Sermon (February 16) “Personalized Blessings” by Rev. Robert McDowell

February 16, 2025

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

     One of the things that I love about the Christian faith is that it has a personalized dimension to it. When Jesus calls people to follow him, he calls them by name. Just before our appointed Gospel reading for today, Luke tells us that Jesus had been on a mountain all night to pray.

     And when daylight comes, we are told that Jesus named his twelve disciples. And what I find interesting about this is that Luke is careful to let us know each of their names.

     Names are important. Someone once said, “the sweetest sound is hearing someone speak your name.” We are not just someone in the crowd. We each have a name. Just like we have unique fingerprints, we also have unique personalities, backgrounds, experiences, hopes, longings, and dreams.

     God knows us by name. God knows us in a very personal way.

     After Jesus names his twelve disciples, we are told that Jesus gathers with a great multitude of people from the surrounding regions. He then offers them personalized blessings.

     “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when the exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man.”

     These personalized blessings provided them with comfort and hope. It’s a wonderful thing to receiving a personal blessing from God.

 

     In June of 2012, my two sisters and brother were able to be with our mom the week that she passed away. She spent her last weeks in my brother’s home where she received hospice care. We were able to let mom know how much we loved her during those days with her.

     During those last few days with her, we had a hymn sing. My brother played the hymns on the piano and we sang to her. It was such a holy time to sing to her, to pray with her, and to let her know that we were there by her side.

     She passed away early on that Sunday morning. We were all emotionally drained. Later that morning, I decided to go for a run on a bike path that was nearby. Before I went on my run, I asked God to give me a sign, any sign that would reassure me that I wasn’t alone in my grief.

     Only ten minutes into my run, I noticed a woman walking toward me on that bike path with her son. Her son looked to be a 1st or 2nd grader. And as I got closer and closer to them, I could see that this little boy was looking at me the whole time as I was running.

     And just as I got to them, the little boy smiled and said loudly for me to hear, “God bless you!”

     As I gradually ran past them on the bike path, I looked back at them and said, “God bless you as well!” They smiled back at me.

     And as I continued my run, a smile came to my face because I realized this was God’s answer to my prayer earlier that morning. God was personalizing a blessing just for me through the words of that little boy on the bike path.

     “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.”

     A couple of years before I retired from full time ministry, I received an email from my District Superintendent in which he shared this blessing with me. It was totally out of the blue and it lifted my spirits that day.

     Here is a portion of that email:

     “Dear Robert, thank you for being a faithful and willing servant of the Gospel. I deeply appreciate your efforts in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ in your congregation, community and beyond. I am honored this day to lift you in prayer for continued strength, courage, and boldness!”

     He went on to share all of the personal ways that our paths have crossed over all the past several years in ministry throughout the West Ohio Conference. And then he concludes with, “May God’s grace and peace surround you.”

     And every time he would visit a church in our district, he would offer an encouraging word and a prayer of blessing to the pastor and the congregation. I know that these personalized blessings from Mark meant a lot to the pastors and the churches.

     I think of the get-well and encouragement cards that are sent from our two churches. It means so much for the people of our church and community to receive these blessings.

     I remember one year a while back; a United Methodist Church from Illinois sent me an email letting my congregation know that they prayed for us earlier that day. I responded with a blessing upon their congregation as well. They didn’t give a reason why they chose to bless our particular church that day, but it was nice they thought of us.

     Every single morning, I go through a little prayer routine where I pray for members of my family and then I pray for our church community. I pray for the various ministries of our church, the special prayer requests in our congregation, and I always pray for our upcoming Sunday worship services, that through worship we would all be drawn closer to God and with one another.

     And then of course, as part of our Sunday worship together, we always have our closing benediction. The benediction is the last thing we do in the service which is to receive God’s blessings as we go forth from this place to live out our faith.

     When Jesus offered his blessings upon the crowd in our Gospel reading, he was reminding them of God’s special care for them.

     In keeping with the spirit of Jesus’ blessing upon the crowd in our Gospel reading for today, I wrote up some of my own personalized blessings that I’d like to offer for people who come to mind.

