Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Metaphors or Examples?

Pastor Sherry’s message for August 4, 2024

Scriptures: 2 Sam 13:1-31; Ps 51:10-19; Eph 4:17-24; Jn 8:1-11

Joe DiMaggio was a baseball centerfielder for the New York Yankees from 1936-1951, interrupted by 3 years army service during WWII.  He is probably most famous for maintaining a streak of hits in 56 consecutive games; for helping the Yankees win 9 World Series in his 13 years as an active player; and for having been married briefly to the actress Marilyn Monroe.  Curiously, there is a line about him in Paul Simon’s iconic song from the 1960’s called “Mrs. Robinson”—What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson?  Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away…hey, hey, hey.”  Joe apparently wrote to Simon after the song came out and said, “What do you mean, where have I gone?  I haven’t gone anywhere!  I’m still around selling Mr. Coffee.”  (He advertised Mr. Coffee for a number of years on TV.)  Paul Simon mentioned his letter in a “60 Minutes” interview and told Mike Wallace, “Obviously Mr. DiMaggio is not accustomed to thinking of himself as a metaphor.”

(Anecdote borrowed from Scott Hoezee, www.sermons.com, July 30, 2024.)

I read this recently and thought, “Well, who does think of themselves as a metaphor?”  Jesus used metaphors to describe Himself:  I am the Bread of Life, the Good Shepherd, the Vine, the Living Water, the Gate, the way, the truth and the life, the Resurrection and the Life, etc., but He was and is God.  The rest of us tend to think of ourselves as ordinary, regular persons.  How would you describe yourself?  I would say I’m a mother and grandmother, a follower of Jesus Christ, a pastor, a friend, a neighbor, a psychologist, a daughter to deceased parents, an American, and so on. It might be fun to ask our families to come up with some poetic image they might use to capture in a word or phrase who we are to them.  Would they say we are “the Rock of Gibraltar? Or might they say we are “a pain in the neck”? 

Most of the time, in Scripture, the stories are of real people like us, facing real and sometimes tough situations, and are useful to us as examples, rather than metaphors.  Our Scripture lessons today contain several didactic examples and maybe a few creative metaphors.

A.  Let’s start with our Old Testament lesson from 2 Samuel 13:1-31.  If I’m not mistaken, this story never appears in our lectionary.

Perhaps it’s too violent, too upsetting, or too triggering.  But I appreciate that our God doesn’t try to “candy-coat” human behavior.  In certain stories, He shares with us how very depraved human beings can be if they are not following hard after Him. The story of Amnon, Tamar, and Absolom illustrates for us the initial outworking of Nathan’s prophesy to the guilty King David (2 Samuel 12:10)—Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.  In other words, David would reap a harvest of violent and reprehensible behavior among his own children.

It begins when Amnon, David’s eldest son and heir (by his 3rd wife Ahinoam), thinks he’s desperately in love with his half-sister, Tamar.  Tamar was reputed to be very beautiful.  Her full brother was Absalom, David’s favorite son.  Their mother was Maacah, David’s 4th wife.  She was a princess, daughter to Talmai, King of Geshur, so the marriage may have been a political one.

The true tale is accelerated by a wily cousin, Jonadab.  He recommends to Amnon that he lure Tamar into his bedroom.  (Beware of wily cousins.  I have to wonder how aiding Amnon to do wrong would profit Johadab.  Remember, last week I encouraged us to be somewhat skeptical of human reason.)  Amnon takes his advice, even asking his father to assist by directing Tamar to tend to Amnon.  David was a mighty general and a gifted leader, but he appears to have been pretty clueless or naive regarding his sons.

Amnon’s victim, Tamar, realizes his intentions are sinister when he grabs her, and she begs him to let her alone.  She first appeals to his morals, (v.12, NLT)—Don’t be foolish!  Don’t do this to me!  Such wicked things aren’t done in Israel.  She then asks him to consider what this would mean to her future, (v.13)—Where could I go in my shame?

Next, She reminds him of what this will do to his reputation (v.13)—And you would be called one of the greatest fools in Israel.  She even offers him an alternative (v.13)—Please, just speak to the king about it and he will let you marry me (probably not, but it may have bought her time or an opportunity to escape). 

Despite her pleas, Amnon won’t be persuaded and he assaults her.  Would real love lead a person to rape the one they claim to love?  No, he misperceived his lust for love.  After getting what he wanted, he then despises her and rejects her.  He doesn’t take responsibility for his sin, but instead blames his victim.  She is physically hurt, violated, humiliated, and grieved.  But notice she does not go to their father for help.  She knows that Amnon is his heir; no doubt she thinks, “Who am I compared to him?”She then runs to her brother, Absolom, for refuge.

King David hears about it afterward, gets angry, but does nothing.  Absolom despises Amnon and patiently plots revenge.  It takes 2 years, but he commands his servants to kill Amnon at a harvest celebration he hosts.

The rumor runs ahead that all the king’s sons are assassinated.  Wily cousin Jonadab tells the king that Absolom killed just Amnon—not the other sons—due to Amnon’s rape of his sister.  (Again, what was Jonadab after?)

David mourns Amnon’s death, but he again does nothing to his favorite son—now his heir–Absolom.  Absolom “gets out of Dodge” by taking refuge with his maternal grandfather, the King of Jeshur, for 3 years.

The grave, violent sins of two of his sons further grieves King David.

One kills the other.  The murderer, Absolom, no doubt develops contempt his father, David.  David has let his grief and favoritism get in the way of doing the right thing.  And to add insult to injury, he abandons his daughter—Scripture does not tell us how her life turned out.  (I want to ask about this when I get to heaven.)  These two sons are examples of entitled kids who go wrong. They are both godless and immoral.  They may even be metaphors for what happens when parental figures do not confront grave sin in their children.

B.  Paul seems to have had the Amnon-Absolom saga in mind as he penned Ephesians 4:17-24.  He clearly could have been referencing those two selfish and indulged princes when he wrote (vv.17-19)—Live no longer as the Gentiles [non-Jews but also nonbelievers] do, for they are hopelessly confused.  Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against Him.  They have no sense of shame.  They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.  He exhorts us all to remember that if we believe in Jesus, we will not behave in sinful or depraved ways.  Instead, we should (vv.23-24)—…throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.  Instead, let the Spirit renew our thoughts and attitudes.  Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.  In other words, don’t behave like Amnon or like Absolom.

C. Finally, Jesus sees the larger picture in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11).  Unlike the seemingly naïve King David, Jesus immediately perceives the motives of the religious leaders who drag in the female adulterer: 1st, they rudely interrupt His teaching at the Temple.  Rather than taking Him aside privately, they thrust the poor woman onto the ground before Jesus and the crowd, and make their demands. This is staged-outrage, designed to discredit our Lord.  2nd, they are not really concerned about justice or correct theology.  It’s another trap, like paying taxes or healing on the Sabbath.  3rd, the woman has been caught in the act (they probably dragged her in from bed); there’s no question that she’s guilty.  The true question is, “Where’s the guy?”  This is not a sin that is committed without a partner.

The trap is this:  If He says, “You are right, stone her,” they can rat Him out to the Romans (only the Romans could authorize the death penalty).  If He urges mercy for her, they can claim He violates Jewish Law.

What’s interesting is that in trying to trap Jesus, they have themselves violated the spirit of the Law:  Leviticus 20:10—If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—the wife of a neighbor—the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.  Deuteronomy 22:22–If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.  Notice, the means of death is not cited, and the Law is primarily aimed at the male.

The scribes and Pharisees very publically demand to know what Jesus would do.  Notice Jesus doesn’t say a word.  Instead, He begins to write in the dirt with His finger.  What could He have been writing? Perhaps He looked at them one-by-one and wrote their name next to a big, secret sin.

This makes sense because, after having apparently listing their hidden sins, He then states, (v.7)—IF any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.  The only sinless person there is Jesus.  One-by-one, they leave, in age order (maybe the eldest had accumulated more sins?)  So then Jesus turns His attention to the woman:  Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?  She respectfully replies, No one, Sir.  And Jesus responds, Then neither do I condemn you.  Go now and leave your life of sin (sin no more).  The only one who could have legitimately judged her did not.  He called her behavior sin, tells her to amend her life, and offers her grace and forgiveness.

So what does this mean to us?  Several things:

(1) Scripture tells us, (Romans 6:23)—The wages of sin are death.  As far as we know, both Amnon and Absolom died with serious sins on their souls.  They predated Jesus and they did not seem sorry for the wrong they had done.  They probably now reside in hell.  

(2) But, for us, this side of the Cross, Jesus’ mercy triumphs over justice.  Thank God!  As Paul reminds us in Romans 3:23—For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  And as John writes in 1 John 1:8—If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  We are all sinners in need of a Savior.

(3) And, praise God, we have One!  Jesus is our Savior! 

(4) So let us learn from the examples of the wrong-doers in Scripture.  Let us live like metaphors of those who want to please our Lord.  And let us praise Him!  Amen!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

What’s Our Standard?

Pastor Sherry’s message for 7/28/24, 

Scriptures: 2 Sam 11:26-12:23; Ps 51:1-12; Eph 4:1-16; Jn 6:24-35

What’s our Standard?  What yardstick do we use by which to measure our behavior?

Many people today recommend human reason (including scientific findings) as their standard.  They maintain that we can solve all of our social, economic, and political problems by just agreeing with certain “experts”—even social media—and acting on what they recommend.  But I have to say I don’t really trust human reason all that much.  

In my counseling office over the years, I have heard people justify all kinds of wrong behaviors:  theft; betrayal; harming or ignoring the needs of a child; continuing an addiction; and even murder.  Isn’t it true that we can do all kinds of wrong things for what we may consider right reasons?  We justify lying to keep someone from firing us or leaving us. We justify stealing because we think we need or deserve whatever it is.  We have to remind ourselves that in God’s Kingdom, the ends never justify the means.

And haven’t we learned since the outbreak of Covid that the supposed facts of Science can be altered to support a particular political agenda?  We learned later on that masking, social distancing, and business, church, and school closures didn’t really help.  I’m glad I didn’t die from Covid—I’m glad that no one in this congregation died from Covid–but the second vaccine shot eliminated my sense of smell—thank God it wasn’t my eyesight—and I still can’t smell much of anything after all this time.  I maintain a healthy skepticism of human reason.

