Look at the World (Thanksgiving Sermon)

So much to be thankful for… the 125th anniversary celebration, new carpeting and a new look to the front of our already-beautiful sanctuary, young families involved in new and renewed ministries. Like you, sometimes I don’t feel thankful. But when I slow down long enough to be aware of everything and aware—once again—that it all comes from God, then my heart leaps. We hosted the community-wide Thanksgiving Service in our sanctuary on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. Some have requested copies of the sermon—particularly the story about the turkeys from Ann Kansfield… So here you are...

Look at the World (excerpts)

By Rev. Randal K. Lubbers

With notes on 3x5 cards and scribbles on legal pads accumulated over the last few weeks, I sat down to actually type this sermon out. Where to begin? Staring at the blank screen I typed:  Ferguson, Missouri.

And you may wonder what that might have to do with your Thanksgiving or mine, but I couldn't help but think:  I wonder what Thanksgiving will be like for people in Ferguson-- for Michael Brown's family and friends, for police officers families, for the families of shopkeepers and business owners and school teachers and children--black and white but especially black who feel oppressed and overlooked and voice-less and, perhaps, not feeling very thankful. And if you think this has nothing to do with us or if you just "want it all to go away" then I think you need to re-look at the world and those who are the last and least in it....  

You see, I don't think we can be truly grateful people unless we “give a hoot” about those who are in need. Jesus did not teach you or me to pray, “Give us this day my daily bread”—rather, Jesus taught us to pray for “our daily bread.” So I pray not just my own family, not just my own church, not just my own community, not just my own nation, not just people who look like me… But we pray for OUR daily bread—that all of God’s
children will have food to eat and homes and freedom from oppression….

The reading we heard from James tonight reminds us: Caring for orphans and widows, offering a heart of compassion and the tangible too—a cup of cold water given in Christ’s name—this is what pure gratitude looks like—this is what it means to truly give thanks. Too often those of us blessed with advantages and privileges pray, “Thank you, God, for all these many blessing you have given us” with the unspoken assumption that “God helps those who help themselves.” But God contradicts this truism in Deuteronomy, saying: “Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’” God’s giving is always prior to any of our acts of gratitude.

I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s only after I figure that out—that it was all God’s doing, not mine—only then can I grasp how amazing God’s benefits truly are. When our hearts are humble (because “it wasn’t by my power or the strength of my own work”) then we can, as the anthem says,

Look at the world, everything all around us
Look at the world and marvel every day.
Look at the world: so many joys and wonders,
So many miracles along our way

A pastor and colleague of mine had one of those miracle experiences this last week. Rev. Ann Kansfield is pastor of a church in the Greenpoint neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. She tells the story this way:

Each year a business in Greenpoint donates a bunch of turkeys to us in honor of the local police precinct.  Here's how it works: the cops call, ask how many birds we need. Usually they insist that we need more. Then the business calls and schedules a drop off. This year it was 30 turkeys. Yesterday they dropped of 80 turkeys. I figured they upped our number, no big deal. I had just gotten a call from a colleague that they needed more turkeys for their community meal, so I say come by and get them; we got extra. I give him 40 (and the other 10 were given to an organization that works with immigrants). When he picks them up, he says that the 50 turkeys he planned on getting somehow went missing. Today I get a call from turkey delivery guy that they made a horrible mistake and dropped off too many birds. I'm freaking out because I've already given away the extras to folks who needed them. Delivery guy is freaking out because he's missing 50 birds. Then I asked him which organization was supposed to receive the missing turkeys...turns out, it was my colleague's church. I explained to the delivery guy that we had already pretty much solved his problem by sharing the excess with an organization in need.

The miracle of the feeding of the 5000 was really about distribution and not just multiplication. Living into the vision of the day when sharing by all means scarcity for none.

To say that in a different way, when I take the first bite of turkey my heart should not only thank those
who roasted and carved the bird and prepared the meal…. But my heart MUST go out to those who are hungry. 

Give us this day… our daily bread.

Paraphrasing John Calvin (of all people) from a quotation in Space for God by Don Postema...

Sometimes I am almost overwhelmed with such great and bountiful outpourings of God’s kindness and generosity… Sometimes I feel almost surrounded because, wherever I turn my eyes, there and there and there again—such numerous and amazing miracles of God’s hand. How can I ever say, oh, I can’t think of anything? I am never without items for what often turns into a long, long list of things for which I must give God praise and thanksgiving.

So... Let's make space in our busy lives for God... let's pause long enough... To...

Look at the world... everything and everyone all around us.
Look long enough to be overwhelmed.
And then, in your own way, give thanks and praise to God!

Domestic Violence Awareness (Sunday 10/12/2014)

Sermon and a portion of the order of service...


