Psalm 34: 1-14; Mark 10: 46-52, by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 25, 2015
Reformation Sunday
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
and was saved from every trouble.
The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it. - Psalm 34: 1-14
They came to Jericho. As [Jesus] and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stood still and said, ‘Call him here.’ And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ The blind man said to him, ‘My teacher, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has made you well.’ Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way. - Mark 10: 46-52
He was searching. The text says he was sitting on the side of the road. His story is short. He had a family. At one time in his life he could see. Maybe he had used all of his resources in hopes to regain his sight. Whatever had happened, he was left pandering for hope from anyone who might help. As soon as Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was on the scene, he desperately tried to get Jesus’ attention. His eagerness caused Jesus to stand still. And then the question came: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mark 10:51). Knowing Jesus embodied the power of God, Bartimaeus asked to see again. His sight was restored as Jesus proclaimed that Bartimaeus’ faith – his trust in God – made him well. And then he followed Jesus as a disciple on the way.
The text today reminds me of another man who would probably say that he was blind at one time in his life. His name was Martin Luther. He was a native of Germany born in 1483. He had a family but his childhood was filled with memories of harsh and even severe discipline. It had such an effect upon him that Luther had a haunting desire to know the goodness of God. You see Luther had a difficult time seeing God as anything but a judge of the heart. As he walked through life, all roads led to either salvation or damnation.
Luther’s quest to find the peace of God’s salvation guided his decisions to become a monk and a priest. He spent much of his time and spiritual resources striving to be obedient to God. He labored over his studies and prayers. The more he studied and prayed the more he saw his own sinful darkness. And through all of his efforts Luther could not find a satisfactory answer to his question; if God holds us accountable for sin, how are we to truly see the love and grace of God?
The abbot whom Luther confided in knew Luther’s deep spiritual struggle. One day the abbot had a new plan for Luther’s searching. He asked Luther to teach the Scriptures at the University of Wittenberg in Germany. Luther accepted the opportunity. As Luther began the preparations for his teaching, the Word of God opened up to him in new ways. His study of Romans changed his life. Luther pulled apart the words of Romans 1:17, “For [in the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith, as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”
Have you ever had an experience where the Word of God really spoke to you? As Luther studied those words from Romans, maybe he heard Christ asking the same question Bartimaeus was asked: ‘What do you want me to do for you?” It was as if the Spirit of God stood still as Luther begged to spiritually see the love and grace of God in the text and in his life. The Word of God moved Luther to know that the forgiveness we receive through God’s righteousness is given by God as a free gift of grace. Faith and forgiveness through Jesus Christ are God’s work and there is nothing you and I can do to earn it. We are saved by grace through faith. In our brokenness Christ is enough because God loves us. That was freeing for Luther.*
During Luther’s time the only church that existed was the Catholic Church. His theological discovery from Paul’s letter of Romans was in conflict with the sixteenth century church’s teaching on forgiveness or penitence. In those days, one had to earn forgiveness through the sale of indulgences, or coins to purchase forgiveness from the priest.
Luther used his new spiritual sight to create a wider discussion about this and wrote the famous 95 theses, or guiding questions, for his colleagues in faith. Luther hoped forgiveness would be interpreted in a new way – solely through the Word of God in light of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517 and those questions caused a spiritual stirring. Luther’s spiritual struggles and new spiritual sight culminated into what we call the “Protestant Reformation.” We remember Luther’s story each year on the last Sunday in October as Reformation Sunday. It was a day that slowly began the shift of the church breaking away into a number of Protestant denominations. Reformations have continued to pulse through history and into the present day. Today Pope Francis is leading a new reformation in the Catholic Church for Christians to see the marginalized through ministries of compassion as Christ did.
Martin Luther’s new spiritual sight upheld “the Word of God as the starting point and the final authority”* instead of any priest or spiritual leader of the church. Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, is the One who searches our hearts and minds. Jesus Christ is the One who embraces our joys and struggles with compassion. Jesus Christ is the One who offers us new life through the cross and empty tomb. Jesus Christ is the One who restores our spiritual sight when we cannot see beyond our brokenness. Jesus Christ empowers us to see and walk towards the goodness of God, the way of our Teacher and Savior, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Just as Bartimaeus and Martin Luther experienced times of blindness, we encounter spiritual blindness too. We experience seasons of difficulty where there is an obstacle that we cannot move past. It is a situation that creates difficulty truly seeing the love and grace of God. Family relationships are strained and there seems to be no clear path ahead to reach towards forgiving hurts. The nature of our work changes significantly with our employer and we no longer find a sense of joy or purpose in the daily grind. The diagnosis comes with uncertainty that overwhelms our faith that once felt so secure.
We encounter spiritual blindness in the stories of the larger church and world too. Pew polls say that the overall church is declining which creates fear for the church’s future. The media daily confronts us with the reality of growing racial tensions and school shootings that push us to consider what it means to be our brother’s keeper. The political arena asks if there is anyone with a sincere spirit of integrity that might lead the people.
And through all of our searching to truly see the love and grace of God, we find ourselves sitting along the path of life. We become dismayed and we can’t see past our sinful darkness. And then we hear Mark's good news that Jesus is still on the scene. Trust that through the difficulty that you are experiencing in your life that Christ is here. Trust that through the troubles our world continues to face that Christ is present. Jesus Christ comes to us in the midst of our searching. If we might be still enough to listen to the Word then we just may hear the guiding question. The Word speaks into our lives asking, “What do you want me to do for you?”
Will we confess our spiritual blindness and ask to see God’s possibility? Will we humble ourselves and trust God is working in the silence and difficult places to reshape our understanding of faith and God, of ourselves and the world?
In a recent article this past week in Relevant Magazine, pastor Tom Hughes says:
Questions alone do not have the power to deepen our relationship with God. However, they are often the way in which God invites us to discover some things about God or ourselves. God will then use those questions to move us into a deeper relationship with God. A prayerfully curious and humble faith that is willing to live into the answers one day at a time will over time become a deep faith that sustains us even in the most trying of times. *
May we listen to the guiding question Jesus Christ is asking. It is not a trivial question. It begs for our deep reflection. In the spirit of the Reformation, may we engage the ongoing struggle towards new spiritual sight through Jesus Christ. The Incarnate Word is searching our hearts so that we might see the love and grace of God working through the obstacles of life. Each time we gain new spiritual sight it is a gift of being reformed and reshaped by the goodness of God, the Word of Christ, and the power of Holy Spirit. As our eyes are opened, may we have the courage to follow Christ with a growing obedience and a deepening trust in this Way we call faith.
We trust this to God and God alone. Amen.
Sources:
Justo Gonzalez, “The Story of Christianity Volume 2: The Reformation to the Present Day” (New York: Harper One, 1985), pp. 14-32.
Tom Hughes, “Four Questions That Will Deepen Your Understanding of God,” Relevant Magazine, October 19, 2015 http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/4-questions-will-deepen-your-understanding-god
Monday, October 26, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
Remember Whose You Are
Hebrews 5: 1-10, by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 18, 2015
Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you’;
6as he says also in another place,
‘You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.’
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
– Hebrews 5: 1-10
It is one of the most humbling experiences in the life of faith. Many have shared that it brought them to tears. It is the ritual called “the laying on of hands.” It is a moving experience to circle around an individual to lay hands upon them and pray for anointing or healing. Rituals like this reveal the mystery of the Holy Spirit in palpable ways.
We also embody this ritual at the ordination of ruling elders or teaching elders. It is hard to put into words the way the mantle of God’s grace feels through all of those hands. It is humbling for a person of faith to feel the physical weight of prayer. It is moving for a person of faith to be called from the body of Christ to serve the people of God with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.
The liturgy in the Book of Common Worship says that “Ordination is Christ’s gift to the church, assuring that his ministry continues among us, providing for ministries of caring and compassion in the world, ordering governance of the church, and preaching the Word and administering the sacraments.”
October 16 was the anniversary of my ordination. It is day I remember and give thanks to God for all the special people that nurtured God’s gifts in me. I remember the weight of the hands upon me and how it was a burden and a blessing. But I am so grateful the day was not about me. The day was to celebrate God’s faithfulness among us. It was a day to celebrate God’s steadfast love among all the people of God.
Our text this morning from Hebrews speaks to the experience of calling spiritual leaders. They are called from the body to serve the larger whole. We hear of the burden and blessing of this calling in the responsibilities given to the high priest in those days. The high priest was to create a space of worship to lift the brokenness of humanity into the light of God’s grace. And then the author of Hebrews quickly turns our focus to Jesus Christ. God’s only Son fulfilled the prophecies to be the high priest for all time. Christ was chosen and called to lead God’s people into God’s eternal restoration.
As God continued to weave a vision of ministry in the biblical story, Jesus Christ embodied a new way to pour God’s grace into the brokenness of God’s people. He was chosen from the beginning as Emmanuel, God with us. We hear those words of Christ’s choseness in today’s text– “You are my Son” (Hebrews 5:5). Those words echo the words of Jesus’ baptism in the synoptic gospel accounts: “You are my Son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). As the mantle of God’s grace rested upon Jesus in the Jordan River, he was anointed as God’s beloved. The One who would pour out God’s steadfast love through his death and resurrection so that all who believe in him may not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Christ lived into his choseness as our high priest unlike any who came before. Jesus took on the humbling identity of a servant leader. Hebrews describes Christ’s humble response saying, “Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest. He did this through faithful obedience in prayers and supplication, with loud cries and tears” (Hebrews 5: 5,7).
Jesus’ faithfulness is noted in the gospels as he said he came to serve and not to be served (Mark 10:45). It is Christ’s humble and servant leadership that invites us to be a part of God’s vision of ministry in the biblical story. That vision is the cornerstone of our Reformed faith and it is called the priesthood of all believers.
