The Pastor’s Words

Text: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
28 September 2008
Topic: Turn, then, and live

             Fall is upon us.  Sometimes the air is crisp in the morning.  A few leaves on the trees are beginning to change their color.  And soon we will have the full blown beauty of yet another autumn in Pennsylvania.  For most people this will be a time to go outside, breathe deeply, and give thanks for the marvelous world we have been given.
            But this won’t be true for the curmudgeons among us – you know, the cranky, ill-tempered people we know.  They will look at the changing leaves and declare rather gruffly, “Oh, look at that.  People think they’re pretty and all, but they’re just going to fall off and then I’ll have to rake ‘em up.  But worse than that, we’ll have six months of ugly, gray trees.”   
            We all know people like this.  They’re not very fun to be around.  So, for most of the time, we try to avoid them.  Because, for most of us, instead of looking at the “gloom and doom” of life, we’d rather look on the bright side of life.  And for the most part, it works.  Those who look at the positive side of life are healthier, happier, and more fun.
            There’s a proverb noted in our first lesson for today that was quoted quite often in the days of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel.  The people of that time believed God’s hand of judgment was against them, not because of their own sins, but because of the sins of their ancestors.  Hence, they would go around saying, “When parents eat sour grapes, it leaves a sour taste in the mouths of our children.”  As if to say, if a parent is rather cranky and ill-tempered – a curmudgeon – then the children will likely be the same.  Sadly, we know this to be all too true.  
            In some cases, that IS how it works out.  But it doesn’t have to.  God said some really hopeful words through Ezekiel, the prophet, in our first reading for today,   God said, “Get yourself a new heart and a new spirit!  I don’t want people being miserable and dying.  Turn around, and live.”
            These are the words of God.  They are words that encourage us to look at life, NOT necessarily in the way our parents have viewed it, but in the way God has inspired US to see it.  These are words from God that help us see the realities of life different from the way everyone else sees them.
            The economic events of these past two weeks have given every one of us a chill.  The markets have been more than skittish in light of the bankruptcies and bailouts of major financial institutions in our country.  People have rightfully been asking, “Who’s at fault for this mess?  What are the sins of our fathers and mothers on Wall Street and in Congress that are now being visited upon us?  We know who’s going to bail out Wall Street, but who’s going to bail US out?”
            Economically speaking, we’re going to have to wait for an answer to all these questions.  But, they are certainly fair to ask.  For, in this case, it certainly seems that the sins of some have created undue hardship for the rest of us.
            And so we can understand the Israelite people who were complaining to God that their life was hard – not because of THEIR sin, but – because of the sin of their parents.  They complained to God saying, “You should treat us as individuals and not as the children of disobedient and rebellious parents.  Their sins should not have an impact on us.”
            So God says, “Okay, you’re right.  YOU are responsible for your life, and for your life alone.  I will judge you according to YOUR sins, and your sins alone.  And so, listen to what I said to your parents, ‘Repent and turn from your sin, or, your life will be ruined.’” 
            It is very comforting to know that I will not have to pay for the sins of my parents.  And, I am certain you are equally happy to know you won’t have to pay the price for the misdeeds of your parents. 
           However, God, who is the champion of equality, tells us we will have to be responsible for who WE are and what WE do.  And, we won’t be allowed to blame our parents for the sour grapes they ate.  Because, God knows, if there is a sour taste in our mouths, it is because we, ourselves, have also eaten sour grapes.

            So, what’s the cure?  How do we get the sour taste out of our mouths? 

            They’re working on a cure for Wall Street in Washington.  But what’s the cure for us?  What’s the cure for our personal stress and strain, and for those times when we, ourselves, are curmudgeons?  How can we get this “new heart and a new spirit” of which Ezekiel spoke, and for which we all desire?
            Well, it begins with our taking full responsibility for who we are and what we are doing.  It also requires us to really and truly confess our sins before a good and gracious God who says, “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone.  Turn, now, and live.”  
            Our God wants us to live, and to live happily.  Our God wants us to look at the turning leaves and not see death, but rather, to see the face of God.  And when the trees are bare and gray, our God wants us to understand that regeneration and new life are on their way, that resurrection can only come after a time of emptying oneself, after a time of honest self-reflection, so that the grace and mercy of God is then able to flower and bloom in the springtime of our lives.
            We really don’t know where this economic crisis will take us.  Surely, all of us are going to lose some money in this whole deal.   Every one of us is going to be affected.  And, it’s not going to be pretty. 
            So, I believe we must do as the parents of our oldest members did in the first great depression of this country, back in the 1930’s.  We must make sure our faith is strong, that our faith is nurtured, and that we share our faith with others.  If we do this, we will not only survive, we will thrive, maybe not financially, but spiritually we will come out of all this on top.
            Remember, God said, “Get yourself a new heart and a new spirit.  I take no pleasure in the death of anyone.  So, then, turn and live.”    God stands ready and willing to accept our prayers of confession. God stands ready and willing to accept our prayers of allegiance.  God wants to be enthroned in our lives.  So, let it happen.   
            As you commune today, park the curmudgeon in the pew, whisper a prayer that asks God to change your heart.  Ask God’s Spirit enter you in a brand new way.  And then, after worship, go outside, breathe deeply and give thanks to God for a marvelous and wonderful life.    AMEN