First Presbyterian Church
"A House of Prayer for All Peoples"
Lake Crystal, Minnesota
Sunday, October 12, 2014

“HOPE & RESTORATION”

AN ORDER FOR MORNING PRAYER FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS ǂ

Leader: O Lord, open my lips;
People: And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Leader: If God be for us, who can be against us?
People: There is nothing in all creation
that can separate us from the love of God,
which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.

PSALM 51:1-2, 10-12

UNISON PRAYER
Compassionate and Gracious God, forgive what our lips tremble to name. Free us from a past we cannot change. Break the chains that bind us. We admit that though You have called us to love others as ourselves, we often ignore cries for help, sit in judgment of others, and wait for someone else to do justice. Be merciful to us, O God; open our ears to your Holy Spirit, stir us to action, and awaken us from complacency. Help us to reflect the Spirit of Jesus, who brought hope to the anguished and restoration to all he touched. Amen.

Psalm 6 & 11 from Swallow’s Nest: A Feminine Reading of the Psalms by Marchiene Vroon Rienstra © 1992 Eerdmans Publishing.

PSALM 6 [This might be the prayer of a woman who was raped]
Leader: Have mercy on me, O God, for I am very weak.
Heal me, El Shaddai, for my bones ache with anguish
and my soul is filled with turmoil.
People: O God, when will You deliver me from my despair?
For mercy’s sake, come soon to me and save me!
If I die, how can I gratefully remember You?
If I stay in this dreadful pit, how can I praise You?
I am sick with sighing, and every night I soak my sheets with tears.
My face is wet with weeping, and my eyes are hollow with grief.
The attack on me has made me grow old.
Depart from me, all you who would do me evil!
For God has heard the sound of my sorrow.
She has heard my pleas, and accepts me as I am.
All who have hurt me shall know shame and trouble.
Dishonor will fall on their heads.

PSALM 11 [This might be the prayer of an abused woman against her inner enemies –
despair, fear, a sense of worthlessness]
Leader: How can you say to my soul, “Fly away, like a bird, to the mountains”?
There is no easy escape from the inner attacks of darkness.
People: The arrows of fear pierce my heart.
The foundation of my self-esteem is destroyed.
How can I be upright, or do what I need to do?
Yet God is within my body, which is Her holy temple.
She also dwells in the heavens and sees us, tests us all.
Though She lets those with integrity endure many trials,
Her soul hates those who love violence.
She will send fire and brimstone and a scorching wind
To destroy the despair that attacks me.
Leader: For God is loving and just, and always does what is right.
Those who act with integrity shall surely behold Her face.

*PSALM 40 “I Waited Patiently for God” From Lift Up Your Hearts; tune: NEW BRITAIN

GOSPEL LESSON: Matthew 18:21-35 Pew Bible: NT p. 20

SERMON “Hope and Restoration” 

(manuscript)
Heidelberg Catechism series: Lord’s Day 51
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors”

“Forgiving is for people who know their own faults but who recognize a wrong and dare to name it when they feel it done to them and have the wisdom and grace to forgive it” (Smedes, p. 85).

Introduction:  Ad lib. Did Jesus really mean what he said?

We are inclined to separate God’s Forgiveness (of us) and Our Reconciling Behavior in association with those who have offended (harmed, hurt, sinned against) us. And yet, the last three petitions of the Lord’s Prayer call us to pray not only for our own needs but for the needs of others: asking for OUR daily bread, OUR forgiveness, OUR salvation.

True forgiveness of others is hard because of “our habit of always seeing the guilt predominately on the other side, while being inclined to see our own side in a favorable light, to justify it and defend it against the other, even in the most hopeless case…” (Eberhard Busch) As a rule is was, in our view, clearly the other side in which the evil began.

Example… Illustration… two brothers in the back seat on a road trip…
Siblings always say, “HE started it!"

Ad lib:  "Pardon me" vs. Forgiving the unforgivable

So, in a situation of IRRECONCILIABILITY, we pray “forgive us OUR sins,” that is, “for the sake of Christ’s blood, do not charge to us miserable sinners our many transgressions, nor the evil which still always clings to us” (Heidelberg Catechism). Doing this…
• Reverses the accusing finger and directs it first of all at ourselves
• Puts us in the “camp of the enemy” and allows us, enables us by grace to see the “other” as a human being
• Lewis Smedes outlines three stages of forgiveness: We rediscover the HUMANITY of the person who wronged us…. we surrender our right to get even (this is really the act of forgiveness)… and, finally, we wish that person well…

Forgiving others acknowledges that it is GOD who is able to overcome the situation of irreconcilability. Reconciliation with one another is inseparable with our reconciliation with God.

Yet, we must be CRYSTAL CLEAR….God’s reconciliation does not suspend justice. It upholds it. It does not say that wrong is right. It condemns injustices.

