The Gift of Mountaintop Experiences

Based on Luke 9:28-36

I have in my hand a small river rock that I picked up along the shores of the Illinois River that flows through the hills of eastern Oklahoma. There is a United Methodist church camp there called Camp Egan. The church I grew up in went there often for retreats. There is a place at Camp Egan where you hike up to the top of a ridge that overlooks a beautiful valley below. There is a clearing with some benches and a large wooden cross. It is an outdoor worship space. Hundreds of thousands of people over the years have gathered at that spot for worship, to experience the presence of God in the beauty of nature. People have had literal “mountain top experiences” at that sacred site called Camp Egan. I am one of those people. And it’s hard for me to put in words the experiences of God’s presence I have had at Camp Egan. That’s how it is when we experience the presence of the divine. Words to describe the experience fail us.

Today we hear the story of when Peter, James and John had their mountain top experience, when they saw Jesus transfigured before them, having a conversation with Moses and Elijah. And then a cloud enveloped them. They heard the voice of God declaring Jesus as the chosen one that they need to listen to. These disciples had a mountain top experience like no other. It was so powerful that they couldn’t tell anyone about it, at least not yet. They couldn’t put the experience into words. But I can imagine that from then on out, Peter, James and John had a completely new perspective about Jesus. They had seen a glimpse of who Jesus is in his fullness. No filters. It was a vision they could not articulate. Words to describe the experience failed them.

This rock I have from Camp Egan I picked up when I was not yet a teenager. On one side of it I have a drawing of a mountain. On top of the mountain is a cross. A huge sun is rising behind the mountain. And in the corner are three birds flying in the sky, representing the Trinity. This picture was an attempt to describe a mountain top experience I had at Camp Egan. As I came back down the mountain and returned home, I took this rock with me. It has sat on a home altar I have maintained for years, along with other objects I have collected that mark “mountain top experiences.” These objects remind me of how God has revealed Godself to me in a number of different ways, in different contexts, for over four decades of my life. When we have these mountain top experiences we carry them with us for the rest of our lives. They shape our faith. They help form who we are as persons.

Can you imagine how Peter, James and John were impacted by their mountain top experience? Like I said, surely they looked at Jesus differently from then on out. When they saw Jesus in his resurrected body, the Transfiguration experience surely flooded their memories and reaffirmed for them that their mountain top experience was real. Seeing the transfigured Jesus shaped the faith of Peter, James and John. They came down the mountain carrying that experience. They were different than the way they were before they went up the mountain with Jesus to pray.

What made my mountain top experiences possible as a kid was the result of the United Methodist Church. It was the church I belonged to that got me to that United Methodist owned camp. Not all my mountain top experiences have been at United Methodist church camps. But some have. Perhaps for many of us, and I would hope all of us, it has been through the church, particularly the United Methodist church, that the context for a mountain top experience was provided. Our church is a gathering of disciples around Jesus Christ, who from time to time gather on mountain tops, literally or figuratively, and experience the divine in powerful ways. We have these experiences as a church. And they are transformational experiences that shape our faith.

That’s what we heard about this morning. Peter, James and John, a tiny church gathered around Jesus, having their mountain top experience. The church has been that gathered community around Jesus for many of us where we have experienced the presence of God.

But, when church camp was over at Camp Egan, I had to go home. After we have our mountain top experiences, we have to go back down the mountain and return to the messiness of daily life. When Jesus, Peter, James and John came down the mountain, they walked right into chaos and pain. Listen to this description of what they were confronted with right after this incredible experience on the mountain.

On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. Just then a man from the crowd shouted, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son; he is my only child. Suddenly a spirit seizes him, and all at once he shrieks. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth; it mauls him and will scarcely leave him. I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”

While Jesus and the others were on the mountain top, down below there was a father crying out for his son who was possessed of a demon. He had pleaded for the rest of Jesus’ disciples to cast the demon out. They had the power to do so. In Luke 9:1 we read where Jesus specifically gives his disciples the authority to cast out demons. They have the power but, for some reason we don’t know about, this father’s son was still demon possessed and the disciples had failed. Did the father not really believe the disciples could do it? Were the disciples not confident enough to try, for fear of looking foolish if it didn’t work? Whatever the reason, this failure frustrated Jesus to no end. The disciples had the power to cast out the demon and heal the man’s son, but it didn’t happen.

What was Jesus’ response? “You faithless and perverse generation! How much longer must I be with you and bear with you?” Ouch. Was Jesus directing that barb toward only the disciples or did he mean that for everyone? One thing is clear. Jesus was angry. He was hurt. He was frustrated. And he did not bite his tongue but expressed his frustration. He didn’t sigh, or get flushed, or even say something like, “Really?” No, Jesus was specific about what was irritating him. What he saw before him was a faithless and perverse generation. Those words are cutting. They hurt. They are offensive, even if they are descriptive. And if it wasn’t for the fact that it was Jesus saying this, surely the crowd would have told Jesus what they thought of that statement and walked away. Maybe some did.

But Jesus didn’t stomp off angry. Jesus’ frustration didn’t close him off from addressing the pressing need for this boy to have a demon cast out of him. There was healing and restoration that needed to be accomplished. There was work to do. Jesus wasn’t going to walk away from where the pain and brokenness was. He didn’t turn himself around and walk back up the mountain. If the disciples couldn’t get the job done, then Jesus would do it. He would cast the demon out and restore the boy to his father. And that’s what he did. Nothing would stop Jesus from healing the suffering child.

The example has been set for us. There is much suffering in our communities: people living in tents and families living in cars, sons and daughters ensnared in substance abuse, children traumatized by violence and struggling with anxiety and depression. We have systems of support for folks in need of healing. But there’s not enough. And those who do this healing work are often stretched thin and are weary. Even with the systems of support we have in our community there are still those who are in need of healing and restoration. There is healing work for all of us to do.

