Social Justice Action Group | Ephesians 1:13-23, Matthew 25:31-46

After a hectic week – this is a bit of a scruffy sermon.

But I have done the best I can with what I have.

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Action Groups

In the past two weeks we've talked as a church about some of the things we plan to do in the year to come in specific groups that we've assigned to do what God calls us to do.

In the first week we spoke about our ministry to youth and families.

In our second week about the call to us to grow spiritually.

And now, in our third week we talk about social action…  The larger Methodist Church calls us to have two groups in this department:  Justice, Service and Reconciliation and Human Development and Economic Empowerment.

Because we're a small church it seems sensible to combine these two groups into one.

So we have our Social Action Group.

*  *  *

Social action is a means by which we hope to work practically for the Kingdom of God in our midst.

*  *  *

Often we reduce the gospel to a spiritual story, a story about how our hearts are changed, our sins are forgiven and we get a free ticket to heaven.

Sometimes we hear what people call a prosperity gospel, our hearts are changed, our sins are forgiven, we get a free ticket to heaven and if you send your money now – you will also get very very rich…

Less popular, but more faithful to the gospel that Christ preached is a gospel that counts the cost of discipleship – that demands practical action and reaction.

*  *  *

The Bible never separates body and spirit – for the Bible even heaven – the resurrection is a physical reality.

When Jesus said: "The Kingdom of God is among you…" he really meant what he said – just as our reading from Isaiah 6 last week spoke of the glory of the Lord filling the whole earth.

In a Christian understanding of the world we live in the physical and the spiritual are intertwined – wrapped together.

And so – if you try to separate the gospel of Jesus Christ from the need to transform the world, to bring justice where there is injustice you begin to neglect a whole lot of what Jesus says – you begin to ignore huge tracts of the scriptures; you begin to form a gospel different to that of the Bible.

Ezekiel 34:11-24 & Matthew 25:31-46

Sadly Matthew 25:31-46 is one of those passages that make us feel uncomfortable. 

If I had a choice I guess I would choose not to preach it – not to read it – its one of the reasons I sometimes don't read the Bible.

We don't like things that make us feel uncomfortable.

And so – if I want more people to come back to church next Sunday I might be tempted not to read these words and talk about what they mean for us.

Maybe I would preach about how Jesus wants us all to be very very rich.

*  *  *

These words change the way we see those nuisance people who knock on our doors and ask for food.  Who don't say please or thank you...

For us South Africans living in a country with a ginormous gap between the rich and the poor they are words we would rather not confront because they are too costly.

Poverty stands right in front of us – staring us in the face if we open our eyes.

What should we do?  What have we done?  How would we be judged by a King who judges on these terms?

*  *  *

Human law insists that we don't harm others – its easy to be judged by that kind of law; but the law of Christ, the true ruler of the world, the law by which we will ultimately be judged – demands that we feed the hungry, welcome strangers, clothe the naked and give the thirsty something to drink.

If we do that – we are regarded as righteous.

Ephesians 1:13-23

In the letter to the Ephesians Paul commends the church for their 'love toward all the saints'.

The Ephesians are famous for the way they love God's people.  (I hope one day we could get a letter like that – Dear Paarl Methodists – we've heard about your love for all god's people! And because of your love we are so excited – we can't stop giving thanks for you – we remember you in all our prayers.

*  *  *

What stands out for Paul – is the Ephesian's love for the saints.

*  *  *

In Jesus' judgment of the nations – he judges those who love in a practical way: feeding, clothing, and caring as righteous.

Those who don't love practically – are not counted as righteous.

*  *  *

What I find interesting in the gospel reading is that those who are judged to be righteous are quite surprised…

"But…

when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink?  When did we see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you?  When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?"

Without being aware of it – they've done amazing things – and they weren't expecting anything in return.

*  *  *

But if you think about it – its not that strange.  Often those amazingly generous and saintly people that we meet are strangely surprised when we comment on their generosity and kindness; their heroic resolve to do amazing things.

We ask them why they do what they do and their simple response is:

"What else could we do?"

"They were hungry so we fed them."

"They were homeless so we housed them."

