First United Methodist Church - DeRidder, LA

IT WAS NOT A COORDINATED EFFORT, but is there any more appropriate sermon title for a Fifth Sunday Worship and Potluck than, "THERE'S PLENTY FOR EVERYONE?"

This week we encounter one of the more well-known parables of Jesus, the one commonly referred to as the "Prodigal Son."

Oftentimes painted as a 'feel-good' uplifting story of God's love for those who have abandoned him, the converse to that narrative is Jesus is being pretty harsh in this story to a few who 'know better' than he when it comes to God's love.

In this season of Lent, as we find good news in the midst of the starkness of the Lenten journey, we discover some good news that has the ability to inspire us all to continue striving for holiness and faithfulness to Christ. Amongst this narrative, we will come to see:

Jesus loves 'them people' and...;

We are not coerced into a life of faith;

God welcome is more consistent and constant than we might think; and,

The blessings of being a follower of Christ are...

ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS ATTRIBUTES A CHRISTIAN CAN HAVE IS AN OVERABUNDANCE OF SELF-IMPORTANCE, as we see in this week's gospel lesson. Before we go much further, though, let's take a moment to be charitable in understanding why it is that we can so easily fall into this mindset. We measure ourselves against each other in so many ways, as a society and as individuals within the Christian community - and so many of these characteristics mirror one another. To wit:

MONEY - We either have it and want to lord it over others - OR - we don't have it and think that if only we did then we would be able to call shots;

POSITION - We either hold a high position in society or churches and want to use it as a way get our own way - OR - we think that if only we had it we could really make things happen;

SENIORITY - We either believe that since we've been around a long time we have the right to tell others what to do - OR - we haven't been and think that once we do we can call the shots (Go check the parable of the laborers in the vineyard for more details about this fallacy);

AND SO MANY OTHERS...

In these nine verses from Luke's gospel we discover as part of our Lenten journey that comparing ourselves to others or simply taking things as they see without looking at the big picture can have grave consequences. One finds in these verses, among other things:

Something ESSENTIAL to the Christian faith

What must TRANSFORM our lives

How not doing something KILLS our souls

IN THIS SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT, WE WILL ENCOUNTER VIA LUKE'S GOSPEL WHAT COULD, MOST ASSUREDLY, BE RECOGNIZED as a most misunderstood Jesus, a Jesus that, if we are not careful, is one we, too, could catastrophically misunderstand. One is challenged to find anywhere else in the gospels five verses that give us a full range of who Christ is, who the secular rulers are, and how these examples lay bare before us the challenges that lay before one who seeks to follow Christ faithfully.

Leading up to this passage, Jesus has been going about engaging in some truly remarkable and quite unbelievable teachings - in the first thirty verses of this chapter, Jesus:

Makes clear that following Christ is about leading a life that turns in a different direction to follow Him faithfully and fully (1-5);

Challenges his listeners to have faith but also face reality (6-9);

Gives the leaders of the faithful a more clear example of what sabbath-keeping is all about instead of being an excuse to ignore the needs of others (10-17);

Exhorts his followers to not underestimate how much power even a little, seemingly insignificant amount of faith is truly transformative (18-21);

Reminds them to guard against being too cocky with respect to their own salvation as well as to not be surprised at who really is faithful and who has had a false sense of assurance (22-30).

Whew! Given all that, one can justifiably understand some of the religious folk being fearful of Christ's life when they bring him the message that Herod wants him killed. Jesus, of course, does not respond with fear, but instead, through his example, gives his followers examples that are as essential today as when first spoken. To wit, Jesus shows the faithful that we are to be people who:

Have a faith that facilitates focus;

Have a faith that brings to us the bigger picture; and,

Have a faith that demands patience.

As we continue our Lenten Journey in the gospels on this First Sunday of Lent, we come to a passage from Luke that, at first blush, may seem rather familiar to some. However, as we know from our understanding of Christian tradition, every time we encounter the sacred texts, there is something different in our reading and understanding, for we are never the same person as we were the last time we encountered a text.

This passage from Luke is often, and quite rightly, referred to as the temptation of Christ. Indeed, it is quite obvious the devil knows the sacred texts of the faith fairly well...but Christ shows that knowledge of the texts is not synonymous with understanding the words of faith.

Understanding we are in a season of self-reflection, sacrifice, and prayerful study, this week the text will challenge us all to not reflect so much on the back-and-forth that Jesus has with the devil; rather, we may just discover our own need to be sure not to rest solely on knowing what the scriptures say (although that is VERY important) but also seek to understand the scriptures so that we may live more faithfully in Christ.

