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Normally before I would begin my sermon for the morning,
it is customary that I would be the one reading the Gospel… As you see, today’s letter from Paul is just
something I can’t leave alone! I don’t
know how many of you recall Palm Sunday this year, but I actually performed
this same passage for you. It will
always be a very special, spiritual scripture for me. It truly proves the power of God’s Word to
indeed, be Living and transformative! I feel that every time I have read or
performed this passage, it greatly influences my life.
Unlike Palm Sunday’s Lenten focus upon the nature and
gift of Christ and His Cross; this Sunday is speaking more towards the
authority of God. This kind of authority
which we have learned from Christ, is that He has revealed to us the nature of
true growth. Our growing edges aren’t in
inches or in intellectual accolades but the kind of growth God is expecting
from us, which is Spiritual. The latest
readings, I have been doing in my doctoral class, about the secular world opened
the thought of a great sadness and loss, in thinking about where we are, in
regard to, believing in the providence of God and our call to turn our hearts
in focus to His Gospel.
This beautiful, ever-alive passage of Scripture you heard
me expressively read versus performing this morning begins with a profound
sentence: “1If then there is any encouragement in Christ…” If then there was any encouragement in Christ, I say, what happened? What have we
done with sharing of the Spirit, showing compassion and true sympathy? Do we
even contemplate the profound idea St. Paul gives us— 5Let the same
mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…
Do we really understand what he’s challenging us to feel here? Yes, this is a dark note to begin on, but the
Holy Gospel of Jesus the Christ is most certainly not a “health-wealth” Gospel,
but one that challenges us to GROW!
Growing into a faith that can move mountains is not an
impossible dream but a part of the mystery of God’s amazing Grace. God’s
amazing Grace like anything in our everyday life, often gets cluttered out by
our seemingly important daily tasks and routines. What we have made as modes of survival
utterly deny or ignore what we should be consciously caring for—our spiritual
development. All that Paul is talking
about in his letter excerpt this morning is about the character of the New
Nature. You have heard me say both of
these terms quite often: Spiritual and New Nature. That is the meaning and goal
of God’s growing edges for His children of Grace and Promise. It is not an intellectual, worldly accolade
for the ego to attain as was the Pharisees thought. They were so blinded by their worldly pursuit
of righteousness and authority, they lost their way spiritually and stunted
their growth in developing a true relationship with God.
What the Pharisees thought was the obedience God expected
of them, was not the one God needed to see take shape in their hearts. Just the other day I met with some new
friends for lunch and we talked about when God motivates your heart to share a
message. Paul’s letter once again,
speaks to this very moment: “11and every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Obedience spiritually here, is from
developing that very personal faith relationship with God. It goes beyond prayer to beginning to tap
into the New Nature within us God planted in our hearts to faithfully reap and
develop.
My new friend initially felt some anxiety from some critiques
he received before he shaped his witness to share with others. He is a lay leader in his church. He did eventually see some of the
observations to be constructive and helpful but at first, didn’t understand why
his message he heard the Holy Spirit relay to his heart to share, was being
challenged. Some critiques weren’t
helpful because the people who made these observations weren’t feeling what he
needed to share. They weren’t able to
see the truth behind his prayerful witnessing.
We could say this is what happened with John the Baptist, as well.
John the Baptist had followers, yes, but knew his role
was purely to be God’s messenger calling those to both prepare the Way of the
Lord and repent. The Pharisees and alike
were too self-righteous and intellectually arrogant to hear and be challenged
by his message, even though they knew he was God’s messenger. They purposely
ignored his warning and message to them and others about God. It is hard when our witness to God’s work in
our lives and faith journey to share with others, is not heard or ignored out
of arrogance or worldly reasons. Faith
is not to be an island unto itself, but is to be shared with an authority given
by the Holy Spirit and His sense of timing.
