Mark my Words. "Not Accepted in the Heartlands" (Communion)

Readings: Psalm 48, Ezekiel 2:1-5, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Mark: 6:1-13
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, July 4 2021

Today, is Independence Day. A moment in history when a nation remembers how they have declared their willingness to stand alone and be guided by principles of self-government and freedom. Later in your history you would declare a desire to be “One nation under God.” There is an acknowledgment, in that statement, that true independence can only be found through a reliance upon God’s love and grace.

It is an unusual day for a British guy to be standing in a pulpit in an area where there are still historic signs of the revolutionary war around. Thank-fully it was a long time ago and it appears old animosities have been replaced by a close relationship between the two nations and a recognition of commonalities rather than what separates.  

Of course, for the majority of you this is your homelands, while for myself and Yvonne, most of our extended family remains over the other side of the ocean. But wherever you call home, it is always a strange experience visiting your homelands after you have been away for a while.

Because of COVID, Yvonne and I have not been able to make that journey to our homelands in recent days. We have a family wedding coming up next year and hope that will be an occasion to renew our acquaintance once again. Things is, whenever we do go, we notice changes.

Things are so familiar, yet at the same time so different. Time moves on.  People move on. Things change. There is a new building here.  An old landmark is no longer there. Who we are, is not who we were.

There is the awareness that you have moved onto other things, whilst some of those who stayed where they were, are much the same as they have ever been.  You see them through different eyes, but often they see you as they always did.

I was reading of the Welsh singer Tom Jones, (who had hits like, "It's not unusual" and "The Green, Green, Grass of home"), and how, for him, visiting his home village was a unique experience.  In the eyes of the world, he was perceived as a glitzy Las Vegas nightclub superstar.  In his hometown he was still 'Tom, y’know, Mrs. Jones's boy, who sings a bit and went off to America.'

He found it a liberating thing to walk around his hometown and be treated just the same as everybody else.  There is something in being around folks who knew us when we were growing up that is a great leveler, and which can be very accepting and comfortable.

The reverse side of it is that it can limit people’s expectations of us. It is almost as though the people who think they know you the best, feel a need to set limits on what you should and should not be able to achieve in life.

That seems to be what happened when Jesus went to his hometown after being on His first mission trip. People would not accept Him. “Why, He is just Mary’s boy, the carpenter. We know his brothers and sisters! He’s nobody special.”

It could even be that the townsfolk thought He was dodging His responsibilities. As there is no mention of Mary’s husband Joseph in the account, the presumption is that he had died and left Jesus, as the oldest child, as the head of the household.  To walk out on the family and go on some crazy preaching tour was not the thing to do!

For whatever reasons, be it familiarity or just resistance because of actions He had taken that were socially out of line, Jesus is met with rejection when He returns to His hometown.  The people are offended by His teaching, viewing it as alien to their understanding of what should and should not happen in their locality.

Jesus marvels at their unbelief, quoting them a parable, “A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.” A few receive Him.  A number receive healing, but these are a small number in comparison to the multitudes that were touched elsewhere.

Reflecting on the thought of Jesus not being welcome in His homelands, challenges me to ask a searching question. “How welcome is Jesus in my heartlands? How welcome is the radical message of the gospel in my heart of hearts?” There is no more familiar place to us than the principality of our own lives.  In our own experience we can easily become content with the way things are and not face the challenge of developing in our spirituality.

Whether we have been faithfully attending church in the United Kingdom, or the United States, or any other land… we have heard the gospel message many times. So many times, that it has become familiar to us. Maybe so familiar, that we think we know what it is all about and see no need for change or greater understanding.  We can become so satisfied with the status quo of church life that we lose the expectation of God’s Spirit breaking in on us, renewing us, and changing us.

Jesus could not do the work He wished to do in His homelands because the people were imprisoned by a view of life that allowed no room for the unexpected in the common daily life of their community. They knew the mighty works He had done; they recognized His teaching as having great depth, and they did not deny great things were taking place.

What they had a problem with was fathoming how a man from their little village had been anointed with such great wisdom and power. They found the thought that He had a divine work to do in their midst an offense.  Who was He to tell them how they should be living their lives?  Wasn’t He, after all just a carpenter, just a local boy? Things like that did not happen in their town!

In a similar way in our inner heartlands, in our heart of hearts, we can limit the work of God.  We find the thought that Jesus wants to do some divine work in our midst somehow unbelievable. After all, that is not our daily experience. Of course, we believe Jesus can do great things, and we know He gave great teaching, but does it really penetrate our hearts?

William Barclay, in his commentary on Mark, tells the story of the poet Thomas Campbell, a man of considerable talent.  His father had absolutely no sense of poetry whatsoever. When Thomas achieved his longtime dream of having his poems published, he sent a copy to his father.  The old man looked at it.  

At least he looked at the cover and the picture on it. He never actually opened the pages and read anything. His only comment was “Well, who would have thought our Tommy could have a book made with a nice picture on it?”

“Sometimes” comments William Barclay, “when familiarity should breed a growing respect it breeds an increasing and easy-going familiarity.  Sometimes we are too near people to see their greatness.” I would want to add; “Sometimes we are so familiar with our limitations that we fail to see the possibility of there being anything more.”
 
Yet there were some in Jesus hometown who were not content.  Though the majority reacted with an unbelief that Jesus marveled at, some were healed.  So, there is a way to break beyond our familiarity barriers and expand our horizons! It may not be the way the majority takes, but has not that always been the case with those who desire to walk with God?

Consider Ezekiel, the prophet of our Old Testament reading.  God addresses him as ‘mortal man’ (for that is what he was) yet identifies him as being a person of faith amongst a nation where many disbelieved. (Ezekiel 2:3) “Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have turned against me.”

Consider how, after His rejection by most of His own folk, Jesus does not despair or change His plans, but rather carries on expanding His work, training His small band of twelve disciples by sending them out two by two to give them their first taste of preaching the Good News of the Kingdom.

Consider how, though initially rejected by His family, His mother Mary was one of the few who stood by Jesus to the end, when the rest of the disciples deserted Him. Consider how His brother James, after the resurrection, came to be regarded as the apostle and the leader of the Jerusalem church.  Though their familiarity was a stumbling block, it was one they eventually overcame.

We have stumbling blocks in our faith journeys.  We have problems that we do not seem to be able to get over. We become content with our unbelief and our unfamiliarity of God’s ways. We give up on ourselves.  We give up on each other.  We give up on our churches.  We let hope pass us by. The familiarity of our heartlands causes us to feel nothing can change or will change. We become so hardened by our familiarity that we reject even the words of those who tell us change is possible.

