worship

Sunday’s Sermon – On Trial – Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

August 11, 2019 Leave a Comment

“May it please the court.” Though not in every case, these words often begin courtroom proceedings. Throughout high school and college, they were part of a standard for the mock trial teams I was on as we addressed the fictitious courtroom in competitions. They established a rhythm and guided us into the argument. This morning, as we approach our text from Isaiah, it’s appropriate to parallel it with the patterns of our legal justice system, for the verses we find in this chapter are just that: a courtroom scene.

Isaiah 1:1 is essentially the “May it please the court.” It is the introduction that locates this prophet within a certain place and time. Namely, that this is a vision given to a particular person from Judah, the southern kingdom of God’s people, during the reign of particular kings, making the historical timeline around the 8^th century B.C.E. From this we know a bit more about how to locate this text among the first hearers of its message:

The Assyrian campaign of 701 BCE has left Judah devastated. The nation is sick. From head to toe, the body does not have a single healthy, sound spot. . . Only Jerusalem is left, and that city’s condition is tenuous[i].

To these people of God comes Isaiah, whose name is a combination of the root words in Hebrew for God and salvation, and can roughly be translated to mean “God has saved” or “God will save.” From the start, we get a sense that his prophecy will include a recurring theme of God’s saving sovereignty over history and all the nations. And indeed it does. These parallels are why it is such a meaningful book in the Hebrew scriptures for us as Christians who believe that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the prophecies for the coming of the Messiah. What might seem just a cursory introduction verse for us actually tells us quite a bit about what we will hear next. The verses that follow are like the prosecutor’s opening statement, telling us what to look for in the evidence that will be presented. They illustrate the prophet’s passion for God’s message of salvation as well as God’s concern for justice, laying the groundwork for the beautiful and challenging poetry that will come.

With the stage set, the prophet launches into the brutal honesty of the facts. Verses 2-9, which are skipped in the lectionary, present some harsh evidence about what my study bible labels “the wickedness of Judah.” The charges are read, if you will. A courtroom parallel might be that these are pre-trial stipulations. That is, that both sides have agreed that a certain set of statements are true. In the case of God vs. the people of Judah, the picture looks pretty bleak from the start.

Verses 10-20 unleash God’s response. To get a sense of what he’s saying, hear again part of this passage as it’s relayed in Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase:

Quit your worship charades.
I can’t stand your trivial religious games:
Monthly conferences, weekly Sabbaths, special meetings—
meetings, meetings, meetings—I can’t stand one more!
Meetings for this, meetings for that. I hate them!
You’ve worn me out!
I’m sick of your religion, religion, religion,
while you go right on sinning.
When you put on your next prayer-performance,
    I’ll be looking the other way.
No matter how long or loud or often you pray,
    I’ll not be listening

And do you know why? Because you’ve been tearing
    people to pieces, and your hands are bloody [ii].

Yikes. This is a tough message to swallow. This, in some ways, is the point. Isaiah presents a powerful and scathing message, meant to jar listeners to change their behaviors. And for those of us sitting in the sanctuary for worship this week, with no less than THREE committee meetings on our calendar of events, we might be shifting in our seats in a bit of uneasiness or even outright shock, wondering if we have parallels with the 8^th century BCE after all. Those places of uneasiness, I think, are the Spirit that encourages us to examine and critique our own lives, so that we might grow to be more faithful.

As we consider this text in relation to our lives today, though, we might get hung up on one of the things that Isaiah identifies as being particularly problematic – the unworthy sacrifices being offered that God rejects. As Christians, we tend to not have a good understanding of their role in ancient Jewish practice, so Anna Case-Winters offers us a quick summary to catch up. She notes that:

There are different kinds of offerings. Some are understood purely as gifts to God. Peace offerings are meant to signal a reconciled relation with God. Other offerings are intended as expiation for breaches of ritual committed in ignorance. Forgiveness of other kinds of wrongs or wrongs done knowingly is never related to sacrifice, but is dependent upon repentance and confession. There is no understanding of divine forgiveness being “purchased” by sacrifice (propitiation)[iii].

In other words, the sacrifices and offerings that the people were making comprised a majority of the same components that we address with our acts of worship: our offering of praise and thanksgiving through hymns and affirmations of faith; our reflections on the Scripture, and yes, the admission of our shortfalls with confession. The issue here is not that the people of God have missed something they were supposed to be doing in order to receive God’s favor. God doesn’t work on a system of quid pro quo. Forgiveness is always the gracious act of God, even in the Hebrew scriptures. However, it seems that God’s people have tried to make it this way.

The priests in Jerusalem had been highly successful in increasing religious display. They apparently taught the people that the more sacrifices they made, the greater the chance that their desires would be grated. The fatter the animal, the better the reward[iv].

The people of Judah have been attempting to manipulate God’s goodness and favor with sacrificial offerings, as if God could be bought or bribed. And when this becomes what happens, the sacrifices become less about God, and more about the self-centered people who offer them.

We hear similar messages in Psalm 50, and also in Amos, Hosea, and Micah. All push against the offering of sacrifices or other worship rituals done for show or simply done out of obligation. They insist that they are idle exercises unless true change happens within. Put quite simply, the prophetic witness tells God’s people, over and over again, that our faith is not just about going through the motions and doing all the right steps or saying the right things. It has to be about something more.

Isaiah is calling out the people of Judah’s hypocrisy. What he has observed is that even those claiming to be the most pious have gotten caught up in the pageantry and display of worship, or of going through the motions, and have lost sight of the relationship that their worship has to their lives and their hearts. What really is “on trial” here, then, is not so much the methodologies of sacrifice and worship practices, but the hearts of the worshipers themselves. Isaiah is not suggesting that we not worship. But rather, that we pay better attention to our lives outside of the sanctuary; because what happens in the world shouldn’t be separate from what happens in our worship. That separation is what is so offensive to the prophet and to God.

We can’t simply go through the motions and assume that everything will be magically right with the world. Our worship, in order to be pleasing to God, must be linked with the lives we live. When it isn’t, our faith is emptyhanded. In the wake of yet another round of mass shootings, there has been sharp critique for those who offer “thoughts and prayers” to those experiencing tragedy in El Paso and Dayton. Every time I hear someone blow off genuine expressions of sympathy I get pretty cranky. After all, as a Christian, I believe we are indeed called to pray for those who are struggling. Last week, I heartbreakingly read the names of countless cities who had been impacted by gun violence with multiple victims; a staggering list in just one week’s time, with 2 major stories in the 24 hours preceding our worship. In times of tragedy and fear and terrorism, sometimes the only thing we can think to do is pray. And that is a good and faithful response. But the thing is; prayer can’t just be the only thing we do. If we truly take Isaiah’s words to heart, we must consider that our prayers beckon us into real, tangible action in the world. Otherwise, they are offered up almost in vain and leave us emptyhanded with a hollow faith.

