Ministering With Both Head & Heart
(Genesis 18:1-15 & 21:1-7; Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19;
Romans 5:1-8; Matthew 9:35-10:23)
 
We begin today with the first verse of the passage from the Gospel According to Matthew:  “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness” (9:35).  This verse describes Jesus ministry while he was on Earth.  He went about all the cities and villages.  He taught in the synagogues.  He proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God.  He cured every disease and sickness.  Jesus, in his person and through his ministry, brought the kingdom of God with him wherever he went. 
 
As he traveled, he saw the crowds and had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (9:36).  The word translated into “compassion” in English means that Jesus felt deeply for the crowds, for the sheep without a shepherd.  The feeling rose out of his gut.  It was a strong feeling.  To be a sheep without a shepherd was a dangerous thing.  You could get lost, attacked by a wolf, or separated from your flock.   Jesus must do something for these shepherdless sheep, because he is Jesus, the Great Shepherd, and he brings the kingdom of God with him wherever he goes.  These sheep must experience life in the kingdom.
 
So Jesus turned to his disciples and asked them to pray to the Lord of the harvest for laborers.  They pray and then become the answer to their own prayer!  He gathers the twelve disciples and commissions them to do the ministry that he does:  to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven has come near, cast out unclean spirits, heal the sick, cure every disease, and, even, raise the dead!  The disciples do not go out into the world to do ministry by their own authority, but by the authority of Jesus.  The power that they hold is not theirs, but God’s.  When the needs of the people are met, it is God who meets their needs, not the disciples.  The disciples are merely the vehicles through which God ministers.
 
Jesus makes it clear that the disciples will meet resistance while ministering to the people.  Some will not welcome them or listen to them.  Others will turn them over to the authorities.  They may be punished or persecuted.  But they are not to worry, for the Spirit will speak through them.
 
The crowds are sheep, but so are the disciples:  Jesus sends them out as sheep in the midst of wolves.  Therefore, they must be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.  As they minister, they must use their heads in order to be wise and discerning, but feel with their hearts in order to be gentle and loving.  They walk a fine line, the line that Jesus walked while on Earth.  Jesus knew how to handle conflict and controversy, but he did so peacefully, with his knowledge of scripture, and compassionately, choosing to heal even when the law forbid it.  The disciples must do the same.  They must minister with both head and heart.
 
You may have noticed that Zombie movies and television shows are popular in the 21st Century.  Of course, the people who think about such things have thought a lot about this.  Why are Zombie shows popular at this time in history?  According to the article, Why We’re So Obsessed With Zombies, [1]

"Many sociologists and critics say that the zombie resurged post-9/11, as the world changed, and thus, our collective anxieties shifted. “Americans no longer felt safe, and at the same time, we had Hurricane Katrina, the avian flu, anthrax scares. Suddenly there was a 5-year period when people in the U.S. felt insecure, and as it so happened, the nature of those insecurities manifested in zombie narratives: Invasion, destruction, apocalypse, infection ... there was this intersection of these influences that made it perfect for the zombie to take over.  People like monsters that manifest the things they're worried about,” Bishop, [author of American Zombie Gothic: The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of the Walking Dead in Popular Culture,] says."
 
Our fears about our world haven’t gone away.  They may have even gotten worse!  We are anxious, worried, afraid, and those things are reflected in the art that we as a society create.  Zombies are the ultimate walking wounded:  They are so wounded, they are dead!  Yet, they still live!  They are the walking dead.  They are the ultimate sheep without a shepherd.  And, they represent we human beings when there is no hope.  I found the following quote from the same article illuminating:

"Central Michigan University Professor Kelly Murphy teaches a course entitled From Revelation to The Walking Dead, which helps students think about how zombies can be used to predict the end of the world.  Says Murphy: 'People have always been concerned about the end of the world.  There are these imaginings of how the world might end.  The ancient apocalyptic texts are hopeful, because we perceive these horrible things, but the end of the world is about recreating.  So when we get to contemporary apocalyptic stuff like zombies, it's interesting to see whether the question of hope does or does not play out.  How long you can stay hopeful?  Is there any hope?'"

Is there any hope?  Yes, of course, for we Christians, there is always hope!  God is always recreating:  Jesus was crucified, but he was, also, resurrected.  We sin, but we are, also, forgiven.  We get sick or wounded, but we are, also, healed.  We die in the flesh, but we, also, live in the Spirit.  There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus!  So, yes, there is hope!
 
It is this Christian hope that Jesus asked his disciples to bring to the suffering sheep, the walking dead of his time.  From God, through Jesus, the disciples carried the kingdom of heaven into the world with them.  Where there was sickness, they brought health.  Where there were demons, they brought angels.  Where there was scarcity, they brought abundance.  Where there was death, they brought life.  Where there was despair, they brought hope.  We, the descendants of the original disciples, are to do the same.  We are able – if we are willing – to carry the kingdom of heaven with us wherever we go.
 
