First Lesson: 2 Samuel 18: 5-9, 15, 31-33
Responsive Reading: Psalm 130
Second Lesson: Ephesians 4: 25 - 5:2
Gospel Lesson: John 6: 35, 41-51

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
I want to begin this morning with the story of a young boy[1].  The young boy is like many a young boy you might know.  When he would play baseball and didn’t like the umpire’s calling of balls and strikes, he would get mad.  When he would argue with his brother and sister, he would get so mad that he would storm out of the house and not come back for hours.  When he got mad at school, his face would turn red; he tended to let words slip that he shouldn’t say, and he would get sent to detention. 

His dad was getting frustrated at all the boy's temper tantrums during the first bit of adversity.  So his dad one day came home and handed his boy a bag of nails.  He then gave the following instruction “Whenever you get mad, I want you to take one of these nails and hammer it into the back of the fence out back.”  This advice didn’t seem to work too well at first.  The boy lost his temper just as much.  Pretty soon, though the boy’s outbursts became rarer and rarer, the boy came to realize that it was easier to either walk away or calmly state his concerns then continually pound nails into the fence.  One day, the boy comes home proudly announcing to his father that he had finally made it through the day without losing his temper. 

Father then gave the following advice. ‘Every day you don’t lose your temper, why don’t you pull a nail out of the fence[2].”

Days go by until finally, the boy had restrained his anger enough to remove every single nail.  The father told the son “he was proud,” but they needed to go look at the fence.  The Dad pointed out all the holes in the fence where nails used to be.” Dad then made the point “It is the same way with anger, every time your anger wounds another, the wound remains long after the outburst[3].” 

Today’s lesson comes to us from Ephesians 4[4].  In our lesson for Today, Paul is seeking to address conflict within the Ephesian church.  What the exact nature of the conflict is the text doesn’t say.  What Paul implies is that the conflict was old, the conflict was long-standing.  There was some long-standing grievance from the past that prevented the Ephesians from moving forward.  The Ephesians probably weren’t that different from us in dealing with conflict.  We sit on opposite sides of the sanctuary.  In bigger churches, people even might dare to attend a different service to avoid certain “Christians[5].” 

When I first started attending Viking games with my dad, I remember sitting across the aisle from a gentleman.  He was a short gentleman with a mustache.  He was mad throughout the Vikings game, even if they managed to win.  His face seemingly got redder and redder with every play.  He looked like a heart attack waiting to happen.  He was mad at the coach!  He was mad at the offensive coordinator!  He was mad at the Quarterback!  He would do the best he could to let these people know how they disappointed him from section 235 in row 19, whether the Vikings could hear him or not didn’t matter!

While the Vikings losing might be a disappointment, it need not be a source of wounds.   

Christians like those in Ephesians, like those in our churches probably struggled with discerning the difference between a disappointment and a wound.  A color you don’t like in the fellowship hall is a disappointment; it is not a wound[6]. 

Even on more critical issues, such as the treatment of a former pastor or a church budget[7], it cannot permanently wound a church’s mission to bring the Gospel to their wider community. 

So Paul gives the Ephesians some advice, “Be Angry, but do not sin[8].”

To consider the following verse, let’s reflect on whether anger is a sin[9].

Paul would say that anger, in fact, does have its place among Christian people. 

When I was growing up, I had a park up the street where kids would frequently congregate.  One day a fight broke out.  It wasn’t much of a fight but rather a beating where a group of junior highers were beating up and begin to bloody another junior higher.  Living right across the street from the park was Mr. Allen.  Mr. Allen was a mountain of a man.  He stood 6’4; he weighed over 300 lbs at the time.  As soon as Mr. Allen saw what was happening, he stormed out of the house.  The kids saw Mr. Allen approaching, raising his voice, they cleared as quickly as they could.  Mr. Allen was a devout believer and was right to get mad.  There were limits to anger’s power.  If Mr. Allen had sought an eye for an eye retaliation against the children, then anger would have been taken too far.  For example, within the Old Testament, it was not uncommon for the prophets to lash out in anger regarding how God’s covenant with the people was being violated[10].  Anger’s limits need to be realized when placed in the hands of flawed and sinful people like ourselves.  We must be cautious of seeking to justify our anger.  We must be even more cautious not to try to stir up anger further.  The Christian calling is not to respond to anger with violence.   The Devil can very easily feed off our anger[11].  The Devil will attempt to destroy the Christian community by making getting even into a higher priority[12]. 

So how does Paul encourage Christians to respond to anger: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry[13], “

When I was in high school, I had a friend named Ben.  Ben was very well-mannered, and I never heard Ben raise his voice.  Ben’s whole family was the same way.  The more time I spent around them, I saw them as good religious people who seemed incapable of anger.  Ben was in for a million dollar education when he decided to go with me to Grandma’s on one summer night.  Grandma, Ben, and I were sitting in the kitchen when my Uncle Gregg comes bursting in the door.  Gregg was mad!  Gregg was mad because Grandma couldn’t be reached earlier in the day! Now a family member was going to show up at Gregg’s house in the middle of the night and wake his young children.  Gregg didn’t begin by exchanging pleasantries.  Gregg merely started raising his voice to let Grandma know everything that was wrong.  Grandma being about seventy-five at the time wasn’t just going to sit there and take this.  She stood up and started yelling at Gregg right back!  Even nearing ninety-five, I know of no one who should think it’s a good idea to start a screaming match with Grandma.  Grandma and Gregg go back and forth for like five-ten minutes.  Ben looks on mortified at what he was witnessing.  Then remarkably, Grandma and Gregg solve their issue.  They exchange a few jokes.  Gregg walks out the door smiling, Grandma resumes business like normal, and their issues were resolved.  The following story is an example of not letting the sun go down on one’s anger.  They believed it was better for the relationship to disagree however uncomfortably and ultimately work their way forward as people.

This is why Paul encourages us Today to : “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you[14].”

Let me give you a painful truth on this day.  We will have unlovable people in our lives[15].  You will have people disappoint you.  You will have people speak wrongly about you.  For what the Gospel does is reveal the exact opposite of anger.  The Gospel reveals love at those very moments when we or those around us seem to be unlovable.  We cannot or will not make ourselves right with God in comparison to other people.  So their needs to be better ways to deal with anger even as difficult as they may be[16].

Let me close this morning with one Final Story, Chet Bitterman was an American missionary and Bible Translator[17].  Bitterman begins his missionary work in Colombia, South America[18].  While in Colombia, Bitterman one morning, terrorists bang on his door demanding to see his supervisor.  When the supervisor is unavailable, Bitterman is kidnapped instead[19].  Bitterman’s wife and children witness this scene.  Bitterman is eventually killed by his captors.  Few people will ever be justified in their anger like Chet Bitterman’s family.  You can understand if the family wanted nothing to do with the people of Colombia ever again.  Bitterman’s family wanted to funnel their anger to more productive means[20].

They decided to enlist the support of friends and neighbors to begin a fundraising campaign for the people of Colombia to buy an ambulance where one was needed.  Chet Bitterman’s parents even traveled to Colombia to present the new ambulance.  During the ceremony, Chet Bitterman’s mom declared “We can do this because God has taken the “anger” hatred from our hearts[21].”

On the cross, God gave hope and life eternal in response to the very people who put him to death.  God gave forgiveness to those who had denied it to others.  God had declared the “unlovable” to now be beloved.  Anger had turned into grace.  The world was now going to forever change because of it.  Paul’s message to the Ephesian church is other people will disappoint us, but we cannot let them wound us.  We will get angry, but this anger isn’t a bad thing if it points us to the day when our Lord shall permanently take all anger and brokenness from not only the Ephesian Church, but our church, and ultimately our world, only to the sunrise again as we witness the power of Resurrection.
 Amen
 
 
 
 


[1] Higgins, Scott. “Nails in the Fence.” Stories for Preaching. Web. July.18.2018.  Taken from Unknown Source. 
[2] Higgins, Scott. “Nails in the Fence.” Stories for Preaching.
[3] Higgins, Scott. “Nails in the Fence.” Stories for Preaching.
[4] Ephesians 4:25-5:2. 
[5] Molin, Steve. “Had Any Good Church Fights Lately?” Sermon Writer. 2006. Web. July.18.2018. 
[6] Molin, Steve. “Had Any Good Church Fights Lately?” Sermon Writer.
[7] Molin, Steve. “Had Any Good Church Fights Lately?” Sermon Writer.
[8] Ephesians 4:26
[9] Tranvik, Mark. “Commentary on Ephesians 4:25-5:2.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 12. Aug.2012. Web. July.18.2012. 
[10] Tranvik, Mark. “Commentary on Ephesians 4:25-5:2.” Working Preacher.
[11] Ephesians 4:27
[12] Tranvik, Mark. “Commentary on Ephesians 4:25-5:2.” Working Preacher.
[13] Ephesians 4:26b. 
[14] Ephesians 4:31-32. 
[15] Tranvik, Mark. “Commentary on Ephesians 4:25-5:2.” Working Preacher.
[16] Tranvik, Mark. “Commentary on Ephesians 4:25-5:2.” Working Preacher.
[17] Fritz, Paul. “Overcoming Anger Toward Belligerent People.” Sermon Central. 18.Oct.2000. Web. July.18.2018. 
[18] “Chet Bitterman.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 14.Jan.2017. Web. July.18.2018. 
[19] Steffen, Bonnie. “Chet Bitterman: Missionaries have never been off-limits for terrorists.” Christianity Today. March/April 2002. Web. July.18.2018. 
[20] Fritz, Paul. “Overcoming Anger Toward Belligerent People.” Sermon Central.
[21] Fritz, Paul. “Overcoming Anger Toward Belligerent People.” Sermon Central.

First Lesson: 2 Samuel 11: 1-15
Responsive Reading: Psalm 14
Second Lesson: Ephesians 3: 14-21
​Gospel Lesson: John 6: 1-21

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
This summer we’ve been having a good deal of Road Construction upon the North Shore.  I’ve had trips from Two Harbors that have taken 1 ½ hours.  We all can understand this frustration.  Now picture a bigger city like Minneapolis where the cars aren’t just in the hundreds but the hundreds of thousands on the road at any given time. 

With road construction in mind, let me begin by telling a children’s story as told by Alice Schertle[1].  Once upon a time, there was a little, blue truck[2].  The truck was small.  The truck was slow.  The truck looked like it didn’t belong on the road with the other cars.  One day the little blue truck dared to venture into the big city.  As the little, blue truck drove around, everyone couldn’t help but see all the ways that it didn’t measure up to the other vehicles on the road.  Other vehicles would shout out at the little, blue truck “Shove on, Shorty,” honk their horns, or yell “Get out of the way[3].”

Finally, the little blue truck encounters the biggest limousine around.  The limousine was the prettiest car around.  It was obvious that someone important is inside.  That person turned out to be the big city’s mayor.  Pretty soon a traffic jam came to the big city.  Cars were stuck with nowhere to go. Drivers were yelling and honking at each other.  The little blue truck though had a realization; a little patience will help things move a lot faster.  “One at a time is the way to go[4].”