This text convicts the parts of us that try to separate our lives to the point that we end up with “Sunday morning selves” and “rest of the week selves.” Not good enough, says the prophet. If we want to truly worship and offer ourselves to God, we have to do the work outside of these walls, too. This is the work of the people of God. In our communion prayers we ask that we be living and holy sacrifices. That means we are committed to being a part of God’s work in the world, not just thinking or praying about God doing it. Fortunately, Isaiah gives a pretty good listing of ways in which we can marry the two. As The Message puts it:

Say no to wrong.
    Learn to do good.
Work for justice.
    Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
    Go to bat for the defenseless[v]

It is when we do these things that we live into the covenant God created with us.

When it comes to a trial, the general advice is that the attorney should always end by asking the judge or jury for the verdict they desire, so that is the final thought. In Isaiah 1, God’s final word is not one of condemnation, but one of grace. “Come, let us argue it out,” God says, inviting us into reconciling conversation. The verb in this verse even:

comes from the language of the law court, and it refers to the kind of discourse that results in the disclosure of the truth[vi].

But rather than a dramatic trial in which God takes all of our offerings and shows how flimsy they really are, God offers words of promise and reconciliation. Nothing is beyond God’s redemption. In fact, God can and will transform everything into its pure state. Here, God shifts from prosecutor into arbiter, offering a path to forgiveness. God offers grace. It is not a cheap grace, but grace offered in the midst of our mess, from one who longs for us to be rehabilitated and restored once again.

This passage puts our lives, even and especially our spiritual lives “on trial” from start to finish. Isaiah deftly navigates the complexities of the lives of the people of Judah, and us today, with a beautiful poetry that weaves together a tight and concise case. The evidence is overwhelming; the offenses made clear. His words should prompt, then, a sharp examination of ourselves up against the vision God has for us as God’s own people, during which we likely discover the many ways in which we fall short and screw things up. But then comes the final offer of proof and request not for a punishment, but for reconciliation and the opportunity to turn things around. God is not finished with God’s people yet. Would we dare to accept this as the verdict?

That is the question left to the people of Judah, and to us today. Knowing of God’s displeasure with some of our choices and simultaneous desire to be in relationship with us to right these wrongs into a new way of living, how will we respond?

~Sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, August 11, 2019

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[i] Gary W. Light, Isaiah, Interpretation Bible Studies, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001).
[ii] Eugene Peterson, The Message.
[iii] Anna Case-Winters, “Theological Perspective: Isaiah 1:1, 10-20,” Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 3, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010)
[iv] Gary W. Light, Isaiah, Interpretation Bible Studies, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2001).
[v] Eugene Peterson, The Message.
[vi] Charles B. Cousar, Beverly R. Gaventa, J. Clinton McCann, James D. Newsome, “Proper 14” Texts for Preaching: A Lectionary Commentary based on the NRSV – Year C, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994)

Sunday’s Sermon – The Work of Worship – Nehemiah 8:1-12; Luke 4:14-21

January 27, 2019 Leave a Comment

Intro to Scripture reading

This morning our second Scripture reading comes from the book of Nehemiah. As we prepare to listen, I wanted to take a few moments to put this lesser-known book from the Hebrew Scriptures into context. The book of Nehemiah reflects personal memoirs of a great leader in the Persian empire whose heart remained in Jerusalem. The king took note of Nehemiah’s care, and gave him permission to travel to Judah in order to rebuild it. Alongside the book of Ezra, Nehemiah presides over a community in severe conflict, dispute, and fragmentation.

The future of the people is in serious doubt. Enemies attach from outside, but even more disruptively internal disagreement threaten to undermine the community’s future. The people form factions arguing about who is in and who is out, who should govern, how the temple can be rebuilt, how Jerusalem can be reestablished in safety and peace[i].

The majority of the book describes the literal rebuilding of Jerusalem, including its boundaries and gates and lengthy lists of those who had returned from exile. But our text today is about a different kind of building plan and list as the people gather together, one that may just speak to our understanding of what it means to be God’s people today. So together, let us listen for what the Spirit is saying to the church:

Nehemiah 8:1-12

All the people gathered together into the square before the Water Gate. They told the scribe Ezra to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had given to Israel. ²Accordingly, the priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could hear with understanding. This was on the first day of the seventh month. ³He read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the law. ⁴The scribe Ezra stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the purpose; and beside him stood Matt-eh-thy-a, shee-mah,, An-eye-ah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and May-as-iah on his right hand; and Ped-eye-ah, Mish-el, Mal-ki-jah, Hah-shum, Hash-bad-day-nah, Zechariah, and Meh-shoo-lum on his left hand. ⁵And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. ⁶Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. Then they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. ⁷Also Jeshua, Ban-eye, share-ah-bye-ah, Jay-men, Aack-kub, Shab-beth-a-eye, Hodiah, May-as-iah, Ke-lie-ta, Azariah, Joe-zah-bad, Hanan, Pel-iah, the Levites,^[^a^] helped the people to understand the law, while the people remained in their places. ⁸So they read from the book, from the law of God, with interpretation. They gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

⁹And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” ¹¹So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” ¹²And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

After the construction is complete, the real work begins. This passage from Nehemiah transitions readers from literal nuts and bolts to the components of another framework for living – worship. In these verses, we observe the people of God gathering just as we do week after week, eager for a fresh reading of holy Scripture, and finding strength and joy in the Word of the Lord. This, of course, was a time without paper pages and Bible apps on their phones; the people relied on scribes like Ezra to read the sacred texts, and reader and hearers alike relied on the movement of the Holy Spirit to bring about understanding. In these verses, we get both, a beautiful time capsule image of the people of God in worship. The greater context of Nehemiah and post-exilic Israel remind us that this is more than just a report of worship; it is a highly symbolic moment for God’s people starting anew. They gather at the gates of the city, a location in the ancient world meant for deliberation and judgment. In worship, the people affirm what kind of a community they will be: one that again looks to God’s law for wisdom and understanding. This is where they will find their unity and purpose once again.