As we carry the kingdom of heaven into the world, we will meet resistance.  The principalities and powers rule through oppression.  They want the walking dead to stay dead, for they are easier to control that way.  When we bring the hope of the kingdom of heaven to the walking dead, they come alive.  They wake up and see that they are oppressed.  That is why oppressive political regimes don’t want the Bible brought to their citizens!  The Bible wakes them up!  Then, they rise up against oppression and seek to extend the kingdom of heaven to others.  
 
The age-old battle between good and evil continues.  If we refuse to get involved in the battle, if we refuse to minister with our heads and hearts, then we side, by default, with the principalities and powers.  Great spiritual leaders throughout history have expressed this:
 
Martin Luther King, Jr.:  “To ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it.”
--“was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using the tactics of nonviolence and civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs and inspired by the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi.
 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer:  “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil:  God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.”
--“was a German pastor, theologian, spy, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have become widely influential, and his book The Cost of Discipleship has become a modern classic.”
 
Edmund Burke:  “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
--“was an Irish statesman born in Dublin, as well as an author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher who, after moving to London, served as a member of parliament (MP) for many years in the House of Commons with the Whig Party.  Burke criticized British treatment of the American colonies, including through its taxation policies. He also supported the American Revolution, believing both that it couldn't affect British or European stability and would be an innovative experiment in political development because the Americas were so far away from Europe and thus could have little impact on England.”
 
Albert Einstein:  “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”
--“was a German-born theoretical physicist.

Kahlil Gibran:  “In battling evil, excess is good; for he who is moderate in announcing the truth is presenting half-truth.  He conceals the other half out of fear of people’s wrath.”
--“was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer of the New York Pen League.”
 
Jawaharlal Nehru:  “Evil unchecked grows; evil tolerated poisons the whole system.”
--“was the first Prime Minister of India and a central figure in Indian politics before and after independence.  He emerged as the paramount leader of the Indian independence movement under the tutelage of Mahatma Gandhi and ruled India from its establishment as an independent nation in 1947 until his death in 1964.”
 
We have no choice but to do as Jesus asks us to do.  We have no choice but to labor in his vineyard, for to not do so is to side with the principalities and powers that work against God.  As Jesus told his original disciples whom he commissioned to minister to the world,  “Those who endure to the end will be saved” (10:22).  And, as Paul wrote to the Roman Christians, we “boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (5:3-5).
 
The kingdom of heaven is near, but there are sheep without a shepherd who need to know and experience this truth.  We, who already know and experience it, are the ones to teach and show them.  We are to minister to them with our heads and our hearts, to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves.  We offer to others the kingdom of heaven.  If they receive our offering, we rejoice.  If they refuse our offering, we move on.  We offer, but we don’t force.  Doing so is both wise and gentle.  And, so, that is what we will do, in Jesus’ name and for God’s glory.  Amen.
 
Sermon preached by Rev. Amy Johnson, Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, Sunday, June 18, 2017, the Second Sunday After Pentecost and Father’s Day.
 
Image from https://www.slideshare.net/karpetheday/head-heart-hand.
Information about historical figures is from Wikipedia.
 
[1] http://mashable.com/2015/03/12/zombie-obsession/#JLZMIH_TOaqf

​In the Image of God
(Genesis 1:1-2:4a; Psalm 8; 2 Corinthian 13:11-13; Matthew 28:16-20)
 
Every week, during our worship service, we sing the Doxology, and many churches also sing the Gloria Patri.  These hymns refer to God as the Father; to God as the Son; and to God as the Holy Ghost.  Every week, we praise and glorify the triune God:  Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit.
 
Even though churches praise the Trinity every week in song, I had never been exposed to a full discussion and exploration of the Trinity until I took in divinity school a class entitled, “The Theological Basis of Structure and Power in Christian Ministry.”  After examining the different ways that we human beings have structured our communities and organizations, we studied the Eastern Orthodox theology of the Trinity.  As I read the required readings, listened to the professors, and participated in discussions, I had an “a-ha” moment.  The Eastern Orthodox theology of the Trinity made complete sense to me.  I said to myself, “Yes, this is the heart of the Christian religion.”  I even came to believe that it was a description of reality and of the way life should be lived.
 