As the little blue truck encountered the limo once again, the limo started to go attempting to cut off the little blue truck, only to have its engine give out right in the middle of the city.  The little blue truck then offered the mayor a ride.  Everyone was shocked when the mayor took the little blue truck up on its offer.  The mayor encourages all the cars to follow the little blue truck’s advice.  Pretty soon, all the cars in line.  Soon everyone around begins to cheer the little, blue truck for ultimately leading the way out of the traffic jam once and for all[5]. 

Now the little, blue truck showed something important about leadership how it's not always the biggest trucks on the road that are needed to get the job the done[6]. 

Sometimes all that’s needed to change the world is a simple servant who sees a much bigger purpose. 

Let me tell a second story; Once upon a time, there was a seminary professor on vacation[7].  He and his wife were having dinner when an old man they hadn’t seen before in their lives began to approach them.  The old man asks what do you the professor “What do you do.”  To which the professor replies “I work as a preacher.”  Normally announcing he was a preacher would put a quick end to a lot of conversations, but the old man grew more excited.

He said, let me tell you a story.  The old man began to explain his life as a child[8].  He never knew who his father was.  His mother was ostracized by nearly everyone around in their town in Tennessee. The young boy had never gone to church because of this.  One day though a new preacher came to town.  The young boy to the amazement of everyone showed up at the church.  The boy left the service early before anyone could talk to him.  He would keep coming back week after week.  He would be the last one in and the first one out. He was skilled at never talking to anyone.  One Sunday though the boy got caught up in the sermon and didn’t leave.  As soon as the service was over, the aisles started to fill.  The boy started scurrying for a side door, embarrassed that he had been caught at church.  Pretty soon though he feels a giant hand come down upon his shoulder.  The boy turns around sees the preacher staring right at him.  “What’s your name, boy? Whose son are you?”  The little boy was ashamed at the question; he didn’t want to dare tell this preacher the truth that he had no idea who his father was.  He thought he’d be told to never come back to the church ever again.  The preacher begins looking the boy up and down.  Before the boy could answer, the preacher began to speak “know who you are. I know who your family is. There’s a distinct family resemblance. Why you’re the son, you’re the son; you’re the son of God!”.  The old man described this encounter in the midst of a church traffic jam as forever changing his life, even years after it had taken place.  The old man got up and left the preacher’s table then finally the restaurant.

The waitress comes up to deliver the bill “Do you know who that was?” The preacher got confused, only to hear the waitress answer “That was Ben Hooper, the two-term governor of Tennessee.[9]”

On that day the preacher was merely a simple servant who saw a much bigger purpose at work in the life of this fatherless child. 

These two stories lead us into our lesson for Today from Ephesians 3[10].  In this chapter, Paul begins to pray for the Ephesian church.  Ephesians was one of Paul’s last letters.  Paul probably wrote Ephesians while sitting in prison[11].  Paul though in these days saw a much bigger purpose for the Ephesian church. 
Paul’s prayer goes as such: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God[12].”

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian church is that they comprehend the vastness of God’s love.  The vastness of God’s grace in all kinds of life’s situations.  The reality that this grace does not end even when you’re an outcast child trying to escape a church in Tennessee. 

Rev. Dr. Guy Sayles sums this passage up best when he says[13]: ‘ Thankfully, as Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians reminds us, we don’t have a small and distant god.  The real God revealed to us in the history of Israel and in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is magnificent, mysterious, and mighty.”

The type of God that Paul prays can take the smallest of acts and use them for much, much bigger purposes.

Let me close with one final story; Once upon a time in Romania, there was a pastor named Laszlo Tokes[14] who was continually harassed by the secret police of the communist government.  Pastor Tokes refused to back down, so the government set out to arrest him and deported to his native Hungary.  Yet all the members of his church gathered to protect him and form a blockade around him[15].  Just like the little blue truck or the small boy in the church, the communist forces were flummoxed.  Pretty soon people from all over the Romanian countryside came out to join Pastor Tokes cause.  Nine days later, the Romanian government fell.  The reign of the Iron Curtain over Eastern Europe was soon to come to an end.  All these things took place because one Pastor saw a much bigger purpose that his current oppression.   In the wake of Pastor Tokes’ victory and the fall of the Communists, a sign went up declaring “The Lamb Wins[16].”  The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians had come true.  God’s spirit filled the land, and the church was assured of their eventual, final victory in Christ Jesus.  God’s purposes are often bigger their own.  The following reality is why we often struggle to see God’s purposes on any given day.  Within the Kingdom of God eventually, the tiny, little blue truck becomes the most admired car in the city. The little-ashamed boy in the back of the church becomes the Governor of Tennessee, or the simple country Pastor changes the whole wide world.   The one theme all these stories have in common is they all took place in the midst of various traffic jams.  Remember this the next time you encounter a little bit of road construction. Amen
 
 
 
 
 


[1] Landes, Elizabeth Boulware. “Little Blue Truck: Leads the Way.” Storypath. William Smith Morton Library, Union Presbyterian Seminary. 19.Jun.2015. Web. July.12.2018. 
[2] Miss Becky. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle.” You Tube. 12. May.2017. Web. July.12.2018. 
[3] Miss Becky. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle.” You Tube
[4] Miss Becky. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle.” You Tube.
[5] Miss Becky. “Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle.” You Tube
[6] Landes, Elizabeth Boulware. “Little Blue Truck: Leads the Way.” Storypath.
[7] Higgins, Scott. “You’re the Son of God.” Stories of Preaching. Web. July.12.2018 taken from Tony Campolo’s It’s Friday but Sunday’s Comin. Word Books. 1985.
[8] Higgins, Scott. “You’re the Son of God.” Stories of Preaching.
[9] Higgins, Scott. “You’re the Son of God.” Stories of Preaching.
[10] Ephesians 3:14-21. 
[11] Markquardt, Edward. “Fill Er’ Up: Books of the Bible: Ephesians.” Sermons from Seattle. Web. July.12.2018. 
[12] Ephesians 3:16-19. 
[13] Sayles, Rev.Dr. Guy. “Our Vast and Loving God.” Day 1. 29. July.2012. Web. July.12.2018. 
[14] “László Tőkés.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 25.June.2018. Web. July.12.2018. 
[15] Buchanan, Rodney. “I Believe In The Holy Catholic Church.” Sermon Central. 10.Jun.2012. Web. July.12.2018. 
[16] Buchanan, Rodney. “I Believe In The Holy Catholic Church.” Sermon Central.

First Lesson: 2 Samuel 7: 1-14
Responsive Reading: Psalm 89: 20-37
Second Lesson: Ephesians 2: 11-22
​Gospel Lesson: Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Once upon a time, there was a young man in India[1].  The man was raised Hindu.  He struggled with Hinduism as he was part of a lower caste[2].  Therefore, he always treated as a second-class citizen wherever he went.  The young man became acquainted with Christianity through the British Rule of India at the time.  While the young man wasn’t the biggest fan of the British, he began to study Christianity.  The young man grew greatly intrigued.  So the young man one Sunday decides to seek out a church in Calcutta.  Afterward, he wished to talk to the minister about converting.  Young man approaches the sanctuary.  An usher stops him at the door, refuses to give him a seat, and then suggests he go worship with his own people.  The young man would later declare: “I’d be a Christian if it were not for the Christians.”  The young man’s name was Mohandas Gandhi[3].  Gandhi would go on to help lead the India Independence movement against the British while employing principals of non-violent resistance.  Gandhi would become one of the most admired men of the 20th century. 

As Christians like this usher proved we always struggle with who is exactly kind of believer, Nadia Bolz-Weber was a seminary classmate of mine.  She’s a former stand-up comedian and a recovering alcoholic and drug user.  She’s heavily tattooed and often known for using colorful language.  Nadia started a church in Denver, Colorado for those who didn’t seem to fit in with any church: recovered addicts, the depressed, those who had previously been burned by the Christian faith[4].  Nadia’s a gifted speaker, and the church quickly grew.  She gets invited to speak before 10,000 people at Red Rocks for an Easter Sunday service.  Nadia’s fame spreads further.  Her church quickly grows.  Larry then shows up on Sunday[5].  Larry was not the type of guy that Nadia had in mind starting her church.  Larry’s presence at her church makes Nadia uncomfortable for all sorts of reasons: age, gender, zip code, breath, and waistband.  Larry seemingly didn’t fit in at Nadia’s church in any way.  He was totally uncool in a church that appeared to be cool.  Larry was the guy who rambles on inanely about boring stuff during coffee hour.  Nadia soon begins not to include Larry in emails for church activities[6].  Nadia comes up with an excuse to not perform Larry’s wedding.  Nadia soon comes to realize that even Christian pastors can be nothing but narrow-minded jerks when it comes to dealing with others.  What happens with Larry and Nadia, we’ll get back to, that story in just a little bit.

Today, we’re looking further into the Letters of the Apostle Paul.  We start a new book Today in Ephesians.  The main theme for Ephesians is “Who exactly does make up the Body of Christ?”  The background is Paul early in his ministry had traveled to Ephesus.  He had two visits.  One went on for three months[7].  The second visit took place for three years[8].  The church got firmly established on Paul’s second missionary journey.  Paul’s work in the Ephesus church had helped spread the Gospel through Asia or modern-day Turkey.  Yet the Ephesian church had tensions.  Most of these tensions centered on the controversial divisions of the early church between Jews and Gentiles.  The Gentiles would be the newest converts to Christianity were often treated much like Nadia treated Larry or the Usher treated Gandhi.

For example, as described by Pastor Mickey Anders[9].  If a Gentile woman were giving birth to a child, a Jewish person would not be allowed to provide aid.  If a Gentile invited a Jew over for coffee, the Jew could not enter lest they be declared “unclean.”  Marrying a Gentile would have been considered the equivalent of death and you would have been excommunicated from the family.  So consider all this background, once you put Jews and Gentiles into the same church, you’re going to have problems. 

The most controversial issue between Jew and Gentile Christians was circumcision.  The Jews thought it needed to be practiced as ritual, whereas the Gentiles saw it as unnecessary.  So within our lesson for Today[10], Paul seeks to give the source of peace between both Jew and Gentile.  Paul seeks to break down the walls of hostility and turn divided people into the Body of Christ.  Earlier in Ephesians 2, Paul lays out the whole point of the book:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works so that no one can boast[11].”

What Paul is saying is that the divisions between Jew and Gentile that seem so significant Today will be done away with through the Cross of Christ.

Let me tell a story.  Once upon a time, there was a beautiful castle along the English Coast with no one currently living there[12].  Vandals would frequently come by and pillage the place.  The owner decided that he needed to find a permanent solution.  So he hired a contractor to build a giant wall around the castle.  The contractor quickly ran into problems though; he couldn’t find rocks for the wall.  So the contractor called the owner to complain.  The owner was furious “I paid you good money, and I don’t care where you find the rocks, just build the wall.”  The owner eventually comes to check on his castle; it is now surrounded by a beautiful high wall just like he wanted.  He was thrilled with the contractor’s work.  The vandals could no longer pillage the castle.  The owner then went through the wall only to see there was no castle there.    The contractor begins to explain “You told me to build the wall by any means necessary, and there were all these wonderful rocks in that run-down castle, so I used them[13].”