Illustration: Ad lib story from Lewis Smedes

Lewis Smedes: To FORGIVE a person is NOT a signal that you are willing TO PUT UP WITH what he/she does. Forgiving is not about letting people get away with something. “Let it be shouted once more, from the roof this time: Forgiving a person does not mean that we tolerate what that person is doing to hurt us. Forgiving does not turn us into mush” (Smedes, The Art of Forgiving, p. 159).

Busch: “There are actually situations of guilt in which one side is the guilty one and the other side is the
one that is suffering. In this case it would be vexingly wrong for the guilty one to say: we are all sinners and all need forgiveness. This would mean that the victims have also themselves to blame for their fate, and so would make light of the guilt of the guilty and hurt their victims anew” (Busch, Drawn to Freedom, p. 346).

Forgiving does not mean that we tolerate the WRONG committed against us. Forgiving doesn’t take the edge off the evil that was done to us, it doesn’t mean that we excuse the guilty party or surrender our right to justice. And forgiving and its timetable is up to the person who has been injured. And only her.

Remember what we talked about a few weeks ago? You are God’s dearly loved children—so be truly what you have been named by God. Be salt and light. By being God-colors in the world, by being the taste of godliness in the world, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, our generous Father in heaven. We cannot do that when we’re looking to exact vengeance, right?  Yes, anger can be healthy. It moves us towards justice. But hate is debilitating.

“As we start on the miracle of forgiving, we begin to see our enemy through a clearer lens, less smudged by hate. We begin to see a real person, a botched self, no doubt, a hodgepodge of meanness and decency, lies and truths, good and evil…. We see a human being created to be a child of God” (Smedes)

And yet, we must take care when we let go of our ‘right’ to vengeance and make sure we are not giving up on justice. “Forgiving surrenders the right to vengeance, it never surrenders the claims of justice” (Lewis Smedes, The Art of Forgiving: When You Need to Forgive and Don’t Know How).

Forgiveness sets us free and gives us hope for restoration of our own wounded souls. When we cannot forgive, we are unable to enjoy the full measure of freedom and joy granted to us through God’s forgiveness of our own sins. Yet--and this is vitally important--it is not up to me or you to tell a wounded person 'you must forgive' or to suggest when.  So in the midst of great hurts, let us acknowledge the pain, confess our complicity, work proactively to help wounded souls escape dangerous situations, and pray for the grace of forgiveness. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.




PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING AND INTERCESSION

*HYMN “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” The Hymnbook no. 473
*BENEDICTION Numbers 6:24-26

*POSTLUDE

ǂ Resources:
Call to Worship and portions of other prayers and readings adapted by Pastor Randy from the 2013 and 2014 Presbyterians Against Domestic Violence resource packets. Order for Morning Prayer freely adapted from Daily Prayer: The Worship of God: Supplemental Worship Resource 5 (prepared by the PCUSA office of worship) © 1987 Westminster John Knox Press. Psalm 6 & 11 from Swallow’s Nest: A Feminine Reading of the Psalms by Marchiene Vroon Rienstra © 1992 Eerdmans Publishing.

Sermon Bibliography:
Busch, Eberhard. Drawn to Freedom: Christian Faith Today in Conversation with the Heidelberg Catechism.
Lewis B. Smedes. The Art of Forgiving: When You Need to Forgive and Don’t Know How

Childlike Awe and Trust

Sermon for Sunday, September 7, 2014

Heidelberg450 series: Lord’s Day 46 (“Our Father in heaven”)
First Presbyterian Church ▪ Lake Crystal, Minnesota
Rev. Randal K. Lubbers, Pastor & Teacher
“Childlike Awe and Trust”
Romans 8:31-32; Matthew 6:25-34; 7:9-11

THE TEXTS

NEW TESTAMENT LESSON

Romans 8:31-32
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

GOSPEL LESSON

Matthew 6:25-34; 7:9-11
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
“So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today….
Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

HEIDELBERG CATECHISM Q & A 120

Q. Why did Christ command us
to call God “our Father”?
A. To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer what should be basic to our prayer— a childlike reverence and trust that through Christ God has become our Father, and that just as our parents do not refuse us the things of this life, even less will God our Father refuse to give us what we ask in faith.1

HEIDELBERG CATECHISM Q & A 121

Q. Why the words “in heaven”?
A. These words teach us not to think of God’s heavenly majesty as something earthly,1 and to expect everything needed for body and soul from God’s almighty power.

THE SERMON

INTRODUCTION

How was YOUR day yesterday? Such a bright blue sky, such a wonderful feeling in the air—did you get through the day without some exclamation of praise? Or last night! Not quite a full moon but lovely nonetheless, clear sky, bright stars, and a cool hint of autumn? Could you absorb it without whispering “wow”? It got me to singing the choral anthem by John Rutter, “Look at the World”—

Look at the world, everything all around us
Look at the world and marvel every day.
Look at the world: so many joys and wonders,
So many miracles along our way… 

Look at the earth bringing forth fruit and flower,
Look at the sky the sunshine and the rain.
Look at the hills, look at the trees and mountains,
Valley and flowing river, field and plain. 