But what can you and I do? What is Jesus’ example? Jesus did not hide his frustration but named what he saw. We don’t need to look around us and say, “this is a faithless and perverse generation.” But what could we say in our frustration? Maybe we can decry the inequitable distribution of resources, or the breakdown of civic responsibility, or the decay of moral virtue in our society. Whatever it is, Jesus invites us to acknowledge our frustration and to name it with as much specificity as we can.

What else can we do? We can resist the temptation to go back up the mountain top, to remove ourselves from the mess and go back to where we had that mountain top experience and wait for another one. We can decide to engage with the needs around us in whatever way we can rather than close ourselves off. I don’t know how you will engage, to respond to the hurt and brokenness all around us. When the need is right in front of you, ask God the question, “What does love require of me?” And then see what rises up for you and do that.

After Jesus healed that boy and restored him to his father, Jesus and his disciples made their way toward Jerusalem. Jesus was on his way to complete the work he was sent here to do, the suffering, the death on the cross, the burial, and then the glorious resurrection. Before the resurrection, there will be great suffering and death. As Jesus endured the suffering, and as Peter, James and John looked on, don’t you think that they remembered that moment on the mountain top, when Jesus was transfigured and talking with Moses and Elijah, and when the cloud engulfed them, and the voice spoke of Jesus as the chosen one? Surely in those moments of great pain and struggle, they all remembered that mountain top moment. It had to be a source of encouragement. Remembering that moment on the mountain had to give all of them strength, and hope that there is something more, bigger, holy, than the present suffering, the messiness, the chaos.

Those mountain top moments we experience are gifts. When we are frustrated or weary with the struggles of life, of working at doing good in the world and not seeing much of anything change, and the chaos and suffering of the world becomes too much, our memories draw us back to those moments when we experienced the presence of God in powerful ways, in ways that are indescribable. What a gift. I invite you now to go back in your memory to one of those mountain top moments. Re-live that experience. And give God thanks for this precious gift, a gift you carry with you on this journey, as we make our way toward our destiny, when we will stand in our glory before the glorified one, Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.

From One Body to Another

Based on 1 Corinthians 15:35-38,42-50

“I believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.” This is the last line of the Apostles Creed, one of the oldest statements of what Christians believe. We say the Apostles Creed every time we have a baptism, as is part of the tradition that has been handed down for generations. This Creed is a straightforward and succinct statement of what are the core beliefs of the church. The last line makes it clear that we believe in the resurrection of the body and of life everlasting. But what does the resurrection of the body look like? When will we experience this resurrection?

These are some of the questions that were being asked among the Christians in Corinth. They need more information about exactly what resurrection of the body is. Which body? What kind of body will it be? Paul’s response to the questions are not very tactful. Maybe in all caps he first answers their questions by writing the word “Fool!” Like I’ve said before, Paul really takes seriously belief in the resurrection. He won’t tolerate those who question the promise of the resurrection of the dead. It matters that much to him.

It’s still a fair question, however. We want to know, what kind of bodies will the dead have when they are raised? Will they be resuscitated corpses? Say, someone lived their whole life blind or during the course of their life they had their arm amputated. When they rise from the dead will they still be blind or have a missing arm? Or, what if someone was eaten by a pack of lions or their house caught on fire and they were burned up. What kind of body will they have when they rise from the dead? I have heard people who are opposed to cremation based on this concern that they won’t have a body to rise with. When we rise from the dead will we still be the same age as when we died? I’ve heard people suggest that since Jesus died around the age of 30 that our resurrected bodies will have the form of what we looked like when we were 30. Who knows? Whether out of genuine concern or as a way of mocking the idea of bodily resurrection, these questions were being asked in Corinth and it got a rise out of Paul.

It is too much in a sermon to break down what Paul is arguing in this passage from 1 Corinthians. He uses a lot of terms that have to be explained, like physical body, spiritual body, the flesh, first man, second man, image of the man of dust, image of the man of heaven. It’s a lot. Paul uses the image of sowing seeds and compares Adam and Jesus. He gives a nuanced and complicated argument that would be a fascinating Bible Study but way too deep to digest in a sermon.

So, what I want to do is focus on the central point that Paul is making, which is that the resurrection of the dead is the end result of a process of transformation. We are going to focus in on what that transformation is, what is being transformed, how is this transformation occurring, and when this transformation will be complete. My hope is that by focusing on this theme of transformation that this will not be for us interesting information but inspiration for how we live our lives. Because the lives we live now in Christ is part of that transformation process. Let’s jump into it.

The first image Paul uses to describe what the resurrection of the dead means to him is one that would be familiar to everybody, the sowing of seeds. It’s a great image to make his point that resurrection has to do with transformation. Take a radish seed and plant it in the ground. In about a month, you will see the sprouting of leaves. The growth of the plant continues until it’s time to harvest when you pull up the plant and have a fully developed radish. The radish plant looks nothing like the radish seed. In fact, the seed is gone. It now has a new “body” in the shape of a radish.

In the same way, when we die our bodies we have been living in disintegrate but we will rise out of the ground with new “bodies” as God has determined. Paul doesn’t answer the question directly about what kind of body is the resurrected from the dead but he makes his point that the body will not look like the former body, as a radish seed does not look like a radish. So, when we rise from the dead, experience the resurrection of the body, the body we inhabit will not look like the body we have right now. We will have a body but it will be different. A transformation takes place.

Paul then compares Adam with Jesus. Specifically, he compares Adam who is the first man with Jesus who is the second man; Adam, who is the man of dust, and Jesus, who is the man of heaven. It is like Paul is contrasting two kinds of humans. There is the human from the earth and the human from heaven. There is the earth human who became a living being and a heaven human who became a life-giving spirit. I guess you could say that Adam is like the turnip seed and Jesus is like the turnip. And here is the key to what Paul is getting at in vs.49, “Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.” In other words, we are currently earth humans. But one day we will be heaven humans. There will be a transformation, from one kind of human to another kind of human. Wow! 