The owner thought he was protecting himself; the owner thought he was protecting something of a great tradition and great value.  Often all we do is build a wall to God’s grace working in new ways such as in the case of bringing together both Jew and Gentile with the Church.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”- Galatians 3:28. 

Early, I told you the story of Larry and Nadia[14].  Larry being socially awkward around the young female pastor.  Nadia not knowing what to do in response.  Larry contracts a brain tumor and dies as a relatively young man.  Nadia gives a sermon at his funeral.  Afterward, a woman that Nadia had never seen before comes up to her.  She says “I wanted to thank you for having a church where Larry felt so welcome.  He spoke highly of you and your congregation, and I know that having you as his pastor meant a lot to him in his final months[15].”

This story reminds us how even the best of us remain imperfect.  We justify our jerkiness in all sorts of ways yet through this all we receive Grace.  It is our various imperfections that ultimately make up the Body of Christ. 

Robert E. Lee is best known as the commander of the Army for the Confederate States of America[16].  Lee before this had served his country as a hero in the Mexican-American War and as a commander at the United States Military Academy.  As Civil War loomed in this country, Robert E.Lee saw slavery as a great evil.  Lee was skeptical that political methods such as war would be after hearing of great bloodshed in Kansas over whether to make it a free or a slave state.  Lee’s loyalties were conflicted.  He was opposed to southern secession, while upset at those who thought slavery could end through bloodshed.  While Lee was recruited to join the Union cause, Lee initially wished to stay neutral as he ultimately could not turn his sword against his native Virginia.  Lee was then encouraged to resign from the Union army.  Most of Lee’s family sided with the Union cause.  Lee though became a soldier in the Confederate army.

America would endure four years of Civil War.  When we think of the nastiness of our politics Today, they are nothing compared to how strongly pronounced allegiances were in the wake of America’s Civil War.  Here’s what you should also know about Robert E. Lee he was a man of devout faith.  Shortly after the Civil War ended, he attended a church service in Washington .D.C[17].  Lee during this service goes up to Communion where kneeling alongside him is an African-American man.  Both Lee and this gentleman receive the sacrament.  An onlooker then goes up to Robert E. Lee and says “How could you do that?”  To which Lee replied. “My friend, all ground is level beneath the cross.[18]”

Amen
 


[1] Stanford, Lama Chuck. “Voices of Faith: Why did Gandhi say, ‘If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian?’ Kansas City Star. 17. Apr.2015. Web. July.3.2018. 
[2] Our Daily Bread “Prejuicide.” 6. Mar.1994. Web. July.3.2018 taken from Sermon Illustrations.com
[3] “Mahatma Gandhi.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 3.July.2018. Web. July.3.2018. 
[4] Bolz-Weber, Nadia. “Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 5.July.2018. Web. July.7.2018. 
[5] Bolz-Weber, Nadia. “Accidential Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People.” Convergent Publishing. New York. 2015. Pg.14.
[6] Bolz-Weber, Nadia. “Accidential Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People.” Pg.15
[7] Acts 18:19-21
[8] Acts 20:31
[9] Anders, Pastor Mickey. “Breaking Down the Dividing Wall.” Sermon Central. 2003. Web. July.3.2018. 
[10] Ephesians 2:11-12
[11] Epheisans 2:8-9
[12] Anders, Pastor Mickey. “Breaking Down the Dividing Wall.” Sermon Central. Taken from 1988 sermon by Joel Gregory at Southern Baptist Convention. 
[13] Anders, Pastor Mickey. “Breaking Down the Dividing Wall.” Sermon Central.
[14] Bolz-Weber, Nadia. “Accidential Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People.” Pg.19
[15] Bolz-Weber, Nadia. “Accidential Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People.” Pg.19
[16] “Robert E. Lee”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation.  2.July.2018. Web. July.3.2018. 
[17] Source Unknown. “Prejuicide.” Sermon Illustrations. Web. July.3.2018 
[18] Source Unknown. “Prejuicide.” Sermon Illustrations.

First Lesson: 2 Samuel 5: 1-5, 9-10
Responsive Reading: Psalm 48
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 12: 2-10
​Gospel Lesson: Mark 6: 1-13

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born in Brooklyn in 1963[1].  Jordan perhaps is the most gifted person on the planet ever to pick up a Basketball.  As a freshman in college at North Carolina, he hit the game-winning jump shot to bring the Tarheels a National Championship.

Jordan, when he becomes a professional, joins the Chicago Bulls.  Jordan was an immediate sensation.  Jordan was the NBA’s leading scorer in 1987 and would proceed to win ten consecutive scoring titles in seasons that he qualified[2].  Jordan’s last six full seasons with the Chicago Bulls led to world titles every year. Jordan’s success led to him being perhaps the most sought-after celebrity endorser on the planet.  Jordan’s contract with Nike turned them from a small running shoe company to perhaps the most well-known shoe company in the world.  In 1991, Gatorade had a series of commercials with the slogan “Be Like Mike[3].”  These commercials had a group of school children singing how they dreamed of being just like Mike.  Michael Jordan seems to be the type of person every school child should inspire to be: successful and wealthy beyond people’s wildest imaginations. 

Now I want to tell you the story of another Basketball player of whom you probably haven’t heard. Bryon Russell was a good basketball player.  He played college ball at the little-known Long Beach State[4].  There was little interest in him playing in the NBA. Russell was gritty though.  He ends up playing in the NBA for thirteen seasons despite never being any team’s best player. 

In 1994, Jordan went into a brief retirement, only to be told by Bryon Russell: “Why did you quit? You know I could guard you[5].” Russell’s semi-serious trash talk which wasn’t unheard of for a Basketball player set off Jordan as few people have ever been set off.

In 1998, Jordan’s last game with the Bulls he hits a shot to win a World Championship over Bryon Russell.  When Jordan got inducted into the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 , he continued attacking Bryon Russell’s foolish mouth and weak game in his speech[6].   Michael Jordan wanted to point out his great superiority over every Bryon Russell that had ever been put before him. 

Now I want to tell you Today about another similar situation that took place within the Corinthian Church.  The Corinthian Church had a group of super-apostles[7].  These were the types of Christians who like Michael Jordan when they talked of all they did, the rest of the Corinthians couldn’t help but feel inferior.  The super-apostles had begun taking control of the Corinthian Church; they would shame the other believer's faults at every opportunity.  No different than Michael Jordan would do so to Bryon Russell. 

So as Paul writes the Corinthian Church, he speaks of his authority coming from elsewhere rather than his achievement.  Paul saw things differently from the super-apostles.  Paul saw his weakness as a sign of strength.  Paul speaks of a great thorn in his flesh[8].  Paul speaks of praying that this thorn is removed.  Paul eventually comes to terms with his limitation and realizes that his weakness was, in fact, a source of his authority:

Paul declares: “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong[9].”

Once upon a time, there was a young man named Harry Day[10]. Harry was set to enroll at Stanford University.  Harry’s dad suddenly died.  Harry then inherits the family ranch in New Mexico.  The family ranch was remote.  It had no running water or electricity.  It was nine miles from the nearest paved road.  The family had to hunt jackrabbits to survive[11].  Harry eventually gets married to Ada Mae.  They give birth to a baby girl named Sandra.  As Sandra grows up, Ada Mae would read to her for one hour a day.  Sandra has to be sent away for school in El Paso over two-hundred miles away as Harry hoped Sandra would have the education that he never could get.  Sandra eventually enrolls at Stanford. Sandra gets accepted into law school.  Sandra then hits the job market.  At first, she only received job offers to be a legal secretary.  Sandra’s first job is as an assistant county attorney; she only gets the job after agreeing to work for no money.  Sandra eventually builds her own law practice in Arizona.  Twenty-nine years after graduating law school, Sandra gets a phone call from President Ronald Reagan.   The poor ranch girl from New Mexico now known as Sandra Day O Connor had just been named the first female justice of the United States Supreme Court. 

The story of Sandra Day O’Connor reminds how there is power in weakness.   She seemingly had every disadvantage imaginable growing up: poor, lack of educational opportunities, wrong gender to enter the legal fields in the 1950’s, yet all these things lead her to the United States Supreme Court. Paul makes the case that his weakness, his “thorns in the flesh” are what gives him the authority to proclaim God’s grace in his own life.  Paul’s reminder is the church doesn’t have its Micheal Jordans, true spiritual power comes to us only through Christ Alone. 

Once upon a time, there was a young woman who was growing through a rough time in her life[12].  The woman storms into her mother’s kitchen.  She wanted to give up on life, every time one problem was solved another new one arose. 

Mom then walks over to the stove without saying a word[13].  She fills three pots with water.  She then turns the stove over each of the three pots.  Pretty soon the water turns to a boil. Mom takes out some carrots, eggs, and coffee.  She puts the three items in each pot. 

The Mother after twenty minutes takes the carrots, eggs, and coffee out of their respective pots.    Mom opens her mouth for the first time in twenty minutes to ask her daughter what she sees.  The daughter is confused only to reply “carrots, eggs, and coffee[14].”

Mom asks daughter to feel the carrots which she notices are soft as cooked carrots can be.  Mom then pulls the shell off the hard-boiled egg while her daughter watches.  Finally, Mom asks daughter to drink the coffee; the coffee was some of the best tasting coffee she ever had drunk.

Daughter is confused at this point: “What does this mean Mother?”

Mom replied “You see each of these items faced the same adversity in boiling water. "

“The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting.  However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile.  Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water[15]”.

The Apostle Paul realized it was his hardship, his adversity, his thorns are what made him into a preacher of the Gospel. Paul had seen the water change around him.  Paul had seen resurrection come from death within his own life.  Paul’s thorn was a reminder that the greatest examples of God’s grace come from the greatest of human weaknesses[16]. 

Let me close with what finally story told by Keith Wagner[17].  This story could take place in a church just like this one.  Once upon a time, a man joined the church choir.  The man couldn’t sing at all. The choir director worked with him, but it did no good.  The man was so off-key that the other choir members couldn’t hit their notes[18].  The rest of the choir asked the choir director to do something.  The choir director then decided to go to the pastor to hopefully address the issue. 

The pastor goes to the man’s house.  The pastor explains how the man’s talents would be better used elsewhere other than the choir.  The man responds “But I like singing; it gives me great joy[19].”  The pastor gets frustrated “But you sing off-key, and the choir doesn’t sound that good.” The man shakes his head at the pastor. “You know you aren’t the world’s greatest preacher, but I listen every Sunday.”  And because you are my pastor I listen even though it is rare when I get anything good from your sermons.” The pastor was speechless at such a response.  The pastor then finally says “We’re lucky to have people like you singing in the choir[20].” The pastor then went home reflecting on the meaning of Paul’s words for us Today:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me[21].”