I recall my pastor saying at my ordination service a number of years ago that even as a pastor comes alongside God’s people, the ministers are the ones who are in the pews. Christ works through each of us so that we may minister to one another. I wonder if you have ever thought of yourselves as ministers in the priesthood of all believers?
I like the way our Presbyterian liturgy says it: “We are all called into the church of Jesus Christ by baptism, and marked as Christ’s own by the Holy Spirit. This is our common calling, to be disciples and servants of our servant Lord.” *
Whether we were baptized as a young child or in adulthood, our baptism is sufficient for our calling to serve in the body of Christ. By water and Holy Spirit we share in Christ’s dying and rising to new life. We are initiated into the greater family of faith, the Church Universal. We are joined to Christ’s ministries of faith, love, compassion, peace, and reconciliation. And together we are sent to continue Christ’s ministry into a hurting world.
The waters of baptism help us to visualize Christ pouring out God’s grace into the brokenness of humanity. Christ poured himself out to give us new life. Likewise we are to take our spiritual cups, which are full and filled with the Holy Spirit, and pour out God’s love in life-giving ways for others. We experience the priesthood of all believers in so many ways. When someone inspires another to dive a little deeper into faith; when laughter pours out of stories that strengthen bonds of faith and friendship at retreats; when we share the bread and cup with our homebound members; when we lay hands upon another in prayer for anointing or healing; when we gather food for those in need; when the local congregation recognizes her potential to be the church in beautiful ways during interim periods.
This afternoon some of us will see the priesthood of believers at work in our fall stated presbytery meeting. I will have the humbling experience to be examined by the members of Providence Presbytery. I will answer questions regarding theology, worship, sacraments, and polity. I pray for God’s faithfulness as we enter into these next steps towards my installation as the next pastor of Van Wyck Presbyterian. And I would covet your prayers as we continue in this process. I am grateful and humbled to walk this journey of faith beside this congregation and this presbytery. And as we celebrate God’s faithfulness, let us remember God’s vision of ministry.
Our text this morning encourages us to pause and give thanks for the common call God has placed upon all of our lives through Jesus Christ. We are called to respond to the gift of faith and our common call in baptism as Christ did with humility and servant hearts.
We will have an opportunity to respond to God’s grace following the sermon by remembering our baptism. It is a ritual that invites us to recommit ourselves to God’s story of serving in ministry together. It helps us to feel the presence of God’s Spirit moving in our lives. Hear the blessing of God’s grace through the Scriptures, liturgy and prayers. Experience the mantle of God’s grace as you touch the water in the font – the womb of spiritual renewal.
Remember you are God’s beloved. Give thanks for the saints who have poured out God’s love to you in life-giving ways. Praise God for the ways the Spirit has nurtured the unique gifts and talents in you and in me. Your baptism is sufficient for your calling to be a minister in the priesthood of all believers. Remember your baptism and remember whose you are. You are a daughter, a son of the living God.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
*“Ordination and Installation of Deacons and Elders,” Book of Occasional Services (Louisville: Geneva Press, 1999), p. 19.
Susan Andrews, Pastoral Perspective on Hebrews 5: 1-10, "Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 4" (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 182-186.
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 18, 2015
Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; 3and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. 4And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was.
5 So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him,
‘You are my Son,
today I have begotten you’;
6as he says also in another place,
‘You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.’
7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10having been designated by God a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
– Hebrews 5: 1-10
It is one of the most humbling experiences in the life of faith. Many have shared that it brought them to tears. It is the ritual called “the laying on of hands.” It is a moving experience to circle around an individual to lay hands upon them and pray for anointing or healing. Rituals like this reveal the mystery of the Holy Spirit in palpable ways.
We also embody this ritual at the ordination of ruling elders or teaching elders. It is hard to put into words the way the mantle of God’s grace feels through all of those hands. It is humbling for a person of faith to feel the physical weight of prayer. It is moving for a person of faith to be called from the body of Christ to serve the people of God with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love.
The liturgy in the Book of Common Worship says that “Ordination is Christ’s gift to the church, assuring that his ministry continues among us, providing for ministries of caring and compassion in the world, ordering governance of the church, and preaching the Word and administering the sacraments.”
October 16 was the anniversary of my ordination. It is day I remember and give thanks to God for all the special people that nurtured God’s gifts in me. I remember the weight of the hands upon me and how it was a burden and a blessing. But I am so grateful the day was not about me. The day was to celebrate God’s faithfulness among us. It was a day to celebrate God’s steadfast love among all the people of God.
Our text this morning from Hebrews speaks to the experience of calling spiritual leaders. They are called from the body to serve the larger whole. We hear of the burden and blessing of this calling in the responsibilities given to the high priest in those days. The high priest was to create a space of worship to lift the brokenness of humanity into the light of God’s grace. And then the author of Hebrews quickly turns our focus to Jesus Christ. God’s only Son fulfilled the prophecies to be the high priest for all time. Christ was chosen and called to lead God’s people into God’s eternal restoration.
As God continued to weave a vision of ministry in the biblical story, Jesus Christ embodied a new way to pour God’s grace into the brokenness of God’s people. He was chosen from the beginning as Emmanuel, God with us. We hear those words of Christ’s choseness in today’s text– “You are my Son” (Hebrews 5:5). Those words echo the words of Jesus’ baptism in the synoptic gospel accounts: “You are my Son, the beloved. With you I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). As the mantle of God’s grace rested upon Jesus in the Jordan River, he was anointed as God’s beloved. The One who would pour out God’s steadfast love through his death and resurrection so that all who believe in him may not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
Christ lived into his choseness as our high priest unlike any who came before. Jesus took on the humbling identity of a servant leader. Hebrews describes Christ’s humble response saying, “Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest. He did this through faithful obedience in prayers and supplication, with loud cries and tears” (Hebrews 5: 5,7).
Jesus’ faithfulness is noted in the gospels as he said he came to serve and not to be served (Mark 10:45). It is Christ’s humble and servant leadership that invites us to be a part of God’s vision of ministry in the biblical story. That vision is the cornerstone of our Reformed faith and it is called the priesthood of all believers.
I recall my pastor saying at my ordination service a number of years ago that even as a pastor comes alongside God’s people, the ministers are the ones who are in the pews. Christ works through each of us so that we may minister to one another. I wonder if you have ever thought of yourselves as ministers in the priesthood of all believers?
I like the way our Presbyterian liturgy says it: “We are all called into the church of Jesus Christ by baptism, and marked as Christ’s own by the Holy Spirit. This is our common calling, to be disciples and servants of our servant Lord.” *
Whether we were baptized as a young child or in adulthood, our baptism is sufficient for our calling to serve in the body of Christ. By water and Holy Spirit we share in Christ’s dying and rising to new life. We are initiated into the greater family of faith, the Church Universal. We are joined to Christ’s ministries of faith, love, compassion, peace, and reconciliation. And together we are sent to continue Christ’s ministry into a hurting world.
The waters of baptism help us to visualize Christ pouring out God’s grace into the brokenness of humanity. Christ poured himself out to give us new life. Likewise we are to take our spiritual cups, which are full and filled with the Holy Spirit, and pour out God’s love in life-giving ways for others. We experience the priesthood of all believers in so many ways. When someone inspires another to dive a little deeper into faith; when laughter pours out of stories that strengthen bonds of faith and friendship at retreats; when we share the bread and cup with our homebound members; when we lay hands upon another in prayer for anointing or healing; when we gather food for those in need; when the local congregation recognizes her potential to be the church in beautiful ways during interim periods.
This afternoon some of us will see the priesthood of believers at work in our fall stated presbytery meeting. I will have the humbling experience to be examined by the members of Providence Presbytery. I will answer questions regarding theology, worship, sacraments, and polity. I pray for God’s faithfulness as we enter into these next steps towards my installation as the next pastor of Van Wyck Presbyterian. And I would covet your prayers as we continue in this process. I am grateful and humbled to walk this journey of faith beside this congregation and this presbytery. And as we celebrate God’s faithfulness, let us remember God’s vision of ministry.
Our text this morning encourages us to pause and give thanks for the common call God has placed upon all of our lives through Jesus Christ. We are called to respond to the gift of faith and our common call in baptism as Christ did with humility and servant hearts.
We will have an opportunity to respond to God’s grace following the sermon by remembering our baptism. It is a ritual that invites us to recommit ourselves to God’s story of serving in ministry together. It helps us to feel the presence of God’s Spirit moving in our lives. Hear the blessing of God’s grace through the Scriptures, liturgy and prayers. Experience the mantle of God’s grace as you touch the water in the font – the womb of spiritual renewal.
Remember you are God’s beloved. Give thanks for the saints who have poured out God’s love to you in life-giving ways. Praise God for the ways the Spirit has nurtured the unique gifts and talents in you and in me. Your baptism is sufficient for your calling to be a minister in the priesthood of all believers. Remember your baptism and remember whose you are. You are a daughter, a son of the living God.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
*“Ordination and Installation of Deacons and Elders,” Book of Occasional Services (Louisville: Geneva Press, 1999), p. 19.
Susan Andrews, Pastoral Perspective on Hebrews 5: 1-10, "Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 4" (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009), 182-186.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Bold Words
Hebrews 4: 12-16, by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 11, 2015
12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
- Hebrews 4: 12-16
They were overwhelmed by the living Word of God. There was singing. There was dancing and clapping. There were tears. As the plane landed in West Papua, Indonesia, the pastor and elders of the Kimyal Tribe had the privilege of receiving the first lot of Bibles translated into their native language. They praised God for being claimed under God’s promises. They praised God for bringing the Word of Christ to their land. They praised God for the ability to pass down the stories of God’s love through the Kimyal generations. It was a day to celebrate that God is with God’s people through Jesus Christ. It was a day to remember that by the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word changes things.*
The Animate for Adults Sunday School Class saw this celebration unfold together through a You Tube video last week. It was meaningful to see how deeply the class was moved by the Kimyal Tribe’s experience. But the class was insightful to notice something so important in their discussion afterwards. That insight was how often we take God’s Word for granted because it is so accessible to us.
