Comic Relief in the Bible

Often times, we view the Bible as a book that is difficult to read and so rooted in ancient history that it is almost impossible to understand except for a few passages here and there.  But the more we read the bible, the more we realize that some things never change!  The bible is a masterful literary book, inspired by God to help us continue to grow in our faith journey.

A case in point is my daily devotional reading from Job chapter 32 this morning.  You probably know the story of Job.  He is a righteous man who is set up to see if he will give up his faith if bad things happen to him for no reason.  Job is actually a book to explore the theme of trying to understand why bad things happen to people who didn't do anything wrong.

In the course of this story, some friends of Job offer him so not so helpful advice and opinions as to what he needs to do or understand regarding his suffering and how to make sense of it.  Again, the book of Job reminds us that some things never change since people, including close friends will often use worn out cliches to explain away complicated problems and deep theological questions.  If you have ever struggled with why bad things happen to you and have found the shallow advice of well meaning acquaintances to not be helpful, this story of Job becomes your story.

In the midst of this long story of Job, another of his friends, the youngest of them, Elihu finally gets the courage to speak up and offer his two cents beginning in chapter 32.  Before he offers his thoughts, he makes a big deal about why he hasn't already spoken.  It's because people who are older are usually far more wise and have more helpful things to say (which is generally true, but in the case of the story of Job, they have only offered shallow answers to this point.)

So, it appears that there might be a breakthrough in this long story.  Perhaps the answer to this complicated question as to why bad things happen to the righteous will come from an unlikely source, a young adult who doesn't have a lot of life experience.

Wrong!  Enter the comic relief of this young buck who thinks he has the answer and he basically says that Job should accept the fact that he'll never figure this out and that God will not speak to him anyway.  Imagine this guy's surprise when immediately after he offers his long speech to Job, which wasn't helpful anyway, God actually does speak to Job!   God's timing is perfect!  When God started speaking to Job, I would have loved to have seen the facial expression of this young man.  Priceless!

The point of Job is that instead of settling for easy answers as to why bad things happen, we need to continue to trust in God in the midst of our questions.  And we need to remember that it's often our presence that is most helpful for people who are going through difficult times.  Sure, our words can be important, especially words of comfort, but we need to be cautious about relying on shallow answers.

This is an example of how the bible isn't so difficult to read after all.  It even uses comic relief to speak a relevant word to us living in the 21st century just as it did for people over two thousand years ago who were wondering about the same difficult and complicated questions that we continue to face today.

Sermon (September 9) - "Are You a Believer?"

     Our scripture from the letter of James begins with a question.  And it’s one of those questions that isn’t meant to be answered because the answer should be obvious.

     The question James asks is, “My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?”  Now, obviously James is writing to people who do believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.  It’s not like he’s sending this letter to an atheist organization.  He’s sending it to a community of believers, to a people who see themselves as Christians.

     I think I sense a little sarcasm in this opening verse of chapter two.  Kind of like the question, “Is the Pope Catholic?”  We all know the answer.  Of course the Pope is Catholic.  Of course we believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.  Of course! Of course!  “Where are you going with this, James?  You know who we are.  Quit playing games with us. I was baptized and confirmed in the church.  Why, I even was ordained. I can show you my ordination certificate if you give me time to find it.  What do you mean if I really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? I give to the church.  I’m in worship most Sundays.  The Nominations Committee called to serve on a committee and I said yes.”

     It’s a little unnerving when someone questions if we really are who we say we are. 

     I was visiting in a hospital one day.  I went to the ICU waiting room where I used the phone to call back to the nurse’s station to get permission to enter through the door.  “Who are you?” she asked in a not so polite way.  “I’m clergy to see so and so,” I said.  “Well, just wait.  I’ll meet you at the door.”

     By the tone of her voice, she seemed suspicious of me.  I didn’t know what to expect as I stood there waiting for the door to open.  And when it did, this nurse came up to me, noticed my clergy badge which was clipped to my suit jacket, and took me by surprise by giving me a hug.