Another standard some folks tend to trust in are traditions. These are time-tested ways of thinking, believing, and acting. Some traditions are worth adhering to: Giving to the disadvantaged at Thanksgiving and Christmas; and patriotism for our country, thanking our service men and women for their service, and respecting our flag. But some are misguided and passé. The traditional view that the world was flat, and the belief that you would fall off if you sailed too far, restricted world exploration by sea for centuries. Wrapping a feverish person in multiple blankets to aid him/her in sweating out a fever, instead of trying to cool them off, probably killed a lot of folks. How about blood-letting to allow harmful “vapors” to escape an already weakened patient?  I just learned that General Stonewall Jackson of the Civil War did not die from having his arm amputated but from being told by field doctors to lie flat as he recovered.  As a result of his bed posture, he died of Pneumonia.  Singing “We are the Boys from Old Florida” at the start of the 4th quarter of Gator football games, when many UF students and fans are women, is fun but outmoded.  

I’m as careful about evaluating traditions as I am about accepting human reason. Hold off your acceptance. Take time to carefully evaluate human reason and traditions.  For my money—and I believe for yours too—I find the Bible provides us with the truest and best standards to follow.

Our Scriptures today all express this truth:

A.  In our Gospel lesson (John 6:24-35), Jesus conveys several profound and trustworthy truths:  (1) He is able to correctly perceive human motives.  He knows the crowd has followed Him across the lake for more food.  He tells them (v.24, NLT)—I tell you the truth, you want to be with Me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs.  Just previous to this, He had fed the 5,000 (including uncounted women and children, the number was more like 15,000) at the Sermon on the Mount.  Rather than (2) appreciate Jesus’ multiplication miracle, or (3) His authority over material things, they come looking to see if He would again manufacture food for them.  Instead, He directs them to (4) believe in Him because He is the Bread of Heaven (All of His I AM statements in John’s Gospel are Jewish ways for Him to say He is God.  Because He is God, He is able to create food enough to feed a multitude from just a little (5 loaves + 2 fish +Jesus= food for 15,000 and 12 baskets of leftovers).  The truth is Jesus is God.  He loves us and He can supply all our needs. (He may not supply all our wants, but He does take care of our needs.)

B.  King David, in our Old Testament reading (2 Samuel 11:26-12:23), provides us with a set of colossal sins and David’s Biblical responses to them. He has sinned by coveting and entering into an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife; and by arranging for Uriah’s death when their adultery results in a baby.

Though his sins are state secrets, Scripture records he did not get off “scot-free.”  Only Bathsheba, the servants who David sent to gather her, and Joab, David’s general, know of his treachery, and they are not talking! They realize he could have them arrested and executed.  His secret sins are relatively safe, but nevertheless, King David feels wretched. Several of the psalms he wrote at this time, including today’s psalm, Psalm 51, tell of his great, private shame, remorse, and misery: (v.4) For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  In Psalm 31:10, he wrote—My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.   Similarly in Psalm 32:3—When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.  We could say that the Holy Spirit has brought him under conviction and he is suffering the resulting emotional and spiritual anguish.

The only One who knows of his sins besides those who refuse to talk is the Lord. Notice that God does not abandon King David. Instead, He sends the brave prophet, Nathan, to call him to account. Nathan tells David a story about a poor man taken advantage of by a rich man.  David, thinking this is a report about someone in his kingdom, is outraged! He wants the rich man brought to justice. So Nathan confronts him (v.7)—You are the man!  The story was only a metaphor. Nathan conveys God’s disappointment in David. God had given him so much!  In fact, he already had 6 wives by this time; Bathsheba made #7. (How many wives does a man need?  Often one provides enough drama and interest.)  But David’s sinful actions convey to God that David instead lacks gratitude to and has contempt for the Lord. What a novel way to consider sin: Our sins show our contempt for God. YIKES!

Now David has 3 choices in the way he could respond:  (1) He could deny his sin altogether—as so many government leaders do today (This is an example of human reason at work).  (2)  He could have had Nathan executed—as any despot or dictator would (a “time honored” but ignoble tradition).  (3) Or he could admit the truth, the Biblical standard. This, and the fact that David never was an idolater, is what makes King David a man after God’s own heart.  He desperately desires to recommit himself to God.  So, He admits his sin, he repents, and he asks God to forgive and restore him.

Remember, this is a saga from the Old Testament. It predates the saving work of Jesus Christ.  God graciously forgives David and Bathsheba.  He spares them the punishment for adultery (and murder) which would have resulted in them both being stoned.  But God does not prevent the grave consequences of David’s sin from affecting him. Notice how the Law of Sowing and Reaping then plays out in David’s life:  (1) The child born to Bathsheba, a firstborn son, dies after birth (his death for Uriah’s death).

(2) Later, one of David’s other sons, Amnon, covets and rapes his beautiful step-sister, Tamar (a sexual sin, rape, for a sexual sin, adultery).   (3.) Absalom, Tamar’s full brother, kills Amnon out of revenge (another death for a death).  (4.) Still later, Absalom will try to wrest the throne from King David (lawlessness and rebellion against David for lawlessness and rebellion against God).

C.  King David models for us in Psalm 51, that we can return to a close relationship with God when we honestly acknowledge our sins.  As we read responsively verses 1-12, it is clear that David has sincere grief and regret over what he has done.  He openly begs for God’s forgiveness, asking for mercy.  He also recognizes that it is only God Himself who can cleanse him (v.10)—Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.   He affirms his faith that God will forgive him because he has asked (v.15)—O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise, and (v.17)—The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken spirit and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.  

D.  Paul advises his protégé, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 4:2-4a—Preach the word, be prepared in season and out of season, correct, rebuke, and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction—for the time will come [and is now here] when men [and women] will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth….. In our Ephesians reading today (Ephesians 4:1-16), Paul asserts that we grow up or mature in our faith when (v.14)–>…we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.   In other words, we become mature Christians when we are able to discern Biblical truth from human reason or tradition.

The Truth is contained in Scripture.  Jesus Christ is the way, the Truth, and the life.  Our standards are spelled out for us in the words of The Bible and in the way that Jesus modeled for us.  Remember back in the 1990’s when many people wore bracelets that said “WWJD”?  That stood for “What Would Jesus Do?” There’s our standard.  Let’s be skeptical of human wisdom and of human tradition. Let’s look to our Lord for how we should live and what we should believe.  AMEN!  

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Gather up for Snacks!

Pastor Sherry’s message for July 7, 2024

Scriptures: 2 Sam 5:1-10; Ps 48; 2 Cor 12:2-10; Mk 6:1-13

Do you remember, when your kids/grandkids were little, going to their T-ball or Coach-pitched baseball games?  I apologize now, but I thought they were both adorable and hilarious!  I often laughed my head off!  The kids were about 6-7YO and, as one wag has said, “had lots of enthusiasm, but the attention span of a gnat.”  While the coaches and assistants of the kids in the outfield kept yelling for them to pay attention and keep their “heads up,” or their “eyes on the ball,” the children playing the outfield would be searching the grass for bugs, looking up in the sky, adjusting their hats, or focusing on their friend at 2nd base.  Then, when the occasional opponent player actually hit the ball, no one was prepared to catch it. It would usually plop down in someone’s vicinity and the rest of the team would then abandon their positions to converge on the ball as if it were a rugby scrum.  So, when the game ended, you could always hear some child asking, “Did we win?  Did we win?  (They hadn’t tuned in enough to know.)  If the coach answered that they did, the kids would jump up and down and cheer in delight.  If he said they’d lost, they would kick the ground or throw down their hats in the agony of defeat.  But then they would quickly perk up again when coach called out, “Gather up for snacks!”

Winning and losing tends to be much more complicated for grown-ups, doesn’t it?  Isn’t it true that many of us lose, fail, or are disappointed more often in life than we win?  For the sake of our mental health, we need to figure out how to bounce back from setbacks, defeats, insulting words, and poor performances.  We need to develop some of what psychology calls “emotional resilience.”  And even the best of snacks is not likely to cheer us up or help us feel better.

(Concept borrowed from Fairless and Chilton, The Lectionary Lab Commentary, Year B, 2014, p.235)

Our Scripture passages today all deal with folks who are struggling with failure or disappointments of one form or another:  vocational failures, health struggles, faith challenges, and even life defeats.  They provide us with some good examples of how a mature believer might bounce back from such troubles.

A.  In our Old Testament lesson (2 Samuel 5:1-10), King David is finally crowned king of Israel.  Remember, he had been anointed King by the prophet Samuel when he was about 16YO.  He remained a shepherd until called by God to go up against Goliath (perhaps 17 year old).  Then, as a talented musician, he played soothing music for the troubled King Saul. He was also enlisted in Saul’s army.  He developed a deep friendship with Saul’s son, Jonathan, and married Saul’s daughter, Michal.  He served in Saul’s army until his father-in-law grew murderously jealous of his continued success as a warrior.  Saul tried to kill David both in his palace and in David’s home.  The as yet uncrowned King David then lived as an outlaw, in the wilderness, (for 10-12 years) until King Saul died.

So, here he is at age 30, finally crowned king of Judah (and Simeon). These 2 tribes recognized his authority, while the 10 remaining tribes supported Saul’s son, Ish-Bosheth.  Civil war broke out and lasted 7 years. Can’t you just hear David’s frustrated thoughts, “God said I would be king. This isn’t supposed to be happening”?

Then someone—not King David—assassinates Ish-Bosheth.  Finally, the 10 tribes who had supported Saul’s son approach David to reunite all of Israel as king. They claim their relational ties to him and recall that God Himself had anointed him for the role of king.  After seven years of civil war, they are only remembering this now? Why hadn’t they considered this seven years earlier?  Well, the truth had obviously not fit their narrative until they found themselves between the proverbial rock and a hard place.  Nevertheless, this rapprochement ends about 20 years of disappointment, frustration, and struggle for David.

In one of his first acts as king of the reunited Israel, David decides to move his capital to Jerusalem, which was said to be an impenetrable citadel. He tells his army commander to find a way up through their water supply tunnel.  He then overwhelms the Jebusites—the Canaanites who had underestimated him—and claims Jerusalem, from which he reigns for the next 33 years.