Seeing the gift of faith through the eyes of the other often empowers us to truly experience how alive and active God’s Word is. It is why local and international mission opportunities quickly shift our perceptions of God, the world, and self.
It points us to the fundamental truth of the Hebrews text this morning: God’s Word is living and active when we live in relationship to it.
We are created to live in relationship with the Word of God. The beginning of John's Gospel tells us about this relationship: “All things came into being through the Word [our Savior] and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people” (John 1: 3-4).
As we grow in our relationship with God’s Word, it becomes a light that shines into our darkness. John Calvin often said that Scripture is like a pair of spectacles or glasses that we need to put on our spiritual eyes. It empowers us to see the world and ourselves rightly. We begin to see God’s activity in the world around us and God’s activity in our lives. That activity is God’s grace breaking in to transform our lives into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
I remember the first time I truly began studying Scripture as an adult. The more I read and learned, the more I craved to learn. God’s Word unlocked the doors of my heart and freed me to trust in the promises of God’s presence, reconciliation, healing, and wholeness. Scripture gave me the language of faith, belonging, and community. Scripture opened my spiritual eyes to see that through the gift of faith God is able to do far more than we can ever hope or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). That was comforting and it made my soul sing, dance, clap, and even cry in praise as the Kimyal Tribe did.
The active and living Word of God does not always embolden us with peace and comfort, however. If it came only into our individual lives for the sake of individual change, then we would have “accepted the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1). The author of Hebrews says the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword. It pierces and divides soul from spirit (Hebrews 4:12).
If we are striving to build our relationship with God through the Word, then we must make room for the Spirit to challenge and shape us. It is hard to sit next to God and accept God’s will over our own. We like to be the ones in the driver's seat of life. Isn’t it easier to be the one who knows how to handle our situation? When we go to Scripture searching for God’s direction and the Spirit convicts us, it can be incredibly uncomfortable. The Word has the power to pierce us right between our soul and our spirit. You and I know that space. It is right between the seat of our affections (our will or soul) and the spiritual vessel which holds eternal things (our spirit).
A friend of mine told me about the way his faith helped him navigate through conflict with a co-worker. He was at a crossroads and knew if he spoke his mind that he would ruin the possibility of reconciliation. He felt the Spirit leading him through passages of Scripture on conflict. And it amazed him how the Word convicted him to move from a position of being right and feeling angry to having a spirit of gentleness and sensing compassion. God’s Word convicts us so that our hearts will break for those things that break God’s heart – be it conflict, natural disasters, hunger, poverty, injustice, racial tensions, you name it. God’s Word emboldens us to do the right thing as the body of Christ.
As we take life steps to mature in our faith, we keep learning that God’s Word is a trusted companion on the journey. It becomes our guide in how to live and respond to the twists and turns of life. If we are committed to make room for God’s Word to guide us, then you might be surprised that Scripture begins to read us.
God’s Word senses our limitations and weaknesses. It gives us words to frame our insecurities, our temptations, our disappointments, and our needs. God’s Word covers us in the compassion of Jesus Christ, “who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). How many of us have found solace in the psalms during those difficult days. How many of us have been emboldened by God’s prayer book in search of grace during times of need?
The Psalmist says, “God you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely” (Psalm 139: 1-4).
When was the last time you were overwhelmed by the Word of God? Maybe it was this morning. Maybe it was last week. Or maybe it has been a long time. There is an ebb and flow to our faith journey as the excitement decreases and increases within our hearts. I encourage us all to rekindle our time with God’s Word by taking up a Breath Prayer this week.
A breath prayer is is an intentional pause throughout the day to focus prayerfully on a short phrase or bible verse through your breathing.
Right now I want you to close your eyes. Slowly breathe in. Slowly breathe out. Let the solitude of silence claim you.
Breathe in these words: “God’s Word”
Breathe out these words: “Is alive.”
Breathe in: “God’s Word”
Breathe out: “Is alive.”
Focus on these four words. How is God’s Word alive in you? What area of your life is God bringing peace? How is God’s Word convicting you? What situation needs grace? As you reflect this week also consider this breath prayer in regards to our community. Now open your eyes.
May you be overwhelmed by God’s bold Word this week.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
* “The Kimyal Tribe, West Papua, Indonesia, Welcoming First Lot of The Bible in Their Language,”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yt_kj1XlWI
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 11, 2015
12 Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.
14 Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
- Hebrews 4: 12-16
They were overwhelmed by the living Word of God. There was singing. There was dancing and clapping. There were tears. As the plane landed in West Papua, Indonesia, the pastor and elders of the Kimyal Tribe had the privilege of receiving the first lot of Bibles translated into their native language. They praised God for being claimed under God’s promises. They praised God for bringing the Word of Christ to their land. They praised God for the ability to pass down the stories of God’s love through the Kimyal generations. It was a day to celebrate that God is with God’s people through Jesus Christ. It was a day to remember that by the power of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word changes things.*
The Animate for Adults Sunday School Class saw this celebration unfold together through a You Tube video last week. It was meaningful to see how deeply the class was moved by the Kimyal Tribe’s experience. But the class was insightful to notice something so important in their discussion afterwards. That insight was how often we take God’s Word for granted because it is so accessible to us.
Seeing the gift of faith through the eyes of the other often empowers us to truly experience how alive and active God’s Word is. It is why local and international mission opportunities quickly shift our perceptions of God, the world, and self.
It points us to the fundamental truth of the Hebrews text this morning: God’s Word is living and active when we live in relationship to it.
We are created to live in relationship with the Word of God. The beginning of John's Gospel tells us about this relationship: “All things came into being through the Word [our Savior] and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people” (John 1: 3-4).
As we grow in our relationship with God’s Word, it becomes a light that shines into our darkness. John Calvin often said that Scripture is like a pair of spectacles or glasses that we need to put on our spiritual eyes. It empowers us to see the world and ourselves rightly. We begin to see God’s activity in the world around us and God’s activity in our lives. That activity is God’s grace breaking in to transform our lives into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
I remember the first time I truly began studying Scripture as an adult. The more I read and learned, the more I craved to learn. God’s Word unlocked the doors of my heart and freed me to trust in the promises of God’s presence, reconciliation, healing, and wholeness. Scripture gave me the language of faith, belonging, and community. Scripture opened my spiritual eyes to see that through the gift of faith God is able to do far more than we can ever hope or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). That was comforting and it made my soul sing, dance, clap, and even cry in praise as the Kimyal Tribe did.
The active and living Word of God does not always embolden us with peace and comfort, however. If it came only into our individual lives for the sake of individual change, then we would have “accepted the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1). The author of Hebrews says the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword. It pierces and divides soul from spirit (Hebrews 4:12).
If we are striving to build our relationship with God through the Word, then we must make room for the Spirit to challenge and shape us. It is hard to sit next to God and accept God’s will over our own. We like to be the ones in the driver's seat of life. Isn’t it easier to be the one who knows how to handle our situation? When we go to Scripture searching for God’s direction and the Spirit convicts us, it can be incredibly uncomfortable. The Word has the power to pierce us right between our soul and our spirit. You and I know that space. It is right between the seat of our affections (our will or soul) and the spiritual vessel which holds eternal things (our spirit).
A friend of mine told me about the way his faith helped him navigate through conflict with a co-worker. He was at a crossroads and knew if he spoke his mind that he would ruin the possibility of reconciliation. He felt the Spirit leading him through passages of Scripture on conflict. And it amazed him how the Word convicted him to move from a position of being right and feeling angry to having a spirit of gentleness and sensing compassion. God’s Word convicts us so that our hearts will break for those things that break God’s heart – be it conflict, natural disasters, hunger, poverty, injustice, racial tensions, you name it. God’s Word emboldens us to do the right thing as the body of Christ.
As we take life steps to mature in our faith, we keep learning that God’s Word is a trusted companion on the journey. It becomes our guide in how to live and respond to the twists and turns of life. If we are committed to make room for God’s Word to guide us, then you might be surprised that Scripture begins to read us.
God’s Word senses our limitations and weaknesses. It gives us words to frame our insecurities, our temptations, our disappointments, and our needs. God’s Word covers us in the compassion of Jesus Christ, “who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). How many of us have found solace in the psalms during those difficult days. How many of us have been emboldened by God’s prayer book in search of grace during times of need?
The Psalmist says, “God you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely” (Psalm 139: 1-4).
When was the last time you were overwhelmed by the Word of God? Maybe it was this morning. Maybe it was last week. Or maybe it has been a long time. There is an ebb and flow to our faith journey as the excitement decreases and increases within our hearts. I encourage us all to rekindle our time with God’s Word by taking up a Breath Prayer this week.
A breath prayer is is an intentional pause throughout the day to focus prayerfully on a short phrase or bible verse through your breathing.
Right now I want you to close your eyes. Slowly breathe in. Slowly breathe out. Let the solitude of silence claim you.
Breathe in these words: “God’s Word”
Breathe out these words: “Is alive.”
Breathe in: “God’s Word”
Breathe out: “Is alive.”
Focus on these four words. How is God’s Word alive in you? What area of your life is God bringing peace? How is God’s Word convicting you? What situation needs grace? As you reflect this week also consider this breath prayer in regards to our community. Now open your eyes.