"They were sick and so we nursed them."

"We couldn't just close our eyes and let that happen."

*  *  *

Doing what Jesus desires is just what comes naturally to some people.

And its quite challenging for us Christians how many of those people who take Jesus command to love practically wouldn't even call themselves Christians, I have a feeling that those of us who think God's love is limited to people who believe the right things might be surprised at who we meet in what we sometimes call heaven. 

Being Human

Being a Christian – I have a remarkably positive regard for our humanity.

I think people are actually good.

I believe they were created that way, just as Genesis tells us.

Not only are we good – but we are created in the image of God.  We have the kind of love in us that Jesus shows in dying on the cross.

That's why I think some people do amazingly self sacrificial things without even noticing it. 

Its nothing for them to stay up all night next to a sick child; to work doubly hard to make sure a patient survives.  To risk their lives in war to protect people they don't even know.  For teachers to work long hours in difficult conditions for little money and appreciation.

*  *  *

We see goodness in the innocent love of children for strangers.  Heather told me how the grade ones at her school – on a trip to the zoo – realised that the children from another school didn't have lunch like they did and so began to share out what they had.

*  *  *

Later on in Paul's letter to the Ephesians – chapter 2 vs 10 he writes:

"For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life."

*  *  *

In the part we read today Paul writes about how when we hear and believe the gospel of Christ and his kingdom reign – we receive the Holy Spirit and are transformed… we become the people that God created us to be.

He speaks of how the Spirit makes us wise, helps us to know God, opens our minds – so that we will know the hope to which we have been called.

When we believe in Jesus we begin to be (super)naturally transformed into the people he describes in 2:10 – good works become our way of life.

Conclusion:

Today is 'Christ the King' Sunday.  The Sunday on which we as a church remember that God really has exalted his son Jesus Christ to the highest throne.

Part of Jesus being King means that he is also judge.

Let us learn to live in ways that would allow Jesus to Judge us favourably – to count us among the righteous – and not the unrighteous.

*  *  *

How we do this practically?

As a church I think we must learn to care for the poor and in need.  We give a tenth of our income – what more can we do?

We need to take stock of who we are  - what it is that we have to offer the needy around us.

Can we educate?

Can we share?

Can we empower?

*  *  *

How can we challenge those in power to do what God would want them to do?

If Christ is Lord over all things he is also Lord over government and municipalities.

As people with voices and power – how do we tell those in power to look after the poor.

How do we speak against systems and policies that keep people poor? (Underpaid teachers and police etc? Overpaid seniors?)

*  *  *

Within our families how will we teach our children these Kingdom values?

Can we teach them to imitate our own generosity?

Encourage them to buy Christmas presents for others?

2008-11-16 Worship and Spirituality - Isaiah 6:1-3; Romans 1:21-25; Romans 12 1-2; Luke 17:11-19

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Worship and Spirituality

Three snapshots.

Worship helps us to see the world and everything in it differently.

What we worship determines our behaviour.

Worshipping Jesus makes us whole.

Isaiah 6:1-3

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on his throne, high and exalted, and his robe filled the whole Temple. 2Round him flaming creatures were standing, each of which had six wings. Each creature covered its face with two wings, and its body with two, and used the other two for flying. 3They were calling out to each other:

"Holy, holy, holy!

The Lord Almighty is holy!

His glory fills the world."

- Isaiah 6:1-3

Isaiah sees his vision in the temple at a time of great crisis for Judah.  King Uzziah has died.

According to 2 Chronicles 26 he reigned for 52 years, he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, managed a powerful army and had great success – defeating the Philistines and rebuilding towns in the area.  At the end of his reign he became arrogant and tried to offer incense in the temple – the priests job and was struck by leprosy.

On the whole Uzziah was a King greatly loved – a symbol of power and stability for the Kingdom of Judah.  About the time he died his Kingdom was under great threat as the Assyrian nation grew – surrounding Judah and threatening to invade it.

For the people of Judah it was a stressful time – a time of not knowing what was going to happen next.

Personally I like it when life is predictable, I like to know that some time in the net few weeks, months or years a marauding army is not going to attack my town, kill me and take my wife and children as slaves.