      And she said, “I wasn’t sure if you really were a pastor.  Lately, we’ve been getting a lot of people who claim to be clergy and they come back here and they end up disturbing the other patients and the medical staff so we’re trying to be careful who we let back here.  Thank you for wearing your clergy badge.  You’re a real pastor!”

     See, I told you.  I’m a real pastor!

     How do you know if someone is a real Christian?  Do they have to wear a badge or attend church for so many years or serve on thirteen committees?

     This is one of the key reasons that James wrote this letter.  He wants us to really stop and think about what it means when we say that we believe in Christ.  And so we get this troubling question.  “Do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?”  And James spells this out in greater detail by saying, “For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘Have a seat here, please,’ while to the one who is poor you say, ‘Stand there,’ or, ‘Sit at my feet,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges?”

     There’s something really wrong about saying we’re Christians but not living out what it means to be Christian.  There’s just something really wrong about that.  And for James, it is in how we care or not care for the poor. We might be able to point to a time when we were saved but the true test of our faith is in how we relate to each other.  This is how we know if we believe in our glorious Savior, Jesus Christ as James puts it.

     To be honest, this scripture makes me very uncomfortable.  I have always preached that we are saved from our sins by God’s grace and not by our own good works.  We cannot work our way into heaven.  Salvation is something we receive, not earn.  And yet here in this scripture, James is emphasizing that it’s in our doing and through the living out of our faith that shows if we really mean it when we say, “I’m a Christian.”  For many, the letter of James is the most controversial book in the New Testament since later in this same chapter he talks about faith without works being dead. 

     The great Protestant Reformer in the 1500’s, Martin Luther was very uncomfortable with this letter as well.  He called it the straw epistle, meaning that it lacked the substance of the other books of the New Testament that emphasize more of God’s free gift of salvation.

     And yet, I’m one of the first to be embarrassed when something is on the news about Christians who act in very unchristian-like ways.  Think of some of the televangelists who divert funds from donors to pay for their lavish lifestyle. 

     Or even closer to home, think about our denomination’s General Conference which met this past spring in Florida to discuss some very controversial topics.  Sharing differences of opinion is one thing but doing so in very uncharitable and demeaning ways is something entirely different.  Unfortunately, we had our share of uncharitable comments at this conference.   Every year, our West Ohio conference meets up at Lakeside, Ohio and we have several microphones where people can come and share their opinion.  Often times I cringe at the hurtful words that are spoken when the same point could have been made with a more Christ-like spirit.

     James is reminding us that our words need to match our behavior.  Our theological views need to be consistent with how we relate to one another, and especially in how we relate to people who are different from us.  James is thinking specifically about socio-economic differences.

     One of our members told me about a time when she stopped by here at the church.  She met one of the folks who was here for a lunch we were serving that day.  This person told her about the problems she was dealing with in her life.  When this church member invited her to come into the sanctuary with her to pray, she declined and said, “Oh, just look how I’m dressed.  I can’t go in there looking like this.”  When this church member told me this story, she said, “How sad that this woman didn’t feel worthy enough to come into our sanctuary because of what she was wearing.”

     You know, whether we want to admit it or not, most of us live in these little bubbles defined by our employment, our educational background, and our race.  And yet, we worship and serve a God who loves the whole world regardless of our differences.

     Whenever I have to go to the BMV to renew my driver’s license, I’m usually in a long line of people waiting my turn.  I’m sure we are a good cross section of the people in our community.  Some of us are well to do. Some of us are poor.  But these differences do not stop us from being in the same line. What would it look like if the church mirrored the people who are waiting in line at the BMV?

     I served a church in Toledo that hosted the largest AA meeting in the entire city.  Every Tuesday evening, the parking lot was filled with some cars parked up and down the street as well.  As I would walk through the parking lot to get to the church entrance, I would see a BMW parked next to a beat up Ford Escort.  There would be a new mini-van parked next to a Ford truck with mud all over its sides.  Addictions are not confined to one socio-economic group.  They impact all segments of society.

     A friend of mine who began serving at a United Methodist Church in an affluent suburb of Columbus met with different groups of church members and asked them this question, “What are the biggest needs facing this community?”  Drug addiction was by far the #1 issue.  Sounds like our community.  Sounds like a lot of communities in central Ohio.  The church needs to stand with those who are addicted, with those who are struggling, and with those who are worried about where they are going to sleep at night.

