God's Broken Heart

Genesis 4:1–17; 6:5–8; 7:1–5; 8:1; 9:7–17 

Psalm 51 

James 4:1–8 

Humanity runs on conflict. And that is not God’s will for us. This is an overriding theme in today’s scripture texts.

Conflict in the world began almost immediately. The very first siblings on earth were Cain and Abel. Their Hebrew names mean “Spear”and “Fleeting Wind”, which is an early indicator of how different these two siblings would be. They made different career choices – Cain was a farmer, and Abel was a sheepherder. They chose different ways of worshipping God, in the ways they brought sacrifices to God.  Cain brought his finest produce, and Abel brought wonderful meat.  And when Cain saw that God liked Abel’s offering more than his, he became very angry. God warned him that he wouldn’t always come out on top, but that he should not use that as an excuse to let sin overtake him. But as soon as Cain thinks he is “out of sight” of God, he goes out into the field, finds Abel, and kills him.

Now, we know that Cain is not out of sight of God. And when God seeks him out, and says, “Where is Abel? What have you done? Cain tries to pretend he has no clue, saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

But God calls him out, and punishes him, but also protects him. God does not let the sin go unnoticed, but God leaves a door open for Cain’s future.

So generations are born, the population of the earth grows, and so does the wickedness of humankind. The scripture says, “The Lord saw that humanity had become thoroughly evil on the earth and that every idea their minds thought up was always completely evil. The Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and he was heartbroken.”  God’s heart was broken by what humanity was doing.

But Noah found favor in God’s sight.  Even as God decided to flood the earth, wipe out all the wickedness of humanity, as well as everything else, Noah and his family were saved, along with a set of animals. God intended to start over again. And when the waters receded, and the tiny band of people and animals came out of the ark, God made a covenant for all future generations, that a flood shall never again destroy the earth. God made a rainbow as a reminder of the covenant.

Psalm 51 acknowledges us as sinners right from the start, and asks God to wash us clean, and to teach us wisdom, to create in us a clean heart and a new and right spirit. It asks for the same saving grace, the same hope that God exhibited by restarting humanity.

The letter from James clearly states that conflicts continued into and after the time of Jesus. They are not wiped away by the flood, and the trust in God that is described in Psalm 51 does not eliminate conflicts either.  That’s really no surprise, is it? They will always be with us. James discusses the sources of conflicts; that they come from the things we crave and cannot have, because we don’t ask, because we ask for the wrong things, because our motives are about our own pleasure. Because we are not focusing on the will of God. James reminds us that God’s Spirit has been placed in us, and God yearns jealously for that spirit, for our faithfulness.

After the flood, conflicts continued.

And after James wrote these words, almost 2000 years ago, after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, conflicts have continued with no end in sight. 

Conflict breaks God’s heart – but still we continue.­

Even though we know that God yearns for us to kindle the spark of God’s spirit that is within us.

Even though we know that Christ has called us to unity among all people.

Even though we know that conflict is caused by the cravings for pleasures that we don’t need.

And conflict is not confined to the world outside the church; far from it. The universal church has people in it these days with so many different ideas and opinions about what is right and what is wrong, what is and is not God’s will. Those who agree with us are part of our own “we” group, and those who don’t are part of the “they” group. And even though both groups really are striving to know and to do God’s will, it seems that we cannot choose to just respect that, and to find ways to work together that transcend our differences, but instead we only dig deeper and deeper into our conflicts and the harm that it causes us all.

But there is a more excellent way for us to live, and we are given that way in scripture. It is the way of love, the kind of love that is not about warm fuzzy feelings, the kind of love that requires work, and patience and kindness, in order to love past our differences. It is the kind of love that Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. And it is the way of reconciliation that is the basis of our own Confession of 1967.

The Confession of 1967 was the first new confession of faith adopted by the Presbyterian Church in three centuries. It was built around a single passage of Scripture…. “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself”. It has three sections: God’s work of Reconciliation, The Ministry of Reconciliation, and the Fulfillment of Reconciliation.