Think of the spring, think of the warmth of summer
Bringing the harvest before winter’s cold.
Everything grows, everything has a season,
till it is gathered to the Father's fold: 

REFRAIN: Praise to thee, O Lord for all creation.
Give us thankful hearts that we may see
All the gifts we share, and every blessing,
All things come of thee.

Gratitude is one of the central themes of scripture.

Gratitude is the heart of the Christian life.

Gratitude leads us into prayer which, the Heidelberg Catechism says, is the most important part of the thankfulness God expects from us. Gratitude is foundational to the way we understand God and our relationship with God.

God gives.
We receive and give thanks with a grateful heart.

INTERLUDE

Some of you remember our series this summer on the Ten Commandment. More than once along the way we talked about the commandments in the context of the Exodus, God’s deliverance of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt—the Exodus was their escape out of Pharaoh’s harsh rule and, eventually, into the Promised Land. God set them free and the commandments were not arbitrary, indiscriminate, harsh rules designed to keep people in their place; but rather, God’s guide for living in gratitude.

God’s whole goal for the Hebrew people, expressed to Abraham many generations before, was that they bring God’s salvation to the whole world. Abraham was blessed to be a blessing.

This is the big picture of the salvation story from Genesis to Revelation: God’s whole work with human beings has this central goal: That just as God lives with us, so we too live and have community with God.i

Authors C. Christopher Smith and John Pattison say that another way in their book Slow Church, and again you’ll hear a connection to the Exodus story we’ve talked about so much:

In sharp contrast to an earthly tyrant who brutalizes his subjects into fearful submission, God lovingly and patiently involves humans in the work of reconciliation.ii

God’s people—you, and me, and all of us together—are at the heart of God’s ministry of reconciliation. Paul told the Corinthian church, “…If anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation…. All of these new things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and who gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”

“Our calling to Christ is to COMMUNITY—to a life shared with others in a local gathering that is an expression of Christ’s body in our particular place” (Slow Church). You’ve seen those demonstration plots for corn and soybeans, right? Our church is called to “…become a demonstration plot for what God intends for all humanity and all creation.”  iii

So when we pray, we pray, “OUR Father.” Not merely MY Father. Even when we pray the Lord’s Prayer alone, we pray “OUR Father” and we, in effect, pray with and for the whole community and the whole world. Our prayers are part of our ministry of reconciliation. The hospitable church is a worshiping, singing, praying church. Come to think of it, hospitality and openness and respect, these are all childlike virtues. We pray “Our Father” to awaken in us a childlike awe and trust: Wow! Imagine that! Through Jesus Christ God has become our Father; and we, God’s children.

ON BEING CHILDLIKE

I don’t know about you, but sometimes the idea of being “childlike” strikes people the wrong way. Whether we believe it or not, we sometimes act as if the idea of “saying your daily prayers” is ONLY for little children—or, perhaps, for those immature or weak people who somehow have a “need to pray.” Ideas such as “rugged individualism” and “autonomy” are so pervasive in Western culture, particularly among men—it creates a cognitive disconnect:

We SAY that we VALUE ‘childlike awe and trust’—indeed, we latch on to cute stories about that sort of thing—but in the way we live do we truly value ‘childlike awe and trust’ or do we REALLY put a higher value on adult sensibilities, logic, good judgment, skepticism, and self-reliance? We SAY that we OUGHT to pray and we teach our kids to pray (or at least hope the church might) and yet, yet… somewhere deep down we feel like prayer is an admission of weakness.

Well, the short answer is that yes, yes… PRAYER is an admission of weakness, powerlessness, emptiness; but it is in that very admission that we discover Christ’s strength. It is not through individualistic self-sufficiency that we become free. We become free in our relationship with God. God gives us that gift. God adopts us and calls us dearly loved children and heirs. We simply respond in gratitude.

Really now, is the whole boot-straps thing all it's cracked up to be?  In our self-sufficiency we worry endlessly. We’re anxious about everything and yet EVERYTHING WE NEED is exactly what God promises to give us. When we are set free, we are truly free to desire God first and foremost and trust that all the other things we need will be provided as well.

Maybe we get confused because we think of God as the one who has foreordained everything in precise detail and that, since God is God and we aren’t, it might be presumptuous or egotistical to ask for anything at all.

But we don’t pray to an immovable object but to “Our Father in heaven” – that is, we pray to the God revealed in Jesus.

God has become our father through Jesus Christ and will no more deny us what we ask for in faith than our human parents will refuse us earthly things (paraphrasing HC Art. 120).

God in Jesus Christ is Immanuel, the God with us. God not only wants to talk to us but desires that you and I talk to and with God. God really wants to listen to us. God wants us to have a say.

