Saturday, September 25, 2010

Contentment in God... September 26, 2010 RUMC

Contentment in God
RUMC 9/26/10

"How are you today?"

I asked someone that question this week and they said, “Pretty good, under the circumstances.”  I wanted to say “I’m sorry you are under the circumstances.” The Lord calls us to be above the circumstances.
What does that mean? To be “above the circumstances.”

First, let me say I am not talking about complacency. I am not talking about being above the circumstances of life by being merely resigned to letting them happen. A complacent baseball player might be one who stands with his hands in his pockets and his glove laying on the ground hoping the ball will fall into the glove. It just doesn’t happen. That is no way to win a ballgame and that is no way to live.

Second, let me say being above the circumstances is not being so self-righteous that we believe the circumstances don’t matter. You have probably heard people say “Give thanks in all things.” That might be a wonderful sense of thanksgiving; but it could also be sticking our nose in the air and saying that what happens does not matter to God or us.
God is actively and intimately involved in the events of this world. God is actively and intimately involved in the events of our lives. Our lives and our problems matter enough to God that God became flesh and dwelt among us, lived, died and was raised for us. Who are we to say that they don’t matter? That is just a smug, self-righteousness.

Third, let me say that I am not talking about denial or repression. I am not talking about going through life with rose colored glasses, assuming that what you don’t see won’t hurt you. That is not really being above the circumstances. Those who deny the harsh realities around themselves; those who act as though the circumstances simply don’t matter, belittle the pain and struggle of others around them as they face these same circumstances.

Finally, I want to say that being above the circumstances is not an approval of the world. Being above the circumstances does not mean that we are satisfied with the circumstances of the world. It does not mean that we are pleased with everything that is happening. Who could be pleased with widespread hunger, wars and hatred? I don’t want us to say that the world is just fine the way it is. Because the truth is… it isn’t.

God would not call us to be complacent, or self righteousness. God does not call us to stick our head in the sand or to be satisfied with all the difficult circumstances that surround us.  Yet the author of 1Timothy says “there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.”
It is the word “contentment” that caught my attention this week.  It caught my attention because contentment is so rare in our society. We live in an utterly discontent culture. We are brought up to seek more. More skills, more education, more money, more house, more car, more beauty, more fitness more sex appeal, more …more …more. Enough is never enough.
There is a whole industry built to brainwash us into thinking that what we have is never enough that we need the new shampoo, the better car, the more expensive clothes, the higher paying job. It is called the advertising industry. Their motto should be more …more …more.
Even our economy is built on the premise that we need more. If consumers aren’t buying new and better things then spending is not going up, and we are in a recession. By definition if the economy isn’t growing it is in recession-holding its own is not enough. If heaven forbid we put too much money away in savings, the retailers and economists push the panic button.  More …more …more.
Our currency should not be inscribed with “in God we trust.” It should be inscribed with “bigger, better, more.”

Paul, however, rejects that motto. He says there is great gain in Godliness combined with contentment. He continues in the message translation “Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet, that's enough.
 But if it's only money (we want, we’ll) self-destruct in no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it bitterly ever after.
Paul says it isn’t about “bigger, better and more.” That just brings all kind of trouble and nothing but trouble. There is, however, great gain in Godliness combined with contentment.
Let’s start with godliness.  Not a word we use much. A few verses later Paul writes, 11 But you, man of God, perhaps right there is our definition of Godliness.  Godliness is being a person of God. But let’s go on.... But you, Man of God flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
A Godly person, a person of God, then is one whom we would call “faithful.” They turn their back on the greed and one-up-manship of this world. They reject the way everyone else wants them to live. And do what?
·         Paul says pursue righteousness -- that is right relationship with God and others.
·         Pursue Godlikeness- that is living like God. Pursue faith- that is a deep abiding confidence in God.
·         Pursue love- that is the greatest gift.
·         Pursue endurance- that is steadfastness- not giving up- not giving in to the pressures of this life.
·         And pursue gentleness- that is a quiet tenderness of spirit.  
Who does that sound like? Righteous, God-like, faithful, loving, enduring. It sounds like Jesus to me.  Jesus is after all the perfect manifestation of God in human skin and bones.  I don’t know that I can accomplish that but I pray that my life will be at least a dim reflection of Jesus. That is what I think it means to be Godly. To live our lives as a reflection of the life Jesus gave for us.