I hope you are following me how transformation from one kind to another flows through Paul’s explanation about what the resurrection of the dead is about. It’s like a seed transformed into a plant. It’s like an earth human being transformed into a heaven human. There’s one more example of transformation I want to talk about.

Do you remember what happened in the story of Adam and Eve when God shaped Adam out of the dust and formed him into a physical body? The next thing God does is breathe into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life, a life-giving breath, and in that moment Adam became a living being. We can call that life-giving breath soul. We have a soul. It is our soul that is the source of our living. It’s what animates us as opposed to a chair that does not have a soul. Our soul is embodied. We are ensouled bodies. 

But there’s something else within our bodies than just our souls. When we were baptized, the Holy Spirit took up residence in our bodies. We read in the Bible of how we are temples of the Holy Spirit. We have within our bodies a soul and the Spirit of God.

Now, what is the Spirit of God doing in our bodies? The Spirit of God is at work within us, purifying us, healing us, shaping us, transforming us so that we more and more become like Jesus. We are being sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit in our bodies. The Spirit of God is transforming our souls. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we have a soul, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven, we have the Spirit. Paul says that we were sown a physical body, an ensouled body. But we will be raised a spiritual body, an enspirited body. Our souls, just as our bodies, will be transformed into spirits…enspirited bodies. 

I know, this is deep and confusing. But the main point I’m making is that from this moment until we experience resurrection we are in a process of transformation. In our day to day living, as we strive to live our lives that reflect the way of Jesus and reject the way of sin and death, we are being transformed from the inside, made holy, sanctified, purified. Something is happening inside of us. The Spirit of God is working on us day by day, moment by moment. And it is all a process of transformation that is leading up to an end point, when we will be raised as spiritual bodies, whatever that looks like.

This is where I find hope and why I think belief in the resurrection of the body is so important for Paul. It is that hope and faithful expectation that one day we will inhabit bodies that enable us to fully express the spirit of God in our living. One day we will be whom God has always intended us to be. As God intended that radish seed to become a tasty, fresh radish to garnish a salad, so God intends us in our frail ensouled bodies to become fully human, complete and perfect images of God. This is our destiny, the completion of the process of transformation we are experiencing right now, today, in this moment.

How are the dead raised? We don’t know. With what kind of body do they come? We don’t know. But we have faith and place our hope in this belief held by Christians from the beginning, this belief in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Glory be to God who has determined this to be so.

The God of Life

Based on 1 Corinthians 15:12-20

What happens after we die? That’s probably one of the few questions that every human being has asked themselves. It’s a difficult question to answer beyond what we observe when any living creature dies. The body decomposes, returning minerals into the soil. But is that all? Do we simply cease to exist or is there something more? For most people, the idea that when we die that there is nothing else, that it’s simply lights out, is not a satisfying answer. For some, the thought that there is nothing that happens after we die is actually a bit alarming. But what would that something be? We are left to speculate. And there has been a lot of speculation among humanity for these past several thousand years.

One answer is that when we die, our souls leave our bodies and go somewhere else. Maybe the soul goes to the great consciousness from which it came. Or it goes to inhabit another body through reincarnation. Or it goes to heaven or maybe hell. I came across an interesting explanation of what might happen when we die a few years back. It goes like this. God remembers every moment of our lives. God doesn’t forget anything about us. So, although when we die we disintegrate and become elements in other living creatures, we remain in God’s eternal memory. We are living memories in God. An interesting explanation that may not work for everyone.

What happens after we die was an issue in the church in Corinth. It was a big enough issue that Paul had to address it in his letter to the church. All of chapter 15 is about this issue. It appears that not all the Christians were on the same page when it came to belief in the resurrection. For Paul, it clearly mattered to him what people believed about the resurrection. This was not an agree to disagree moment. For Paul, belief in the resurrection was a central part of the gospel message. Our salvation depended on what we believed about the resurrection.

What did some of the Christians believe about resurrection? Paul doesn’t explicitly say. He only says that he has heard some do not believe there will be a resurrection from the dead. This is hard to understand when Paul made it clear in his proclamation of the gospel that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and after three days rose from the dead. Did some of the Christians think that only Jesus rose from the dead but no one else will? Did some think that at baptism people experience a spiritual resurrection at that moment? We unfortunately don’t know what exactly it was that they thought about resurrection.

But it is clear what Paul thinks about resurrection. He is letting the Corinthians know that when God rose Jesus from the dead, that this was not a one and done. No, Jesus was the first of many who will rise from the dead. Paul says that Jesus’ resurrection is the first fruits of the resurrection. The first fruits offering which the Jews would have known about was the first offering of what was harvested from the fields. That first offering is offered to God as an act of gratitude. In the same way, when Jesus rose from the dead, that was the first of what would be a harvest of resurrection at some point in the future.

For Paul, we can anticipate experiencing resurrection ourselves. We will rise from the dead just like Jesus did, with real bodies. But these bodies won’t wear out or be ravaged by disease. They will be indestructible bodies that our souls will inhabit for eternity. This hope of experiencing the resurrection is central to the gospel message, Paul says. Our salvation depends on having this hope in our own resurrection. To not believe it is to make belief in Jesus a vain belief. Paul goes so far as to say that those who don’t believe in their own resurrection are still lost in their sins. How so?

Let’s remember what death is understood to be. If we go back to the book of Genesis, we find the ancient story of Adam and Eve. It is in this story that we are told that death is the consequence of sin. Death is a curse. It was not part of God’s intent. We might remember when Jesus was having an argument with some Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, Jesus said to them that God is the God of the living and not the dead. God is the source of life. Death is not what God is about.

When Paul says that if there is no resurrection we are still lost in our sin, what he means is that if we die and stay dead, that means we are still under the curse of sin. Death is the punishment of sin. So, if we stay dead, we haven’t been delivered from that punishment.