Certainly, in all this, God is God and we are not; and yet, even though we shouldn’t think of God’s majesty as something earthly, yet there is nothing in our lives, none of our concerns, nothing on this earth is foreign to God. (Busch)

Prayer is not a monologue. The God who calls us to pray hears us. We don’t pray merely for its meditative value or to reflect upon things in an abstract way. God really hears us. We don’t merely pray because it changes us—although indeed it does. Prayer isn’t an act of envisioning your best life nor should our prayers the long lists prepared by children for Santa Claus. Jesus is our example, not Joel Osteen. Prayer is not something to feel pious or self-righteous about. It earns us nothing. At the same time, don’t avoid praying because you don’t feel pious enough. That’s a false humility. Our prayers need not be perfect because no matter what words we use; God hears our prayers for the sake of Jesus; and Jesus himself forgives our insincere and empty phrases and molds our prayers into perfect prayers.

CONCLUSION

We begin the Lord’s Prayer “Our Father” to awaken in us a childlike reverence and trust. We say “in heaven” not because God is “far away” (he’s not) but, rather, to remind us that “God is God and we are not” and that because God is God—almighty, yes, AND compassionate and gracious, overflowing in mercy and faithful love—we can EXPECT everything we need—for both body and soul.

Every good gift, all that we need and cherish.
Comes from the Lord in token of his love…

Every good gift! So what can our response be but wonderment, amazement, reverence…?
 
And along with those feelings, a deep and abiding trust.

Our Father in heaven: When we look at nature we are in awe—but even more so when we look into your heart through the face of Jesus. Giving is basic to your very nature. You give and give and give again; and you even gave your own Son. How can we NOT trust that you will give us everything else we need? Amen.

Jewish theologian Abraham Heschel wrote, “Get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”iv

Epilogue

A young father took his four-year old son to the shore somewhere on the East coast about an hour before dawn. They walked the dark beach for a while, got their feet wet, and then settled in to wait for the sun. Hints of light made the water glisten and then the rays of light became brighter until, finally—[snap] just like that—the bright sun was alive! The little boy watched in awe, in total silence for a full minute (an eternity for a young boy on the beach). And, then—eyes wide—he turned to his dad and said, “Wow, Dad. Do that again!”

And that’s the thing.
God does it again.
And again and again!
Every day.

Amen.

Notes

i Paraphrasing Eberhard Busch, Drawn to Freedom, p. 321
ii Slow Church, p. 26.
iii Slow Church, pp. 29-30.
iv Slow Church, p. 174.

Worship and Hospitality

Jesus lives again; earth can breathe again.
Pass the Word around: loaves abound!
~ FRED KAAN, 1975

At First Presbyterian Church, we strive to reflect the radical hospitality of God in all aspects of our common life and ministry—in worship (“our journey upward”), in faith formation (“our journey inward”), and in community life (“our journey together”). One way we live out our hospitality in our church life is through the regular practice of “open communion.”

We welcome everyone to the Lord’s Table—regardless of denominational or church affiliation. The invitation to the Table is extended to all, remembering that access to the Table is not a right conferred upon the worthy, but a privilege given to the undeserving who desire to follow Jesus Christ in faith, repentance, and love.

If you desire to see Jesus Christ more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly, then you are invited to share in the Feast.

I hope those paragraphs are fairly familiar to most of you. These three paragraphs, or words similar, are usually included in the order of worship on those Sundays when we celebrate the Sacrament. These words remind us who we are and what we believe. “This saying is completely reliable and should be universally accepted: Christ entered the world to rescue sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). God so loved the world. Everyone is welcome. No exceptions!

Let’s pass these expressions of hospitality and grace along to our friends and acquaintances and neighbors. Pass the Word around!

Let us build a house where love is found
In water, wine and wheat:
A banquet hall on holy ground,
Where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
Is revealed in time and space;
As we share in Christ the feast that frees us:
All are welcome, all are welcome,
All are welcome in this place.
-MARTY HAUGEN

Gratitude and Prayer

Sermon for Sunday, August 17, 2014

Heidelberg450 Series:  Lord’s Day 45

First Presbyterian Church ▪ Lake Crystal, Minnesota

Rev. Randal K. Lubbers, Pastor & Teacher

Gratitude Takes Nothing For Granted

Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 116 & 117

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Psalm 116; Matthew 7:7-8

I felt it once on a drive through Northeast Iowa when leaves of the trees were orange and red and yellow and gold and the sunlight made the hills seem like they were on fire.

I felt it just this week on an early-evening bike ride as I passed the high school on the trail and the speed was creating a breeze—the cool air evaporating my sweat—the sun nearing the horizon.

I felt it when Elyse was born—Luke too, of course, but I thought of Elyse first when I wrote this because she’s the one going off to college this week.