There are many things we can do on our own, but being a Christian isn’t one of them. We need to find community with other believers in order to make sense of our lives. Did you notice the number of times the word “all” was used in today’s text? Eleven times in just 12 verses. The writer of Nehemiah clearly wanted to convey not just a sense of unity from the people, but a broad understanding of inclusivity within the community. This hearing and understanding of God’s word wasn’t just for a few selected leaders. It was for everyone. Those lists of names? Daunting for the reader, and in fact the lectionary assignment skips over them. But I added them back in because they remind us, I think, of the great presence of community. It would be like sharing what happened in worship, and taking time to read out the names in the attendance pads you signed at the beginning of the service. Every name matters. Every person gathered in this community matters, both for the people of Israel and for us today. We need each other here, every one, to offer the best we can for worship.

The reason each person is so important? Because we each have a job to do. The theological word we use to describe the words we say in worship is “liturgy.” It comes from the Greek word leitourgia, which is composed from the words for work (ergon) and people (laos)[ii]. If you wanted to translate it the most literally, you get the idea that “liturgy” means the “work of the people.” In other words, it is something we do together. Our worship is “liturgical” because it invites everyone to take an active role in making it happen. Our worship is also work. Author Dean Chapman likens this kind of work to gardening. He writes:

I like to garden. I like to prepare the soil, arrange and plant landscapes, care for flowers and vegetables, and ultimately, enjoy the harvest. My back sometimes gets sort from all the bending, and I usually work up a good sweat, but overall, gardening is a pleasant experience for me. No matter how you look at it, though, gardening is work. There are no arcades at the mall attracting teenagers to spend their money for a chance to mix soil amendments or pull weeds. Gardening is work. It’s just that it’s worth it to me. Worship, likewise, is worthwhile work.

. . . [Later he notes]

Worship is not just any work, of course.

It is the very specific work of waiting upon God.[iii]

So what is the work we do in our worship? In some places, this is obvious. The Call to Worship and other moments have written responses for those sitting in the pews. We stand and sing together. We join in corporate prayers – sometimes the pastor even creates space for you to speak during the Prayers of the People – fair warning, that’s happening again today. We put gifts in the plates. All of this involves engagement from everyone who is here to make it the best offering we have to God. We do this because we believe that we are the priesthood of all believers. While some have specific roles to fill as leaders in the church, we all carry the great responsibility of making worship happen. In fact, worship is probably the greatest task we have as disciples.

Even in this time set apart for the pastor to ramble on for an extended period of time, there is work for you to do. Dean Chapman describes it this way:

Preaching is far more than one person’s commentary on scripture; preaching is the unfolding of scripture into our lives in the moment of hearing. . . . Preaching is the priest’s encounter with God . . . if you are listening only for a point, or an interesting idea, that’s all you will hear. You will have listened to God as you listen to a history lecture. You will have listened as an unbeliever, not as a priest. To listen as a priest is to tune your whole being to the sermon[iv].

The people gathered to listen to Ezra certainly got that this was their calling. They stood for the reading of God’s Word, and were attentive to Ezra from early morning to midday. They responded with joyful hands raised and the proclaiming “Amen, Amen!” This was no passive audience. They were engaged and energized by this experience of worship.

As Reformed Christians, our worship centers around the Word, just as the worship in our text today. You can see glimpses of it in virtually every component of our worship. Often our liturgy is taken directly from the Bible itself. The shape and substance of our worship is marked appropriately by the rich language found in the holy words of Scripture. Our worship is oriented this way because we have that same sense as the people of Nehemiah’s day that God’s law, the Torah, should be foundational to how we live our lives. And we gather week after week hoping to glean some new understanding that might inform what we do next. The Word is how we believe God is revealed to us, and through which we might be transformed to be more faithful. Carter Lester reminds us:

God’s Word can do all of that, because the Scriptures give us a lens to look at this world and our lives through God’s eyes. We are reminded of God’s presence and love when we otherwise might feel alone and abandoned; we are pierced with words of judgment when we might otherwise be puffed up with arrogance and self-satisfaction . . . When we gather together as God’s people, when we are conscious of coming into the presence of the living and holy God, when we center our worship on God’s Word, when we offer all of ourselves to God, we cannot help but be changed over time. We gather to give glory to God and to have God make a difference in us so that we can be sent to make a difference in God’s world[v].

The people who hear God’s word from the scribe Ezra are moved to the point of weeping. Their eyes are open and they reach new, perhaps profound levels of understanding. Lives are transformed; a community is shaped; all because of the power of God’s Word in worship.

The work of worship is worthwhile. Our time together, an hour or so on a Sunday morning in our case, is meant to define us – as individuals growing in faith, yes, but also as a community. Worship, then, is a risky endeavor. Novelist Annie Dillard captures this when she writes:

Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? . . . It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping god may wake some day and take offense, or the waking god may draw us out to where we can never return[vi].

Worship takes us places. It equips us for the work of ministry by giving us a fresh vision for where God is leading us. It gives us strength to live into God’s presence. The people who heard Ezra’s reading were encouraged to transform from weeping to merriment, and to go enjoy the best that life had to offer, being sure to extend that richness to those who had none. The fruits of the work of worship become joy, for in the Word of God we find our hope – the root of all that gives us life and life abundant. So friends, may we renew our own energies in our worship, this week and every week, so that we too may be transformed for the work God has for us to do, in this Sanctuary, and in the world. Amen.

~sermon by Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford, Heritage Presbyterian Church, January 27, 2019

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[i] Kathleen M. O’Connor, “Exegetical Perspective: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[ii] James F. White, Introduction to Christian Worship: Third Edition, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2000).

[iii] Dean W. Chapman, How to Worship as a Presbyterian, (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001).

[iv] Dean W. Chapman, How to Worship as a Presbyterian, (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001).

[v] W. Carter Lester, “Pastoral Perspective: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

[vi] Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), 40-41., as quoted in W. Carter Lester, “Pastoral Perspective: Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10,” Feasting on the Word, Year C Volume 1, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, Editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

Sunday’s Sermon – Be Thou My Vision – 1 Kings 3:3-14

September 9, 2018 Leave a Comment

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things that should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other[i].

Sound familiar? These are the earliest form of the Serenity prayer, most-often attributed to American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the 1930s or 40s, perhaps inspired through his work in collaboration with other civic leaders of the time, such as long-time YWCE official Winnifred Crane Wygal[ii]. A variation is championed by Alcoholics Anonymous and other recovery groups as a model prayer of humility and desire for real change in the lives of the individual and the world, and it is second perhaps only to the Lord’s Prayer in terms of usage and familiarity.

