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Coming this November, it will be literally ten years ago that Phil and I, saw the Grand Canyon. This was going out to meet his folks, for the first time, in Arizona. It was also my first time visiting Arizona, ever. I frankly never saw anything like that before. The artist in me took something like 1,200 photographs—God bless digital cameras! But then, I’m still in awe of living near the Red Canyon Mountains here! I think even seeing how the rain clouds form and expel rain are beautiful and incredible! The Grand Canyon is a great witness to God’s natural, creative activity in the world. Scientists still debate its exact origins of how it was created. Nonetheless, we could fairly say that they are truly God’s gracious formations in nature.
Gracious formations take time, when it comes to humanity,
to confess the revelation that God has spoken to our hearts, (the first and
most important church), to truly hear! One of the insights from a lot of
reading and discussion, I was doing this past week had a sad revelation to
communicate—are we willfully letting the light of the Gospel begin to grow
dim? What an awful and depressing
thought! I would hope that we still give
credence, to being hope-filled, instead of being skeptical and too immersed in
the dark voices that try to shout down, the reality of the Gospel, and the
truth that God is not only still speaking, but He has never stopped! Yes, I do
love that slogan. God is always
speaking, period!
St. Paul’s message this week gives us the greatest jolt
of hopefulness, as well as encourages us, what we should focus on above the
chains and oppression, of the world and its’ all too often, dim outlook. He says most beautifully: “2Do not
be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds,
so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and
perfect.” Amen, I say! Thanks be to God for his encouragement, that
in my heart, sounds timeless and most faith-filled! This one verse holds as
much spiritual optimism for me, as does my favorite Psalm’s verse which some of
you have seen in my email, this is Psalm 69:32— “Let the Oppressed see it, and
be Glad; You who seek God, let your hearts revive!”
The funny thing about that Psalm, in particular, is
that’s probably the most positive verse out of that entire Psalm. The rest of the Psalm reveals the author’s
“angst” about not only his sense of feeling worldly oppression, but being
shaken down to that fragile core of the “rock” of our faith—the heart (where
God works or should I say, works upon). Both of this week’s Old Testament
lessons, Psalm 138 & Isaiah 51 shout out above the anxiety and oppression
that they felt during that time of human history, in essence, to declare with
great faith and hope, that God’s love and purpose is indeed delivering and encouraging
them onward. They needed to, seek it however, they needed to keep their eyes,
ears and hearts open to God.
I don’t think though, that we do a “where’s Waldo” search,
for God enough… Our lives are too cluttered, and our days, sometimes, or all too
often, lose their way on God’s trail, mapped out for our own Spiritual
Formation. The perfection that both
Jesus and St. Paul are talking about today have nothing to do with our earthly
sense of “perfection” at all. In fact,
this perfection or development is 100% spiritually attuned to allowing the Holy
Spirit to do its miracle grow on the seed of the New Nature planted within us. This New Nature seed is one, we are called by
God to reap naturally as the fruit of faith from an abundant Grace given. This
was by no means a cheap Grace given, but one most costly as we must spiritually
receive as being priceless and boundless in the heart, the first church.
There is so much that God’s Grace tries to teach us. This instruction is preached to the heart by
God’s Word. This very statement I make
from my own witness, as we all have our own witness, to hopefully hearing God’s
Living Word, and allowing ourselves to be most truly transformed by it! One of the insights from reading for my
doctoral class, this whole past week about the quote “new secular age” growing,
more or less out of control in the world, was that this one author claimed that
people are not connecting and seeing or finding spiritual transcendence from
the Gospel as it was most naturally meant, intended to do. What a tragic movement for a quote
progressive 21st century culture to have evolved?” Both of those thoughts, the light growing dim
and becoming “disenchanted” with the meaning and purpose of life given by God,
almost brought me to tears, honestly.
Elton John’s song—'Don’t let the Sun go down on me,’ I
think we need to hear as Christians being—‘Don’t let the “Son” go down and out
of your faith.’ Faith takes work, it’s like going to the gym. Many of us can be
like Homer Simpson and say what’s a Guyime? That was his pronunciation of it… A spiritual gym is what we need to be
concerned with from today’s lessons.
This spiritual gym requires us to believe, receive, incorporate and
share. You’ve seen me demonstrate that
before, it is a learning nugget gift I received from the pastor I studied
under, Pastor Eric. This was his summary
of coming to understand how we are called to exercise our faith. I frankly,
think it makes the clearest observation of exercising faith.
