ExtraChristy

Easter 4 Year A Acts 2:42-47, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10

Today I want to explore perfection and the perfect church in each of our three readings today: Acts, 1 Peter and finally John. It is also a good to consider seeking the perfect church would also be a good way of helping us to improve as people. How can we be perfect?

Back in the day, when I wearied of folks telling me how their church was Biblical — unlike the backsliders and sinners that filled the pews of the church I attended — I used to get this Acts scripture out and ask them if their church was following this Biblical example. Were all of their members selling all they had and holding everything in common, giving to each according to need. Usually they quit trying to teach me about their Biblically perfect church.

Some religious communities have tried this. Last week I was in Shakertown in Kentucky. The Shakers were notable for many things. I believe they were the founders of contemporary worship with their experiential, communal, participatory worship. In addition to their worship practices of dancing, stomping and singing, they gave all their possessions to the community which were held in common for the community. They might have come close to living out this model of the church in Acts.

Unity
Folks in most churches look at this scripture and aspire to the underlying unity and the care that sharing possessions reveals. Folks with glad and generous hearts gathering together is something every congregation can agree is a worthy pursuit. In any congregational spat, the majority of the folks who leave just don't want to be around where there is a fight. The fighters are few, but it doesn't take much to destroy the feeling of oneness.

How to achieve Unity? Devotion is the word. Decide to be unified: devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers. It occurs to me that teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and even prayers are group activities. So how do you promote unity? By being unified, devoted together in the work of the church. There is no controversy in learning, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer when approached with glad and generous hearts. So much more joins us than separates us.

A couple that had trouble in another church comes into a new church. The pastor greets them, but they looked shell-shocked, don't make eye-contact and don't come back. It remained a mystery until years later when the pastor found out the reason for that couple's off balanced behavior. It seems they were met on the steps of the church by good church members who told them they were welcome to come and worship but if they were going to cause trouble in this church like they did in their last, they could just stay out because the people in this church liked their pastor.

A perfect church is devoted to unity.

Endurance
We have little endurance. I remember a cartoon of Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes looking at the instructions on a microwave box and screaming, “Thirty Seconds! Who has that kind of time!” We want results instantly. From corporate planning which focuses on just the next quarter's earnings to our communities' investments, and even our saving rates. We are short on patience or endurance of any kind of hardship as we journey toward a goal. 1 Peter tells us that it is noble to suffer for a good cause and continue on trusting the Lord. The little known ending of the Serenity Prayer talks about hardship in this life and trust in the next:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. – attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr

Folks are impatient with our contemporary worship. It has some bugs; the singing matching the words on the screen needs work along with about four dozen other issues. But remember, we have had about nine contemporary services versus how many traditional? Let's see — 2 per week would be about 100 a year, for 90 years…that's 9,000 traditional worship services. I hope 9,000 runs a lot smoother and is a lot more familiar than 9. What will it be like when we have had 90 after two years or 900 after twenty? There will be a lot of hardship and suffering — unjustly, that no one deserves between now and then; but I believe it is the right thing to do and so suffering is okay — even good — when we are reaching out to those who have been astray from the guardian and shepherd of their souls.

A perfect church endures hardship when doing right. A perfect church knows that hardship comes even to those who do not deserve it. Even those who are following God find hardship. If they forget they just have to look at the cross.

Going Out
The gospel reading in John talks about sheep leaving the safety and security, the known part of the pen, to follow the shepherd. Did you hear Obama's comments last week? He talked about bitterness that causes people to retreat into corrals built by fear and distrust. After seeing so many thieves and bandits, no one wants to leave the safety of the known and go out of the sheepfold. We grab our guns, our values, our church, our fears and hunker down determined not to be robbed again. We build castles to keep others out without realizing that those same walls keep us in, cut off from others.

