Sources and Resources

Isaiah 9:2-4

The people who walked in darkness

have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

on them light has shined.

You have multiplied the nation,

you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you

as with joy at the harvest,

as people exult when dividing plunder.

For the yoke of their burden,

and the bar across their shoulders,

the rod of their oppressor,

you have broken as on the day of Midian. 

Psalm 121:1-8

I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come?

My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

 The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in

from this time on and forevermore.

Luke 18:1-8

Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” 

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To be Christian is to choose to follow Christ.

And Christ has told us that to follow him

         means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, strength,

         and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Even when our neighbor is our enemy.

Christ tells us to feed his sheep, to tend his lambs.

To care for his flock. To care for one another.

But society tells us to build up our stores,

         to get the car we always wanted

         and the house we always wanted,

to buy our kids and ourselves all the things we always wanted,

         to buy the most convenient processed food,

         to eat more than we need,

         to go to restaurants that offer all you can eat,

         or super-sized portions, or the best experience money can buy.

We seek to increase the size of our  homes and our wardrobes

         and the number of apps on our smartphones

         and our collections – of wines and beers

         and of ornaments and books

         and of music and of purses and jewelry and shoes

         and and and and…..

All this is available to us through the miracle of  - credit.

Over the past generation, more than ever before,

         we have been able to borrow way beyond our means.

And we have been encouraged to do so –

         to trust that we’d earn whatever we needed

         to be able to keep paying.

But one day the bubble burst.

The economy tanked in 2008.

And what has been come to be known over the past decade

         as an economic crisis

         is also a crisis in faith.

When we can’t trust our financial institutions,

         the stock market,

         our banks,

         or our government,

we find ourselves afraid,

         and that fear often leads to either cynicism or panic.

In fact, fear may be the most potent enemy we’re facing today.

When the nation was in the midst of the depression in 1933,

Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke these famous words

         in his first inaugural address:

“. . . Let me assert my firm belief

         that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—

         nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror

         which paralyzes needed efforts

         to convert retreat into advance.

In every dark hour of our national life,

         a leadership of frankness and vigor

         has met with that understanding and support

         of the people themselves which is essential to victory.”

Timely words.

When we look at past market trends

         and identify those years in our nation’s history

         when there was a significant drop,

         there always was a significant rise within a few years.

Let’s watch this short clip to provide additional context

         for the long term view.

(Show the video clip “The Stock Market.”)

As a result of this economic downturn,

         some people have lost their jobs

         and others have lost their homes.

Some needed to sell their cars

         because they could no longer afford the payments.

Some still need help and support.

Others have not felt or will not feel the effects

         of the financial crisis at all.

But no matter what our particular circumstances,

         we must not allow ourselves to be controlled by fear,

         because as believers, we know that

         the scriptures and our faith in God

         reassure us that we are going to be all right,

         whether we understand how or not.

At the center of the economic crisis

         is the extension and abuse of credit.

Credit comes from the Latin word credo, which means,

         “I believe” or “I trust.”

To extend credit to someone is to believe or trust

         that he or she will repay.

As Christians, our credo or trust is in God.

The Apostle’s Creed begins, “I believe (credo)

         in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.”

All throughout the Bible we find words of hope and promise

         that remind us we have no reason to fear,

         for God is our refuge and strength.

Here are just a few -

Isaiah 41:10 –

do not fear, for I am with you,

do not be afraid, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

Psalm 46:1-2

                  God is our refuge and strength,

                  a very present help in trouble.

                  Therefore we will not fear,

                  though the earth should change,

though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

Matthew 6:25, 33

 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 14:27

But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Philippians 4:6-7

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Timothy 6:17

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Romans 8:37-39

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The truth is, regardless of what these Scriptures remind us,

         we remain anxious.

We are an anxious, fearful people.

People are anxious and fearful all around us.

But we are called not to be anxious, not to fear.

As Christians, we are called to be beacons of hope and light

         for a weary and despairing world.

The church, the body of Christ,

         is called to be a beacon of light

         inviting people to find deliverance, redemption,

         salvation, hope, and a new way of life.

In our scripture reading from Isaiah today

         we hear that God has broken the yoke of our burden.

A yoke is the bar that controls oxen,

         that forces them to be steered against their will.

The rod of the oppressor,

         the bar across the shoulders of the people,

         this has been broken by God.

This is liberation from God.

We are freed from the things that oppress us,

         so that we can serve God,

         who is compassionate and merciful beyond our understanding. The Triune God who brings peace beyond our understanding.

The Psalmist tells us that our help comes from the Lord,

         who is our keeper, who doesn’t fall asleep on the job,

         who will keep us from all evil.

The Lord will keep your life.

The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in

         from this time on and forevermore.

Thanks be to God!

Jesus tells a parable in Luke’s gospel about not losing heart,

         about God granting justice quickly

         to those who cry out to him, who pray to him.

And he asks, what will the Son of Man find when he comes?

Will he find faith on earth?

Will God find us to be people of faith? And what will be the sign of our faith?

If our faith is based more on the size of our 401k,

         or our house, or our salary….

if our sense of security and safety

         comes more from our own doing

         and less from our ability to trust in God,

         then what sort of Christians are we, really?

When the source of everything we have is God,

         when our full inheritance has come from our heavenly Parent,

         through the abundance of creation

         and our God-given gifts and abilities,

and when God intends all the resources at our disposal

         to be used for God’s kingdom, for God’s children,

                  for the least and the lost,

what are we doing when we keep it all for ourselves?

What does it mean when we cannot spare

         even a tenth of what we have received from God,

         to give it back, to make it available

         for God’s work in the world?

What does it mean about our choices in life when we squander it

         on wants vs needs, on nonessentials,

         when there is so much need in the world?

When Jesus warns us that we cannot serve both God and wealth, what does this mean for us spiritually?

Money itself is morally neutral; it’s neither good not bad.

It can be used for either good or evil.

It is the love of money that Scripture says is the root of all evil.

When acquisition of wealth and material possessions

         is our focus in life,

         we find ourselves on the side of Jesus’ warning

         that indicates a spiritual crisis.

The primary problems leading to the economic crisis

         that began in 2008 are spiritual issues.

They are the result of at least five of the seven deadly sins –

         gluttony, greed, sloth, envy and pride.

All these led to absurd economic practices –

         practices that bordered on criminal.

And it wasn’t just Wall Street and the CEO’s

         who modeled these practices.

It was every one of us who drank the Kool-Aid of

         “more, more, more”

         and borrowed far beyond our capacity to repay

         in order to buy houses, cars, and whatever our hearts desired.

We used tomorrow’s money to finance today’s lifestyle.

We stopped saving, took the equity out of our homes,

         and charged as if there was no tomorrow.

And then tomorrow came.

I think we all know that it is past time to say, Enough.

Over these next five weeks, in sermons and adult studies,

         with guidance drawn from materials

         written by the Reverend Adam Hamilton, senior pastor

         at the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection

         in Leawood, Kansas,

you will be invited to rediscover truths and wisdom

         drawn from Scripture,

helping us to see that joy and contentment

         are found in simplicity and generosity, in faith,

         and in pursuing our missio in life.

We will rethink and reevaluate

         just what does constitute the “good life”.

We will see what it means to repent, turn onto a new path,

         and recommit our selves and our lives

         to the God who hears our prayer,

         who knows what we need,

         before and better than we know it ourselves,

         who quickly grants justice to us and helps us,

who is our help, our liberator, our Savior, our Lord. Amen.