Sunday, July 31, 2016

Restoring the Power of Prayer, Part 1

ACTS 3:23-31, Luke 18:1-8

There is one thing that makes a strong church stronger; one thing that revitalizes fledgling churches and communities. The same thing that transforms hearts and mind, heals the physically and spiritually sick and has been the VERY basis of EVERY SINGLE major spiritual revival that has happened both individually and collectively throughout history; yet is something that we so often overlook. That we so often shy away from, that we are even embarrassed to do in public or out loud.

It is prayer.

We are at an interesting and troubling time in our faith. An interesting and troubling time in our world. A time that, when we look around, is very scary for a lot of people. For Christians and the world alike. A time that is both the most technologically advanced ever in history; yet at the same time, we seem to be in a time when people almost seem to be reverting back towards earlier, or some would say “primal” times. There are many contrasts. We have more information, support, and materials to aid relationships than ever before- yet relationships are falling apart faster than ever. We have the best and most advanced equipment in history, yet we have increases in violence and the acceptance of cage fighting and other aggressive and violent things. We have more ways to connect to each other and as a community than ever before- yet the idea of community and even knowing our neighbors is becoming harder and harder to find. We have churches of Christians aching to grow, to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, and to transform hearts and minds, yet we have large percentages of Christians that either don’t know how to pray, or are even afraid to for fear of “seeming weird” or “social pressure’ or even low-level persecution.

Crazy right? We are afraid to pray. We don’t know how to pray in many cases. One of the most important, influential and transformative features of Christianity- and we simply aren’t doing it. A recent research study from the Pew Research Center showed that 55% of Christians are praying regularly, and let’s face it- probably 10% might be fibbing just a little bit. Not lying- cause we don’t do that as Christians- but praying on Sunday, at a bible study during the week and another day might classify as “every day”, you know. Close enough. But nonetheless only HALF of Christians are doing it.

Now, before anyone starts feeling dreary about that point, that’s not what I am here for. I don’t believe in that. I don’t want to guilt you, shame you, condemn you- I am merely pointing out that we, as a faith, have become a little lax on the essentials- Instead what I want to do in encourage you.
Encourage you to understand that we as Christians have a legacy of powerful and transformative prayer. The kind that heals; that mends broken hearts, that ushers in incredible acts of the Holy Spirit and has changed and shaped the entire world, even against terrible odds. Even against the threat and reality of persecution and death. And to show you by the grace and direction of the Holy Spirit that it can happen again at any time, if we will only embrace it.  To know to the bottom of your heart that if you will hold onto this and walk confidently and boldly in prayer that God will continuously use you and us in ways that we could never imagine.

This morning we look at the account in Acts, Chapter 4, verses 23-31 when the believers prayed together for courage in the midst of threats of jail, beatings, and death for speaking the name of Jesus. You see, leading up to this event, when the believers gathered in prayer, Peter and John had gone to the temple to pray; and this is when they come across a crippled beggar, who was carried to the temple every day to beg. The man was healed in the name of Jesus, which draw a lot of attention in the temple. People had known the man for many many years, and suddenly this man who had a clear deformity or condition could stand, walk, and even leaped. This disturbance to the regular flow at the temple and people praising God caught the attention of the High Priest and guard, who confronted Peter and John. The two apostles declared this victory in Jesus Christ, and were subsequently arrested and were held overnight in Jail, to be tried by the council in the morning.
It’s important to remember that just 6 weeks prior to this event, where these men faced an entire council of priests and religious officials, Jesus faced the exact same people. Who had him beat and crucified. Something that these arrested apostles had witnessed first-hand. Something that they knew could be in store for them. That was still very fresh in their minds. Made for a very long night in jail I imagine.
In fact, I bet those men spent most or all of the night praying; which on a side note was very common in our faith until recent years. And they faced their accusers, and spoke the truth that the miracle came through Jesus with courage and integrity. Peter even spoke boldly to educated religious officials. A fisherman with absolutely no formal religious training, gave a bold sermon to a room full of vengeful, educated religious leaders- who had the propensity to kill, and confidently proclaimed the Good News. The same man who just weeks earlier had denied Jesus to a young girl.
And they are shocked. They cannot deny that something miraculous and powerful happened; so they choose to give them a very stern and strict warning- mostly due to the fact that they don’t want to start a riot among the people who witnessed the miracle.

Soon after, they are released, and join up with the other believers in what becomes an incredible moment of prayer, and the scripture from this morning. One that shakes the meeting place, and further validates the faith and fire of the early saints and causes them to carry on in boldness.

 They were intimidated. Yes. They were scared. They were praying for courage, after all. The council didn't play around. They would kill for the sake of maintaining the status quo. But together the early believers prayed. In all things they prayed. And so the early church grew and grew until in stretched into the Christian faith we see today, into every corner of this world. Because Christians did what Christians do- prayed, were anointed by God, and put faith into action.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to that same faith. The one that stands boldly to the accusers. That challenges the status quo of today. That looks into the faces of killers and stands boldly. That prays in all things.  That passes the blessing of anointing and healing through prayer to others.

