk about – Patty. Patty was in the choir with her, but when she saw her at the grocery store last Saturday she did not even speak. It seems that every since Patty inherited that money from uncle, she has become very stuck up. She doesn’t talk to anyone. But this time our friend was offended. She did not appreciate this treatment at all.
Did you speak to Patty? Asks one of the friends. This person obviously didn’t understand the situation. If you noticed what was going on with Patty did you speak to Patty. As the friend looks away – she notices the gaze of the young man at the next table – he is looking right at her, his eyes seem sad, even a little concerned. But he is very quiet.
As her attention goes back to her friends- and the conversation she is upset but she listens to their advice. Maybe you should just go to Patty and ask her what is going on. You never know until you talk with her. If you sense there there is a problem talk with her – afterall, we are church members. Jesus calls us to forgive one another and to resolve our differences. When we feel that we have been hurt – Jesus asks us not to dwell in the pain – but to go directly to the person and resolve the issue. If you cant resolve the issue between the two of you – take some others with you. Afterall – Jesus reminds us that he is always with us – where two or three are gathered his presence is there.
And suddenly it came to her – she recognized the young man at the table- he did indeed look just like his father. Whom she knew so well also. But she also realized why her relationships with those in her church were so important. Because wherever those relationships were present – so was that young man who looked so familiar.

That young man was Jesus Christ himself. Jesus says that where 2 or 3 are gathered, so is Christ. The combination of us and Christ unleashes a powerful spirit. In the face of God we have to put aside our selfishness, our pride, our predjudice and the the holy spirit reign in the situation.
You have to realize that you love God more than you love being right. Because whatever it is that hold your spirit, hold you.
There is a Russian saying that we need to make peace with people and make war with our sin. Sometimes even in the church we like to do the opposite.

Forgiveness is a choice to put our future in God’s hands. Oprah said forgiveness is finally realizing that whatever it was that happened in the past, there is nothing you can do to change it. I would add that forgiveness is the decision to put it all in God’s hands. Forgiveness is the choice to leave the past behind and to live in God’s future. Christ calls us not to get so caught up in the way things are, and to embrace the way things can be. To create heaven here on earth – just in your attitude. To free ourselves of whatever it is that is holding us back.

True Freedom in Forgiveness
When Bill Clinton met Nelson Mandela for the first time, he had a question on his mind: "When you were released from prison, Mr. Mandela," the former President said, "I woke my daughter at three o'clock in the morning. I wanted her to see this historic event." Then President Clinton zeroed in on his question: "As you marched from the cellblock across the yard to the gate of the prison, the camera focused in on your face. I have never seen such anger, and even hatred, in any man as was expressed on your face at that time. That's not the Nelson Mandela I know today," said Clinton. "What was that about?"

Mandela answered, "I'm surprised that you saw that, and I regret that the cameras caught my anger. As I walked across the courtyard that day I thought to myself, ‘They've taken everything from you that matters. Your cause is dead. Your family is gone. Your friends have been killed. Now they're releasing you, but there's nothing left for you out there.' And I hated them for what they had taken from me. Then, I sensed an inner voice saying to me, ‘Nelson! For twenty-seven years you were their prisoner, but you were always a free man! Don't allow them to make you into a free man, only to turn you into their prisoner!'"
You can never be free to be a whole person if you are unable to forgive.
Ubuntu – I can only be as human as I allow you to be.

We all have the power to bind and the power to set free. Whatever you are still holding onto – is still holding on to you. Whether it is the past, a person, an injustice, a resentment – God is asking you right now to let it go. That is the law of God’s love.

With faith comes goodness, with goodness comes knowledge, with knowledge comes self control, with self control comes endurance, with endurance comes godliness, with godliness comes mutual affection, with mutual affection comes love. Let us pray..

Prayer of Tears - All Saint's Day

November 1, 2009
All Saint’s Day
Isaiah 25:6-9
John 11:32-44
Year B


Let me start by rereading the Isaiah scripture – it is not very long.