It does not have to be that way. It was not that way for Ezekiel.  It was not that way for those in Jesus town who found healing that day.  It does not have to be that way for us if we heed Christ’s words that we should seek the things of His Kingdom over and above all the other things we want in life.

This passage challenges us today, that though we are simply mortal women and men, it is in our lives, cluttered as they are with everyday concerns and mixed motives, that God wishes to work in the power of God’s Holy Spirit. It is for us to invite Jesus into our heartland, to see not the limitations that both ourselves and the world around us place upon us, but the vast possibilities that the Grace of God opens up to us.  

Today… Independence Day. Wherever we consider our homelands to be, one thing is clear. Freedom only comes to us within a certain framework. A war of independence took place that allowed this nation to be a place of self-government, rather than a colony under some the reign of some distant king.

The challenge remains that, for a person of faith, spiritual growth takes place, not through independence from a higher power, but through dependance upon the powerful love of God, that we find in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

Here, around a table laid with bread and wine is an unparalleled opportunity to lay our lives before God and seek God’s renewal. Let us celebrate the freedom we have to be here. Let us celebrate our history and our unique identity. But let there be no familiarity. Let there be a recognition that we are where we are and who we are by the Grace of God. And let us seek for that grace, always fresh, always new and always amazing, to guide us through days that lay ahead of us.  

And to God be all praise and glory. Amen.

 The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Mark My Words. "Jesus the Healer"

Readings: Psalm 130, 2 Samuel 1:1 & 17-27, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, Mark: 5:21-43
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, June 28 2021

This morning our bible reading gave us an account of two acts of healing that Jesus performed. Firstly, that of the daughter of Jairus. Secondly of a woman who had a hemorrhage. The two accounts have several things in common.

Consider firstly this. That both these people were outsiders.

They were not the sorts of people who normally thronged around preachers.  Jairus was a part of the ruling minority that considered the likes of Jesus to be dangerous. Scripture describes him as a “synagogue official.” The unnamed woman, because of the nature of her illness, was not the sort to get out and about much.  Her illness made her unclean in the eyes of Jewish law.  Any person she came into physical contact with would also be considered unclean by the law. They were outsiders.

There was a song some years ago that said, “I’m in with the In-Crowd, I go where the In-Crowd goes.”  One of the things I have never figured out in life is exactly who the “In Crowd” are.  In fact, if some of the people who suspect they are 'in' the 'in crowd' are anything to go by, then I’m certainly sure I don’t want to be in with them, whatever that may mean.

When it comes to the love of God, we are outsiders whom God wants to be insiders.   We all fall short of being the sort of people we could or should be.  We are all misfits. Sometimes we may be foolish enough to believe otherwise. Numerous religious and political groups will invite us to be a part of their thing and suggest to us that everybody else’s thing is the wrong thing. But the testimony of scripture is clear. We are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God.

So, remember this. Jesus healed these two outsiders. They were not outsiders in His eyes. Neither are we.  He invites us, not to become part of the “In crowd” but to be part of a fellowship that meets around a common table. He invites us to be in His love. He invites us to be part of a community in which there are as many 'diverse' people as there are people.

The love of God invites outsiders to come inside. To taste and see that the Lord is good.

Notice secondly about this unclean woman and synagogue official, that though in the eyes of the world they were outsiders, in the eyes of God, they were insiders by virtue of being people of faith.

Faith is such a hard a thing to define. What makes it harder is that sometimes we seem to have it and sometimes we don’t.   

I am not a person who has tremendous confidence in air travel. The smaller the plane, the more angst-y I become. I remember being on a flight from Atlanta, GA to Charleston, WV, that was one of those tiny commuter planes with noisy propellers and engines that seem to splutter.

The pilot did not actually increase my confidence.  He kept coming on the loudspeakers saying things like, “Duh, this your ..er.. pilot… erm. There might be some bad weather ahead.  I guess… erm.. we’ll go round it some way. Erm.. Don’t know what time we’ll be getting in tonight… but hey, I think we got a lot of fuel on board!”

Of course, everything went fine. There were no problems. Statistically I knew I was safer in a plane than crossing the road, but.. well faith.. it’s a strange thing. Sometimes we seem to have it. Sometimes it eludes us.

In our bible passage, the woman and Jairus the synagogue official have it.  Big time. “If I just touch His garments,” says the woman. Jairus says about his daughter “Lay your hands on her so that she will get well and live.” If they have any doubts in their minds about the ability of Jesus to heal, their words certainly don’t express them.  They have complete confidence in Jesus.

That sort of confident faith is elsewhere described in Scripture as a gift of the Holy Spirit.  An experience that God grants to us through God’s grace. Faith is not something that we can artificially manufacture or achieve through the power of positive thinking. It’s a gift to be received.

But there are things we can do to be in a better position to be more receptive. We can be regular in our worship and personal walk with Christ.  We can nourish our lives through scripture and prayer. We can be more trusting in God and less trusting in our selves.  These things do not guarantee instant abundant faith experiences, but they do pave the way to recognizing a gift when God is offering it to us.

How much faith is necessary? Jesus said a little less than a mustard seed is quite sufficient! Just a grain. That will do it.  Just a whisper worth that tells you God loves you despite everything!

The love of God invites outsiders to come inside.
The love of God invites us to come with the faith we have, and trust God for the rest!

Finally, notice this about these two people of faith. They didn’t care what anybody else thought about them.

So many people worry endlessly about what others think of them whilst considering so little how their lives may look in God’s eyes.  Jairus had reached a point where he could not give two hoots what his influential friends made of him.  His little daughter was sick.  He believed Jesus could change things. So, he went to Jesus.

The woman with the hemorrhage did not care that the law branded her unclean.  She didn’t care that she’d seen this doctor and that physician, and they’d all declared her condition incurable.  She did not care about the social customs and niceties that every society inherits.  She needed a touch from Jesus to be made well. Forget everything else. She went for it.

Sometimes, like the two in our story, we must reach rock bottom before we stop wondering what other people think of us and start reaching out to God. But that does not have to be so.

If we can simply recapture the idea that God loves us, simply because we are God's children and precious in God's sight, that God sent Jesus into our world not to condemn the world, but that the world might through Him be saved, then we understand how outsiders become insiders. We recognize that it is the work of the Holy Spirit, a work of grace that accepts us, not what we can do or what others think of us.