The people of Judah felt the kind of uncertainty I think we sometimes feel…

Will we have enough money?

Who will rule the country?

Will I get well?

Will I be robbed?

*  *  *

Perhaps we could fill it in for ourselves:  "In the year I discovered I was sick…"

In the year my relationship broke down…

In the year I lost my pension in a bad investment…

Isaiah writes:  In the year King Uzziah died.

When Uzziah dies – Isaiah worships in the temple and as he is worshipping he sees the Lord – seated on his throne, his robe filling the temple.  He hears angels singing – Holy Holy Holy is the Lord Almighty and his glory fills the whole earth…

The throne of Israel is empty – but the throne of God is still just how it was.

The world is a scary place, but woven into the fabric of reality is the presence of the Lord – somehow Israel need not fear because God is still, always was and always will be on his throne and his glory will always be around us.

*  *  *

In times of distress we need someone like the prophet Isaiah to remind us – that when such and such happened – I saw the Lord seated on his throne and his glory filled the whole earth.

When times are good – I think we also need someone like Isaiah to remind us that as grand and powerful as we might think we are.  God is still God.

Romans 1:21-25 and 12:1-3

The second snapshot is from Paul's letter to the Romans.

A quote from the beginning and one from the middle, Paul writes about the human condition:

They know God, but they do not give him the honour that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness. They say they are wise, but they are fools; instead of worshipping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortal human beings or birds or animals or reptiles.

 And so God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other. They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised for ever! Amen.

- Romans 1:21-25

Paul offers a theory on how immorality enters the world in which we live – people become like what they worship.

When they exchange the truth of the living creator God for a lie – they worship and serve what God has created they become like the creatures and beasts that they worship.

Paul is probably writing from Corinth, Corinth is well known for its wealth and debauchery – Paul has to reprimand someone in the Corinthian church for sleeping with his stepmother.  Plato's polite name for a prostitute is – 'a Corinthian girl.'

In Corinth there was a large temple to the goddess Aphrodite – who had an annual festival known as an Aphrodisiac – no prizes for guessing what happened there…

People worshipped money, sex and power and when they worshipped these things they became overpowered by them.  The God's of money, sex and power seldom counsel one to take better care of the poor – to love your neighbour – or even to love yourself; because they are not personal and loving gods.

*  *  *

In Paul's introduction to the letter to the Romans he explains how worshipping the created and not the creator results in people being filled with wickedness, greed, vice, jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit and malice, they gossip and speak evil of each other and God – they are proud insolent and boastful.  We begin to get a picture of a world gone seriously wrong.

*  *  *

For eleven chapters he explains to Jews and Gentiles what it would mean to put one's faith in Jesus and the living God.  How people can be transformed into who they were created to be.

How the Holy Spirit, Jesus work upon the cross sets us free from all of those things and establishes the Kingdom of God.

In chapter 12, having concluded his argument he asks us to respond:

So then, my brothers and sisters, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.

Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind….

- Romans 12:1-2a

Worship of the living God – of Jesus sets us free from all that our materialism and greed produces in us.  It is the beginning of a transformed world.

Luke 17:11-19

Snapshot one from Isaiah tells us how worship makes it possible to see the way the world really is.

Snapshot two from Paul shows us how worshipping idols destroys us and worshipping God transforms us.

In our third snapshot we learn about how worship makes us whole:

Listen to Luke's gospel chapter 17 – the healing of the ten lepers:

11 As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, he went along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12He was going into a village when he was met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. They stood at a distance 13and shouted, "Jesus! Master! Take pity on us!"

14 Jesus saw them and said to them, "Go and let the priests examine you." On the way they were made clean.t 15When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16He threw himself to the ground at Jesus' feet and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan. 17Jesus said, "There were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine? 18Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?" 19And Jesus said to him, "Get up and go; your faith has made you well."

- Luke 17:11-19

*  *  *

Your faith has made you well.

Made
You
Well.

*  *  *

When I read that passage I see that all of the lepers are cleansed, their leprosy is gone – but when one of them returns to Jesus, bows down before him.  Praises him.  Acknowledges who he is he is made well.