     James says, “When you don’t show favoritism and seek to come alongside of those who are different from you, that’s when you truly believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.”

     About five years ago, I visited a rapidly growing church which is known for their radical hospitality on Sunday mornings.  They offered a hospitality seminar led by their church volunteers who serve in this ministry.

     The woman who heads up their hospitality ministry began by saying that they weren’t always a very welcoming church.  She said that several years ago, a local newspaper reporter was doing an undercover story on how well churches welcome new people on Sunday mornings.  The reporter went to several churches incognito including to their church. 

     This reporter came to their church wearing worn out clothing, nothing like what most of the congregation was wearing that day.  As the reporter walked through the large fellowship area where the congregation was gathered for donuts and coffee, not one single person spoke to him.  When eye contact was made, church members would quickly look the other way and continue their conversation.

     About a week later, the newspaper ran the article.  As the pastor was reading this article, he began to realize that the reporter was writing about his church without saying the name of the church.  The article described the church as a large, predominately white, middle to upper class congregation with a large fellowship area in a certain section of the city.  After a few more details that fit the description of his church, he realized that the reporter was referring to his church.  Here he thought that his church was a very welcoming church, but they evidently had a lot of room to grow. 

     Determined to not accept the status quo of mediocre hospitality, the pastor and some key leaders got together and to make a long story short, this church is now known for their outstanding hospitality ministries.  And it all began because the church became painfully aware that their faith didn’t match their actions.  Sometimes we need to be reminded of James’ words to us.  Do our faith and our actions match up?

     One Sunday morning during worship this past spring, I mentioned about our pastor’s discretionary offering to help people in need.  We receive this separate offering on the first Sunday of each month when we celebrate Holy Communion.

     An elementary age girl who was listening to my announcement told her mom that she wanted to give all the money she had been saving to this offering.  I think it was $15.  Wanting to help people in need, she put her money in the pastor’s discretionary special offering envelope.  On the envelope, she wrote, “for homeless people.”

     During that week, we got a phone call from a woman who was living at the Lighthouse here in town which provides shelter for women and children who are victims of domestic violence.  When this woman left her husband who had been abusive to her, she also gave up her home to get out of that violent situation.

     She had a full-time job and all she needed were some extra funds to help her leave the Lighthouse and rent an apartment.  That little girl’s $15 was used to help this woman and her two boys begin a new life together.

     I had baptized this girl a few weeks before all of this.  As she stood in front of our congregation, I remember asking her if she believed that Jesus Christ was her Lord and Savor and she said, “Yes.”  

     I guess she meant what she said.

Video Greeting to West Ohio Churches from Bishop Gregory V. Palmer

Bishop Palmer began his episcopal duties on September 1st in our West Ohio Conference.

Sunday Worship Preview - September 16

Sunday, September 16 - (9:00 & 10:30 Services) & Wednesday, September 19  (6:30 P.M. Casual Service @ Crossroads, 2095 Fair Avenue)

Presentation - Bicentennial Celebration Music Sunday

Features - Season After Pentecost & Commissioning of Bicentennial Anthem

Theme - We continue to celebrate our church's bicentennial year by singing out our faith, like good Methodists!  Our Chancel Choir will debut our newly commissioned bicentennial anthem, "Ring Out the Message."

Sermon (September 2) By Pastor Cheryl Foulk - "Work: Faith Lived Out"

 

Remember your first job?

Perhaps you babysat- mowed lawns- delivered papers- worked at McDonalds- - bagged groceries- helped with  chores at home. Remember the feeling of receiving your first paycheck?

My dad began work when he was 14 at his uncles' lumber yard after school. He ended up being employed there until he was 70 years old.. He lived out his calling of being a lumber man. He could grade lumber, sell lumber,  and advise people in their  building projects. His  calling as a lumber man was affected by his faith. His guidelines were loving the Lord our God,  following Jesus, and serving others. He tried to do that wherever he was- in the lumber yard, at home, in our community, at church.