Somebody asked me the other day, why they should bother attending a worship service, when there are so many other things they could do on a Sunday.

For me, it's like this. Every time we come to a worship service, we are putting ourselves in a place that where God's healing and freedom and joy can break through into our hurting and needy lives. That what we can discover through worship is something this world cannot even put into words.  It is through opening our hearts in worship that Jesus invites to experience His touch.

It is through opening our hearts to God in worship that we discover, like Jairus and the woman in our scripture reading, that we are outsiders that God wants to make insiders.

It is through opening our hearts to God in worship that we discover that however anybody else perceives us, God sees us as children in need of spiritual nurture and grace.

It is as we open our hearts to God in worship, not with the faith we would like to possess but with the little faith we do have, that we become aware that if it we only have as much faith as a mustard seeds worth ...that is absolutely enough.

It is as we open our hearts to God in worship, we remember that what others think of us does not matter as much as how God sees us. And we discover God is the only One who truly sees us, who knows the real needs of our lives, and only God, through the Holy Spirit, can meet us at the deepest point of our need. Such was the experience of Jairus, whose daughter found healing, and of a unknown woman, known to God by name, but for us just another example of how God's love, can take what is broken and create something new.

Whatever our need this day... be it for healing, for direction, for hope, for comfort, for peace... may we lift that need to God, trusting that God alone can fulfill God's Word and seeking for God's healing love to be a reality in our own lives.

For to God's name be all honor, glory and praise. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

June 20 Mark my Words. "With Jesus in the Boat..."

Readings: Psalm 9:9-20, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Job 38:1-11; Mark 4:35-41
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church on June 20 2021

Many of my childhood holidays when I was growing up were spent on the Bonnie, Bonnie banks of Loch Lomond in Scotland. My late father's parents were from Alexandria, near Glasgow, and my dad had spent a lot of time in his childhood exploring the area, an experience he wanted to share with his family.

One of the joys of the “Bed and Breakfast” we used to stay in, was that the lodging included access to a small, motorized boat that enabled us to pack up for the day, sail out on the Loch and picnic on one of the many islands that the Loch contains. Dad even had friends that lived on one of the islands, Inchtavannach, and we would often be invited for a sumptuous dinner.

Scottish weather is unpredictable. Raincoats were never optional but considered essential supplies. One of the things you had to take note of, when out sailing on the Loch, was how suddenly and unexpectedly, the weather could change. One moment, a blue sky with a few clouds, the next a storm would roll in from the mountains, and it was much safer to be on the land, then out at sea. Thankfully, Dad knew the climate and knew the Loch, so we were never caught out.

However, unpredictable weather, is... well... unpredictable. And even the most professional of sailors can be caught out by unexpected storms. That seems to be what is happening to the seasoned fishermen, out on the Galilean Lake with Jesus, that is pictured in our Bible reading from Marks gospel. We read “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.”

It is not just boat trips that can be unpredictable. Life itself is full of unexpected and unwelcome twists and turns. One moment we are going along smoothly, the next, out of nowhere can come occurrences that shake us to our core and change everything. Illness. Accident. Disaster. Loss. Most of the time we sail along quite happily, but there are those other times that leave us afraid, confused and wondering what we are going to do next.

This morning I want to think about several things.

•    Firstly, I want to say that fear is normal. It is a natural reaction to our losing control.
•    Secondly, I want to say that one of our greatest fears, is that of abandonment. The fear that God does not care.
•    Finally, I want us to see how, in this passage, the action of Jesus brings peace into the situation, and creates a great sense of awe at God's ability to effect change in our lives and our world.

Fear is Normal

The Old Testament passage recommended by the Lectionary comes from near the end of the book of Job. The story of Job is all about a man who, through no fault of his own, loses everything he held dear in a series of cataclysmic events. Though people seek to understand why all this is happening to him, and he himself is exasperated and fearful, by the end of the book we discover that no reasons for his plight are going to be given. Instead, he is reminded that our lives, for better for worse, are in the hands of a God whose actions defy our understanding.

God's word to Job is “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements-- surely you know!” (Job 38:4-5) People will ask us, “Why is this happening to me?” Often, we have to say, in all honesty, “God only knows” and we are not in on the secret. We acknowledge that even if we had an explanation, it would not help. When the boat is sinking, you do not care why it is sinking, you just want to know where the lifeboat is.

We have heard verses like 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” and feel that, somehow, expressing our loss of control, expressing our deepest fears is unfaithful and not honoring to God. That an admission of fear is evidence of unfaithfulness.

Job had no such problem. He gets angry at God for the predicament in which he had been placed. The disciples had no such reservations. As the storm envelops their lives, in verse 38 they cry out, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

Fear is normal. When everything spirals out of control it is the right emotion to experience. It is a natural part of our defense mechanism. Of course, we also have those irrational fears that nobody can explain, but that's just part of what reminds we are all unique... and we all a little bit crazy, we are all beautiful human individuals, but in each of us the image of God is tarnished by our sin.

Because of our imperfection, we are needy people. We need each other. We need God. And one of our deepest fears is of being alone. Which brings us to a second thing we see in this passage.

Fear of Abandonment.

Jesus is asleep in the boat. The disciples are terrified. Jesus sleeps. The boat is filling with water. Jesus sleeps on. They shake Him awake. They yell at Him. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

We are His disciples, right? Isn't God supposed to take care of us? Isn't God being neglectful of God's duties when things do not work out for us? No... wait a minute, what if God is not really that interested in what we are going though? What if God does not really care? What if God has gone AWOL? What if God is sleeping in today and has missed this tragedy that we are living in the middle of?

How often have we been there? Yes, we know, we believe, that God is real. We believe that God is with us. Or at least, at times we have believed that. But now? Now this has happened. Now the unthinkable just became the reality. What is the deal God? Sleeping on the job? “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”

Teacher, do You not care how hard life is right now? Teacher, do you not care about what is happening to my family? Teacher do you not care about that illness that is attacking that person? Teacher, do you not care about Covid? Teacher do you not care about the violence and the shootings and the climate of mistrust that is evident in this nation? Teacher, do You not care that Your church is struggling to make sense of the world it deals with day by day? Teacher wake up! Help us, wake up!

We read in verse 9 “He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.” It reads all so matter of fact. We don't read that He shook Himself and cried out “Oh my goodness. I cannot believe I was sleeping through this! Why didn't you wake me earlier?” We don't read, “And Jesus said, “Get out the life jackets, swim for the shore, there's nothing we can do, every man for himself!” We read “He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.” As the Word of God is spoken, faith is restored.

