Sermon: "Does This Offend You?"

“Does This Offend You?”
John 6: 56-69
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
August 26, 2018

Jesus makes people nervous.

Just look through the gospel accounts. The Rabbi who is our Teacher of God’s mysterious ways did not bring everyone a peaceful, easy feeling.

The rich young ruler asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus told the young man to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and then follow him. The young man was so shocked by Jesus’ answer that he walked away grieving [1].

A man named Legion lived among the tombs in the Gentile country of Gergesa. Legion (the Gerasene Demoniac) was marginalized because the people did not understand his torment. When the compassionate actions of Jesus brought healing and wholeness to the man, the townspeople were afraid of Jesus’ power to change things. They begged Jesus to leave their neighborhood [2].

The Pharisees had the responsibility of interpreting God’s Law (first five books of the Bible) and empowering the people of God to live into a holy way of life. They took great offense to Jesus’ street ministry. The Pharisees could not comprehend the notion of mixing the holy and unholy. They sneered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!” [3]

The crowd gathered around Jesus as he taught in the streets. Jesus professed God, his Father, had sent him, and if the people truly claimed to be God-loving decedents of Abraham then they would accept Jesus’ teachings. The crowd grumbled and then Jesus had a mic drop moment. Asserting his divine authority Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” The anger was palpable, and the crowd picked up stones to throw at Jesus [4].

The day after Jesus fed five thousand with five bread loaves and two fish, the crowd followed him. They had never experienced such a miracle of abundance. They had their fill and wanted more. Jesus told the crowd, “Do not work for food that perishes, but for the food that that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you…I am the bread of life” (John 6:27, 35). This is where we enter the biblical text today:

Listen to how Jesus’ words were received in John 6: 56-69:

[Jesus said] Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.

Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live for ever.’

He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’

But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, ‘Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.’

For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, ‘For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.’

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, ‘Do you also wish to go away?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.’


Not only did the crowd dispute Jesus’ words, but the disciples questioned Jesus’ teaching. “This teaching is difficult, who can accept it?”

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them” (John 6:56). That statement was the most extreme the disciples had yet heard their Rabbi utter. And they had heard a lot after walking in the dust of the Rabbi for three years.

A disciple would eat, sleep, dream, and breathe in every word of the Rabbi. A commentary from my study says:

Studying their rabbi’s view of Scripture and wrestling with the texts to comprehend God’s way for the conduct of their life was the main priority of a disciple…As part of this how-should-we-live interactive process, the disciples would debate various rabbinic interpretations of the texts pertaining to a real-life issue. This might involve weeks of dialogue and debate, for the rabbis were in no hurry to resolve these issues and questions.

However, when the rabbi ultimately did declare his authoritative interpretation on an issue, all further debate ceased. His declared interpretation was now known and therefore binding on his disciples’ lives for the rest of their days. As such, the rabbi was the matrix, the filter, the grid, through which every life issue flowed, as well as the lens through which every life issue was viewed [5].

Jesus makes an authoritative claim that now binds his followers for the rest of their days. Jesus is not telling his followers to literally eat his flesh and drink his blood like a cannibal, vampire, or zombie. To eat the bread of life and to drink the blood of the new covenant bring God’s spirit-filled power and abundant life (John 6: 56, 58, 63). Jesus is pointing to the truth of God’s plan of salvation.

Jesus sees and hears the disciples struggling to interpret his words into their daily living. And in typical rabbinic fashion Jesus asks his disciples, “Does this offend you?” (John 6:61).

In other words, does my teaching cause you to stumble in your belief or trust me less?

To eat the bread of life and drink the cup of salvation were beyond the disciples’ comprehension. Jesus’ words anticipate the fulfillment of biblical prophecy for God’s plan of salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Scripture holds Jesus’ mandate to break the bread and drink the cup – to “do this in remembrance of me” [6]. It is to remember the costly grace for God to forgive human sin and yet celebrate the new life which God promises today through eternity.

And yet for some today, the violence of Jesus’ death makes it incredibly hard to find comfort in that old rugged cross. Some ask, couldn’t God have saved us another way?