But Jesus removed the curse. When he died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and then was raised from the dead after three days, the curse of death was broken. Death has been defeated. This is the good news! Because of Jesus we are set free from the curse. Does this mean there are no consequences for our sin? No. Does this mean that we won’t die? Of course not. There are consequences for the sins we commit. Sin harms our relationship with God, others, the earth, and ourselves. We will all die. But we won’t stay dead. We will live on, not as disembodied spirits floating around but in real, substantial, spiritual bodies. As Jesus was raised, so will we.

But what difference does this make in our lives right now? It is certainly good news to have hope that there is something for us after we die, that we don’t simply cease to exist, fade to black. But does belief in the resurrection make any impact on how we live today? That’s not an easy question to answer. There’s surely more than one answer. Perhaps you could say that since we are going to live forever and that our life on this world is merely a blip in time, then why really be concerned about this world? As I have heard people say, it’s all going to burn anyway so why should we be concerned about the problems of the world? Our singular focus ought to be to proclaim the gospel and save as many people as possible before judgment day. Nothing else matters. I have also heard this phrase that some Christians are so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good. They simply don’t care much about the state of the world. Best to persevere through this life of woe until we are finally released from this old world and be at home with Jesus. Why care about the changing climate or social justice?

I don’t believe that’s the best way to let the hope of the resurrection to influence our lives in this world. Instead, I suggest that our hope in the resurrection reinforces a core belief about who God is. God is the source of life. God is the God of the living. God loves what God has made and seeks to redeem it from the stain of sin and the curse of death. God conquers death so that creation can be set free from its curse because God is all about life, abundant, creative, harmonious, flourishing life. Anything, any action, that contributes to the flourishing of life is what God is about. Resurrection reinforces this belief about what God is about. God is the God of life.

This core belief impacts how we live in our daily lives. To believe that God is about life and not death, and that by God’s grace we have been set free from the curse of sin and death so that we can experience eternal life, how does this impact how we live today? I submit to you that this belief in God motivates us to care for all that God has made, including our own bodies, including the earth itself. It is a reason to embrace life, to contribute to the flourishing of all life. Far from being uncaring or ambivalent about the state of the world, belief in the God of resurrection means contributing to what God is up to, which is redemption, flourishing, the mending of creation that is being ripped apart by sin.

Do you recall what we have been talking about the past few weeks? We have looked at what Paul said about spiritual gifts, that we all have one for the purpose of being used for the common good. Paul challenged us to express equal mutual concern for all. He reminded us that the central motivation for all we do is to be love, along with faith and hope. After saying all of this, about how we are to build up and care for community, he talks about resurrection. Belief in the resurrection is where we place our hope. It is this hope that encourages us to press on in our care for the world, to not despair that the forces of death will ultimately win, but in fact death has been defeated. Our lives of faith, hope and love are not in vain. It is the promise of resurrection that secures this. Glory be to God, the one who conquers death and the grave and provides for us life everlasting.

What's Your Story?

Based on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

       “What’s your story?” That’s a great question when you want to get to know somebody. I mean, really know them. When you want more than just where someone lives, what they do for a living, if they have family, you want to hear their story. When people tell their story, they are giving you a sense of how they understand themselves, what they are about, what joys and sorrows they have experienced, what life lessons they have learned along the way. You get a richer understanding of who this person is when they tell their story.

A few days ago, I had the privilege of interviewing people who are in the process of ordination. One was pursuing commissioning to begin her probationary years as a deacon and the other two were presenting themselves for full conference membership and ordination as deacons. One of them has a Parkview and Westgate connection! Alycia Orcena’s father is Rev. Boyer, who served at Parkview and her mother, Joy Boyer, was the secretary at Westgate. After reading over their files, the interview team got to ask them questions so that we could hear more about their story, so that we could get a sense if they were ready to move forward in their ordination process. It was a joy for us. All three candidates had incredible stories to share about how they had experienced God in their lives, the ministry that they have been doing, the personal, professional and spiritual growth they have experienced in their lives. One in particular shared her story about how she had got caught up in a relationship that had drawn her away from the church. But the Spirit never let go of her. Eventually, she found herself coming back to church. And it was through worship, and especially the receiving of Holy Communion, where she experienced deep healing in her life. This personal experience is what drives her to use her musical gifts to design worship and lead others in how to create meaningful worship experiences. She also teaches classes at United Theological Seminary on the sacraments. Her story of redemption was so inspiring to us and I for one am excited that she will be ordained as a deacon in a few months.

Each of us have our own stories to tell. The stories we tell about ourselves are powerful stories. These life stories shape our identity. They help define for us who we are, where we come from, how we understand our place in the world. These stories help give our lives meaning. As we tell or write down our stories, our autobiographies, we are able to see how the experiences we have had in our lives all fit together to make us who we are.

There are other stories we tell that are not specifically about us as individuals but are instead community stories. These stories have power too. I am talking about family stories. My mom told me and my sister this story about her great-grandfather who immigrated from England. He meant to get on a ship headed for Australia. But somehow he ended up on a ship to America. Mom doesn’t know how he made that kind of mistake. We are left to wonder! But at any rate, that’s how her family ended up in America instead of Australia. What family stories have you passed down to the younger people in your family? We also pass down folklore, national stories that try to communicate what it means to be an American. There are so many stories we tell. I think of the one I heard about when George Washington cut down the cherry tree and when confronted with it said, “I cannot tell a lie, I cut down the cherry tree.” Folklore is powerful because through them we try to create a communal identity. This is who we are as a family. This is who we are as a nation. The stories we pass down as a congregation does the same thing.

Paul had a story to tell. We hear a bit from these two stories in the scripture passage we are reflecting on. One story is the one he heard from the followers of Jesus that he is passing along. It is a community story. The other story is about how he has experienced the community story in his own life. It’s a personal story. Let’s take a look at these stories.