Faith Restored

Yes, the storm is rebuked, and peace is restored. Dead calm. But something else happens. The disciples take on a different kind of fear. An experience of awe and incredulity comes upon them. While Jesus is comforting and challenging them, saying “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” They are saying “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

It is as though our faith is not just about recognizing that the Word of God can make a difference, but that we also need to get out of the mindset that limits what God can and is able to do, in our lives, in our churches and in our world. This story takes us from a position of life crippling fear for survival and invites us to embrace visions of incredible possibility. It invites us to trust God, not just for the immediate crisis we are facing, but to open up to God's love in a new way that causes us to rethink the way we see the world.

It is this sense of overwhelming awe, this sense of, “Wow! Not only was God not sleeping, but God is control of … well... everything,” that brings peace flowing into the situation. It is here that this story once again intersects with the Old Testament story of Job. Job is put in a position where he sees that, even though he cannot change or explain the events that have befallen him, God is more in control than he could ever be. Job and the disciples reach a position where they understand that God cares about them more deeply than they could ever dare imagine.

It is as though life is cast into a totally different framework. We see everything in a linear fashion. Life goes smooth. A crisis comes along. We panic. God gets us through. We get back to normal. Then another crisis comes along, and we hit the “repeat” button.

This passage places our lives into an eternal frame. Good things will happen to bad people and bad things will happen to good people, but at the end of all things... God has it all under control. God is not sleeping on the job. Storms of life will come and go, but the Word of the Lord will endure forever.

A church I used to attend sang a chorus that said, “Peace is flowing like a river.” That was always a mixed image in my mind. When you witness the power that a river in full flood can create, that is both a challenging and a comforting image. Challenging because it reminds us that we are not in control. Comforting, because when we accept that God is in control, that is when the peace floods in.

That is also a chorus we used to sing at Vacation Bible School.

“With Jesus in the boat we can smile at the storm,
Smile at the storm, smile at the storm
With Jesus in the boat we can smile at the storm,
As we go sailing home.

Sailing, sailing home. Sailing, sailing home.
With Jesus in the boat we can smile at the storm,
As we go sailing home.”

It is a recognition that we are all at sea. And we all sometimes become afraid. 

While probably the last thing that occurs to us in the middle of the storms of life is “Smile,” if we can embrace the hope that God is not asleep, embrace the hope that God has placed an eternal framework around our lives, embrace the hope that God is able to deal with our lives in a way that is more abundant, more precious and more expansive than we could ever dream is possible, then the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ will come flowing into the situation.

To God be all glory.
Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

June 13 Mark My Words. "Seeds of Faith"

 

 Readings: Psalm 46; 1 Samuel 15:34–16:13,  2 Corinthians 5:6–17, Mark 4:26-34
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, June 13 2021

Our New Testament reading this morning had Jesus talking about seeds.  Little things that grow into things that are much greater. About how we play only a small part in it, we plant it and we harvest it, but God takes care of the rest.  Like the process of growth, from a seed to a tree, Jesus pictures the Kingdom of God growing mysteriously from small beginnings into something majestic.

The first parable talked about the mystery of growth. The seed is planted.
It goes through changes.  The stalk appears, then the head, then it blossoms.
When the grain is ripe it is harvested.

We know that sometimes the seeds we plant don't make it.  We know that we have to prepare the ground.  We know that a whole lot of conditions play a part. But most of it, just happens and as it happens, we can do very little to change it.  About the only thing we can do is stop it or ruin it.

It is much the same with spiritual growth.  Seeds of faith are planted in people’s lives.  Sometimes they take, sometimes they do not.  At times people are prepared for growth, at times they are not. There are occasions when the storms of life cause the growth to be hindered.  There are occasions when people will not go with the flow of it and the seeds do not come to anything.

But, by the Grace of God, sometimes things take root and we see people going through a process of changes and developments that show they are maturing and developing in their Christian life. And it is by the Grace of God. It is a thing that we cannot explain.  It is truly a miracle.

I have been reading recently some peoples accounts of their Christian journey.  A common factor in many people’s testimony, is that when things seemed at their worse, or when they travelled through an incredibly difficult time, God spoke and planted a seed in them that brought a result they had never expected.  

One recent example, for personal reasons, particularly struck me. Carley Cottingham’s story. I will share it in her words.

“Growing up in Three Rivers, I was a talented three sport athlete, who especially thrived on the basketball court, I had dreams to play basketball at the collegiate level and was well on my way to do so until my junior year of high school when my world was turned upside down.  

 In the spring of 2009, my right hand began to suddenly cramp up, ache, tingle, and turn white. I figured I had injured it while playing softball, but because I was such a competitive athlete I decided not to tell my coach.

By the time summer came around, the symptoms were getting worse and began spreading up my arm. I finally decided that I needed to see a doctor. I went to Bronson Hospital with my Mom where I was diagnosed with Tendonitis and was told to go to physical therapy for 6-8 weeks. I spent the summer before my senior year in and out of therapy, when at one particular session my right hand lost all color. The physical therapist was shocked at what was happening and scheduled an appointment for me to see a hand surgeon.

After that appointment with the surgeon, I was told that I had blood clots in my right arm that were completely clotting my arm from my elbow down to my fingertips. The doctors performed more tests and tried giving me medication to help break up the clots, but it was completely unsuccessful.

I was then transported by helicopter to Detroit where I was rushed into a twelve hour emergency surgery. Over the next four weeks I had over fifteen major surgeries. The doctors finally diagnosed me with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Unfortunately, the clots were discovered too late, and on August 26th, 2009 the doctors amputated my hand.

While lying alone in my hospital room, my body broken and bruised, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace. I felt the presence of the Lord there with me in that room. I heard His voice so audibly I thought He was on the hospital PA system. I heard the Lord say to me, "Carley, I might be taking your right hand, but your life is in my hands".

I knew right then and there that I was going to be just fine! I knew that the Lord had the most incredible plans for me and that He was going to use my story to glorify Him.
I continued my senior year and played basketball, where I was recognized by ESPN the magazine and was awarded Hero of the Month by the Detroit Pistons. The athlete in me was ecstatic, but I knew that I couldn’t have done without my Savior.

Over the last ten years I have shared my story all over the US, and work alongside Bethany Hamilton, professional surfer and shark attack survivor, to host retreats for young women who have lost limbs. Through continued support from my church community, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I will continue to thank God for every day!”