     Blessed are those who can’t make it to church on Sundays because they are holding down two jobs just to pay the rent. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are those who have loved ones who are facing major health issues and who feel helpless. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are our fire, police, and medical workers who serve our communities to protect and care for us especially during life threatening situations. O God, bless them.

     Blessed our cashiers, waitresses, delivery truck drivers, and preschool teachers who we often take for granted. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are children who wave and smile at us while we are out taking a walk. They will never know how much they brighten up our day. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are our those who make those delicious covered dish casseroles and desserts to share with others. O God, especially bless them.

 

     Blessed are students, teachers, and school administrators. We will do our best to not take you all for granted. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are those who are struggling with mental health issues. May they receive the care and resources they need. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are college students who are still uncertain about their future career. Take it from me who changed my major several times. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are the closeted who do not feel safe to come out due to the fear of being judged by others. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are those who are bullied or victims of abuse for this is not the way anybody should be treated. O God, bless them.

      Blessed are the farmers, migrant workers, and grocery store workers who help us to have food on our table. O God, bless them.

      Blessed are the faithful givers to the church who offer their gifts to bless the church. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are those who even when hearing a below average sermon are still able to find something in it that draws them closer to God. O God, bless them.

     Blessed are each one of you because you are here today to worship and praise God. O God, bless each person here. Bless you. Bless you. Bless you.

     When Jesus spoke to the crowd that day, there were many who were blessed by his words.  Somehow, Jesus knew what personalized blessing they needed.

     The poor in that crowd were reminded that to them belongs the Kingdom of God. The hungry were told that they will be filled. And those who were weeping received the blessing that one day their tears would be turned into laughter.

     Not everyone received a blessing from Jesus in our Gospel reading. To those who felt blessed at the expense of others, Jesus offers woes instead.

     Woe to you who are rich for you have received your consolations.

     Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry.

     Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.

     Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

     John Wesley, the founder of Methodism once said that prosperity is “a sweet poison.” It can be sweet when we share what we have with others, and it can be poison when we hoard those blessings that God has given us.

     I wonder if these woes are included here to remind us that we receive the most blessings in this life when we choose to be a blessing to others. No wonder the words of our doxology say, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

     May God’s blessings flow through each one of us so that others may be blessed.

     When we do that, Jesus says to us, “Blessed are you.”

Sunday (February 16) Pastoral Prayer

February 16, 2025

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

God of blessings, how is it that you know just when we need a blessing in our lives? Like when we are experiencing grief and you remind us that you are with us through the smile of a young child. Like when we are feeling alone and discouraged, and someone brightens our day with an encouraging word. Like when we are facing a challenging situation in our lives that seem like there are no good choices, and you open a new path and opportunity for us that we never dreamed possible.

 

For all of these blessings in our lives and those that are to come, we thank you, O God with our hearts, and hands, and voices. What a joy it is for us to come to church on a Sunday morning and give you thanks for the many blessings you provided for us over the past week.

 

Thank you for reminding us today that with your blessings come an expectation that we will in turn be a blessing to others. Even now, we seeking to be a blessing by lifting up the many people on our church’s prayer list. May they receive your blessings of healing, of assurance, of comfort, of guidance, of wisdom, and of protection.

 

We also prayer your blessings to be upon each person we encounter this week. May all of our interactions be an opportunity to be a blessing to them. Like Jeremiah reminded us from our Old Testament reading this morning, may our hearts be aligned with your heart in how we relate to the people around us. For all of your countless gifts of love, we thank you all our God with our hearts, our hands, and our voices. We pray this in the name of Jesus who taught us to pray together… 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Sunday (February 9) Pastoral Prayer

February 9, 2025

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

God of wonder and mystery, like Isaiah, we are in awe of your presence with us in worship. Whether it be as we are singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty,” as we did this morning, or in listening to the special music that Jared played so beautifully for us, or something that was said in the sermon that sounded like it was meant just for us, thank you for these holy moments in which you are present with us in a meaningful way.

 

And we also thank you for many, many other ways that you reveal yourself through our senses like through the image of a peaceful river as our prayer hymn writer expresses. God of wonder and mystery, as we go through our week, may we be alert to the many creative ways that you are seeking to get our attention and speak a word to us.