In our text today, John’s Gospel moves us to place our primary focus on our relationship with God in Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. The cross, bread, and cup are symbols for God’s abiding presence and steadfast love reshaping us by God’s intentions and purposes.

These symbols are a gift and a responsibility. The cross, bread, and cup are gifts revealing God’s willingness to go beyond all human comprehension to wipe away the offense of our sin; our greatest stumbling block to follow God (John 3: 17).

These symbols are visible signs of God’s invisible grace. We all need to experience God’s amazing grace with our senses. We see, touch, and taste the signs of God’s faithfulness when we see the solidarity of human unfaithfulness on the cross and we give thanks to God.

But these symbols also proclaim that we as disciples of Jesus Christ have a responsibility to wholly live into the teachings of our Teacher, Lord, and Savior.

Jesus’s words are binding to our discipleship for the rest of our days. Jesus said our greatest calling is to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves [7]. And yes, this teaching is difficult; who can really hear it?

It is hard to love God when we are tempted to give other aspects of life greater priority.
It is hard to love our neighbor as ourselves when they do not fit into our personal ideals or judgments.
It is hard to love ourselves because we are our own worst critics.
And it is hard to really hear and live into our greatest calling without the Spirit’s help. Apart from God we can do nothing (John 15:5).

And so, we look at the cross and take the bread and cup. And every time we approach this table we trust this is where God’s holy presence dares to touch our unholy and broken lives. Our faith is nourished and strengthened by the gifts of God for the people of God.

We taste God’s grace and mercy and it is so good.
We learn that we are more than our limitations and mistakes.
We lean into a deeper trust that we are being made new.
We grow a little more as disciples in trusting God with our very lives.
We are bound to a love that will never let us go.
We gather around the table of God’s hospitality and we are always amazed at God’s unwavering abundance.

But disciples are not meant to solely receive the gift. We are to boldly live into Jesus’s teachings at all costs. The gifts of God for the people of God remind us of the work that Jesus has called us to do to glorify his name.

Richard Stearns says in his book, The Hole in Our Gospel, “If Jesus loved the world so much to die for it, maybe we should too.”

If God’s love for humanity took on flesh, then God’s love and Jesus’ teachings must take on tangible expressions in every aspect of our lives.

The Rule of Love touches our personal devotion, the community of faith to which we belong, school, our young adult years, our work ethics, our public discourse and even our politics. It all goes back to the integrity of relationships we have with God and one another.

Jesus said the world will know that we are his disciples by our love (John 13:35). But if the Rule of Love offends us, then it is time for yet another lesson with our Rabbi and Savior.

None of us will live into the mind of Christ perfectly. But we are called to follow Jesus and we are called to his commandment to love one another.

I close with this prayer:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

Sources Referenced:
[1] Mark 10: 17-22; Matthew 19: 16-30; Luke 18: 18-30
[2] Mark 5: 1-20; Matthew 8: 28-34; Luke 8: 26-39
[3] Luke 15:2; 5:30; 7:39; 19:7
[4] John 8: 39-59
[5] Doug Greenwold, “Being a First Century Disciple,” March 2007
[6] Matthew 26: 26-29; Mark 14: 22-25; Luke 22: 14-23; 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26
[7] Matthew 22: 36-40; Mark 12: 29-31
[8] prayer written by Bishop Ken Untener in 1979 (often misattributed to Oscar Romero)

FAQ's Sermon Series: "How Should We Overcome Thoughts and Feelings of Inadequacy?"

How Should We Overcome Thoughts and Feelings of Inadequacy?
Exodus 1: 13-20; Number 27: 1-8
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
August 19, 2018

The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.

The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ‘When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.’

But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.

So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, ‘Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?’ The midwives said to Pharaoh, ‘Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.’

So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong. - Exodus 1: 13-20


Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. Zelophehad was son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph, a member of the Manassite clans.

The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders, and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and they said, ‘Our father died in the wilderness; he was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.’

Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: The daughters of Zelophehad are right in what they are saying; you shall indeed let them possess an inheritance among their father’s brothers and pass the inheritance of their father on to them. You shall also say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance on to his daughter. - Numbers 27: 1-8


The Israelites had a long history of feeling inadequate. Egypt oppressed God’s people for 430 years (Exodus 12:40). God’s people were enslaved by the words “You are not enough.”