In times of transition and change, it makes sense to ask God for guidance, and certainly for wisdom as we seek to figure things all out. To do so means that we acknowledge there is a higher power and we remember that we cannot do everything on our own. It also serves as our affirmation that we do not have to try to do so, for we have a guide and guardian, a companion on our journey in the one who loves us and calls us and claims us.

Our text this morning drops us in the midst of such a prayer. A bit of context to orient us:

The books known as First and Second Kings were once a single structure, the last book in a saga that included Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, and Samuel. It received its final shape in the early period of the Babylonian exile. Its intended audience would have included the leaders who were deported to Babylon, the poor who were left behind in Jerusalem, and the Jews who had taken refuge in Egypt[iii].

The story of Solomon provides identity for the people of God once again. It provides a meaning to life to replace what has been lost in defeat and exile, beginning with the story of a new king in the midst of a dream, with God appearing before him and asking what he wants.

Can you imagine if God showed up and asked you to name one thing you wanted? What would you answer? The image of God as almost a fairy godmother or genie in a lamp is generally not a favorable one to embrace theologically, but here, in the context of a dream, it opens the door to the enormity of possibilities that come from the involvement of the Almighty. The sky truly appears to be the limit for Solomon. It is interesting to note that the surrounding chapters, and indeed the totality of the story of Solomon, often present power struggles and conflicting personality traits within the king, who more often than not gives into the darker side of power and pride during his kingship. But here, even if just for a moment, we glimpse a humble leader who prayerfully asks for something as profound and meaningful as that classic Serenity Prayer that would follow centuries later.

In many Bibles, Solomon’s prayer is subtitled as a “prayer for wisdom,” with language that reveals the breadth and depth of such a request. In verse 9 he asks for an “understanding mind[iv],” which can also be translated or understood as a “discerning heart[v],” or as Eugene Peterson puts it, “a God-listening heart[vi].” This reminds us that wisdom can be measured in many different ways. It is distinct from just being “smart” or having a high IQ; it reflects a soundness of judgment based on knowledge and experience. In the context of prayer, wisdom is God-centered, involving a vision that comes not internally but externally from the Divine. A few weeks ago, one of our own members noted in a meeting that wisdom is about “taking a step back and having the ability to ‘breathe from your heart.’” That, for me, is a perfect encapsulation of this dream moment, and the desire expressed by Solomon.

In his prayer, Solomon is asking for his will and perception of the world to be in line with God’s. He is seeking a new vision for the people of God at a new time in their history:

Solomon does not need a rod and staff like Moses, because the Jews are not in captivity. Nor does he need military resources like his father David. The challenges before Solomon will be mostly administrative as he attempts to bring together tribes from the north and south under one united governing establishment[vii].

And so he seeks God’s guidance and insights. If he had known the Irish poet of the 8^th century, he might have broken out into the song played so beautifully by our bells and which we will sing later in the service: “Be Thou My Vision.”

Whether in song or in the Serenity prayer, or even joining Solomon himself, these are big prayers to pray. To seek wisdom and vision from God is a humble act of faith that releases a wave of unknowns as we dare to loosen our tight grips on the things we know and allow ourselves to be shaped by God in perhaps surprising ways. It means paying attention to things that we do without thinking, such as our very breath, and bringing an increased awareness of our own rhythms. It may feel unnatural at first, but once we get the hang of it, we often find that our breath deepens and we have a stronger connection to God and to one another. There, we find the same treasure as described in Proverbs, a book of wisdom sayings often attributed to Solomon himself, and we will become more faithful in our walk with our Lord.

Today, we are beginning some of that work as a community as we launch a Visioning process that will take the better part of the next year. Our hope is to have a collaborative, shared vision for the future of Heritage Presbyterian Church that all who are a part of our community – whether you have been a member since the early years or have just walked in our door – might be inspired by as we go about following Christ together here in Acworth.

It is a method of discernment that takes time, and will happen in several ways. In just a few moments, you will be given a short, four-question initial survey about your perceptions of our church. I hope that all of you will participate. Even if this is your first time, we would love to hear your thoughts and first impressions. We also want the thoughts of our children – Merry Willis and Barbara Jessee will meet them at the door by the PRAYground in just a few moments to spend more active time with these questions in the Choir Room. If you complete the survey this morning, you are welcome to place it in the offering plate as one of your gifts to God today. You can also bring it with you to our tailgate lunch and place it in a basket in the Fellowship Hall, or return it to the church office. During the tailgate, you can add other thoughts on these questions to larger papers at the entrance, and these questions along with more information about our process will also be sent in an e-mail newsletter tomorrow, with a link to an online survey with the same questions so that all may participate.

So, why take time for this today in the midst of worship? It’s more than just because you are all sitting here and hopefully paying attention. We are beginning here because we want to follow in the steps of Solomon’s dream-prayer, and to remind ourselves that before anything else, our hopes and dreams for our congregation are about our relationship with God. We are not just putting forth our own set of objectives and strategies; we are seeking wisdom from God. We are asking the Holy Spirit to infuse our work and help God’s vision be our vision for the future. This is the only way I know to truly and faithfully follow Christ – by remembering that he is the one leading us!

This is meant to be a time of prayer and reflection, both for our congregation and for us as individuals. I hope it will also inspire you to reflect on the places in your life where you desire God’s wisdom. What are you discerning right now, and how might you invite Christ to be an intentional companion with you in that journey? What things do you need to let go of a bit and allow the Spirit to help you see them in new ways, through God’s eyes? When we sing together, could “be thou my vision” be your prayer today?

As we begin this time of visioning, hear these words from Thomas Blair:

Wisdom has to do with whom we entrust ourselves to; who we know can fill our empty buckets; whom we most believe, trust, and confide in. If we do not know what resources we have, we cannot use them to make happen what we want to happen. If we do not know what we want to happen, then we will not even know what to wish for in the first place. Wisdom arrives when the soul discerns its destiny, when life aligns in sync with the soul[viii].

Friends, may we humbly enter a time of prayer and reflection, breathing in the spirit of God and seeking wisdom with understanding, God-listening hearts . . .