Today is one of the most important days in the life of the Christian, individually and communally, as we begin the holy and sacred season of Lent, which we will follow each day to Palm Sunday, through Holy Week, the poignancy of Maundy Thursday, the stark reality of Good Friday, and the unbridled joy of Easter Sunday.

The ritual of tonight's service lends itself to the conflicting emotions of comfort and brutal honesty - comfort in knowing that we are engaging in a task that has it's roots in our faith going way back before Christ, where the wearing of ashes was a mark of contrition; brutal honesty in that we are confronted with the reality of our own unworthiness in the presence of God, for we have, as we pray during our communion liturgy, sinned against God in thought, word, and deed - by what we have done and by what we have not done.

Ashes we use come from the burning of palms used during last year's Palm Sunday, and I can tell you preparing the ashes is a stinky mess. Stinky for obvious reasons, messy because if the right gust of wind hits while this burning is going on, one can wind up with all sorts of a mess on their hands. However, I think it's apropos in that confession and contrition are stinky and messy, for we are forced to deal with the absolute unpleasantness of sin.

THE GREAT THING, THOUGH, is that even at our stinkiest and messiest, we are people of HOPE. While observing Ash Wednesday, and Lent as a whole, would not, I believe, be labeled as 'fun', it does point us to the joy of Easter. To observe a holy Lent requires holding on to hope, for Christ's life, death, and resurrection frees us from the bonds of sin and death to a life of peace.

TONIGHT is also a great time to jump back into the life of the church, and a time to invite someone you know looking for a church home, for tonight we begin a transformational journey.

THIS SUNDAY IS ONE OF THE TWO MOST UNIQUE SUNDAYS OF THE YEAR IN OUR CONGREGATION, as we have the joy of jazz music provided by our friends from Beauregard's Courtesy. Along with this, and worshiping together in our 1915 Sanctuary/Fellowship Hall, this Sunday brings an end to our HATE: Enough is Enough worship series by looking at some of Paul's words written in what is known as the Second Letter to the Corinthians. These few verses provide us with a stirring reminder of the most essential characteristics we MUST exhibit if we are to be people who abhor, subvert, and seek to eliminate hatred in our lives and the lives of those within our sphere of influence.

To wit:

Because of the hope we have in Christ, we dare to be bold, not timid, in proclaiming the all-inclusive love of God.

Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, we have freedom to live as we are called, a freedom that can be found in no one or nothing else, a freedom that demands we live as those transformed in Christ.

Because of God's mercy, we have all the motivation we need to endure whatever challenges may come our way, for with God's mercy we do not lose heart.

In other words, given that we, along with the church universal, are observing Transfiguration Sunday, we know that one cannot be in Christ and not find themselves completely and radically transformed in thought, word, and deed.

A VERY PLAUSIBLE CASE CAN BE MADE THAT HATRED AND CONTEMPT ARE TWO SIDES OF the same coin, equal and complimentary in their capability to rip apart individuals, families, churches, communities, nations, and the world.

They are also equal in their ability to mask themselves as something less sinister, less cruel, less evil, and totally justifiable for a 'good reason.'

In his letter to one of the world's earliest churches, one that was not perfect, one that was in an environment where you could make the case the world was hostile to its existence, Paul was having none of the idea there are people who are more or less important in the body of Christ based off their roles, gifts, graces, or abilities. Indeed, Paul knew what is true now was also true then - when well-intentioned people of God seek to put themselves or others on pedestals, or create a hierarchy of who mattered more, the seeds were being planted for the destruction of the church and the faith of the individuals in the church.

Why does this matter? Why did Paul spend so much time on this topic? In what way is it relevant to us today?

The answer is multi-faceted and rather simple. Amongst other reasons, here are two for us to chew upon as we head into worship this Sunday:

God loves everyone equally, because we are all equal in his sight. When we go about officially or unofficially establishing a 'pecking order' we are running counter to the essence of God's relationship with humanity.

When we sort ourselves in a 'pecking order' of importance in relationship to others within the church - the body of Christ - or, for that matter, in any other avenue, we are focusing more on our importance rather than the supremacy of Christ.

In other words, there is no place within the Christian faith or the church, for us to play or for us to allow others to play, the, "Do you know who I am?" card with respect to putting ourselves or others in categories where some are more important than others.

For, when we do so, we are setting ourselves and others up for attitudes of contempt and resentment, which will ultimately lead, intentionally or not, to hatred - which is not at all compatible with Christianity.

