Covenants of Grace – Lent 2 "Abraham Walks"

 

“James Taylor’s Greatest Hits” has a song on it called “The Walking Man.”

“Walking Man, Walking Man Walks,
Well, any other man stops and talks
But the walking man walks”

In our bible reading this morning God makes a covenant with Abraham. It is a walking covenant. “Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; Walk before Me...” (Genesis 17:1). Abraham's call? To be one in whose life there is not only hearing and recognizing the call of God but also acting upon it. “Any other man stops and talks... but the walking man walks.”

I would like to suggest to you three lessons this passage can teach us.

1) Walking with God involves a change of identity.
2) Walking with God involves a change of priorities.
3) Walking with God involves a change of heart.

Walking with God involves a change of identity.

In our bible story, Abram becomes Abraham and Sarai becomes Sarah. The covenant they have with God results in a changed name. Abram meaning ‘exalted Father’ becomes Abraham - ‘Father (or ‘chief’) of a Multitude'; Sarai, meaning ‘princess’, becomes Sarah meaning ‘Noblewoman or Queen’.

In both cases the change to their name indicates a change in their status. It is one thing to be regarded as head of a household, another to be head of State. It is one thing to be called princess, (a term sometimes used as a term of endearment), it is a different thing to be regarded as one endowed with royal power and authority.

Enlargement of office results in a corresponding enlargement of responsibility. The taking on of those responsibilities brings greater knowledge and awareness of the tasks that need to be accomplished. Let me put that in a different way!

When you reach a point in life where you say to Jesus Christ, 'Yes, I want to be a disciple, I hear Your call, I will follow', once you have made that commitment, you have a new name. You are Christian. You are in a different relationship to God than you were when you had not heard God’s call. And this new relationship with God effects the relationship you must have to everything else in your life... people, possessions, priorities… the whole of life.

Some historians suggest that the term ‘Christian’ was first used of followers of Jesus as a term of abuse. When people encountered the lives of the earliest believers, they called them, mockingly, “Little Christ’s.” The term was the equivalent of being today called a ‘Jesus Freak’ or ‘Religious Nut’.  ‘Christian’ was not meant as a term of endearment but of abuse.

The early disciples turned it around. They took the fact that people recognized something of Jesus in them, as a compliment. They realized that truly, their calling was to be representatives of His, to be His hands and feet and eyes and offer His touch and His Word to those around them.

Given the background to the word 'Christian', I speculate as to whether we should really use the term to describe ourselves!  Maybe it is a word that should be reserved for other people’s descriptions of us. If other people feel we have anything about us that reminds them of Jesus, we should say 'Thank you! I'm doing better than I thought!' I am challenged by the words I saw on one church noticeboard, 'If you were arrested today for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?'

Abram and Sarai’s faith in God resulted in a change of their status and identity, signified by God re-naming them Abraham and Sarah.  Which conveniently leads us to a second thing.

Walking with God involves a change of priorities.

Abraham and Sarah are given a promise that seems so outlandish it is laughable. A promise that, in their advanced years, they are to have a child. Chapter 17, verse 17 “Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, "Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

When a baby comes along life takes a change of direction. Abraham and Sarah are so far down the road of their life that they feel a radical change of direction... the very thought that something new may be birthed into their situation... is a cause for laughter.

The bible does not say a whole lot about laughter. When it does, it usually speaks of laughter as something positive and enriching. With one notable exception. In Genesis Chapter 18, Sarah, and by implication Abraham, are rebuked by God for the laughter of unbelief.  God promises them a child and they laugh about it.

This is not just a giggle of nervous apprehension or misunderstanding. Abraham falls over because he is laughing so much... Abraham, in his deepest place, in his heart, does not believe God can do what God has promised. Abraham is not being the 'Walking Man that Walks.’

This is an Abraham who, in modern day terms, is “The Walking Man who turns around goes back home, gets a beer out the refrigerator, plonks himself down on the couch, switches on the Television, then shouts to his wife in the kitchen, ‘Y’should have been in church this morning. That stupid preacher was saying God can do amazing things in us if we commit our lives to Jesus. YEH- RIGHT, … how long is dinner going to be… let’s get back to the real world.”

The 'Yeh-Right' attitude cripples Christian life. God is offering God’s promises to us all, but if inside ourselves, we are not believing, we are not trusting God, we are doubtful to the point of laughing at the prospect of God being able to bring about change in and through our lives, then we are indulging in the laughter of unbelief. 

Discipleship of Jesus Christ really can open us up to new possibilities and new experiences and bring about radical change. For all of us. None of us are exempt from that possibility. Of course, there is a cost involved.

Discipleship and Christian growth are lifetime investments. It is a deep commitment we are being asked to pursue. When Jesus said to the first disciples, “Take up your cross and follow me,” He did not envisage total commitment as an option, but a requirement.

Jesus Christ, the Living Lord, invites us to lay our life before God with no strings attached. To put our relationship to God before every other relationship to everything else that is in our life. To our family. To our friends. To our time. To our money. 

To be in a position where we say to God, “I will go wherever You want me to go, do whatever You want me to do, give whatever You want me to give, be whatever You want me to be, because You (not me) are the Lord.”

A colleague in West Virginia, Rev Harry Fuller, used to encourage his congregation to try this exercise. Repeat after me. “There is a God!” “There is a God!” “And it isn’t me” “And it isn’t me.” Yeh. That’s right! (You don’t have to repeat that bit.)

Beware the 'Yeh-Right” attitude that inwardly scoffs at God's requirements. The walking man does not stop and talk, the walking man walks. Which brings us to a third thought.

Walking with God involves a change of heart.

In the story of Abraham and Sarah, God has the last laugh. They do have a child. And the child is named ‘Isaac.’ Isaac is the Hebrew word for laughter. Abraham moves from his laughter of unbelief to full surrender to God.  He has a total change of heart.