Shared in worship on September 9, this initial survey is also available online:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=JkvAr5sI1ky58Co_KAkTvlK0GByoA79FkGuJUA8Ih2ZUN1JOWVhRNDRPWk9CQktWNFJKVVk5RUQ2UC4u

Survey Questions:

If you could name one thing that is most important to you regarding your involvement with HPC what would it be?
The things that concern me most about HPC are:
Where do you hope God will lead HPC in the next 3 years?
Other reflections about our church/congregation.

Follow the link above to submit your responses online, or return them to the church office (office@heritagepres.com). Additional paper copies are available in the Narthex, and can be returned in the offering plate on September 16.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
September 9, 2018

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[i] Fred Shapiro, “Who Wrote the Serenity Prayer?” July/August 2008 article in Yale Alumni Magazine, http://archives.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/2008_07/serenity.html , accessed 9/6/2018.
[ii] For further discussion of authorship, see also https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/us/11prayer.html.
[iii] Heather Murray Elkins, “Homiletical Perspective: 1 Kings 3:5-12,” Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 3, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).
[iv] New Revised Standard Version.
[v] New International Version. The King James Version uses “an understanding heart.”
[vi] The Message (a paraphrase by Eugene Peterson).
[vii] John L. Thomas, Jr, “Theological Perspective: 1 Kings 3:5-12,” Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 3, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).
[viii] Thomas W. Blair, “Pastoral Perspective: 1 Kings 3:5-12,” Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 3, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).

Sunday’s Sermon – Homeroom Lessons: Use Time Wisely – Ephesians 5:15-20

August 19, 2018 Leave a Comment

Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles
In laughter, in strife

In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life[i]

This song opens the second act of the popular musical Rent, as characters reflect on what has been and what is to come, wondering what to make of it all. The answer supplied by the chorus? “Measure in love.”

Time is one of the most fascinating concepts of our lives. While we have made it into an objective fact, marked by ticking clocks and the turning of calendar pages, it also can be a quite subjective or even relative thing. Some things seem to take forever, while others pass in the blink of an eye. In school, I remember teachers giving us assignments to complete in certain amounts of time and reminding us to “use time wisely!” – in other words, we needed to get down to work to make sure the task was complete. It’s a valuable life skill to be sure. Our lives are governed by our sense of time in a lot of ways, which means that we spend a fair amount of energy on time management. In fact, it can make the difference in whether we are on time for an appointment, or sitting on 75 stuck in traffic because we have, yet again, grossly misestimated how long it will take us to get downtown.

This morning, though, I’d like to consider this gift of time as a bit more than just how we accomplish our busy schedules. Time, you see, is also a theological concept. In Greek, this is reflected by the use of two different words to recognize time. The first, chronos, as in the root of our word chronological, talks about sequential and ordered time. The second, kairos, is the one we find in our text today from Ephesians, which gets at something bigger. Namely, it calls us to consider time as the right, critical, or opportune moment, particularly in relation to God’s timing and purpose.

In this section of moral instructions in chapter 5, the author speaks to this understanding of time, urging the Ephesians to be wise and make the most of the time they have been given. One more language note: the Greek verb that appears alongside time in verse 16 translates literally as “buy back” or “redeem,” which stands in contrast to the verses it follows that include warnings about not getting caught up in the pagan ways that surround them. Instead, the writer argues, Christians should remain awake and alert. In other words, we have been given the gift of “time” from God, but it’s up to us to make it into something worthwhile, moving from chronos to kairos.

So – what does this look like? This week I came across a video by an inspirational speaker named Jay Shetty. He grew up in London, England and holds a degree with honors in Behavioral Science. Inspired to make a difference in the world, he spent 3 years after graduation living as a monk across India and Europe, spending time in meditation and service to others. After this, he returned to London and eventually was invited by a business school friend to speak to those undergoing intense stress in the workplace, which has led over the past two years into a remarkable social media presence among other speaking engagements. I want to share a three-minute clip of one of his videos, which speaks to the idea of time and how we might value it, and offer you the opportunity to consider your own relationship with time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPaS85IA6oY

[ii]

How do we value time? That is at the heart of today’s text from Ephesians. In many ways, Jay Shetty modernizes the concept in this video, but in ways that reflect the Epistle’s intentions. Both prompt us, perhaps in uneasy ways, to think about the ways we allocate the minutes or seconds we are given each day. I’ll be the first to admit that more time than I would like is what I could categorize as “wasted time.” You know, the things that start as a short break, and the next thing you know, you’ve “lost” 30 minutes or more on some frivolous activity? It doesn’t always have to be watching tv or scrolling Facebook, either. Sometimes we get distracted by things that are otherwise productive; like when you go to put something away and end up reorganizing the entire closet, leaving your original tasks incomplete. I’m not sure exactly what the challenges were for first-century Christians, but I imagine they must have had their own examples, much like we do today. It’s easy to lose a sense of intention about our time, or to have the best intentions and lose track of it.

These verses help remind us of the ways in which our lives as Christians call us to mark and observe time in different ways. It’s not unlike the most basic instructions God gave to Moses and the people of Israel in the 10 Commandments to work for 6 days and then set aside one to rest – sabbath. It seems the Almighty has always been concerned with how we shape our time. And here in Ephesians 5, we get a reminder of it, with the call to participate in worship. As G. Porter Taylor notes:

Worship of God redeems the time. It orients the person to the Almighty and keeps his or her life in right relation [iii].

Worship here, of course, is not about a chronos understanding of one hour on a Sunday morning. It’s about a kairos understanding of time, as we seek to fill our lives with an awareness of the holy, so that we might be filled by the Spirit to the point where not just our voices sing, but our entire hearts take part in the melody. When we live in this way, we are truly embracing our vocational calling from God, which of course has implications for how we spend our time, and our lives become marked not by seconds, minutes, hours, days, or years, but by a sense of God’s ongoing purpose in our own lives and the world, and our active participation in it.

Sometimes, though, it can take some work to figure out what this means. It involves investing our time in reflection and worship to listen for that call. Consider this: worship – that time spent here in the Sanctuary, or engaged in Bible Study or service, or your own personal prayer life or other spiritual disciplines – is a lot like going to the gym. You can go and clock in a certain amount of time, but the actual time spent in the location is not what guarantees you the results; it is going to involve what you put into it. If all of your time “working out” is spent looking in the mirror, or perfecting the playlist, or making sure your outfit is the most-trendy, you might not get in the best shape. But if you pay attention to your form, push yourself to new limits, and maybe even check-in with a personal trainer or work-out buddy, chances are you will start to see some improvement. And then, beyond the time in the gym, comes the importance of rest days in between, a healthy diet, and even some cross-training that might happen in other locations. All of these, together, contribute to a healthier lifestyle marked by wise uses of your time in order for you to be at your best self. Our spiritual lives are not that different. They take intention and work. What better way than to start with how we approach something as simple and basic as time?