And yet there are seven women named in Israel’s history that empower young girls and women today – and boys and men as well – to rise up in God’s strength.

The midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, did not fear inadequacy; they feared God alone and it made all the difference. God not only made these women strong, but Shiphrah and Puah were God’s instruments of grace to empower the people to become very strong (Exodus 1:20).

After God’s people walked through the wilderness for 40 years, they entered into the Promised Land of Canaan. A census was given to all male descendants over the age of 20 to receive a portion of the Promised Land (Numbers 26). At that time the law prevented daughters to receive their father’s inheritance. Again, the circumstances stated certain people were inadequate and not enough.

I have no doubt that Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah – the daughters of Zelophehad - knew the strength of faith passed down by the midwives. God’s strength was present in the sisters’ time of need as they entered God’s Promised Land.

And their story speaks into our last question from the pews today: How should we overcome thoughts and feelings of inadequacy?

As people of faith these women overcame inadequacy by nurturing their voices with the voice of God’s Word. And God’s voice of truth is louder than our internal voices of not being enough.

Overcome inadequacy by naming it. The daughters of Zelophehad named the source from which their reality of inadequacy originated. Their culture had created a system which disadvantaged daughters to receive their fathers’ inheritance. This was a threat to the future of the family lineage and the tribe to which it belonged.

Reflect on your story. Where do your feelings or perceptions of inadequacy come from?

Maybe you feel just like the daughters of Zelophahad; the odds have been stacked against you from the beginning. Sometimes thoughts of inadequacy originate from a parent’s or loved one’s negative messages since childhood. Perceptions of not being enough can come from a pattern of negative outcomes like a string of bad grades. Thoughts of inadequacy can come from failure, struggling with depression or change, or grappling to come to terms with a tragic life event.

Naming the source of our insecurity is hard internal work. But it is the first step on God’s path to healing and wholeness.

Overcome by claiming the truth. The daughters of Zelophehad claimed the truth that it was not their fault Zelophehad had no sons (Numbers 27:4). These young women had reached a tipping point. They refused to compromise their future as the new generation of God’s people settled into God’s promised land. These sisters knew they, too, were God’s children and they belonged to God’s promises just like every tribe in the holy lineage of faith.

Whenever that inner voice within you says, “I am not enough,” it is a lie.

God loves you and me for who we are, right here and right now. It does not matter what gender you are - you might be a glorious mess, but never forget you and I are made in God’s image and you are a child of God (Genesis 1:27, Galatians 3:26). Never forget the Psalmist’s words: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Remember God’s word of truth - “God does not look on our outward appearance, but God looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

So, look into your heart and claim God’s truth in your life. Grab a pad of sticky notes, write down God’s truth and your truth, and place it where you will see it every morning when you get out of bed. Write down God’s Word to remind you who you are and whose you are. Write down what you love about yourself:

With God all things are possible (Matt 19:26).
I am a child of God (Galatians 3:26).
I am enough.
I am caring.
My laugh is more contagious than the flu.
The past does not define me or my future.

Overcome by connecting with others. The five daughters of Zelophahad stuck together. They had each other’s backs. Their community of faith raised them with a strong communal connection with other women, like Shiphrah and Puah.

I can only imagine the talks these five sisters had among themselves when their future was uncertain. When all seemed hopeless, they nurtured each other’s voices.

When we are feeling insecure and low, one of the worst things we can do is isolate ourselves. Our souls continually think about our affliction and we assume the fetal position of defeat (Lamentations 3:20).

Each of us needs someone to confide in to share the shadow side of life – our tears, fears, and angst. Each of us needs to know we have a tribe whom will listen to our story with compassion and empathy. That tribe includes a trusted parent, a sibling, friends, a pastor, a guidance counselor at school. There is no shame in needing the special skills of a licensed therapist or even a psychiatrist to help us navigate the storms of life.

And please hear me on this – if our first words of comfort begin with “At least…” then the response is not empathy but sympathy and pity.

I cannot tell you how many times I have searched for the right words to bring comfort to a loved one and what I actually said was not helpful. Rather my good intentions were perceived as hurtful.