Although it is not celebrated in all churches, there is in the Revised Common Lectionary a worship day set aside to focus on the Doctrine of the Trinity.  This day is called “Trinity Sunday.”  It is the only  worship day designed to celebrate a doctrine.  Christmas, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost all commemorate historic events, but Trinity Sunday commemorates a doctrine.  You won’t find the doctrine of the Trinity in the Bible.  Jesus never preached on the doctrine of the Trinity, and neither did his apostles.  The doctrine of the Trinity was developed over the 400-500 years after Jesus’ ascension as his followers struggled with the revelation that Jesus was Immanuel, God with us, and that the Holy Spirit was the Spirit of God.  So, if it isn’t in the Bible, and it was developed by Jesus’ followers over a long period of time, why is it important?
 
It’s important because it’s the uniquely Christian way to understand and talk about God.  It’s important because the experience of Jesus’ first followers and the testimony of the Bible force Christians to wrestle with the divinity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  And, as we shall see, it’s important because it reveals to us the nature of God and the nature of humans as those made in the image of God.
 
First, though, some history:  As I said, the doctrine of the Trinity was developed over a long period of time by early Christians as they wrestled with apparently contradictory convictions.
 
The first conviction is that there is only one God.  God had revealed to the patriarchs of the Old Testament that there was only one God, the God of Israel, their God.  The first commandment of the ten commandments states that, “’I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me'” (Ex 20:2-3).  Moses tells the people of Israel, “Hear, O Israel:  The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Dt 6:4-5).  Jesus repeats Moses’ words when asked which commandment is the greatest.  And in the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul affirms that “there is no God but one.”  The early Christians and their Jewish ancestors were monotheists – they believed that there is one God, and only one God.
 
But then there was Jesus!  His followers saw him do God-like things.  They saw him heal people.  They heard him speak “as one with authority” (Mt 7:29, etc.).  They heard him forgive sins. They heard him say, “I and the Father are one” (Jn 10:30); “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9); “I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (Jn 14:11).  They witnessed the resurrection and the ascension.  They came to believe that this Jesus was no ordinary man, but God incarnate.  This was their second conviction.
 
Finally, there was the Holy Spirit.  Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to his disciples, saying “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.  This is the Spirit of truth . . .” (Jn 14:16-17).  The disciples received the Holy Spirit when they were gathered together for Pentecost.  They experienced the power of the Holy Spirit throughout their ministry.  They understood the Holy Spirit to be the Spirit of God, sustaining them, inspiring them, and empowering them to do God’s work in the world.  This was their third conviction.
 
After their experience of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the followers of Jesus began to understand that – in some way – God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were intimately connected.  Paul expressed the seeds of this understanding in the closing to his second letter to the Corinthians, where he writes, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor. 13:11-13).  This is the earliest expression of what is called the “trinitarian formula.”
 
But this understanding didn’t come into its maturity until the fourth and fifth centuries after the birth of Jesus.  It took time for the early Christians to put the contradictory pieces together. It was confusing!  Were there actually three Gods?  That couldn’t be, because we already know that there is only one God.  What if God the Father is the most important God, and the Son and the Holy Spirit are lesser gods?  No, there’s only one God.  Well, what if the one God takes on different personalities at different times, kind of like someone with multiple personalities:  the same God, but in different roles?  But that would mean that while Jesus, God the Son, was on earth, God the Father wasn’t in heaven because he had morphed into God the Son and was on earth!  That wouldn’t work!  Jesus prayed to the Father while he was on earth, and the Spirit came to Jesus while he was on earth, so, clearly, they all exist at the same time. 
 
Every way that they tried to understand the phenomenon of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit violated one of their convictions.  The only answer was that the one God consisted of three persons simultaneously.  God, the Creator, the one Jesus and we call Father; God the Redeemer, the one the Father calls Son and we call Jesus; and God the Sustainer, the one Jesus called the Spirit of Truth and we call the Holy Spirit.  Each is unique, but each is also inextricably bound to the others in love.  They are unity in diversity, bound by love.
 
We have a word to describe this kind of relationship.  That word is “communion.”  The dictionary definition of communion is, “An act or instance of sharing, as of thoughts or feelings.”[1]  The three persons of the Trinity exist together in communion, which means that they share completely with one another even while they remain uniquely themselves.  This is what we mean when we say that God is love (1 Jn 4:8).  One theologian put it this way:  “Divine Love is a fearless vulnerability to the other, a readiness to receive all things as well as to give all things (1 Cor. 13). . . .  [It is] a complete sharing, a mutual indwelling.”[2]  This describes the relationship of the three Persons of the Trinity.
 