The early monastic communities and many people of faith for centuries have done this by “keeping the divine office,” that is pausing at certain times of day for regular intervals of prayer. This “Liturgy of the Hours” provides an ongoing reminder that we are to be oriented in a spirit of worship, seeking to move through our days not just with accomplishing a to-do list, but with a sense of our time, and our lives, being holy. Give it a try this week, whether it’s setting an alarm every few hours, or just one at a certain point in your day, to pause and reflect prayerfully on God’s presence in your life and your sense of what it means to live as a disciple. Such a simple practice can truly change how you see your life and the world around you. All it takes is a few moments of well-spent time.

And that is what the writer of Ephesians was hoping those Christ-followers would do – see the world through a different lens, a worshipful one, that just might help them make the most of the time they had been given by God until Christ returned. In the end, these verses echo our teachers’ instructions for any task at hand, broadened to the task of living: Use Time Wisely! May it be so.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
August 19, 2018

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[i] Jonathan Larson, “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent. Universal Music Publishing Group.
[ii] Jay Shetty, “Before you Waste Time” Video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPaS85IA6oY, accessed 8/16/18.
[iii] G. Porter Taylor, “Theological Perspective: Ephesians 5:15-20,” Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009).

Sunday’s Sermon – Every Tongue Confess – Philippians 2:1-13, World Communion Sunday

October 1, 2017 Leave a Comment

Believe it or not, good things can come out of Stewardship seasons. In 1934, Dr. Hugh Thomson Kerr, a pastor who had recently been the moderator of the General Assembly in 1930, had an idea that churches should be brought together in a service of Christian unity, so that everyone might receive both inspiration and information, and above all, know the importance of the church of Jesus Christ and remember that each congregation is interconnected with one another. He took this thought to the Stewardship Division at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1934, and they began to celebrate with such a service on the first Sunday of October. Two years later, World Communion Sunday was adopted by the US Presbyterian Church, and then it began to spread to other denominations and was endorsed by the Federal Council of Churches (now the National Council of Churches) in 1940. The pastor’s son, Rev. Donald Kerr, was a teenager at the time, but later noted:

The concept spread very slowly at the start. People did not give it a whole lot of
thought. It was during the Second World War that the spirit caught hold, because
we were trying to hold the world together. World Wide Communion symbolized
the effort to hold things together, in a spiritual sense. It emphasized that we are
one in the Spirit and the Gospel of Jesus Christ[i].

This morning, almost 100 years later, we join with brothers and sisters in Christ in different congregations, denominations, and countries to celebrate our unity. We can see glimpses of that truth here at Heritage. Last week, we welcomed several new members from different places, including Hilda Snyders, who comes to us from the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa. During the week, we met school children and adults who were evacuees from St. Croix and opened our facilities to them so they could have a makeshift school and activity time for their children and teenagers as they worked on what would come next for their families. Today at 11:00, we will be joined in worship by our brothers and sisters from Marietta Presbyterian Church, the Korean speaking congregation who meets in our original church building up the hill. In just a week’s time, we have several new examples of the wideness of God’s family.

World Communion Sunday is a wonderful witness to the entire body of Christ, and is a time for us to renew our energies and be inspired by the great cloud of witnesses that surround us, and have even gone before us. In a time where our society and world is full of division and argument, when threats of war lurk not just in the shadows, but in our news cycles, we need to know that we are not as disconnected and alone as it may seem. World Communion Sunday is an affirmation that we are united by something far bigger than anything that could threaten to divide us. Today is a reminder and a celebration of the faith and friendship we share through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is the perfect text to help focus us on this important point. It is written to a Christian community in eastern Macedonia with whom Paul had great affection. Throughout the letter, his encouragement and commentary are signs of a friendship and love with this group of believers in a way that is more affectionate than almost any of his other letters. In addition to this theme of love and care for each other, Paul continually encourages them to seek unity. Writer Monya Stubbs suggests that:

Paul lays out three levels of unity into which he hopes the Philippian community will grow stronger: (1) a unity of purpose or mission in living and proclaiming the gospel, (2) a unity around the principle of “other interestedness,” and (3) a unity of perspective where people understand themselves as mutually indebted to one another[ii].

For Paul, unity is related to actions and is a lived-out reality of our beliefs. In writing to the Philippians, he hopes that they will learn a pattern of thinking and living that is humble. He knows that this is a difficult thing to do. In fact, it can only be accomplished with the help of Jesus Christ himself.

Paul includes a beautiful hymn in verses 6 through 11 of our passage, one that was likely familiar to this congregation in Philippi, and helps illustrate the core elements of his message with a beautiful description of who Jesus is as an example and inspiration to believers. Marcus Borg notes that, in Jesus:

Rather than being an article of belief, God becomes an experiential reality. . . .
God can be known in that direct and intimate way, not merely believed in[iii].

Through Jesus, humanity has a relationship with God that is defined by love. In this way, Jesus is the manifestation of the heart of God[iv]. Such a revelation, such a love, is meant to evoke a response in the Philippians, and in us. It should call us to worship. The very name of Jesus should stir in us something deep and profound, touching the places of deepest longing and sincerest hope. It should bring us to the place where we, too, bow down and worship, confessing with our loudest voice that Jesus Christ is Lord!

I love the phrase in verse 11 from this ancient hymn “every tongue confess,” because it reminds me that Christians have a variety of ways of professing our faith, which I imagine sounds like a beautiful symphony to God. We profess our faith in literal different tongues, using different languages to proclaim the same good news. Today, we hear words of Scripture, prayer, and praise in English and Korean, and join our voices in these and the other languages of our hearts to offer our worship to God. We also use different kinds of words and phrases to articulate and explain our faith. While the profession of Jesus Christ as Lord is what makes us distinctly Christian, we have many ways of explaining what that means. Leanne Van Dyk describes some of them in this way:

One person might say, “It means that Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior and, if I believe in him, I will have eternal life.” Someone else might say, “It means that Jesus is on the side of the poor and oppressed and we are called to join in the struggle for justice.” Yet another person might declare, “Jesus is the King of the world. We must follow Jesus and obey him.” Someone else might answer, “Yes, Jesus is King. But his rule is best seen in the suffering of the cross. We must turn upside down all our notions of power because of Jesus.[v]”

What would you say? How would you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? Chances are, there would be as many different answers in this room as there are people. And I think that is almost always a good thing, because it means that Jesus Christ isn’t just some historical figure about whom we learn a biography or facts and figures. It means that Jesus is alive and well in our lives today, and has impacted us in ways that are deeply personal and unique. That is the power of God’s love, a God who is at work in each of us, even now.