The lesson from David is never give up (predating Winston Churchill by millennia)! Despite setbacks and delays, persist!  He waited for years to actually become king of Israel. He had to have felt discouraged and wronged. Perhaps he even wondered if God had changed His mind, or if he’d sinned too much for God to honor him, or if God had forgotten him. But his patient, persistent faith, his resilience–despite delays and what appeared to be life defeats–paid off.  May it be so with each of us!

B.  Psalm 48 is what scholars refer to as a Millennial Psalm.  It celebrates Jesus’ great victory to come, when He reappears on earth and brings everyone under the sovereign rule of Messiah.  He will be victorious over the forces of evil and He will reign from Jerusalem, King David’s capital.  In His 1st coming, Jesus won for us salvation and eternal life; but the world will not know He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords until He comes again in glory.

Even Jesus must patiently wait, with faith, in God’s timing. Remember His disciples asked Him when He would come again and He replied that no one except the Father—and including the Son—knew the hour or the day.  May we learn to be as patient as Jesus and as King David.

C.  Paul, in our 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, bemoans a thorn in his flesh. In verses 2-5, he cryptically refers to a time he was lifted up into the 3rd heaven (1st heaven is where birds and airplanes fly; 2nd heaven is where the stars and planets exist; 3rd heaven is God’s dwelling place).  Then he claims that—to keep him from becoming conceited over this experience—God gave him a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me. 

What was it?  We don’t know.  I hope to ask Paul when I get to heaven.  Some scholars believe it was impaired eyesight, maybe cataracts?  We know that his hand writing and signature grew larger until he stopped writing himself and dictated his epistles to a secretary.  Others think maybeit was sciatica, pain in the hip as with Jacob after he had wrestled all night with the pre-incarnate Jesus.  Others think it might have been the Jewish folks who rejected Jesus who then followed Paul about, heckling him and agitating against him.

Whatever it was, He asks God three times to be healed of it and God tells him essentially “no”: (v.9)—My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.  In other words, this unnamed problem reminded Paul daily that he is not ministering in his own strength, skill, or gifting; rather, it is God who empowered and made a way for him.  In other words, our setbacks may be a way to wean us from our own pride and self-reliance and to teach us to depend more upon our Lord.

As with King David, the message from Paul is persist in faith, no matter our health or other obstacles.  May it be so with each of us!

D. Last, but not least, we have Jesus’ example in Mark 6:1-13.

Some scholars believe this trip to Nazareth was His second.  In Luke 4:14-30, His first visit as Messiah, they got so mad they tried to throw Him from a cliff.  But these are His friends and relations, so He returns in today’s passage, to try again to win them over.  This time they both marvel at His wisdom and understanding, but also doubt Him because they think they know Him.  He’s the hometown boy who worked as a carpenter.  His brothers and sisters are still among them, and they don’t appear to accept Him as Messiah. They can’t believe He could be anything other than what they had always supposed of Him.

Jesus is saddened by their lack of belief.  He admits (v.4)—Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house, is a prophet without honor.  And they lose out because His ability to heal folks is limited by their lack of faith.

But notice what He does next.  He doesn’t collapse into depression, wallowing in what appears to be a vocational failure.  He continues on to other towns and villages to teach and heal.  And He sends His disciples out, 2 by 2, to do the same.

Jesus is disappointed by the hometown rejection, but not defeated. He couldn’t do miracles in Nazareth because of their lack of faith in Him; He was stunned by this. If Jesus, who is God, the logos who spoke creation into existence, can or even needs to learn anything, He no doubt realized that you can control what you say, but not how people interpret it. You can control your own behavior, but not how other people respond to you. You can even control how you demonstrate your love to others, but not that they will receive it. Can we make another person love us?  No. Sadly, He recognized that lack of faith limits what He is able to accomplish in them and in us.

But His disciples didn’t seem to be discouraged by what happened there. They had seen Him, through the first 5 chapters of Mark’s Gospel, do miracle after miracle. So when He sent them off to do what they had seen Him do, they went with faith the Nazarenes lacked. As Paul would later write, they knew their weaknesses were made perfect in Jesus’ strength and power; and that His grace—His provision, His protection, His faith in them—was truly sufficient for them.  May it be so for us!

Well, there we have it!  Our journey with Jesus is not about winning or losing, is it? It’s about persisting in faith, even despite setbacks, waiting, and obstacles. It’s about keeping our “heads up” and our “eyes in God’s game.”  Who knows, we may even enter heaven like those little baseball kids, wondering if we won. Did we accomplish what God set out for us to do? Did we love Him and love our neighbors?  Did we obediently do what He set before us?  My hunch is that our Lord will then say, Glad to see you!  Gather up for snacks! 

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Touched by Mercy

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 30, 2024

Scriptures:1 Sam 1:1, 17-27; Ps 130; 2 Cor 8:7-15; Mk 5:21-43

This morning I want to share with you two brief stories in which mercy is granted to someone:

In the first, “A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. ‘But I don’t ask for justice,’ the mother explained. ‘I plead for mercy.’ ‘But your son does not deserve mercy,’ Napoleon replied. ‘Sir,’ the woman cried, ‘it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for.’ ‘Well, then,’ the emperor said, ‘I will have mercy.’ And he spared the woman’s son.” 

(Luis Palau, “Experiencing God’s Forgiveness”, Multnomah Press, 1984.)

The second is a true story from the life of President Calvin Coolidge (our 30th President, 1923-1929), which only came to light years after his death:  “In the early days of his presidency, Coolidge awoke one morning in his hotel room to find a burglar going through his pockets. Coolidge spoke up, asking the burglar not to take his watch chain because it contained an engraved charm he wanted to keep. Coolidge then engaged the thief in quiet conversation and discovered he was a college student who had no money to pay his hotel bill or buy a ticket back to campus. Coolidge counted $32 out of his wallet–which he had also persuaded the dazed young man to give back; declaring it to be a loan, he advised the young man to leave the way he had come so as to avoid the Secret Service! (Yes, the loan was paid back.)”

(Today in the Word, October 8, 1992).

Both of these stories illustrate the fact that mercy differs from justice.  Justice would require that both the French woman’s son and the felonious college student were punished for the crimes they had both truly committed.  Each had been caught doing wrong.  Each deserved the penalty required for their behavior.  But Mercy saw them both get off, hopefully to turn their lives 180 degrees around.

All of our passages today deal with mercy.  Let’s see what they have to teach us:

A.  In our OT lesson (2 Samuel 1:1,17-27), we see King David honoring the deaths of King Saul and Saul’s son, Jonathan.  Both logic and human nature would tell us that David had many reasons to be glad King Saul was dead.  We understand David’s deep and sincere grief for Jonathan, his best and truest friend.  But Saul, knowing God had anointed David as his successor, had repeatedly wronged David; jealously hunted him down, intending to kill him; and—because Saul ignored God’s will—would probably have killed David if he had ever gotten his hands on him.  (He never did because God protected David.)  In today’s cancel culture, many would have thought David justified in celebrating Saul’s death.

But such a way of thinking is neither Christian nor godly.  Remember, before Saul discovered that God had appointed David as his successor, David had played and sung music that calmed Saul’s troubled spirit.  David got to know Saul very well.  He became best friends with Saul’s son, Jonathan.  He married Saul’s daughter, Michal.  And, as we considered last week, Saul had allowed the youthful David to challenge and kill the pagan bully, Goliath.

So, in this passage, we see David illustrate the concept of mercy by honoring the good rather than only vilifying the bad.  He would have been justified in pointing out all the unjust ways in which Saul had treated him.

But instead, he laments Saul’s death, recalling the good the fallen king had done for Israel.  King David knew God had been merciful to him and so was willing to be merciful to his former enemy. 

B.  In fact, this is the point of Psalm 130—it is a prayer for mercy when someone is seriously troubled.  We don’t know the author.  But whoever he (or she) is, this person is well aware of God’s mercy.  He or she acknowledges their sinfulness (v.3)—If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?  This psalmist also celebrates the fact that the Lord forgives us, thanks be to God!  Ultimately, this psalm urges us to trust in God’s mercy.

C.  Paul, too, in 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, is focused on how we, as followers of Christ, must be merciful toward others.  He does not command the Corinthian Church to provide cash gifts to the poor, suffering church in Jerusalem (They were suffering due to a prolonged famine).  But it is clear from the passage that he wants them to do so.   He says essentially, (v.14)—At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.  Then there will be equality.  The principle he outlines is that we are to give, when we have the means, because the time may come when we are in need and others will give to us.  This is a variation of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  If we have extra, mercy requires that we give to those less fortunate than us.

D. Jesus, in Mark 5:21-43, dispenses mercy to persons of very different social statuses:

Jairus, is a synagogue president, a privileged “insider.” 

He’s an important, socially prominent person.  We could say he was the  General Manager of the Synagogue.  He appears to be devoted to God, and he is very concerned about his daughter.  He is probably also rich, but his wealth could not cure his child.  Desperate for her healing, he falls at Jesus’ feet and says (v.23)—My little daughter is dying [is as good as dead].  Please come and put Your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.  He specifically asks Jesus to touch her.  Was he present in the Synagogue when Jesus quieted the demons or healed the man with the shriveled up hand?  Whatever the case, he has faith in Jesus’ ability to heal his child.  This 12YO child is precious to him and so he is motivated to seek mercy from Jesus.

By contrast to Jairus and his sick child, the chronically bleeding woman is a destitute “outsider.”  She suffered from whatever caused the bleeding.  She had also suffered from the medical treatments which failed to heal it.  She had suffered financially, having spent all of her money on doctors and prescriptions.  She suffered socially and spiritually, being considered ritually unclean.  Being ritually unclean–almost like a leper—she would have been exiled from her worshipping community.  Being ritually unclean also meant she had been exiled from her social community, including her family.  If she touched anything, it would become unclean (Leviticus 15:25-27).  No one could touch her either.  Imagine living for 12 years with no hugs or pats or handshakes.  If the crowd had recognized her, she could have been stoned for accidentally touching them.  She certainly could not touch a rabbi, like Jesus.

But look at her faith.  She must have heard that Jesus touched unclean persons (the leper); and that when He did, the unclean become clean; the broken, whole.  So she touches His garment in faith that doing so will heal her.  Some scholars contend that her faith was weak or superstitious.  I disagree!  She had faith that He could heal her, but was reluctant to draw any attention to herself.  Her only recourse was to touch His garment.   