·         When we live our lives as a reflection of Jesus we experience God’s presence and God’s power in our lives on a daily basis. ..
·         When we live Godly lives we experience God’s faithfulness every single day. ..
·         When we live Godly lives we practice trust in God every single day. ..
·         When we live Godly lives we experience the overpowering love of God each and every day. . .
·         When living a godly life become enough for us…
·         Because God is enough for us . . . then we experience contentment.
Contentment is not happiness. Happiness has to do with how things are going in our lives.  Happiness has to do with having enough things and enough relationships and enough health and enough power inside of us. But what happens when we don’t have enough? What happens when we discover we are alone? What happens when our health fails or we discover that we are powerless? Happiness disappears along with the people and things on which that happiness was based.
Contentment on the other hand is not based on having enough things- I have met people who have virtually nothing who are more content than I can imagine. Contentment is not based on the relationships we have- some of the most content people in Christian history have been monks who go years without human contact. Contentment is not based on the health or the strength in our bodies. I have been deeply moved by the nearly perfect contentment I have occasionally witnessed at the deathbed of a godly man or woman.
Contentment comes from God. Godly contentment comes from the daily experiencing that the presence and power of God is enough for us.
In Philippians Paul writes I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Paul is not bragging. He is being totally truthful. He had been beaten, shipwrecked, jailed and worse—but in all that he says that he has learned contentment. By Godly living, he has learned Godly contentment- By living in God’s ways; we too can be given the gift of Godly contentment.

What makes you most discontent? What makes you most restless or worried? What is it that keeps you up, occupies your mind, or casts a shadow over all of your decisions?
In I Timothy, Paul is talking about being content whether you have many things or just a few.
But I know that some of you struggle with purpose and meaning more than things. “Now that I have retired, now that my children are grown, now that whatever . . . why am I here?” “Why get up in the morning?” “Why draw another breath.” Would you like to live above the circumstances of your life?
I know some of you struggle most with pain or lack of heath. Would you like to live above the circumstances of your physical condition?
I know that some of you struggle most with addictions. Wouldn’t you like to live above the circumstances of your cravings and needs? Wouldn’t you like to live above the agony of loving an addict?
I know that some of you struggle with mental health, like depression and anxiety. Speaking as one of you I would sure like to learn to live above the circumstances of my feelings and fears.
I know that some of you struggle with relationships (with children, siblings, parents, friends and neighbors.) Wouldn’t you like to live above the circumstances of the pain and struggle of those relationships?
I know some of you struggle with the difficulty of finding jobs, the stress of supporting a family, the anxiety of financial preparations for retirement. Some of you struggle with late bills, overdue mortgages, excessive debt, and ravenous credit card companies.  Wouldn’t you like to live above the red ink, financial stress and survival mentality?
Some of you struggle with the stress of raising children, providing discipline, guiding friendships, modeling moral values, and teaching life lessons. Wouldn’t you like to live above the circumstances of time outs, broken hearts and your own shortcomings?

You no longer have to live under the circumstances of your life no matter how difficult they may be.
You no longer have to live under the pains, and stresses, and troubles of your life.
You no longer have to live under the values and ideals of this world.

The world says “More, more, more.”
God says “More of me, more of my grace, more of my love.”
The world says “more, bigger, better.”
God says “I am sufficient for you.”
The world says, “Want more, get more, buy more.”
God says, “want me more, love me more, trust me more.”
“There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.”  
Go.
·         Wanting God more.
·         Trusting God more,
·         Loving God more\
 AMEN

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Connect with Christ: servanthood RUMC 9/5/10