I have found when searching to say the right thing, it is best to first pray, “Lord, set a guard over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3). God’s Spirit will help us to say words of grace when they are necessary.

Overcome by making a goal. The daughters of Zelophehad made a goal. As the new generations were about to settle in the Promised Land, they decided to lift up their voices to change their situation (Numbers 27: 2-4). The sisters stood before the ones who could bring about this change – Moses, the priest, the leaders, all the congregation, and God.

This story is so very empowering because these young women are courageous to step forward with a goal and they followed through with it. They told their story and they claimed what they needed to live in God’s abundance. And God paved the way forward with measures of accountability to make the goal of inheritance possible for all surviving families who had no sons.

Consider your own goal to overcome the obstacle of inadequacy. What is your big picture goal, but don’t stop there….the next part is just as important. Consider what do you need as smaller goals to live into God’s promises of an abundant life? You are more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Prayerful action changes things!

Share what you are working towards with someone you trust – an accountability partner, if you will. Ideally this partner is a trustworthy individual with an encouraging spirit. This person is vested with the responsibilities of praying over your steps with you; sharing the truth with you in life-giving ways; and cheering you on when the going gets tough. Everything an accountability partner does is done in love and with the mind of Christ. Apart from God we can do nothing (John 15: 5). We need one another to abide in God’s strength and love.

Overcome by persevering one day at a time. The first step of perseverance always seems to be the hardest because it requires us to take a risk. We can only take the next right step in God’s strength, because God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Saint Teresa of Avila was an inspiring woman in church history who lived in Spain during the 16th century. She once said, “For God denies himself to no one who perseveres but gradually increases the courage of such a one till she or he achieves victory.” Her words are gospel.

Throughout the course of Scripture, God’s people gradually increased in courage through reflection. In order to go forward one more step towards God’s victory, God’s people always had to look back and remember God’s deliverance in the past.

So, as each day draws to a close, write down your positives. What small good did you experience or decide to do that day?

I have to say, the first time you start this, finding one good thing to write down is hard when all the previous days have been so bad.

That one small thing might just be a good breakfast or even a smile from a stranger. But one small good experienced today means you will encounter at least one ray of hope tomorrow.

And you will be surprised that within a week’s time – one or two small positives turns into a long list of 50 small revelations that God’s mercies are indeed new each morning. Great is God’s faithfulness! Persevering one day at a time means to give thanks and celebrate each small step towards your goal.

Every single one of us deals with a sense of inadequacy, including me.

In Saturday’s devotion from “Jesus Calling,” Sarah Young says, “Anticipate coming face-to-face with impossibilities: situations totally beyond your ability to handle. This awareness of your inadequacy is not something you should try to evade. It is precisely where [God] wants you – the best place to encounter [God’s] glory and power. When you see armies of problems marching towards you, cry out to [God]. Allow [God] to fight for you.

God will always fight for you – you need only to be still and listen for God’s cue to go forward (Exodus 14: 14-15). Be still as God empowers you to lift your voice.

Make room for Holy Spirit to nurture the voice within you. Name the source of inadequacy, claim the truth, connect with others, make a goal, persevere one day at a time.

With every step you take forward, and even with the steps that take you backwards, the God of peace will be with you until you achieve victory.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

FAQ's Sermon Series: "How Should We Reconcile Logic and Faith? Science and Religion?"

How Should We Reconcile Logic and Faith? Science and Religion?
John 1: 1-4, 14
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
August 12, 2018

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, 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.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. - John 1-4, 14

The year was 1969 - July 20 to be exact. The Eagle had landed – Apollo 11’s Eagle lunar module that is. Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Mike Collins were on a 9-day trip of a lifetime. They were sent by NASA with a mission to walk on the moon.

Armstrong and Aldrin would walk on the moon for 3 hours while Collins would stay in orbit taking pictures and doing experiments [1].

Aeronautical science requires thorough preparation; this mission was in the making for over a decade with the work of nearly 400,000 people [2]. Our own Rob Johns was a part of this effort at NASA too!

Before Armstrong and Aldrin even put a foot on the moon, they had an hour to recover from the long space flight. And Buzz Aldrin prepared for this audacious mission in a unique way.