Verse 30—Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him.  As Timothy Keller writes, “He has lost power so she could gain it” (King’s Cross, Dutton, 2011, p.61).  (Verse 29)—Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

Jesus wants to know who touched Him.  Why won’t Jesus allow her to remain anonymous?  He wants her to have a relationship with her Healer, her Savior.  He says (v.34)—Daughter, your faith has healed you.  Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.  She needs to know it was her faith and His mercy that healed her.  Before the crowd, He restores her physically spiritually, and socially.

Jesus also won’t allow her to remain anonymous because Jairus and others were watching.  He is saying to Jairus, Trust in Me, lean not upon your own understanding.  Meanwhile, (v.35)—Jairus is told that his daughter has died.  Jesus reassures him (v.36)—Don’t be afraid, just believe (keep on believing).  Trust me, be patient.  There is no need to hurry (death cannt defeat Me).   He takes Peter, James, and John with Him (the Law required 2-3 witnesses to confirm a truth), plus Jairus.

He takes the girl by the hand, and He says the equivalent of Honey/Little Lamb , get up!  On His mercy, He brings her back from the dead.

So what does this mean to us?  We are to demonstrate mercy toward others.  Isn’t it true that we often wish God would dish out justice for other wrong doers, but mercy towards ourselves?  But today, our Scripture passages show us that 

(1) King David offers mercy to someone who had repeatedly tried to kill him;

(2) Our God offers us mercy even though we are all sinners

(3) Paul urges us to offer the needy mercy through gifting them with money or food (a tithe to the poor);

(4) And Jesus offers merciful healing and resurrection life, regardless of a person’s social status.

This week, I challenge us all to think of times we have been touched by God’s mercy, and—like Napoleon and Calvin Coolidge—offer mercy to others.  Amen! 

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Empowering Faith

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 23, 2024

Scriptures : 1 Sam 17:5-50; Ps 9:9-20; 2 Cor 6:1-13; Mk 4:35-41

I have borrowed the following illustration from a pastor named Vince Gerhardy (“Sucked In, Washed Up, Blown Over,” www.sermons.com, June 18, 2024).  It’s about a traumatized Parakeet named Chippie:

“The problems began when Chippies’ owner decided to clean Chippie’s cage with a vacuum cleaner. She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage.  The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up.  She’d barely said, “hello,” when “ssssopp!” Chippie got sucked in.

“The bird’s owner gasped, put down the phone, turned off the vacuum cleaner, and opened the bag.  There was Chippie—still alive, but stunned.

“Since the bird was covered with dust, hair, and all the stuff you find in a dust bag, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the tap, and held Chippie under the running water.  Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked and shivering, she did what any compassionate bird owner would do…she reached for the hair dryer and blasted the pet with hot air.  

“Poor Chippie never knew what hit him.

“A few days after the trauma, a friend who had heard about Chippie’s troubles contacted his owner to see how the bird was recovering.  ‘Well,’ she replied, ‘Chippie doesn’t sing much anymore—he just sits and stares.’”

The poor critter had a severe case of parakeet PTSD.  He’d been “Sucked In, Washed Up, and Blown Over.”  Trauma like that would steal away anyone’s reason to sing!

I imagine the disciples felt a lot like this when they encountered a fierce storm on the Sea of Galilee, while Jesus lay asleep in the stern (Mark 4:35-41).  We know what happens:  They panic, wake Jesus up, and He immediately quiets the storm.  Then, interestingly to us I think, He rebukes them for their lack of faith.  They had let the rough seas and the high winds replace what faith they had with fear.  

Now, remember we think John Mark wrote down Peter’s reminiscences for a mostly Roman audience.  So his Gospel is action-packed to appeal to men of action like Roman soldiers.  Soldiers would likely relate best to Jesus if they understood His authority.  So Mark’s Gospel begins with stories of Jesus that demonstrate His power.  The disciples had observed Jesus reveal His power over evil spirits, and over physical illnesses like fevers, paralysis, and leprosy.  They had witnessed Him debate and stymie the Pharisees.  They had heard Him declare Himself the Lord of the Sabbath.  But, to be fair to them, perhaps they had not yet perceived His power over and ability to control tumultuous nature. 

What if you had been in the boat with them that day?  Would you too have let your fear overcome your faith?  You know fear is a negative faith; it is faith in a negative outcome.  We who trust in Jesus are not to fear.  We worship the God of all hope.  We may go through tough times, but we can trust that the Lord is with us as we do.  If we believe in Jesus, we are not to be crippled by fear. 

Our Old Testament lesson (1 Samuel 17:4-50) provides us with a great example of how to overcome legitimate fear with faith.  The context is an ongoing war between the Philistines and the Israelites.  (By the way, did you know that the Philistines, perennial enemies of Israel, are the ancestors of present day Palestinians?)  The Philistines had invaded Israel and had amassed their army at Socoh, 15 miles west of Bethlehem.  They were now engaged in a stand-off against the Israeli army led by King Saul.  Daily, their champion, the giant Goliath, cursed and ridiculed them, trying his best to egg them on the send out one Israelite champion to fight him.  Mano-a-mano might not have been so intimidating except that Goliath was over 9 feet tall.  His chest armor weighed 125 pounds; the metal point of his spear weighed 15 pounds.  Archaeologists believe they have located the remnants of his bed, which is 13 feet long.  The guy was a beast!  He was totally intimidating!

Additionally, for 40 days, Goliath taunted the Israelites and not one of God’s chosen people volunteered to face off with him.  Three of David’s elder brothers were there–Eliab, Abinadab, and Shammah—and they hadn’t volunteered.  Neither King Saul nor his son Johnathan had been willing to take Goliath on.  Saul did offer a huge reward as an incentive for some warrior to step up and win: significant cash; Saul’s daughter, Michal, in marriage; and the promise of no taxation for life for the family of the warrior who might be brave enough.  Still no one came forward.  Do you think anyone was praying?  Praying for a brave soul or praying for God to intervene?

Into this tense situation, the young man, David (16-17 years old) arrives with food provisions for his brothers.  (In those days, there were no suppliers who traveled with the armies, provisioning them with rations.  Either your relatives sent you food, or you took everything not nailed down as your army passed through a locale.)  David hears Goliath’s taunts and is appalled (v.26)—Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?  Do you hear the faith that David has in God?

He recognizes that Goliath is not just a big, oversized bully.  Goliath is an enemy of God’s people and an enemy of God Himself.  David’s brother Eliab—probably jealous or perhaps even feeling guilty—lashes out at David and misperceives his brother’s motives.  David’s not conceited, thinking of how Goliath’s taunts demean him.  David is righteously outraged that a nonbeliever should be defaming God.

Saul tries to put him in armor with which David is not familiar.  He cannot believe that a teen could possibly pull this off.  But David lists his credentials (vv.36-37)—Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear [while guarding sheep]; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.  [Now listen to his statement of faith] the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.  

When teaching psychology in college some years back, I encountered several young men whose bravado had led to serious consequences for them.  Two of them were in wrecks while driving cars on dirt roads going 120 mph.  Both had been thrown from their cars and survived, by God’s grace.  The truth is that the amygdala, a tiny, pea-sized organ in our midbrain—that tells us to fight, flee, or freeze when confronted with danger–is not sufficiently connected to the frontal cortex in young men until they reach the age of 25.  Our frontal lobes are the seat of logical thinking and accurate risk assessment.  This weak connection is what is responsible for young men taking unnecessary risks prior to age 25.  Car insurance companies have known that young men are more likely to be involved in wrecks prior to their mid-twenties and have therefore charged them high insurance premiums until age 25.  They had based their decisions on statistics but, until recent brain research, did not understand why.  The amazing thing in this story is that David is not suffering from inadequate risk assessment.  He recognizes the threat Goliath represents, as he has had experience with killing other apex predators.  Instead, his faith in God the Father outweighs or overwhelms his fear.     

He takes his slingshot and gathers 5 smooth stones.  He confronts Goliath verbally first, saying (vv.45-47)—You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.…All those gathered here will know that is it not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give all of you into our hands.  

Such confident faith in God!  By the way, Biblical scholars think the stones David had were about baseball size, and hit Goliath at about 100 mph.  That kind of strike to the head would kill anyone.  Scholars also believe the extra stones were just in case Goliath’s four sons came for David after the giant’s death.

But look at what happens:  Praise God, David is victorious! The Philistines turn tail and run.  The Israelite army pursued them all the way back to their cities and killed many of them.  David’s unwavering faith in God—despite any fear he had—carried the day!  Real courage is feeling fear rather than denying it, but choosing empowering faith to overcome it. 

Our Psalm (9:9-20) provides further commentary on David’s unfailing faith in God’s protection.  King David appears to have written this psalm later on in his life, as an older, more experienced ruler.  In it, he celebrates God’s vindication of His people.  Some scholars even believe the older, more settled King David was thinking back to this battle with Goliath as he composed it.  David clearly views God as his protection, using images for the Lord like refuge and stronghold.  He is making statements about God drawn right out of his own experiences with the Lord:  In verse 10 he states—Those who know Your name will trust in You for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You.  Additionally, the mature David has seen how those who oppose God reap what they sow (vv.15-16)—The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden…the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.

Then we have Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, remind us that because we are “in Christ,” we are not to live carnal lives but to demonstrate our faith with our behavior.  We are servants of Christ who endure and persevere through tough times.  We live out purity, love, kindness, understanding, and patience.  We remain truthful even if others slander us.  How do we have the ability to do this?  We are empowered by the Holy Spirit, due to our faith in Jesus.

Like that traumatized parakeet, we may feel at times like we have been sucked in, washed up, or blown over, but we do not give up or give in to fear.  Instead, we hold on to our faith.  We continue to trust in our God.  We do not allow any fear to overcome our faith, but rather call upon our faith to empower us to overcome any person or circumstance we fear.  Amen!  May it be so! 