It is one of many changes of heart that Abraham experiences in his life. At the time of this calling Abraham sees God as ‘El-Shaddai’, the God of the mountains and the plains, the One who made the ground on which he walked and who was a Rock upon whom he could build his life. As he walked with God, God was revealed in new ways and by different names. That would be another sermon altogether. For now, just notice this. As he walked, he discovered there was more to see and understand than he ever imagined.

I know right now, with everything going on, there is a lot of uncertainty. How long it will take to get life back to normal? When can I get a vaccine? Can this COVID thing be eradicated? When can we be back in church and sing hymns again at the tops of our voices?

And just maybe faith and hope and looking to the future has become sidelined in our lives. We cannot clearly see the road ahead of us and make plans as we would like to do. That is where a lot of us are right now. It is easy to become cynical and disheartened.

James Taylor’s song, “The Walking Man” was written about his father, Ike Taylor, a military man who spent much time away from his family. The song references James’s feelings about fathers physical and emotional absence. Eventually Ike and James’s mom, Trudy were divorced.

We can relate to that. We all experience those moments when we become so focused on one thing, that we become disengaged with other more important things. The fact that there were times when his dad could have stopped and talked, but instead his dad walked, is not an entirely positive image.

Yet one of the beautiful things about the song is, that you come away from it hopeful. It is a song that encourages us to think about the way we are walking through our lives, and the impact our walk has upon those around us, particularly those who are closest to us.

I encourage you this morning to consider what it means to be in a walking covenant with God. That if in our Christian life we have reached a barrier or feel we are not going anywhere, we remind ourselves that God is not an earthly father, with all the limitations that humanity places upon us, but a Heavenly Father God, whose solid rock promise is that He will never leave us or forsake us.

We are encouraged to reach beyond the 'Yeah-Right' attitude that so often cripples faith and immobilizes us from acting. 

We are encouraged to say to God... “I want to be a person with a heart for the things of Your kingdom, I want to make right, relationships that have become messed up, I want to re-organize my time, so I have more time for doing the things You are calling me to do, Lord, I want to be the walking woman (or man) who walks! Help me be strong in Your Holy Spirit and be in a walking covenant with You!”

When we place our lives at God’s disposal and seek to be people who walk in the way of covenant grace, God promises to send His Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us, transform us, and heal us, encourage us, and renew us.

To God be all honor, praise and glory.

Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Covenants of Grace - Lent 1 'Noah and the Rainbow'

Readings: Psalm 50:1-6, Mark 1:9-15, Genesis 9:8-17, 1 Peter 3:18-22
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, February 21st, 2021

As we travel through Lent, I am taking the theme for our services; “Covenants of Grace.” We shall be looking at some of the covenants that God made with people throughout the Old Testament. Abraham and the walking covenant, Moses and the covenant of the law, Jeremiah, and a covenant of the heart. All that is to come. Today we are beginning the series by thinking about Noah and the rainbow covenant.

These are difficult days we are traveling through. The pandemic. Even as vaccinations are being to roll out, new strains of the virus are being discovered. Climate change has not gone away. Nuclear weapons capable of destroying us all at the push of a button are all over the world and sometimes accessible to people we may not trust. Job security, economics, planning for the future… everything seems up in the air.

It seems there is more as much disinformation out there as there are genuine facts. Thankfully, there are times that provides us with some amusement. That recent case of the lawyer, who had been using his secretary’s computer, with a filter on it, “I'm here live, I'm not a cat." I am sure some of you saw that!

When you think of the word ‘covenant’ it is one that we often think about in a legal setting. A covenant is an agreement between two parties in which promises are made. Sometimes the promises are conditional, so that certain things must be done if the covenant is to be effective and honored. Other times, the promises are unconditional. One party declares that they will act in a certain way, no matter how the other party acts.

Which brings us to Noah and the rainbow covenant. The covenant God makes with Noah has the nature of being an unconditional covenant that bears witness to God's love and grace. It is God who initiates, keeps, and fulfills this covenant.

We read in Verse 14 God says: “When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

The sign of this covenant is the rainbow. “I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth." (Gen 9:13)

This covenant includes Noah's descendants and every living creature. It reminds us that God is concerned about all creation, not just humanity. God created this vast, magnificent universe and God loves it. In the Creation story, God pauses to declare 'This is Good!'

That does not mean that everything that happens in this vast universe, or even our own personal universe is always good. It does mean that God is always ready to help us through and God ‘covenants’ to never give up on us. Rainbows show up after storms. Storms are often not a good experience. When we look up in the sky and see a rainbow, it reminds us, “Hey… we got through another one!” It gives us hope to go forward.

Three reflections on Noah and the Rainbow covenant.

• God is always ready to give us a new start.
• God’s concern is wide ranging – and includes all creation.
• God’s covenant is everlasting.

God is always ready to give us a new start.

While our Old Testament reading today was about the rainbow, our New Testament reading from Mark’s gospel was about Jesus being baptized by John in the River Jordan. At His baptism, a dove appears, and a voice is heard.

In the story of Noah and the Ark, before dry land is found, a dove is sent out. Genesis 8:10 “Noah waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.” The dove has become a universal symbol of peace and spiritual hope.

At our baptisms we seek for the Spirit of God to bless our new beginnings.  At Jesus baptism, in the Jordan, there is a voice from heaven declaring “You are my Son, with You I am well pleased.” (a phrase that was reiterated on the mount of Transfiguration.) Every baptism service we give voice to the hope that we are all beloved daughters and sons of God, with whom God is well pleased!  We seek for God’s Spirit to be with us as we travel through life’s journey.