 August 31st 1997 Princess Diana died in a terrible car accident.  Do you remember?  You couldn’t turn on the TV or open a newspaper without reading about it.  That was 13 years ago last Tuesday.  Many of us, at least of my generation, remember where we were when we heard about Princess Diana’s death.
13 years ago today.  5 days after Diana died, someone else died.  I remember it quite clearly.  I remember watching the funeral procession.  I remember the flowers.  But I also remember thinking, that unless I was looking for this I would have thought that Princess Diana was the only person who died this week.
Do you know who I am talking about?  Mother Teresa. But, for some reason, Mother Teresa’s death didn’t receive nearly the same level of coverage that Princess Diana’s did. Now the media pundits defended this by saying that Princess Di’s death was somehow more tragic and shocking because, at 37 years old, she was so much younger than Mother Teresa who was 87 years old when she died. They would say that Mother Teresa would definitely be missed, but that she lived a full life. But I think that there was something else going on there.
I think this is a typical example of the difference between the world’s definition of greatness and Jesus’ definition of greatness. I’m not trying to trample on the memory of Princess Diana.  But let’s be honest. It wasn’t like Cinderella It wasn’t a story of a young woman going from rags to riches. Di came from one of the riches families in Europe. It was more a story of a young woman going from one level of riches to slightly higher level of riches.
Mother Teresa, on the other hand, led a life that would never be considered “fairy-tale.”  She began her service as a nun at the age of 19. For her first twenty years as a sister, she served as a teacher in Calcutta, India; one of the poorest places on earth. On September 10, 1946 she heard what she referred to as a “call within a call.” She believed that God was calling her to renounce everything so she could follow Christ to serve in the slums, to serve the poorest of the poor. She said that in a quiet prayer she heard a clear and distinct message that she was to “leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She felt it wasn’t a request but an order.
When she left the comfort of her teaching job at the convent she ended up on Creek Lane in Calcutta with no shelter, no company, no helper, no money, no employment, no promise, no guarantee and no security. But she held tight to her faith. She prayed “God, You only, only You.  I trust in Your call, Your inspiration. You will not let me down.”
Before long, she had found a place to stay at the home of Michael Gomes. In 1952, she opened “Pure Heart,” the first of many homes for sick and dying street people. Former students of hers began to join in her work. By 1953, 28 had joined her. Here, along with her helpers, she cleaned maggots off the faces of leprosy victims, washed the emaciated bodies of the malnourished and held the hands of the dying. She continued the work of serving the poorest people of Calcutta that began in these humble beginnings the rest of her life. And the work that she began, continues today.
Now, I don’t want you to think that I am trying to over-exalt or detract away from either of these women’s memories. The point that I’m trying to make is that often there is a huge difference in what the world sees as greatness and what God clearly lays out as greatness in His Word.

Philippians chapter 2 says  
 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
 6Who, being in very nature[
a] God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 7but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature[
b] of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
 8And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
Jesus came not as a king, not as a master; but as a servant.   When Jesus saw someone in need of healing he stopped what he was doing and healed them.  When Jesus met the hungry, he fed them.  When Jesus encountered the grieving he comforted them.  When Jesus saw outcasts, he loved them. When the disciple’s feet were dirty, he held up dinner to wash them himself.  Jesus made a habit of stopping whatever he was doing . . .  Setting aside the important tasks of the day in order to help those who needed help.  In mark 10:45 Jesus says For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  His death on the cross was the ultimate act of servanthood.
In Matthew 23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
And again in mark Mark 9:35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
And so we come back to the Philippians passage:
 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
 6Who, being in very nature[
a] God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 7but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature[
b] of a servant, 

Jesus does not call us to a fairy tale life of power and riches.  He does not offer us promotions and raises.  He does not call us to a life of the rich and powerful as the world understands riches and power.  Jesus calls us to a life of servanthood.  And if we want to connect with Christ we are more likely to find Jesus in the weak and weary than then wealthy and wonderful.  We are more likely to find Jesus among the children and elderly than among the powerful of our day.  We are more likely to find Jesus in a food pantry, a hospital room, a nursing home, a soup kitchen, or a homeless shelter than with the powerbrokers in the halls of congress or the smoke filled rooms of wall street