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Faith of our Fathers

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 16, 2024

Scriptures: 1 Sam 15:34-16:13; Ps 72; 2Cor 5:6-13;Mk 4:26-34

Happy Father’s Day to all of our fathers with us today. In honor of Father’s Day, I want to share a story of a heroic father.  The man’s name was the Rev. John Harper.  He, along with his 6YO daughter, sailed aboard the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. We know that on the night of April 14, 1912, the Titanic hit an iceberg.  Six watertight compartments were flooded, compromising the remainder of the ship.  As the supposedly unsinkable ocean liner began to submerge into the sea, pastor John Harper, was observed to place his daughter in a life boat, hug and kiss her, and tell her he would see her again someday.  He next walked up the deck of the tilting ship yelling, “Women, children, and all unsaved, into the lifeboats!”  He encouraged the ship’s orchestra, located on the fantail, to play, “Nearer my God to Thee.”  Along with many other stranded passengers, he then jumped into the icy waters and proceeded to swim from person to person trying to lead them to Christ.  He approached one young man holding onto a piece of floating debris.  When Harper asked him if he were saved, he said “No,” and that he wasn’t interested in hearing about Jesus.  Harper then gave him his own life-vest and said, “Then here, you need this more than I do.”  Harper swam over to others, urging them to believe in Jesus.  Passing the young man again, he did succeed in leading him to accept Christ. 

Of the 1,528 people who had jumped into the frigid waters that night, only 6 were rescued by lifeboats.  (Seventy percent of the women and children aboard the Titanic were saved, while only 20% of the men survived.)  One of the men rescued was Agrilla Webb, the young fellow who Harper had at last convinced to confess Jesus.  At a Titanic survivors’ meeting held 6 years later, Webb, in tears, recounted how John Harper had led him to faith. He also said he had witnessed Harper finally succumb to hypothermia and slip down into the frigid sea. Agrilla Webb reported Harper’s final words were, “Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”

(Graham Twelftree, Your Point Being?, Monarch Books, 2003, pp.64-65.)

This is an extraordinary story of both bravery and faith, isn’t it?  John Harper’s daughter, Annie Jessie, survived to become the longest living Scottish survivor of the Titanic.  Hopefully she heard the testimonies of her father’s efforts to lead others into eternal life and his own dying words. 

Several of our Scriptures today have things to say about  Fathers.

A.  In our Old Testament reading, 1 Sam 15:34-16:13, we learn that God has fired Saul as king of Israel and has anointed David in Saul’s place. Apparently Saul, like so many monarchs after him, became too full of himself to seek the Lord.  He was disobedient to God.  He did not really worship God, love Him, or trust Him.  He took credit for what others did and denied responsibility for his wrong actions.  He did not humble himself and ask God’s forgiveness when he sinned.  In sum, Saul seemed to have forgotten that all Israelites kings served at God’s pleasure.

So the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to seek out the sons of Jesse, to crown from among them Saul’s replacement.  Notice, the prophet does not know ahead of time which of Jesse’s eight sons God has chosen.  Note also that the prophet fears Saul’s retaliation (should he discover why Samuel is there), so he journeys to Bethlehem under a “worship ruse.”  He asks to see Jesse’s sons, and is introduced to Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem, and Zeruiah, by birth-order.  They are each tall and handsome—much like King Saul.  But God has read their hearts (v.7) and passes on each of them.  Jesse, David’s father, seems to have overlooked his youngest son.   This is not behavior we would expect or admire in a good father.  A good father recognizes his childrens’ gifting and potential, and tries not to “play favorites.”  But Samuel has to request that David be brought forth.  Surprising everyone, including the prophet, David is God’s choice.  Verse 7 explains God’s reasoning for His choice—The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.  Then, according to v.13—…and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.   God then granted David gifts of leadership and a deepening of his faith.  Now God is a good Father!

B.  Psalm 72 was written by King David much later in his life, and constitutes his prayer for his son and successor, King Solomon.  David’s record as a father, unfortunately, is spotty at best.  As a consequence of his sins of adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah, the Lord ordained that (2 Samuel 12:10)—Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your [King David’s] house.  David appeared to have ignored and never fully addressed the jealousy and bad feelings between his sons and daughters by different mothers.  He seemed to have favored some over others, and did not discipline his children or intervene to redirect them  as he should have.  But in this psalm, we see he did love Solomon and wish the best for him as King. 

Some portions of the psalm point to the King of Kings, when Jesus will return to earth a second time.  But others are direct prayers that the Lord will help Solomon to love justice and righteousness; to judge his people rightly; to treat the marginalized fairly and mercifully; and to defend the defenseless.  

King David’s example shows us that a good father prays for his children.

C. Our Gospel lesson, Mark 4:26-32, presents us with two parables involving seeds:

The first involves scattering seed on the ground.  No matter what the man does, waking or sleeping, the seed “does its thing.  The man may apply some fertilizer or water, but God superintends the growth!  In a sense, how the seed grows is a mystery.  We know the seed takes root, sends a shoot erupting through the earth, which then becomes a stalk, finally bearing fruit as it ripens.  But we don’t really know how it happens.  The planter/farmer harvests what God has caused to grow.  Notice, the role of the person:  The man broadcasts the seed, but he cannot really control the growth.  In God’s Kingdom, that part is left up to God.

Pastor John Harper called those who faced death on the Titanic to new life in Christ Jesus.  He spread the word.  Jesus brought in the harvest!

Think about what Christ did with this one man.  He used him to rescue the lost into lifeboats, then to bring the drowning to a saving faith in Christ.

Consider who sowed into your life?  On this Father’s Day, was it your dad–or another Father-figure (a spiritual father)?  Perhaps it was a spiritual Mother?  My Grandmothers both told me about Jesus.  Did the peace and joy of a Christian friend convince you?  You may want to thank whoever it was.

The second parable is the famous one of the mustard seed.  My father’s mother gave me a necklace containing a mustard seed when I was a child.  I understood it meant that my faith might start small, but like the tiny seed, it could grow into a large tree if I nurtured my relationship with Jesus.  Looking back on this as an adult, I also think she meant to remind me that God likes to use little things–little people, like Jesse’s youngest child, David–to do great works. 

Both of these interpretations of the mustard seed are correct, but they also seem just a little too safe!  Jesus taught in parables in order to challenge people’s thinking.  He hoped to overturn their usual assumptions, to frustrate and then transform them–and us.  It was a hated Samaritan who nursed the Jewish man back to health; the shepherd left the 99 to go rescue the one lost sheep; the father forgives the prodigal son and reinstates him—even though he had wasted his father’s resources–while the righteous elder son sulks; the last laborer gets the same pay as those who toiled longest.  Pick your favorite.  In most all of them, Jesus turns human logic on its ears.

So we want to look for what might be radical about a mustard seed, or the ways in which Jesus might just be challenging our common conceptions.  As a result, I think Jesus is directing us not toward cultivated mustard, which grows in rows, and is used in medicines and as a spice.  I think He is referring to wild mustard, the Biblical equivalent of Kudzo!  Wild mustard is a weed that you would hate to take root in your yard or garden.  Like bamboo, ivy, potato vines, or dandelions, it just takes over!  Normally, cultivated mustard grows in shrubs that reach 3-4 feet high.  Wild mustard, can however, become tree-sized, if allowed to run amok. 

Could our Lord be telling us, tongue in cheek, I’m not saying God’s Kingdom grows like a tame and cultivated variety of plant, carefully shaped by humankind into something resembling an English garden (or clipped and snipped to look like Mickey Mouse).  Oh no!  I’m talking about God’s Kingdom reaching out and overtaking people, one sinner, or one swimmer, at a time.

The Kingdom of God—or God’s reign—is not something you or I can limit or manage.  Our job is to tell people about Jesus.  We put the word out there.  Then God superintends the growth.  He is not looking for results from us but obedience.  Then, like the seed described in the 2nd parable, and like Pastor Harper, God’s Kingdom moves at the direction of the Holy Spirit.

On this Father’s Day, and always, may our love of Jesus spread like Kudzo.  AMEN!  May it be so!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Be Careful What You Ask of God

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 9, 2024

Scriptures: 1 Sam 8:1-20; Ps 138, 2 Cor 4:13-5:1; Mk 3:20-35

The story goes that Wally, from Wellborn, Florida, was vacationing in New Mexico.  He knew there was a famous, annual Chili Cook-Off scheduled for the next day. He arrived and thought to himself, “Lord, how I would love to be a judge of this!  All kinds of great chili recipes and all the beer you can chase it down with…sounds like my kind of heaven!”

As it happened, the man slated to be the 3rd judge had come down with the flu, so our Wellborn friend—standing in just the right spot—got asked to take his place.  “Thank you, Jesus!” he said to himself.  He just couldn’t get over his good fortune!

Here are the scorecard notes from the event:

Chili #1—Mike’s Maniac Monster Chile:

1.) Judge #1—A little too heavy on the tomato.  Amusing kick.

2.) Judge #2—Nice, smooth tomato flavor.  Very mild.

3.) Wellborn Wally—Holy Cow!  What’s in this stuff?  You could use it to remove dried paint from your driveway!   Took me 2 beers to put the flames out.  I hope that’s the worst.  These New Mexicans are crazy! 

Chili #2—El Rancho’s After Burner Chili:

1.) Judge #1—Smoky, with a hint of pork.  Slight jalapeño zest.

2.) Judge #2—Exciting BBQ flavor; needs more peppers to be taken seriously.

3.) Wellborn Wally—Keep this out of the reach of children.  I’m not sure what I’m supposed to taste besides pain.  I had to wave off two people who wanted to give me the Heimlich maneuver!

Chili #3—Alfredo’s Famous Burn-Down-the-Barn Chili: 1.) Judge #1—Excellent firehouse chili.  Great kick!

2.) Judge #2—A bit salty.  Good use of peppers.

3.) Wellborn Wally—Call the EPA!  I’ve located a uranium spill.  My nose feels like I have been snorting Drain-O.  Pour on the beer before I ignite!

And on it went—until Mike, complaining that his stomach had imploded—passed out.  (Sorry but I cannot credit the source of this story!  I came across it about 12-15 years ago on the internet.  Back then, I was preaching about 6-8 times a year for vacationing pastor friends and did not think—since my sermons were not being reprinted—to provide footnotes.)  The moral of the story:  Be Careful What You Ask of God.

