How do you ever put up with me? I know it’s bad enough that I’m a Penn State
pastor in Bobcat & Buckeye country, but then you also have to deal with
this.
(Pastor Robert waves a Terrible Towel.)
Yeah, I’m a Steelers fan. I
know that my public declaration means I have just been removed from several of
your Christmas card lists. Even if you despise the Steelers, hopefully, we can
still be friends, at least friends in the Lord.
For those of you I might have offended,
here’s an olive branch. There’s a lot to like about the Browns. They have the
dog pound which is pretty cool. And the Bengals play like they have a chip on
their shoulder because they don’t feel like they get the respect they
deserve. They love playing the underdog
role. I respect that.
Who dey!! Right? Who dey!!
When our West Ohio Conference was
downsizing from having 14 districts to only 8 districts several years ago, they
established transition teams in each of the new districts, and one of their
purposes was to offer suggestions for new names. So for example, what was once the Cincinnati
District, became what is now, “The Ohio River District.”
I couldn’t believe that they didn’t
go with my suggestion. I wanted the new Cincinnati
area district to become the “Who Dey?” district.
What a perfect name! I’m guessing they
didn’t go with that name because there are probably more Steelers fans in
Cincinnati, than Bengals fans, so maybe that explains it. I think I just got
dropped from two more Christmas card lists with that snarky comment.
By the way, they also didn’t like my
suggestion for the Dayton area district which is now called the Miami Valley
District. Miami Valley District. You
know, if you’re going to have the word “Valley” in the name, you might as well call
it “Happy Valley.” But once again, I was
outvoted.
The “Who Dey” district. I still like that. And I wonder if we shouldn’t be called the
“Who Dey” church.
And the reason that I think this would be
a good name for us is because the church is sometimes overlooked in our
culture. People wonder if the church is relevant anymore. People often have
this image of us that we are behind the times and we don’t have a whole lot to
offer in a positive way but nothing could be further from the truth.
This is why I think we should be known as
the “Who Dey” church. “Who Dey!”
They are a people who actually believe that Jesus Christ is the
hope for the world and they are willing to live out this promise of hope every
single day.
It’s no wonder that our Gospel lesson for
this First Sunday of the Advent Season is a scripture in which Jesus offers
encouraging words to his disciples. He’s
being realistic by helping them to see that there will be days when they will
feel like giving up on this thing called “church.” They’re going to lose their zeal in being his
followers and they will be tempted to give up and follow the ways of the world.
If you have ever set goals in your life,
you know exactly what Jesus is talking about here in this scripture
passage. We might start out with a lot
of excitement and enthusiasm, but after some days pass, maybe we make it to a
few weeks, or who knows, even a few months, it gets a little more difficult to
keep that goal a priority in your life.
Jesus tells us in our scripture reading to
not let our hearts get weighed down.
I was in for some blood work, and the lady
who checked me in said, “Oh I see you’re
a minister.” And then she said, “Do you know who are the most sour people
who come through these doors?” “No,” I
politely said.
“The
most sour people I meet in here are engineers. They just aren’t a friendly lot…you know what
I mean? But the 2nd most sour
people that I see come through here are… ministers. They’re almost as negative as the engineers!”
At least ministers weren’t at the very top
of her list. Now, I’m not sure why ministers have come across as sour people in
her estimation. Even stand-up comedians probably come across grumpy when
they’re getting their blood work done. Giving blood is not the most enjoyable
thing to do.
But I hear what this woman is saying. Ministers can allow the pressures of ministry
to get them down. They can reach a point
where they have lost the joy of being in the pastoral ministry.
A friend of mine who leads seminars for
clergy in several states in the Midwest region told me several years ago, “Until I started leading these church
seminars, I had no idea that clergy morale was that low. I see pastors come into our seminars all the
time who are beaten down, discouraged, and ready to give up. Even with positive seminars like the ones we
offer, there are some pastors we just don’t reach.”
But Jesus isn’t just referring to pastors
in our Gospel reading. He’s thinking
about all of us.
When
I was a freshman or sophomore in High School in southeastern Pennsylvania, the
pastor of my home church, said in a sermon one Sunday for us to not be ashamed
of the good news of Jesus Christ and to be willing to share this good news to
the people around us.
And silly me, I actually took that to
heart. I made a commitment that morning
in church that I would not be ashamed of my faith in Jesus Christ outside of
church. And so I made up my mind that I
would begin to wear my cross necklace to school, not underneath my shirt but on
the outside of my shirt, so people would see that I was a Christian.
Monday morning came around, and sure
enough, I put that cross around my neck and over my shirt. Some time that morning, a friend of mine
asked me why I was wearing that cross.
And after I told him that Jesus was my Lord and Savior, he laughed at me
as if I was some kind of crazy person.
And do you know what I did? Before the end of school, I took the cross
off and put it in my pocket. I didn’t
want anybody making fun of me for being a Christian.
Jesus says, “Be on guard so that you’re hearts are not weighed down.”