Text:  Jonah 3:10-4:11 & Matthew 20:1-16
21 September 2008
Topic:  The Economy of God
           
What week it was for investors and those who have money in the stock market – which all of us do if we have any kind of pension or any kind of investments.  You and I have had a precarious week of ups and downs as we listened to the reports of very important people telling us we needed to help bail out financial institutions that only last week were exposed as vulnerable and built upon sand.
One thing all of us have probably learned this past week is that economics is a very complex subject, not easily understood, nor simply grasped.  For most of us, our basic knowledge of economics is that we need jobs to put bread on the table.  We need jobs to pay our bills, especially our mortgage.  And we need jobs to have a little something at the end of the day, or at the end of our life, that we can either enjoy or leave to our families. 
Furthermore, we believe we should be paid a fair wage for a fair day’s work.  We don’t believe or think people should be given something for nothing.  In the economy in which we live, we believe people, businesses, and financial institutions, should each be expected to pull their own weight. 
And so, in the instance of the bailout of AIG this past week, it was decided the federal government would give a loan of $85 billion to this gigantic international company.  However, AIG will have to pay all this money back – with interest.  It is NOT a free gift.  And if they default, it is my understanding that the federal government will then become owners of a whole lot of homes across America that they will then have to sell to recover its money.
The bottom line, in the economics of the world, there are no free-loaders.
But, thanks be to God, when it comes to God’s relationship with us, when it comes to God’s gifts of grace and mercy, God operates with a whole different set of economic standards.  God loves us and forgives us even when we don’t deserve it. 
In and through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, we are given grace and mercy – in full measure – beyond our wildest expectations.  And even when we complain and default on our allegiance to God, God still lets us off the hook.
This grace and mercy of God – in full measure – is illustrated in both the first lesson for today and in today’s gospel reading as well.
In the first lesson, the Lord God forgave the people of Ninevah, even though they had done really dreadful things against God.  The Ninevites repented.  God forgave them.  They didn’t have to claim bankruptcy or do penance.  They were simply forgiven.
But in this story, Jonah, who apparently believed the people of Ninevah were free-loaders and should have to pay for their sins, got really upset with God because God was so forgiving. 
Thankfully, God didn’t listen to Jonah and, with a full heart of mercy and love, decided to forgive the people of Ninevah anyway.  And then, God tried to convince Jonah that he should be just as merciful.
And then, in our gospel for today, this same kind of spiritual economy of God is illustrated by the owner of a vineyard who pays everyone the same wage, no matter how many hours they’ve worked.
Jesus tells a story of what the kingdom of heaven is like.  An owner of a vineyard – or God – went out early one day and hired laborers to work in his vineyard.  He told them he’d pay them for a full day’s work. Then, later in the morning, he saw others and hired them, agreeing to pay them a full day’s wage as well. He did this again at noon, again at 3 p.m. and again at 5 p.m. and told each of those whom he hired they would be paid a full day’s wage.   In the end, those who started working at the start of the day were paid the same as those who worked only a few hours.
On Wall Street, and on Main Street America, and on Lincoln Highway right here in Coatesville, people would cry “Foul.  Not fair.”  We might not be able to sue the owner of the vineyard because each of the workers had a contract and the owner could do with his money as he wants.  But we wouldn’t like, not one bit.  That’s the way we see the economics of the world.
But God’s economics are not like our economics, nor is God’s love and mercy like our love and mercy.  As the psalmist says, “God, you are merciful.  You are kind and patient and always loving.” 
And like the Ninevites, God forgives us even when we don’t deserve it, and, like the workers in the vineyard, God gives us a full reward even though there are many others who have served more faithfully than us.  It’s an economy of grace that is simply unmatched.
So, what are we to do with such wonderful grace and astounding mercy?  For one thing, we can choose to NOT be like Jonah who begrudged the Ninevites God’s forgiveness.  And, we can choose to NOT be like the workers in the vineyard who complained about the seeming injustice of the contracts they each agreed to.
What we can do is celebrate the absolute grace and mercy of God and share it with others.  The song we sang before the sermon today is a song about the Lord asking “Whom can I send to share my love and mercy to those who are in need?”
Can the Lord count on us?  Can the Lord count on us to not be bitter like Jonah or complaining like the vineyard workers?   Can the Lord count on us to be generous and loving and forgiving?
That old Sunday School song still rings true, “They’ll know we are Christians by our love, yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”  We can celebrate the forgiveness and love of God by sharing it with others.  May it happen today.  Amen.

Text:  Genesis 50:15-21 & Matthew 18:21-35
14 September 2008
Topic:  Forgive, and Forgive, and Forgive….

