Sermons
Visit this page when you need inspiration from Pastor Michelle Fountain's sermons.
|
1/28/2024 0 Comments January 28, 2024: Love First Epistle Reading: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Gospel: Mark 1:21-28 Rules, Rules, Rules: Do you ever consider how many different rules guide our lives? We have bylaws in church and in all of our organizations and corporations. We have Board Policies and Procedures, Employee Manuals, building permits, civil laws and criminal laws at the state and federal level. We also have the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the International Declaration of Human Rights and so many more. Those of us who are religious have the Torah for Judaism, the Bible for Christianity, the Quran for Muslims, the Vedas for Hindus, the Tripitika for Buddhists, etc. When we are unsure about the application of these rules, laws and rights or when they have been violated, we often have courts to weigh in on restitution and punishment. It would be really easy to be lost in and overwhelmed by all of the rules of life. Which rule do I follow in which place? Are there exceptions? What if a rule favors some, excludes some, or worse, hurts the innocent? In our Corinthians scripture today, Paul gives us a bit of advice about some of the rules and in our Mark scripture Jesus exemplifies it. Now Paul is speaking about food rules, specifically eating food sacrificed to idols, but really he is speaking about being Christian role models. People had been practicing the sacrifice of foods to the gods since ancient times. In ancient Greece the first of the wine was poured out for the gods and the first meat of a feast was dedicated to the gods but then the rest was eaten. Thus people would eat the meat that had been sacrificed to the gods or idols as Paul refers to them here. By the time some people began to follow a singular God, a rule was made that you cannot sacrifice to multiple gods or idols representing them and you cannot eat the food sacrificed to them because it was unclean. The Jewish people had many food rules telling them what was clean and unclean to eat as described in Leviticus 11. In some cases, the restricted animals carried diseases, so God was helping God’s people to be healthy, but later, Jesus came to clarify the rules that were no longer needed. In Matthew 15:10-11 it says: After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand. It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” In other words, it is not what we eat, but what we say and for that matter do, that can make us unclean. Paul builds on this in 1 Corinthians when he reinforces what Jesus said - it is not the food that is unclean, but that there are those whose faith in Jesus is new, not yet as strong, who might not recall what Jesus said about food. If those Christians saw other Christians eating in one of the food courts of the time, attached to a temple to a different god, this could harm their belief in Christ. This, Paul points out, is a problem, because it could lead people away from Jesus rather than to him. Therefore, they and we, need to consider not only what we say and do but how others could perceive us. We are Christ’s representatives in all that we do and our actions should represent Christ’s love for all people all the time. Even when we know we are following the “rules”, we need to consider how others might perceive our actions or even if the rules are just. Do they point to Christ or away? Are we speaking and acting in a way that Jesus would? Our Mark scripture today comes directly after last week’s scripture where Jesus has called Simon and Andrew, James and John to leave their roles as fishermen and follow him. They travel to Capernaum on the northwest coast, enter the Synagogue on the Sabbath and Jesus teaches. The scripture says that “they were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” The “they” here refers to the newly recruited disciples but likely also to the other folks at the Synagogue to worship on the sabbath. “They” were astounded both at the authority - likely shown through Jesus’ knowledge and confidence - of this newcomer but also at how differently he taught from the scribes. Now scribes were religious leaders whose literacy and training in Jewish law gave them elite status. Might the idea of gaining “elite” status be what Paul was referring to when he said, “knowledge puffs up”? Full of the knowledge of the law and the power that gave them, could that have led them to love the power more than the people? Could that have made them forget to love God too so that God no longer knew them? Paul reminds us that “anyone who loves God is known by God”? We don’t know what Jesus taught that day that was so different from either the subject or the style or both from the scribes. But I can imagine that the scribes may have focused on all the rules, the laws that the people must follow while Jesus focused on the people and what they needed to guide them and care for them. Jesus immediately demonstrates this when a man with an “unclean spirit”, what we might consider a mental illness of some sort, cries out “What have you come to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, you are the holy one of God.” Jesus responds with love for the man who was stricken with this “unclean spirit” or illness by healing him. “Be silent and come out of him” Jesus commands and the man is healed. Note that this “unclean spirit” saw who Jesus really was and understood that the illness would be destroyed by Jesus. As we hear in other scriptures, Jesus was breaking the rules in healing on the Sabbath. He was not following the law, instead he was leading with love, doing what was right, what was needed, even though it went against the rules. This is the example we are to follow. The law in the segregated South said that black people could not eat in the same places as white people, could not stay in the same places, could not travel in the front of busses etc. but those were unjust laws and people crossed those lines to fight for justice, equality, and positive change, just as Jesus did. If people had just followed the rules in our country, we could still have slavery or segregation and women would not be able to vote. Instead, eventually, some people realized that the rules were wrong. That, that “knowledge” was not right. The knowledge of those rules puffed up some while hurting others. But love, as Jesus shows us, builds people up- all people. Love breaks down barriers rather than building them between people. God wants us to follow Jesus’ model to lead with love all the time. This is not just for Sunday mornings or for the