As you might remember from last week’s sermon, Sheldon Cooper felt it when Penny gave him the napkin signed by Leonard Nimoy and he gave her all seven or twelve gift baskets—or however many there were—it really doesn’t matter because like Sheldon said, “I know, I know, it’s not enough.”

And perhaps you have felt it too. It’s that surge of joyful energy flowing through your body; it’s a powerful and authentic feeling; it’s a VERY REAL THING… it’s the rush you feel when you become fully aware and appreciate that you have been given a gift, many gifts—indeed, you become aware that you are “surrounded by a profusion of gifts” (Don Postema, Space for God, p. 53).

It’s the feeling of gratitude.

The Heidelberg Catechism puts both the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer in the context of gratitude. The Heidelberg says, “Prayer is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the thankfulness God requires of us.”

Prayer can be confession, pleading, lament, or praise. Prayers can be happy or tearful—sometimes even both. But interwoven through every prayer is gratitude. 

What a contrast to envy and greed, the very things we are taught to guard against in the tenth commandment—we talked about this last week.

What a reminder—once again—that the commandments are gifts from God to help us live in freedom. Envy and greed shackle us, enslave us. Gratitude set us free.

Gratitude takes nothing for granted.

A friend of mine fixed her daughter pork chops, green beans, baked potato for supper just before sending her off to college. Gratitude recognizes the dinner as a gift and is aware of that it was Mom who prepared the dinner.

Have you received a card or a compliment recently? Gratitude recognizes the card as a gift—and the person sending the card too. Gratitude makes us aware of the LOVE involved in the smallest, most ordinary, everyday gifts. Gratitude recognizes the person behind the gift. So when we say thank you to these persons in our lives, we’re learning how to pray.  Mother Teresa said, “There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”

And yet there’s a deeper dimension… when we PRAY we become MORE AWARE of the gifts we have been given, more aware of the people in our lives. Not only does gratitude move us towards prayer—prayer moves us to gratitude. In praying, we become more aware, more alive, more grateful.  

Thomas Merton wrote, “Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder, and to praise of the goodness of God….

[Piano begins playing “How Can I Keep from Singing?”]

“To be grateful is to recognize the LOVE of God in everything (God) has given us—and (yes) (God) has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His Love, every moment of existence is a grace…” (Merton quoted by Postema, pp. 50, 53). 

When we become more aware, we become more alive… and then every moment of life becomes precious and perfect… And then prayer and gratitude and joy and love and awareness of God's good gifts… these all weave together like an endless song…

[Segue to the congregational hymn, “How Can I Keep from Singing?”]

Context for the Commandments: Egypt, Exodus, and the Heidelberg Catechism

Thanks to Synod School Middle School Classes for your insights. 
And thanks to Walter Brueggeman, Eberhard Busch, and M. Craig Barnes...

Compare and Contrast.  It's relatively easy for students to figure out some of the differences between Pharaoh and the One True God, especially students who have mostly grown up around the church. (See how many references to Psalm 103 you can find.) Pharaoh was unforgiving and capricious and impatient; but God forgives all our sins, heals all our diseases, is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast (loyal, faithful) love. The king-god of Egypt was cruel and fostered anxiety; but God is merciful and compassionate and fosters Shalom.

The Great and Powerful Oz (Pharaoh).  But one student made a great point this morning. Pharaoh, the "king-god" of Egypt was not *totally* unlike God. In his own realm the Pharaoh had unlimited power and total authority. "I am the Lord your God" is something the Israelites might have heard from Pharaoh, right? "Who is the LORD that I should obey him," he asks Moses.  For all intents and purposes, Pharaoh was right on target. In Egypt, Pharaoh was king of kings and lord of lords. 

Surprise!  Well, at least until the ten plagues came along, and the Exodus, and finally that nasty "Waterloo" at the Red Sea. Which all proves that Pharaoh was never really right at all. Even though--on the ground, in the mud pits, building more and bigger barns, coerced into living FOR him--it might very well have SEEMED like he was right. 

Deliverance/Redemption.  Fast forward to Mount Sinai where God speaks the covenant: "I am the Lord your God"--but not merely that, but rather--"I am the Lord your God who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the land (house) of slavery (bondage)." 

A New Way.  Pharaoh might very well have issued commandments 1, 2 and 3. No god but me. No idols other than duly-authorized Pharaoh idols. No disrespectful use of my name. But Pharaoh would never authorize a day of rest. Nor would he devote commandments four through ten to "loving others." 