ONE CAN BE FORGIVEN IF BY THE TIME THEY GET TO THE END OF A RATHER LONG DOCUMENT THEIR ATTENTION TO DETAIL HAS waned a little since there has already been so much to absorb. To do this with what we call Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, however, might just put us in position to miss some wonderful nuggets of truth, wisdom, and encouragement as we seek to live as God's faithful people. To do this would also rob us of some essential reminders that, if internalized and practiced, might go far in reducing the amount of hatred and violence (physical and rhetorical.)

Through the first 11 verses of chapter 15, we are reminded that, at the end of the day, the church universal and local has but one central task - to tell and live out the story of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

It is really that simple.

We tell the story so we will not forget. We do not have the pressure to write the story. We know the story is for all generations. We realize the story is not about us at all, and with that reality comes a sense of relief and joy.

THERE IS A CASE TO BE MADE THAT IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE ONE WORD MORE THAN ANY OTHER HAS BEEN MISUSED AND ABUSED with truly horrific and unintended consequences. It's a four-letter word that probably has been the source of more hatred than anything George Carlin could have imagine.

LOVE.

Simply by seeing the word, chances are good there have been more than a few thoughts and images that have come to your mind.

One of the more unfortunate things about how the Bible has been translated into English over the years is there are more than a few words in the original languages that have come to us in English as 'love.'

In one of his most well-known passages, Paul dives into the idea of the greatest of the gifts is love. What is truly amusing about officiating weddings is so many people have the impression this relates to the love between a man and a woman as they establish life together as one in God's sight, when, in fact, there is not a marriage in the world that does not need as its foundation the love to which Paul is referring to here.

As we move into the second half of our series on HATE:Enough is Enough, we explore 1 Corinthians 13, picking up what love should look like as we seek to live with ourselves and one another.

Chances are good that if we all embraced the reality of love, rather than sentimental emotionalism that is so often attached to the word, ours would be a life of less hatred.

Chances are good that if we all embraced the idea that love manifests itself differently in each of us because, as we discovered last week, everyone is different, and we might find ourselves a little more understanding of another, rather than allowing ourselves to get wrapped up in knots because someone is not operating exactly as we think they should, ours would be a life of less hatred.

Chances are good that if we all embraced the idea that love is God-focused and not self- or other-focused, we might find ourselves more at peace with God, others, and, most of all, ourselves.

Chances are good that if we embrace the idea that love is first and foremost an emotion, subject to the whims that everyone's emotions are in life, hatred will fester within our hearts and minds as we will be focused on feelings rather than reality. This is not to say that feelings are not important, but for us to truly love as God intends, we must be mature enough to see that love being a constant is PRECISELY what we need to withstand the emotional buffeting of the waves of life in a fallen world.

A VERY PLAUSIBLE CASE CAN BE MADE THAT HATRED AND CONTEMPT ARE TWO SIDES OF the same coin, equal and complimentary in their capability to rip apart individuals, families, churches, communities, nations, and the world.

They are also equal in their ability to mask themselves as something less sinister, less cruel, less evil, and totally justifiable for a 'good reason.'

In his letter to one of the world's earliest churches, one that was not perfect, one that was in an environment where you could make the case the world was hostile to its existence, Paul was having none of the idea there are people who are more or less important in the body of Christ based off their roles, gifts, graces, or abilities. Indeed, Paul knew what is true now was also true then - when well-intentioned people of God seek to put themselves or others on pedestals, or create a hierarchy of who mattered more, the seeds were being planted for the destruction of the church and the faith of the individuals in the church.

Why does this matter? Why did Paul spend so much time on this topic? In what way is it relevant to us today?

The answer is multi-faceted and rather simple. Amongst other reasons, here are two for us to chew upon as we head into worship this Sunday:

God loves everyone equally, because we are all equal in his sight. When we go about officially or unofficially establishing a 'pecking order' we are running counter to the essence of God's relationship with humanity.

When we sort ourselves in a 'pecking order' of importance in relationship to others within the church - the body of Christ - or, for that matter, in any other avenue, we are focusing more on our importance rather than the supremacy of Christ.

In other words, there is no place within the Christian faith or the church, for us to play or for us to allow others to play, the, "Do you know who I am?" card with respect to putting ourselves or others in categories where some are more important than others.

For, when we do so, we are setting ourselves and others up for attitudes of contempt and resentment, which will ultimately lead, intentionally or not, to hatred - which is not at all compatible with Christianity.