Michael Jordan for the last thirty years has been considered one of the great role models within our nation.  Jordan could jump and shoot a basketball in ways that nearly every kid at every tiny gym in our nation could only imagine.  The Corinthian Church had a group of believers who seemed to be the same way.  The Apostle Paul said the perfect Christian is not what we should aspire to be.  We should instead seek to “Be like Bryon.” Cling to our handicaps like Sandra Day, The Coffee Mother, or the awful choir singer.  Remember our strength comes not from our achievement, but rather an old beaten down wooden cross which ultimately brings eternal life.  Amen
 
 
 
 
[1] “Michael Jordan.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 12.June.2018. Web. June.13.2018. 
[2] Michael Jordan.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation.
[3] Michael Jordan.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation.
[4] “Bryon Russell.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 8.June.2018. Web. June.13.2018. 
[5] Abbott, Henry. “Bryon Russell, back in Michael Jordan's face.” ESPN: True Hoop. 3.Dec.2009. Web. June.13.2018. 
[6] Abbott, Henry. “Bryon Russell, back in Michael Jordan's face.” ESPN: True Hoop.
[7] Malcolm, Lois. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12:2-10”. Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 5.July.2015. Web. June.13.2018. 
[8] 2 Corinthians 12:7. 
[9] 2 Corinthians 12:10. 
[10] Wagner, Keith. “The Weakest Link.” Sermon Writer. 2003. Web. June.13.2018. 
[11] “Sandra Day O’Connor”. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 12. June.2018. Web. June.13.2018. 
[12] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee.” Email Me
diatations. 1. June.2018. Web. June.13.2018. 
[13] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee.” Email Mediatations.
[14] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee.” Email Mediatations.
[15] Stier, Pastor Leon. “Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee.” Email Mediatations.
[16] Kegel, Rev.Dr.James. “Strength in Weakness.” Sermon Writer. 2006. Web. June.12.2018. 
[17] Wagner, Keith. “The Weakest Link.” Sermon Writer.
[18] Wagner, Keith. “The Weakest Link.” Sermon Writer.
[19] Wagner, Keith. “The Weakest Link.” Sermon Writer.
[20] Wagner, Keith. “The Weakest Link.” Sermon Writer.
[21] 2 Corinthians 12:9.  

First Lesson: 2 Samuel 1: 1, 17-27
Responsive Reading: Psalm 130
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 8: 7-15
Gospel Lesson: Mark 5: 21-43

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Once upon a time in a town such as this one lived a very rich man[1].  Everyone in the surrounding area knew this gentleman as the richest man around.  In the same small town was a tiny charity struggling to pay their bills and keep their doors open week after week.  As the charity’s situation kept worsening getting to the point where they feared imminently closing down, their Executive Director decided to appeal to the richest man around.  The Executive Director cobbled together her best outfit and spent hours going over the best reasons to give to the charity that meant so much to her.  The rich man sitting in a suit that cost thousands of dollars listened to her case.  Finally, after ten minutes, he proceeds to interrupt her. 

“I can understand why you approached me. Yes, I do have a lot of money, and yours is an important cause. But are you aware that I have a lot of calls for my money? Did you know my mother needs 24-hour nursing care[2].”

The Executive Director meekly shares her head. 

The rich man then asks “Did you know my sister is struggling to raise a family of eight on her own[3]?”

The Executive Director shakes her head once again.

The rich man keeps going “Did you know I have one son in a drug rehab clinic and another doing volunteer work overseas[4]?”

The Executive Director softly says “No, I didn’t know any of this.”

To which the rich man looks her in the eye and says “Well if I don’t give them a cent, what makes you think I’ll give it to you[5]?!”

Now the rich man in our story had worked hard for every cent he had ever made.  It was certainly true that he was entitled to every last cent, yet perhaps there can be different ways to think about the money that we have.

Let me tell you another story, towards the end of the 19th Century two young men were working their way through what was known at the time as Leland Stanford University[6].  These young men being college students barely had a penny to their name.  They then thought of what seemed to be a brilliant fundraiser scheme; Ignacy Paderewski was arguably the most popular musician in the world in the 1890’s[7].  The students wished to put on a piano concert performed by Paderewski at what would come to be known as Stanford University.  The students figured the profits from the concert could help pay for their room and board.  They get a hold of Paderewski’s manager who asked the students to guarantee 2,000 dollars for a Paderewski appearance.  The students agreed and the concert was planned.  Paderewski plays at Stanford, yet a problem remained.  The students had only raised $1600 of the 2000 dollars they had promised Paderewski.  They talk to Paderewski after the concert; they give him a promissory note and declare that they will send the missing $400 bucks to Paderewski as soon as possible.  Paderewski refused any additional money; he tore their promissory note to shreds, he then unexpectedly handed back to them 10% shares each of the sixteen dollars that he had been given to thank them for their work and effort[8].  Paderewski had given away hundreds of dollars that rightfully belonged to him putting it back in the pockets of broke college students.  The story of Paderewski and these college students would not be over; we will return to their story in just a little bit. 

Today’s lesson comes to us from the Book of 2 Corinthians[9].  The new Bible study we’re doing at church is about the letters written by the Apostle Paul to the various 1st generation Christian Churches.  Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians deals with the theme of Christian Stewardship. 

A “steward” is considered one who manages the financial business of another[10].  The concept of Christian stewardship is laid out in Psalm 24 which declares: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it[11].”
So Christian Stewardship is how we manage the very resources that God has given us such as the Rich Man from the first story managed his money or Paderewski played his piano.  Stewardship is a reminder that everything that we own no matter whose name is on the bank account, credit card, or mortgage statement is a gift from God[12].

This notion of stewardship is on display throughout the scriptures.  In the life of Moses as the Israelites prepare to enter the “promised land.” Moses reminds them of all God has done to bring them to that place: release from Egyptian slavery, journey through the wilderness while being sustained by manna falling from the sky. God had provided for the people of Israel in awesome and direct ways.  But now as they journeyed forward, God’s role would not be so dramatic, but God’s activity would come in more indirect ways of sun, rain, and growth from the Earth[13].   The land ahead will be a “land of plenty,” where the Israelites will truly lack nothing if even this doesn’t appear to be so.   Moses had a very important reason for addressing the concept of stewardship so directly to the people of Israel.  He knew the more prosperous the people of Israel got, the more likely they were to forget from whom their blessings truly came.  Moses’ struggle with stewardship would soon become Paul’s struggle upon the birth of the Christian church[14]. 

So in our lesson Today, Paul seeks to address an issue of Stewardship directly.  The Christian church in Jerusalem has a lot of saints/members in need (Romans 15:25-26.[15])  The Corinthian Church has their share of well-off members[16].

Now the Corinthian Church given to the Jerusalem church was not to going to be easy.  These two churches illustrated in many ways the great divide of Paul’s day.  The Jerusalem church was predominantly Jewish Christian who would often treat Gentile Christians or new-believers which were dominant in Corinth as Second Class-Christians. In fact, many Jewish Christians would even refuse to dine with Gentile Christians.  Now Paul was boldly asking the Gentile Christians to open up their wallets to support those Jewish Christians with whom they’ve had tension. 

Paul instead encourages the Corinthians to give because whether Jew or Gentile they are truly one family in Christ Jesus.  Paul explains the situation as such:

“At present, your plenty will supply what they need so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little[17].”

Paul’s wants Stewardship to ultimately be thought of as the great equalizer of the Christian faith.  How the Cross took place so that both Jew and Gentile might praise together Christ’s mighty deeds of which stewardship is one part in the years ahead (Romans 15:1-13)[18].  We might struggle with stewardship because we notice our wallet getting smaller everytime we give up a dollar, it’s hard to see stewardship’s value immediately because of this.

Earlier I told you the story of the “piano-man,” Ignacy Paderewski who gave of his concert fee to help a couple struggling Leland Stanford college students.  Paderewski would go on to live a remarkable life.  He became wealthy due to his piano-playing and became a well-known philanthropist.  Paderewski was one of the most widely admired citizens in his native Poland[19].  Paderewski like the Apostle Paul would appeal to higher ideals in times of great internal strife.  World War I breaks out over Europe; Paderewski’s Poland is devastated in its wake.  Paderewski then gets appointed Poland’s Prime Minister.  Thousands of people are starving throughout his native land[20].  Paderewski needed to appeal to American allies to assist in the midst of this crisis. The Americans help Poland out.  Paderewski then travels to Paris to meet with the American official in charge of European relief efforts.  Paderewski hoped to thank the man in person.  The man graciously received Paderewski’s thanks.  He then pointed out “You don’t remember it, but you helped me once when I was a student at college at Stanford and I was in a hole[21]” of my own.  The college student who Paderewski helped out and eventually thanked went by the name of Herbert Hoover.

Paul in our lesson wants Stewardship to be the great equalizer of the Christian faith much as it eventually equalized Paderewski and Hoover.  Paul’s whole stewardship philosophy is based on the newfound realities of Christ’s death and resurrection.  “How Christ gave up his own extraordinary riches so that others might receive the abundant wealth of God’s Grace[22].”   

Let me close with one final story to illustrate this[23]; Little Ralphie belonged to a family of five.  One morning, Ralphie brought home five stones that he thought would make perfect tombstones for his family. 
“Look here,” Ralphie said to his mother.  Mother counted the five tombstones.  Mother points out Ralphie’s problem “There isn’t a tombstone for Deliah, the maid[24].” 

Ralphie was stumped for a moment; then he finally figured out the solution.

“Oh, well, never mind, Deliah can have mine, and I’ll just keep on living[25].”

I began today by telling you the story of a very rich man, who clung to his money like life itself, whereas Ralphie realized that there are things more important than money such as unoccupied tombstones.  Amen
 


[1] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching. Web. June.6.2018. Taken from unknown source. 
[2] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching.
[3] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching.
[4] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching
[5] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching.
[6] Bok, Edward. A. “Generosity.” Perhaps I Am. Web. June.6.2018. Taken from Sermon Illustrations.com
[7] “Ignacy Jan Paderewski.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 4.June.2018. Web. June.6.2018. 
[8] Bok, Edward. A. “Generosity.” Perhaps I Am.
[9] 2 Corinthians 8:7-15. 
[10] Stier, Leon. “Christian Stewardship(part one of two).” Email Mediatations. 5.June.2018. Web. June.6.2018. 
[11] Psalm 24:1. 
[12] Stier, Leon. “Christian Stewardship(part one of two).” Email Mediatations.
[13] Stier, Leon. “Christian Stewardship(part one of two).” Email Mediatations.
[14] Stier, Leon. “Christian Stewardship(part one of two).” Email Mediatations.
[15] Works, Carla. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 8:7-15.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 1.July.2012. Web. June.6.2018. 
[16] Adams, Edward. “Church at Corinth.” Bible Odyssey. Web. June.6.2018. 
[17] 2 Corinthians 8:14-15. 
[18] Works, Carla. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 8:7-15.” Working Preacher.
[19] Ignacy Jan Paderewski.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[20] Bok, Edward. A. “Generosity.” Perhaps I Am.
[21] Bok, Edward. A. “Generosity.” Perhaps I Am.
[22] 2 Corinthians 8:9. 
[23] “Generosity”. More Illustrations. Web. June.6.2018. 
[24] Generosity”. More Illustrations.
[25] Generosity”. More Illustrations.