“Aldrin got on the comm system and spoke to the ground crew back on Earth. ‘I would like to request a few moments of silence,’ he said. ‘I would like to invite each person listening in, wherever and whomever he may be, to contemplate for a moment the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his own individual way" [3].

Then he reached for the wine and bread he’d brought to space—the first foods ever poured or eaten on the moon. “I poured the wine into the chalice our church had given me. In the one-sixth gravity of the moon the wine curled slowly and gracefully up the side of the cup,” he later wrote [4].

Then, Aldrin read some scripture and ate. Armstrong looked on quietly but did not participate [5].

Aldrin later confessed that “he’d come to wonder if he’d done the right thing by celebrating a Christian ritual in space… Aldrin said, “But at the time I could think of no better way to acknowledge the Apollo 11 experience than by giving thanks to God [6].”

It leads us to the next question from the pews today: How should we reconcile logic and faith, science and religion?

Barbara Brown Taylor give some insight into how the divide came to be between religion and science in her book, “A Luminous Web: Essays on Science and Religion.” She says:

In the ancient world, religion and science were little more than two ways of being curious. The truths each of them told were assumed to be divine truths…The [divorce papers for science and faith were served] in the sixteenth century when Copernicus guessed that the earth circled the sun instead of vice versa.

For the first time, the truth that could be observed in the real world conflicted with the truth revealed by God in Scripture. Copernicus and the Bible could not both be right about the placement of planets, and the scientific revolution began.[7]

As soon as Charles Darwin wrote “On the Origin of Species” in 1859 the debate raged among Christians and scientists. There seemed to be no chance for religion and science to reconcile. Ever since people have looked at logic and faith, science and religion as if they are oil and water; they do not mix.

It is important for us to know that not all subscribe to a complete divorce between faith and science. Remember a few weeks ago I shared with you that faith and science are asking two different questions. Faith asks why we were created to find purpose in our lives. Science asks how.

Bill Brown is an ordained minister of the PC(USA), a theologian, lover of science, and my Old Testament Professor of Columbia Theological Seminary. I share his wisdom with you:

My conviction is that one cannot adequately interpret the Bible today, particularly the creation traditions, without engaging science… Central to the Christian faith is a doctrine that resists the temptation to distance the biblical world from the natural world: the incarnation.

Barbara Brown Taylor puts it well: “Faith in an incarnational God will not allow us to ignore the physical world, nor any of its nuances.”

Such faith calls us to know and respect the physical, fleshy world, whose “nuances” are its wondrous workings: its delicate balance and indomitable dynamics, its life sustaining regularities, and surprising anomalies, its remarkable intelligibility and bewildering complexity, its order and chaos.

Such is the World made flesh, and faith in the Word made flesh acknowledges that the very forces that produced me also produced microbes, bees, and manatees.[8]

This harmony Bill Brown speaks to is the Word made flesh as we read in John’s Gospel. The Word is God speaking creation into being. The Word is Jesus Christ who is the light of the world, who brought all things into being. And the Word is also God’s wisdom to bring about a “creative plan” to govern the natural order of all creation, humanity, and matter to live in relation to God our Creator [9].

There is a great freedom that comes from putting theology and science, faith and logic in dialogue. That freedom is expressed in two profound words: “awe” and “wonder”.

The late John Glenn was well known for being the first astronaut to orbit the earth, but he was also a man of faith (Presbyterian ruling elder). His career at NASA filled him with awe and wonder.

Glenn said, “Looking at the Earth from this vantage point [of aerospace], looking at this kind of creation and to not believe in God, to me, is impossible. To see [the Earth] laid out like that only strengthens my beliefs."

And Glenn’s congregation was filled with awe and wonder for his God-given talents in science. Before Glenn’s orbit mission, the church wrote a letter of “prayers and gratitude on behalf of the Presbyterian Church” saying, “John, your church is grateful for the service you continue to share with millions of Americans and citizens of the world.”

Krista Tippett is a woman of faith and the interviewer for the “On Being” podcast. For twenty years Tippett has interviewed individuals from diverse backgrounds on a multitude of subjects in search for deeper meaning within the human life. Her first question always begins by asking her subject to share the story of their faith background.