We are very familiar with the story of Noah and the Ark. A man of conviction leads his family to safety. If you read it from an illustrated children's book, it is worth pausing to look at the artwork that accompanies it. Invariably the picture of Noah and a big boat, and two of every exotic creature is one that sparks imagination. It is a fascinating picture!

 For a moment in time, on a boat that is riding out the storm, humanity and all creation are in harmony. All the bad stuff is being washed away. A new beginning is just around the corner. Not surprisingly the Ark has often been used as symbol for baptism.

But, if you follow the story through, after the waters recede and people and animals are back on dry land, you notice that it is not long before harmony is shattered, and things start to get crazy again.  Good Noah becomes bad Noah, gets drunk and shames his family. His sons disrespect their father.
Likewise, we are aware that our baptism does not make us immune from the temptations and sins of all humanity. We fall and we fail.

What makes this covenant with Noah significant is its unconditional nature. It is not dependent on our ability to keep it, but upon God's ever flowing grace that seeks to renew us and restore us. The unconditional sign of this covenant is the rainbow. The rainbow that arches over all creation, the indifferent and the ungracious, the forsaken and the forgiving, the repentant and the cold hearted, the good and the bad and the ugly. Whenever we see a rainbow, we can remember our baptism, and recall God is always ready to give us a new start. But it is not just about us.
 
God’s concern is wide ranging – and includes all creation.

In the book of Isaiah, the prophet is given a beautiful vision of a new heaven and a new earth, a creation once again in full harmony and peace. Natural enemies living together and enjoying each other’s company. Swords are turned to plows. Lions lay down with lambs. It is a restatement of that moment on the Ark when all was in harmony.

In the New Testament we see how through Jesus Christ, God's love will be declared to all creation. His message to the disciples is 'Go into all the world...” Paul writes in Romans 8:22 “For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” In Christ, Paul tells us “All living things will be made free from the power of death and will have a part with the free children of God in glory." (8:21)

A children's song I remember from a Vacation Bible School program declares... “Whenever you see a rainbow (Woo!) - Whenever you see a rainbow (Woo!) - Whenever you see a rainbow (Woo!) Remember God is love!' I have never lost my fascination or awe and wonder at silly children’s songs or more importantly at seeing a rainbow.

A few years ago, Yvonne and I took a trip to West Virginia for a wedding. We stayed at Hawks Nest Park. After a storm blew through were greeted by the sight of a double rainbow arching over the New River Gorge (pictured above). Photographs really do not capture that beauty. The sun captures drops of water and then white light bursts it into seven different colors: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.

We are given a visible symbol of unity and diversity; of harmony and beauty and love all working together. The fact that the rainbow is born out of the rain, as well as the sunshine, speaks to our lives. We all face ups and downs, times of storms and struggles, times of quiet and peace. As we open our lives to the influence of God's Holy Spirit, God can make all things work together, even the ugly bits, and produce something beautiful.

The diversity and unity of colors in the rainbow, coming from white light, remind us of how Jesus is the light of the world, of how, on the cross, Jesus drew all of humankind, in all their diversity into a unity as one, big family, as children of God through the water of baptism. Through the baptismal water God, together with the words of promise, makes a New Covenant with us; based upon the life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The rainbow reminds us all are welcome in God’s family.

God's love is unconditional in accepting us and receiving us. The right way to respond to such love is to care. Jesus died for us, not so we can sit back and thank God for our place in His plans, but so we can get busy making sure others know that they also are loved and treasured and desired by God.

That care and concern is intended to spread to all creation. Our stewardship of the earth’s resources is a part of that. Taking care of our fragile environment is a part of that. Wise use of land and resources is part of that. Our care towards animals is part of that love.

Taking care of our church facility is part of that. A beautiful garden is part of that. Making sure all have enough to eat and a place to live and a job to work at is part of that. Taking care of each other, without discrimination or preference or prejudice is part and parcel of the mission the rainbow calls us to embrace. It is not either/or, it is all together. It is personal and communal.

God’s covenant is everlasting.

Genesis 9:16 “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

As we move through the Lenten season and head towards the cross, we see that there is nothing that can ultimately separate us from Christ's love. Even that desolate, lonely place was turned to something beautiful through the resurrection.  The rainbow is a sign of God's promise that we, and all creation, are not forgotten. We are claimed as God's children through the waters of baptism, just as the whole of creation was claimed and renewed through the waters of the flood.

Yes… these are difficult days. We are traveling through a storm. Our lives are flooded with so many concerns. Concerns for our families. For our Church. For our community. Some days we become tired. Some days we will be downhearted. Some days we need a rainbow to remind us, God is always ready to give us a new start and that God’s concern is as wide ranging as God’s creation.

May God help us to keep in mind all God’s wonderful promises and so may we be inspired to share Christ's love with all people, looking to a day when God's Kingdom shall come, and God's will be done, on earth as it is in heaven; looking to that day envisioned by the prophet Isaiah, when peace and justice shall reign, and harmony be restored to all Creation.

To God be all glory. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Don't Blame Peter!

 TRANSFIGURATION SUNDAY

Readings: Psalm 50:1-6, 2 Kings 2:1-12, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6, Mark 9:2-9
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, February 14th, 2021

'Then Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.' He did not know what to say, for they were terrified.' (Mark 9:5-6)

Peter was a straight ‘A’ student in the class of; “Embarrassing things I wished I’d never done.” He was the one who suggested Jesus should get out of the boat and let him, the fisherman, take care of the fishing business, only to be told “Cast your net on the other side” and take in the biggest haul of fish he had ever witnessed in his life.

He was the one who, when they came to arrest Jesus, took a swipe at the one of the guards and injured his ear, only to be told by Jesus, “Put your sword away'.” He witnessed Jesus healing the man and then ran away. He was the one who after Jesus had been crucified, three times, denied he was or ever had been a disciple.