The last two weeks have been wonderful celebrations of weddings.  For those who didn’t know this, the season of fall is the new June.  It used to be that June was the big wedding month.  But now, at least around here, fall is the preferred time to get married.

Of course, last week it was the wedding of our daughter, Aileen.  And yesterday it was the wedding of Kim and Jim Wilgis.  This coming Saturday, a friend of Aileen’s is getting married in our church and next month there’s yet another wedding.

Whenever there’s a wedding, family and friends gather from far and near.  Most of the time it’s great to see all the relatives again, but, sometimes, it’s a real pain to see relatives.  I’m only telling the truth here.  We don’t always like our relatives. 

I once heard an old proverb that went something like this: “Friends, you get to choose, but with relatives, you’re stuck with what you get.”  We don’t always like to admit this, but it’s true.  Often, we have more fun with friends than we do with relatives.  That’s just the way it is.

It’s as true today as it was true in the Old Testament lesson for today.   We probably need to read the whole story from the book of Genesis to understand what’s going on here.  But suffice it to say, in Joseph’s family, there were a dozen boys and there was huge tension in the family. 

You see, Joseph was the youngest in his family, the “baby” in the family, and got treated with special care.  He got stuff the other brothers didn’t, and they didn’t like it one bit.  So, when the opportunity came along to ditch their brother, they did.  The brothers of Joseph actually sold him to some traveling salespeople from another country.

Now, you’d think that would have been the end to the story, but, as it turned out, Joseph was raised by some pretty important people in this other country and he became a pretty powerful guy with lots of money and lots of influence. 

His brothers, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well.  They, in fact, became so poor, and so desperate, they traveled to the country in which their brother was living to see if Joseph could help them. 

Now, if it was you or me, and not Joseph, I wonder what we would have done?  Would we have seen these brothers who ditched us, much less help them?  Doubtful. 

But that’s what Joseph did.  He not only saw his brothers, he forgave them, and went even further.  He forgave them and told them he’d take care of them, and their children.  Now, that’s forgiveness!!!

In wedding vows today, we ask people to commit themselves to one another with words like these:  “…To have and to hold from this day forward, in joy and in sorrow, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live.  This is my solemn vow.”

When two people become married to each other, they commit themselves to each for the rest of their lives.  And that means, sometime or another, because of the vows they have made, they are going to have to say phrases like: “I’m sorry.  I’m not going to ever do that again.”  And, “I forgive you.  For the ump-teenth time, I forgive you.”

It’s what’s required and expected of all people of faith when we are in relationship with one another.   Because whether we like it or not, in marriage, and with the relatives we’ve inherited, we are in these relationships for the rest of our lives.  And we must pray for the ability to do what Joseph did for his brothers, namely, forgive them, and help them beyond their wildest expectations.

In the gospel reading for today, Peter goes up to Jesus and asks, “How many times should I forgive someone who does something wrong to me?  Is seven times enough?”  And Jesus’ answer shocks even the most faithful of us when he says, “No, not just seven times, but you should forgive seventy-seven times,” which means for as many times as is needed.

Back to weddings, wedding vows and promises made on that day.  When a couple exchanges rings with one another, in our new hymnal, the couple has the option of saying, “I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow.  With all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you.”  And, to add to the promise, and to seal it with God’s Holy name, they add the words, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” 

People getting married, using our liturgy, make some really serious commitments.  People getting married here understand they are making some really serious choices.  They know they are making a choice about life, and about relatives, that’s going to be with them for the rest of their lives.  Because they know:  friends, we get to choose; but relatives, we’re stuck with them.

Whenever I hear the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers and Jesus bidding us to forgive each other as many times as it takes, I think of God’s eternal forgiveness of me – and of you.  For you see, this is what God does for us. 

We are God’s children, we are God’s relatives, the ones He’s stuck with.  And yet, even though we hurt God and cause him horrible pain by our sin, God doesn’t run away.  God doesn’t ditch us.  Instead, God keeps choosing us, each and every time, and forgives us again, and again, just like Joseph did and just like Jesus says it should be done. 

Relatives do some pretty horrible things to the ones they’re related to.  I’m not going to reveal any secrets of families here today, but suffice it to say, relatives – relatives right here in this congregation – can be, and have been, really mean and rotten to the ones they’re stuck with. 

Thank God, God doesn’t treat us the way we sometimes treat our relatives.  And, thank God, God doesn’t take personally all the stuff we do in God’s name and toward the same people God is related to.  Thank God, God forgives us and forgives us, and forgives us and forgives us, and forgives us and forgives us, and forgives us again (that’s seven times, and that’s only the beginning….) because without that forgiveness we’d be nothing, and be nowhere.

Thank God, God forgives us.  Thank God, we are free to forgive.  Thank God, we are related to a God who doesn’t ditch us.  Thank God, even though He doesn’t have to, God not only chooses us, but wants to remain related to us.  We are blessed to have such a God.  So, let us forgive as we have been forgiven.   It’s what Jesus would do.  AMEN