She once interviewed John Polkinghorne, a renown theoretical physicist who belongs to the Royal Society like Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, and Steven Hawking. When Polkinghorne hit mid-life crisis he didn’t go out and buy a muscle car, he studied theology. He became the first professor at Cambridge to hold a chair in the disciplines of physics and theology. He also became an Anglican priest.

Polkinghorne shared this with Tippett:

If working in science teaches you anything, it is that the physical world is surprising. And I was a quantum physicist, and the quantum world is totally different from the world of every day. It's cloudy, it's fitful, you don't know where things are, if you know what they're doing. If you know what they're doing, you don't know where they are. So that it's a complex world and quite different from what we expected. But it's an exciting world because it turns out we can understand it, and when we do understand it, we have a deep intellectual satisfaction.

Now, if the physical world surprises us and is different from everyday expectation — common sense, if you like — it would not be very odd, really, would it be, if God also turned out to be rather surprising. Things that are just on the surface, easy to believe, are not the whole story. There's a deeper, stranger, and more satisfying story to be found, both in science and in religion.[11]

God deeply cares about the physical and sacred aspects of creation and humanity. The Psalmist said, “I praise you [God], for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know full well” (Psalm 139: 14). Both faith and science reveal this great truth in their own ways.

Our faith seeks understanding through the mystery of God’s grace and with the beautiful mind God has given us. Know that even as we might question the relationship between faith and logic – God has ordained them to dance together since before the world began.

The writer of Proverbs says: The Lord created me – WISDOM – at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth…when he established the heavens I was there…When God marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily God’s delight, rejoicing before God always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race (Proverbs 8: 22-23, 27, 29b-31).

Our Creator God knows how all things work. God also knows the unique purposes he has for each creature, person, microbe, and atom created. Maybe when we are united with God face to face we will know about all of this more fully. But for now there are many things we do not and cannot fully comprehend.

Let us give thanks to God for the gift of wisdom in the sacred and in the sciences. And may we strive to be good stewards of the mysteries of God’s grace.

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

NASA photograph of Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, and Mike Collins (1969)

[1]NASA website for education
[2] Erin Blakemore, “Buzz Aldrin Took Holy Communion on the Moon: NASA Kept It Quiet,” History.Com Stories, July 18, 2018
[3] Erin Blakemore, Ibid.
[4] Gregg Brekke, “John Glenn, Presbyterian Ruling Elder and National Icon, Dies at Age 95,” Presbyterian News Service, December 9, 2016
[5] Erin Blakemore, Ibid.
[6] Erin Blakemore, Ibid.
[7] Barbara Brown Taylor, “A Luminous Web: Essays on Science and Religion” (Cambridge: Cowley Productions, 2000). P. 6.
[8] William P. Brown, “The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder” (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010).
[9]The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, “Volume VIII: Luke and John” (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), p. 443.
[10] Gregg Brekke, “John Glenn, Presbyterian Ruling Elder and National Icon, Dies at Age 95,” Presbyterian News Service, December 9, 2016
[11] On Being: Krista Tippett and John Polkinghorne, January 13, 2011

FAQ's Sermon Series: What About Sin? Do You Believe in the Devil and Hell?

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
What About Sin; Do You Believe in the Devil and Hell?
Romans 5: 12-21; Matthew 10: 26-33
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
August 5, 2018

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned— sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. Yet death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgement following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Romans 5: 12-21

Jesus said, ‘So have no fear of [those who persecute you]; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. - Matthew 10:26-33

Elaine Benes was sitting in David Puddy’s living room. They made such a cute couple for a few t.v. episodes of Seinfeld. Puddy was in another room getting ready for the big Stanley Cup playoff; the New Jersey Devils were set to play the New York Rangers.

Puddy made a grand entrance into the living room. He’s got blue jeans, a team jersey, and his face was painted red and black like a devil. Elaine nearly tripped over herself – “What is that?”

Puddy: “I painted my face. Gotta support the team.”
Elaine: ‘Well you can’t go looking like that. It’s insane!”