First Lesson: 1 Samuel 17: (1, 4-11, 19-23), 32-49
Responsive Reading: Psalm 9: 9-20
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 6: 1-13
​Gospel Lesson: Mark 4: 35-41

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
 
Let me begin with a story as told by William Bennett[1]. Once upon a time, there was an old man who had lost his wife and now lived all alone.  The man had worked hard every day of his life as a tailor, financial misfortunate though had now left him penniless, and his body was too broken down to keep on working.  His hands trembled to where he could no longer thread a needle and his eyesight had declined where he could no longer properly stitch. The man had three sons who were grown and married. The sons would maybe try to stop in once a week to see their father though if they were busy other things would be given priority.
 
Dad kept declining more and more with every passing month.  His sons felt uncomfortable being around Dad in a declining state, so they kept coming up with excuses as to why they were never able to stop by at all.  Dad began to brainstorm for a solution, he finally after staying up all night thought of a way to bring his sons back around[2].
 
The next morning, he goes to see his friend a local carpenter, he orders a very large chest to be built.  He then goes to see a locksmith to purchase a lock for this chest.  Finally, he goes to see a glassblower and asks for any old, pieces of broken glass that he had lying around his shop[3].
 
The old man brings the chest home, locks it tight, and puts it underneath the kitchen table, so the next time his sons stopped by they couldn’t help but notice it. 
 
“What’s in the chest[4]?” They asked.  “Just some things that I’ve been saving?” said the old man.
 
One of the sons nudged the chest and realized how heavy its contents were, then heard a rattling from all the glass. “It must be all the gold that he’s saved over the years.” They began to whisper to one another.  They decided that they now needed to work together to guard this buried treasure.  They began staying with their father one at a time.  They cooked and cared for him while guarding this treasure[5].
 
Dad eventually grows sick and dies.  The sons decide that because of the treasure they should splurge and give him a very nice funeral.  Immediately after the funeral, they searched the house far and wide for the chest key[6]. 
 
They unlocked the chest and saw the treasure was nothing more than worthless broken, glass.  One son immediately got angry “What a rotten trick[7]!”  Another son realized a lesson in the chest “If it wasn’t for this chest, we would have neglected him until the end of his days[8].”
 
The sons then began to remove all the glass from the chest, at the chest’s very bottom read an inscription “HONOR THY FATHER AND MOTHER[9].”
 
The sons in our story always thought there was going to be a better time to see their father, whereas their father knew that time was going to be limited.  So Dad needed to do something radical to make his point about the nature of their time[10]. 
 
Today’s lesson comes to us from 2 Corinthians 6[11].  It’s a lesson that deals with the nature of God’s time.
 
Our lesson opens by declaring: “At an acceptable time I listened to you, in a day of salvation I helped you. Behold now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation[12].” 
 
Our lesson deals with the nature of time how God’s timing is different than our own.  Within the scripture, there are two words given for time[13].  The first word is Chronos which refers to the ticking of the clock.  Chronos is the limited number of hours that the old man’s sons had in the day that they prioritized.    Kairos refers to God’s time being very different from our own. 
 
The difference between God’s time and our own was referred to by the Psalmist when he declared: “For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past.”  The point is how very easy it is for us to misunderstand the value of our time[14].
 
Jim and Lois were traveling when they decided to stop along the road for lunch[15].  After lunch, they were twenty minutes from the diner when Lois makes a realization.  Lois had left her eyeglasses behind at the restaurant.  To make matters worse, they had to drive a way up the road before finding a spot to turn around. 
 
Jim was mad!! He complained the whole drive back about turning around and all the time they were wasting[16].  Lois was relieved when they arrived at the restaurant so that she could get a break from Jim’s constant complaining. 
 
As soon as Lois got out of the car though, Jim had one request for Lois “While you’re in there, you might as well get my hat and credit card.”  [17]
 
Jim is a prime example of someone who didn’t understand the value of his time.  We like Jim often struggle with the meaning of our time.  What our passage for Today reminds us is that what we seek to do with our time is ultimately a matter of faith.
 
Phillip McLarty tells the story of his dad sitting in church one Sunday when the preacher made the following point: “If you don’t like what you’re doing for a living, quit it, and do something else.[18]”
 
While most people would ignore such bold advice, his dad took it seriously.  He had been employed at a Ford dealership for fourteen years and made a decent living.  He was miserable and didn’t see things ever getting better. 
 
So he submits his two-week notice.  He had no prospects for future employment.  His friends thought he was off his rocker.  He had a wife and three young children dependent on his income.  He heard the word of the Lord and that was that[19].
 
Years of struggle go by, but Mr. McLarty starts his own auto repair shop.  The most difficult decision he ever had to make turned out to be the best decision that he ever made.  He understood God’s time, not in the matter of mere days, but rather seasons, and in the words of Ecclesiastes[20].
 
 “For everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die…a time to weep and a time to laugh.”  

God’s timing is different than our own.  God’s timing asks us to expect some situations not to resolve themselves for a very long period.  Longer than we wish or even desire.  Paul speaks of all the things God’s people might endure in the meantime in troubles, hardships and distresses  in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger[21].
 
But if we fail to recognize this the consequences of misunderstanding time can lead to disaster:
 
Let me close with one final story.  Once upon a time, a United States Senator was walking down the street[22].  He gets hit by a truck where he is immediately transported to heaven.  The Senator is greeted by Saint Peter at the pearly gates.  Saint Peter upon his arrival points out “Before you settle in you’re going to have to spend one day in Hell and one day in Heaven.  Then you can choose where to spend eternity.”  Peter immediately transports the Senator to Hell.
 
The door to Hell opens and the Senator sees a beautiful golf course, he then approaches the clubhouse where he sees plenty of his old companions, they play golf, dine on Lobster and drink champagne together.  When the Senator meets the Devil he is charming, funny and an excellent dancer.  The Senator really enjoys his one day in Hell[23].
 
The elevator goes pack up where Saint Peter is waiting for him once again.  The Senator then spends a day in Heaven.  Heaven is nice enough, all sorts of harps playing in the background, and the Senator is perfectly content with his surroundings[24].
 
Saint Peter then takes the Senator aside and asks him where he wishes to spend eternity. The Senator ponders the question before replying: “I would have never said it before. I mean Heaven is delightful, but I think I would be better off in Hell.”
 
Saint Peter shrugs the Senator goes back down the elevator what he sees in Hell is not what he had remembered.  Hell is a barren wasteland, covered in garbage, with the occupants covered in hideous rags. 
 
The Devil comes over to greet the Senator.  The Senator says “I don’t understand, yesterday there was a golf course where we ate lobster and danced all night.  Now there’s garbage all over, and everyone is in misery. What exactly happened[25]?
 
The Devil looks at the Senator, smiles and says “Yesterday we were campaigning…Today, you voted[26].”
 
This story makes sense of Paul’s closing words from our lesson how we might seem to have nothing, yet posses everything[27].
 
The Senator’s one day in Hell misled him into making the gravest of errors. Time can often do the same thing in our own lives.  The Apostle Paul proclaims within our lesson: “Now is the day of Salvation.”
 
We struggle as Christian people because even though the Cross changes everything, it doesn’t change things fast enough for our liking.  We struggle to hear that God’s timeframe often fails to match our own.  The course of history belongs to God rather than ourselves! Sometimes like in the case of the lonely old tailor drastic courses of action are required for us to realize this.  As in the case of Jim and Lois and the Diner our impatience is often on great display.  As in the case of the mechanic, Mr. McLarty faith and patience do eventually pay off.
 
Today is the Day of Salvation! Today is the Day of Forgiveness! Today is the Day of God’s Grace being poured over our lives even if these realities will not make sense to us until the Day of Resurrection that is soon to come!  Amen       


[1] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations. 13. Mar.2016. Web. June.5.2018 taken from William Bennett’s The Book of Virtues.
[2] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[3] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[4] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[5] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[6] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[7] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[8] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[9] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[10] Stier, Leon. “No Time for the Old Man.” Email Mediatations.
[11] 2 Corinthians 6:1-13. 
[12] 2 Corinthians 6:2. 
[13] McLarty, Phillip. “What Time Is It?” Sermon Writer. 2014. Web. June.5.2018
[14] Psalm 90:4
[15] Stier, Leon. “A Time to Laugh (A).” Email Mediatations. 5.Oct.2015. Web. June.5.2018. 
[16] Stier, Leon. “A Time to Laugh (A).” Email Mediatations.
[17] Stier, Leon. “A Time to Laugh (A).” Email Mediatations.
[18] McLarty, Phillip. “What Time Is It?” Sermon Writer.
[19] McLarty, Phillip. “What Time Is It?” Sermon Writer.
[20] McLarty, Phillip. “What Time Is It?” Sermon Writer.
[21] 2 Corinthians 6:4b-5. 
[22] Mast, Stan. “2 Corinthians 6:1-13.” Center for Excellence in Preaching. Calvin Seminary. 2015. Web. June.5.2018 found on Text Week.
[23] Mast, Stan. “2 Corinthians 6:1-13.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[24] Mast, Stan. “2 Corinthians 6:1-13.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[25] Mast, Stan. “2 Corinthians 6:1-13.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[26] Mast, Stan. “2 Corinthians 6:1-13.” Center for Excellence in Preaching.
[27] 2 Corinthians 6:10b.  

First Lesson: 1 Samuel 15: 34 - 16:13
Responsive Reading: Psalm 20
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 5: 6-10, (11-13), 14-17
​Gospel Lesson: Mark 4: 26-34

Now my Grandma was widowed at the age of 50.  She’s been pretty much single ever since.  According to Grandma, this has not been due to a lack of attention from area gentleman.  Now while Grandma is certainly colorful, she’s never had traditional advantages in dating such as youth, fitness, or steady employment yet none of these things seemingly mattered when it comes to attracting suitors. 

When Grandma was 65, she was convinced a young lawyer fresh out of law school would always get a “twinkle in his eye” whenever he saw her. 

When Grandma was around “70”, she got really upset when our minister who was twenty years her junior hugged her convinced that he had a hidden agenda from his wife.

When Grandma was “75”, I took a trip with her to California.  While waiting for a rental car, Grandma struck up a friendship with a group of Marines.  Pretty soon, Grandma and the Marines were having a grand old time playing cards together.  As Grandma and I approached the car, she turns to me with a big smile to say “I think they kind of liked me.”

Even today approaching “95” later this year while spending her days in a wheelchair, Grandma remains convinced that nearly everyone at her nursing home from residents to administrators cannot possibly resist her charms. Grandma’s confidence will certainly stun others.

Today, I want to talk about what we can learn about our faith from people like my Grandma.

Today’s Lesson to us declares[1] “So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body; we are away from the Lord[2].”

Paul within our lesson is writing about one of the greatest conflicts within the Corinthian Church over the meaning of Christ’s Resurrection. The questions raised were:  1. When will our loved ones rise from the dead? 2. Will the wait be worth it?

The importance of Resurrection was central in Paul’s preaching to the Corinthians.

“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain"-1st Corinthians 15:13-14.