Our OT lesson, 1 Samuel 8:1-20, makes a similar point.  Let’s examine it:

Samuel, the Prophet, followed the last of 12 Judges to rule Israel.  He provided leadership much like that of Moses ad Joshua, and had done an excellent job until he decided to retire.  Apparently without consulting God, he appointed his two sons to succeed him.  You may remember that he had seen the wickedness of Eli’s (the priest who had mentored him) sons and that God had removed them from power and set Samuel in their place. In what must have surely been a senior moment, he forgot (1) only God—not any person—appoints leaders over His chosen people, Israel; and (2) how incompetent and unworthy his own two sons were.  This is a sad commentary on human memory…or perhaps human ego.  Someone once said, “If we don’t remember history, we are doomed to repeat it.”  Eli’s boys had seduced female assistants at the Tabernacle and had taken the best sacrificial meat (God’s portion) for themselves.  Samuel’s boys were almost as bad.  They took bribes from the worshippers they served and they perverted justice.

So the Administrative Counsel or the Call Committee of that time approached Samuel (vv.4-5) and with all of the subtlety of a New Mexican chili, they said, “Samuel, you are old” (he was all of 65).  Didn’t they know that 65 is the new middle age?  Didn’t they recall that Moses lived to 120 and Joshua, to 110?  So 65 was hardly old.  They were trying to justify their demands.  They were inventing excuses!   They added, “Your sons are reprobates!”  This was true.  But the right thing for the Administrative Counsel, or the Call Committee, and even for Samuel to have done would have been to consult God:  Lord, who is Your choice of the next leader or the next prophet over Israel?  Instead, they arrive at their real agenda:  Make us a king, like all the other nations.  They want to be like everyone else.  What parent hasn’t heard this refrain:  I need a phone, a brand of jeans, or a car/truck just like everyone else has?

Now the selective amnesia has jumped to the people!  Have they forgotten that they were singled out to serve God from the time of Genesis 15?  What about when God says in Exodus 19:5–>Although the whole earth is Mine, You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.  They had a special and a unique relationship with God.  He ruled over them and they were His people.  As long as they obeyed Him, they enjoyed His provision, protection, and presence.

But Samuel is feeling rejected, so he takes his disappointment to the Lord (v.6).  The Lord tells him essentially, don’t take it personally. It’s not you they are rejecting; it’s Me.  They’ve got a covenant with Me, the Ruler of the Universe.  I have provided for them, daily.  I have protected them, better than any human king could.  It’s ironically true that the only time Israel lacked protection was whenever they would rebel against God.  Time and time again, it was their idolatry and their disobedience that brought them military defeat.  God was always able to care for them.  

But, by this time, they want a human to take God’s place. Amazingly, God tells Samuel to let them have what they want.  Samuels’ mind must have traveled to Deuteronomy 17:14-20—in which God specified what a king should be like: (a) He should be chosen by God; (b) He should be an Israelite; (c) He should be a covenant-keeper (a member of the Jewish faith); and (d) He should live a simple lifestyle—none of this owning 10 palaces, 20 chariots, and 3 yachts sort of thing. 

Furthermore, God also tells Samuel to warn them that having a king will cost them in ways they may not anticipate.  (In other words, be careful what you ask for!) Samuel proceeds to tell them a king will abuse power (there are 5 he [meaning a king] will take’s in the text):  (1) He will reign over them/or oppress them; (2) He will take your sons for soldiers/or institute a military draft; (3) He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.  Perfumers was an Old Testament euphemism for concubines.  Samuel was warning them that their daughters will go into servitude, of one form or another.  (4) He will take the best portion of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves, your cattle and donkeys—for his personal use.  And, finally, he will take a 10th (in taxes) of your flocks—and you yourselves will become his slaves. Remember, we have long held in America that the power to tax is the power to destroy.

Knowing all of this—being forewarned by God Himself—they still say they want a human king.  Be careful what you ask of God.  Like Wellborn Wally, they get what they thought they wanted.  But look at the heartburn!  They had Saul, then David, then Solomon, all of whom started well and finished badly—though David did repent and reconcile himself to God.  The Kingdom then split into Northern/Israel (10 tribes) and Southern/Judah (2 tribes).  Israel went on to have a succession of 20 kings, all of them bad.  Judah also had 20 kings, only two of whom proved to be good, God-fearing, and honorable, Josiah and Hezekiah.  This was not a stellar record!  God then allowed the flood of the Assyrians in the North and the Babylonians in the South to end the Israelite monarchy.  God cleaned house in 578 BC!  There were no more kings in Israel until the King of Kings, Jesus, arrived on the scene more than a half century later!

The lesson, again, is be careful what you ask of God.  He knows better than we do what we need.  But He also gives us free will.  He lets us decide for ourselves.  Paul reminds us in Romans 1 that, when we insist, God lets us have our way.  Unfortunately for us, when our way differs from God’s, we step out from under His protection and His provision.  And the consequences can be dire.  If only they were no more painful than Wellborn Wally’s   mammoth indigestion!  Think about the times you took control of your life out of God’s hands.  I can.  It wasn’t pretty.  I wish I had made better choices.  I wish I had let go of my own control and let God.  But isn’t it true that “trial and error” learning can be very effective—Once burned, twice learned.  The lesson sticks with us for a long time, but the cost is also often very high.

Let’s take a lesson from our ancestors of the faith, the Israelites.  They were so sure they needed a human king.  1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, and 1st and 2nd Chronicles all report the trouble that decision brought upon them.  The next time you are tempted to make a major decision for your life, run it by Jesus.   When we trust in humans, we may find our freedoms diminishing.  But as our 2 Corinthians and Gospel (Mark 3:20-35) lessons tell us, our Lord Jesus expands rather than restricts our lives.  Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we who believe in Him now step confidently from this life to an even better one.  Jesus also expands the meaning of family.  Our faith in Christ binds us together more powerfully than blood ties.  We love and serve a Savior Who loves and blesses us when we seek Him.  Amen!   

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Making Room for God

Pastor Sherry’s message for June 2, 2024

Scriptures: 1 Sam 3:1-21; Ps 139:1-6, 13-18; 2 Cor 4:5-12; Mk 2:23-3:6

A pastor related the following story:  Apparently, the church he served was in a city and “…was located next to a Jewish synagogue. That synagogue was served by a rabbi who quite typically walked to the synagogue on the Sabbath, though his house was some distance away. It was not that he didn’t have a car, but that for him it was improper to drive on the Sabbath, for that constituted work. Sometimes I would see him riding a bicycle to synagogue. I suggested to him that that was a lot more work than simply turning on the ignition in an automobile. He said that when a person is riding a bicycle on the Sabbath, the person is not tempted to go shopping or run errands, or to pick up something at the cleaners. However, when one is driving a car, it is easy to do many more things than one intended to do, and thus, the special nature of the day is lost. He was, of course, attempting to live up to the requirements of the third commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.” Some people would honor his attempt to live by the requirements of this commandment. Others would see it as an unnecessary concern for an outdated concept.”

(Illustration borrowed from www.sermons.com, June 2, 2024.)

From this side of the Cross, we know that Jesus often got into it with the Pharisees over the issue of proper Sabbath-Keeping.  Notice, He never said we were not to honor the Sabbath.  After all, the 3rd Commandment requires us to keep a Sabbath. Jesus would not have ever suggested we violate any of the Commandments.  He just wanted us to be sure to take into account human needs (love, grace) over strict rule-keeping.

To understand where He was coming from, we need to remember the history behind the Father’s institution of the Sabbath.  It’s based on God’s model of resting, on the 7th day (in Genesis 2:2-3), after having worked six days to create the world.  We know from Psalm 121:3-4 that our God neither slumbers nor sleeps.  He, then, does not require rest to maintain or sustain Himself.  So, the obligation to keep a Sabbath was for our benefit, not His.  Additionally, the Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. That meant they worked 7 days a week, without a break.  Our gracious, loving God wanted them and us to be guaranteed at least a one-day pause.  He knew our bodies, minds and spirits needed rest.  He also knew our human tendency was to do as much as we could each day.  So perhaps He was also building in a brake system to help prevent “workaholism.”

But I think God also knew He would need to appoint a time for us to make room for Him in our lives.  Yes, we are to worship Him on Sundays—our Sabbath due to Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter Sunday.  (The Jewish Sabbath is sundown Friday until Sundown Saturday.)  But we are also meant to use this time to make room for our relationship with Him.  Think about this:  The prohibition against murder (Commandment #6) is spelled out by God in four words—You shall not murder.  But God used 94 words to explain the Sabbath (Commandment #3).  God obviously views our keeping a Sabbath as very important.  Incidentally, your Sabbath does not need to be Sunday.  Many folks have to work on Sunday.  If this is true for you, be sure to set aside another day to seek rest and to visit with God.

Let’s see what further light our Scripture passages today shed on this topic:

A. 1 Samuel 3:1-21 relates God’s call to the young man, Samuel, to become His prophet (our Old Testament lesson last week shared a similar call to Isaiah, who came later in Biblical history).  You may recall that Samuel was given over to the priest, Eli, to be raised for God’s service (his previously barren mother, Hannah, had made this promise to the Lord).  He would have been about 3 years old when Hannah placed him in Eli’s care.

Eli had fed and housed him, and no doubt showed him what to do in God’s service–but he, a priest, did not teach him to make room for God in his personal life.  YIKES!  So Scholars tell us the 1st two calls awakening the sleeping Samuel were God’s call to salvation.  (Samuel would have been about 12 years old.) The latter two calls were God’s call upon him to serve the Lord as His prophet.  This is just after the time of the Moses, Joshua, and the Judges—all men (and one woman) whom God had selected to lead Israel (about 1200-1000BC).  From Samuel’s time until that of Jesus, God tended to speak to His people through prophets.

Eli was now old and out of touch with the Lord.  Verse 1 tells us—…in those days the word of the Lord was rare….God wasn’t speaking because few folks were listening.  God no longer spoke to Eli, his clergyperson.  Eli apparently went through the motions, but did not make space in his life for a relationship with the Lord.  So in this passage, God essentially fires Eli and calls Samuel to replace him.  Eli wasn’t so far gone that he did not realize what was happening.  He did prepare Samuel to answer the Lord’s call.  Samuel then went on to serve God faithfully for years.  The Lord used him to anoint the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David.  And Samuel listened carefully to God, making room for Him in his life.