When Puddy opened the door to let the rest of the gang inside, Jerry Seinfeld was speechless and Kramer was scared straight. Puddy was absolutely loving it as he walked out the door screaming: “Let’s get it on! Let’s go Devils!”[1]

You gotta love a devil mascot – maybe even a Duke Blue Devil - but what do we really think theologically about the devil? It leads us to our next question from the pew today: “What about sin? Do you believe in the devil and hell?”

John Milton thought so much about this question that he wrote Paradise Lost in 1667. His poem, which encompasses over 10,000 lines of verse, has since been acclaimed to the likes of Homer and Shakespeare.

Four years before he began writing Paradise, Milton became completely blind. He was mourning the death of his second wife and was in a dark place physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Milton dictated the poem for his daughters to write. “Paradise Lost is an attempt to make sense of a fallen world: to “justify the ways of God to men”, and no doubt to Milton himself.”[2]

Milton attempted to understand why Adam and Eve went against God’s orders. Milton wrote Satan was once a glorious angel created by God. Pride and ambition caused him to go against God, for he resented giving gratitude to God. Milton wrote as a result Satan lost a great war with God, was thrown into hell, and became the king of evil. Stirred up with envy and revenge, Satan escaped hell to come back to earth; he took the form of a serpent to trick Eve.

Paradise Lost has since shaped our perceptions of sin, the devil, and hell. Milton’s writing gave Satan quite a powerful and heroic persona. But Milton’s work is not a biblical commentary.

The Bible does not state a war of good and evil between God and Satan were brewing at the beginning of Creation; the Bible does not state the origins of the serpent; the Bible does not state the serpent in the Garden of Eden was Satan or the devil; nor does the Bible state where evil comes from.

Last week we talked about interpreting the Bible through the Reformed tradition. “The Bible is largely a narrative of God’s people who are trying to figure out their lives in relation to God” (Hayner)[3]. This overarching narrative is written in different biblical literary genres.

Remember that these genres push against literal interpretation. To respect the Bible’s authority is to recognize God’s authority is always seeking to reveal deep truths about who God is and who we are in God’s covenant love. This is by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul interprets the beginning point of this narrative from Genesis’ third chapter. It sounds impossible to live in right relationship with God with the problem of sin.

Paul does not blame the serpent not does Paul blame Eve. Paul interprets the Garden account as revealing the truth about the human condition of sin – sin inhibits humanity’s ability to fully live into God’s will for our lives. It is a trespass that leads to death – spiritual and physical (Romans 5:12).

We were created to live in relationship with God and one another, for we are made in God’s image and God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (Gen 2:26; Romans 5:5).

And yet Paul compares Adam and Christ as individuals whose acts had opposite consequences for humanity. Therefore, Adam and Christ stand at the heads of God’s old creation and new creation [4].

The consequences of sin that it causes us to hide from God, causing estrangement. We suffer from the hurt we cause ourselves and others “when we contradict our humanity in God’s image” (Guthrie) [5]. And we are left feeling the weight of shame. Sin led to humanity’s exile from the Garden.

But never forget that God’s grace covered humanity’s vulnerability in this first exile (Genesis 3:21). Never forget that we are created good in God’s love.

Sin entered the world and taints all human life and creation too. And God’s covenant love promises to redeem us through Jesus Christ through the free gift of grace that Paul calls justification (Romans 5:16).

That means that Christ’s death and resurrection has made us right with God – just as if we had not sinned – which leads us to eternal life through our Lord (Romans 5:21). This is the new creation that Paul is talking about; for God’s forgiveness of sin makes us a new creation in Jesus Christ by the power of Holy Spirit. God is faithful through Jesus Christ even when we are not (Romans 5:18-19; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Jeremiah 31:31-34).

Even as we proclaim this bold truth of who we are in God’s steadfast love the struggle to follow God’s will and ways continues in Scripture and in our lives too.

In the Old Testament there are 10 instances named as obstacles to follow God [6]. And it’s interesting to note that the Hebrew word is satan (saw-tawn). The Hebrew translation is “adversary” or “accuser;” it is not a proper name, enemy, nor a physical being. It is merely a military or legal obstacle to following God’s will but one in which God works through.

In ancient biblical times, it was the Persian culture that had a worldview of good and evil as a battleground of two opposing forces [7]. The Persians believed in a ruler over evil who had demons as servants [8]. Language brought forth additional words for satan, such as Belial, and Beelzebul, which was a mythical god worshipped by the Philistines.