 

Just as you are present with us in this time of worship, we pray that you would also be with those who are on our hearts and minds this day: those on our church’s prayer list that they would each know of your healing, comforting and guiding presence, those who are hungry and in need, those who are facing difficult transitions and challenges in their lives, and those who are feeling isolated and alone. God of wonder and mystery, we pray that each of these persons and needs would know of your peace like a river.

 

And may our prayer today be the same as our hymn writer who expresses these words, “And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight.” And until that day fully comes, we join together in praying the prayer that Jesus taught us to say…

 

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Sermon (February 9) “Face to Face” by Rev. Robert McDowell

February 9, 2025

Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC

    As I’ve been reading and meditating on our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, this thought keeps jumping out at me:

     What would Isaiah’s response have been to this powerful display of God’s glory in the Temple if he would have watched this online instead of in-person? I’m not so sure that Isaiah would have had the same response to this majestic encounter with the divine. As they say, “you just had to be there.”

     We are told that the pivots on the thresholds of the Temple shook at the voices who called out and that place of worship was filled with smoke. I know that our TVs have a surround sound option with state-of-the-art audio and high quality screens, but I don’t think anything other than in-person worship would come even remotely close to what Isaiah was experiencing in that holy moment!

     This whole thought about the difference between being in-person vs. watching something on TV has me thinking about how important it is to worship in-person rather than watching a service at home. God knows that we are sensory oriented human beings which includes all of our senses including being able to taste, touch, see, smell, and hear.

     During the pandemic, the complaint that I heard the most from people who got COVID was losing the sense of taste and smell. Sometimes, this doesn’t return for several months after having been infected. I lost my sense of smell for a couple of months when I got it.

     During those two months, the only thing I could taste was if I ate really spicy food. That was it! I missed the taste of a perfectly grilled steak or biting into a honeycrisp apple.

     I wonder if we have downplayed how much of our faith is wrapped up in our senses as well. We have a tactile and sensory faith!

     For example, here in our Isaiah reading this morning, we have all five senses at work! We have the face-to-face sight of the Lord sitting on the throne with the heavenly beings flying around the Temple. The smell of smoke filling the room. Listening to the powerful voices of praise and worship. The touch and taste when one of those heavenly beings places a live coal on Isaiah’s lips. That would wake you up!

     It’s interesting that the hot coal did not injure Isaiah’s tongue because he was able to continue to experience this incredible scene of the Lord’s presence. Again, I just don’t know that any of this would have had the same impact if Isaiah watched this all on TV. There is just something about face-to-face encounters with God’s holy presence!

     Our other two scripture readings for today also emphasize the tactile dimension of our faith. In our Luke scripture passage, we have Jesus meeting some fisherman by the lake. Jesus offers them a fishing tip which leads to those fishermen catching so many fish that the nets end up being stretched so much that they almost broke!

     I know that we heard this scripture read for us earlier, but based on Peter’s response to all this, he was so moved by it that not only Peter, but two other fishermen, James and John, left everything and followed Jesus.

     This is a great story to imagine the sight of the lake, the smell of the fish, the touch of those fishing nets, and the sound of the gentle waves.

     In our reading from I Corinthians, the Apostle Paul emphasizes how in the days and weeks following the resurrection of Jesus, the Risen Christ physically appeared face to face with Peter, and then he did the same with the other disciples, and later he appeared face to face to more than 500 other followers.

     And Paul is also careful to note, that even though Jesus had already ascended into heaven, several years later, the Risen Christ also appeared to him when he was on his way to persecute Christians. This was no dream and he wasn’t seeing a ghost. Paul was actually seeing the Risen Christ.

     Our scripture readings today are all emphasizing the importance of these face-to-face encounters with the divine. And it’s because the Christian faith isn’t about following a philosophy. No, we follow a living God who is holy, relational, and who has been made known to us through Jesus and is present with us today through the Holy Spirit.

     Every time that we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we experience our faith through our senses. God is present through the bread and juice that have been consecrated and blessed. I have a friend who when receiving Holy Communion likes to receive a large piece of bread from the loaf because he wants to taste that extra reminder of God’s grace and unconditional love.