I share that story partly because my own son, Matthew, was recently diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and over the last six months has been through a series of operations, but thankfully no amputations, only a rib removed! With the arrival of their first child it has been a difficult time for them and I was delighted, a couple of weeks ago, to be able to travel to Washington State and baptize my grandchild in the presence of family and friends.

Maybe not such a dramatic testimony as that of Carly, but God was with us. Grace is all around. We do not like to reflect on what could have been if a diagnosis were not found, and I am so thankful for the advances medical science has made. I cannot help reflecting that the Kingdom is working away today, just like Jesus said it would.

We forget what advances have been made in our world not just through science, but also through the growth of Christianity. William Barclay, writing in his commentary on Mark says;

"There is not the slightest doubt that the Kingdom is on the way if we compare, not today with yesterday, but this century with ones that went before.  When Elizabeth Fry went to Newgate Prison in 1817 she found in the women's quarters three hundred women and numberless children crammed into two small wards.  They lived and cooked and ate and slept on the floor.  They crowded, half naked, almost like beasts, begging for money which they spent on drink at a bar in the prison itself.  

She found there a boy of nine who was waiting to be hung. His crime? Poking a stick through a window and stealing some paints that were valued at two pennies.... Nowadays things like that are unthinkable. Why? Because the Kingdom of God is on the way.  It may, like the growth of a plant be imperceptible from day to day; but over the years that growth is plain."

It can seem like two steps forward, one step back. But how things are now, is not how things will be.  How you are now is not how you will be in years to come.  Where you are now on your spiritual journey is not where you are meant to stay. You have to grow, you have to move on. We are not at the end of the story. The story is still being written.  The Kingdom, though we may not always see it, continues to grow.

The second parable talks of how the smallest of seeds grew to be a great tree,
providing not just a place for birds to shelter,
 but fit for eagles to make their nests within its branches.

The significance of both the mustard seed and the great tree would not be lost on the original hearers.  The mustard seed stood for the smallest possible thing; the tree was a symbol of a great empire that encompassed many nations. So, the Kingdom of God would grow from something embodied in the life of Jesus Christ to something that embraced the whole world.

Everything has a beginning.  Nothing emerges full-grown.  It can start out as an idea.  It can originate with a prayer.  It can begin as an idea that comes as you open your heart to God in a service of worship. Without the acorns there would never be Oak Trees.  Never judge things by the initial size of the seed.  Particularly the things of God and the things of His Kingdom.

Growth takes place, not in leaps and bounds, but by little steps. Seeds of faith are little things, everyday things that we pass on to others.  The smile of hope when others are cast down. The phone call to express your concern.  The few items or dollars given to a food kitchen.  

The volunteering to do that job or this task that no one else wants to do.  Returning your trolley when you visit the supermarket because if the wind blows it could damage somebody else’s car. The picking up of that piece of litter in the street because it is there and no one else has bothered.  Little things that when put together grow to be big things.

Be patient with yourselves. Spiritual growth is also a progression of little things. Little insights. Gentle steps and gradual renewal.  Why are we always in such a rush?  You cannot rush a seed.  You cannot go out into the garden and shout at the seed, "C'mon, grow, grow you little scoundrel, get up out of that earth and let's see what you're made of!"

The Kingdom is coming.  But it takes time.  It has taken all the generations that led to our birth and could take just as many generations after our death. Sometimes it may feel like we take one step before taking two steps forward. If we can just trust that God knows how to handle time, then we will be able trust Him to handle the times that our life is going through.

Our world is beset with many divisions. Divisions of race and color and culture. Divisions of wealth and poverty. Divisions of religion and class.  Divisions of language and nationality.  It shall not always be so. The Kingdom of God is growing from a small seed to a mighty empire. That is God's way.  That is how Jesus said it would be. And we can be a part of it. Seeds of faith have been planted in our hearts. That is why we are here.  

May God help us to nurture those seeds, to provide the right atmosphere of trust, prayer and worship for them to grow and to spread those faith seeds in the lives of others through our work and service and sharing of our gifts and talents.

Seeds of faith.
They take time to grow.
Be patient.
God has not finished with us yet.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

June 6 - Communion "An Open Invitation"

Readings: Psalm 32, Isaiah 55:1-6, Romans 5:12-19, Matthew 11:25-30
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, on June 6, 2021

I remember when my kids were growing up one of them received an invitation to a party. “Oh” said the other, “That’s not fair! Why can’t I go?”  The next day the other one received an invitation to a different party and this time the first was not invited. That seemed to balance things out. Having received exclusive invitations, the problem was solved.

Today I am not making an exclusive invitation. Whilst my invitation is personal, it is also an open invitation to come and share in bread and wine and remember the living love of Jesus Christ in such a way that our lives are renewed by the Holy Spirit.

Usually when invites are sent out to any occasion a guest list is made. A communion celebration is no exception. Who is on the guest list today?

1.  The Heavy Laden. (Matthew 11:28) "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
2. The Thirsty.( John 7:37-38) "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.”  
3. All those who want to be near to God. (Isaiah 55:6) “Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.”

1. "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Are there things that are weighing you down? Are the worries of the world heavy on your shoulders? Are you going through a tunnel and have yet to see the light at the end of it? Then hear these precious words of Jesus. “Come to me all ye that are heavy laden and I will give you rest”

This is not an invitation to the self-sufficient. This is an invitation to those who are aware of their need. If we can but see ourselves in the light of God, then we would see that we are all in a situation of need.

Sometimes our need is for forgiveness. We just can’t believe we could be so stupid. We need to know ourselves forgiven so that we can move forward. Sometimes our need is for encouragement. Sometimes our need is for healing or for guidance.

Hebrews 7:25 says of Jesus that ‘He is able to save completely those who come to Him’. I like the way the Message Bible paraphrases these verses from Matthew.

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

This table of communion is a place to bring our burdens to God, to bring all our sorrows, all that weighs heavy upon us. Jesus invites us here. “Come all who are heavy laden, I will give you rest.” Next on our guest list:-

2. "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink.”  

He was not talking here of drinking water. Nor was He talking of drinking wine. He was talking of drinking in His life-giving Holy Spirit. John 7:39 states quite clearly, “Jesus said this about the Spirit.”

Christian life is spiritual life. Christianity is not a code of or morals or ethics. Christianity is not the Ten Commandments.  Christianity is not just being nice to people or helping them. Whilst being part of a community of faith is vital for Christian life and growth, Christianity is not just about going to church or singing hymns or saying prayers. All these are good and positive things, but they are not the bottom line.