The love that is within God is expressed in creation.  God created the world and its inhabitants out of love.  We’re created in the image of God, which means that we’re created to be in communion with God, with each other, and with all of creation.  We’re each uniquely ourselves, but at the same time we’re inextricably bound to God, to each other, and to all of creation.  This is why Jesus could say, “just as you did it to one of the least of these . . .  you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).  When you gave food to someone who was hungry, you gave me food.  When you gave water to someone who was thirsty, you gave me water.  When you welcomed the stranger, you welcomed me.  And so on.  This is the reality of our nature.  When we deny that reality, we sin.  When we don’t honor our interconnectedness, we sin.  We become separated from God, one another, and the rest of creation and that is sin.  As Paul the apostle said, “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23).  When we don’t honor our interconnectedness, we either kill someone or something else, or we die ourselves.  Even if we don’t die physically, we die spiritually.  But when we honor our interconnectedness, God’s creation – both human and non-human – thrives.
 
This reality – that we are created to be in communion – can be dramatically illustrated.  A now famous series of experiments was performed by psychologist Harry F. Harlow in the late 1950's.  The experiments were designed to explore the importance – or non-importance – of the primary physical and emotional bond between an infant and its mother.  Harlow performed the experiments with baby monkeys.  The infant monkeys were separated from each other and put in individual cages.  Each cage held two surrogate mothers:  a wire mother and a cloth mother.  In some of the cages the wire mothers had a bottle from which the infant monkeys could feed; in the other cages the cloth mothers had a bottle from which the infant monkeys could feed.  Even though some of the cloth mothers couldn't feed the baby monkeys, all of the baby monkeys preferred the cloth mother over the wire mother, and came to treat their cloth mothers as real mothers.  When a scary mechanical toy was put into each cage, each baby monkey ran to it's cloth mother – rather than its wire mother – for support and comfort, and the presence and availability of the cloth mother enabled the babies to bravely face the scary toy.  The results of Harlow's experiments attested to the importance of bodily contact and comfort in forming the attachment of an infant to its mother. 
 
In another experiment, four monkeys were put into cages without any surrogate mother.  Although their physical needs for food and water were met, their emotional needs were not.  This initial emotional deprivation proved to have long-term effects.  These monkeys did not learn how to attach emotionally to other monkeys, nor did they learn normal social behavior.  Those that became mothers themselves later on were either negligent or abusive.[3] 
 
Harlow's experiments illustrated the fact that monkeys are created to be in close physical and emotional relationships with other monkeys.  Deprived of such relationships in infancy, monkeys are unable to be in healthy relationships with other monkeys.  A colleague of Harlow's has said that the theme of his work is that, “You were not really a monkey unless you were raised in an interactive monkey environment.”[4]
 
It turns out that Harlow was onto something essential when he set out to study the importance of primary relationships.  A number of years ago, psychologists and psychiatrists discovered a phenomenon among orphans from Albania adopted into American families.  Because of the wartime conditions of Albania, orphanages were understaffed.  Orphans received food and clothing but – as with the four monkeys deprived of a surrogate mother in Harlow's experiments –  they received little or no affection from their caretakers.  As a result, they developed an emotional disorder, now known as attachment disorder.  They had difficulty forming attachments with other people and feeling sympathy and empathy.  They simply hadn’t learned how to do these things because they hadn’t had physical and emotional relationships with their caregivers when they were infants and toddlers.  They had been denied the normal, human interaction between a caregiver and an infant, and they had suffered the consequences.  If Harlow were to comment on the phenomenon of these orphans, he might say, “We are not really human unless we have been raised in an interactive human environment.”  (Of course, any child can be at risk of attachment disorder if denied normal, human interaction with a caregiver; it just so happened that the phenomenon made itself known among Albanian war orphans, because war creates the circumstances in which it is difficult to care for children properly.)
 
We have to receive and give love in order to live.  We have to be fearlessly vulnerable, ready to receive and ready to give.  That’s the reality of our nature.  We’re made in the image of God, and God is Love.  The doctrine of the Trinity reveals this reality to us.  That is why it is so important to talk about.  When we know the nature of reality, we can honor it and thrive, growing in our love of God, each other, and all of creation. 
 
That’s why I think the early Christians who struggled to make sense of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit were inspired.  They were inspired by the Holy Spirit to put the pieces of God’s revelation together and discern the nature of reality – God’s reality and our reality.  Let us recognize, understand, and honor that reality.  Even more, let us live that reality.  Let us be real people, real Christians, infused by the power of the Holy Spirit to live as God intended, smack dab in the middle of the messiness and the glory of interactive human community.  For when we embrace that interconnected mess and glory, we are truly human and truly the church.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.
 
Sermon preached by the Rev. Amy Johnson at the Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, Sunday, June 11, 2017, Trinity Sunday.
 


[1]“Communion.”  In The American Heritage Dictionary, Second College Edition.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991, 299.

[2] Dorothy and Gabriel Fackre.  Christian Basics:  A Primer for Pilgrims.  Grand Rapids:  William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991, 143.