B. In light of this lesson, we can look at Psalm 139 perhaps in a new way.  It’s certainly reassuring to know that God knows us intimately (He is both omniscient and omnipresent), and that there is nothing we might say or do that He does not already perceive.  But consider also how carefully and completely God pursues us for relationship.  He created us for relationship with Him.  He has made room and time for us.  So, if we do not feel close to God, who is at fault?  It’s us!  It is up to us to nurture a deep relationship with Him—to meet Him halfway.  King David encourages us in this psalm to make room in our lives for God.

C.  Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 exhorts us to be aware of how generously God has gifted us:  In verse 6, he proclaims—For God, who said, ’Let light shine out of the darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Christ.  In other words, He loved us enough to send Jesus into our lives.  Jesus–and now, since Pentecost, the Holy Spirit–both gift us with life and light.  These are both “treasures” to which God has given us access, even though we are weak containers/”jars of clay”/”earthen vessels.”  He calls ordinary folks like you and me so that only God gets the glory.

Paul fervently believed our job/our ministry is to convey this wonderful knowledge we hold within ourselves—our born again relationship with Jesus, and the Gospel of Christ—to others who don’t know Him.  There is an old country expression:  “You can’t get back from where you ain’t been.”  In other words, we can’t convey to others what we don’t know ourselves.  Paul’s understanding, and ours, is that we cannot do this well if we do not make room in our lives for—or abide in–Jesus.

D. Finally, we have our Gospel message, Mark 2:23-3:6.  In this extended passage, Jesus has two encounters with the Pharisees over Sabbath-Keeping:

One occurs while Jesus and His disciples are out walking through a field.  His disciples are hungry.  There was room in God’s Law to cover this situation—Deut 23:25—If you enter your neighbor’s grain field, you may pick kernels with your hands, but you must not put a sickle to his standing grain.  But the Pharisees had decided picking kernels was work and should not be done on the Sabbath, no matter who hungry you might be.  Jesus, however, trumps them with precedent:  David and his men, pursued through the wilderness by King Saul, were hungry.  The High Priest, Abiathar, gave them the 12 loaves of showbread in the Holy Place to eat (1 Samuel 21:1-6).  It was reserved for the priests to eat at day’s end.  Jesus uses this to make the point that legalities must be tempered with love and grace.  You may bend the Sabbath Law in service of saving the lives of righteous persons.  David and his Mighty Men, as well as Jesus and His closest followers, were both hungry and righteous.

The other incident takes place, during worship, in a synagogue.

The guy with the withered hand was probably a “plant.”  Knowing this was a trap, Jesus calls the guy forth, saying (3:3)—Stand up in front of everyone.  Obviously, and knowing their negative intent, Jesus did not back away from doing what He knew was the right thing, to heal the handicapped man.  He also very wisely asks the Pharisees, (3:4)—Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?

In both instances, Jesus reiterates that the Sabbath was made for we humans.  The Pharisees practically abolished it by hemming it in with too many, often ridiculous rules.  We have practically abolished it by paying it too little attention.

An Eastern guru once poured tea for a fellow who insisted he wanted to discover how to have a deeper relationship with the divine.  The fellow kept talking and talking as the guru poured and poured, letting the tea overrun the cup.  When the seeker asked what the guru was doing, the wise man said, “This cup is like you.  You are so full of yourself there is no room for God.”   We don’t want to be like that guy.  We want to make room for the Lord.

Sabbath-Keeping helps us make room for God.  Being here in church every Sunday shows Him we are serious about wanting to honor Him. 

We want to get to the place that we don’t feel right if we haven’t been to church.  We probably should feel guilty if we have let other things take precedence over our relationship with the Lord.  This is a way we can tend the vertical of the Cross.  When I finally got this point in my early 40’s, I realized there was always something I heard each week—whether from the Scripture readings, the hymns, the sermons, the prayers, or even a comment by another member of the congregation—that I knew the Lord meant for me to hear.  If I missed church, I ran the risk of missing what God had for me.

Sabbath-Keeping also keeps us connected to our spiritual family, the horizontal of the Cross.  Each of us is important here.  When we don’t attend, the Body is left poorer.  Before I went to Seminary, I attended the same church in Tallahassee for 11 years.  I realized if I did not attend church a given Sunday, I would miss seeing some of those dear folks I did not encounter in any other arena of my life.  Let’s try to be consistent present in  worship each Sunday.  Your spiritual family loves you and misses you when you do not attend.  Amen.

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams 

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Holy Trinity Sunday

Pastor Sherry’s message for 5/26/2024 

Scriptures: Isa 6:1-8; Ps 29, Ro 8:12-17; John 3:1-17

Last Sunday, Pentecost, I shared with you 13 of the many functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Anticipating today being Trinity Sunday, I also pointed out the individual roles of the 3 members of the Holy Trinity.  In honor Trinity Sunday, let’s review these today and consider Who of the Godhead you tend to feel closest to:  

Maybe you stand in awe of the Father: Immortal, invisible, God only wise, in light inaccessible hid from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the ancient of Days, almighty victorious, Thy great Name we praise.  These are lines to a hymn to God the Father, Creator of the Universe, completely transcendent, wholly other.  He is the Covenant God, meaning He keeps His promises, always.  He is enthroned in Heaven.  He revealed Himself to Moses as (Ex. 34:6-7): The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. He is clearly in command, but never dominates the other two persons.

I was in the 9th grade before I ever learned my step-father had one good thing to say about me.  He was always very critical and I had learned I could never please him.  One day one of his friends gave me a ride home from school and told me how proud of me my dad was.  I was shocked!  I had been elected president of my high school class, but my dad had never said a word to me about it.  Reading the Old Testament through taught me how much my heavenly Father loves me—and you—and how often He says so, and I have been so grateful, and loved Him back, ever since!

Or perhaps you relate best to Jesus, our Brother, Our Savior, Our Redeemer, and Our Friend: What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!…Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.  Here we have a hymn about Jesus.  Jesus is God-in-the- flesh, coming to earth as a vulnerable infant, teaching and healing us, then dying for our sins.  He really helps us learn that God is indeed love.  Jesus too is compassionate, forgiving, and very patient.  If you have watched any episodes of “The Chosen,” you would have to agree that they depict Christ as someone easy to love.  He tried hard to reach us through memorable stories.  And, remember, it was Jesus who said (Jn 14:11), If you have seen me, you have seen the Father, for I and the Father are one.   Again, God-in-the-flesh.  

I was driving in Pittsburgh one winter, on my way to work, when I rounded a curve on a divided highway only to see several wrecked cars all over the road in front of me.  There was no place for me to pull off to avoid the wreck, as there were concrete barriers on both sides.  I downshifted and braked, but hit a patch of “black ice” and went into a spin.  I was then facing southbound in the northbound passing lane, and could see a large utility van headed toward me.  I knew he would soon hit the very same ice and skid into me.  I felt I was a goner.  I quickly prayed, “Lord Jesus, who will raise my daughter?”  My daughter, Meredith, was about 12 or 13; my son, David, was away in college and launched.  But my girl remained at home with me.  The van did hit me.  My airbag bruised my sternum; my glasses flew off and my briefcase went airborne from the back seat to the front.  The front of my little sports car crunched up like an accordian, but nothing was damaged in the cockpit.  Ambulances took a bunch of us involved in the pile-up to be checked out in the hospital.  But I was fine, just bruised and shaken up.  I knew Jesus had saved me and I was so grateful. 

Others gravitate to the Holy Spirit, the immanence of God, the “with us” God: Holy Spirit, Love divine, glow with in this heart of mine; kindle every high desire; perish self in Thy pure fire.   This is a hymn about the Holy Spirit.  He is how we experience God and Jesus now.  The Father and the Son reside enthroned in Heaven; so it is the Spirit Who leads, guides, and directs us here/now.  He tweaks our conscience when we sin;  He intercedes for us when all we can do is groan; and He equips and empowers us for ministry.  This week I had a word from the Holy Spirit.  He directed an intervention in a psychodrama I was to lead.  He told me to do something I had never done before.  I did what He said to do and the results were amazing!  I have learned to always do what He tells me to do, because He is always right.

Each of us may have a favorite, but the truth is the doctrine of the Trinity helps keep us balanced by reminding us there are 3 persons in our one God.  The Trinity also models for us how we are to live:  God lives in loving, cooperative community and we are to do the same!  The Son and Spirit are submitted to the will of the Father; but the Father does not dominate them.  Rather they coexist in steadfast love, mutual respect, and mutual cooperation.  That’s our model.

Let’s see how our Scripture passages today amplify these truths:

A. Our Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah 6:1-8 and recalls for us the priest Isaiah’s additional call to become a prophet.  He is apparently praying in the Temple when he has a vision of God the Father.

He relates that King Ussiah, the last good King of Judah, had just died, having reigned 52 years (792-740BC).  Isaiah sees (v.1): The Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.  How enormous!  How exciting!  Isaiah is grieving the loss of the good king, but then realizes the REAL KING, God, is still on the throne.

Isaiah is reassured that all is still well.

Isaiah also sees seraphs—6-winged, angelic creatures who normally surround God’s throne.  They are shouting, Holy, holy, holy! for the 3 holy Ones, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Their shouts were so loud they shook the Temple foundations, and smoke filled the Temple.  Their job is to search out sin—God’s holiness does not keep company with sin.  In their presence—and in the Lord’s presence—Isaiah becomes mortally aware of his own sinfulness (v.5): Woe to me!…I am ruined!  For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and My eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.  As one commentator puts it, “Seeing God as holy reminds us deeply and painfully that we are not.”  (J. Fearless and D. Chilton, The Lectionary Lab for Year B, 2014, p.192.)

Job had a similar response to seeing God (42:5-6): My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.  Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.  Daniel saw God in a vision and reported (10:8): I had no strength left, my face turned a deathly pale and I was helpless.  We know what happened to Saul/Paul (Acts 9:4-19): he was knocked off his high horse and blinded for 3 days.  Even St. John, Jesus’ close friend, reports (Rev. 1:17): When I saw Him I fell at His feet as though dead.  So, like them, Isaiah expects to at least faint or even to be slain.