The bottom line is that Christianity is about having a life-giving relationship with God as our Father, made possible through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and in the power of His Holy Spirit. Everything else in Christianity flows for that source.

“Whoever is thirsty should come to me and drink, whoever believes in me, streams of life giving water will pour out from his heart”.

Without God’s Spirit life is dry, religion is empty, stewardship is a burden and worship is self-delusion. ‘Let everyone who is thirsty come to me.” With these words Jesus puts into a new framework the words of Isaiah in Chapter 55; 1-2

“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come; buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

Unless our Christianity is a spiritual thing it will offer little strength for living out our faith in the real world. We will remain hungry, unsatisfied, burdened and thirsty. But the richness of God’s grace can feed the hungriest of hearts.

On the communion table are bread and wine. Everyday things. What fills them with meaning are the spiritual realities they represent for us. The body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Here are symbols of love... a love prepared to abandon itself to save us; love offered without expecting reward, love that is not ashamed of rebuke or rejection. Love as fragile as a snowflake as yet more powerful than a nuclear explosion.

If you are thirsting for that depth of love, then you are thirsting for a deeper experience of the Holy Spirit. You have come to the right place. God’s Spirit empowers and enlivens, encourages us and guides us, lifts us up when we have fallen, strengthens us when we are weary. “Ho.. everyone who thirsts… come to the waters”.

Third on our guest list… Staying with Isaiah 55… verse 6 tells us;

“Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near”

There is no magic about communion. It’s not a conjuring trick or short cut to God’s blessing. But I’ll tell you what it is. It is something special. Why? Because Jesus said, 'Remember me' in this way, ‘Remember me’ by breaking bread and drinking wine together in fellowship.

Over the centuries, to our great shame, Christian people have argued and fought over what is happening here. At different times, the table has been hedged with superstitions and prohibitions.

‘You shouldn’t be here.’
‘You have to do this and this and this before you are welcome here.’
‘These things aren’t meant for you, you don’t make the grade.”

The tragic thing is that a lot of these arguments have arisen because people recognize this simple feast as something special. In the process they seem to have made something essentially simple unfathomably complex.

Now I speak personally… (And this is my opinion not Presbyterian doctrine) … I believe that we are not meant to understand why communion is special, nor are we meant to understand how it is that so many people over the centuries have testified that when they share in bread and wine with other Christians that God feels especially near.

We are not meant to understand it… we are meant to receive it, because real love, the love we nailed naked and bare to the cross of Calvary, the love that burst forth like an explosion of joy from the empty tomb, real love, is too deep to put into words.

It is something we must taste, something whose touch we feel in the most secret places of our hearts, something that when it touches us is like a bubbling stream that flows through us… renewing us and opening up within us even greater depths to be filled.

"'Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.”  This is a special invitation, to special feast, at a special time.

Revelation 3:20 pictures Jesus declaring; “Listen! I am standing at the door knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”

So, this morning I offer an open invitation. Come and feast on the love of God. Allow God to speak to you in whatever way God chooses as we share together in these elements of bread and wine.

Consider in what tangible ways you are able to respond to the inviting love that is offered here, through your time, talents, treasures and influence. How can your life be an invitation for others to taste and see that the Lord is good?

Who is on the guest list?

• The Heavy Laden - Come and find rest  (Matthew 11:28)
• The Thirsty – Come and be filled with the life giving water of the Holy Spirit
• ( John 7:37-38)
• All those who want to be near God – Open your hearts, because God is nearer than we dare imagine. (Isaiah 55:6)

As we share this feast may we find His rest, may we be satisfied to leave our lives in God’s hands. May we leave this place having been empowered for the service of others, knowing that we have been part of something special… the wedding feast of the lamb, the glorious meal of the kingdom where we have sat in the company of angels and saints and in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I invite you to come, just as you are, bringing nothing but your honesty and need, that here, at this table, your life may be nourished by the Holy Spirit at work in our midst. To God’s name be the glory as we remember Jesus in the way He invited.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

May 30 Trinity Sunday "Hot Coals"

Readings: Psalm 29, John 3:1-7, Romans 8:12-17, Isaiah 6:1-8
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, on Sunday May 30th, 2021

Isaiah was a creature of habit. He was a believer in God. The things of God were important to him. Faith was a matter of action as well as intellectual assent. So, as he often did, he went into the temple to pray. He had no expectation that God was about to meet with him in a deep and life-transforming manner. In fact, the thought that such a thing should ever happen to a regular guy like him, probably never crossed his mind.

Can we identify with him? I am guessing that we have come into church this morning, because that is what we do on a Sunday. It is a part of our lives. We believe in God. We seek for God’s will to be done. We acknowledge that we need God’s help to get us through our days. Chances are that many of us are happy having a relationship with God on that sort of level.

In fact, anything more than that may actually stress us out, even more than the stresses that we come to church to try and cope with, are already stressing us out! Maybe the last thing we need right now is a dramatic, life changing, earth-shattering encounter with the Almighty. There is a lot to be said for the notion of a 'Comfortable God'.

Isaiah at a later date would declare, 'Comfort Ye, Comfort Me, my People'. Jesus calls us to rest in His love. And are we not Presbyterians, finding comfort in notions of decency and order, taking pride in the appearance of being in control and having things ordered and in a logical pattern? The last thing we need is a change.

Did I say 'Change?' How can I resist the change jokes!

How many Lutherans does it take to change a light bulb? Only one. But it takes the whole church to organize the dinner that goes with it.

How many Baptists does it take to take change a light bulb? Well, the preacher will talk to it, but ultimately it has to make the decision to change for itself.

How many Methodists does it take to take change a light bulb? 'Change?' said the committee, 'What is that? We don't understand the word.'

How many Presbyterians does it take to take change a light bulb? Again, only one. However it is a six year long process requiring overtures to the General Assembly and a majority vote of the Presbyteries.

The thing is, no matter what our religious flavor, we all have strategies in place to keep the wheels of our religious traditions well-oiled and avoid the sort of dramatic confrontation that Isaiah had with God in the temple, the sort that moved him out of his comfort zone.

The problem with being in the comfort zone is, of course, that nothing ever changes. Everything is lukewarm and every day and as predictable as finding Christmas cards in Hallmark in November. I suspect complacency results in our ministry to the world being compromised. We become so consumed with keeping the wheels in motion we forget about those who don’t have wheels!