[3]http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/archive/HarlowLIM.htm

[4]http://whyfiles.org/087mother/4.html

When the Spirit Is Present
(Acts 2:1-21)
 
We are blessed in the American Baptist Churches to be a very culturally diverse denomination.  When I attend denominational events, I experience all kinds of worship services – African American, Hispanic, Asian, Native American – worship services that are nothing like the traditionally white, New England worship services that I am familiar with.  It is both an enlightening and a disquieting experience to attend a worship service markedly different from that which you are used to.
 
This was brought home to me when a friend of mine attended a denominational event and was exposed for the first time to a Hispanic worship service.  When the pastor preached, he was loud and expressive, larger than life.  The music and the singing were also very energetic, loud and expressive.  There was a band with an electric guitar and drums and microphones. The service was filled with sound and energy.
 
This type of worship service can be a little overwhelming the first time it is experienced.  And that is what my friend felt: a little overwhelmed.  She began to think that if that’s what the Holy Spirit looks and feels like, then the services she was used to, which are quieter and more contained, must not be filled with the Holy Spirit.
 
I can understand the way she felt.  I had felt something like that when I had first attended the worship services of people of other cultures.  While others around me were lifting their hands in the air to praise Jesus, and were responding to the preacher with “Amen” and “Hallelujah” and “Yes, Lord Jesus, yes” I began to feel like there was something wrong with me.  How come I wasn’t moved to lift my hands in the air and shout?  Did I not feel the Holy Spirit?  Was I spiritually dead?  Had my culture lost its connection to the Spirit?  Was that why we were quieter and more contained when we worshipped?
 
I thought about this for some time and I finally came to the conclusion that the Holy Spirit expresses itself in countless ways.  Energy and movement aren’t the only ways to feel and respond to the Spirit.  I thought about the centuries of monastic worship, which is meditative and contemplative.  If you’ve ever read what the medieval monks and nuns wrote or if you’ve ever listened to the music they sang you know without a doubt that they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
 
What I began to understand is that the Spirit of God is extremely flexible.  It’s like the consummate traveler and the ideal guest.  It can go anywhere and fit in everywhere.  “You have a lively culture?  Then I’ll be lively.  You have a quiet culture?  Then I’ll be quiet.  I’ll come into your culture, and your church, and your family, and your mind in whatever way I can.  It’s not important how I get there, just that I get there.”
 
That’s the beauty of the Spirit of God:  It makes no distinctions.  God loves everyone and wants to be with everyone.  There is not one way that the Holy Spirit expresses itself – there are countless ways.
 
So, if the Holy Spirit can express itself in countless ways, how do we know when it is present?  If we consider the scripture passage I read today, we will discover that there is one clear sign when32 the Spirit was present.  In the passage, Peter states, “The Spirit told me to go with the [three men sent from Caesarea] and not to make a distinction between them and us (Acts 11:12).”  The “them” in this case would be the Gentiles, and the “us” would be the Jews.   At that time, it was considered “unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile (Acts 10:28).”  Even though this was the case, God had shown Peter, through a dream, that he should not call anyone profane or unclean (Acts 10:28).  So Peter went with the Gentiles to the home of a Gentile and, while he was preaching to them about Jesus, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were there and they were baptized.
 
When Peter arrived in Jerusalem after this astonishing event, the Jewish Christians criticized him for going to Gentiles and eating with them.  But Peter was very clear about what God had been doing through him and the Gentiles:  He knew, without a doubt, that God was breaking down the barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles.  Peter was not to make a distinction between Jews and Gentiles, and neither was anyone else to make that distinction.  What we learn from this story is that when the Spirit is present the barriers that separate us from each other break down.
 
Often, there are barriers between the different kinds of Christians.  Liberal Christians and fundamentalist Christians are often uncomfortable with each other.  Intellectual Christians and emotional Christians are often uncomfortable with each other.  Rich Christians and poor Christians are often uncomfortable with each other.  Along with the discomfort there can be criticism.  You’re different than I am and that makes me uncomfortable and so I criticize you.  You make me nervous, and so I separate myself from you. I create a barrier between us to protect myself because I don’t trust you because you’re different than me.
 
When the Spirit is present those barriers break down.  We feel the Spirit of God, which makes no distinctions among us, and that Spirit begins to infiltrate our minds, and hearts, and bodies, almost like a drug – a drug that wipes away the discomfort and the fear and the criticism and the barriers.  We begin to think, and feel, and see with the mind, and the heart, and the eyes of God.  We begin to know, and feel, and see the truth – the truth that we are really no different from each other.  We are all human beings.  We all experience the joys and the sorrows of being human.  We all experience the love and loss, health and sickness, abundance and scarcity, birth and death of the human condition.  And we all need others to rejoice or to weep with us when we rejoice or weep.  We need sisters and brothers to walk the journey of life with us.  When the Spirit is present we understand and feel and see the unity that exists underneath all of those barriers we’ve constructed between us.  And we let the barriers go.  And we are united into the family of God that we are already but that we just haven’t been able to recognize.
 