The community story is the story about Jesus. It is a story that has roots in the Holy Scriptures, especially Isaiah 53. It is the story of Jesus’ mission: that he died for our sins, was buried, was raised on the third day, and appeared to Cephas, to the twelve, and to many others, and lastly who appeared to Paul himself. The community story that Paul is telling is the gospel, the good news. It is this story that is passed along from generation to generation, a story first told by the apostles 2,000 years ago and is still being told today. It is a story that has power. Not only does this story give the reason for why the church exists, but it has the power to save those who believe and hold fast to this story. This story tells us that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53. And Jesus rose from the dead, giving us the hope that we will experience the resurrection ourselves. Sin and death have been defeated, as the story goes. It is our belief in this story that saves us from judgment and from despair. We are cleansed. We are set free from the bondage of death. Our future is secure. This story gives us reason to live our lives from a place of faith, hope, and love. That’s the power of this story. This is our family story, the one we pass on from generation to generation. It is the story that establishes who we are as a community of believers.

Then, Paul tells his own personal story of his encounter with Jesus. It is his experience of grace, his testimony. He gives his testimony a few times in the book of Acts and in a few of his letters. This telling here in chapter 15 is brief. But it is the heart of his testimony. Paul speaks of how he was once a persecutor of the church. Yet, God had chosen him to be a witness of the gospel story. In an act of amazing grace, Paul encountered Jesus while on the way to Damascus in his pursuit of Jesus followers. It changed everything in his life. The persecutor of Christians had come to belief, by God’s grace. 

The amazing grace that Paul received was not lost on him. It was this grace, this encounter with Jesus, that drove him to fulfill his purpose as an apostle. Just as the person I shared about earlier, who experienced deep healing through worship and the sacraments which now provides her reason why she serves God as she does, so Paul’s experience of God’s grace gave his reason why he worked so hard, harder than all the rest Paul humbly brags, because of the grace that he experienced. If someone wanted to know Paul’s story, to get to know what he is about, this is the story that Paul would tell. It is his testimony.

What’s your story? I know you have one. It may not be as dramatic as the stories we have heard in this talk. It is certainly different from the ones I have shared. Your story is yours alone. And it is yours to tell. Have you ever sat down and written your story? One of the documents that those who are in the ordination process have to provide is called a spiritual autobiography. They are invited to look back over their life and write about how they have experienced God. It can be a clarifying experience. When we reflect on how our life has unfolded with God, we may get a better sense of how our life fits together. We can see how the unseen hand of God has led us to where we are today. It is a sacred story, a story worth sharing.

This is my invitation for you. Write it down. Give your testimony. How have you encountered Jesus in your life? What’s your story?

Only Love Will Do

Based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

        1 Corinthians 13 is popularly called the “love chapter.” It is perhaps one of the most familiar scripture passages in the Bible, particularly among those who rarely attend church or have any engagement with the Bible. That is because it is quite likely that if you attend a wedding in which scripture reading is involved, 1 Corinthians 13 will be one of the readings. Millions of people heard this passage if they tuned in to the wedding of Prince William and Princess Catherine back in 2011. The sermon at the wedding, preached by Rev. Michael Curry, who is the primate of the Episcopal Church here in the United States, was based on this passage. It is not a surprising choice that this passage about love is read at a wedding in which a couple celebrates their love with each other and commits to remain in this loving relationship for the rest of their lives.

But in its original context, marriage was not on Paul’s mind. He does address marriage in chapter 7, encouraging people not to marry, but if they choose to marry because they can’t control their sexual passions, then he gives ethical guidelines on how marriages should go. But in this part of his letter to the Corinthian church, the issue he is addressing is the divisiveness in the church that he has heard about. When Paul writes this chapter about love, it is the context of a church that was divided and not getting along with each other. They had gotten things twisted, so Paul is trying to straighten things out so that the church can be what God intends it to be, a community of mutual love that proclaims the gospel in word and deed to an unbelieving and dysfunctional world.

The focus of chapter 12, which we have looked at over the past few weeks, is around the importance of all the spiritual gifts that people in the church have been given as determined by the Spirit. Paul stresses that every person has a gift. No one is left out. And each gift is intended to be used for the common good, for the flourishing of the community. Paul is specifically thinking about the body of Christ, the church. But I have been inviting us to extend this vision beyond the body and asking us to consider what it would be to use the gifts we have received for the common good of society, and not just the church. If we have to start somewhere, the church is a good place to start. But I do believe that God’s intention is that the whole world be saved, that all of human society be transformed into the beloved community, where every person is able to thrive. But, again, Paul stresses in chapter 12 that we all have been given a gift as determined by the Spirit, that this gift is meant to be used for the common good.

This is certainly an important reminder for us. Each one of us is gifted. The gift which the Spirit has given us is important and it matters. Why would the Spirit give someone a gift that was of no use or benefit? Nor was the gift you received random but was intentionally given to you. Because we all have been given a gift, we all have a responsibility to use the gift we have for the common good. We all have to be engaged in community life. Sitting on the sidelines is not a responsible choice. We all have to use the gift we have. When everyone is engaged, using their gift as they are able, the whole community is functioning and this produces the common good, the kind of society that we all want to be a part of.

Then, Paul shifts away from talking about our giftedness and starts calling us to express equal mutual concern for one another. Using our gifts for the common good is critical. But it’s not just about doing, doing, doing. It’s not just about being busy and productive all the time. Paul reminds the Corinthians, and us, that a healthy community is one where there is equal mutual concern for one another. We must not pass over that word “equal.” We all know what it is like to experience cliques. In our own friendship circles we can have mutual concern for each other, but what about those outside our circles? Even those who are members of the body of Christ who aren’t in our circles? If we aren’t careful, people even in the church can be overlooked. Paul challenges us to not leave anyone out but to have mutual concern for every person in the church. We need to celebrate with each other. We need to grieve with each other. Paul is calling us to embody a community that is more than just doing things together. We are to be a community that actually cares about each other. And every person is included in our care, not just our besties.

I know that Paul is focusing on the church in these instructions. But, again, I invite us to expand our view a bit, just to wonder what would be like if we lived in a society in which equal mutual concern for all was the norm? It seems so far-fetched as a possibility. But I want to be hopeful that the loud voices that fuel divisiveness represent a minority view and that most people in our community do care and want to build a community of mutual care for each other. But it starts with us. By God’s grace, how could we include more people in our practice of mutual care?