On this mountain the Lord will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well ages wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take way from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he moght save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

God makes a profound promise in this passage – he will swallow up death. Then God will wipe away the tears from all faces. Everything that we are struggling with at the moment will disappear.
This is a profound reversal of the human condition. Living on this earth just naturally causes pain, tears and suffering. It does not matter who we are. Every year – at All Saints day we need to stop and to honor the grief in our lives.
I just returned from a wonderful spiritual experience at the Upper Room in Nashville. Trevor Hudson was our spiritual leader for the week. Trevor is a pastor from South Africa- but he travels all over the world to talk about the spiritual journey. He talked about what it meant to be a minister. He said that it is important to listen to the life of everyone. All of us have a pool of tears next to us in life. There is something that we are struggling with. And it is important in ministry to acknowledge that sadness in every life. We need to give a healthy place for our grief.
Another profound part of the text in Isaiah is that God promises that there is a place for us to go and to meet God – to be fed richly and lavishly by God. The church is that place to come and to feel safe to grieve.
As a child, every year in my grade school we had this haunted house. As we got older and saw the same exhibits year after year – you got use to them, but we still went anyway. The highlight of the haunted house was sticking our hands into the black cardboard box. We were supposed to be grossed out by what was in the box. By the fifth grade, we all knew that the box had cooked spaghetti in it. But we stuck our hand in anyway.
I tell you that cheesy story because in many ways All Saints Day is that black cardboard box. It is the place we come to be in touch with the spirits that have passed on to the other side. We all know that this is just an ordinary candle – but in some way we also know that it contains the spirit of the departed. We are a part of the mystery and the veil between life and death. This is the day to realize that there is a thin line between our world and God’s world. There is a thin line between life and death.
Originally All Saints day was created because it was believed that departed souls had not made it to heaven, they needed the prayers of the faithful to finish their journey.
Today we celebrate the presence of loved ones. They are here with us. I used carpenters tape to keep our pictures of loved ones up and displayed, and they continue to fall down anyway. That is a reminder that this moment is not intended to last forever. Their spirit is with us right now, but wont be here forever.
A saint is a child of God – so they now have a place in God’s world. The sickness, the trouble, the pain, the suffering of this world is no longer present for them. They are at God’s table enjoying the feast. Their spirit is free and they have a new life.

All Saints day is for the living – for those left behind. It is for us to acknowledge that we still live in that world of pain. We are the ones to carry on the legacy of their life lived here on earth. We need to acknowledge our pool of tears. The spirits are here with us for now, but they are now seeking eternity.

John says that Jesus was so touched by the human condition that he wept. What is it that makes Jesus cry? He wept for us, yet reminded us of new life.

In scripture today – Jesus woke Lazarus and told them to unbind him and let him go on with his life. What is is that binds us today? What do we need to let go of in order to move forward to journey to that glorious banquet waiting for us?
We need to acknowledge the abundant feast we have before su everyday as our loved ones join us.

A man’s newborn daughter died recently. She had been sick for her whole life. One night he had a dream about his father and his wife’s father – both of whom had passed on. His wife’s father was holding a baby girl but he did not make the connection. Both men talked to the man and told him that everything was okay. They were both watching over the family from heaven. That their family spanned both heaven and earth. They were taking good care of the baby and she was happy. It was then that he realized that his was his baby girl – and he realized the wonderful connection he had to heaven through his loved ones. He woke up with a feeling of comfort and peace.

We cant have life without death. There are times like these that our friends and family come from heaven to invite us to the feast no matter what. We are all part of God family. We are at those thin places in life were for moments we are reunited.

All will be reconciled by God. We will all one day be at that table of God. But we cannot have the reconciliation of our whole family without hospitality, welcomness, forgiveness, and acknowledgement of our grief.

Tears are a part of life.
Finally I want to leave you with this poem
This is from a book by Edward Hays – called Pray in all ways. He says that our lives are a prayer, and that we can pray in many ways – with our hands, our feet, our hands. Our tears are even a prayer. There are times when we may not have to words to express our pain and request to God – it does not matter – God can read our tears….. This is the prayer of tears

Lord, beloved God,
since all communion with you is prayer,
may even my tears be psalms of petition
and canticles of praise to you.
This is a prayer that you value greatly:
the prayer of my tears;
it is a prayer that you always hear
for you are a compassionate and kind God.
And, Lord, I know you understand
that whan I am overcome by my tears -
unable to speak or form a prayer -
that these very tears voice volumes of verse.
All truly great prayer
rises from deep inside
and springs spontaneously to the surface.
It would then seem
that from among the many beautiful prayers,
the sacred songs and canticles of praise,
my tears may be the best worship of all.
Help me not to be ashamed of them;
show me how I can let go of control
and let this prayer of my heart, my tears,
flow naturally and freely to you,
my blessed Lord and divine Lover.
In times of joy or sorrow,
blessed be my tears,
the holy prayers of my heart.
AMEN.