One section is entitled “The New Life”- and besides the fact that it shares its title with the name of this church, it directly speaks to our tendency toward conflict and the role of Christ’s reconciling work in redeeming us and bringing toward unity in Christ. Let’s read this passage together – Cheryl, will you please bring up the extra slides?

The reconciling work of Jesus was the supreme crisis in the life of humankind. His cross and resurrection become personal crisis and present hope for humanity when the gospel is proclaimed and believed. In this experience the Spirit brings God’s forgiveness to humanity, moves them to respond in faith, repentance, and obedience, and initiates the new life in Christ.

The new life takes shape in a community in which humanity know that God loves and accepts them in spite of what they are. They therefore accept themselves and love others, knowing that no one has any ground on which to stand, except God’s grace.

The new life does not release a person from conflict with unbelief, pride, lust, fear. They still have to struggle with disheartening difficulties and problems. Nevertheless, as they mature in love and faithfulness in their life with Christ, they live in freedom and good cheer, bearing witness on good days and evil days, confident that the new life is pleasing to God and helpful to others.

Amen.

This past week Pope Francis has been in the US. Many visits and experiences were planned for the short time that he is here. Gene Robinson is an Episcopal Bishop who had been invited to the White House to meet and welcome Pope Francis this week. Sister Simone Campbell was also initially invited. But the Vatican chose to remove them from the invitation list – Bishop Robinson because he is openly gay, and Sister Simone because she has been encouraging the Catholic Church to increase the roles of women.

Bishop Robinson wrote an open letter to Pope Francis,

and in it he said this:

o   “We disagree in our understandings about sexuality and the diverse and wonderful ways God has made us. But as far as I am concerned, that does not keep me from admiring you and praying for you and your ministry.

o   Our churches disagree on those whom we are willing to ordain, their gender and their sexual orientation. Still, that does not keep me from striving to love and serve those entrusted to me, and to pray for you as you strive to love and serve those entrusted to you. We both care passionately about the poor, and we share the notion that unfettered capitalism creates and perpetuates poverty, treating the less fortunate as goods to be used up and discarded.

o   You and I believe that God has a special place in God’s heart for those who are marginalized – whether they be refugees, undocumented immigrants, those living with HIV/AIDS, or those without food, shelter and healthcare. And we both suspect that God must wonder when we are going to find the courage to love and care for our beautiful and fragile planet.

o   We have so much that binds us together, and so little that separates us. We are probably never going to settle those differences. As for me, I am willing to acknowledge the saintly integrity with which you hold your views, even in I disagree with them, as I hope you might acknowledge my striving for integrity in mine.

o   It seems that in these times, the greatest sin would be to write one another off and to stop caring about one another. This, I think, would break God’s heart.

o   …and he signed it, A laborer in another part of the Vineyard,  Gene.

He says, to write one another off and to stop caring for one another would, he thinks, break God’s heart. To let conflict win the day, and to not seek the things that bind us together.

Christopher Joiner, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee,  recently wrote a piece entitled “Why I am [Still] a Presbyterian. He wrote it in response to the people who, he says, continually ask him, “Why are you still in the PC(USA)? Don’t you know it is in decline because it is too liberal / too conservative, too traditional / too trendy, too political / not political enough, etc?”

He gives five reasons. I will state them all, and expand on a few.

1.    God is big, God is sovereign – and we are not.

2.    We have a lot to learn – and our leaders are educated to be life-long learners. We place a high value as Presbyterians in thinking for ourselves. Which, he says, makes us a rather diverse and disputatious lot…

3.    We fight a lot, but we fight fair. “If God is sovereign and education is paramount, it follows that if you have ten Presbyterians in a room you’ll have at least twenty opinions. We spend a lot of time in groups talking about what it means to follow Christ, and sometimes those conversations get heated. But we spend a considerable amount of time making sure all voices are heard and all perspectives are honored. Decision making is therefore messy and slow, and we all spend a fair amount of time complaining about it. But we’ll take messy and slow if it means honoring all the people of God in their rich diversity. And we realize diversity extends beyond the relatively small boundaries of our little denomination, which means….

4.    We think it is important to play well with others. In any city in America, you will find Presbyterians partnering with persons of other denominations and other faiths in the work of the Spirit in the world.