My new friend did give a powerful witness and I was glad
to be both a support then and now. The
Gathering North used to try implementing a witness Sunday every 5th
Sunday of the month or so... The few
rare times they would get someone to speak, the results were amazing. Not only did the person come out of their
shell of insecurities and other issues, but we learned so much from each
other’s individual faith walk. One
witness Sunday, in particular, comes to mind.
There was a man who used to be an “on and off,” Pentecostal minister
years ago but more or less enjoyed coming to our weekly Bible studies after
worship to talk on and on about every little nugget of knowledge he wanted to
brag about knowing… The prevailing joke was that some of the people were going
to dare another to ask him what the meaning of life was… We figured if someone
asked that, we’d be there all night!
We were all guilty of being prejudice against his up and
coming witness he was to share… but talk about “shining like stars in the
world”—his witness was amazing and humbling.
It was like, we saw and heard from the Art, we never knew! It was God helping him to share a prayerful
and humble witness, testimony of faith, that we did need to truly hear and
experience. St. Paul’s witness in this
beautiful passage from Philippians is one that was not only used in part as an
early Christian creedal hymn, but one that most profoundly speaks of the
freedom and New Nature of Christ for us to transform from. Remember, he wrote this letter under house
arrest in Rome! As well, as he probably sensed he would die soon. Paul eventually would be beheaded by Nero in
67ad at the age of 61.
St. Paul had and shared a faith that did move spiritual
mountains that exhibited amazing growing edges from once being a persecuting
Pharisee, to a completely changed man, by and for the Gospel of the Lord. Maybe that’s our problem when it comes to
faith? Beyond trust being a pivotal
issue and problem for us… we can’t or won’t see change as a possible endeavor
for the human Spirit to truly need to do, and this is a tragedy! It is a
tragedy against God’s will and goal for us to grow and bear the fruit of the
Good News to all the world. It is a tragedy against the nature of the Gospel
itself. We become isolated islands unto
ourselves chewing our sour grapes, and grinding away our teeth at the missed
moments God needed us to shine from.
Paul’s pastoral plea to his Philippian congregation was
for them to realize this turning away from God and stay focused on what they
needed to do to truly grow. Confessing
or realizing our “issues” or causes to sin is the first step to develop those
growing edges. This Sunday marks the
beginning of the 500th Anniversary month of celebrating the
Reformation. The initial spark for the
Reformation was around the issue of accountability to our sins and our lives’
journey to grow with God’s Word, live God’s Word out in the world. The church, as we known, got way off track…
and the reformers at the time, needed to help people refocus on where their
true calling and priorities, as disciples, were to be. We’re still figuring things out today, it is
a lifetime’s journey, period. The
Psalmist preludes to our hope of living into that encouragement for Christ that
Paul talks about. It all starts with us
letting go and letting God lead us in His truth. It is letting God teach us
what Grace truly means and eventually allowing Him to help us to truly turn,
then and live!
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, let us
continue on, to become prayerfully open and obedient to the Holy Spirit to
realize the true righteousness that only reaping the New Nature within us can
reveal. If then there is any
encouragement in Christ, let us go forth from gathering here this morning and
every Sunday to truly scatter the Good News in this world throughout our one
solitary life lived out of love, for God and neighbor.
Let us Pray,
Your servant Paul
Revealed our true calling to turn our hearts towards Your
ways and path
So that we may live a life in witness, realizing Grace
A Grace that can move spiritual mountains
Bringing forth the Kingdom of God in the here and now, of
our everyday lives
Continue to encourage our growing edges to trust in You
and where You lead
May our lives come to shine with Your Gospel imperative
As long as we have breath
AMEN
October 1st,
2017; Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost; Year A; Proper 21; SOLA Lectionary
Sermon By:
Reverend Nicole A.M. Collins, OSST
Psalm 25:1-10;
Ezekiel 18:1- 4, 25-32; Philippians 2:1-18; Matthew 21:23-32
The link below is to this sermon's delivery at First Congregational Church, 9:30am
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