people who are like us or whom we like but for all people: even people who are different from us, even people whom we disagree with, even our enemies. It means leading with kindness and positive words, not negative ones: words that build up, rather than puffing up. Being a Christian means we have to strive to follow Christ’s model of inclusive love all the time, think of others and their needs in addition to our own all the time even when it sometimes means breaking rules. What might following Jesus Christ’s model of loving first look like in our lives? It could come in the form of a smile you give to the disheveled person you see on the street rather than looking away. It could come in the form of not responding to a negative comment or joining in a negative conversation about some person or group of people. It could come in the form of volunteer work at a soup kitchen, thrift shop, hospital, or classroom. It could come in the form of a check written to help some group in need somewhere in the world. It could come in the form of a door held open or a hand offered to someone who has fallen. It could come in the form of a pause in judgment of someone who lives differently from you. It could come in the form of an invitation to dinner or church. It could come in the form of calling someone in who has made a prejudiced remark, maybe even unknowingly. It could come in the form of celebrating differences rather than avoiding them. It could come in the form of forgiving someone who has hurt you. It could come in the form of knowing that we are never done learning. And when others see people doing these things, even and especially when they are difficult, maybe they will consider following that model of putting inclusive love first. Amen. Pastor Michelle Fountain
0 Comments
 For this service, the scriptures will be sprinkled throughout the sermon time and are as follows:
Old Testament Genesis 1:1-2, Genesis 15:5, Genesis 32:24-28 Exodus 12:13, 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 1 Kings 8:12 New Testament Luke 2:8-12, Mark 14:17 & 22-24, Luke 23:44-46 John 12:24 This service also included the reading of "God’s Holy Darkness" by Sharei Green and Beckah Selnick in between the Scripture. Think about the way light and dark are used symbolically and metaphorically around the world. Light often represents everything from knowledge, to purity, goodness to happiness and dark often represents fear, ignorance, and even evil. This is true in the Bible as well. Isaiah 9:2 says “The people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined”. Often in the Bible darkness is seen as the antithesis of light, with light being the symbol of God’s purity, glory, and wisdom. Even in the movies the bad guys - the Darth Vaders of this world are dressed in black and the good guys the Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are dressed in white - not to mention their white skin. Even though these are metaphoric, they still have an impact. Imagine having black or brown skin and hearing those references that many of us have never had to think about. Adele Halliday, the anti-racism and equity officer for the United Church of Canada still remembers conversations from a church she attended years ago. The congregation constantly associated whiteness with purity and goodness, and darkness with evil. They talked about people being “washed white” from the blackness of sin. Language is an important part of Christian worship traditions, whether in Scripture, song, liturgy or prayer. But when this language is unexamined, the result can be alienating—or worse, perpetuate longstanding prejudices, Halliday says. The inspiration for God’s Holy Darkness was to remind people of the beauty of darkness as portrayed in the Bible, disrupting the negative thinking about blackness. For God did a lot of work in darkness even blessing it as a time of rest and renewal. Let’s read the book and the scripture that inspired it and celebrate God’s Holy Darkness. Cue: Creation began in the dark Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 15:5 (God speaking to Abram): 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring[a] be.” Genesis 32: 24-28 (Jacob wrestles with the man of God) 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Exodus 12:13 (God speaking to Moses of striking the firstborn dead of the Egyptians who held them captive) The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. 1 Samuel 3:1-10 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am.” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” “My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” 1 Kings 8:12 (Here God appears as a dark, holy cloud in the temple where the ark holding the commandments was kept) “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud. Luke 2:8-12 (Angels appear to shepherds) 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Mark 14:17, 22-24 (Last supper) When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them. Luke 23:44-46 (Death on a cross) It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[a] When he had said this, he breathed his last. John 12:24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. I want to conclude with a reflection on Martin Luther King, Jr. from Pastor Steve Garnas Holmes from his Unfolding Light Website: He would have been 95 on Monday. He would have stirred us more, pressed us more. And we still would have resisted. Or he might have been killed another day. Still, we have to decide. Maybe he nudged us these last 56 years no less than when he was alive, because love and justice don't die, the dream doesn't disappear, the march doesn't stop. The trouble with heroes is that we wait for them. Yet what he was saying the whole time was “You can do this. We all do it together. Don't wait for me, or the next one. We are all marching.” We march against those whose tools are violence, hate and poverty. We march to block the streets of habits, even our own. We march against our fears, singing, always singing. Martin is still calling, still marching. And something in us even without our knowing, is singing, still singing. Our challenge is to figure out how we continue the march, how we continue to seek justice, how we can change expressions and actions that even unknowingly cause people of color to feel othered or less than. We are called to celebrate God’s holy darkness, just as God does. Let us consider what forward motion God is calling us to in order to live God’s message of inclusive love through Jesus Christ in our community and world. Let’s answer God’s call to justice saying, “Here I am Lord.” Amen. Pastor Michelle Fountain |
RSS Feed