5.    The world needs our witness. “The world and the universal church need to see a group of people who know how to stay together even when they do not always agree, a group of people who believe at the core of their faith that they will never know all of God there is to know and who therefore refuse to narrow-cast.  The PCUSA does not do this perfectly, but it does try to be this kind of witness in a world that desperately needs it. It defies the easy categories our culture is so good at imposing (and which we always get asked about) – liberal / conservative, traditional / contemporary, Democratic / Republican.

6.    That’s why he is Presbyterian – and that’s why I am called to be Presbyterian too.

The world and the universal church need to see a group of people who know how to stay together even when they do not always agree…

the greatest sin would be to write one another off and to stop caring about one another. This, I think, would break God’s heart.

Here at New Life, we are not strangers to conflict. And we have experienced the blessings of reconciliation. This does not mean that we will not face conflict going forward. But my hope and prayer is not that we will avoid conflicts, or that we will find a position on which we all agree, but that we will approach any areas of disagreement not as a win/lose, all-or-nothing proposition, but rather as “a group of people who know how to stay together even when they do not always agree, a group of people who believe at the core of their faith that they will never know all of God there is to know and who therefore refuse to narrow-cast. “ I truly believe this is the hope for our future, as a church and as a world, and I truly believe that if there is anywhere that it can and must be modeled, it is the church of Jesus Christ. May God reveal to us the way to be the ones who show how it can be done.

Sources cited:

We Make the Road By Walking, Brian McLaren: Chapter 5: In Over Our Heads

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/19/a-gay-episcopal-bishop-s-open-letter-to-the-pope.html

https://christopherjoiner.wordpress.com/2013/09/20/why-i-am-still-a-presbyterian/

http://www.creeds.net/reformed/confess67.pdf

More or Less

Genesis 3: 1-13
Philippians 1: 3-11
Chapter 4 - We Make the Road By Walking, Brian McLaren

Today’s Old and New Testament readings were both familiar ones to  me.  The serpent passage and the choice made by Adam and Eve that was the catalyst for sin in the world is one that has been told and retold and even caricatured in many ways. And the Philippians passage is one of several that my former pastor encouraged me to memorize during my time of discernment that eventually led me to seminary. But I had not thought about them in relationship to one another until they were brought together in this week’s chapter of our year-long study book, We Make the Road by Walking.

And the parallels between the two are striking.

In the Genesis passage, God has provided for Adam and Eve everything they need for a good life in the garden. They have been told to just stay away from one tree – the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But temptation comes to them in the challenge that they could become like God, knowing good and evil. So they eat, and their eyes are opened, and they see immediately their own nakedness as a cause for shame. So they cover themselves, and they hide themselves from God  - something they had never thought of doing before. When God finds out, he banishes them from the garden, diminishing the life they would have had otherwise.

In the Philippians passage, Paul uses an early church hymn, something familiar to the church in Philippi, to explain to them what it means to have the same mind as Christ Jesus. The hymn has two stanzas – one telling how Christ did not exploit his equality with God, but rather emptied himself as a slave, and humbled himself in obedience to God – even to the point of death on a cross. The second stanza then tells how God highly exalted Christ, and gave him the name above all names – God named Jesus Christ as Lord, and one day the world will be unified in that confession – that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Adam and Eve were not satisfied with their position relative to God, but tried to grasp a more God-like status. They disobeyed God. They chose the wrong tree. God was not glorified in the choice these humans made, to exalt themselves, to compete with God. And God reduced their status as a result, giving them a harder life of pain, competition, sweat, labor, frustration, and death. A life outside the garden that was their home.

Jesus Christ’s position relative to God was equal, Paul tells us. But Jesus did not grasp after that equality. Instead, he emptied himself out, not only into the form and likeness of a mere human, but all the way to the likeness of a servant, a slave. And in that emptied-out status, he humbled himself in utter obedience to God, to the point of death on a cross. Therefore, we read – therefore – God highly exalted him and named him Lord. He glorified God in his life of obedience, in his humility, in his emptying. He modeled that for us – to show us a way of life that is an imitation of God’s self-giving love. He poured himself out for us, and then he asked us to follow him – to imitate him – with all of our lives, loving God with everything we have, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

Adam and Eve tried to grasp more, to climb up the ladder, closer to God. They lost their former lives as a result.