Covenant. Gift. Gratitude.  All of this gives us some context for the Ten Commandments. God wants us to thrive. Pharaoh fostered anxiety and fear. Pharaoh used his total power oppressively. God nurtures, fosters community, never coerces us into obedience. But rather provides the Ten Commandments as a Covenant, a gift. So the Heidelberg Catechism places the commandments NOT in the section about sin and misery BUT RATHER in the section about our grateful response to God's amazing grace. In the context of the Exodus, the commandments are all about freedom. In the context of the creation story, the commandments are about life as people created in the image of God--humanity created for relationships, for compassion, for openness and respect and abundant loving. In the context of worship, the commandments belong AFTER the assurance of pardon. In the context of the Heidelberg Catechism, the commandments are a guide to grateful living.     

Rev. Randal K. Lubbers

Buena Vista University

Storm Lake, Iowa

Synod School 2014

Lord’s Day 32

Q & A 86

Q. Since we have been delivered
from our misery
by grace through Christ
without any merit of our own,
why then should we do good works?

A. Because Christ, having redeemed us by his blood,
is also restoring us by his Spirit into his image,

so that with our whole lives

we may show that we are thankful to God

for his benefits,1

so that he may be praised through us,2
so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits,3
and so that by our godly living

our neighbors may be won over to Christ.4

1 Rom. 6:13; 12:1-2; 1 Pet. 2:5-10
2 Matt. 5:16; 1 Cor. 6:19-20
3 Matt. 7:17-18; Gal. 5:22-24; 2 Pet. 1:10-11
4 Matt. 5:14-16; Rom. 14:17-19; 1 Pet. 2:12; 3:1-2

Becoming a Sabbath People

Becoming a Sabbath People

When we become a Sabbath people, we give one of the most compelling witnesses to the world that we worship a God who desires our collective joy and good. We give concrete experience to an authentic faith that is working to deflate the anxious and destructive pride that supposes we have to “do it all” by ourselves and through our own effort.

~From Living the Sabbath by Norman Wirzba

Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Put on my yoke, and learn from me. I’m gentle and humble. And you will find rest for yourselves. My yoke is easy to bear, and my burden is light."

~Matthew 11:28-30 CEB

Remember the story about the children of Israel being set free from their slavery in Egypt? Talk about struggling hard! Talk about carrying heavy loads! 

Yes, that is exactly what life was like under the Pharaoh in Egypt: Never a day off. Never a reduction to the production schedules. No rest for the slaves. No rest for the guards. Even the king of Egypt took no rest, so worried he was about running out even when he had so much. Most of the bricks made by the slaves went towards building more and bigger storehouses for grain. And yet Pharaoh was forever anxious. It was a compulsion, really. More grain—the measure of wealth back then—more beyond anything the king could have ever needed so that he could show the world his wealth and demonstrate his power. His desire for more created a restlessness that made Sabbath impossible for himself or anyone else under his rule.

Now, picture yourself in the desert—where water is scarce and food worth its weight in gold. And picture the atmosphere of anxiety and hoarding where you’d spent your whole life. And now God sends flaky white bread—manna—and there is always enough and just enough. When you get greedy and gather more than you need and try to stockpile it, it gets all moldy and full of worms. Except on the day before the Sabbath day, because there wouldn’t be any on the ground that day. But there was always enough and just enough.

And you and the whole community would learn the lesson of enough—what a contrast to Pharaoh’s insatiable desire for more, more, more.  In the middle of the desert, it takes faith—trust in God—to gather only what’s needed. And it takes discipline to be obedient, to gather twice as much as needed on Fridays, trusting that it won’t get gross and full of worms.

The King of Egypt was an “endlessly anxious presence” (Sabbath as Resistance: Saying No to the Culture of Now by WalterBrueggemann. Westminster John Knox Press, 2014).  The Pharaoh’s constant and overwhelming desire for more grain, more wealth, more power, more control caused everything—the entire nation—to be permeated with a restless anxiety that had no end. The Anxious Presence pollutes everything.

But the people of Israel, in the manna and in the Ten Commandments, discovered an end to this anxiety, an end to multi-tasking, an end to coercion, an end to striving for control. The Sabbath Day—such an easy yoke and such a light burden compared to the burdens of bricks and the yoke of slavery in Egypt.

Jesus said, “Humankind was not created to serve the Sabbath—no, the Sabbath was created to serve, to benefit humankind.” The Sabbath was made for you because you were made for God.

So the fourth commandment is really, really good news!  Remember the Sabbath—keep it special.  Never forsake the habit of meeting together. Never brag about your “freedom” to disregard covenant we have made with each other and God to faithfully gather together. Friends in Christ, this is not burdensome but a release of burdens. In worship, anxiety is trumped by faith; blurry spiritual vision fades like a mist and the things that truly matter are brought back into focus; restlessness is replaced with restfulness.

Remember the Sabbath—not out of duty, not out of guilt, not out of fear—but rather, in gratitude to the God who has set you free from the non-stop Pharaoh-like anxieties we so often succumb to. From this day forward, let Sunday be your special day, your holy day for saying "no" to all the little "gods" in your life and "yes" to the one true God who created the heavens and the earth in six days and then stopped working… and rested… and was refreshed. “Come unto me,” says Jesus, “and I will give you rest.”