Isaiah discovered something. When God is on our case, things change. When God draws near, you change, or you are consumed. When the Spirit of God starts to move, the wind will blow, and the sparks will fly.

That morning when Isaiah ambled along to church, the unexpected took a hold. He has a vision of the glory of God. Isaiah 6:1 'I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.' In Isaiah’s vision God is robed in kingly attire. This is not a little god, this is a Godzilla of a God. Huge. Think about that phrase; 'The hem of His robe filled the temple'.

In terms of our sanctuary, just a little bit of the cloth on the bottom of God's robe filled the place. That is a big robe. That is one huge vision to get your mind around. And then there are angels and seraphs buzzing around and music filling the air.

Today in the church calendar is Trinity Sunday, and we read that the angels, in the presence of God are singing a threefold anthem, 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.' I know sometimes when we have the 'Holy, Holy, Holy' hymn, and the sopranos sing that top line, boy it makes the rafters tingle. That is nothing, Isaiah 6:4 in the temple; 'The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke.'

The imagery is like that used in Acts 2 when the upper room on the Day of Pentecost suddenly became a place infused with the glory of God. Mighty rushing winds. Tongues of flame falling upon the disciples. The presence of a God whose glory filled the whole earth.

The challenge this passage places before us is to consider that our vision of God is just too small. That the lack of holiness in our lives is directly related to the lack of vision we have in regard to the holiness of God. That we have a God that is constructed from images that comfort and contain rather than the wild, untamed, un-named, glory of Isaiah’s God whose temple visions scare Isaiah half to death!

Isaiah’s response? Let him use his own words; Isaiah 6:5 'I said: 'Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!'. Isaiah’s vision of God did nothing to comfort him or cause him complacency.

It reminds me of the imagery of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord; He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored; He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword: His truth is marching on.”

This vision shook him to the core of his being. Yet at the same time it placed him in a situation where he was prepared to do with his life, whatever God required of him. It was a vision that revealed his sinfulness in the light of God’s holiness. He declares, 'I am a man of unclean lips'.

Picture that. The light of God shining so intensely into your life that every sin, every compromise, every wrong thought, or deed is lit up like the streets of Las Vegas at the peak of holiday season. Lit up for all the world to see.  'Woe is me. I am lost'.  What happened in Vegas, did not stay in Vegas after all.

God is light. Light that lights things up. That is what light does. Lights things up. Reveals them. Makes them incredibly easy to see.  That can be a scary thought. If that’s how God is then no wonder, we often prefer the shadows. No wonder we want to stay in our comfort zone. That kind of God could be dangerous. Wasn’t that just the reaction that Jesus incited in his opponents? They could not take the light. They preferred the darkness.

John’s Gospel 12:5 'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it'. Going back to the 'How many people to change the light bulb' jokes, it is almost as though sometimes we are like a group of people who want to remove the light bulb because it is working too well. It is making the place look untidy by revealing the cobwebs and mess that needs dealing with!

But the light does not undo Isaiah. An angel comes with a hot coal that is placed on his lips. 'Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out. ' An act of grace. It is in response to this act of grace that Isaiah then declares, 'Here am I; send me!'

I cannot recreate you for you exactly what happened to Isaiah with the hot coal on his lips. Maybe you could smother your chicken in Tabasco sauce at lunch and see if that gives you a zing. It will not convince you of the reality of God’s call on your life, but it may give the people at the next table a smile.

God has not come to us with a hot coal. God’s love has been revealed to us through something far more intense. Through a cross upon which Jesus died a torturous death, praying, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing'. We have a glimpse of the Glory of God that Isaiah was never able to view. We have a cross and an empty tomb, which reveal that not only does God tower over the earth, but over death and hell, and evil, and all that would detract from life being lived in freedom and wholeness.

That should be enough to move us out of our comfort zone. The question we should ask is 'Does our faith in God mean enough to us to change the way we live? To shine a little more, so that we dare to commit a little more and actually achieve a little more in the way of being the people God wants us to be?'

We are headed in the right direction. Like Isaiah we have come to the temple to pray. Christian growth seems to take place with us kicking and screaming against God every step of the way. We really do not want to move out of our comfort zone. We fear the sort of changes God may have in mind.

But it should not be that way. Can we reflect on the greatness and glory of God? Can we seek to nurture in our spirits a sense of awe and the mystery of God? Can we recognize the radical, revolutionary, hot coal-like, awesome actions of God in Christ’s death and resurrection? Are our hearts prepared to be empowered by the Holy Spirit who can sometimes be found in the wind and flame, but at other times in the stillness of the quiet following the storm?

If we apply ourselves to such things, we are, I believe, moving in the right direction. Who knows, maybe this Sunday will not be your average Sunday. Maybe somebody here and now is hearing the voice of God saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go?' Maybe you are that somebody? Indeed, it is probable, in a world where 'the fields are ripe for harvest, but the laborers are few', we are all people that God is calling to particular areas of service.

The right response to make to the call of God is “Here am I; send me!” If we make the excuse that 'We are not worthy', then God comes with the hot coal of Christ's forgiveness and says, 'No, you are not worthy, but through the forgiveness of the Cross and the empowerment of resurrection glory, my Holy Spirit will guide you!'

Isaiah went, as he often did, to pray in the temple. It turned out to be a day that changed his life. Are we prepared this day to allow this not to be your average Sunday? Are we prepared to allow God to change us and remake us? Will we embrace the call that God places upon our lives to love this world with all the strength God gives to us? 'Whom shall I send, and who will go?'. Isaiah declared ‘Here am I; send me!'

What will be our response to this challenging passage of scripture?

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Message from the First Letter of John. 5. God Birthed Faith

 

 'Sin, Forgiveness and Love ' (Messages from the First letter of John)  “God Birthed Faith”
Readings: Psalm 98, Acts 10:44-48, John 15:9-17, 1 John 5:1-6
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, on May 9 2021

Our reading this morning, from 1 John 5, brings us to the end of a series that has dealt with his themes of 'Sin, forgiveness and love.'  Last time we saw how it was John who penned the awesome words; “God is Love.”  In this morning’s reading he again brings us back to the theme of love, but this time he reminds us that unless we act upon the love that God offers to us, then we have not really got it.

Our reading today takes us a little further than just suggesting that because we are loved we should love others. John suggests that our loving actions need to revolve around a center. In the household of faith, John tells us that our center is faith is Jesus Christ. He writes in verse 5 “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Some may ask, “Isn't John's focus on faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God a little restrictive?” What is the big deal about believing in Jesus? Isn't it enough that we are generous and charitable and get along with each other? Why does John insist on muddying the waters by telling us we need to get our focus right about what we believe about Jesus Christ?