Jesus, who was equal to God, did not grasp what he had, but climbed down the ladder into the pit of brokenness that humanity finds itself in, to love and serve them, to give his life for them. As a result, he was highly exalted by God, and named Lord of All.

Who do we want to imitate? What do we desire for our lives? What drives our desires?

I’m just getting around to reading a book my daughter gave me my first year of seminary. My daughter is so well-read in theological matters, and she teaches me and inspires me regularly. This is a book by Martin Buber called I and Thou. It is a difficult book. You read a paragraph or two and put it down to think about it for a day or so, then pick it up again and read some more.

I’m just in the early part of the book, but I have  been thinking about this one thing I read for days now. Buber suggests that every thought we have, every action we take, every moment of our lives, is either focused on I / Thou – Thou being God; or else it is focused on I/It – it being some object or person. He claims there is no pure thought of “I” – that it always relates to either Thou- or It (or he / she / they – whatever). I think this is an important thing to consider when we consider the focus of our desire – the question I asked about what we desire for our lives, what drives our desires. If there is only two ways to relate to the world – I to Thou, or I to It, how can that shift our desires, our daily focus, our choices, our thoughts and actions?

This week I had a discussion at the Thursday prayer group about this chapter, these passages. And I heard a story about how someone’s work life changed, transformed completely, when a colleague suggested to him that he shift his gaze from working for his supervisor or even for the company who paid him, and instead to work as if all the work he did was being done for God. He said this changed his whole perspective on how to handle the pile of too much work, how to pray about getting it all done, how to turn it over and trust God to work it out, how to pray for those who were persecuting him in the workplace. He changed his desires. He went from an I/it focus to an I/Thou.

Jesus modeled the way to I/Thou. Everything Jesus did was for God. And this made even Jesus humble himself in utter obedience. Where are we in our lives of obedience to Jesus Christ the Lord? What are we willing to give of ourselves? What do we desire to hold back?

Jesus calls us to follow him, to imitate him, to be generous with all of who we are, all of what we have. When we do this, when we glorify God, when we focus our gaze on I/Thou, when we decrease ourselves so that Christ will be increased in us, then we are gaining our lives by losing them. Then we are trusting God to come alongside us in everything we do and to perfect it, to make it good. Then we are acknowledging that the kingdom of God is here and now, and that we desire to live in it, rather than the desires that are birthed from the brokenness of our lives.

But the way to build and increase that I/Thou relationship is not for us to work so hard to raise ourselves up to a standard that would begin to be acceptable to God; rather it is to let Christ lower himself to us, as he chooses to do; to recognize that Christ the Lord is Christ the servant, Christ the slave, Christ the friend of all humanity, of all people. To approach him as a friend, as a child; to turn our fears and our strivings and our feelings of less than acceptable upside down, and to recognize that Christ came down for us, that Christ emptied himself for us, that Christ humbled himself for us, that obedience to God is not about striving to be the best, but it is striving to be like Christ, in humility, in service, in friendship, and in love.

Come to me, says Jesus, all you who labor and are heavy laden. All you who have been thrown out of the garden because of the choices you have made. All you who have sought comfort and happiness and peace in the desires that are harmful, prideful, fearful, competitive. Come to me, imitate me, follow me, and I will give you rest.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.  

(Not So) Highly Illogical

Psalm 145:1-16

Proverbs 8:1-36

John 1:1-17

When Star Trek first aired in 1966, I was nine years old, and I was an instant fan. Right along with The Monkees, this show was, for me, “Must See TV” every week. And that was back in the day when I could not record the show and watch it later – it meant that I came in from playing outside every week in time to see the next episode.

And when the first Star Wars movie came along in 1977, I was right there in line to see it, and each of the movies that followed.