In our reading today we are told, that in the face of an amazing happening on a mountain top, Peter says the wrong thing. Peter wants to stay on the mountain. He wants to build 3 little tents up there, one for Moses, one for Elijah and one for Jesus. But… wait…. don’t blame Peter.

I can imagine Peter thinking, “This is great! Everybody can come up the mountain and have a personal counseling session with the prophet of their choice! Maybe we could charge an entrance fee. Andrew could set up a concession stand. We could advertise. T-Shirts. Bumper Stickers. Get them to write stuff down and sell autographed copies of ‘The wisdom of the Three prophets. Let’s stay on the mountain!”

Peter’s dreams, whatever they may have been, were short lived and quickly silenced. We read in  Mark 7:7 “A cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to Him!”

Once the voice had spoken and the cloud disappeared, they were alone again. No clouds. No voices. No Moses. No Elijah. Just some awe struck (and confused) disciples standing on a lonely mountain with Jesus. No need for tents now. No need to stay on the mountain any longer. I want to draw three things from out of Peter’s experience.

•    Firstly, that there is a time for talk and a time for silence.
•    Secondly, that there is a time for being up on the mountain and a time to come down from the mountain.
•    Thirdly, never allow your failure to determine your future.

There is a time for talk and a time for silence.

Do not blame Peter. We all do it. We have all done things, said things, reacted to things, got involved with things, that were not only ‘inappropriate’ or ‘embarrassing’ but were ‘just plain wrong.’  We all have moments when we are tortured by thoughts of  “I’m such an idiot!” We speak out when we should shut up and sometimes shut up when we should speak out.

There are many things in our Christian faith that are described as a “mystery.”  The doctrine of the Trinity. The nature of the future in relation to prophecy. The celebration of communion. For centuries, the church has been divided over mysteries. People have tried to contain the mysteries of faith with their words, and their theories and their assumptions.

If ever I claim to be able to tell you everything you need to know about God – do this church a favor and get another preacher!  Do you think that any person, any church, any denomination, any system of belief, can fully capture in its words, the mystery, the majesty, the magnificence, the very presence of almighty God?

All the words of the Bible, all the confessions of the Churches, all the hymns and the prayers and the creeds, they are words. Oh! How we would love to capture God in our words. How we would love to contain God to something we know. How we would love to put up little tents and say, “Hey, that is it, just go in there and talk it over. We’ll sort it out.”

God is Spirit. God is love. God is Mystery.
God is greater than we can conceive,
(Let alone contain)

Do you know what makes a mystery a mystery? The fact that it is a mystery!  Something that goes outside and beyond our normal experience. Like a Transfiguration. Moses, Elijah, and Jesus bathed in light on a mountaintop. It is something that defies explanation. Before God it is an exceptionally good thing to sit in silent awe and wonder and contemplate life's mystery, rather than explain it.

Some of us are not particularly good at silence. We like the radio on or leave the TV going even if we are not watching it. We need a soundtrack playing behind our lives. When things happen that we cannot explain we want to block them out by answering questions that nobody is really asking.

When we have nothing to distract us it can make us aware of noise going on inside our own lives. Unanswered questions. Deeply rooted fears. Experiences we have never quite got over. Things we just do not want to deal with. Shut them out. Say something. Play something.

Do not blame Peter. He was just trying to deal with a situation where he felt totally out of his depth. Ecclesiastes 3:7 tells us there is “a time to be silent and a time to speak.” Wisdom is found when we discern the difference. That day on the mountain Peter got it wrong. Sometimes we will do the same. But if we make room in our lives for silent wonder then we are less likely to respond in inappropriate ways.

A second thing we see in this passage: There is a time for being up on the mountain and a time to come down from the mountain.

We all have our spiritual highs. Memories. Moments. Places. Experiences. Retreats. Conferences. Concerts. Mission Trips. Epiphanies. Milestones. Insights. Call them what you may. Be thankful when they come your way. Accept them. Cherish them. But do not calcify them. Do not petrify them. Do not make idols of them.

That is what Peter wanted to do. It was easy to have faith when the glory and radiance of that mountain moment was shining all around. “Hey, let us capture it and stay up here forever.” Do not blame Peter. We all do it.

We have some experience away from our normal circumstances. We make great promises and come away having high ideals. But then the reality of the everyday crashes in on us. And our high intentions are left up on the mountain top. It is hard coming down from the mountain.  It is not so easy to get back into the routine.

Experiences on the mountain are not given for us to stay up there but are for us to take down into the valley with us. They may well be moments that have shaped us, but their genuineness will be measured by the influence they continue have upon us.

As a pastor I know this. I have been to this conference or that seminar where I have been presented with the “10 steps to the perfect church” approach. So often the presenters are speaking about things that have truly happened in their own situations. You rejoice with them. You hope to gain some insight. You feel your confidence boosted and say, “Yes, that’s exactly what we need to do!”

It is when you get back and you start dealing with the reality of your own situation that you start to realize that they were not coming from where you are. Thankfully, we have a God who knows exactly where we are. One who offers forgiveness for the times when we like, Peter, have our mouths in motion whilst our brains are at rest.  A God who is just as present in the valleys as upon the mountain tops.

A couple of insights from that Transfiguration experience.
•    There is a time for talk and a time for silence.
•    There is a time for being up on the mountain and a time to come down from the mountain.

The Transfiguration was a moment in time when the declaration of who Jesus was thundered once more from the heavens; "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to Him!" (Mark 9:7)

It is for us to make room to listen for Jesus Christ during our busy lives. If we do not create that space it is not going to happen. If we do not make the effort, we risk reacting to situations in ways that might not be the best.