Paul lifting up the value of mutual concern for one another paves the way to chapter 13, where Paul takes the conversation to a deeper level. In the midst of their divisiveness, Paul reminds the church in Corinth that each person has a gift that is equally valuable. He has urged them to have equal mutual concern for one another. Now he is urging them to shift their focus from all of that and instead pursue what Paul calls the more excellent way. That more excellent way is the practice of love.

For Paul the matter really comes down to motive. What motivates you to use your gift for the common good? What he is pointing to is that people can do good things for the wrong reasons. And when that happens, something is off. There’s something that just doesn’t seem right. I thought about my own experiences of doing good things, but my heart wasn’t really right. I was doing good things but not really out of love. It was more because it was my job. I’m a pastor so I’m paid to do good. That’s in my job description. Sometimes I’ve done good things because people expect that of me. I try not to disappoint people. And I have observed others who do good things. But it came across to me as a bit patronizing, like that person is pitying me or others. What they were doing was good and helpful but it felt a little ungenuine. As I reflected on my own times where I was doing good but for the wrong reasons and have observed this in others and the vibe I picked up from them as they were doing their good deeds, I came up with a couple of questions that could be helpful to ask ourselves from time to time, so that we can check ourselves about what is motivating us to use our gifts for the common good.

These questions are meant for my own reflection about my motivations for what I’m trying to do in the world. They aren’t meant to question the motives of others. It’s not wise to try to judge what motivates other people. But it is wise to reflect on our own motivations. It may not always be easy. It requires us being honest with ourselves. If we are willing to do this and become clear about what is our primary motives for doing good in the world, it can help us live with more integrity.

So, for example, do you do good things for others because you have a need to be needed? Maybe you have heard the word “co-dependence” before. It’s a relationship in which you find your meaning and purpose dependent on caring for and meeting the needs of the other person. And if this person leaves you, you find yourself with no sense of purpose. You need that person in your life so that your life has meaning and purpose. What happens when that person is gone?

Here’s another question. Do you do good in the world to feed your ego? Do you do good things because you crave being patted on the back, praised for how good a person you are, or to convince yourself that you are indispensable, that no one else can do what you can do? I have known people who are doing things for others, but if they don’t get properly acknowledged or thanked for the good things they are doing, they get their feelings hurt. Now, don’t get me wrong. Everyone needs affirmation. Everyone wants to be appreciated and not feeling like they are being disregarded or taken for granted. But if your primary motive for doing good is so that you can then receive praise and thanks from other people, so you can feel good about yourself, what happens if you don’t get any praise?

Paul is asking us to consider what is our motives when we use our gifts for the common good. He says that even if he does incredible things with his gifts, if he doesn’t have love, if he is not motivated by love, then what he does falls flat. Something is off. What Paul is trying to say to us is that love is the motive that endures. When we are motivated by love to care for others then the response of the other person is not as important to keep us motivated. We don’t need to have the other person respond in kind or give our lives meaning and purpose. We don’t need to have the other person express appreciation for us and tell us how good we are. Paul urges us to do good for love’s sake because this is a motive that is not dependent on what response we might get from others. Paul is telling us that love is the one thing that sustains our motivation to use our gifts for the common good. Not thanks, or praise, or honor and glory. Love and love alone.

“No good deed is left unpunished.” Hyperbole perhaps. But there have been times where we do good and our actions are misunderstood or the results are disappointing. We work hard at something, and nothing seems to work. Things don’t change. The problems we confront are so large and sometimes we are discouraged. We sometimes find ourselves carrying heavy burdens. Or there are obstacles that prevent us from doing the things we want to do. Paul knew what that was like. He writes about all the suffering he had to endure when he was using his gifts in the world, including shipwrecks, people throwing rocks at him, times of hunger, of being ridiculed. But Paul pressed on even through the hard and discouraging times. It was love, his love for God and his love for the church, that kept Paul going. It is love, along with faith and hope, that can keep us engaged, even when it’s hard, using our gifts for the common good.

E Pluribus Unum

Based on 1 Corinthians 12:12-31

E Pluribus Unum, “out of many, one.” That is our nation’s motto. It simply expresses the core of our national identity, and what makes the United States different from other nations. We see it in our tendency to use hyphens in identifying groups of Americans. We identify African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latin-Americans, less commonly European-Americans, which is one example of how Europeanness or whiteness is understood to be the norm and it is non-white ethnicities that are to be hyphenated. Be that as it may, we don’t conceive “American” to be an ethnicity, like English, or French, or Japanese, or Chinese. We often say that America is an idea, a great experiment to see if it is possible to have a nation that from the beginning was comprised of people who came from many nations and ethnicities, even as our constitution failed to fully incorporate African slaves and the indigenous peoples who already lived here. It is an idea, e pluribus unum, that has a complicated history, and an ideal that we are still trying to achieve in all its fullness.

I remember when I was younger being taught that America was like a great melting pot. All these different peoples, different ethnicities, and races, somehow all become assimilated into the American way of life. But then I heard a different metaphor that made more sense to me. It was the idea that America is like a great bowl of gumbo. It’s all the different ingredients thrown together into a gumbo that makes it taste so good. This image lifts up appreciation for difference, and how the differences make America unique as opposed to the idea of assimilation and conformity, the minimizing of difference with the image of the melting pot. I’m still biased toward the metaphor of America as a bowl of gumbo than a melting pot.

E pluribus unum, could also be a motto for the church, the body of Christ. I thought of that motto when reflecting on this passage from 1 Corinthians. That’s what Paul is saying to the church in Corinth. Although they are comprised of Jews and Greeks, slaves and free, they are united through baptism and through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. Their differences don’t disappear. They retain their differences even as they are united as one body. Maybe my bias is showing, but I would like to think that Paul would be ok with identifying the church as like a bowl of gumbo. All the differences united in one body is part of what makes the body of Christ a rich, dynamic, impactful global presence. For, indeed, the body of Christ is a global body, not bounded by ethnicity, language, nation, or political arrangement. The body of Christ reflects the diversity of the human race. In reality, the body of Christ truly is e pluribus unum.