Here’s what makes Paul’s confidence similar to my Grandma’s.  Paul knew over time human bodies would grow weaker.  The Corinthians would indeed grow more fearful over the future.  The human body does have limitations and decay brought on by  age, strength, sin, and death.  These things though should not be a reason to lose confidence over what lies ahead. 

“For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”-1st Corinthians 15:53. 

The lesson speaks to the source of Paul’s confidence in the Resurrection that is soon to come. So Paul brings up the issue of confidence yet again: “We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord[3].”

Paul in our lesson expresses that his belief in the Resurrection is so strong that the members of the Corinthian Church can remain confident in spite of the death of their loved ones[4]. What lies ahead is better than anything that we’re encountering on this present day.  The Corinthians can remain confident in spite of any other events that might come their way even Earthquakes.  

Frank Lloyd Wright is considered one of the greatest architects in American history[5].  In 1922, he was approached about a designing a hotel in Japan that would be able to survive an earthquake.  Wright travels to Japan where he sees a site with eight feet of earth to be built upon sixty feet of mud.  Wright decided not that such an earthquake-proof building would be impossible, but rather he needed to be innovative in its design.   Wright built the Imperial Hotel like a ship.  Wright designed the hotel so that if the Earth beneath it moved which he was expecting, then the hotel would travel along with it absorbing minimal damage in the process.  The rooms were built like train cars hinged together, pipes and lines were hung from the ceiling rather than the ground as protection for any Earthquake related fire. 

In 1923, a huge earthquake hits Tokyo. 7.9[6] on the Richter Scale, nearly 140,000 people were killed, fires burned all over the city.  A newspaper reporter calls up Frank Lloyd Wright for comment upon hearing a rumor that his hotel had been destroyed,  Wright told the reporter to print whatever he wanted about the rumor, but be ready to issue a retraction when his hotel survives.  A short time later, Wright receives a telegram declaring “The Imperial Hotel was completely undamaged[7].” The Imperial ended up taking in hundreds of people from all over the city as other structures in Tokyo burned. 

Jesus said: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash[8].

Here’s what the story of Frank Lloyd Wright reminds us. We might see all sorts of evidence of forces seeking to devour us.  The ground might seemingly be shaking underneath our feet.  But God’s word will come through in the end because it is solid as a rock.  Just as Christ rose from the dead before the eyes of the disciples, they would soon witness Resurrection’s powers once more. 

Howard Schnellenberger is an American Football coach born in 1934[9].  Schnellenberger was an All-American Football player at the University of Kentucky under the man considered by some to be Football’s greatest Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.  He then advances up the coaching ranks, becoming the Offensive Coordinator for the NFL Miami Dolphins.  In 1972, The Miami Dolphins became the only pro team in the last seventy-five years to never lose a game during the season.

In 1979, Schnellenberger is hired as the Head Coach at the University of Miami.  The University of Miami’s football program was in such rough shape at the time of Schnellenberger's arrival that the administration debated whether to eliminate their college football team due to lack of interest.  Local kids thought the University of Miami was a joke and looked for any excuse to go attend school elsewhere.  Five years after being hired, Schelleneberger and  Miami were the college football national champions.

After moving on from Miami, another opportunity soon presented itself for Schellenberger.  In 1985, his hometown University of Louisville was looking for a football coach[10].  The Cardinals were bad.  The Cardinals didn’t have their own stadium, and the crowds they drew were so small that the school often tried to give away tickets desperately.  The situation was so dire that once again officials were considering dropping the team to a lower level playing smaller schools and investing less money.

A typical coach would have downplayed expectations upon getting the job.  Schnellenberger though was different.  Schnellenberger stands at the podium of his first press conference and declares this team “is on a collision course with the national championship. The only variable is time[11].” The room grows silent; jaws are dropped on the floor.  A team that had been terrible for years becoming champions, no one should believe such a thing. 

Schnellenberger becomes an object for scorn; only Howard Schnellenberger would end up having the last word.  Six years after his arrival, The Cardinals would go 11-1-1 ending the season with a convincing win over traditional power in Alabama.  Schnellenberger's brash confidence had been backed up as the Cardinals were indeed contenders for a National Championship.  

Schnellenberger had seen things work out for him in college football before and inevitability believed they would do so in the future.  It was the same way for the Apostle Paul as he wrote our lesson.  Paul had seen the Risen Lord upon the Road to Damascus. Paul had seen Christian congregations rise from nothing in places such as Corinth.  Paul had seen Resurrection more than once and believed that it would happen again soon! Paul had reasons for his confidence, and it was not going to waver no matter what. 

Back to the story of my Grandma and her popularity, upon graduating high school, she enrolled at Macalester College right as World War II was breaking out.  Grandma spent one year at Macalester where her claim to fame was a “cheerleader” for the Scots.  Grandma with World War II breaking out received multiple marriage proposals which she considered before saying “yes” to my grandpa Kermit.  Grandma throughout her life never stopped believing that her confidence should be any less than a Macalester cheerleader.  Her age didn’t matter when it came to the previous confidence that she had been given.   

What Paul is saying to us Today is a rehashing of Jesus’ words “Take heart; Do not be afraid[12].” God’s promises are the same yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever.  When we doubt any potential outcome, we look towards the cross.  We look towards the promises of Resurrection that lie ahead.  We are reminded that Resurrection shall eventually overcome all the forces of this world whether being one of the worst teams around, earthquakes, or even old age.  For while we might seemingly be away from the Lord at this very moment, our confidence in Resurrection reminds us that it will not always be so.  Amen
 


[1] 2 Corinthians 5:6-17 
[2] 2 Corinthians 5:6. 
[3] 2 Corinthians 5:8. 
[4] Works, Carla. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 [11-13] 14-17.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 17.June.2012. Web. June.4.2018. 
[5] “Confidence.” Bits and Pieces. 7.Jan.1993. PG.11-14. Web. Taken from Sermon Illustrations.
[6] “1923 Great Kantō earthquake.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 15.May.2018. Web. June.4.2018. 
[7] “Confidence.” Bits and Pieces.
[8] Matthew 7:24-27. 
[9] “Howard Schnellenberger.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 28.Mar.2018. Web. June.4.2018. 
[10] Howard Schnellenberger.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[11] Howard Schnellenberger.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[12] Matthew 14:27

First Lesson: Samuel 8: 4-11, (12-15), 16-20, (11:14-15)
Responsive Reading: Psalm 130
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 4: 13 - 5:1
​Gospel Lesson: Mark 3: 20-35

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
Once upon a time, there were two men who I’ll call Larry and John who were both ill and roommates in a hospital in Minneapolis[1].  Larry was allowed to sit up in his bed for one hour each afternoon to get fluid drained from his lungs.  Larry’s bed was next to the room’s only window.  John was required to spend his days lying still on his back.

Larry and John soon became good friends.  They would speak for hours on end about families, jobs, time in service, hobbies, and vacations.  Every afternoon, Larry would describe to John in great detail all that he saw out the window.

The highlight of John’s days was hearing Larry’s descriptions of the outside. 

Larry told John about a lovely park outside[2].  John heard about a lake where ducks and swans floated on the water, and children played with their model boats.  On a nearby path, lovers would walk by holding hands.  Flowers of every color of the rainbow sat in this park with huge trees completing the landscape.  The Minneapolis Skyline could be seen in the distance.  Even Target Field as both Larry and John were huge Twins fans.  John’s eyes would close, and a huge smile would break out on his face as Larry described these scenes. 

One afternoon, Larry even described a parade complete with floats and bands passing by the window.  John was thrilled as he pictured the most fun days of his years growing up when the parade came during his small town’s festival.  

Eventually, though John began to think, He wondered “Why should Larry have all this pleasure, while I never gets to see anything.”

John came to believe that Larry’s window wasn’t fair.  John began to resent Larry more and more with each passing day slowly.  John’s anger caused him to lose sleep at night[3]. 

One night though, John heard Larry start to cough.  It was a violent, unsettling cough[4].  Larry was choking on the fluid in his lungs.  John watched as Larry attempted to reach out to hit his call button, yet never quite hit it.  John never reached for his button.  Five minutes later, Larry’s coughing stopped.  The room was now silent.

The next morning, Larry’s lifeless body is removed from John’s room[5].  Later the next afternoon, John requested to be moved next to Larry’s window.  The nurse agrees to do so.  John gets excited at all the sights that he will now see.  As soon as John’s bed is moved, he props himself up on an elbow for his first look out the magic window.  John anticipates a joy soon coming like he hadn’t encountered in weeks.  As his head starts to turn slowly, he sees that what Larry’s window faced was a blank wall.

Today’s lesson contains some potentially difficult words for us to hear as Christian people.  These words are as difficult as John hearing descriptions day after day of an outside world that he couldn’t see. 

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal[6].”  These are words that the Apostle Paul drives further home in the next chapter when he declares: “For we walk by faith, not by sight[7].”

To understand Paul’s words, you need to know that one of the great conflicts within the Corinthian Church which Paul had previously visited was over the meaning of Resurrection. Believers were growing impatient at Christ not returning quick enough.  They thought Resurrection to be perhaps a hoax no different than the stories that Larry was telling his roommate John about the magical window.

Woody Allen, some years ago, declared: “If only God would give me one solid clue like depositing fifty thousand in my bank account[8].”

Woody Allen’s request though is as old as time itself.  When Moses stood on Mount Sinai he asked God to “Show me your glory[9]?” or “Give me just one good look[10].  Moses had a point if God would do this it would probably straighten out the disobedient Golden-Calf worshipping Israelites. 

In a world where I can look up details from a Vikings game from 1989 on my phone within seconds, not getting direct answers to the biggest questions in the universe can certainly frustrate[11].

Here’s the thing though perhaps the reason that we can’t see God’s face is that God doesn’t exist as we exist.  God doesn’t exist merely in material and visible ways.  Faith calls us to trust in invisible realities even when we’d like fifty-thousand dollars placed directly into our bank account. 

Martin Niemoller was born in Germany in 1892[12].  In World War I, he was a U-Boat officer in the German Navy.  Upon the completion of the War, Niemoller returned to school to become a Lutheran Pastor.  Niemoeller was a vocal opponent of the Weimar Republic set up in Germany in World War I’s wake[13].  Niemoeller was at first open-minded to Hitler’s opposition to the Weimar Republic.  He quickly came to see the Nazi Party’s agenda incompatible with his Christian faith.  Niemoller became a founder of a German resistance movement eventually becoming involved in the founding of the Confessing Church with Dietrich Bonhoeffer[14]. In 1937, Martin Niemoller was arrested.  He would spend the next seven years of his life in prison seemingly facing imminent execution. Niemoller could smell burning human flesh from his prison cell[15].  Years later, Niemoller was asked how he could survive all those days in prison while maintaining not only his sanity but also his faith.  

Niemoller replied that we do not know how much we can survive until our tests ultimately come.  “If God dwells in your life, you can stand far more than you think[16].”

All Niemoller could do spending day after day in a prison cell was cling to hope that what he could not see was ultimately more powerful than anything he had seen.  The following belief is what it means to walk by “faith” and not by “sight.”

Author W.P. Kinsella writes the novel Shoeless Joe which was eventually made into a very popular movie called Field of Dreams.