Peter was on the mountaintop. He thought he had arrived. He thought “This is it.” He had found the “One size fits all” solution. The reality is that yesterday’s high is no help in getting us through today's low! No matter how wonderful Sunday worship may be, if it does not help us get through Monday morning then we are missing something.

Disciples are to meet with Christ on the mountain and walk with Him in the valley.  God does grant us moments of insight and encouragement. And praise God for them! But recognize, that the hard part, is allowing those insights to transform our daily routines.  

Which brings me to a third and final observation. The good news is … it can be done. Peter learned from his mistakes. Never allow your failure to determine your future.

Never allow your failure to determine your future. Peter became a great leader within the church. He did not allow his misconceptions to define his life. He did not dwell on his low points. He did not give in to despair, because sometimes, along with all humanity, he messed up. Neither should we allow our personal failures to determine our futures.  Either as individuals or as faith communities.

Peter embraced God's mystery, in such a way as it gave his life greater clarity.  He did not allow those things he struggled to explain, prevent him declaring those things that were as clear as day.  He lived them out in the valley of his everyday battles and experiences.  

On the mountain God declared "This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to Him!" Jesus was not about to give up on Peter. Peter could have walked away from his mountaintop blunder feeling bitter and disillusioned. But he knew, that with God, there is always grace. Through God’s Holy Spirit there is always the possibility of renewal. We all make mistakes. We are all sinners who fall short of the glory of God. The test of our faith is how we embrace our future.

Let us pray that we can walk through the valley confident that we serve a God who can guide our every step, who can take our embarrassing failures and turn them to strengths and whose greatest desire is that we know ourselves God's children, free, forgiven, and capable of amazing things.

To God be all glory. Amen!

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Handy Healers

Readings; Psalm 147:1-11, Isaiah 40:21-31, 1 Corinthians 9:16-23, Mark 1:29-39
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, February 7th, 2021
COMMUNION SERVICE

In the neighborhood where I grew up if somebody was good at doing something they would often be described as being 'handy'.  If you were having a plumbing problem somebody would suggest, 'Give Joe a call he's pretty handy with the plumbing'. If you were buying a new car they would say, 'Take Harry with you, he's handy when it comes to negotiating a deal'.

I sometimes describe myself as a self-taught guitarist. That is highly inaccurate. It is not as if one day I bought a guitar, then a 'play in a day' book and the next I had it down.  I learned to play guitar in community. I had friends who were 'handy' when it came to playing, and sometimes a group of us would gather together in the front room at my parents’ house and learn from each other.

I went to a lot of concerts and tried to worm my way to the front so I could watch what the real guitar heroes were doing. Playing with others in a band taught me lessons I could never have learned if I'd never interacted with others. There were also those times I would just hide myself away and try to assimilate what I had seen and, in some way, reproduce it.

I recently read an autobiography of Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards. There was a lot in it I could not identify with. The way he often dealt with fame and fortune was to follow a path of overindulgence, in all sorts of ways. The late comedian Robin Williams once commented that if ever there was a nuclear war only two species on the planet would survive – cockroaches and Keith Richards.

Excesses aside, the part I could identify with was how he learned to play guitar through observation. He relates a number of times how he would be on tour and encounter some blues 'great' whose technique he was trying to master, and they would show him... 'Look, this is how the riff goes. Drop tune the B string, dampen the E, pull off on the D and there you have it ' Simple when you know how. Handy information to have if you are one of the Rolling Stones!

I have always thought that a great name for a church would be 'First Church of the Rolling Stones.' A central doctrine of our faith is the resurrection message that on Easter morning the women found the tomb was empty and because Jesus lived the stone had rolled aside. Our mission is to roll away the stones that prevent people from experiencing God's love, acceptance, and direction.

When you see the way people react under pressure, (Yes, even the rich and famous), how they become entwined in relationships that cause them great pain, get hooked on all kinds of addictive behaviors, never know who their friends are and or who is just using them... well... the message that Jesus Christ is the great healer and hope bringer is a good one to know about. 

I gave this sermon the title 'Handy Healers' because as disciples of Jesus we are called to become 'handy' when it comes to sharing the good, liberating, life giving news of the gospel.

Our passage from Mark this morning gives us a picture of the learning process of the first disciples. They never went to college or had degrees in theology, so you could say they were 'self-taught'. But the reality is that they had the greatest life-coach there has ever been in the person of Jesus Christ.

He teaches them in their own home. Their first lesson is very personal. Our passage today begins with the small band of disciples going to the house of Simon and Andrew. All is not well. Simon's mother-in-law is in bed with a fever. We have no idea how intense a fever it was or what had caused it, but it was debilitating enough to prevent her from taking the active role she wished to occupy in the family.

Jesus takes her by the hand, and in the literal sense of the word, He 'raises her up', a phrase that would come to have great significance for the disciples after the stone had been rolled away from Christ's tomb. She is restored to health and sets about taking care of her guests. The Greek word used for her service is 'diakoneo', from which we derive our word 'deacons'.

In a similar way as to how I learned to play guitar, the disciples are learning through observation. It is personal. They experience firsthand how Jesus can find us where we are, and through His healing love, restore us to full life. They see, through Simon's mother-in-law, that the right response to make to such a gift of grace is to seek to be of service to His Kingdom.

The road to being a handy healer begins at the personal level. We learn by observing how others are expressing their discipleship. But it moves into something public .As news about His ability becomes public knowledge we read 'At sundown, they brought to Him all who were sick or possessed...' and that 'He cured many who were sick with various disease and cast out many demons' (Mark 1:32, 34)

The disciples witness a master at work. Without a doubt they were kept busy trying to deal with the different needs of a great crowd of folk who had made their way to their door. Jesus would have dealt with each person and each situation differently. As they observed His techniques, they would be learning how to be handy healers.