Note, this is an excerpt from a recent sermon appearing in our Summer 2014 church newsletter. 

Worship at the Barn (Sunday, May 25, 2014)

For the third consecutive year we shared in an ecumenical service at the historic Fferm Fach Yn Y Coed ("Little Farm in the Woods") and, as in past years, congregational singing was a big part of the experience.

It has become our tradition to open with a stanza or two or three of Charles Wesley's "O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing." In its original form this hymn had 18 stanzas. The familiar "first stanza" was actually Wesley's seventh stanza. I think of this often when writing sermons. Sometimes the first 1/3 goes into the trash--I often discover the best "introduction" (first stanza) well into the first draft.

Blogs might be like that too.

Anyway, here is a list of the hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs we sang Sunday morning in Kent Jones' historic barn, with Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, and many "Other" in attendance. Mary Ann Norman was our accompanist.

Act I - Gathered Together as One
1. O, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing (Azmon)
2. Gather Us In (Words and Music by Marty Haugen, 1979)

Act II - Hymns Celebrating the Church
3. All Are Welcome (Words and Music by Marty Haugen, 1994)
4. When Hands Reach Out and Fingers Trace (Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, 2001)

It might seem strange to begin with contemporary texts when singing in an historic venue on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend but I wanted to begin by emphasizing the "choir of thousands" of young and old; meek and weak and poor in spirit; and even the "rich and haughty" too (Haugen, 1979) in our ecumenical context. I pointed out, just before Act II, that many Lutherans and Catholics claim Haugen (who was born in Minnesota and currently serves in a UCC church in the Twin Cities) as "one of their own" and are quite familiar with his music and, also, that Carolyn Winfrey Gillette grew up in a Methodist family and now serves as co-pastor with her husband in a Presbyterian church. There is more cross-pollination than we often realize or care to admit.

Our purpose in gathering for worship on Sunday, the Lord's Day, is always--first and foremost--a celebration of the resurrection. The seven-day week is the primary way Christians mark time, so even in the midst of church seasons such as Lent, Advent, and so forth, every Sunday is Easter Sunday. And, even when we are reminded of civic holidays such as Memorial Day, Mother's Day, etc., the memorial acclamation "Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again") is always the most important thing. And so, with traditional hymn tunes, we come to the meta-narrative:

Act III - Hymns Celebrating the Salvation Story (Easter/Ascension)
5. Christ is Alive! Let Christians Sing (Brian Wren, 1968, rev. 1995) (TRURO)
6. Alleluia! Sing to Jesus (William Chatterton Dix, 1866) (HYFRYDOL)
7. Amazing Grace: My Chains Are Gone (John Newton, 1779; refrain by Christ Tomlin & Louie Giglio, 2006)

And just as the Word became flesh and lived among us, so the Word of God in scripture might--or so I thought--be interposed with music related to the civic holiday of Memorial Day. How might these songs dialogue with the scripture lessons "for Peace" (from the special occasions readings in the Book of Common Prayer)? Might the songs help us to allow the Word to penetrate our remembrances of those who sacrificed their lives in service of their country, penetrate the civic holiday, penetrate our prayers, penetrate our lives?

Act IV - The Word of God: Prayers for Shalom
OT Lesson: Micah 4:1-5 ("swords into plowshares" and "spears into pruning hooks" and "and they will study war no more")
8. How Beautiful, Our Spacious Skies (Miriam Therese Winter, 1993; adapted from "America the Beautiful" by Katherine Lee Bates) including the stanza:  Indigenous and immigrant, our daughters and our sons, O may we never rest content till all are truly one. America! America! God grant that we may be a sisterhood and brotherhood from sea to shining sea. 
Psalm 85:7-13 ("righteousness and peace shall kiss each other")
9. O God of Every Nation (William W. Reid, Jr., 1958) (LLANGLOFFAN)
NT Lesson: Colossians 3:12-15 ("clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, meekness, humility, and patience")
10. God Bless Our Native Land / My Country, 'Tis of Thee (AMERICA)
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 5:43-48 ("Love your enemies and pray for those who harass you")
11. Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (HYFRYDOL) ("Jesus, thou art all compassion; pure unbounded love thou art...")
Sermon

Act V - Blessed to Be a Blessing
12. God of Grace and God of Glory (CWM RHONDDA)
13. Doxology (OLD HUNDREDTH)
14. Go My Children, With My Blessing (Jaroslav J. Vaida, 1983) (AR HYD Y NOS) 

Other than a short invocation and prayer of thanksgiving after the Doxology and the Lord's Prayer, we didn't have a litany or prayers of the people as in past years. But when we sing we pray twice.

For those of you who care about such things, the service was completed in less than 65 minutes.

Grace and peace!