May you be overwhelmed by God’s bold Word this week.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
* “The Kimyal Tribe, West Papua, Indonesia, Welcoming First Lot of The Bible in Their Language,”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yt_kj1XlWI
Monday, October 5, 2015
Abiding
John 15: 1-11 by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 4, 2015
World Communion Sunday
'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. - John 15:1-11
This past week I was blessed to travel to Indiana for a week of continuing education. I spent the week with twenty-five PC(USA) pastors from across the country for some Sabbath time and reflection of our lives in ministry. All of the pastors who gathered are in the first seven years of ministry. The conference retreat is called CREDO, which is Latin for “I Believe.” The conference is modeled after one used for clergy in the Episcopal Church to decrease pastor burnout. I deeply appreciate the way our denomination is caring for pastors and helping us to cultivate a healthy sense of self in ministry.
Through the week we were led to reflect on six areas: vocational identity, spiritual health, physical health, emotional health, financial health, and leadership identity. The key was not to focus on our skills in these areas. The key was to reflect on what gives us life.
As we gained more insight into these areas, we were charged to write a Rule of Life – a spiritual map – to integrate the many parts of ourselves into one. This idea goes back to the fifth century where monks wrote a Rule of Life to grow in their spiritual relationship with God in the community of the monastery. The Rule included practices or disciplines centering upon prayer, Bible study, and actions to be faithful to God.
My colleagues and I wrote four important practices to live by over the course of this year. As I wrote my Rule of Life I focused on my spirituality, physical and emotional well-being, my family relationships, and growing as a disciple of Christ. I could not think of these practices as something I had to do. It is hard to find joy in something that is an obligation. It soon becomes something we dread and it loses its intention to be life giving. Instead I felt the Spirit’s encouragement to consider practices where I might abide more deeply in God’s love.
Jesus taught his disciples about the practice of abiding. Did you catch how many times he said the word “abide” or “abiding” in the text? He says it ten times. That must be important.
“Abide in me as I abide in you” (verse 4). Through the years these words have become a life verse for me. I hope they will become a life verse for you too. How do we find real ways to position ourselves in Christ’s way of life? How do we abide?
In order for us to live more deeply into Christ’s example, we have to remove all the stuff that gets in the way. God sees those things in our hearts and minds that are not bearing fruit. God wants to remove every branch that bears no fruit. But first God invites us to look inside ourselves and to be honest about what we see. It is important for us to have the courage to be vulnerable with God.
It is not easy task to look into our lives and even into the past hours of the day and remember how we have denied God. Old habits, stress, and apathy are just a few obstacles that choke the roots of our faith. The Spirit moves us to confess the ways we have focused more on our situations than trusting God’s promises to work through them. That kind of vulnerability begins to prepare a place for Christ’s example to abide in us.
God clears away the obstacles to our faith and redirects our trust and faith priorities. As God does this spiritual work within us, God looks for the buds of faith that have taken root in our lives. And God begins to prune or shape the good that we are doing. Think about the branches of faith in your life that have shown glimpses of Christ working through you. That moment that you prayed for patience with your children as chaos surrounded you. The year when your friend’s deep faith inspired you to be more faithful to God. The time when your marriage was tested and you reached towards grace instead of resentment.
Reflection is necessary for our faith to grow more fully into the likeness of Christ. When our faith helps us to take the next right step we may not do it perfectly or as often as we should. But that is just part of being human. Only Christ lived in perfect relationship with God. As we look at our lives and consider how we are abiding in Christ’s way of life, God honors our efforts with love and grace. God continues to shape our faith so that it may bear more fruit. A colleague of mine shared with me last week, “Don’t get ahead of God’s grace.” The best we can do is to open ourselves to God’s transformation in our lives.
If we can focus on a few significant ways to truly abide in God’s presence, Christ’s grace, and the Spirit’s embrace then we truly see our faith bud and grow. Later this morning we will be joining sisters and brothers in faith from all across the world at the Lord’s Table. We all will have the opportunity to see, touch, taste and experience God’s amazing grace in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Christ invites us to consider how we might abide in his love more fully. The bread of life and the cup of salvation nourish and strengthen our faith.
As we share in the feast I invite you to consider a few ways that you might deepen your commitment to abide in Christ as he abides in you.
Take a pulse in those areas of faith we talked about earlier this morning:
Do you spend meaningful time in prayer and Bible study?
Are you taking care of your nutrition and physical health in life giving ways?
How are you tending to your significant relationships?
Do you honor God through your gifts of time, talent, and treasures?
What are you curious to learn about to deepen your faith?
Consider two things you might put into regular practice to abide more deeply in Christ. As I think about my own faith practices I have made a commitment to be with God every day to sit in Scripture and to pray. Sometimes prayer will be just listening for God. Sometimes prayer will be through activities like exercise or coloring. Sometimes prayer will be talking with God on the behalf of others. Another faith practice of mine is to be intentional about nurturing the significant relationships with my family. How might you consider abiding?
Ask God to remove the obstacles. Invite the Spirit to help you redirect your faith priorities. Where have you not trusted God in your life? What parts of your faith have been life giving? Look for Christ living through you in such a way that this gift of faith bears fruit. The fruit you and I are looking for is what the Apostle Paul calls "the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5: 22-23).
God wants us to abide in Christ for one purpose. “That Christ’s joy may be in [you and me] and that our joy may be complete (John 15:11). Joy is not happiness in our circumstances. Joy is having a keener awareness of God’s grace in our lives. Take the next right step in God’s life giving grace. Abide in Christ as Christ abides in you.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
October 4, 2015
World Communion Sunday
'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. - John 15:1-11
This past week I was blessed to travel to Indiana for a week of continuing education. I spent the week with twenty-five PC(USA) pastors from across the country for some Sabbath time and reflection of our lives in ministry. All of the pastors who gathered are in the first seven years of ministry. The conference retreat is called CREDO, which is Latin for “I Believe.” The conference is modeled after one used for clergy in the Episcopal Church to decrease pastor burnout. I deeply appreciate the way our denomination is caring for pastors and helping us to cultivate a healthy sense of self in ministry.
Through the week we were led to reflect on six areas: vocational identity, spiritual health, physical health, emotional health, financial health, and leadership identity. The key was not to focus on our skills in these areas. The key was to reflect on what gives us life.
As we gained more insight into these areas, we were charged to write a Rule of Life – a spiritual map – to integrate the many parts of ourselves into one. This idea goes back to the fifth century where monks wrote a Rule of Life to grow in their spiritual relationship with God in the community of the monastery. The Rule included practices or disciplines centering upon prayer, Bible study, and actions to be faithful to God.
My colleagues and I wrote four important practices to live by over the course of this year. As I wrote my Rule of Life I focused on my spirituality, physical and emotional well-being, my family relationships, and growing as a disciple of Christ. I could not think of these practices as something I had to do. It is hard to find joy in something that is an obligation. It soon becomes something we dread and it loses its intention to be life giving. Instead I felt the Spirit’s encouragement to consider practices where I might abide more deeply in God’s love.
Jesus taught his disciples about the practice of abiding. Did you catch how many times he said the word “abide” or “abiding” in the text? He says it ten times. That must be important.
“Abide in me as I abide in you” (verse 4). Through the years these words have become a life verse for me. I hope they will become a life verse for you too. How do we find real ways to position ourselves in Christ’s way of life? How do we abide?
In order for us to live more deeply into Christ’s example, we have to remove all the stuff that gets in the way. God sees those things in our hearts and minds that are not bearing fruit. God wants to remove every branch that bears no fruit. But first God invites us to look inside ourselves and to be honest about what we see. It is important for us to have the courage to be vulnerable with God.
It is not easy task to look into our lives and even into the past hours of the day and remember how we have denied God. Old habits, stress, and apathy are just a few obstacles that choke the roots of our faith. The Spirit moves us to confess the ways we have focused more on our situations than trusting God’s promises to work through them. That kind of vulnerability begins to prepare a place for Christ’s example to abide in us.
God clears away the obstacles to our faith and redirects our trust and faith priorities. As God does this spiritual work within us, God looks for the buds of faith that have taken root in our lives. And God begins to prune or shape the good that we are doing. Think about the branches of faith in your life that have shown glimpses of Christ working through you. That moment that you prayed for patience with your children as chaos surrounded you. The year when your friend’s deep faith inspired you to be more faithful to God. The time when your marriage was tested and you reached towards grace instead of resentment.
Reflection is necessary for our faith to grow more fully into the likeness of Christ. When our faith helps us to take the next right step we may not do it perfectly or as often as we should. But that is just part of being human. Only Christ lived in perfect relationship with God. As we look at our lives and consider how we are abiding in Christ’s way of life, God honors our efforts with love and grace. God continues to shape our faith so that it may bear more fruit. A colleague of mine shared with me last week, “Don’t get ahead of God’s grace.” The best we can do is to open ourselves to God’s transformation in our lives.
If we can focus on a few significant ways to truly abide in God’s presence, Christ’s grace, and the Spirit’s embrace then we truly see our faith bud and grow. Later this morning we will be joining sisters and brothers in faith from all across the world at the Lord’s Table. We all will have the opportunity to see, touch, taste and experience God’s amazing grace in the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Christ invites us to consider how we might abide in his love more fully. The bread of life and the cup of salvation nourish and strengthen our faith.
As we share in the feast I invite you to consider a few ways that you might deepen your commitment to abide in Christ as he abides in you.
Take a pulse in those areas of faith we talked about earlier this morning:
Do you spend meaningful time in prayer and Bible study?
Are you taking care of your nutrition and physical health in life giving ways?
How are you tending to your significant relationships?
Do you honor God through your gifts of time, talent, and treasures?
What are you curious to learn about to deepen your faith?
Consider two things you might put into regular practice to abide more deeply in Christ. As I think about my own faith practices I have made a commitment to be with God every day to sit in Scripture and to pray. Sometimes prayer will be just listening for God. Sometimes prayer will be through activities like exercise or coloring. Sometimes prayer will be talking with God on the behalf of others. Another faith practice of mine is to be intentional about nurturing the significant relationships with my family. How might you consider abiding?