When learning guitar, I used to go to concerts to observe masters at work. The disciples are in an unprecedented position to see the impact the Kingdom of God could have upon people’s lives. I also was able to improve my skills by being part of a group.

One of the reasons why involvement in a church community is important for spiritual growth is that is that we learn lessons in community that we can never learn if we practice our faith as purely a private affair. In his autobiography Keith Richards talks a lot about the tensions that existed between the different band members. Belonging to any kind of community is never easy. Our faith communities include people we would naturally gravitate towards and those who, except for coming to church, would never cross our paths.

Every person within a church community has their own issues, their own peculiarities, and their own agenda, their own political views, their own religious understanding.  We are not all on the same page, we do not all have the same needs, we do not all see life from the same perspective, we are all at different places in our pilgrimages of faith.

I understand why people sometimes say, 'Jesus I like, it's His followers I have a problem with!' In our culture of 'Me first!' the very idea of deliberately spending quality time with people who may not think our needs matter as much as theirs do, can seem a strange one.

That is why God calls us into community. It forces us to consider other people’s needs. We may even conclude, that their needs are so much greater than ours, that there are ways we could become handy healers in their situations. Who knows, maybe if we can model what being a community looks like, we could be a healing force for our whole community!

At which point maybe God smiles and says, “Yep, I think you are starting to get the hang of it now! I'll teach you things at a personal level that I want you to put into practice in the very public arena of a worshiping community.”

There is a third strand in this passage. Verse 35 “And in the morning... Jesus went to a deserted place and He prayed.” The disciples are confused by this action and they go looking for Him. Didn't He realize that everyone was searching for Him? When they find Him, He tells them that it was time to move on because there were other people who needed to learn about the Kingdom.

When learning guitar, it was great to sit around and jam with friends. It was great to go to concerts and observe the greats. It was great to play in a band with others and try to put a performance together. Yet there were also those times when you just had to go somewhere alone and assimilate everything you were learning.

Whilst our faith is nurtured in both personal and public settings, there also needs to be those times that are intensely private.  Jesus teaches us in Matthew 6:6 “Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:6).  If the disciples were ever to become 'Handy Healers' they needed to understand the importance of having a secret place of prayer.

It was whilst in that secret place Jesus found the direction and empowerment, He needed to fulfill all that God was calling Him to do. If He needed a secret place, and tells us we need a secret place, then I 'm confident that means this is something we should pursue!

A special place in our life as a church community, and as individuals, is our communion table. We receive a personal invite from Jesus. “Remember me in this way.” We make public expression of our faith by communing together. We are one body in Christ. Communion, for many, is also an intensely private experience. It is where we express our personal desire to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

To recap or message today… learning to be handy at doing just about anything takes three things.

•    We learn from personal interaction with those who are closest to us.
•    We learn through public expression of our faith within a worshiping community.  
•    We consolidate all we are learning through taking our lives in private to God, spending some one-on-one time in God's presence so that we may be empowered, through the Holy Spirit, to be faithful servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let us pray that, by following the example given us in Mark's gospel, we can, as disciples of Jesus, become 'handy' when it comes to sharing the good, liberating, life giving, healing news of the gospel.  And all to the glory of God. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Play Makers

Readings; Psalm 111, Deuteronomy 18:15-20, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Mark 1:21-28
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, January 31, 2021

Next week onto the field shall step two teams. The Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Each shall attempt to become supreme champions in the football arena.  Both shall try every trick in the book to win. The gods of chance and misfortune shall play their part. Ultimately the team that makes the best plays shall win.

Back in Capernaum some 2000 years ago a different game was about to play out. On the one side are the defenders of religious tradition and orthodoxy. Their opposition comes in the form of a preacher, proclaiming that because the Kingdom of God had drawn near in His very person, things had to change.

Almost as soon as He opens His mouth comes an awareness that His teaching is coming from a different place than that of the Scribes. His presence and His message exude a freedom that the listeners had never encountered before. He is bubbling over. The plays He is making suggest a revolution.

Then comes one of those moments that sometime happens in a game. A crazy person gets onto the field. Don't you hate it when that happens? Some half-naked, placard waving individual feels that their cause is one that the rest of us really need to be informed about and it stops the whole game.

In 2012, during one of the highlights of the British sporting calendar, the historic traditional Oxford and Cambridge University Boat-Race, just as the boats were reaching the very last bend, the umpire noticed a man swimming in the River Thames directly in front of them and he had to stop the race. A representative of the Metropolitan Police noted: “They almost took his head off.” Historic Boat Race enthusiasts were just left thinking “Is nothing sacred?”

That morning in the synagogue the antagonist is described as 'a man with an unclean spirit'. Verse 24 'He cried out “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy one of God.”

I am sure I do not have to tell those of you who are used to snoozing through the morning sermon that this is not what you want to hear during your morning meditation.  Religion has its place. Preachers have their place. Crazy antagonists have their place. And never the twain shall meet!

Actually 'twain' only refers to two things colliding. If there are 'three' things colliding maybe it should be called a 'Thrain'. But as 'Thrain' is a character in Lord of the Rings, that makes no sense. 'What's going on here? I'm losing the script!' Which is precisely how the scribes, that morning were starting to feel about Jesus.

Why couldn't He play by the rules? Who let the crazy in? Who really were the crazies? Was it Him? Was it the deranged man? Was it us?  There were some strange plays being made on that field that morning.

The religious authorities felt that the events that day were violating their sacred space. This kind of thing should not happen. Not in our synagogue. Not in our town. Who is in charge here?

Lest they had any doubt look at the next verses. “Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him."

This passage is not just about an individual finding healing. It is about 'Who has the authority?' It is a very threatening passage. When people start manifesting what appears to be evil, when there are crazies or antagonists about, when people start to redefine the game or make plays, we have never seen before, people are going to feel threatened.