You may wonder how I got here from Colossians. In this series of sermons we have been talking about how to connect to Christ.   We have talked about prayer, worship, Repentance, community and scripture.  Those are all ways to connect to the heart of Christ.   Today I want to talk about servanthood.  I read Chapter 3:
 18Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
 19Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
 20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
 21Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
 22Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

I read that and I realized that  servanthood has to start in the home. If we can’t serve those we love and those to whom we are closest, how can we serve those who are hard to serve, and how can we serve Jesus?
I am not talking about enslavement.  I am not talking about abuse.  So what am I talking about?
A servant is one who is under submission- under authority- under  the control of another.  As Christians, we are not servants of one another.  We are servants of God. As servants of God we place the needs of others before our own desires. 
·        You desire to read the paper, but you know that your wife has had a long day and needs to rest too, so you get up to do the dishes before she gets home from her evening meeting.  Servanthood.
·        You desire to go bowling with your friends, but you know that you husband hasn’t felt vey appreciated lately so you take him out for a nice quiet dinner for two. Servanthood.
·        You desire to play video games, but you know that dad needs to rest his back that he hurt playing softball with you so you get up and mow the lawn.  Servanthood.
·        You desire to eat the last piece of your favorite kind of pie, but you know that your brother or sister has just been dumped by their boyfriend or girlfriend, so you split it in 2 and enjoy it together. Servanthood.

o   Obey and love, not in order to gain favor of others, but in order to serve the Lord.
o   Have this mind among yourselves that was in Christ Jesus.  He did not count equality with God something to be guarded.  But took on the form of a servant.
When servanthood is practiced in the home, it will spread outside the home. 

It will spread to the church.
·        You will read the newsletter with an eye for things that need to be done.  And you do them. Servanthood.
·        You will start to read the prayer list and look at the person next to you in the pew thinking about their needs. And you decide to do something. Servanthood.
·        You will watch the parents with children and you see that you can offer to watch the child in the nursery for a while.  Servanthood.
·        This weekend’s need for chores to be done in the classrooms is a perfect example.  When I was painting that ceiling yesterday, I started to get grumpy because it was an unpleasant job.  Then I remembered what I was preaching today.  And it shone a whole different light on my day. Servanthood.
Servanthood is contagious.  From the home to the church to the world.  Servanthood is contagious.  That was the premise of the book and movie called “pay it forward”  Middle school students- who in the opinion of many in society are among the least of the least-were asked to do three good deeds.  They must be something the other person could not accomplish on their own.  The idea is that this servanthood will spread exponentially and change the world.
It certainly did in the movie, but in the real world, not so much. 
I think Jesus would have liked the idea of “pay it forward.”  
Our conspiracy of Kindness is along those same lines.  We, as the church serve in unexpected ways, in order to spread the love of Jesus to those we serve.   The truth is we are all the least of the least.  We are sinners among sinners.  We are servants. 
As we serve, two things happen.  We spread the love of Jesus, and we are consumed by the love of Jesus.

I have referred to the story before of the rose in the living room.  A social worker tried and tried to get a client to clean the house.  (These days we might call the client a hoarder).  Nothing seemed to work until one day she cleared off the coffee table and placed a vase with a  rose on it.   When she came back the coffee table was clear and so was the couch.  She put a fresh rose on the table.  When she returned the whole living room had been cleared out.  She placed another fresh rose on the table.  Then the kitchen and the bedroom were cleaned up in turn.  Each time she put another fresh rose on the coffee table. And as each part of the house became clean the need in the next area was made more obvious.  One day she went back with a fresh rose and someone had already purchased one and placed it in the vase.   The change was complete.
Jesus calls us to be servants.
I want to put a little twist on that today.  I want to call you to be roses.  Be a sweet smelling servant rose among the stinkweed of this world.  Be a beautiful servant blossom among the thorns of this life.  Be a servant for Jesus Christ in a world where people seem to  serve only themselves.  And you will discover that in serving the least of these- in loving the loneliest of these,  in caring for the overlooked and the overburdened-  you will find Jesus.  And you won’t have to look very far.
amen