Frank Rogers, Jr. in the book, Practicing Our Faith (p. 117), tells about a group of middle-aged mothers living in the barrio of Los Angles. From a Bible study about the faith of Jesus calming the storm (Mark 4:35-41) they decided to go out into the storm on their very streets with gang members and their drugs and guns. They formed a Campaign for Peace. They agreed to all go out and sit on their porches at the same time that week. The gang members grew uncomfortable and went elsewhere. The women then held a parade through the neighborhood, a community meal for the neighborhood, and work parties to paint over graffiti. Some of the gang members helped with the painting, a few even came to the Sunday service.

They went out. They were united by decision. They endured the work required to clean up the graffiti though they shouldn't have had to clean up after others.

The perfect church goes out.

If you should find the perfect church
Without fault or smear,
For goodness sake don't join that church
You'd spoil the atmosphere.

If you should find the perfect church
Where all anxieties cease,
Then pass it by, lest joining it
You spoil the masterpiece.

If you should find the perfect church
Then don't you ever dare
To tread upon such holy ground
You'd be a misfit there.

But since no perfect church exists,
Made of perfect women and men,
Let's cease on looking for that church,
And love the church we're in.

Of course, it's not the perfect church,
That's simple to discern.
But you and I and all of us
Could cause the tide to turn.
What fools we are to flee the past
In that unfruitful search
To find, at last, where problems loom
God proudly builds his church.
~Author Unknown~

Advanced permission is given for non-profit, for-prophet use of the above at no charge as long as it is reproduced unedited with notices and copyright intact. Written copies are provided after they are preached as a courtesy for the personal, private, appreciative use of the congregation of Goodyear Heights Presbyterian Church, their families and friends to support the ministry of Goodyear Heights Presbyterian Church and its pastor the Rev. J. Christy Ramsey. Join us Sundays! 8:15 Traditional Worship and 10:15 Blended. Mingle in our Gathering Room between services and take advantage of Christian Education opportunities.

Right now I'm on retreat preparing for my trip to Israel in June. Just as I needed to be spiritually prepared, my body needed attention too. Part of the preparation for the trip was getting immunizations at the Health Department. Four shots gave me protection from Typhoid, Hepatitis A, Tetanus/Whopping Cough, and the Flu. Just the same, if you want to give me a shot of immunization by prayer right now that would be great….I'll wait….

Back? Thanks.

Immunizations are usually made from dead parts of the disease that stimulate the body to produce anti-bodies that are then later used by the body to fight off the live disease. Immunizations are training the body to overcome the challenge to health that the body will encounter later.

Someone once told me that parents send children to confirmation (new members) class just like they take them for their “shots”. Hoping that they would get just enough religion to protect them from evil without getting the “full disease”. I thought of this when I turned down the option for a more extensive immunization procedure that involved taking pills 3x a day. I didn't want to be THAT healthy!

One immunization I received requires me to come back in six months for a booster shot. Maybe we should think more about booster shots for faith as well. I wonder if I could start a trend to have people roll up their sleeves at services as a symbol of getting a booster shot of faith. (I'm too late to start the fashion for the other shot option–rappers have already claimed that look!)

I hope you keep your immunizations up to date for your travels (in spirit as well as body). And stop by for a boost of faith every Sunday at worship!

[blockquote]A Little Cures a Lot

When they came to the crowd, a man came to him, knelt before him, and said, 'Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; he often falls into the fire and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.'

Jesus answered, 'You faithless and perverse generation, how much longer must I be with you? How much longer must I put up with you? Bring him here to me.' And Jesus rebuked the demon,* and it* came out of him, and the boy was cured instantly.

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This was the message preached at the Witness to Resurrection for Margie Stillwell today.

Margie was a strong determined woman. Do you know the difference between stubborn and determined? Stubborn won't be moved, Determined won't be stopped.

She had posted a copy of the Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. In my mind the phrase Courage to Change the Things I can was highlighted, bolded and underlined in Margie's copy.

She had the courage to change things in politics. She was passionate about her work for the Democratic party and democracy in general working in the voting booth on election day. She had the courage to change the things she could during the war. She was Rosie the Riveter working at Goodyear. She was determined, even the Nazis weren't going to stop her from her goals.

