What Now?
preached Sunday August 4, 2013 by the Reverend Jack Williams
I have really enjoyed being with you
for the last three Sundays. I have felt your warmth and your joy for the
church. The people of First Parish
Federated Church have learned how to do and be church and I am blessed more
than you will ever know by being asked to lead worship these last three
Sundays.
Two Sundays ago we learned about who
Jesus is, based upon Paul’s words from the letter to the Colossians. Simply put, Jesus is Lord. He is God
incarnate, God with us. It is through the life of Jesus that we can know the
nature of God. If you have seen Jesus,
you have seen the Father. Additionally, even though you and I did not see Jesus
during his earthly ministry, he said to
Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have
not seen and yet have come to believe.” Jesus is talking about us. You and I
are blessed because without seeing, we have come to believe.
Last
week we talked about what difference Christ means in our lives. Through our baptism, we participate in his
death and resurrection which means when you were baptized, you died to your old
way of life and were reborn to a new life - a new life in Christ.
There
are many ramifications to new life in Christ.
For one, I don’t have to worry about things as much as I used to. As one
who has struggled with anxiety and feelings of low self esteem and self worth,
I can tell you that when you invite Christ into your life, the old self does
pass away and a new you will come forth.
This
week, I will answer, or at least give you some ways to respond to your new life
in Christ. What I call “What now?”
Our
reading from chapter 3 of Colossians is a good place to start. Paul writes, “So
if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are
above, not on things that are on earth.”
There
was a time in my life when my mind was not set on things above. I remember
working with a pastoral counselor named Wesley Burwell nearly 30 years ago. I
was explaining to Dr. Burwell my plan for retirement from the Air Force. How
when I retired, I wanted to go back to Hinsdale, NH where owned a house, fiddle
around with my old cars, and sit on the front porch in my rocking chair.
Dr.
Burwell asked me just one question, very similar to the title of my message
this morning. He asked me, “And then
what?” It was back there 30 years ago
that I decided, as painful and as hard as it might be, to change the direction of my life.
Rather
than reading automotive repair books at night, I started reading the
bible. I joined a vibrant church in
Dover, NH where I was nurtured and grew in my walk with Christ.
I
was finally baptized in about 1990 in the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee. I became
a deacon in the church. I visited the sick.
I directed a handbell choir. In short, I became a practicing Christian.
But
just because I became a Christian did not mean my life would be easy. My marriage fell apart when my wife recognized
she was a lesbian. Divorced in 2001, I got involved in a bad relationship. Yet all the time, I kept on trying to seek
the things above. I completed a Masters
in counseling degree in 1999 at UNH and then started studies at Andover Newton
that fall. I met and married a wonderful woman named Karen.
It
was not easy getting through seminary. I was working full time and going to
school part time. Finally, in May of 2006, I received my master of divinity
degree and was called to a church as a full time pastor.
Now,
I am 63 years old. I have gotten rid of
nearly all my earthly goods, and I had a lot of them. 13 antique cars and
trucks, at least 49 amateur radio transmitters, all kinds a stuff to include
hundreds of pounds of tools. It is all gone including houses and many books,
dishes, furniture, all give to the Salvation Army. I even built a bigger barn
at my house in Madbury to hold all my stuff.
That is gone too. Now I merely have a small storage unit at Uhaul to
store my church books.
So
I got rid of almost all my earthly goods. And it felt good. Do you know how much time and energy it takes
to care of a bunch of junk? I considered it my treasure and what Jesus said is
certainly true. Where your treasure is, there will be your heart as well.
Paul
gives a list of earthly vices that we are to put aside. It is a pretty good
list and starts with getting rid of fornication meaning anything that is sexual
immorality. Quite simply, if you are
involved in sexual activity that you know is wrong, stop it. Being involved in
sexual immorality causes a separation from God. That is what sin does, it leads
to a separation from God.
Paul
says we need to stay away from impurity. Things like pornography pollute your
mind and makes it difficult to keep your mind of things above. Once again, things such as pornography leads
to a separation from God. You can’t have your mind on things above when you
mind is in the gutter.
Stay away from evil desire. I had an
uncle who lived in Springfield, Massachusetts. One time, his car was stolen by
some kids from the city. My uncle proudly told me how he had taken care of the
situation by hiring a hit man to slam the alleged car thief’s hand into a car
door there by breaking his fingers. That
was evil on the part of my uncle.
We
are to rid ourselves of anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive
language. I personally have used this
simple principal in my dealings with people. I will not say anything about
someone to another person that I would not want them to hear. Simply put, if it is not nice, don’t say it.
All
of these things are summed up in Jesus’ commandment to us as his disciples..
“love one another.”
As
most of you know, the mainline churches are in trouble. Many of our churches in New England are dying
and worship services are more like calling hours than a worship service. Some
churches just need to have the funeral and get it over with. Fortunately, that
is not the case here at FPFC. Yes, financially, we are facing challenges, but
if the right man were not on your side, as
we sang in our opening hymn, there would be no hope.
I
have said many times that the only bible most people will ever read is the one
they read in you. Churches that are vibrant and alive contain people who love
one another. They have something going on that other people want to be a part
of. It is like one beggar telling another person where to find food. You offer
the food those hungry for God need.
So
what do we do now? Well, you are doing
it. You profess that Christ is the Son of god, that he rose from the dead, and
that Christ is the head of the church. A
church, solidly built on the foundation of Christ, no matter its size, will be
a vibrant church. It may not be a large church, but it will be a church, not
just a museum piece from the good old days.
I
have great faith that FPFC has good days ahead. You have strong lay leadership.
A good facility and devoted disciples. An excellent music program. You have
everything you need, to live out your faith. I urge you to keep Christ as the
head of the church. Rejoice in the Lord. Pray about everything and worry about
nothing. And the peace of God which
surpasses all our human understanding, will be yours.
Today
we celebrate the Lord’s table. It is one
of the many ways we can center ourselves on things from above.
But,
it is not as helpful to come to the Lord’s table if there are things in our
lives that separate from God. They could
be ways in which we have missed the mark. Ways in which others have deeply hurt
us and we wear the scars of that hurt.
Either way, it is sin that separates us from a full relationship with
God.
Our God
longs for honesty and holiness within the promise-based
relationship God has
established with us in Christ. In a culture that
avoids talk of sin and
culpability, regular prayers of confession foster
honesty and openness in our relationship
with God. Just as a marriage cannot flourish without honest communication, so
our marriage- like relationship with God cannot flourish unless we freely and
honestly express all facets of our life: hopes, fears, sins, desires, thanksgiving,
and praise.
So let us boldly say together, the Prayer of St. Francis,
number 468 in the Chalice Hymnal.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hear now, our individual confessions, spoken in silence.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
God of love, in the wrong we
have done
and in the good we have not
done,
we have sinned in ignorance;
we have sinned in weakness;
we have sinned through our own
deliberate fault.
We are truly sorry.
We repent and turn to you.
Forgive us and renew our lives
through Jesus Christ, our
Lord. Amen.
Hear the good news:
This saying is sure and worthy
of full acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners.
He himself bore our sins
in his body on the cross,
that we might be dead to sin,
and alive to all that is good.
I declare to you in the name
of Jesus Christ,
you are God’s forgiven people.