Let us make it personal. Here is the challenge. Our lives are our sacred space. We do not want that space violated. We want to feel like we are in control. We do not want to even acknowledge that in our lives there may be dark places, there may be unsettling corners of unresolved traumas. If they even for a moment threaten to reveal themselves, we are going to shut them down, and not hear them or acknowledge them.

Jesus calls them out. Jesus exposes them.  He confronts the demons.  He names them.   They really do not like it! "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who You are, the Holy One of God." We put our lives under the scrutiny of divine holy light, and we know we are not going to like everything that is revealed. We want to lift our strengths, not our shortcomings. Our victories, not our defeats.  Our good points, not our failings.

Pretending everything is OK does not work when it comes to God. In Matthew's gospel Jesus tells His followers "For nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.  What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.” (Matthew 10:26)

Has your computer ever had a virus? This is how viruses work. They exploit the vulnerabilities of the system. They find an area of compromise and worm their way in.  Suddenly you get weird pop-ups appearing on your screen. Or worse still your whole system can be frozen up and everything on your computer, including your passwords and private information, end up in the hands of folk who you do not want anything to do with.

You can picture, what the Bible calls “sin,” as being a virus that attacks our personal system. Temptation sometimes gets the better of us. We tend to excuse it and say, 'I'm only human'. Jesus tells us, 'You are only human, and that's the problem. Human nature is very deceptive. To be delivered from something you must confront your inner demons, and that's why I'm calling them out!'

Ultimately that is the only strategy that can win the game. Until we allow God to deal with our vulnerabilities and heal the wounds we do not want to acknowledge, we live with them and they open us up to be exploited.

The first thing anybody with a problem must acknowledge is... they have a problem. Be it our diet, our finances, our temper, our impulsiveness, our avoiding something or our overindulging in something... I do not have to tell you what your vulnerabilities are... you know!

Jesus is the great playmaker. He wants our spiritual life to be strong.  He wants us to know the joy of God's wholeness and healing. He calls out the demons, not to embarrass us or create a scene, but because He wants the personal sanctuaries of our lives to be free from all that would cheapen or destroy them.

There is a song that some churches I have served used to sing sometime around the Souperbowl. It was called “Drop Kick me Jesus.” Apparently former President Bill Clinton’s favorite country song. I do not even know what to comment about that, but I like it because it has this ‘prayer’ within it.

 “Make me, oh, make me, Lord, more than I am, Make me a piece in Your master game plan, Free from the earthly temptation below, I've got the will, Lord, if You got the toe!”

Jesus certainly 'had the toe' back in Capernaum. He kicked the demons right out of the poor unfortunate guy who cried out for help in the middle of morning worship. Predictably, people did not like it.

Particularly those who sought to control everything and felt that they were the ones in charge. The demon cried out in anger 'I know who You are, the Holy One of God.' - a conclusion the teachers of the law and the scribes were certainly not willing to share!

Every time we involve ourselves in a time of reflection and prayer, a bible study, or a service of worship we are in a place to confront our personal demons and seek to be delivered from them The Lord's Prayer contains that simple phrase 'Deliver us from evil'; surely meaning both evil within and around our lives.

Every football, soccer, rugby, Lacrosse, basketball or other game, be it in a local school or some vast stadium, sees two teams battling it out on the field of play. One will win. One will... take second place. Life will go on. Every day of our life we face conflicts, both internal and external. Every day we are called to face structural evils, hunger, injustice, hatred.  

God promises us to walk with us. Sometimes God may call out the demons. If that happens notice the results.  We are called to a better place. We are called to a place of deeper peace. We become whole.  We move forward.

The very thought of confronting demons and facing evil is not a comfortable one. Many of us really hate conflict. Yet change can never happen if things that hold us back and prevent us moving forward remain in place.

I recall a minister, coming to a church I attended, beginning their sermon with the phrase, “Good Morning. Are you all sitting comfortably?” The congregation settled into their seats. “That right there…” said the preacher, “Is the whole problem!”

While part of our calling is indeed to rest in the peace of God, we are also called to share that peace with those share our lives with. For that to happen it can mean asking uncomfortable questions, confronting evil, challenging long held assumptions and moving from complacency to deeper commitment.

Jesus remains the great playmaker. We follow His example. We seek to be sensitive to the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. And we take courage. For our God is a God who promises to be with us.

And to God’s name be all praise and glory. Amen.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.

Fishy Followers

Readings; Psalm 62:5-12, Jonah 3:1-5, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, Mark 1:14-20
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, NY, January 24, 2021

There was something fishy going on in Galilee. Following the imprisonment of His cousin John the Baptist, Jesus had arrived in town.  He is telling people that the day had arrived, the time had come, and they should stop fooling around and start sorting their lives out. He had great and good news for them. These were the days of God's favor. The Kingdom of God was near. So near you could almost taste it!

There was often something fishy going on in Galilee. It was a seaport whose economy rested heavily upon the fact that most of its inhabitants made their livelihood from the fishing industry. It was situated on a trading route that exposed it to foreign influence.  It was an occupied territory, considered spoils of war, by some of its Gentile inhabitants. Indeed, the Romans preferred to call the Galilean lake ‘The Sea of Tiberius', after one of their own renown emperors.

The historian Josephus tells us that there were around 230 boats continually working on the water. In 1986 archaeologists discovered one such boat. It has since been nicknamed 'The Jesus Boat'. They also tell us that the only way you could operate a boat in that area was through having a state authorized fishing license. Taxation would have made life hard for the locals and the area did not have a reputation for prosperity.