Just think about the rich diversity in the body of Christ. Paul specifically names Jews and Greeks, slave and free. This touches on ethnic diversity and the diversity of social status. That was the diversity present in the church in Corinth. But there is so much more. I don’t know if it can be said that every ethnicity on earth is somehow represented in the body of Christ, but I think it’s pretty close. The wealthy and well-connected to the lowest and poorest caste in India has representation in the body of Christ. But that’s not the only diversity. We are a diversity of many histories and cultural traditions, from our own traditions here to the traditions of central America, Russia, Ethiopia, Syria, the Philippines, and more. We have a diversity of communions, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox. We have literally thousands of different Protestant denominations and non-denominational churches. We have a great diversity of theological differences. We hold a diversity of moral and ethical positions. There are a variety of spiritual gifts, which we talked about last week. It is astounding how diverse the body of Christ is.

At the same time, we are united in baptism and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Any Christian you meet anywhere in the world is a person who has been baptized one way or another. When you meet a Christian of any cultural tradition, ethnicity, language, or theological persuasion, you are in the presence of someone who is possessed of the Holy Spirit. The experience of baptism and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is what all Christians have in common. It is important to claim this common bond that we share with all Christians everywhere.

As we affirm the unity that is ours through baptism and the presence of the Spirit, Paul also reminds us that we need the diversity of the body, a diversity that God has determined to exist. This diversity, not only in spiritual gifts but in all the ways we are diverse, is on purpose. God has designed maximum diversity in the body of Christ so that God’s purpose can be fulfilled. As Paul says, if the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If we had only one cultural tradition, how could we relate to the variety of cultural traditions in human society? If we had only one language, how could those who speak other languages communicate with us? If we all held the exact same theological, moral, and political positions on all matters, how would we be able to find common cause with those who do not hold the same positions? As it is, the body of Christ reflects the diversity of the world so that the witness of Christ can resonate and be communicated to all of human society.

We see an example of this in the book of Acts when the apostles receive the Spirit and then immediately begin to proclaim the mighty works of God in the native languages of all who were gathered in Jerusalem. People were amazed that it was in their own native language that they heard what the apostles were saying. God intends for the body of Christ to be as diverse as possible so that the diversity of the human community can resonate with and experience the mighty works of God in their own, native ways.

All that said, it appears that the core issue that Paul is addressing with the church in Corinth is the issue of dissension. Paul makes it clear in vs. 25 that there ought not be dissension in the body of Christ but that there be equal concern for all. Paul calls for mutual concern for each other. Paul is saying to us that our energy is not to be spent on enforcing uniformity. Nor are we to fixate on our differences and either boost our own sense of superiority or regard ourselves as lacking or not good enough or irrelevant. Paul urges us to set aside hubris and comparing ourselves to others and instead to recognize the reality that we are one body. I love how Paul says in vs. 15, if the foot should say “Because I am not a hand, I don’t belong to the body” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. Whatever we say about ourselves and our relationship with one another as Christians doesn’t change the reality that we are in relationship. The unity we have in Christ is not something we create. The unity is a given. God has determined it to be so. The dissension that Paul saw in Corinth and that we see in the church today reflects a failure in acknowledging the unity that exists by God’s own doing. Paul is calling us to acknowledge the unity that God has already forged and to relate to each other based on this real unity that God has provided.

We see how Paul sets aside any focus on the diversity of difference in the body of Christ. In this passage we are reflecting on today, Paul says quite a bit about the diversity in the body and how all the different parts of the body, all the diversity we have in the body of Christ, is there by God’s own design to fulfill God’s purposes in the world. But then Paul shifts to talk about mutual concern for one another. For Paul, it is not enough just to appreciate the diversity within the body of Christ or to tolerate all our differences. Paul calls for a community of mutual care, one in which if one part of the community is celebrating, then everyone celebrates with them. If one part of the community is grieving, then everyone grieves with them.

I want to confess something. There have been times when I have witnessed parts of the body of Christ who are flourishing, making big impact in the world, transforming lives, doing incredible ministry, and my response has been one of jealousy or dismissiveness. Or sometimes feeling inferior or even a failure. Celebrating their success and effectiveness was not happening. And then there have been other times where leaders who were able to build incredible ministries fell due to a moral failure and rather than grieve how this has impacted the lives of so many and has hurt the community, I have felt some kind of vindication, that this fallen leader had gotten too big for their britches, that they weren’t all that. I didn’t grieve for them or the impact that had on the ministry or all the people that had looked up to and followed that leader, or the hurt inflicted on the community. I’m not alone in this. Pride and hubris, feelings of inferiority and irrelevance wash through the body of Christ. This sinful poison was present in Corinth in Paul’s day and continues to course through the veins of the body of Christ today.

There is an antidote. Paul speaks of it in chapter 13, and we will look at that next week. It is the pursuit of the greater gifts of faith, hope and love. Love is the antidote. Love expressed by celebrating with those who celebrate and grieving with those who grieve, of mutual concern for each other, this is what overcomes those feelings and attitudes that stir up dissension in the body and that causes the body of Christ to be dysfunctional. May God forgive us when we remain in our dysfunction, and may God give us grace to express equal concern for all who belong to the body of Christ.

As we practice mutual and equal concern for all who belong to the body of Christ, let us not neglect those who do not identify as Christians. What would our community be like if the equal concern for each other as Christians also included our fellow citizens, indeed every person in our community? What if we had equal concern for every person in society? That is asking a lot. And as we observe and sometimes perpetuate the dissension, the divisiveness, the dysfunction, in our greater community, our nation, and the world as a whole…my goodness. Yet, is it not desperately needed in these times, mutual concern for one another? Not just our own tribe, or political persuasion, or shared moral views, but mutual and equal concern for every person. To attempt that kind of equal mutual concern would absolutely transform our society. To actually manifest e pluribus unum, I can’t even begin to describe to you how radical that would transform how we live together as the human community. But oh how I wish we lived in that kind of community. It is a vision, indeed a divinely ordained vision, in which to strive. Only love will get us there. And we will talk about that next week.

