Sometimes God Just Hands Me a Sermon

Acts 11.1-18//John 13.31-35

 

While there are many preachers who have their sermons written and ready weeks in advance, that just isn't me. My approach is more "organic" (a current buzz word, that also fits! How convenient!). Not real sure whether I should be embarrassed about this, or not, but I usually don't know what the next Sunday's assigned texts are until the Monday before (i.e. Today is Monday...I will read the lessons for next Sunday, today...Except that next Sunday is Youth Sunday, so I won't preach...But, usually.). I will read and pray and check out what is going on in the text surrounding our specific lessons; I'll do some on-line work (actually quite a bit of this); check out what some favorite authors and theologians have to say about the texts; see if there are any words that "jump out" as unique - if so, I'll do a little word-study on them to see if there is a "more accurate" translation; try to determine whether I will focus on just one lesson (or part of a lesson), or if there is more than one that work well together; that type of thing. I'll really dig in to the studying hard on Monday and Tuesday (on Tuesdays I cheat and join several other clergy-type folks and we sit around and pick each other's theological brains regarding sermon-prep for the upcoming Sunday. One of the pastors at this gathering is always full of insight, because she is one of those who has had her sermon written at least one week in advance - but she only preaches every other week!). And then, I live life through the lens of the scripture for the rest of the week. And ninety-nine times out of a hundred, I see God showing up as if to say: "See? This is what I'm talking about" (Just to be clear, I am certain that God shows up 100% of the time...But every now and then the "divine 2x4" just isn't big enough to get my attention!).

So, this past week, the lessons that "grabbed me" were from John 13: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another," and Acts 11: "What God has made clean, you must not call profane (unclean)."

Personally, I think it is instructive to point out the amount of ink that has been spilled by some (quite honestly, more conservative) scholars trying to determine just who it is Jesus is talking about. Who exactly are "one another"? Is that just "us"? Or does it include "them"? You know there are only a few people with him at the time of his speaking this. Maybe Jesus just means "you few gathered here are to love one another"\...Right? Well, except for Judas...Because it can't include him, he, after all, has just 'gone out' to betray Jesus. And Jesus wouldn't want us to love betrayers. And probably not Peter, who is fixing to deny Jesus...but the rest of us! We are the 'one another.'" Yeah...couple this reading (John 13) with the Acts reading, and I think that logic proves to be, in fact, illogical (to say the least!)! 

So, I do the more intensive part of my sermon-prep on Monday and Tuesday, and then, when I got to the office on Wednesday morning and was met by Sandra (our secretary) who wanted to share a story with me about something she had done, I just started smiling (it quickly became evident that God was handing me a sermon on a silver platter). A member of the congregation named Johnny who is 88 years old, fell about a week and a half ago, and broke his hip. Surgery was followed by hospitalization, and now he is in a rehab facility. Now, it's important to know that Johnny's daughter lives pretty far away and doesn't get here as often as she'd like. It's also important to understand that many years ago, Sandra "adopted" Johnny as her "father." Their relationship has grown even stronger since Sandra's own father died. Sandra visits Johnny like she would visit her own father...that is, daily (sometimes in the morning and the evening). The story she told me that morning started something like this: "Pastor, I think I may have done something bad." I took a deep breath and said, "Okay???" She went and saw Johnny. His daughter and son-in-law were there, as was Johnny's roommate, Chuck (the plan was for Johnny to have a private room...didn't happen). None of them knew each other particularly well. They all chatted, Johnny was getting tired, and Sandra announced that it was time for her to leave, but that she was going to pray first. Then, apparently, she just stuck her hands out and said (Sandra can be very direct), "When I pray with people I hold hands." And they all held hands, including the un-expected roommate, Chuck, and she prayed. It was only afterward that she realized "I have no idea what anyone else's 'beliefs' were. I don't even know if they are 'believers' (Sandra's not Lutheran...she uses that "believer" language much easier than I do. She's a good model for me.)! I just started praying," she said. "Is that okay?" I just smiled. And there was my sermon! One author (Lewis Mudge) says it beautifully: "In Acts 11...the notions of clean and unclean as ways of separating people from one another are ruled antithetical to Christian faith forever, invalidating any attempt on our part to reinstate them, in any form, ever again."  

On Thursday, I got a call from a member of the congregation who is a cop. He's started volunteering at the Urban Ministry Center (urbanministrycenter.org), working with the chronically homeless. What a lovely picture of the Kingdom, the cop and the homeless person, figuring out life together ("the notions of clean and unclean as ways of separating people from one another are antithetical to Christian faith").

On Saturday, I went to a fashion show by Clothes for Change (a program started by students of Myers Park High School in Charlotte, NC. Check them out on Facebook). They work to raise awareness and money to fight the oppression of women across the world and give women education opportunities. (I am humbled by the work of these high school students). The speakers talked openly about human-trafficking and abuse (locally and globally). They addressed our presumptions (i.e. "the prostitute is a prostitute because she is choosing to be a prostitute, and so the hardships of her life are her own fault."). And, even though they never used the word, they spoke about "resurrection" (new life, liberation, education, dignity-regained). "Love one another" Jesus said. "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples (followers), if you love one another" (John 13.35). Gary Jones says this: "How embarrassing it is for many of us who call ourselves Christian to recall that Jesus wanted to make it easy for us by having us focus on this one thing; yet we...often have a hard time putting this commandment into practice even in our own family lives...Jesus did not say, 'They will know you are my disciples if you believe the right things.' ...Jesus does not talk about the importance of the Bible or a carefully constructed creed. The New Testament would not even be written until two generations after Jesus' death, and the Nicene Creed would be hammered out by combative theologians over the next 350 years. The Bible and the creed would become terribly important to human beings over the years, while the one thing most important to Jesus would get lost as Christians wrestled with power and [propriety]."

"As we go about our business in the church, the world is watching. Do we have anything to offer that differs from other groups characterize by dissension and division" (Joseph Harvard)?

One of my colleagues lamented having to preach on this text yet again. She said, "it's just so 'blah, blah, blah, love, blah, blah, blah, love.'" Really? I think it's incredibly daring and extreme. "Love one another." Love Judas who has just betrayed me. Love Peter who will deny me. Love the kid who is behind bars because he helped blow up some bombs at the Boston Marathon. Love the NRA members. Love the gun-control lobbyists. Love those you consider most "unclean." Reach out your arms and hold hands with whomever is next to you, and love them. I dare you.