We can so easily become weighed
down by so many things, like fear of what other people might think if we
express our faith or like the temptation to just follow the ways of the world
around us like consumerism and materialism, especially in these weeks leading
up to Christmas.
We also can allow doubts and uncertainties
weigh us down because of all of the brokenness and pain we see in the world. We
begin to wonder, “God – do you care about
all of this pain and suffering?”
Have you ever been excited
about a ministry, only to become discouraged because of less than desirable
results?
Jesus says, “Be on guard so that you’re hearts are not weighed down.”
Today’s Gospel reading forces
us to think about what keeps us going in our faith when things can get so
discouraging at times. What does it mean
to be a “Who Dey” church – a church that just won’t give up?
In the Old Testament, the prophet Jeremiah
announces that God will be faithful and will keep his promises. He
will send us One who will bring God’s long awaited justice and righteousness to
the world. But of course, this promise
was made 500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ.
This is what amazes me about the
generations of people who waited all those years for God to fulfill his
promise. Imagine telling your
grandchildren, “Someday, God’s
righteousness and justice will come. Keep
waiting. Keep hoping.”
Penny and I were standing in
line at a fast food restaurant. “May I take your order,” the nice lady
says behind the counter. Penny orders
first, “Well yeah. I’ll have that chicken sandwich. I’d like to have that with the new kind of
bread you have.”
“Actually,
you can’t get that particular sandwich on that kind of bread,” she
says. Penny asks, “Well, what other kinds of bread do you have?”
It was at that point that the
person behind me made a snorting noise, the kind of noise that a bull makes. I dared not turn around in that moment for
fear of what he might say. But
obviously, he was in a hurry.
After Penny gets the bread thing all
sorted out, I place my order. “I’ll take that sandwich and I’d like
lettuce, tomatoes, and let’s see…do you have banana peppers?”
It was just then that I distinctly heard a
second outburst from this man, but I’m thinking, “Is it against the law to ask if they have banana peppers?”
So I finish my order and she
says, “Is that all?”
And Penny says, “We also need to place a “to go” order. Do we need to make that a whole different
order or can we pay it all together?” The
lady behind the counter says, “No, we
have to do this separately.”
It was at that point, that I
discovered that the guy behind me was a Christian, because he began to shout
out Jesus’ name for all to hear.
This guy stomps out of the restaurant,
just fuming. But let’s face it. He’s not alone. We don’t like to wait for too long
either.
Think of the last time you were put on
hold on the phone. They say that we
become really impatient at the 9 minute mark.
Think of the last time you sat in a waiting room. They say that we lose it at around the 17
minute mark.
And now think about 500 years! That’s how
long the people of Israel had to wait before God’s promises were fulfilled when
Christ was born! A “Who Dey” church is a church that trusts in God’s promises
and is willing to wait on God for however long it takes.
Even when our lives can be so messed up
with one disappointment after another, we still manage to come to this place
week after week and remind each other that God is faithful and will keep his
promises. We just don’t quit, because deep
down, we know that God is faithful. That’s all there is to it!
And last but not least, another important
feature of being a “Who Dey” church is being a people of prayer. Jesus tells us to “be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength.”
Prayer. Prayer is how we stay alert. Of all the people I’ve known who have
persevered, there’s this common theme – they were all rooted in prayer. Prayer probably ranks at the very top of the
spiritual discipline list.
Prayer is what we do privately as well as
together as the church. It’s a both/and,
not an either/or proposition.
I was visiting an elderly homebound member
in my previous church. She was one of several fifty plus year members in that
church.
During my visit at her home one day, I
noticed something familiar that she had displayed on the front of her
refrigerator. It was a laminated card that our church had sent out to all of
our members several years earlier.
It was a prayer that our Leadership Board
wanted the congregation to pray every single day. We had encouraged everyone to
place this prayer somewhere that they would see if often, like on a
refrigerator, which is where this dear saint had decided to place it.
Since it had been several years, I had
forgotten all about that prayer, until that day during my visit in her home.
Here’s the prayer:
“Dear God, thank you for our church. Strengthen us through the power of the Holy
Spirit to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world
through radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development,
risk-taking mission, and extravagant generosity. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
This woman, realizing that I was focusing
on that prayer card on her refrigerator, said to me, “Oh, thank you for sending this card to everyone. I pray this prayer
several times a day.”
She’s had been praying that
prayer several times a day for the past several years and here I, the pastor of
the church, had almost forgotten about it. My prayer card was probably tucked
in the back corner of one of my desk drawers at the church.
I felt so humbled in that moment to know
that I was with a saint who understood perseverance. She understood the
importance of prayer. And she loved her church.
God calls each one of us to have a “Who
Dey” faith, a faith that is filled with joy and hope even in seasons of
waiting.
Jesus reminds us as we begin this Season
of Advent, to not be discouraged, to not put our crosses in our pockets, but to
get them out and let people see them.
And better yet, to let people see the Christ in us.
So don’t be discouraged. Stay strong.
Pray for strength. Stay on your
knees.
And don’t get back up until you hear an
angel speak these words of good news, “To
you is born this day, in the
city of David a Savior, who is Messiah, the Lord.”