You may think  that pastors, missionaries, church staff have a calling with a big “C”  and everyone else has a calling with a little “c”. Not true!  Or that  some work must be more important than other work.  Each of us have an important calling and it is lived out wherever we are.  We may get paid, we may volunteer, we may do our work at home- God's work happens everywhere. 

Dave and his wife own a company that produces gift items. Here are his thoughts: 

“We no longer have a sense that there are more significant or “spiritual vocations”... (In our business) we try to create a place where every decision matters, where the way we negotiate contracts matter,where the beauty of the buildings we build matters...how we treat our partner factories, our UPS drivers, the artisans we work with, and the team that cleans our facility every night matters; it's a reflection of our beliefs and view of work...we determine daily , through our thoughts and words  and actions, whether we choose to honor God through our work. And what a joy it is to sense his pleasure when we do.”  Dave CEO  (from Work Matters, p.32)

I am very grateful for how my life is sustained by the work of others. Through the ministry of mechanics, and road construction workers, I can get where I need to go.  I enjoy the fruits of the labor of  farmers, and of the factory workers. Office workers, cooks, police officers, firemen, trash collectors, computer techs, medical staff, the list is endless : all become  part of God's plan to care for this earth and its people.  All have high callings.

We were created to use our gifts and talents in work. When we do the best that we can do, it can be an action of love that glorifies God and blesses others.

We don't have to leave work in order to serve God.

We can be part of God's creative work  when we also create, fix,  cleanup, envision, invent.

As neighbors, we depend upon each other to do good work. We depend upon the builder to construct a safe building, the surgeon to perform a surgery for our benefit.

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. encouraged others with these words: “If it falls to your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep the streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the host of Heaven and earth will have to pause and say ”Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”

Why do we work?  Obviously to pay the bills, to support our families, to give back what we have received,  and excitingly, to partner with God.

Whom do we work for?  Paul helps us understand that dimension.  He writes:

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord and not for men”.

Our accomplishments have  importance – but greater importance in God's eyes seems to be how we did our work.

William Barclay, the British pastor and theologian wrote : “.. We do not work for pay or for ambition or to satisfy an earthly master; we work so that we can take every task and offer it to Christ. All work is done for God so that ... men/ women have the things they need for life and living. The boss must remember ... “This is God's business. He has put me in charge of it. I am responsible to him.”

As we gather here,we worship and honor God in this hour. The work that we do the other days of the week can also be worship as we reflect God's image and greatness through our daily actions.

These are great thoughts about work,  but then comes Monday morning!

Reality is that work can be stressful, demanding, boring, and a struggle.

It is not all that we wish it could be.

We  can feel unappreciated, underpaid, underemployed ,pressured at our work, even harassed.

Computers crash, deadlines pile up, and people can be difficult.

But what if we looked at our work with the  hope that God is able to do some remarkable things even in the midst of workplace  challenges?

Young man could not find a job in his field and was working as a temp. He begged in his prayers for a steady  job.  In the meantime,he spent time loading trucks, sorting cans.  Then he found a job putting calendars in bags of cat food! It was loud at the plant, and he quickly grew tired of the routine. Bag after bag of cat food on the assembly line! He was bored and discouraged. One day he decided that he could pray as he worked. He prayed for the pet owners, and all the cats (stray ones and cats that had families) who would eat the food. He prayed for the others guys on the line filling the bags, and the ones loading the trucks. His days at work grew into days of intercession.

His tasks  continued to be  monotonous  but he felt that he was doing something worthwhile.

He said “Life is never without an undesirable, difficult chore to be done. Whenever that happens, I pray, and I realize that all work is really God's work.”    

I hope that you also   pray about your work: your decisions, conflicts, possibilities, and about doing your best.

Our attitude is crucial. Whether we are washing dishes, changing the oil in the car, studying for an exam, or leading a board meeting, we are doing our daily work and it is significant to God. Your work has a bearing on God's kingdom. As we serve others, God works with us and will empower us to be part of his plan that could change this world.