Poverty, alienation, and exposure to foreign ideas may account for the Galileans reputation of having a rebellious streak. In the year 6-BC, the governor Quirinius tried to do a census in the area. There sprung up a resistance army, led by a 'Robin Hood' like character known as 'Judas the Galilean'. Though he was spectacularly unsuccessful, later zealot movements that opposed Roman taxation and occupation looked upon 'Judas the Galilean' with great fondness.

It does not seem like the kind of place where a future world religion would attract its earliest followers. But there was something fishy going on in Galilee. Jesus was in town. And what He has to say is causing quite a buzz. His message is uncompromising and startling.

The promised 'Day of the Lord' had dawned, and it was all being fulfilled through Him. He was the One who was going to change everything, so people had better get with the program, repent, and believe.

By 'repent' He did not mean throw a personal pity party and shed a few tears because they had messed up their life.  He meant that, in the light of God's unfolding revelation, there needed to be a radical break from the past and a total turn around.

When He said 'believe', He did not mean that there had to be a slight shift in their theological understanding. He was talking about making a radical reassessment of everything they were building their lives upon. He was using 'believe' as an action verb, rather than inviting any merely intellectual and passive response.

If this message went over their heads, they were about to be given an unprecedented example of the impact the Kingdom could have upon people. Four of their own brightest and best, four local lads from among their own kith and kin, decide that when Jesus said, 'Follow me', it actually meant leaving everything else behind and doing whatever it was Jesus would ask of them.

It is a story many of us are over familiar with because we have heard it since our Sunday School days. Jesus strolls along the lake shore, sees Simon and Andrew fishing, and says 'Come with me and I will make you fishers of people'. 'And immediately they left their nets and followed Him.' (Verse 18). He goes a little further along and sees James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and 'immediately' offers them the same invitation. It receives the same response; 'They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed Him.'  (verse 20).

Imagine for a moment that this was not the the Sea of Galilee, but the local High School. A preacher had come to town and wandered along to the School. He had entered a classroom where two of the teachers were teaching, and said to them, 'Come with me, I'm going to get you to teach people about the Kingdom instead of teaching Math’s and English' and 'immediately' they went with him to the principal, handed in their notice and became his followers.

The preacher went a little further and wandered down to where soccer practice was taking place and said to two of the senior high school students, (who happen to be two brothers who are rising stars on the team).  'Follow me', he said, and immediately they had quit practice, quit school, and gone with him.

Wait a minute, are you talking about two of our East End born and bred local students? They 'immediately' had some kind of eureka-epiphany moment? How do we explain that to their parents? And two of our local teachers? And who is this preacher guy anyway?  All sounds a bit fishy to me!

Put it into context and it really was startling and shocking. It did not make a lot of sense. A preacher comes to town and four completely rational, young, everyday people with their whole lives ahead of them, decide they are going to turn their backs on all that they so far had held dear and go with Him?  

It certainly underlines the things that the message Jesus offered was asking of those who listened. 'Repent' meant that they needed to totally turn their lives around and go in a different direction. 'Believe' meant 'Do something', not just 'Y'know, maybe, think about doing things a little differently if that's O.K. with you!'

The transition that the disciples make is to do with the way they see their whole world. Notice, they are not called to a new career, they are still asked by God to be fishermen. That does not change. But the reasons for their activity, and the arena in which they will work, take a cosmic shift.

Up to this point in their lives they believed that participating in the system that provided for their families and put food on the table was what life was all about.  Life was defined by working, providing, and staying within the guidelines that family and culture dictated. Jesus walks by and they are invited to leave all of that behind.

The Greek word 'aphentes' carries the thought that they are 'released' from one way of living and liberated to seeing their lives as being about something more. No longer will they be defined by 'what they do' or by 'who their family might be', but they are given a new identity as followers of the 'Way' of the Kingdom of God, as it was being redefined by the teaching of Jesus.

That is a goal for all of us to pursue. To live for the Kingdom rather than live like everybody else. To question the values and aspirations of this world, in the light of what Scripture teaches. Of course, when we act that way, people may suspect something fishy is going on! It takes a lot of trust in God to do that!

Recently retired Rev. Neil Kirkham, a past moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Wales (who also happens to be married to my wife's sister) tells how he felt God calling him to leave behind his career as a civil engineer, building bridges for the British road system and embraced a call to ministry and to build bridges between people and God.

When his son Daniel was little, Neil was trying to explain to him, that there were some big changes coming now that he decided to be a minister. 'So, dad, what are you going to wear? ' “I guess I'll wear much the same things as I do now!” 'And what about eating, do you have to eat locusts and honey, like John the Baptist?' “No, I can still eat normal food!” 'And what about, mum, will she have to wear hats like other ministers’ wives do?' “No, she'll be able to still just be mum”.

And so, the questions went on and on. Eventually Daniel asked him, 'But, dad, where are we all going to live when you finally become a minister?' Neil, said, “I don't know yet. I guess we are just going to have to trust God” 'There you are, dad,' smiled little Daniel, 'You're getting the hang of it already!'

Responding to God's call certainly requires a whole lot of trust on our part. Not many of us are called to full time ministry within the church, but all of us are called to change the way we do the work we are already doing, in the light of the call Jesus places upon our lives. He calls our name, and we follow. That is discipleship.

It touches upon every single area of our lives. Our relationship to our families.  The places we work. The way we do our work. The way we invest our time and our spiritual gifts, financial gifts, and our personality gifts. It touches upon how we use the influence our lives have, to influence others to live God's way.

When we truly repent, turn around and begin living for Christ over and above all other things, when we believe, not just intellectually, but with actions that are a response to Christ's love, then people might start thinking we are acting a little fishy. 

And if that happens, rejoice! Because Jesus calls us all to be fishy followers. By the grace of God, may our lives cause others to also hear His call and so discover the peace that passes all understanding and the deep joy, that following Him can bring. Amen.

 The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.