August 17th Sermon

Posted by Leicester FCC

August 18, 2008

Several members of the congregation requested a copy of Rev Nan’s sermon from Aug. 17th.

This has been included here, as it speaks to a lot of the challenges we face

I knew a young man in college who had never been sick a day in his life until one spring semester. That was a terrible time for him. He seemed to be suffering from fever, upset stomach, and frequent migraine headaches. He finally decided to go to see the doctor to find out what was wrong. The doctor examined him from stem to stern. He was x-rayed, given a heart test, blood was taken and even a lung capacity test was done. When all the results were in the doctor called him into his office and said, “I have checked out all of the results of your tests and I don’t see much evidence of anything that is wrong with you. The doctor sat the young man down for a few minutes and then he said,

“Let’s see. Are you married?”
“No” the young man answered
“You are twenty five. Do you have a girl friend?”
“Well, I had one about a year ago but we broke up.”
“Are you dating at all?”
“There isn’t anyone around that really interests me anymore.”
“Do you like school?”
“Not really.”
“Do you exercise?”
“I guess I have been too busy for that lately. I guess I should get back to that sometime soon.”
“What about your diet. What do you eat?”
“Well, my main diet is bologna sandwiches!”
“Are you attending church?”
“No! I haven’t REALLY found a church that speaks to my needs. And the ones I have tried are pretty boring.”
“You say you are a Christian. Does that mean that you take time to read the bible or to study the faith?”
“Well, no, I haven’t really been doing that either.”

Then, finally, the light bulb went on and John got the point.

“Wait a minute”, he said, “I see what my problem is. It is not that something is wrong with me. It is that I have not been doing the right things in my life to help me to feel engaged in life. Being well requires the addition of positive, up building kinds of activities and beliefs in one’s life, right?

“RIGHT!”

Another story: A Presbyterian minister named Gary has a friend who spends two hours a day running. He spends 30 minutes, three times a week in a health club and three hours more per week playing racquetball. In addition, he belongs to a local tennis club and plays there once or twice a week. He appears to be in excellent physical condition. One day Gary and his friend go to lunch in order to talk about a personal matter. Gary describes a lack of joy in his work and boredom with his family. Besides that, he has a lethargic sense of well being with life itself. Gary had discovered that his friend also spent a great deal of time with his physical development in life. However, that far outweighed what he was doing to become a spiritual being and without that part of his being, he was equally as lethargic as John was.

Gary finally came to say, “I am physically fit but I am spiritually flabby.” Unfortunately, this is an epitaph that might appear on many of our tombstones. We all know that there is more to life than what is physical. Becoming a Christian is a process of being seasoned in the spirit. And it is something that absolutely has to be an ongoing development in our lives.

The late William Temple said, “The process of becoming Christianized calls for three things.

The feeding of our minds with the truths of God
Giving of our hearts to the love of God and
The devotion of our wills to the purposes that God has in mind for us an individual.

And what is most important concerning these three processes is that this work is undertaken with a willingness to be open and vulnerable to God’s spirit as it transforms us inwardly and personally.

In the 22nd chapter of Matthew, we find Jesus saying, “Love your God with all your heart” and then he goes on to tell us a parable – a parable about a king who prepares a great wedding feast for his son but unfortunately, none of the invited guests come. What a quandary. What to do. Well, the king knows exactly what to do. He sends is servants out into the streets to bring anyone they can find who would be willing to come. As the street people gather at the palace, clothes are presented to them that they may wear to the party. All the guests are similarly dressed. The acceptance of this attire by these street people is symbolic of a new mode of living for them.

We also are a people who are invited by God to accept an invitation from Christ to “love one another in a new mode of living.” When we put on our spiritual garments, we show our willingness and our readiness to act according to the clothes that we have put on.

Fourteen times we hear the phrase “Love one another.” Jesus says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you can love one another. “ (John 13: 34-35). Paul goes on to say “Put on, the, the garments that suit God’s chosen people, his own, his beloved. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (Col: 3-12)

When an invitation has come from God through Jesus Christ – Love is the first rule of response by the Christian and the garment by which he or she works.

Herb Miller tells about a pastor who grew up in Miami and moved to Iowa. As he was getting acquainted with a young farmer in the congregation, he said “Tell me, why is there so much corn in Iowa and so little in other parts of the country?”

The farmer replied, “Well, it is really the difference in the climate and soil conditions. He went on. I am sure you see the same thing in your line of work. Some churches are healthy and active with a lot of new people joining their fellowship. But in other churches you see just the opposite, because the climate and the soil are different.

The climate that is most essential for the vitality of a church is that it is a congregation of love and acceptance. You see we are the crops. It is us that is called upon to put on the garments of Christ’s loving spirit and then to reach out in the care and love for others.

Jesus says, “Love God with all your heart, the heart then is that out of which doing flows. You can’t give the spirit away until you have the love of God within you. Our doing ultimately flows from our inner being that is strengthened by our spiritual food that is found in God’s world and this is where spiritual discipline starts. We need to be engaged in the kind of studies that bring about spirituality which in turn determines what kind of lifestyle we will live. It is only then that we live truth, loveliness, and graciousness.

An old story tells about President Thomas Jefferson making a journey on horseback with a group of friends. When they came to a swollen stream, they find a foot traveler waiting for someone to give him a ride over the stream. The President immediately pulls the man up on his horse and transports him to the other side of the stream. “Why did you ask the President to help you across, why didn’t you ask one of us?” a friend asked the man. “Well, first of all, I didn’t know he was the President. All I know is that on some faces you see a yes and on some faces you see a no. That man definitely had a yes face.”

Of the three Christian behaviors that are alive in a vital congregation, Faith, Hope and Love
Faith and Hope – feel and think. But Love is the one that reaches out to help and to give beyond oneself. We need all three if there is to be one circle. Praise be to God.

Amen

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