The many ways we confess who Jesus is also means that we need each other in community to fully get a picture of God. Together with the stories of our scriptures, we can better understand the many dimensions and aspects of God that make our great mystery of faith. Through these understandings, we might hope to get a glimpse of Christ himself.

When I was a child at church summer camp, I remember learning a song whose chorus asks:

Have you seen Jesus my Lord? He’s here in plain view.
Take a look, open your eyes, he’ll show it to you[vi].

I sang it constantly, because I fell in love with the soprano descant, but also because it was a reminder of the ways we experience God in the midst of our lives. The verses speak of God in the sunset, and the ocean, and on the cross. By my favorite is the final verse:

Have you ever stood in the family with the Lord there in your midst?
Seen the face of Christ on each other? Then I say . . . you’ve seen Jesus my Lord[vii].

Today, on this World Communion Sunday, we stand in the family of God, and the Lord is here in our midst. We proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ is Lord to each other, as we join in prayer, lift our voices in song, and share in bread and cup. Look around you, brothers and sisters in Christ. The Lord is in our midst. May we see Jesus Christ on the face of each other, may we feel his presence, may we hear his name and bend a knee to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford
October 1, 2017, 8:30 am service (11:00 am was abridged from this manuscript to allow for interpretation in Korean by Rev. Paul Lee of Marietta Presbyterian Church)
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[i] John A. Dalles, “Presbyterian Origins: World Wide Communion Sunday,” Originally printed in the October 7, 2002 issue of Presbyterian Outlook, http://www.wekivapresbyterian.org/articles/presbyterian_origins.htm, accessed 9/28/2017.
[ii] Monya A. Stubbs, “Philippians,” True to Our Native Land: An African American New Testament Commentary, Brian K. Blount, General Editor, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007).
[iii] Marcus J. Borg, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith, (New York: HarperOne, 1994).
[iv] Leanne Van Dyk, Believing in Jesus Christ, (Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2002).
[v] Leanne Van Dyk.
[vi] “Jesus My Lord” by John Fischer, copyright 1970 by Songs and Creations, Inc., as printed in Songs, compiled by Yohann Anderson (San Anselmo, CA: Songs and Creations, Inc. , 1982).
[vii] Ibid.

Sunday’s Sermon – Transformed – Romans 12:1-8

August 27, 2017 Leave a Comment

“80 percent of life is just showing up.” This well-known quote, often attributed to actor and director Woody Allen, indicates the importance of presence in life. And it makes sense, after all, you can’t get ahead if you aren’t there to receive it. In times of crisis, a friend’s simple presence is often worth the most. A child or teenager in a school production or sporting event will scan the crowd for a familiar face to cheer them on. Showing up matters.

“Present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice” Paul writes. It’s the ancient version of this quote, reminding believers of the importance of showing up for God. Here in Romans, Paul lays out that how we engage our physical selves is a reflection of our faith. He puts it in terms that believers in Rome would understand, referencing practices of sacrifice. But, instead of a specific animal brought to the temple, Paul calls it a “living sacrifice,” a phrase that plays on what is known with something new. For Paul, our presence is not some sacrifice that ends in death, but instead is a consecration or dedication to the will and work of God that is live-giving. It marks renewal and wholeness, and is even included in many of our communion prayers as a sign that we wish to be made new by God at Christ’s table. And so we present ourselves, freely and openly, trusting that when we show up, God does too.

But, as another clichéd phrase goes, “showing up is half the battle.” For Paul, there is more to embodied faith than just physical presence. It also involves an opening of the mind. This week, my yoga instructor began class as always by calling our attention to deepening our breath as we centered ourselves to begin our practice together. She indicated an essential part to yoga is the combined presence of body and mind, encouraging us to be both physically present and mentally present in the space. She explained that in doing so, we would be able to do more than if we just mimicked her poses with our own bodies. By thinking about what we were doing, we would be able to do more. She’s right, of course. It’s one thing to sit on a yoga mat or in a pew, for example, and another to make the mental effort to sit tall. Try it with a bit of mindfulness in the next few moments: elongate the spine, imagining space between the vertebrae, like a string is pulling you up from the top of the head, while your shoulder blades are being drawn down away from your ears. Can you feel the difference even with just a bit more awareness? The body and the mind are connected, and at their best work together as a team.

In order to be our most faithful selves, we need to wrap our minds around things in new ways, ways that push and challenge us to better examine ourselves, our communities, our nation and even our world. We have to do more than just show up; we have to think about it, too. It is easy to fall into the trap of just going through the motions without really engaging our minds. This is especially true when it comes to our worship. We like to be lulled and comforted. And sometimes that’s what we need – a sanctuary from all the chaos and conflict that is happening in our world, a haven from the shouting pundits and not-so-funny memes and arguments in the comment threads. But I don’t think that’s what Paul had in mind for the early church, certainly not in Romans. If anything, the Roman church had a very persuasive argument for the need for shelter and separation from the world. They were under attack, persecuted by the Empire, forced into hiding because of very real risks. But even then, perhaps especially when the world was at odds, Paul called them to reflect on the ways of the world so that they would not conform to the evils that surrounded them, but could be transformed by the renewing of their minds – something that happened in the context to true, authentic worship within the body of Christ.

A seminary friend posted a genuine question earlier this week, asking “how important is it to you for current events to be addressed specifically in worship?” The responses varied, but all seemed to point to the fact that our time together of worship should include wrestling with the issues of the world, not as partisan or policy debates, but rather in relationship to our understanding of what it means to be part of the kingdom of God. We must hear the words of Scripture not just as ancient texts, but as the Word of God here and now to us in our context, too. We have to trust that the church, particularly in our worship, can be a place where transformation can happen; in fact, we need to come expecting it. Otherwise, we will only experience a temporary escape without any real toolset for what we encounter outside of these walls, and are likely to fall into patterns of old ways and old thinking, conforming to the world as we blend in. Paul insists that God is calling us forward, into a new transformed way of being in which:

We must be ready to challenge those parts where the present age shouts, or perhaps whispers seductively, that it would be easier and better to do things that way, while the age to come, already begun in Jesus, insists that belonging to the new creation means that we must live this way instead[i].