Exercise is not to be mistaken with exorcise… which, what
has been going on in the world lately, in regard to activities, seems to allude
to the need for God’s help to eliminate evil… Oppression, in any form, is the
tragic downfall of the human spirit losing its battle against evil’s
temptations upon our willfulness, by offering shallow solutions or “empty
promises” and the delusion of ultimate control, and advancement. We are not
serving one another, the way God intended for us to do, which requires
exercising our faith as our spiritual gifts learned from and earned by Grace
being: compassion, selflessness, kindness, innocence, extravagant welcome and
truly, truthfully and most importantly through brotherly love that comes
unshackled of agenda, ideology of the self, and is abundantly shared.
When I was just starting to do field education in
seminary through different parishes, Pastor Dawson told me that the best thing
I could do to truly learn what serving other selflessly and most graciously,
would be to take a job at the customer service center at a Kohl’s or a
Walmart. I never took that advice,
literally, but imagined humorously how we approach people in those
circumstances. Probably many of you
drift to an old Saturday Night live episode or think of that infamous scene from
Seinfeld where people are coming up to carefully give their order to the “soup
Nazi,” who if you recall that episode, if you got one thing wrong—he would
yell: “no soup for you!” More often the
reverse happens and people are notably sharp and hostile to those behind the
counter, for some reason or another.
Putting on or exercising that New Natured faith, is hard
stuff. It takes the heart to keep open,
to hearing God telling you to keep the faith by discipling the self into loving
responses to “bad behavior” or bad ideas.
This is what I do: Ok, pushing
the 3rd eye back in, and now I’m going to be New Nature! Trust me, it’s a lot harder than it
looks! Wouldn’t it be wonderful, if we
could muster up that rock-solid faith that is in there, within us, to just turn
it on, and turn off, the willfulness of the Old Nature? We are too scared to
make bold confessions like Peter today in the world, without worrying about
persecution and misunderstanding of what is a Christian.
What is a Christian?
A Christian is someone whose discipleship has confirmed and confessed
that Jesus is the Christ—the Messiah, Son of the Living God, whose Living Word
is commissioned to us to carry and share!
The other day I saw a disturbing post on social media claiming that a
gnostic Gospel, the Gospel of Barnabas, discovery says that Jesus was never
crucified. Josephus, the earliest and
most accurate historian of the early church declares that is not true. The whole story of Josephus and his writings
are, in itself, a fantastic testimony of history and faith. This man was commissioned by the Romans, to
disprove and debunk, the early growth of Christianity known back then, as the
“Way,” but what we came to learn from his observations, they did and
accomplished, the complete opposite!
Next to St. Paul as our great faith-filled witness to the Holy Spirit in
church planting, discipleship and developing an understanding of faith being
“theology,” we owe a lot to Josephus’ unknowing witness to the truth of the
greatest story ever told.
The greatest story ever told, is the Gospel, its firm
foundation begins with Christ at its center and the solid ground it stands or
falls upon is the heart. Peter’s
character we will come to see from many lessons throughout scripture was
challenged by his developing faith. The
Gospel we hear from this morning is before his infamous caving into fear and
denying Jesus to those seeking to round up and torture Jesus’ disciples. He was chicken, welcome to the many problems
of human nature—its willfulness and frailty.
Keeping the fire of faith burning in the heart is hard stuff, yet alone
being brave with your faith.
Speaking for my own journey, this picture I’m sharing
here this morning, is one I have next to my bed to wake up and see every
day. It is the beautiful altar piece
painting that is in St. Catherine of Sienna’s monastery in Europe. I don’t know what it is to this painting, but
for me it always encourages me and I feel God is speaking through this
beautiful portrait, to keep on truckin.’ Keep on truckin’ with the ups and
downs of trying to navigate a messy faith journey. Keep on truckin’ together as the Body to
serve the Gospel by bearing it and sharing it in all that you say, do and
example in the story of your life. Be a
rock for others to cling to in seeing the beauty and awesome power of God
active as love, peace, mercy and most importantly graciousness.
Let us Pray,
Gracious God of love and life,
Continue to help us conform to Your Gospel, and not that
of the world’s
Help us to truly be, live enchantment and grow
encouraged, transformed and renewed daily by Your Living, life-giving
Word. May we never let Your loving light
of Grace grow dim in our hearts. May we live a triumphant faith for Your glory
and Kingdom come. AMEN
August
27th,2017; Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 16; Year A; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon by:
Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, OSST
Psalm 138;
Isaiah 51:1-6; Romans 11:33—12:8; Matthew 16:13-20
The link below is to this sermon's delivery at First Congregational Church at 9:30am