Ask God to remove the obstacles. Invite the Spirit to help you redirect your faith priorities. Where have you not trusted God in your life? What parts of your faith have been life giving? Look for Christ living through you in such a way that this gift of faith bears fruit. The fruit you and I are looking for is what the Apostle Paul calls "the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5: 22-23).
God wants us to abide in Christ for one purpose. “That Christ’s joy may be in [you and me] and that our joy may be complete (John 15:11). Joy is not happiness in our circumstances. Joy is having a keener awareness of God’s grace in our lives. Take the next right step in God’s life giving grace. Abide in Christ as Christ abides in you.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sunday, September 20, 2015
A Wise Household
Proverbs 24: 3-5, 13-14; James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 20, 2015
By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones,
and those who have knowledge than those who have strength;
My child, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, you will find a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
- Proverbs 24: 3-5, 13-14
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
- James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Earlier this summer I led a small group on the topic of discernment. We spent some time in Henri Nouwen’s book entitled, “Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life.” Nouwen says that discernment is:
The regular discipline of listening to the still, small voice beneath the rush of the whirlwind, a prayerful practice of reading the subtle signs in daily life. It is not once-and-for-all decision making at critical points in one’s life; such as asking questions like ‘Should I take this job? Whom shall I marry? Where should I live and work?’ But it is a lifelong commitment to remember God, know who you are, and pay close attention to what the Spirit is saying today… Discernment is rooted in the core disciplines of the Christian life through prayer, community, worship, and ministry. *
It takes discernment to build the type of wise household that Proverbs 24 talks about. I think of discernment as the spiritual vehicle we use to follow the life-long path of commitment in becoming the people of God. Just as it takes different skills to build the foundation, framework, and interior of a house, so it also takes various skills in discernment to build a wise household of faith. It takes the work of ministry, prayer warriors, the heart of worship, and growing relationships in the community.
James asks us to look into our community of faith – into our household of God – and to consider who are the ones who are actively discerning among us. “Who is wise and understanding among you?” (James 3:13). Another way to say this is whose actions are guided by integrity? Who is actively building upon the foundation of knowledge that began in God’s household many years ago?
We often think the wise ones are the ruling elders of the church. And they are. Ruling elders recognize God has given them unique gifts and abilities for ministry. The local congregation recognizes this particular individual has been called by God to serve and equip others in shared leadership with the pastor, or teaching elder. The ruling elders who make up the session should also reflect the diversity of the congregation. They “are persons with strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Their manner of life should demonstrate the Christian gospel in the church and world. They must have the approval of God’s people” (Book of Order 2015-2017, G-2.0104).
The wisdom of our ruling elders is a growing one. Some folks who are asked to serve as elders might feel unsure, intimidated, or afraid. That spiritual wrestling is a good thing! God does not call the equipped, God equips those who are called. Our ruling elders go through a period of training with the pastor and I look forward to creating that space with the upcoming elder class of 2018. It is a time to not just remember what it means to be Presbyterian, but also to build up our ruling elders as spiritual leaders in the church. Our ruling elders continue to grow in wisdom through discerning God’s will for the overall work of the church. They help us to discern and navigate through the challenges of ministry.
We often think the wise ones are the church members who have long been a part of the faith community. And they are. If walls could talk in any household then surely they have stories to tell. So it is with our long-time faithful church members. They have cherished stories to tell of the rhythm of life here through the years. These women and men help us to remember why traditions came to be and how they are taking on new meaning as the Spirit moves among us. These women and men have stories to share regarding their experiences of God’s presence and grace. They help us to prayerfully discern how God’s story connects us in hopes of seeing God’s faithfulness in the future.
As we walk a little further into the household of God, the wise ones also include the children of the church. Jesus himself said, “Let the little children come to me and do not stop them: for it is to such as these that the kingdom [the household] of God belongs” (Luke 18:16). My favorite time in worship is always when the children of the church run down the aisle for the children’s sermon. Their excitement and passion to learn always inspires me. I love how this church cherishes this space to teach our children the building blocks of faith. It is important to welcome children into worship. But it is also important for us to learn something from the children. The faith of our children and youth strengthens our adult faith by helping us all to discern the heart of worship. What a gift it is to see God’s household through the eyes of a child of any age.
Every household welcomes guests. And even the newest faces in the household of God have wisdom to share. Our guests, visitors, and newest members help us to see what we have overlooked in God’s house and our Creator’s big backyard. There are things in every house that have become too familiar to our eyes. Our guests and newest members help us to see our surroundings in a new way. They offer opportunities to imagine God’s great potential within this beautiful household. Our guests and newest members also help us to look outside the walls of the church to help us discern ways that we might be on the move to grow relationships. Jesus himself was the Good News on the move. When two or three are gathered in Christ’s name then church can occur in restaurants, on sports fields, and even community festivals.
There are many who are a part of this life-long commitment of discernment to grow as the body of Christ. There are many who are considered wise in this household we know as Van Wyck Presbyterian. There are many whose actions are guided by integrity – God’s desire for the whole community to be strengthened in our relationships together. There are many who are building upon the foundation of God’s house that began over 2,000 years ago…and we were grafted into it 131 years ago. It takes a village to raise a child and it also takes a village to grow more and more into a wise household of God.
When I think of this wise household of God, I think of the way Presbyterian poet Ann Weems describes “The Church of Jesus Christ.” I, too, am a poet and I keep this poem framed in my office to remember the wisdom of God. Listen for the ways she describes the church as one who remembers her identity in God, follows the example of Christ, and seeks the wisdom of the Spirit:
The church of Jesus Christ is where a child of God brings a balloon, is where old women come to dance, is where young men see visions and old men dream dreams.
The church of Jesus Christ is where lepers come to be touched, is where the blind see and the deaf hear, is where the lame run and the dying live.
The church of Jesus Christ is where daisies bloom out of barren land, is where children lead and the wise follow, is where mountains are moved and walls come tumbling down.
The church of Jesus Christ is where loaves of bread are stacked in the sanctuary to feed the hungry, is where coats are taken off and put on the backs of the naked, is where shackles are discarded and kings and shepherds sit down to life together.
The church of Jesus Christ is where barefoot children run in procession, is where the minister receives ministry, is where the anthem is the laughter of the congregation and the offering plates are full of people.
The church of Jesus Christ is where people go when they skin their knees or their hearts, is where frogs become princes and Cinderella dances beyond midnight, is where judges don't judge and each child of God is beautiful and precious.
The church of Jesus Christ is where the sea divides for the exiles, is where the ark floats and the lamb lies down with the lion, is where people disagree and hold hands at the same time.
The church of Jesus Christ is where night is day, is where trumpets and tambourines declare God's goodness, is where lost lambs are found.
The church of Jesus Christ is where people write thank-you notes to God, is where work is a holiday, is where seeds are scattered and miracles are grown.
The church of Jesus Christ is where home is, is where heaven is, is where a picnic is communion and people break bread together on their knees.
The church of Jesus Christ is where we live responsively toward God's coming. Even on Monday morning the world will hear an abundance of alleluias!
May it be so for us as we seek to be a wise household of God.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
*Henri Nouwen, "Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life"(New York: HarperOne, 2013),p.ix.
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 20, 2015
By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
Wise warriors are mightier than strong ones,
and those who have knowledge than those who have strength;
My child, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, you will find a future,
and your hope will not be cut off.
- Proverbs 24: 3-5, 13-14
Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
- James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Earlier this summer I led a small group on the topic of discernment. We spent some time in Henri Nouwen’s book entitled, “Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life.” Nouwen says that discernment is:
The regular discipline of listening to the still, small voice beneath the rush of the whirlwind, a prayerful practice of reading the subtle signs in daily life. It is not once-and-for-all decision making at critical points in one’s life; such as asking questions like ‘Should I take this job? Whom shall I marry? Where should I live and work?’ But it is a lifelong commitment to remember God, know who you are, and pay close attention to what the Spirit is saying today… Discernment is rooted in the core disciplines of the Christian life through prayer, community, worship, and ministry. *
It takes discernment to build the type of wise household that Proverbs 24 talks about. I think of discernment as the spiritual vehicle we use to follow the life-long path of commitment in becoming the people of God. Just as it takes different skills to build the foundation, framework, and interior of a house, so it also takes various skills in discernment to build a wise household of faith. It takes the work of ministry, prayer warriors, the heart of worship, and growing relationships in the community.
James asks us to look into our community of faith – into our household of God – and to consider who are the ones who are actively discerning among us. “Who is wise and understanding among you?” (James 3:13). Another way to say this is whose actions are guided by integrity? Who is actively building upon the foundation of knowledge that began in God’s household many years ago?
We often think the wise ones are the ruling elders of the church. And they are. Ruling elders recognize God has given them unique gifts and abilities for ministry. The local congregation recognizes this particular individual has been called by God to serve and equip others in shared leadership with the pastor, or teaching elder. The ruling elders who make up the session should also reflect the diversity of the congregation. They “are persons with strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Their manner of life should demonstrate the Christian gospel in the church and world. They must have the approval of God’s people” (Book of Order 2015-2017, G-2.0104).
The wisdom of our ruling elders is a growing one. Some folks who are asked to serve as elders might feel unsure, intimidated, or afraid. That spiritual wrestling is a good thing! God does not call the equipped, God equips those who are called. Our ruling elders go through a period of training with the pastor and I look forward to creating that space with the upcoming elder class of 2018. It is a time to not just remember what it means to be Presbyterian, but also to build up our ruling elders as spiritual leaders in the church. Our ruling elders continue to grow in wisdom through discerning God’s will for the overall work of the church. They help us to discern and navigate through the challenges of ministry.