As far as John was concerned there could be no separation between belief and action.  'In fact,' he says (Verse 3) 'This is love for God: to keep His commands.” Earlier in his letter he spoke about people who had become so sophisticated in their believing that they had fallen into all sorts of wrong ways of thinking that led them into wrong ways of acting. For John what you believe determines what you do, and what you do shows what you really believe.

 John believed that faith is something that God has to birth within us through the action of the Holy Spirit. Faith is something that in John's gospel is described as being “born from above” that effects the individual as though they had been “born again.” Genuinely believing in God, for John is about having a God birthed faith. He gives us some reasons.

•    Only a God-birthed faith could give us a true love perspective.
•    Only a God birthed faith could create true community.
•    Only a God-birthed faith could conquer the world.

1. Only a God-birthed faith gives us a true love perspective.

In previous chapters John has been incredibly careful to define what he means when he uses the word love. He always uses the Greek word 'agapé'. There were other words in Greek that he could have used. They had a word for family love 'storgé', they had a word for physical love, 'eros', they had a word for brotherly love 'philia'. John uses none of these but uses the word 'agapé' which was particularly descriptive of the kind of love that was seen in the life of Jesus.

'Agapé' love described a life lived for the benefit of others. A love that healed and recreated and went beyond what was expected. A love that lifted the fallen and was more concerned for the needs of the other than needs of the self. John outlines this love in chapter 4:9-10 “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins.”

John sees Christian action as a response to what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. The act of God in Christ is the motivation and the centering point for loving the world.  When we get it right about who Jesus is, and why He came, it changes the way we live.

It changes the way we see others. We cannot look down on anybody else or see any person as beyond the reach of God. Because Christ died for us, He died for them. Through the eyes of Jesus there is no “us” and “them.” All people are people who need the love and grace of God.

“That's love” says John. It is not a feeling. It is not an emotion. It is not something we fall in or out of. It is not being benevolent or feeling charitable. It is not giving out of a sense of guilt or acting out of duty. It is centering our life in Jesus Christ, being empowered by the Holy Spirit, opening our hearts and lives to the grace of God, and acting in gratitude for the blessings of salvation Jesus obtained for us through His death and resurrection. Only a God-birthed faith gives us a true love perspective.

2.Only a God-birthed faith creates true community

John also insists that if we say that we love God, but do not apply ourselves to loving each other, then we are deluding ourselves, and the truth is not in us. He goes as far as saying that people who act like that, think they are children of God, but in actuality are walking in darkness, not in the light.

In previous chapters we see that John takes sin seriously. One of the most pernicious of sins is that of failing to work at creating community. We had these words in our reading this morning: - (verse 2) “This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands.” The stress is on centering our lives in Jesus Christ and allowing Jesus to be the hub around which our community life revolves.

To truly be a community of faith we must look to Jesus and see each other through the lens of the love of God. If we look to each other, if we look to having common interests or being like-minded as a center for our life together, then we become nothing more than a civic organization organized around a particular sense of values.

There is nothing wrong in having community organizations. They can do some great things. But they are not the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church of Christ has a higher calling. To be a place where all people can discover the love of God in Jesus Christ. A place where the outcast can find a home and those who feel unloved can be embraced by God's love. An oasis amid a barren uncaring world where the hurting can find healing and the hopeless be inspired by the action of the Holy Spirit renewing their lives.

Unless we make Jesus Christ our focus... none of that can happen. Unless we make Jesus Christ our center... we quickly become exclusive rather than inclusive. Believe me, I understand bills need to be paid, the building needs looking after and that we have to plan our programs and have our meetings and maintain our records. But, please, never let us stop asking “Why?”

“Why are we a church?” Because God has called us to be a community that demonstrates to the world what living a life together focused on Jesus Christ looks like. Because God has a task for us, a task that can only be accomplished through our faith in Jesus Christ, a faith that we demonstrate by having love for each other and inviting others to be in on it. Only God-birthed faith gives us a true love perspective. Only a God-birthed faith creates true community.

3. Only a God-birthed faith conquers the world.

1 John 5: 4-5 “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Conquer the world? Lord, who are You kidding? Lord, it is all I can do to hold my life together! You expect a 'pulled in one thousand directions, conflicted, stressed out, not always sure what I'm doing or what I really believe, things to do, places I need to be, person' like me, to conquer the world?

Friends that exactly why what we believe about Jesus Christ is so important. Verse 5... one more time... “Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

When John says 'Believe' he is not asking us to intellectually give a reasoned response to a number of theological formulations or do a checklist on the Apostles Creed.  He is challenging us to consider where we are coming from, what our lives are revolving around, what we are centered upon.

If we can get it in our minds, that we, you and I, here today, at this time, in this place, are God's ultimate concern, than it can change the way we see ourselves, those around us and everything about our lives. If we can see that God's love really is so committed to us that in and through Jesus Christ, God can transform everything we are and everything we do, then it's going to make more than a little difference to the way we live.

It as we allow God to make a difference in us, through the working of the Holy Spirit, that our lives start to make a difference to the world. It happens in simple ways.

Like inviting a friend to church.  Like visiting or calling one of our shut-ins. Like being a little more attentive to prayer and Scripture reading.

Like helping with one of our mission projects. Like, if God has unexpectedly blessed us financially, including our church family in that blessing. Like not waiting to be asked to take something on that needs doing, but seeing the need and responding, just because we can. 

Like committing to regular support, with our time, talents, and treasure of our local faith community. Like moving ‘What happens in my church” a little higher on our list of life priorities.

To do any of that, in a way that becomes joyful and fulfilling, and not burdensome, it is vitally important we have our center in the right place.  

John reminds us. in his first letter, that the center for both our personal faith and corporate life as a church is our faith in who Jesus is and what God is seeking to do in our lives... about the life of God's world, experienced in and through the Holy Spirit. Why does he do that? Because...

•    Only a God-birthed faith can give us a true love perspective.
•    Only a God birthed faith can create true community.
•    Only a God-birthed faith can conquer the world.
 
Let us seek to be people whose confession of faith is more than words and endeavor to be a church whose focus is so clearly on Jesus Christ that others cannot help noticing Him!

And to God's name be all glory. Amen.

The Reverend. Adrian J. Pratt B.D.