Shoeless Joe tells the story of a struggling Iowa corn farmer named Ray Kinsella.  Kinsella loved two things in the world his family; wife Annie and daughter Karin plus the game of Baseball.  One day while out in the fields, Ray hears a voice almost as if from on high declare “If you build it, he will come[17].”

Ray and Annie discuss the voice which provides no clarity as to what Ray is exactly supposed to build nor who will come.  Ray builds a baseball field in the middle of his corn crop.  For a struggling farmer, this would seem to be an act of foolishness.  Building a baseball field was the boldest act of faith a corn farmer can imagine, especially with a mortgage due.

Following through on any act of faith was not going to be easy as we don’t always control our own future.  Ray can merely be guided by promise that his faith will be given a eventual meaning. 

Pretty soon though faith gives way to sight as appearing on Ray’s field is Baseball’s legendary Shoeless Joe Jackson.  The rest of the book has Ray hearing more voices “ease his pain” “go to the distance.” Leading Ray on a pair of cross-country journeys to bring redemption and healing to those who didn’t think it was possible. 

When Ray Kinsella first heard a voice, he saw merely a cornfield, yet he would soon come to see there was something beyond the cornfield that would eventually gather people from far and wide to have their lives changed.    

The Apostle Paul would write to the Corinthian Church earlier in his ministry[18]: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known[19].”

Ray Kinsella’s cornfield would reunite him with his Baseball playing father[20].  A strange voice would turn into a manifest reality before his very eyes. 

We can probably relate to Ray Kinsella or John dreaming about Larry’s window.  We wonder why doesn’t the Holy Spirit speak more clearly to us[21]? Why can’t God make his intentions clear? Why don’t we get $50,000 placed in our bank account?  Why can’t we see God’s face?

Here’s why we do walk by faith and not by sight? God knows more than we can ever fathom.  God knows more about sin, grace, heaven, hell, death, and resurrection.  We see the Cross as God’s ending when in reality it is merely the beginning.  We see the temporary on this day, but we cannot see the eternal.  The good news is our God can see both the temporary and the eternal. 

Larry could see many wonderful things out his hospital room window; John merely saw an empty wall.  As people of faith like Larry, we are called not to cling to the temporary windows we see on this day, but rather the great eternal hope given to all God’s people.  Amen


[1] The following is a reimagining of a story told by AuthorUnknown posted on Stories for Preaching retrieved on May, 29, 2018. 
[2] Author Unknown. “The Window.” Stories for Preaching. Web. May.29.2018. 
[3] Author Unknown. “The Window.” Stories for Preaching.
[4] Author Unknown. “The Window.” Stories for Preaching.
[5] Author Unknown. “The Window.” Stories for Preaching.
[6] 2 Corinthians 4:18. 
[7] 2 Corinthians 5:7
[8] Bowen, Gilbert. “Life by the Invisible.” Sermon Writer. 2005. Web. May.29.2018. 
[9] Exodus 33:18. 
[10] Bowen, Gilbert. “Life by the Invisible.” Sermon Writer.
[11] Bowen, Gilbert. “Life by the Invisible.” Sermon Writer.
[12] “Martin Niemoeller.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 7. May.2018. Web. May.29.2018. 
[13] Martin Niemoeller.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[14] Martin Niemoeller.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[15] Bowen, Gilbert. “Secularism: The Subtle Enemy.” Sermon Writer. 2006. Web. May.29.2018. 
[16] Bowen, Gilbert. “Secularism: The Subtle Enemy.” Sermon Writer.
[17] Huston, Jeffrey. “Why ‘Field of Dreams’ Is the Best Christian Parable in Movie History.” On Faith. Web. May.29.2018. 
[18] King, David. A. “Field of Dreams’ shines in the light of faith.” Georgia Bulletin. 19.May.2017. Web. May.29.2018. 
[19]1st Corinthians 13:12. 
[20] Wahl, Keith. “Field of Dreams - The Journey of Faith.” Complete Game Ministries. 30.Nov.2017. Web. May.29.2018. 
[21] Huston, Jeffrey. “Why ‘Field of Dreams’ Is the Best Christian Parable in Movie History.” On Faith.

First Lesson: 1 Samuel 3: 1-10, (11-20)
Responsive Reading: Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18
Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 4: 5-12
Gospel Lesson: Mark 2: 23- 3:6

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
​
“The world is mysteriously full of suffering.” But he also said, “The world is mysteriously full of the overcoming of suffering…overcoming which leads to life[1].”- Albert Schweizer

Let me begin by telling you the story of a woman named Nadia[2].  While Nadia grew away far from here, Nadia’s experiences aren’t that uncommon.  Nadia grew up in a family of six.  Her father never showed her any love as a child.  Nadia viewed her dad, not as a loving father but rather a stern judge.  Nadia’s dad was physically and emotionally abusive to both his wife and all of his children.  Nadia witnessed her mom being beaten to within an inch of her life[3].  Nadia understood her mom endured this as a means of protecting her children.  Nadia witnessed her brothers fleeing from her dad out of sheer terror and despair fearing the same.  Nadia’s family had heard plenty of religious messages over the years, yet the outcomes with her father remained the same.

Nadia eventually leaves her home and moves far, far away[4].  She tried to come to terms with her faith.  She could never wrap her head around how a God above though could be a loving father.  Nadia lived every day of her life overwhelmed with negative views of the men she encountered.  Nadia one day prayed to God to take her life.  What ends up happening to Nadia, we’ll get back to her story in just a little bit.

Today’s Lesson comes to us from the Life of the Apostle Paul[5].  We’ll be looking at Paul’s life and ministry in greater depth this Summer.

Paul had grown up Saul; Saul had what could be described as a comfortable life of power and prestige.  One day while walking on the Road to Damascus, Saul’s life gets turned upside down[6].  Saul converts from the Church’s greatest enemy to its greatest evangelist. 

Saul had not only come to believe that Jesus is Lord! Paul came to the belief that life came from death, purpose comes from pain, and suffering shall lead to eventual joy.  So as Saul becomes Paul, he endures Malaria, shipwreck, and arrest.  As hardship keeps coming Paul’s way day after day, he never despairs[7]. 

Today’s lesson comes to us from the Book of 2 Corinthians[8].  Paul begins our lesson by talking about a great treasure coming in “jars of clay” that we shall soon inherit.  Paul speaks of this treasure coming in the very things that seemingly can easily break. 

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed[9].”

How exactly does this work? How do we receive treasure though in clay jars?

Margaret O’ Rourke Gaffney was born in Ireland in 1813[10].  Gaffney’s family was poor at a time when Ireland was poor in the country due to British rule and summer famine.  When Margaret was five, her family immigrated to America.  Conditions were so harsh on board her ship; everyone was only allowed one cracker a day to try to survive on.  Her family eventually settles in Baltimore.  At the age of 9, a yellow fever wave hits the city leading to Margaret losing both per parents and becoming an orphan.  When things seemingly couldn’t get any worse, her older brother abandoned her, leaving her homeless at the age of 9.  Margaret eventually gets taken by a woman of Welsh ancestry to work as a servant and washwoman.  Margaret never learned to read or write on account of never receiving a formal education.

Margaret at the age of 21, gets married to a man named Charles Haughery (how-er-ree)[11]. They would soon move to New Orleans.  Charles though was sick as the couple had their first child Frances.  Charles Haughery would die a short time after Frances’ birth, and Frances would die a short time later.  Margaret lost her entire family for the second time in her life at 23.  Margaret could merely remark: “My God! Thou hast broken every tie: Thou hast stripped me of all. Again I am all alone[12].”

It was the loss of Charles and Frances that would forever change Margaret’s course in life.

Margaret was going to dedicate her life to the causes of the poor, widowed, and orphaned[13].  Margaret went to work ironing clothes nearby an orphanage.  When she got paid her meager wages, she would give a generous portion to this orphanage.

She then began working full-time in the orphanage, when the orphans would run out of food, Margaret would give every cent to her name to provide for them.  Margaret eventually got started trying to raise money for them; she raised so much money, several new orphanages opened in New Orleans. Margaret becomes an orphanage administrator.

As an administrator, she eventually reveals herself to be a brilliant businesswoman: she purchased cows and made enough distributing dairy throughout the city that the orphans were nourished, and the orphanages were soon debt free[14].  She eventually becomes a bread baker turning her into a rich woman.  She came to be known as the “Bread Woman of New Orleans.” Margaret saw to it that this bread ended up in the hands of any destitute who needed it. 

As the Civil War raged in New Orleans, Margaret found a new generation of orphans to support through her bread making.  After the Civil War, Margaret became one of the most renowned people in the city with people from all walks of life coming to her for advice.  Margaret throughout her lifetime gave away over $600,000 for New Orleans’ widowed, poor, and orphaned.  This money would be worth over 15 million dollars Today.  Margaret died in 1882.  She was so renowned throughout the city that she was given a state funeral.  Upon her death, due to her thriftiness including only owning two dresses, she was able to leave her entire vast estate to fund New Orleans’ orphanages further.

In the wake of Margaret’s death, a monument was built in the city to honor her legacy.  The monument read: “She was a mother to the motherless; she was a friend to those who had no friends; she had wisdom greater than schools can teach; we will not let her memory go from us[15].”  Many Catholics today believe because of her efforts, she deserves being declared a “saint.”  Margaret today remains one of the most prominent regarded people in New Orleans’ history[16]. 

Margaret Haughery’s life is the greatest of testimonies to receiving treasures in clay jars of becoming an orphan, abandoned by her brother, working hard-thankless jobs, yet all these things eventually revealing itself in a greater purpose.  Margaret’s life reminds us that as fragile and broken as we might be.  God can find treasure in the lowliest clay jars of life even upon a cross. 

“For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake[17].”
How God shines through our broken lives for the sake of our Gospel.  How even certain death has ways of bringing about Resurrection. 

Jesus was hanging upon the Cross when he cried out what we maybe cried out a time or to throughout our life. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me[18]?”  It was in Christ being forsaken that God’s greatest of promises would be known[19]. 

As Paul concludes our lesson for Today: “So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you[20].”

What ends up happening to Nadia, who was contemplating taking her own life[21]?  Nadia decides against killing herself as not to shame her mother.  Nadia then encounters a woman from back home.  The woman admits that she is a non-believer but that her daughter’s life had been changed upon an encounter no different than Saul becoming Paul with the Risen Lord.  Nadia decides to attend a church near her home.  Nadia has her Damascus Road salvation experience, like the Apostle Paul her life was forever transformed.
Nadia began to see men in a new way, she no longer saw them as her mortal enemy but rather as forgiven sinners[22]. 

Nadia’s previous suffering began to lead to a newfound sense of joy. As Nadia begins to encounters a “new” loving heavenly father, she began to forgive her own “dad” slowly[23].

Nadia began to travel home more frequently.  Nadia’s father at first seemed beyond hope of redemption.  He left Nadia’s mom for a woman who was Nadia’s age.  Her mother’s tortuous marriage had ended with unimaginable shame.   Nadia though refused to give up on her father[24].