We often think the wise ones are the church members who have long been a part of the faith community. And they are. If walls could talk in any household then surely they have stories to tell. So it is with our long-time faithful church members. They have cherished stories to tell of the rhythm of life here through the years. These women and men help us to remember why traditions came to be and how they are taking on new meaning as the Spirit moves among us. These women and men have stories to share regarding their experiences of God’s presence and grace. They help us to prayerfully discern how God’s story connects us in hopes of seeing God’s faithfulness in the future.
As we walk a little further into the household of God, the wise ones also include the children of the church. Jesus himself said, “Let the little children come to me and do not stop them: for it is to such as these that the kingdom [the household] of God belongs” (Luke 18:16). My favorite time in worship is always when the children of the church run down the aisle for the children’s sermon. Their excitement and passion to learn always inspires me. I love how this church cherishes this space to teach our children the building blocks of faith. It is important to welcome children into worship. But it is also important for us to learn something from the children. The faith of our children and youth strengthens our adult faith by helping us all to discern the heart of worship. What a gift it is to see God’s household through the eyes of a child of any age.
Every household welcomes guests. And even the newest faces in the household of God have wisdom to share. Our guests, visitors, and newest members help us to see what we have overlooked in God’s house and our Creator’s big backyard. There are things in every house that have become too familiar to our eyes. Our guests and newest members help us to see our surroundings in a new way. They offer opportunities to imagine God’s great potential within this beautiful household. Our guests and newest members also help us to look outside the walls of the church to help us discern ways that we might be on the move to grow relationships. Jesus himself was the Good News on the move. When two or three are gathered in Christ’s name then church can occur in restaurants, on sports fields, and even community festivals.
There are many who are a part of this life-long commitment of discernment to grow as the body of Christ. There are many who are considered wise in this household we know as Van Wyck Presbyterian. There are many whose actions are guided by integrity – God’s desire for the whole community to be strengthened in our relationships together. There are many who are building upon the foundation of God’s house that began over 2,000 years ago…and we were grafted into it 131 years ago. It takes a village to raise a child and it also takes a village to grow more and more into a wise household of God.
When I think of this wise household of God, I think of the way Presbyterian poet Ann Weems describes “The Church of Jesus Christ.” I, too, am a poet and I keep this poem framed in my office to remember the wisdom of God. Listen for the ways she describes the church as one who remembers her identity in God, follows the example of Christ, and seeks the wisdom of the Spirit:
The church of Jesus Christ is where a child of God brings a balloon, is where old women come to dance, is where young men see visions and old men dream dreams.
The church of Jesus Christ is where lepers come to be touched, is where the blind see and the deaf hear, is where the lame run and the dying live.
The church of Jesus Christ is where daisies bloom out of barren land, is where children lead and the wise follow, is where mountains are moved and walls come tumbling down.
The church of Jesus Christ is where loaves of bread are stacked in the sanctuary to feed the hungry, is where coats are taken off and put on the backs of the naked, is where shackles are discarded and kings and shepherds sit down to life together.
The church of Jesus Christ is where barefoot children run in procession, is where the minister receives ministry, is where the anthem is the laughter of the congregation and the offering plates are full of people.
The church of Jesus Christ is where people go when they skin their knees or their hearts, is where frogs become princes and Cinderella dances beyond midnight, is where judges don't judge and each child of God is beautiful and precious.
The church of Jesus Christ is where the sea divides for the exiles, is where the ark floats and the lamb lies down with the lion, is where people disagree and hold hands at the same time.
The church of Jesus Christ is where night is day, is where trumpets and tambourines declare God's goodness, is where lost lambs are found.
The church of Jesus Christ is where people write thank-you notes to God, is where work is a holiday, is where seeds are scattered and miracles are grown.
The church of Jesus Christ is where home is, is where heaven is, is where a picnic is communion and people break bread together on their knees.
The church of Jesus Christ is where we live responsively toward God's coming. Even on Monday morning the world will hear an abundance of alleluias!
May it be so for us as we seek to be a wise household of God.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
*Henri Nouwen, "Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life"(New York: HarperOne, 2013),p.ix.
Monday, September 14, 2015
A Teaching Community
Psalm 19; James 3: 1-12
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 13, 2015
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.
How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. - James 3: 1-12
Rita Pierson has been a teacher for forty years. She comes from a long line of teachers. In May of 2013 she shared her passion for teaching on TED talks, a website for sharing ideas. TED stands for “Technology Entertainment Design.” I love hearing motivational speeches on all different topics on TED.com. I was moved by what Rita Pierson shared and this is a portion of her story:
Over the years I've had a chance to look at education reform from a lot of perspectives. Some of those reforms have been good. Some of them have been not so good. We know why kids drop out. We know why kids don't learn. It's either poverty, low attendance, negative peer influences... We know why. But one of the things that we never discuss or we rarely discuss is the value and importance of human connection. Relationships.
James Comer says that no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship. George Washington Carver says all learning is understanding relationships. Everyone in this room has been affected by a teacher or an adult.
Some people think that you can either have it in you to build a relationship, or you don't. I think Stephen Covey had the right idea. He said you ought to just throw in a few simple things, like seeking first to understand, as opposed to being understood.
One year I came up with a bright idea. I told all my students, "You were chosen to be in my class because I am the best teacher and you are the best students, they put us all together so we could show everybody else how to do it."
One of the students said, "Really?" (Laughter)
I said, "Really. We have to show the other classes how to do it, so when we walk down the hall, people will notice us, so you can't make noise. You just have to strut." (Laughter)
And I gave them a saying to say: "I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I'll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go." And they said, "Yeah!"
Teaching and learning should bring joy.
There are two things I love about Rita Pierson’s TED talk. I love her sense of passion for teaching and I love that her vision for education hinges upon relationships. These two things are also integral to what James is sharing with the church in our text today.
James recognizes how important teachers are in the community of his time. The teachers of the first century held a lot of responsibility for shaping the minds and hearts of people. Daily life and faith were closely tethered together in the early church, as opposed to the ways we compartmentalize daily life and faith today. And yet James’ words come to us almost as a warning, “Not everyone should become teachers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (verse 1).
I have to say that James’ words are not the best promotion as we kick off the new Christian Education year today! Many of us get a little nervous about being asked to teach a Sunday School class or lead a small group. The responsibility to know the curriculum we are going to teach is exciting but usually comes with a learning curve. The perception to know the Bible inside and out is intimidating for many. And if we do not have a good working knowledge of Scripture then we feel inadequate to be called a teacher. The struggle is real for all of us.
Let me assure you of three things today as we kick off this new year of learning together. Hear this word of encouragement.
First, we are all students of faith. No one here today is expected to be a scholar of the Good Book. The psalmist in today’s text reminds us that we all can glean faith lessons from the heavens as they tell the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). We are to go through the life of faith as a movable feast to savor God’s Word, for it is sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10). If we think of the span of life as God’s classroom to follow in God’s ways, then there is great reward (Psalm 19:11). As we journey together through this adventure of faith, we take each step in prayer to ask God that the words of our mouths and the meditations of all our hearts might be acceptable in God’s sight; for God is our rock and redeemer (Psalm 19:14). That is our base line as students of faith no matter our age or our location of life.
Second, we are to remember that all learning and teaching should bring joy. Rita Pierson conveyed that in her TED talk and at the root of her words was a sense of passion for teaching. As we begin this new Christian Education year I want to ask you as a community of faith AND as individuals – what is your passion? What makes you get out of bed each day with a sense of excitement? What makes your heart sing? What is your God-given gift that you love to share with others?
We don’t need to make our reflection difficult. Maybe you have the gift of sharing your faith. Maybe you have the gift of holding another person’s pain. Maybe you have the gift of number crunching. Maybe you have the gift of coming alongside people to help them feel welcomed. Maybe you have the gift of music. Maybe you have the gift of building things. Maybe you have the gift of cooking bar-b-que.
When we think about our communal and individual passions it reminds us of something very important. We all have something to learn from one another. We each have gifts to share that God has bestowed to build up the body of Christ. God’s greatest desire is to weave our passions together to reveal Christ’s presence among us. Our passions are used for God’s glory. We feel God’s pleasure when we use our God’s given gifts in everyday life.
Third, we are to remember that God’s vision for us to grow in faith hinges upon relationships. I like how Rita Pierson said it. We should first seek to understand instead of forcing ourselves to be understood. When we first seek to understand it places us in a posture of humility. That posture of humility creates the necessary space to learn from one another’s view points and passions. It gives us an attitude of gratitude. It is a lens to see one another as a child of God and as a student of faith. It reminds us that we have been chosen by the best teacher, our rabbi and Savior Jesus Christ, to be a better somebody when we go out from God’s house into the community and world.
We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge James’ words of warning regarding relationships. It is usually the small things in life that can cause us to have communication breakdowns in our communal and individual relationships. I think when James was talking about the power of the tongue in today's text he was talking about the fragile sense of our relationships. The condition of human sin taints all that we think, say, and do. It causes us to deviate from God’s ways and to focus more upon our own will. If we prioritize our passions or ways of doing things above someone else’s then we lose our focus on God’s intentions for the good of the whole. We compromise our call to mutual understanding. We jeopardize the unity of the gospel at work among us.
Today we are called to be a teaching community. We share in God’s common call to learn from our Rabbi and Savior, to learn from one another, and to understand the importance of relationships. May we remember that we are all students of faith. May we remember that all learning and teaching should bring joy because we all have a passion or spiritual gift to share. May we remember that we are connected through relationships with God and one another.