Gifted for the Common Good

Based on 1 Corinthians 12:1-11

This weekend we remember and celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King and his leading role in the civil rights movement. He has been identified in many ways: prophet, visionary, communist, rabble rouser, black Moses. He identified himself as a Baptist preacher. And oh how he could preach. His oratorical skills were incredible. He moved a nation with his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. His visionary leadership went beyond equity for black Americans. He wanted to see a world devoid of racism, militarism, and economic exploitation. He dreamed of what he called the beloved community. It is that vision of beloved community that inspires me personally and has come to guide my work as a pastor and with the Shalom Zone. I believe that beloved community describes God’s dream for human society, even all of creation. This vision of beloved community has been an inspiration for millions of people all around the world.

That’s important to keep in mind as we remember Martin Luther King. This was not a one-person movement. King didn’t advance civil rights all by himself. Countless numbers of people in big and small ways did their part. King was able to cast a vision of what can be in a way that inspired the multitude to action, to build a society that reflected that vision. The advances of the civil rights movement and the work of realizing the dream of the beloved community is a group effort. It is about people being engaged in their communities, being engaged in politics, making economic choices, helping people in need, offering grace and forgiveness, doing what you can for the common good. The revolution of love that King called for must be a group effort.

The civil rights movement and the living legacy of Martin Luther King’s dream are examples of what Paul has in mind when he spoke of the spiritual gifts. Paul said that each of us have been given a spiritual gift, as the Spirit determines, and that those gifts are to be activated in our lives for the common good. Let’s break this down.

First, each one of us has been gifted. You may say to me, “I don’t have a spiritual gift, or if I do, I don’t know what it is.” I understand. The gifts we have may not be obvious. It may take some discernment to identify what your gift is. You may have to live some life and have some experiences that call upon you to respond, and in that response, you discover what your gift is. You likely will have someone who knows you point out to you what your gift is. For those who don’t think they have a spiritual gift or don’t know what it is, I want to assure you that you do have a gift. You can find spiritual gift inventories that can help you identify your gift. You could look at the different lists of spiritual gifts like the one we heard today, and reflect on those gifts. Which ones resonate with you? Also, keep in mind that the lists of spiritual gifts we find in the scriptures are not all inclusive. It could be your gift isn’t listed. For example, some people have the gift of hospitality, of creating a space where people feel welcomed and safe to be themselves. But that gift isn’t in any of the lists. What I would say is, your spiritual gift is how you are naturally compelled to act for the common good.

Second, we didn’t get to choose our gift. Many of us provide our beloveds a wish list as Christmas is approaching. That wish list could also be called a shopping list if we aren’t careful, especially if the wish list is very specific about what we want. But we also hope that we will get a couple gifts that weren’t on the wish list. That is, a gift that we didn’t think of that is just right. Sometimes, though, we get a gift that, well, it also wasn’t something we thought of. That gift will either sit somewhere collecting dust or find its way to a white elephant gift exchange. Let’s not forget that a gift is by definition something we didn’t choose. Even if we provide a highly detailed description of the gift we want, someone has to decide to get the gift. We don’t get a gift for ourselves. That’s not a gift, that’s a purchase. The Spirit has determined what gift we are to have. We may have our preferences of what kind of gift we want, but in the end, we receive the gift we have been given.

Third, the gift we have been given is meant to be used for the common good. The Spirit didn’t randomly give you a gift. The gift you received was given with intention and purpose. What a shame if you kept that gift on the proverbial shelf or somewhere in the attic collecting dust. Nor was your gift given for your own personal glory, to impress people, for your own personal benefit, or anything like that. The intent of these spiritual gifts is so that we can use these gifts to impact society, so that the world will be more like how God wants it to be.

When we use our gifts, this is how God is manifesting in the world. We believe that God is present and active in the world, not sitting somewhere removed from the world watching to see how things work out. Nor does God just magically make things happen. Even miracles involve the actions of people. Creation itself is involved in any miracle. The world that God dreams is manifested through the actions of people. God is present and active in the world through us. We are in a relationship with God. We fulfill God’s purposes for the world when we activate the spiritual gifts that God has given us. Our gifts are meant to be used so that God can work through our actions. This is why it is important for us to not only know what our gift is but to activate it in our lives. This is how the world God dreams of is manifested in the world.

For those of you who know what your spiritual gift is, I hope you are encouraged to activate that gift for the common good. Your efforts may seem small but remember that what you do is actually God working through you, so it matters and it makes a difference. All the ways each of us engages with society adds up and collectively makes a difference. I know that there are times when we look at the state of the world with its brokenness and ugliness and worry about where things are headed, what kind of world our kids and grandkids will endure. I worry about it too. But I also imagine what the world be like if there was no one trying to make the world better. It truly could be so much worse if God was not active in the world through our lives.

So, I want to end with a quote from someone who deeply shaped the spirituality of Martin Luther King. It was said that wherever he went on his travels, King would take with him two books: the Bible and a book written by Howard Thurman entitled Jesus and the Disinherited. Howard Thurman was a mystic, a poet, one who was deeply committed to the work of reconciliation, of creating a world that reflected beloved community. I invite you to reflect on this quote, especially if you are not sure what you have to offer, what your gift is or how you can make a difference in the world.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” What are you passionate about? What do you do that gives you energy rather than saps your energy, that makes you come alive? Whatever that is, there’s a good chance that this is a manifestation of your spiritual gift. So do that, not just because you enjoy it, or that it energizes you or makes you come alive, but because that is how God is able to work through you to make a difference, to realize God’s dream of the beloved community.