Nadia’s dad eventually gets a diagnosis of terminal cancer.  His new wife leaves him.  Nadia’s mom cares for him when no one else would dare.  Nadia reaches out to him, yet again in the days before his death.  Nadia tells him the story of Jesus and the Thief at the Cross “How it is never too late to receive God’s forgiveness.  Nadia’s dad cries out for forgiveness as he grabs her mother’s hand[25].  The story of Nadia’s father shows us no matter how dark a path might be in this life; the cross ultimately changes everything. 

Saul of Tarsus was a man much like Nadia’s father.  He was a man who persecuted the Christian Church and lashed out at those around him.  Saul becoming a “Christian” seems too unbelievable to hear, even as unbelievable as the worst father in the world.  The Cross does change everything.  The Cross gives meaning to sin and suffering.  The Cross gives hope.  Saul becomes Paul.  Paul proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the whole wide world.  The stories of Nadia, Margaret of New Orleans, and Paul remind us that Grace continually comes to us in the most unlikely of places.  Amen


[1] Bowen, Gilbert. “Down But Never Out.” Sermon Writer. 2003. Web. May.22.2018
[2 Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father” Eternal Pespective Ministries 18.May.2018. Web. May.22.2018.  Taken from  Email Mediatations.
[3] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[4] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[5] 2 Corinthians 4:5-12
[6] Acts 9:1-31. 
[7] Bowen, Gilbert. “Down But Never Out.”
[8] 2 Corinthians 4:5-12
[9] 2 Corinthians 4:7-8. 
[10] “Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 29.Jan.2018. Web. May.26.2018.
[11] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[12] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
[13] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[14] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[15] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[16] Margaret Haughery.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
[17] 2 Corinthians 4:5.
[18] Mark 15:34.
[19] Malcolm, Lois. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:5-12.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 3.June.2018. Web. May.28.2018. 
[20] 2 Corinthians 4:12.
[21] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[22] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[23] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[24] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.
[25] Nadia (Psedouymn). “I Couldn’t Call God Father.” Eternal Pespective Ministries.

First Lesson: Acts 2: 1-21
Responsive Reading: Psalm 104: 24-35b
Second Lesson: Romans 8: 22-27
Gospel Lesson: John 15: 26-27; 16: 4b-15

Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Let me begin with a story told by author Margaret Wise Brown[1]. 

Once upon a time, there was a young bunny.  The young bunny was at the age where he was ready to leave his home.  So he continually taunted his mother with the threat that he will run so far away from home that she will never be able to find him.  The young bunny had his share of big dreams.  He first proclaims upon leaving his home: he will become a mountain.  The mother just calmly states if that you a become mountain then I will become a mountain climber.  The bunny then declares he will become a trout and swim around the lake where Mother surely cannot go.  To which mother reminds the young bunny, no problem she will then become a fisherman.  The bunny then declares he will become a flower that Mother will be unable to find, to which Mother declares that she will then become a gardener.  The bunny lastly threatens to become a bird so that he can fly far away from the only home he’s ever known, at which point the mother bunny declares at that point “I will then become a tree to which you can eventually come home.”  The message of The Runaway Bunny is this, no matter where you, no matter what you do, you are always assured of a place of love and acceptance that you can call your home[2].

Now I want you to keep the image of The Runaway Bunny in your head.  Today is a day when two important events take place in the life of our congregation.  Today is the Day of Pentecost, the Birthday of the Christian Church, the day when the Disciples were gathered unsure of what the future had in store.

On this day, the wind began to blow.  The disciples began to speak in every sort of language imaginable.  Pretty soon the commotion caused a huge crowd to gather; the people weren’t quite sure what was going on “They have had too much wine.” The crowd shouted. 

Then Peter began to preach.  “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Three thousand new believers were baptized on this day their life would never be the same again as forgiveness now had been proclaimed within their presence.  Today we also celebrate, Lily, Mallory and Timmy your Baptism, and it’s meaning as you are confirmed.  So what does your Confirmation mean?

Now each of you are athletes for the Silver Bay Mariners.   Lily a volleyball and basketball player, Mallory a volleyball player, Timmy a football, basketball, and baseball player.  Sports can teach us much about the message of The Runaway Bunny. 

I was just a few years older than you are all now.  I was a junior at Concordia College.  Now when I was in college, I wasn’t much different than I am now.  Every chance I got I would make the trip 250 miles down Interstate 94 to watch the Minnesota Vikings play.  I did it in good weather, in a snowstorm.  Most college kids travel abroad, the only place I ever wanted to go was Minneapolis. 

One Day, the Vikings were on this day playing the New York Giants.  If the Vikings won, they were going to the Super Bowl for the first time in my lifetime.  I bought all sorts of food, invited all sorts of people to my apartment.

 Five minutes into the game, the Vikings are losing 14-0.  At halftime, the Vikings are losing 34-0.  People’s reactions were quite interesting.  Some would storm off and issue all sorts of church inappropriate language; some would turn on the Vikings reminding everyone “how they're nothing more than ‘chokers’,” some would stay silent.

After halftime, the apartment is now empty. I vowed thought that I was going to watch every second of that 41-0 football game.  I didn’t care what anyone else thought.  I was born a Vikings fan, and I’ll eventually die a Vikings fan.  The following commitment will be true whether they win championship after championship or fail to win another game.  Just like in the story of the Runaway Bunny, some promises are written to you so strongly that they ultimately cannot be forsaken.  

Earlier this fall, I attended a similar football game.  Silver Bay was playing Mountain Iron-Buhl.  I should have known we were in trouble when before the game I saw a MIB parent who looked like a dead ringer for Hulk Hogan.  Coming into the game the Mariners had several starters injured; the Rangers were bigger, faster, and stronger.  Mountain Iron-Buhl won on this night 50-0.  There would seem to be nothing good ever come of a game like this if you’re associated with Silver Bay.

After the game, I was walking back to the school alongside that evening’s referees.  The refs commented to me how impressed they were with Silver Bay even in a 50-0 game.  They pointed out how their attitude was good, the effort never wavered, and they never sought to result to the type of dirty player often found in blowouts.  While no one can ever see any good when the score is 50-0, on this day I received a promise that things will ultimately get better down the line.   

Today, Mallory, Lily, and Timmy you will be confirmed as Lutherans.  Two of the most important questions that I asked in confirmation was “What is the Law?”, and “What is the Gospel?”

The Law is this.  We all have times in life where we feel we’re not good enough.  It might be when we lose football games 50-0, or when we struggle with a test at school, it might be when we see all the ways we seemingly don’t measure up with those around us.  We face the law when we’re six when we’re told we can’t run in the streets, we face the law at sixteen when seemingly every kid in NE Minnesota is our competition, we face the law at twenty-six when our checkbooks seemingly are continually running low on funds, we face the law at thirty-six when we realize we’re no longer able to eat a bag of Oreos without consequences.   We will all get older, grayer, and ultimately weaker.  These are the harshest forms of the Law the types of judgment that confront us every single day. 

So what is the Gospel?? Saturday after 50-0 loss to MIB, I go to my office fire off an email to the Coach Kaiser.  As I described earlier, I view results as far from the most important thing in football. So I decided to write the Coach and tell him what a wonderful job that I think he’s doing with the football team because of what the Refs had told me even as the Mariners had lost their last two football games like 90-0. I caught even Coach Kaiser off guard with my response. 

The Gospel is a reminder that Our Lord has a plan even when it doesn’t seem obvious.  Our reminder of this is the Cross of Christ.  The Gospel doesn’t promise us that we will never have our moments where difficult times and harsh judgments are continually slammed in our face.  The Gospel reminds us that life is much more than we see on this present day.  Despair comes before Hope.  Sin comes before forgiveness. Death comes before Resurrection.

The years ahead will bring us face to face with the challenges of your faith.  You might like a lot of confirmands before you, be unsure how Church fits into all this.  That’s O.K.  Earlier, I told you the tale of the Runaway Bunny.  What the story reminds us is that we never other grow our need for grace.  We never outgrow our need for a place that we can truly call our home.  We never outgrow the promises given in our baptism and confirmed on this day.

Lily, Mallory, Timmy. “I have you called by name; You are Mine.” –Isaiah 43:1.

Now let me close with words about each of the Confirmands. 

Timmy Perfetto-Timmy is the only kid that I’ve ever confirmed who nearly got me banned from a rival school.  The Mariners were playing the Two Harbors Agates in Boys Basketball.  The year before watching an episode of College Gameday I saw the Washington State flag and thought we needed a Mariner flag both for Silver Bay and away games which Mrs. Ollila then ordered.  So I naturally brought the Mariner flag down to our biggest rival in Two Harbors.  Our fans were outnumbered on this night like 8-1.  The game was close; every Mariner basket brought the flag out to be waved.  Mariners win the game after Two Harbors misses a three at the buzzer.  I made the mistake of leaving the flag unattended in the immediate aftermath of the game. Next thing I do is turn around to see Timmy running laps with it on the Agates court. I’ve learned that I need to be careful where I bring the flag now in Two Harbors.  Timmy is the second Perfetto that I’ve confirmed.  .  Timmy though has been coming here for years now.   As we stand together on this day, Timmy has grown up before my eyes.  His coaches couldn’t speak higher of his attitude.  Community members speak highly of his work and good manners down at Zup’s.  My advice is always to keep your cool as we often tend to overrate the meaning of the present moment. 

Mallory Goettl-Mallory started attending classes here because of her good friend Lily Lewis.  Mallory was known for her quiet and gentle nature.  Our warm-up activity every week would be playing a game of “Would You Rather.” A sample question might be “Would you rather be paid $1,000,000 for every crime you commit, or $50,000 for every time you make someone smile?”

Now with a lot of kids asking these questions would make a person nervous not Mallory.  You knew that whatever you asked Mallory her heart would be in the right place. Mallory when she first started coming to Confirmation would always get nervous when put on the spot with any review question, but as time went on, she kept getting more and more assertive. Mallory, my one bit of advice, is never be afraid to let your voice be hard because you’ve got a lot worth saying.

Lily Lewis- When I first got to town, Lily was in fourth grade, and her mom was teaching the class.  Lily was the youngest one in the group by three years.  It continued this way for three-four years before we had some younger kids enroll.  Lily what’s stood out about you so much is that you’ve been going on 18 for so many years now.  When Lily was younger, the older kids treated her as their equal because of her maturity level.  When I first confirmed kids at Sychar three years ago, Gunnar Frahm and Lily’s brother Zach were the leaders of the group.  Lily soon assumed the role because of the respect is given to her by her peers.  The same thing is true at William Kelley.  Lily as you go deeper into high school, remember the type of impact that you can make on those around you. 

As we leave this place on this day, I want you all to cling to the great promise of the Christian faith.  No matter where you go in this world, no matter what you become, no matter how far from forgiveness or grace you might be at any given moment. What the story of The Runaway Bunny reminds us is that some promises of relationship are so significant that they never leave you throughout your life.  We confirm these promises given in your baptism on this day.  Amen
 
 


[1] Kindlon, Dan and Michael Thompson.  Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys.  Ballatine Books. Balitmore. 1999. Pg.119. 
[2] Kindlon, Dan and Michael Thompson.  Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys.  Pg.119.