In the mid- 1990's there came out a film entitled Mr. Holland's Opus .It becomes the study of a man's entire work life . As a young musician, Mr. Holland wanted   to compose and direct world class music in prominent concert halls. But first, he began a career in teaching public school music and that lasted for 30 years. At the end of his career, he lost his position through budget cuts, and so he was going to retire. He was downhearted about how his life had turned out and what he actually had accomplished.

Had his life made a difference? On his last day at school, his many former students gathered to give a surprise   concert and play  the original composition that he had worked on  (behind the scenes) for so many years.  That concert was their loving tribute for his  years of being faithful to his high calling. 

Yes, it's a movie and few of us will  have an auditorium of people thanking us for our constant work.

We will not have affirmation of that magnitude.

And yet, our work has always been noticed and has been cherished in God's eyes.

In the last month I read an obituary of a person  in the local paper.

Included were these words: “Wherever she lived and worked, she served others.”

I hope that this will be said about me, and I think that you would want it said of you also.

Daily, through our work , we  live and care as Jesus would. We accept the importance of what we do each day.

On this Labor Day weekend,  thank you for your sweat, your tireless work, your commitment. Thank you for your persistence. Thank you for adding to this world, and easing the burdens of others. Thank you for using your gifts. Thank you for accepting your high calling!!

Agape Centre

This past weekend, my sisters and brother met at our family mountain cottage located in central PA.  It's where our parents took us for summer trips, opening of deer hunting season, and other times during the year.  The cottage is actually a mobile home which our dad expanded into a cottage several years ago.  Dad gave up many weekends to make the two and a half our drive from his home in southern PA to make this a special place for us.

Nestled at the base of a mountain range, it is in the heart of Amish country.  Driving into the nearest little town early in the morning is a true gift of God as the sunrise is mixed with a little fog hovering just above beautiful and spacious farms in the valley.

Over the Labor Day weekend, the four of us and our families relived our mountain cottage traditions of playing uno, grilling out, enjoying campfires and smores, walking/running through mountain trails, playing horseshoes, and doing some needed repair work.

This picture is of the four of us in front of a sign mom and dad had made for the cottage.  They called it "Agape Centre" named after the biblical Greek word for love and the county where it's located.  Mom and dad always wanted this to be a place of encountering the presence of God and leaving renewed.

As I reflect on my trip this past weekend, I am reminded that every home, church, and location can be an "agape centre" where God's unconditional love is celebrated and we leave with a deeper sense of God's presence in our lives.

Think of each place you visit this week as an "agape centre."

A Plea for Unity As We Approach the Presidential Election

 

Recently, I felt a nudge or a push from the Holy Spirit to submit this article to the opinion page of the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. The motivation for this article is because I have been dismayed and disapointed in the number of people who have chosen to turn politics into a war of words, neglecting to seek unity and common ground to help us move into a more preferable future.  Instead of listening to various viewpoints with open minds, we try to outshout our opponents, label them, and hide behind shallow sound bytes.  But there is hope and I am reminded of this hope every Sunday morning at First United Methodist Church in Lancaster, Ohio.

A Plea for Unity As We Approach the Presidential Election

On any given Sunday morning, chances are good that Republicans and Democrats will be worshipping side by side in the church I pastor. Chances are also good that each person who enters the sanctuary that morning, including me, will bring his or her preconceived particular political viewpoints and biases on various issues. In our increasingly politically polarized environment, the simple act of a diverse group of people gathering for weekly worship has become, for me, a very refreshing counter-cultural visible expression of unity.

I lift up my diverse congregation in these weeks leading up to our presidential election as a positive example of what it means to agree and disagree within a spirit of unity and mutual respect. Not that we don’t have our moments, but for the most part, I’m privileged to be part of a faith community that seeks to be a place of open hearts, open minds, and open doors.

In a place you would least expect, the Middle East, there are a number of positive examples of where Muslims, Jews, & Christians, who have lived next to each other for centuries, have become close friends and loving neighbors. I continue to be amazed at this surprising display of unity in a part of the world where there is so much hatred and distrust at the political level.

During this time of political polarization and national negativity, I hope that our Lancaster community, with all of our diversity and opinions, can be a positive example of what it means to work together in unity and in a spirit of civility.