It doesn’t really matter how the Spirit expresses itself – loud or quiet, energetic or calm, with the openness of a dog or with the stealth of a cat – it just matters that it does express itself:  that it moves among us, dissolving the barriers we’ve constructed, allowing us to see our essential connectedness as members of God’s family, walking in this world together in joy and in sorrow, in health and in sickness, in richness and in poverty, for better or worse, until death us do part and we await the time when we will meet again in God’s kingdom when it comes in its fullness.  So let us revel in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, as it moves among us and in us and through us, by the grace and for the glory of God.  Amen.
 
 
Sermon preached by the Rev. Amy Johnson, Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, Sunday, June 4, 2017, Pentecost Sunday.

Feet on the Ground, Eyes Raised to Heaven, Hands Clasped in Prayer, Hearts filled with Praise
(Acts 1:1-14; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53)
 
As I studied the history of Christianity and the church while in divinity school in the 1990s, I formed the opinion that the church and society in the late 20th Century was similar, in many ways, to the early church and society in the 1st Century A.D. in the Roman Empire.  Just like society in the USA in the late 20th – and now in the 21st – Century, society in the 1st Century Roman Empire was multicultural, multireligious, and multiracial.  The Roman Empire had made it possible to travel more easily, so different cultures, religions, and races came into contact with one another.  Christianity was new, the Christian church was just being formed, and it wasn’t the dominant religion or culture in the known world.  As a matter of fact, the early church was often persecuted due to misunderstanding about its practices (some thought Christians were cannibals because they ate the body and drank the blood of Jesus) or because Christians would not proclaim Caesar as Lord.
 
The story of Jesus’ ascension into heaven and the disciples’ response highlights another similarity between the church and society then and today.   The disciples had been through a lot in their three years with Jesus:  He had called them to be his disciples and they had followed him.  They had journeyed with him for three years of preaching, teaching, healing, and conflict.  They had witnessed his betrayal, arrest, trial, conviction, crucifixion, and burial.  They had been shocked by his resurrection.  They had enjoyed “extra” time (time after death) with him while they continued to learn from him. 
 
After all of this, at the end of 40 days from the resurrection, they gathered with Jesus, and he told them to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit baptized them as the Father had promised would happen.  The disciples wondered if this was the time when Jesus would restore the kingdom to Israel.   Jesus replied, "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). 
 
After he had said this, while they were watching, he was taken up into heaven and disappeared in a cloud from their sight.  Well, of course, the disciples stood gaping at Jesus while he was being lifted up, and continued to gape after he disappeared in a cloud.  I mean, it’s not every day that you see someone lifted up into heaven and disappear in a cloud.  One minute they were conversing with Jesus; the next, he was miraculously traveling into the sky until he disappeared.  Can’t you just picture the disciples staring into the sky, mouths open, shocked and surprised?
 
They didn’t have long to be shocked and surprised, however, because soon two angels appeared (men wearing white robes who appear suddenly are always angels in the Bible) and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?  This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11).  In other words:  “Hey, he’s gone and isn’t coming back for a while.  Stop standing there like you think something else is going to happen right now.  Get back to your disciple work!”
 
So they went back to Jerusalem to the upper room where they had been staying and were in constant prayer along with the Mary, his mother, his brother, and the women.  They were, also, continually in the temple blessing God according to the Gospel According to Luke (Lk 24:53).  So, they were either praying together in the upper room or blessing God together in the temple. 
 
This story is similar to our story as Jesus’ disciples today.   Christianity has been the dominant religion in America since its founding.  It has also been the dominant religion in the Western world since Constantine declared it to be legal in the 4th Century.  Christendom existed, therefore, from the 4th Century to the mid-20th Century.  Christianity was woven into the fabric of society so much so that those who were not Christian were often persecuted in some way, shape, or form.  Some of the worst events in the history of Christianity happened because Christians were in power and could use their power to oppress and persecute, something I don’t think Jesus would have wanted us to do, seeing that he is the servant savior who died on a cross to break the power of sin and evil.
 
We who have grown up as church-going Christians in America are used to Christianity and church being woven into the fabric of society in our country.  Until the mid-to-late 20th Century, going to church was just what you did if you were an upstanding citizen of your town or city and country.  Parents were deacons, or elders, or serving on a church board or committee, or singing in the choir, or teaching Sunday School, or leading the Youth Group or any combination of these things.  Children were expected and required to go to church.  There was nothing else taking place on Sunday mornings.  After church, families had big Sunday dinners.  Life looked like it does in Norman Rockwell paintings. 
 