Margie always sought connection. Her family remembers her being a person who make you laugh. Her proudest accomplishments were her marriage of 63 years…but she felt herself blessed more than victorious for she was thankful that after 63 years of marriage she was still in love with her husband. There is that difference between stubborn and determined again. Not just enduring a marriage, but actively loving your spouse.

When I visited her, she didn't talk about pains and health plans but about our shared connection to Pennsylvania and where my children were. She was always moving even when she needed a wheelchair she was at church dinners physically and connected to others emotionally. She continue to devour the newspaper and work through thoughtful books long after others in her situation would have stubbornly retreated to a small private world of memories and mourning. No slacking off for her! Determined to move forward in life and relationships with others both family and community.

Thinking about Margie and talking to her family I was reminded of our last scripture about the life of God's servant found in 2 Corinthians 6. This is from the Jerusalem Bible:

We do nothing that people might object to, so as not to bring discredit on our function as God's servants. Instead, we prove we are servants of God by great fortitude in times of suffering; in times of hardship and distress; when were flogged, or sent to prison, or mobbed; laboring, sleepless, starving. We prove we are God's servants by our purity, knowledge, patience and kindness; by a spirit of holiness, by a love free from pretense; by the word of truth and by the power of God; by being armed with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and the left, prepared for honor or disgrace, for blame or for praise; taken for imposters while we are genuine; obscure yet famous; said to be dying and here we are alive; rumored to be executed before we are sentenced; thought most miserable and yet we are always rejoicing; taken for paupers through we make others rich, for people having nothing though we have everything. We are God's servants! 2 Corinthians 6:3-10

See the difference between stubborn and determined? God's servants like Margie are determined to live for love and others despite the challenges of the years or the risk of disappointment and loss. We are like that because God is like that with us. God is determined. He didn't stay in heaven waiting for us to come to our senses, he became one of us and came to us to love us. God is determined to love us. No matter the setbacks, the obstacles, the evil that comes, Jesus Christ means that God love will not be stopped. God does not slack off the right track of salvation for us all. Easter is the celebration of God's determination not to be stopped even by death. Today we affirm that death does not stop God's love. God is as close to Margie and Dewey now as he was when they were physically with us to bless our lives.

Ed, Bradley, Jenette family and friends I cannot take away the pain that you feel at Margie's passing. Even Jesus wept at the passing of his friend, Lazarus. Love and grief are two sides of the same coin. To erase the grief you feel I would have to erase the love that you have for Margie. You wouldn't want me to do that even if I could. I can tell you that Margie is now with God and Dewey in heaven. Don't let the grief of her passing erase the love you shared. Instead honor her and Christ by being determined to love. Never slack off connecting with people and your community. Live life motivated for good of others and society always being thankful for the love in your life and the passionate strong determined eternal love of God in Jesus Christ.

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“Why aren't dinosaurs in the Bible?” So came a question relayed to me by a member on a dare from a co-worker: “Bet you won't ask your pastor this one!”

The idea that the Bible is a magical book of answers to life, the universe and everything is promoted by certain religious circles. One popular book, The Year of Living Biblically, takes this belief to extreme by distilling the love story of the God and humanity through the ages contained in the Bible into a list of rules for every occasion; including hair care.

Just as a loving, lasting marriage is more complicated and wonderful than even the most finely crafted pre-nuptial agreement can capture, the Bible is more than memory verses to stick on every event in history or challenge in life.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism has taught Presbyterians for hundreds of years that our chief end was to glorify God and enjoy God forever (Question #1!) and the Word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments is the only rule to direct us how to glorify and enjoy God. (Question #2!)

So if you're looking in the Bible for something other than how to glorify God and enjoy God, like dinosaurs or grooming directions, you're trying to cook dinner with recipes from an auto repair manual. Even though the manual may be “without error” and dinner a worthy pursuit, neither your meal or your ride will be fixed.

Why aren't there dinosaurs in the Bible? Because you don't need terrible lizards to glorify God and enjoy God forever. The Bible is an invitation to a relationship not referee for arguments. Thank God!

[blockquote]Not in the Bible

Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.– John 20:30-31 (NIV)

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