My hope is that during this new Christian Education year we all will have a deeper assurance that we have been chosen by the best Teacher to grow deeper roots of faith in God’s great classroom of life. I hope that we are becoming stronger through God’s love, Jesus’ grace, and the Spirit’s presence. I hope that as we go out into the community and world, others might take notice of what God is doing here through us and among us.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rita Pierson, "Every Kid Needs a Champion," May 2013 at TED talks
https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion?language=en
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 13, 2015
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.
How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh. - James 3: 1-12
Rita Pierson has been a teacher for forty years. She comes from a long line of teachers. In May of 2013 she shared her passion for teaching on TED talks, a website for sharing ideas. TED stands for “Technology Entertainment Design.” I love hearing motivational speeches on all different topics on TED.com. I was moved by what Rita Pierson shared and this is a portion of her story:
Over the years I've had a chance to look at education reform from a lot of perspectives. Some of those reforms have been good. Some of them have been not so good. We know why kids drop out. We know why kids don't learn. It's either poverty, low attendance, negative peer influences... We know why. But one of the things that we never discuss or we rarely discuss is the value and importance of human connection. Relationships.
James Comer says that no significant learning can occur without a significant relationship. George Washington Carver says all learning is understanding relationships. Everyone in this room has been affected by a teacher or an adult.
Some people think that you can either have it in you to build a relationship, or you don't. I think Stephen Covey had the right idea. He said you ought to just throw in a few simple things, like seeking first to understand, as opposed to being understood.
One year I came up with a bright idea. I told all my students, "You were chosen to be in my class because I am the best teacher and you are the best students, they put us all together so we could show everybody else how to do it."
One of the students said, "Really?" (Laughter)
I said, "Really. We have to show the other classes how to do it, so when we walk down the hall, people will notice us, so you can't make noise. You just have to strut." (Laughter)
And I gave them a saying to say: "I am somebody. I was somebody when I came. I'll be a better somebody when I leave. I am powerful, and I am strong. I deserve the education that I get here. I have things to do, people to impress, and places to go." And they said, "Yeah!"
Teaching and learning should bring joy.
There are two things I love about Rita Pierson’s TED talk. I love her sense of passion for teaching and I love that her vision for education hinges upon relationships. These two things are also integral to what James is sharing with the church in our text today.
James recognizes how important teachers are in the community of his time. The teachers of the first century held a lot of responsibility for shaping the minds and hearts of people. Daily life and faith were closely tethered together in the early church, as opposed to the ways we compartmentalize daily life and faith today. And yet James’ words come to us almost as a warning, “Not everyone should become teachers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (verse 1).
I have to say that James’ words are not the best promotion as we kick off the new Christian Education year today! Many of us get a little nervous about being asked to teach a Sunday School class or lead a small group. The responsibility to know the curriculum we are going to teach is exciting but usually comes with a learning curve. The perception to know the Bible inside and out is intimidating for many. And if we do not have a good working knowledge of Scripture then we feel inadequate to be called a teacher. The struggle is real for all of us.
Let me assure you of three things today as we kick off this new year of learning together. Hear this word of encouragement.
First, we are all students of faith. No one here today is expected to be a scholar of the Good Book. The psalmist in today’s text reminds us that we all can glean faith lessons from the heavens as they tell the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). We are to go through the life of faith as a movable feast to savor God’s Word, for it is sweeter than honey (Psalm 19:10). If we think of the span of life as God’s classroom to follow in God’s ways, then there is great reward (Psalm 19:11). As we journey together through this adventure of faith, we take each step in prayer to ask God that the words of our mouths and the meditations of all our hearts might be acceptable in God’s sight; for God is our rock and redeemer (Psalm 19:14). That is our base line as students of faith no matter our age or our location of life.
Second, we are to remember that all learning and teaching should bring joy. Rita Pierson conveyed that in her TED talk and at the root of her words was a sense of passion for teaching. As we begin this new Christian Education year I want to ask you as a community of faith AND as individuals – what is your passion? What makes you get out of bed each day with a sense of excitement? What makes your heart sing? What is your God-given gift that you love to share with others?
We don’t need to make our reflection difficult. Maybe you have the gift of sharing your faith. Maybe you have the gift of holding another person’s pain. Maybe you have the gift of number crunching. Maybe you have the gift of coming alongside people to help them feel welcomed. Maybe you have the gift of music. Maybe you have the gift of building things. Maybe you have the gift of cooking bar-b-que.
When we think about our communal and individual passions it reminds us of something very important. We all have something to learn from one another. We each have gifts to share that God has bestowed to build up the body of Christ. God’s greatest desire is to weave our passions together to reveal Christ’s presence among us. Our passions are used for God’s glory. We feel God’s pleasure when we use our God’s given gifts in everyday life.
Third, we are to remember that God’s vision for us to grow in faith hinges upon relationships. I like how Rita Pierson said it. We should first seek to understand instead of forcing ourselves to be understood. When we first seek to understand it places us in a posture of humility. That posture of humility creates the necessary space to learn from one another’s view points and passions. It gives us an attitude of gratitude. It is a lens to see one another as a child of God and as a student of faith. It reminds us that we have been chosen by the best teacher, our rabbi and Savior Jesus Christ, to be a better somebody when we go out from God’s house into the community and world.
We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge James’ words of warning regarding relationships. It is usually the small things in life that can cause us to have communication breakdowns in our communal and individual relationships. I think when James was talking about the power of the tongue in today's text he was talking about the fragile sense of our relationships. The condition of human sin taints all that we think, say, and do. It causes us to deviate from God’s ways and to focus more upon our own will. If we prioritize our passions or ways of doing things above someone else’s then we lose our focus on God’s intentions for the good of the whole. We compromise our call to mutual understanding. We jeopardize the unity of the gospel at work among us.
Today we are called to be a teaching community. We share in God’s common call to learn from our Rabbi and Savior, to learn from one another, and to understand the importance of relationships. May we remember that we are all students of faith. May we remember that all learning and teaching should bring joy because we all have a passion or spiritual gift to share. May we remember that we are connected through relationships with God and one another.
My hope is that during this new Christian Education year we all will have a deeper assurance that we have been chosen by the best Teacher to grow deeper roots of faith in God’s great classroom of life. I hope that we are becoming stronger through God’s love, Jesus’ grace, and the Spirit’s presence. I hope that as we go out into the community and world, others might take notice of what God is doing here through us and among us.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Rita Pierson, "Every Kid Needs a Champion," May 2013 at TED talks
https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion?language=en
Be the Church
Proverbs 22: 1-2, 8-9, 22-23; James 2: 1-10
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 6, 2015
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. - James 2: 1-10
Most everyone knows the Golden Rule. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In other words, treat others the way you want to be treated. Many of us were taught this from a young age and it is a lesson that continues to be passed down. We try to share well (children and adults) and we give generously at special times of the year. It is what our faith teaches us to do.
The very beginning of James’ letter frames some overall wisdom for the church, “To be doers of the word and not merely hearers” (James 1:22). But as soon as we step into chapter 2 as we are today, it presses us into some uncomfortable places.
James enters into a conversation some are hesitant to talk about. It was not a favorite subject in James’ time, nor is it today. He sets up the socioeconomic categories of rich and poor. What James is getting at is the subject of privilege. Some may think of privilege like the saying of a person being born with a silver spoon in his or her mouth. But I like the way one of my colleagues in ministry describes privilege. He says it is the ability to choose the burdens we carry. That has stuck in my mind for quite a while. And I have to be honest with you about something. To think about our privilege – for me to think about my privilege – it is hard.
I have been struggling with my sense of privilege for the past 10 years. Yes, my family has been through difficult times. During my childhood my father worked three jobs so that our family’s needs were met. As an adult in the early years of marriage, Doug and I lived paycheck to paycheck. We learned what it meant to be on a shoestring budget. Those early lessons of becoming an adult stay with all of us and shape our work ethics. But I have more so struggled with my privilege since serving in ministry. Sometimes I catch myself taking the opportunities I have received for granted.
Coming alongside sisters and brothers in faith to serve at homeless shelters and food pantries is a humbling experience. And I am not just talking about the simple opportunities to serve food or bag groceries for neighbors in need. I am talking about meeting the people who are guests of the homeless shelter or receiving assistance at the pantry. Learning their names and inviting them to share their story.
About three years ago I walked into the church office on a Sunday morning. It was a cold January morning. A note had been left for the pastors of the church. The note revealed a man named Curtis was sleeping outside of the church, in a covered walkway. He asked permission to stay there a few nights for shelter. My colleague and I met Curtis. And soon a number of elders came together to help us work out a plan to assist Curtis in finding a temporary home and work. Curtis was a painter by trade and he was interested in finding odd jobs. His situation of homelessness was preventing him from finding opportunities.
One morning Curtis came to the church office and wanted to talk with me. Over the course of about 40 minutes, Curtis shared his life story with me and the hardships that led to his current situation of homelessness. He shared with me how nothing compared to knowing the ways that God provided for him daily. Curtis said even as God was working in his life, he was setting small goals to get back on his feet again. And then he said something that I could not stop thinking about. It was something so simple yet completely profound. He said he only wanted two things in his life: to know he was loved and to know he was respected.
At the core of being human, isn’t this the greatest need for every one of us? Isn’t the Golden Rule all about extending love and respect to others?
In so many ways, the Golden Rule that James implies means to recognize our privilege and the opportunities we have been afforded. What do you and I take for granted? How does our position in society regarding our work or education influence our decision making and compassion towards others? Do you and I have opportunities that move us towards an attitude of indifference to those in need? The subject of privilege does not merely intersect our faith ethics when we think about categories of rich and poor.
Privilege also intersects our faith ethics when we think about race relations and gender equality. The past year alone our country has been thinking a lot about race relations. The greater church universal is in deep reflection on ways to bring forth healing, love, and respect to honor our diversity. I am deeply reminded about the tragedy our sisters and brothers of Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC experienced. It has certainly weighed upon my heart these past months.