But as much as I loved both of these series, I don’t think you ever could have convinced me that one day I would be preaching a sermon that included one of the more memorable lines from each one of these. But that is, in fact, where the Holy Spirit has taken me this week… and so let us begin with a word of prayer.

Holy Word of God, Force of all that is, may you be with us as we seek to hear your living word. Quiet those thoughts that tell us that what you offer is highly illogical, and help us to not only be grateful for your ways of logic, but also for your call to us to follow you.  We ask this in Christ’s name – Amen.

In the first generation series of Star Trek episodes, Mr Spock is introduced to us as being half Vulcan and half human. This proves to be challenging for him, because Vulcans are known as being ruled by logic, and never experience emotion. Of course, this is contrary to humans, who apparently are ruled by emotion, and never logic.  But Spock, having a Vulcan father and a human mother, has both of these within him, and so he is uniquely able to understand where all these humans that surround him are coming from, emotionally speaking, and also willing to attempt to get them to see it his way – to consider the more “logical” approach. Ironically, it is the medical officer on board who is possessed with the greatest tendency toward emotional responses – one would think that would make it hard to get through med school – but it is in speaking to Dr McCoy that Mr Spock most often would raise one eyebrow, and say to him, in response to some emotional outburst, “that, Doctor, is highly illogical.”

We might think that this half-Vulcan, half-human persona of Mr Spock is meant to be a sort of analogy of the way we understand Jesus to be – because Jesus is both human and divine. But Jesus is not half human and half divine – Jesus is fully human and fully divine.

In the opening words of John’s gospel, Jesus is described as the Word that was there in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Greek word that is translated in this passage as “The Word” (capital W), is Logos. The definition of Logos is “something said, as well as its implication, its motive, its reasoning or logic”. Logos implies sequence, structure, pattern. In the beginning was the Word, coming into the chaos and bringing structure, as step by step, God said the Word – let there be ---- and there was.

In this week’s devotion, from chapter 3 in the book we are using for our Bible Study this year, We Make the Road by Walking, Brian McLaren describes three patterns of humanity – patterns that the universe seems to be ruled by. They are – First, the Pattern or Logic of Rivalry – of competition, of win / lose; second, the Logic of Compliance – of organization structure and hierarchy, of keeping within the confines of the law; and third, the Logic of Mechanism – of cause and effect, action and reaction, behavior and consequence. Let’s briefly consider each one of these.

When we are ruled by the Logic of Rivalry, we see the universe as a competition, a life of win or lose.  This logic is reflected in Bible stories such as Cain and Abel, and Sarai and Hagar, as well as the many wars that are described in there. It is part of human history – it’s behind all wars and conflicts between countries and religions and cultures – and it is a part of everyday business life, where competitiveness drives the global capital markets and the world of sports. It even spills over into the world of faith, where we are so often tempted to say why one church or denomination or set of beliefs is better or more right than another. It is easy to conclude that life is about win or lose – we see it all around us, every day.

When we are ruled by the Logic of Compliance, we focus on organization structures and hierarchies, and on rules and laws that are intended to keep society functioning reasonably. If something isn’t working the way we think it should, our response should be to revise existing laws or create a new law to require people to behave appropriately. And if we just elect or appoint the right persons to be in authority, whether in government, or business, or religious life, then we can be assured of success. This explains why the people of Israel wanted God to appoint a king to rule on earth, even though God told them they already had a king – the Lord of heaven and earth. This explains why Jesus was seen as such a threat to the Romans and the Jews. It is probably why we allow so much money and energy to be poured into our political process – both the electing of officials and the making of laws – because we somehow believe or hope that the logic of compliance will make everything get better.

When we are ruled by the logic of Mechanisms, we default to a pattern of “you get what you deserve”. If you work hard, you will make good money and have a happy life. If you lose your job or your house, you probably weren’t doing something right. If you have an accident, or get cancer, or you experience a family crisis, it’s most likely because of something you did – not paying attention, not eating right, not using the right parenting or partnering techniques. With this logic, there is an explanation for everything, and the explanation implies that if you just do everything right, everything will be OK.