We have to be a people who embody, body and mind, what it means to live with Jesus Christ as our Lord, not anyone or anything else. Worship can be a place where we find a balance point of human initiative and divine intervention as we grapple with the concerns of our day and seek to understand what the will of God is in the midst of it. When we are transformed, we are able to be a true witness to the work of Jesus Christ.

The beginning point of that witness starts with us. It starts with our honest and humble admission that we are prone to conforming to the world’s standards for life and that through our conforming, through our inaction, and through our silence, we have been complicit in the escalation of discord and disharmony within our society. This is a part of the renewing of minds that has to take place within us to live into our identity as the transformed body of Christ. As I have reflected on the role of racism in my own life over these past few weeks, I discovered a scale which was developed in July by psychologist Cristi Demnowicz[ii] as a way to illustrate and identify the racial bias we all experience on some level.

It resonated with me in a humbling way, reminding me that I can’t just talk about the issues of racism in our country as if I have not been a part of them. No, I have never donned a hood or openly discriminated against a person of color, but that doesn’t mean I have not been racist. As I scanned the chart, I identified with moments of awareness, in which I have noted that my experience as a white, heterosexual cis-woman has been largely privileged and different from what many who are not in these majority categories find. But as I looked at some of the other phrase descriptions, I had a lump in my throat as I realized how I have been guilty of saying, or at least thinking, things far more towards the side of racism than I would like to admit. And so, I confess, before you my brothers and sisters in Christ, that I have been and sometimes still am, racist. And I am praying for God to work through that and renew my mind and lead me more into modeling Christ’s love, just as ardently as I am praying for that to happen in the hearts and minds of those who are at every point on this spectrum. And I am extremely grateful to be able to do this hard work in the context of a faith community. Transformations, big and small, don’t happen alone.

The second part of today’s reading reminds us that God’s work isn’t just a solitary event of internal change. It is an act of community. As such, we are reminded to not get too big of a head, but instead consider what our transformed selves might offer. We have been transformed for a reason; to be a part of the body of Christ in the world. During the Civil Rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had this to say about our work:

Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men [sic] willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right[iii].

Paul invites us to participate in that through the genuine giving of ourselves as a living sacrifice before God, opening ourselves in body and mind to the work God might do in us, with us, and through us. Our passage begins with Paul begging his listeners to action, using the words “I appeal to you.” The word in Greek, parakalo, is closely related to the word John’s gospel uses to describe the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete. This is not just some command. The language exudes invitation. Paul is encouraging his readers, and us, to respond to our faith by offering ourselves to be transformed by God and engaged in the work of God’s kingdom. Romans 12 is a call to action for the church in the present age. It starts by showing up. It continues by trying to wrap our minds around the issues of our world and the holiness of God’s will for us in it. It leads us into being the body of Christ. And it places us in the position to renew our commitments as followers of Jesus Christ.

Our church history is rich with such moments. In the 1980s, the Dutch Reformed Mission Church in South Africa put together a formal statement of faith, something we call a confession, that began with a letter which said, in part:

We are deeply conscious that moments of such seriousness can arise in the life of the Church that it may feel the need to confess its faith anew in light of a specific situation. We are aware that such an act of confession is not lightly undertaken, but ONLY (to be undertaken) if it is considered that the heart of the gospel is so threatened by it to be at stake. In our judgment, the present situation in our country…..calls for such a decision. Accordingly, we make this confession not as a contribution to a theological debate, nor as a new summary of our beliefs, but as a cry from the heart, as something we are obliged to do for the sake of the gospel in view of the times in which we stand…….Therefore, we speak pleadingly rather than accusingly. We plead for reconciliation, and call for a process of soul searching together, a joint wrestling with the issues, and a readiness to repent in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ[iv].”

These words introduced Belhar Confession, written in response to the horrors of Apartheid that also presents ringing truths for us today. When sin threatens to corrupt the fabric of our society; when evil creates division among God’s children, constructs systems, and condones hostile actions and attitudes which demean and degrade the worth of any person or group and incites violence and destruction, the Christian community must respond by reclaiming what it is that we believe and who we are as followers of Jesus Christ. It can only happen if we are presenting ourselves to be transformed by God and working to find our place in God’s community.

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to take part in this joyous thing God is offering. Hear Paul’s words in verses 1 and 2 as an encouragement and a charge to you in these moments, made fresh to our modern ears by Eugene Peterson’s adaptation in The Message:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you[v].

May we be transformed in this way. Amen.

~Rev. Elizabeth Lovell Milford

August 27, 2017

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[i] N.T. Wright

[ii] http://racismscale.weebly.com/

[iii] Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can’t Wait (New York: Signet Classics, 2000), as quoted by Kirk Byron Jones in his essay “Homiletical Perspective: Romans 12:1-8,” Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 3, David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor, editors, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011).

[iv] The Belhar Confession, https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/belhar-confession/

[v] Eugene Peterson,“Romans 12:1-2,” The Message

WEATHER UPDATE: Sunday, January 8

January 7, 2017 Leave a Comment

In light of the icy conditions in our area, we are adjusting our Sunday Schedule as follows:

CANCELLED – 8:30 AM Worship and Sunday School

We WILL worship at 11:00 am in the Sanctuary as normal!

Please use caution and join us if you are able – the entrance and side parking lot are not only melted, but were mostly dry on Saturday afternoon. (We will plan on using the entrance as our exit to avoid the icy patches on the shady side of the building).

Iced in? Log-In and join us for worship online via our YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9_V3ICWFOxHkw6HE0bFS7w/videos

Celebrate the season with us!

December 16, 2016 Leave a Comment

Sunday’s Sermon – On Trial – Isaiah 1:1, 10-20

Sunday’s Sermon – The Work of Worship – Nehemiah 8:1-12; Luke 4:14-21

Sunday’s Sermon – Be Thou My Vision – 1 Kings 3:3-14

Sunday’s Sermon – Homeroom Lessons: Use Time Wisely – Ephesians 5:15-20

Sunday’s Sermon – Every Tongue Confess – Philippians 2:1-13, World Communion Sunday

Sunday’s Sermon – Transformed – Romans 12:1-8

WEATHER UPDATE: Sunday, January 8

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