Privilege is a major conviction even the Apostle Paul takes in his letters, for if we do not humble ourselves like Jesus did then we compromise the integrity of the gospel. When we begin to center our Christian ethics from a place of humility it frees us to share with those who are just as broken as we are. To share our Christian love and respect for another person fulfills human needs on so many levels. But our sharing of Christian love and respect does more than fulfill human needs. It works towards fulfilling God’s need and desire to reconcile our brokenness to God’s wholeness. When we love our neighbor as ourselves we are actually sharing a glimpse of God’s coming kingdom which was first revealed in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s most genuine self-giving love. And just think of it; Jesus was privileged with the ultimate power of being the Son of God and claimed none of it as he was born into a family with meager provisions. Jesus recognized his privilege and laid it down to come alongside the poor in spirit, for they shall inherit the kingdom of God.
I am not sure how many of you have read the Book of Confessions. Some who grew up in the Presbyterian Church years ago remember not just learning the Golden Rule but memorizing catechisms as part of church lessons. The Book of Confessions is the first part of our Constitution. It is like a family photo album which shows pictures of what the greater church has believed through our shared history that dates back to the early church.
One of my favorite confessions is the Confession of 1967. The snap shot of the church was during a divisive time when our country was struggling with the Civil Rights movement and Women’s Rights. The church crafted words to encourage unity and reconciliation between nations, races, gender, and economic classes.
God has created the peoples of the earth to be one universal family. In his reconciling love, [God] overcomes the barriers between brothers [and sisters] and breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference, real or imaginary. The church is called to bring all men (and women) to receive and uphold one another as persons in all relationships of life: in employment, housing, education, leisure, marriage, family, church, and the exercise of political rights….A church that is indifferent to poverty, or evades responsibility in economic affairs, or is open to one social class only, or expects gratitude for its beneficence makes a mockery of reconciliation and offers no acceptable worship to God. (Confession of 1967: 9.44, 9.46)
Those words remind me of James’ words this morning. They encourage us to be the church. We are called to experience the hope of the gospel. And that hope is the reconciliation that God is bringing about through Jesus Christ. While we see a lot of brokenness in the world, in the community, and even in our homes, we trust that God is mending our physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds. We trust that God is building bridges to restore personal and communal relationships that have been strained. We trust that God will help us to chip away the walls of indifference and help us see one another as a child of God who needs love and mutual respect.
For the first time our church is forming a mission committee. It will gather together Tuesday evening at 7pm. The task of this body will be to enter a time of discernment to prayerfully consider where God is leading us to put our faith into action. It is an exciting time to think about where the spiritual gifts of this church intersect the needs of our community and world.
Let’s be doers of the word. I pray that you and I will ask God to open our eyes to look for the gaps in the community. I pray that you and I might think about those among us who are longing to feel the restoration of our Christian love and respect…like my friend Curtis. I pray that we will work towards real ways – even small ways – to faithfully bring about reconciliation to those who need a hand up, to those who are oppressed by racial or economic tensions, to those who have been hurt by the church. I pray that you and I will ask for the courage to enter into the uncomfortable spaces that faith dares to take us so that we might be the church.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
September 6, 2015
My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please’, while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there’, or, ‘Sit at my feet’, have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. - James 2: 1-10
Most everyone knows the Golden Rule. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” In other words, treat others the way you want to be treated. Many of us were taught this from a young age and it is a lesson that continues to be passed down. We try to share well (children and adults) and we give generously at special times of the year. It is what our faith teaches us to do.
The very beginning of James’ letter frames some overall wisdom for the church, “To be doers of the word and not merely hearers” (James 1:22). But as soon as we step into chapter 2 as we are today, it presses us into some uncomfortable places.
James enters into a conversation some are hesitant to talk about. It was not a favorite subject in James’ time, nor is it today. He sets up the socioeconomic categories of rich and poor. What James is getting at is the subject of privilege. Some may think of privilege like the saying of a person being born with a silver spoon in his or her mouth. But I like the way one of my colleagues in ministry describes privilege. He says it is the ability to choose the burdens we carry. That has stuck in my mind for quite a while. And I have to be honest with you about something. To think about our privilege – for me to think about my privilege – it is hard.
I have been struggling with my sense of privilege for the past 10 years. Yes, my family has been through difficult times. During my childhood my father worked three jobs so that our family’s needs were met. As an adult in the early years of marriage, Doug and I lived paycheck to paycheck. We learned what it meant to be on a shoestring budget. Those early lessons of becoming an adult stay with all of us and shape our work ethics. But I have more so struggled with my privilege since serving in ministry. Sometimes I catch myself taking the opportunities I have received for granted.
Coming alongside sisters and brothers in faith to serve at homeless shelters and food pantries is a humbling experience. And I am not just talking about the simple opportunities to serve food or bag groceries for neighbors in need. I am talking about meeting the people who are guests of the homeless shelter or receiving assistance at the pantry. Learning their names and inviting them to share their story.
About three years ago I walked into the church office on a Sunday morning. It was a cold January morning. A note had been left for the pastors of the church. The note revealed a man named Curtis was sleeping outside of the church, in a covered walkway. He asked permission to stay there a few nights for shelter. My colleague and I met Curtis. And soon a number of elders came together to help us work out a plan to assist Curtis in finding a temporary home and work. Curtis was a painter by trade and he was interested in finding odd jobs. His situation of homelessness was preventing him from finding opportunities.
One morning Curtis came to the church office and wanted to talk with me. Over the course of about 40 minutes, Curtis shared his life story with me and the hardships that led to his current situation of homelessness. He shared with me how nothing compared to knowing the ways that God provided for him daily. Curtis said even as God was working in his life, he was setting small goals to get back on his feet again. And then he said something that I could not stop thinking about. It was something so simple yet completely profound. He said he only wanted two things in his life: to know he was loved and to know he was respected.
At the core of being human, isn’t this the greatest need for every one of us? Isn’t the Golden Rule all about extending love and respect to others?
In so many ways, the Golden Rule that James implies means to recognize our privilege and the opportunities we have been afforded. What do you and I take for granted? How does our position in society regarding our work or education influence our decision making and compassion towards others? Do you and I have opportunities that move us towards an attitude of indifference to those in need? The subject of privilege does not merely intersect our faith ethics when we think about categories of rich and poor.
Privilege also intersects our faith ethics when we think about race relations and gender equality. The past year alone our country has been thinking a lot about race relations. The greater church universal is in deep reflection on ways to bring forth healing, love, and respect to honor our diversity. I am deeply reminded about the tragedy our sisters and brothers of Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC experienced. It has certainly weighed upon my heart these past months.
Privilege is a major conviction even the Apostle Paul takes in his letters, for if we do not humble ourselves like Jesus did then we compromise the integrity of the gospel. When we begin to center our Christian ethics from a place of humility it frees us to share with those who are just as broken as we are. To share our Christian love and respect for another person fulfills human needs on so many levels. But our sharing of Christian love and respect does more than fulfill human needs. It works towards fulfilling God’s need and desire to reconcile our brokenness to God’s wholeness. When we love our neighbor as ourselves we are actually sharing a glimpse of God’s coming kingdom which was first revealed in the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s most genuine self-giving love. And just think of it; Jesus was privileged with the ultimate power of being the Son of God and claimed none of it as he was born into a family with meager provisions. Jesus recognized his privilege and laid it down to come alongside the poor in spirit, for they shall inherit the kingdom of God.
I am not sure how many of you have read the Book of Confessions. Some who grew up in the Presbyterian Church years ago remember not just learning the Golden Rule but memorizing catechisms as part of church lessons. The Book of Confessions is the first part of our Constitution. It is like a family photo album which shows pictures of what the greater church has believed through our shared history that dates back to the early church.
One of my favorite confessions is the Confession of 1967. The snap shot of the church was during a divisive time when our country was struggling with the Civil Rights movement and Women’s Rights. The church crafted words to encourage unity and reconciliation between nations, races, gender, and economic classes.
God has created the peoples of the earth to be one universal family. In his reconciling love, [God] overcomes the barriers between brothers [and sisters] and breaks down every form of discrimination based on racial or ethnic difference, real or imaginary. The church is called to bring all men (and women) to receive and uphold one another as persons in all relationships of life: in employment, housing, education, leisure, marriage, family, church, and the exercise of political rights….A church that is indifferent to poverty, or evades responsibility in economic affairs, or is open to one social class only, or expects gratitude for its beneficence makes a mockery of reconciliation and offers no acceptable worship to God. (Confession of 1967: 9.44, 9.46)
Those words remind me of James’ words this morning. They encourage us to be the church. We are called to experience the hope of the gospel. And that hope is the reconciliation that God is bringing about through Jesus Christ. While we see a lot of brokenness in the world, in the community, and even in our homes, we trust that God is mending our physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds. We trust that God is building bridges to restore personal and communal relationships that have been strained. We trust that God will help us to chip away the walls of indifference and help us see one another as a child of God who needs love and mutual respect.
For the first time our church is forming a mission committee. It will gather together Tuesday evening at 7pm. The task of this body will be to enter a time of discernment to prayerfully consider where God is leading us to put our faith into action. It is an exciting time to think about where the spiritual gifts of this church intersect the needs of our community and world.
Let’s be doers of the word. I pray that you and I will ask God to open our eyes to look for the gaps in the community. I pray that you and I might think about those among us who are longing to feel the restoration of our Christian love and respect…like my friend Curtis. I pray that we will work towards real ways – even small ways – to faithfully bring about reconciliation to those who need a hand up, to those who are oppressed by racial or economic tensions, to those who have been hurt by the church. I pray that you and I will ask for the courage to enter into the uncomfortable spaces that faith dares to take us so that we might be the church.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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