But, our society has changed, which means that church in our society has changed.  Even though Christianity is still the dominant religion in America, church attendance, particularly in Mainline Protestant churches – which is what we are as American Baptists – is shrinking on a continuing basis.  We, like the disciples as they watched Jesus disappear into the sky, are left standing and gaping as we watch our Mainline Protestant churches shrink.  They have not disappeared fully, yet, but the trend is unmistakable.  And so we watch, stupefied.
 
The angels come to us today through the scriptures to ask us why we stand staring as our churches disappear.  They remind us that we need to stop staring and get back to our disciple work, which, at this moment, is to remain where we are, constantly praying to God and continually blessing God while we await the Holy Spirit’s inspiration and guidance about what the Church will be in its next iteration.
 
A friend of mine – a retired American Baptist clergywoman – posted a quote by Phyllis Tickle on her Facebook page this week, which states, “Christianity isn’t going to die!  It just birthed out a new tributary to the river.  Christianity is reconfiguring.  It’s almost going through another adolescence.  And it’s going to come out a better, more mature adult.  There’s no question about that.”  Tickle is no longer living, but she was a teacher, professor, academic dean, publisher, author, and Episcopalian Christian.  She concerned herself with the changes in Christianity in America and its future.  She looked to the past, also, to understand the transformations that had occurred in Christianity throughout history.  She believed that about every 500 years, Christianity would go through a major change.  According to an article written by Kyle Roberts for the online magazine Patheos:
 
Tickle kicks the book off with her metaphor of the “Rummage Sale.”  The state of Christianity today is akin to cleaning out your attic, discerning the still-useful from the not-so-useful.  Deciphering sentimental memorabilia from cluttering junk.  What should be kept?  What should be sold?  Who gets to decide?
 
Tickle says that if we look back in history, we see these Rummage Sales occurring about every 500 years.  500 years ago takes us to the Great Reformation . . .  500 years from the Reformation takes us to the Great Schism, when Eastern and Western Christianity bid adieu with a not-so-fond farewell.  500 years from then takes us back to Gregory the Great and the tumultuous times of the so-called Dark Ages.
 
[H]er point is that the history of Christianity (like the history of all great religions and movements) has within it longer periods of (relative) stability marked by starker transition moments that blossom out into something new and different. . . .
 
Tickle says that in our day Christianity is in the middle of a paradigm shift into what she calls the “Great Emergence.”. . .  Tickle notices that Christianity on the whole is changing–as the ground underneath it gives way, forcing the issue of . . . adaptation to new models, new morals, [and] new ways of doing church and faith.  Some changes might be radical; others are refined modifications.[1]
 
Tickle is only one voice among the many that concern themselves with the future of Christianity.  However, when I read her quote on my friend’s Facebook page, it gave me hope.  As a Christian and a pastor, I am concerned, of course, about the future of Christianity and the future of this little ol’ church here: our own beloved Canton Community Baptist Church.  I have to deal with my anxiety about the future of my religion and my church on a regular basis.  Tickle’s writing, however, reminds me that we are part of just one era in the history of the development of Christianity.  Christianity has gone through other crises and survived.  It will do so again.  Of that, we can be sure, because, as the Letter to the Ephesians states, “God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.  And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (1:20-23).  However, it is not for us “to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). 
 
Even though it is challenging to be living during a time of crisis in our religion and to not know what the future holds for us, it is also a privilege:  We are witnesses of the new thing God is doing.  John F. Kennedy once said, “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.'  One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity.  In a crisis, be aware of the danger – but recognize the opportunity.”  It is our job as Jesus’ disciples during this crisis in our religion to be aware of the danger to it, but to, also, recognize the opportunity for it to become what God wants it to be in this day and age.  The way that we do both things is to pray constantly and bless God continually, like those first disciples who watched their Lord and Savior be lifted up and away from them and disappear in a cloud.  They returned to their dwelling place and their temple to pray constantly and bless God continually.  We are to do the same.  We are to stand with our feet on the ground, our eyes raised to heaven, our hands clasped in prayer, and our hearts filled with praise.  In time, the Holy Spirit will lead us to the next step.   
 
In the meantime, let us pray with Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give [us] a spirit of wisdom and revelation as [we] come to know him, so that, with the eyes of [our] heart[s] enlightened, [we] may know what is the hope to which he has called [us], what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power” (1:17-19).  Amen.
 
 
Sermon preached by the Rev. Amy Johnson at the Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, May 28, 2017, the Seventh Sunday of Easter and the Ascension of the Lord.
 