It seems to me that he is made well in a different sense than healing from leprosy – I believe he is restored to wholeness.  I guess that even if his leprosy hadn't been cured; his worship might have made him whole.

*  *  *

We long, I think, to hear Jesus say those words:  "Your faith has made you well."  As we come to him with our own wounds, needs and brokenness.  We want to be made right somehow.

Perhaps our being made right has something to do with our worship.

Conclusion

3 snapshots:

A different way of seeing in Isaiah.

Transformation – in Romans.

And finally, healing and  wholeness in Luke.

*  *  *

Why then, are we so messed up – why is the world the way it is.

In Old English worship comes from the word 'worthship'.

In worship we acknowledge god's worth to us.

*  *  *

Crudely put it would sometimes seem – if time is money – that God isn't worth that much to us.

If we spend 1 hour of our week worshipping God we're down to 0.6% of our time.  If we count getting to church and back we push it up to 1.2% and if we spend 30 minutes a day in prayer we might start pushing 3%.

*  *  *

A while ago I told the story of the kids who snuck into the store and mixed up the price tags.  The next day when the shop opened customers were amazed to find that a box of smarties cost R8000 and a huge plasma screen TV cost R5.89.

There was chaos.

*  *  *

I think that we're seeing a world broken by us and others putting the wrong price tags in the wrong places.

People have mispriced other people – leading to a humanitarian crisis.

We have mispriced the environment – leading to an environmental crisis that my grandchildren will have to deal with.

We have mispriced our god – leading to a decline in our own morality, and a mix up in the values of everything else.

*  *  *

When we learn to worship – and to weave our worship into every moment of our lives – our work, our play, our rest, our love – we will begin to see the Kingdom of God in this place.

AMEN.

The Kin'dom of God | 2008-11-09

Meetings!

Over the next three weeks after the service we will be having meetings. 

I don’t like meetings.

I don’t think Jesus said – now go and have lots of meetings, I think he said: “Go and make disciples.”  But unfortunately the business of making disciples demands a little bit of organisation – something at which I am terrible – that’s where you come in.

Its my guess – in my understanding of the earliest church – the one we read about in the Bible – that a lot of what their weekly meal and service was about was also about co-ordinating what they were going to do in service of God together.

Just conversation that led to action:

“See you tomorrow at sunset – and we’ll go visit the sick.”

“I’m baking bread tomorrow – can I bake you some?”

“Theophilus has a new book from Luke – he says he’ll be reading it out loud on Friday – let’s go and listen.”

Perhaps one of the grandmothers of the church, accustomed to telling stories, someone good at remembering the stories about Jesus said: 

“Bring your kids to my house on Saturday morning and I will tell them some of the stories that I have heard about Jesus.”

*  *  *

One of the things that Nicky Gumbel said has stuck with me:  Church is a lot like a football game.

Thousands of people desperately in need of exercise watching a few people desperately in need of a rest.

I don’t think Paarl Methodist is totally like that – but the goal for the next three weeks will be to get more of us involved in and doing the work of God in this place to build the Kingdom.

This congregation has one minister – and no other staff – so being part of it means taking part in it.

*  *  *

Family in the Story of the Bible

I want to look at a bit at what family means in the story of the Christian scriptures – in order for us to understand what we can do in obedience to God and why we are doing it.

Honest

Often the first verse I think of when I think of families and Christianity is Jesus’ difficult words to us:

³⁵        For I have come to set a man against his father,

and a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

³⁶        and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 10:35-38

The earliest church was faced with the terrible reality that religion often divides people and families.

In some cases within the early church whole households were converted to Christianity – everyone including slaves baptised in one go.

But where individuals joined the faith there was bound to be conflict; members of elite families who joined the early church would have soon been in trouble for associating, eating and fellowshipping with all the wrong sort of people.  For disrupting the order in society – treating slaves and servants as if they were brothers and sisters.

Roman society and religion centred around the gods of a particular family – the patriarch or male parent, paterfamilias was the priest of the family and his house was practically a temple to the gods of his family. 