So LET US PRAY, as we say. Let us say it with conviction. Stand ready to pray. Pray ceaselessly and endlessly. Pray with all our hearts and souls. In fact, when we even say LET US PRAY, let us say it like we’ve been waiting all day for the chance to pray together. We should all sigh of relief- like “Finally” we get to bring our problems to the only one who can fully and truly do something about them.
Let us pray, with passion and conviction. Boldly. With proclamation, that we are not in defeat. Instead, in the certainty that the very gates of hell will burst apart and not be able to stand against it. Because that is the faith that was through Jesus Christ for Peter and John, and it IS the faith that we have today.

Amen
(Delivered 7/31/2016 at the Varna United Methodist Church)

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Adopting a Character of Mercy

Let’s take a look at a lesson from the Gospel of Luke, found in Chapter 10: Verses 25-37. In this passage Jesus is talking to a lawyer, or a “legal expert” in some translations. And it reads:
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
This is the word of God for the people of God.
In this passage the lawyer is challenging Jesus, likely testing his ability as a teacher and hoping to cause him to stumble. Jesus in good fashion responds to his question with a question, to which the man responds with two scripture references, one from Deuteronomy 6:5 and the other from Leviticus 19:18 Surprised to hear Jesus reaffirm and restate the teachings of the Torah- he quickly tries to justify his initial question and save a little bit of face by asking another- “who is my neighbor?”, which elicits the parable and response by Jesus.
First off, can I get an Amen? Could there have been a better lectionary scripture chosen for this week? This week, as Jesus reaffirms our duty and calling as Christians. This scripture, pertaining to social justice and the expected response of Christians, chosen out months and months ago just happening to fall on a week that has just been drowning in injustice and suffering? Anyone here think that this was merely a coincidence- or was God reaching into our lives to tell us something? Could it be, that our God, nearly 2000 years ago had a message that challenged Israelites to bypass the lines of race and religion to provide compassion that holds true to this day?
I would like to retell the story, if I may, to draw light to the scriptures, in today's terms. In places that we are more likely to understand, ways that we are more likely to understand.  Can we do this, can we imagine this together?
I don’t know if you knew this, but locally, there was a situation like this. A man, a white guy, who worked in middle management in a corporation in Syracuse. Every day he commuted up the I-81 corridor from Cortland to Syracuse for work. He got off at the Salina exit, and drove up South Salina through the valley to get to his office in the city. He never really liked the route, as down in the valley the streets are just full of shady looking people…. But he had to go that way to make good time so he just tried to be aware of his surroundings.
A couple of months ago, he was stopped at one of lights, when some gangbangers from the High Street gang jacked his car. Two of them took off with the car while others beat him up, stole his Iphone, his dress shirt and shoes. They pulled him off into the bushes by one of the houses and left him for dead.
You know what the crazy thing was? All of it was captured on a red-light camera. Car after car went by not even noticing. Some people from the neighborhood saw what was going on, but no one saw anything since no one snitches on the high street gang, and no one trusts the police anyway. Some other people who were walking by snapped a picture and uploaded it to Facebook with the hashtag “#Onlyinsyracuse” and “
#nakedhomelessguysleepingdrunk”, not fully understanding what had occurred. But one of younger black women on the block who had witnessed the event felt bad, glancing over again and again, and knowing that she risks her own life and the life of her family from stepping on the gangs toes, borrowed her grandmother’s car, and brought him to University Hospital. Though she wasn’t a church person, wasn’t white, wasn’t of the same social class, instead she had a character of Mercy, a heart of compassion, and she acted.

My story is made up, but it certainly could be possible, couldn’t it? We aren’t sure If the parable that Jesus told was an actual event or an example, but the focus of it remains. We are called to have a Character of Mercy. We are called to have compassion; even if it costs us something. 
The priest from the parable may have avoided the situation for fear of touching something “unclean” and defiling his rituals. The temple assistant was most likely looking to check out what was going on for some gossip. Either could have kept moving for fear of being attacked themselves, as the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was infamous for robbing and violence. They had their excuses, their own lives to worry about, even their own religion to bar them from helping. But the one that Jesus chose to highlight as “getting it right” was not even Jewish. Was mixed race. Was outcast. Was despised, even, by some. Who Jesus highlighted in the parable was the Samaritan. The one who Jesus saw as being righteous did not even have the faith. And he did this as an example to all of us. We are called to have a love so deep, a compassion so wide, mercy so great that it transcends the evil of this world. So vast that it overshadows the hopelessness of today.
Right now, and in this very community there is a single mom struggling to find a free or inexpensive sitter for her children so that she can go to work. There is a black man with a record trying to get his life together and get a job- if he can only get the chance. There are elderly individuals with food insecurities not sure where the next meal is coming from. There are kids who are in the system without a secure family to take them in. There is a police officer feeling more and more nervous about if they will make it home safely tonight.
Like many people I started this week on a good note, to learn early in the week that an old friend’s child of only 8 years old lost her arm and leg in a horrific boating accident. Then to hear of situation and situation of senseless violence. Bombings, terrorism police shootings, and shootings on Police. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there are people in the road right now. Suffering, in pain, defeated, scared, robbed of life everywhere around us. Jesus is calling us this morning to answer our faith with more. A vibrant faith and love in and with God, yes, but also to take on a lifelong character of mercy. Of compassion. To give of ourselves. To a point that it even costs us something. To cross the lines of social status, race and even religion to spread the Grace, Peace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.