[1] http://www.patheos.com/blogs/unsystematictheology/2015/09/r-i-p-phyllis-tickle-prophet-of-the-great-emergence/

Spiritual Sacrifices[1]

(1 Peter 2:5, John 4:19-26)
 
Two weeks ago, I preached about the characteristics of a successful church based on the description of the first church in the Acts of the Apostles.  These six characteristics are Bible study, fellowship, communion, prayer, worship, and generosity.
 
Last week, I preached about the priesthood of all believers.  Jesus Christ, through his life, death, and resurrection once and for all did away with the separation between God and human beings.  We have no need of priests separate from all believers because Jesus as high priest is all we need.  Together we are a holy priesthood who are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
 
This week, I’m going to focus on the phrase “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God” from 1 Peter 2:5.  This three-sermon series started with the characteristics of a successful church according to the first church, then moved inward to the role of the members of a church as priests, and will move inward again to what those members of a church do to grow as disciples.  We began with the church, moved inward to the role of the members as a whole, and will now move inward, again, to what the members do as individuals of a church.
 
1 Peter 2:5 states, “[Y]ou also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  We members of this church are like living stones being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood.  We are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  So, what are the spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God that we as disciples of Jesus Christ are supposed to be offering to God? 
 
It turns out that there are different opinions about this topic.  I did a little research and discovered that different people have differing ideas about what spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God are.  I found one article, though, that I thought was more thorough than the others, written by the Rev. P. G. Matthew.  I will share with you what Rev. Matthew believes are spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, our high priest.
 
1) Self-consecration:  We are to dedicate ourselves to the service of God.  The first commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Mt. 22:37).  
#568  Take My Life and Let It Be, verse 1
 
2) Obedience:  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  Psalm 40:6-8 says, “Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear.  Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, ‘Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me.  I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart’.”  Jonathan Edwards wrote, “Christians, by offering obedience to God in their lives and conversation, do what the apostle calls offering their bodies to be a living sacrifice…”.[2]
#584  Have Thine Own Way, Lord, verse 1
 
3) Praise:  We are to praise God continually.  Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through [Jesus], then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.
#77  Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, verse 1
 
4) Prayer:  1 Thessalonions 5:17 exhorts Christians to “pray without ceasing.”  Psalm 141:2 presents the beautiful image of our prayers rising like incense to God:  “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you . . .” .
#623  Sweet Hour of Prayer, Sweet Hour of Prayer, verse 1
 
5) Sharing of treasure, both with those inside the church and with those outside the church:  Hebrews 13:16 says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”  Galatians 6:10, says, “So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.”  And let us not forget Matthew 25:37-40:  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?  And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”  And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me’.”
#429  Let Your Heart Be Broken, verse 1
 
6)  Ministerial and missionary support:  “The Philippian church shared their material goods with their minister and missionary, Paul. Their gifts were ‘a fragrant offering [to God], an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God’ (Ph 4:18).  [When] Christians are faithful in this sacrificial service, ministers [are] well-supported and missionary enterprise[s] flourish.”[3]
#721  Shine, Jesus, Shine, verse 1
 
7)  Witnessing:  The reading from 1 Peter from last week states, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (9).  Share with others what you have found in God.
#498  I Love to Tell the Story, verse 1
 
8)  Family life:  After the giving of the commandment to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might,” Moses told the Hebrew people, “Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart.  Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.  Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (Dt 6:6-9).  Pass on your faith to your children.  Nurture in them a love of God and a sense of the sacred.
#764  We Give This Child to You, all verses
 
9) Work:  Everything we do is to glorify God, including our professional work.  Luther said, “If a person was justified by faith in Christ, then . . . any work was God’s work, whether it was ploughing the field, milling the corn, sweeping the house, or bringing up children.”[4]  Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters . . .”.
#644  God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending, verse 2
 
10) Death:  When we die, we are to die in faith.  2 Timothy 4:6-8 says, “As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
#687  Shall We Gather at the River, verse 1
 
These, then, are the things we, as priests, can do to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.  God at work in us enables us to do these things.  As we turn our will and our lives over to God, God’s power is enabled to work in and through us to glorify him and to do his will on earth.  “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever” (Eph 3:20).  Amen.
 
Sermon preached by the Rev. Amy Johnson at the Canton Community Baptist Church, Canton, CT, Sunday, May 21, 2017, the Sixth Sunday of Easter.


[1] Matthew, P. G.  “The Priesthood of All Believers,” 1996, http://www.gracevalley.org/articles/Priesthood.html

[2] Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards , Vol. 2 (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1986), 943.

[3] Matthew, P. G.  “The Priesthood of All Believers,” 1996, http://www.gracevalley.org/articles/Priesthood.html

[4] James Atkinson in Service in Christ, ed. James I. McCord and T.H.L. Parker (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966), 84.