Instead, in God’s mercy, one of the seraphim-searcher-outers-of-sin, brings him an antidote.  He touches his lips with a live coal—OUCH!  And says (v.7): See, this has touched your lips: your guilt is taken away and your sins atoned for.  They have been instantly burned away.  Then God issues Isaiah’s call to become the Lord’s prophet: (v.8): Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?  Hebrew has no royal “we,” the king speaking in the plural (for himself and the country).  Instead, this is an Old Testament reference to the Trinity.

B.  Psalm 29, written by King David, poetically describes the voice of God.  He mentions God’s voice 7 times (the number for perfection, completeness).  And every metaphor David uses is a strong one.  Isaiah perceived God as huge!  King David perceived God as loud and commanding.

C. In our Romans passage (8:12-17), Paul continues to list the roles of the Holy Spirit: Verse 13: He puts to death the misdeeds of our body [helps us overcome sin]; Verse 14:  He leads and guides us; 

Verse 15a: He does not lead us into fear, but into sonship/daughtership;

Verse 15b: The Spirit calls us into an intimate relationship with God, in which we can actually call Him Abba [daddy].  Verse 16: He testifies that we are God’s children.  And, verse 17: …we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

D. Finally, in our Gospel passage (John 3:1-17), Jesus is having a dialogue with an open-minded Pharisee, Nicodemus.  Nicodemus, an Old Testament scholar and teacher, wants to know how to enter heaven. Jesus says he has to be born again of the Holy Spirit.  Nick doesn’t understand this, confusing our spiritual birth with our physical one.

Remember, 4 weeks ago, I preached on what it means to be born again:  

(1) We believe in Jesus –so Nick has to have faith in Christ,

(2) And we learn to love Him—this is not so hard to do once we realize all He has done for us.  Being born again is a work of the Holy Spirit:  He leads us into faith in Jesus.  He convinces us to love Jesus.  Jesus is emphatic with Nicodemus:  We do not enter heaven because we know and follow the Law.  We do not enter heaven due to our ancestry or our spiritual or economic rank and privilege.  We enter heaven because of the efforts of the Holy Spirit to bring us into an intimate relationship with Jesus.

Jesus then reminds the Pharisee that no one sees or controls the Holy Spirit.  He shows up when and where God wants Him to be.  We don’t control Him.

I often remind my clients of the Serenity Prayer.  I want to end today with the Serenity Prayer, which always reminds me of the wisdom of the Trinity (The entire prayer is longer, but this is the short, easy to remember version): Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change [others’ behavior, my past, etc.], the courage to change the things I can [myself], and the wisdom to know the difference.  Our triune God grants to us the peace—serenity– that passes all understanding.  Our triune God infuses us with courage when we need it.

Our triune God gifts us with wisdom when we ask.  Amen!  May it be so.

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams

Posted on by Cheryl Norman

Come, Holy Spirit!

Pastor Sherry’s message for 5/19/2024

Scriptures: Acts 2:1-21; Ps 104:24-35; Ro 8:22-27; Jn 15:26-27, 16:5-15

Do you remember learning this when you were a kid?  “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?” It’s a famous, old “tongue-twister.”  I just learned there’s another verse:  “He would chuck you wood as much as he could and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”

This reminds me somewhat of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4—Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort:  Who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  Instead of going on about woodchucks and wood, this passage repeats over and over the idea of comfort.  As Christians, we often comfort others in the same way we ourselves have been comforted. Who better to comfort a widow than another widow?  Especially one who has grieved her grief, and has learned there are ways to not only survive but thrive beyond the loss of a spouse.  Who better than a cancer survivor to minister hope to a new cancer patient?  AA and other such similar recovery programs have former addicts sponsor or mentor new members, encouraging them toward sobriety. We also as kids said, “It takes one to know one.”  Maybe it is truer to say…”It takes one to comfort one.”

One of the key ways we experience the Holy Spirit is as our Holy Comforter. He is called the Parakletos in New Testament Greek.

Para means alongside; Kaleo means to call.  When we pray, the Holy Spirit, the Parakletos, is called alongside us to help or comfort us.  This is one of His jobs.

(Chuck Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Ox Cart, Word,1998, p.272.)

Our Scripture passages today all refer to or describe the responsibilities or jobs of the Holy Spirit:

A.  In our Acts 2:1-21 lesson, the Holy Spirit births the Christian Church.  He is a spirit, so they don’t see Him but they do…see tongues of fire or detached flames above all their heads; and they hear an intense wind, like the noise of freight train engines or a tornado.  When several of my friends prayed for me to be baptized by the Holy Spirit—before I went to seminary–a great moaning wind blew in my face such that I could hardly breathe.  After that experience, I asked my friends what they thought of that wind and none of them had heard or felt it!  I knew then that that had been just for me and I believed.  

Similarly, the Holy Spirit settled upon each one of the 120 disciples gathered together, waiting for Him as Jesus had instructed them.  They then tumble out of the room, praising God and telling the marvelous story of Jesus’ death and resurrection in dozens of different languages.  How amazing this must have been to them and to those listening to them! Worshippers gathered in Jerusalem, from all over the known world, hear their own language spoken with no discernable accent.  Those in the crowd who knew many of the disciples were from Galilee wondered how regular, working-class folk like them could know these foreign tongues. They knew Aramaic, which Jesus spoke, a mix of the Hebrew and Canaanite languages.  They also knew Koine Greek, a kind of Hebrew influenced Greek, and distinguished from classic Greek or the Greek spoken today.  But how might they know all these other languages?

So we can gather from this that the Holy Spirit gets people excited enough and empowered enough to boldly proclaim God’s truths.

1.) He empowers;

2.) He inspires;

3.) and, He equips people to do things they had not done previously (equips us for service).

B.  Our psalmist (Psalm 104:24-35) reminds us that the Holy Spirit is the creative arm of the God-head.  We worship one God in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God the Father is the Head, the leader—He forms the ideas, the plans.  God the Son takes His orders from the Father, and has appeared to us in flesh to demonstrate the Father’s great love for us by saving or redeeming us.  We know from the 1st chapter of the Gospel of John that Jesus (the Logos—The Word made flesh) spoke creation into existence.  When He comes again, Revelations tells us He will speak a word and all evil persons assembled at Armageddon will immediately perish.  God the Holy Spirit is the power source, the energy.  An Episcopal priest I know used to say the Holy Spirit is like the electricity in the walls.  We have invisible power cords we plug into the wall sockets to become energized.  We can also unplug ourselves and lose that energy. The analogy is not quite accurate, however, because the Holy Spirit is not confined to our walls.  He is everywhere and can be accessed anywhere.  Nevertheless, He makes extraordinary things happen–like fluently speaking a language you never learned.

So this psalm celebrates God’s creative ingenuity:  He came up with so many different kinds of creatures, elephants, woodchucks, giraffes, octopi, and dogs.  Through the Holy Spirit, God the Father…

4.) gave us/them life (in Hebrew, the Holy Spirit is called the Ruach—the breath).  In verse 30—When You send Your breath [the word Ruach is used here], they are created and You renew the face of the earth.

5.) And He feeds them—the Holy Spirit sustains us.

C.  Paul, in our Romans lesson (8:22-27), gives us the perspective of the rest of creation as we all await Jesus’ 2nd coming:  He says (v.22)—We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Another Biblical scholar puts it this way:  “The creation is like a bride, dressed for the wedding, who sees her groom killed just before the ceremony.”  (Rev. Dr. J. Vernon McGee, Through the Bible Commentary on Romans, Thomas Nelson, 1991, p.154.)  Hearts are broken and the rest of creation is grieved.  Adam and Eve were supposed to steward it all according to God’s orders.  They failed in their responsibilities.

As a penalty to Adam for his sin, God (Genesis 3:17-19) curses the ground.  We have been liberated from sin by Jesus’ saving death on the Cross.  But the rest of creation, the ground, must still wait to be redeemed. Death still takes place.  Mold and decay still plague us.  Animals and vegetation all await a return to the order that was in the Garden of Eden, before Adam and Eve fell into sin. 

But what is the job of the Holy Spirit in all of this?  Paul says (v.26)—…the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.  When we don’t know what or how to pray, the Spirit helps us.

6.) He comforts us.

7.) He intercedes with heaven for us.

He takes what we hold in our hearts and transmits it to Jesus. Then loving us as He does, Jesus intercedes for us with the Father.

D.  In our Gospel lesson (John 16:5-15) Jesus tells the apostles He needs to leave so the Holy Spirit can come to them.  Jesus, encased in a body, can only be in one place at a time.  Since the Holy Spirit is a spirit, He can be lots of places at one time.  How does that work?  I don’t know.  But I do know He is God and that through God all things are possible.

Jesus calls Him the Counselor.  I’ve been trained as a counselor, so I know very well what such a person is supposed to do: They listen empathically, trying to figure out the nature of their client’s problem and how the client thinks and feels about it. They restate or summarize what they have heard, in their own words, providing clarity to the client. They help the client arrive at the solution to their problem, serving as a sounding board.  Wise counselors are supposed to refrain from giving advice.  This is smart because we humans don’t always know the best action for another.  But the Holy Spirit is God so He does know and He does correctly advise.  If we are smart, we learn to listen to and follow His advice.

Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth.  This is why we can trust His still, small voice.  He speaks God-given truth, all of the time.

8.) He leads us to Christ;

9.) He reminds us of what Jesus has taught.  He brings to our minds the words of Scripture, as we need them;

10.) He counsels us;

11.) He even convicts us of our sins, so that we will confess them and ask God’s forgiveness.

The Holy Spirit is perhaps the least understood member of the Trinity.  This Pentecost, let’s try to remember that we need the Holy Spirit in our lives.  

His responsibilities are numerous:

1. To empower, 

2. To inspire, 

3. To equip us, 

4. To give life us life,

5. To sustain life,

6. To help us, 

7. To comfort us, 

8. To intercede for us,

9. To wisely counsel or advise us,

10. To lead us to faith in Jesusm

11. To remind us of Jesus’ teachings, 

12. To help us recognize our sins, 

13. To lead us to repentance.

Thank God Jesus did not abandon us when he jetted off to Heaven!

He left us the Holy Comforter.  If we listen to the Holy Spirit and obey Him, we are in good and capable hands until Jesus comes again.

Let us pray:  Come Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love.  Lord, send forth Your Spirit to rest upon us and to renew us.  Empower us to be faithful followers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen!

©️2024 Rev. Dr. Sherry Adams