In the culture of the New Testament, society believed that physical and mental sickness, natural disasters, and sin was caused by demons; an influence of Persian worldview. The gospels, the epistles, and of course the book of Revelation name the tempter (Matthew 4:3), Satan (Mark 1:13; Matthew 4:10; Rev 20:7), the devil (Matthew 4:5, 8, 11; Luke 4:2, 5, 9, 13), the prince of demons (Luke 11:15), the ruler of this world (John 12:31), the accuser (Rev 12:10), and the great dragon (Rev 12:7-9, 13, 17).
Each of these accounts are held in relation to God’s victorious authority in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, I share theologian Shirley Guthrie’s wisdom:

Christians do not ‘believe in’ the devil. We confess our faith in “God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, and in the Holy Spirit… Our interest in the devil must not become so central and intense that its reality becomes more important to us than the reality and power of God. Whenever Satan and his demons appear in Scripture it is always the story of God’s power over them and of their defeat and destruction. The devil – as opposition to God’s will – is by definition power in which God in Jesus Christ has already opposed and defeated. Even now this power is limited and controlled by the risen Christ. And finally, God will utterly crush and destroy [the devil according to Revelation] [9].

The overarching narrative of Scripture proclaims God’s authority in all things and God’s steadfast love to redeem this broken and sinful world to bring forth a new creation that points to God’s glory.

So, you might be saying, ‘Well, preacher – what about hell?” In the gospels when Jesus speaks of “hell,” the word in Greek is translated as Gehenna. The first century hearers knew this to be a valley south of Jerusalem. It was also known as the Valley of Hinnom. Gehenna was Jerusalem’s smoldering city dump. It yields an expression of judgment, suffering and being cut off from the world.

Jesus’ words in Matthew urge us to revere God alone, the One who is the giver of life; the One who is right to judge; and the One who graciously cares for creatures and humanity alike. How are we to understand God’s judgment and grace, as well as the future of heaven and hell?

John Calvin said: Many persons … have entered into ingenious debates about the eternal fire by which the wicked will be tormented after judgment. But we may conclude from many passages of Scripture that it is a metaphorical expression … Let us lay aside the speculations, by which foolish men weary themselves to no purpose, and satisfy ourselves with believing that these forms of speech denote, in a manner suited to our feeble capacity, a dreadful torment, which no man can now comprehend, and no language can express [10].

And so, we read Scripture with a sense of humility knowing there are great mysteries that we cannot fully comprehend nor explain. The truth is that all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. You and I - we deserve God’s judgment. But God is faithful when we are not.

Let us remember we are chosen, claimed, and tethered by God’s grace.

Whatever obstacle that interferes with your walk with God, remember “We shall not fear the battle if Christ is by our side / nor wander from the pathway if our Redeemer will be our guide [11].”

In the name of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Amen.

Sources Referenced:
[1] “The Face Painter” Seinfeld, episode 109
[2] Benjamin Ramm, “Why You Should Re-Read Paradise Lost,” BBC Culture, April 19, 2017
[3] Kristina Robb Dover, “Reading the Bible for All Its Worth”
[4] The Harper Collins NRSV Study Bible 1989, National Council of Churches of Christ (New York: HarperOne, 2006), annotation note regarding Romans 5: 12-21, p. 1917.
[5] Shirley Guthrie, “Christian Doctrine” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), p. 226.
[6] Numbers 22:22, 32; 1 Chronicles 21:1; 1 Kings 5:18; 1 Kings 11:14,25; Zechariah 3: 1-2; 1 Samuel 29:4; 2 Samuel 19:23; Psalm 109:6; Job 1-2.
[7] Michael Coogan, “A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures” (NY: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 534.
[8] Paul Achtemeier, “Bible Dictionary” (New York: Harper Collins, 1996), definition for Satan.
[9] Shirley Guthrie, “Christian Doctrine” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), p. 180.
[10] John Calvin, “Institutes of the Christian Religion” (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eedrdmans Publishing, 1989), p. 442.
[11] Glory to God, “O Jesus I Have Promised,” (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), hymn No. 724.