     The sacrament of Holy Baptism is another way that we engage our senses whenever we baptize someone in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even when I sprinkle the water upon the head of the person being baptized whether it be a baby or whatever age, I like to splash my hand around in the baptism font before lifting up the water.

     I want all who are present in worship to see and hear the splashing water of baptism. If I do this correctly, my right arm is soaked for the rest of the service!

     When I was ordained as an Elder, one of the most powerful moments in my life was when Bishop Edsel Amons of the West Ohio Conference placed the weight of his hand upon the top of my head and said in his deep and bellowing voice, “Robert Vincent McDowell, take thou authority to preach the Word of God and to administer the holy Sacraments.” Oh no! Now you know my middle name!

     Whenever I prepare a sermon that I believe to be inspired by the Holy Spirit but might be controversial or make people feel uncomfortable, I will often remember the weight of that bishop’s hand upon me and his reassuring words, “take thou authority.” There are many a sermon I probably wouldn’t have preached if it wasn’t for that tangible reminder from my ordination service almost 40 years ago.

     There are so many other ways that we encounter the living God through our senses. It might even be through a stained-glass window or a worship banner or the piano piece during the special music.

     A person who is in their 20s was asked about their faith in one of the churches I served. And I’ll never forget the response of this young person when he said, “From my early childhood years, I have always felt God’s presence by just staring at one of our beautiful stained-glass windows in the sanctuary.”

     He was referring to a window which had Jesus holding a lamb. And he went on to say that whenever he feels afraid and is in need of reassurance and renewed hope, he always remembers that stained glass window and the powerful visual of that little lamb in the arms of Jesus.

     These face to face and powerful sensory connections with the living God have an impact on us.

     I notice that Isaiah and the disciple Peter have very similar responses to their face-to-face encounters with God. Isaiah says, “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!”

     The disciple Peter falls at Jesus’ feet and says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”

     These face-to-face encounters with the living God lead to a deeper awareness of our brokenness and sinfulness and they also serve as a reminder of the larger context of who God is and who we are.

     But also notice another way that they both respond to their face-to-face encounters. After Isaiah confesses his unworthiness, the Lord calls upon him to be sent out to share a message with the people. And Isaiah says, “Here am I; send me!”

     And after the disciple, Peter confesses his unworthiness, Jesus tells him and the other fishermen, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be fishers of men.” When those fishermen brought their boats to the shore, we are told that they left everything and followed Jesus.

     When we come face to face with the living presence of God, it will always lead to some kind of response on our part. Whatever that response may be, it will most certainly include a willingness to step out in faith and go to whomever God is calling us to serve.

     For Isaiah, it would be offering a prophetic and challenging word to the people of Israel. For the disciple Peter and those other fishermen, it would be inviting people to join them in following Jesus, the long-awaited Savior of the world.

     For the past 39 years, I have attended annual conference. The only year I missed an annual conference was the year my mother passed which was during the week of the West Ohio Annual Conference.

    Yes, there are parts of annual conference that can be a little dull like all of the legislation and debating, although sometimes even that can be a little entertaining.

     By far, the best part for me is listening to over a thousand United Methodist clergy and lay delegates singing their hearts out during the worship services. And oh my goodness, the preaching! The powerful preaching.

     Bishop Gregory Palmer who was my Bishop in West Ohio and is now retired, is one of the most gifted and powerful preachers I have ever heard. I used to refer to Bishop Palmer as a holy freight train because there are times during his sermon where you feel goosebumps as he powerfully proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ.

     Whenever he would get up to begin his sermon I would say to the person sitting next to me, “the holy freight train is about to leave the station.”

     And listening to all of those United Methodists singing that great hymn of faith, “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing” made it feel like like we were definitely in the presence of almighty God, and we were. We were!

     Those large conference gatherings are very special no doubt. But it’s also true that whenever we worship in this place together, we too can taste, touch, see, smell, and hear the presence of the living God through the scripture readings, the prayers, the preaching, the hymns, the special music, the liturgy, and the Sacraments.

     And this same living God continues to invite us during each and every worship service to respond in humility by saying, “Here am I; send me!”