Even as we describe these logics, and can see in the descriptions the ways that they fall short of explaining how the universe really runs, these are the structures that we mostly use to run our own lives, wouldn’t you say? If we are honest with ourselves, we see how our everyday thoughts and actions mostly fall into one of these three kinds of logic.

But the creation stories we have heard over the past three weeks reflect none of these logics. And our Psalm this morning, proclaiming the works of the Lord, and our Proverbs passage, describing the work of Wisdom in the world – neither of these imply these types of logic.

Instead, the force of the universe – the logic of God – is love and wisdom – goodness, creativity, beauty. We see it throughout creation – the beautiful patterns of the universe. The picture on the front of your bulletins is just one example of the beauty that is displayed and abundantly provided throughout the universe.

 And as it relates to the rules of the universe for how we live, the living Word of God is completely defined and framed by loving God with everything we have, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said, on these commandments hang all the Laws and all the words and deeds of the prophets.

So all these patterns for the universe exist – rivalry, compliance, mechanisms, and love. Which of these will we allow to rule our lives? Which of these will have the final Word for us?

The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ for us is –

·      love conquers hate

·      light conquers darkness

·      life conquers death.

o  Even though we die, says the Lord, yet shall we live.

o  Those who lose their lives for my sake, says the Lord, will gain them. Those who focus on saving their lives will lose them.

o  In the world you face persecution, says the Lord. But have courage – I have conquered the world!

This is highly illogical. How much do we really trust and believe that love conquers hate, and light conquers darkness, and life conquers death?

Christ is leading us as his followers to live highly illogical lives.

To love your neighbor – highly illogical.

To pray for those who persecute you – highly illogical.

Christ’s power is made perfect in weakness. Christ allowed himself to be nailed to a cross and crucified, when we all know he of all people could have made it go otherwise, could have imposed one of those other logics of the universe to change the outcome. Highly illogical.

But Christ’s life rejected every one of those other logical patterns of the universe.

He lost everything in order to for us to win our salvation.

He broke the law regularly to practice love.

He performed miracles of healing that defied cause and effect.

We just passed the 14^th anniversary this past week of the horrific attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, September 11, 2001. So many lives were lost that day. So many lives have been lost since, as the logic of rivalry, of win/lose, has been pursued. Let us never forget these lives lost too soon, and also may we always remember that the logic of rivalry is a never-ending cycle that propels us deeper and deeper into evil; that an eye for an eye will never be satisfied.

Closer to home – this past week, the Sterling Heights City Council unanimously rejected the building of a mosque, an Islamic house of worship in one of our neighborhoods not so far away from here. I watched the video of long-time Muslim residents, neighbors in this community, who one after another spoke respectfully of their love of this city and their reasons for living here, and their reasons for requesting the approval to build their mosque. I also watched and read about the scene outside the meeting when the vote was taken – as these same Muslim residents, leaving quietly and respectfully, were booed and jeered by a crowd who may be seen as being either angry at their neighbors or jubilant about their victory, but either way were clearly claiming rivalry as the logic of humanity over love.

I’m sure that most of you saw something about this, on the news or otherwise. I ask you to reflect for a moment on what feelings that request for the mosque created inside of you? What feelings the reaction of the crowd created inside of you?

I saw three of the four forms of logic we discussed today reflected. I saw the logic of rivalry – that we must not let “those people” take over our community. I saw the logic of compliance – that zoning laws either don’t permit it to be built – or if they do, they shouldn’t. And I saw the logic of mechanism – the cause and effect argument that “their people persecuted our people” – and so they should not be permitted the same freedoms that we have, to worship in our community, to build our places of worship without conflict.

The logical pattern of the universe that I did not see was the logic, the Logos, the Living Word of love. I did not see Christian love displayed.

As we move forward as a new congregation to determine our mission in this community, I pray that we will think about where Jesus would have us step in and reflect the Word, the Way, that we claim as our belief, as our way of life. I pray that we will have the wisdom, and logic, and courage to love as freely as Christ loved us, to act out of goodness and creativity and beauty, wherever we find those things to be lacking, to be unmet needs, right around the corner, right where we live.

And may the highly illogical Force of the Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - be with us all as we do. Amen.