When gentiles deserted their domestic religions they literally became divorced from their original families because their rejection of the family Gods was so scandalous.

*  *  *

So we have this picture of divided family – but there is also a picture of a newly created family:  Those who became Christians became part of what was understood to be a whole new clan; when Jesus teaches his disciples to pray he teaches them:

⁹ “Pray then in this way:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

- Matthew 6:9

When I call God Father by implication I call you brother and sister.

In Romans 6:28 when Paul speaks about the resurrection of Christ he says that he is the firstborn within a large family – the family he is talking about is the great church of which we are all a part.

Christian Household

Within the family of the church – Paul set out codes of behaviour within Christian families:

 In Col 3:18 - 4:1 – reflecting and in some ways revolutionising Roman norms Paul writes about Christian family…

‘Wives, submit to your husbands’

reflecting a Roman norm,

‘husbands, don’t be harsh with / embitter your wives.’
‘children, obey your parents…’

My favourite when I was a teenager:

‘parents do not irritate your children.’
‘slaves – obey your masters…’

Paul draws a picture of Christian family that reflects household order in Roman homes, but he reminds but he ends his passage with a reminder of who we are in relation to God:

“Masters, be fair and just in the way you treat your slaves.  Remember that you too have a Master in heaven.”

- Romans 4:1

Remember that you too have a Master in heaven.

A kind of threatening reminder that you will be held accountable for the way you treat the people in your household – family and staff alike.

A frightening reminder – I think to those who use these verses as an excuse to abuse their wives, children and staff – that one day they will receive what they have given; because our God is merciful, but also a God of justice who ‘protects the weak from the strong’ (Psalm 35:10).

*  *  *

Paul helps the typical Roman household to see how the living God makes a difference in the way they live in and see the world.

In the typical Roman household the Father is head of everything, and he is the family priest – the one who communicates with the gods.

He has a lot of power – he is like a mini God himself; he can treat his family as he likes – in some ways the father is the family’s God.

*  *  *

In Christian families – the relationship is different.  Children, wives, (even) slaves – everyone must be treated with dignity because the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is King.

The physical father no longer has all the power – he has to be subject to God’s power.

*  *  *

So in Christian families we see a change in the way the world operates, and they become symbols of God’s Kingdom – the family becomes a mini symbol of the Kingdom of God.

A symbol of God’s Kingdom

In the Old Testament we read about how the family is where the Kingdom of God begins.

We hear the thoughts of God about letting Abraham see the destruction of Sodom in Gen 18::

“Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed by him?  No, for I have chosen him, that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice; so that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what he has promised him”

- Genesis 18:17-19

God wants Abraham (the symbolic father of all of Israel) to raise his family in the way of justice and righteousness – Sodom represents the opposite of this, in Ezekiel 16 we read about why God decided to destroy Sodom:

“This was the guilt of (your sister) Sodom:  she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.”

- Ezekiel 16:48

God’s plan for Abraham and his family is that they be a community radically different to those who are proud, greedy, lazy and selfish.

And teaching these values begins at home with the Israelite’s story of the world and who created it and how he wants it to be – and continues through the generous life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – and then through us the Kingdom living community that Christ begins and empowers with the help of the Holy Spirit.

What should we do?

In scripture we have several pictures of family – Jesus paints a picture of family divided in some cases because of the gospel and the demands of faithfulness to Christ. 

Paul shows how family takes on a new shape as people realise each other’s value in the light of the love of God.

In the Old Testament God shows Abraham is judgment on the selfish on the proud – so that Abraham will raise his descendants to live differently – in a way that establishes the Kingdom of God.

*  *  *

Today people look all over the place for the people and leaders that will change the world.  They invest their hope in Barak Obama; Nelson Mandela; Trevor Manuel and the list goes on and on…

I think they’re looking in the wrong place.

I think we need to look down and not up – I believe that its God’s plan to change the world through the way we raise our families and our children; as we learn to live by the values that Christ has taught us and raise our children to do the same.

*  *  *

After the service – those who are interested will meet together to discuss some of the things that we could do to minister to youth and families in this community, and hopefully bring the Kingdom in that way.

Amen