The Message from Sunday, January 30, 2021
Scripture Readings:
Story for All Ages
From Pastor Sharon
“I wish you enough”
A friend recently posted a story on Facebook by a man named
John Jones, about, 'I wish you enough.'
As I read this story, it made me think about the love that
God pours out on each of us, and how it is enough to fill our entire lives. I
would like to share his story with you.
Recently overheard was a father and daughter in their last
moments together at the airport.
They had announced the departure. Standing near the security
gate, they hugged, and the father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'
The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your
love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.' They kissed and the
daughter left.
The Father walked over to the window where I was seated.
Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude
on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to
someone knowing it would be forever?' 'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for
asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?' 'I am old, and she lives so far
away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be
for my funeral,' he said. 'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I
wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?' He began to smile. 'That's a wish
that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to
everyone...' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in
detail, and he smiled even more.
'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the
other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain
them.' Then turning towards me, he shared the following as if he were reciting
it from memory.
I wish you enough sun to keep your
attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate
the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep
your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even
the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy
your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate
all that you possess.
I wish you enough hellos to get you
through the final good-bye.
He then began to cry and walked away.
Today’s Epistle reading about “The gift of Love” tells us
that if we do not have love, then we are nothing, and without love we gain
nothing. We are only able to love because God first loved us.
God continually pours out God’s unconditional love upon each
of us and all of creation. And it is the power of God’s love that is enough to
sustain us at all times, bringing balance into our lives. Amen.
The Message
From Retired Pastor Durwood Sargent
"Following Jesus into the Dark
Places of Life"
The prophet Jerimiah pleads with God that he is no prophet
because he does not know how to speak as a prophet must (with dignity and
conviction). He argues that it would be a tremendous amount of stretch on his
part to convince people that he spoke the word of God “I am but a child”. But
God says, “don’t worry about it”. I will take care of you”. “Then the Lord
Stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and said to me, I’m putting my words in
your mouth.”
Fast forward to Jesus' teaching in the synagogue in his
hometown, the people were raving about Jesus, because they were so impressed by
the gracious words flowing from his lips. But suddenly things turn kind of
ugly. Isn’t this the son of Joseph? They want him to do the miracles as he did
in Capernaum. Not because they believe he is the chosen one of God, but to
prove himself. But Jesus is not the son of Joseph, but rather the Son of God.
That is what Jesus needs to correct in the minds of the congregation, and us as
readers of Luke’s Gospel. But this is not an acceptable thought to the
congregation of his birth.
Far from consoling his audience, Jesus antagonizes them. He
even goes so far as to put words in their mouths that they are thinking and
would say: “Doctor heal yourself, do what you did in Capernaum, here in
Nazareth.” This is hardly good diplomacy. But it is effective, if Jesus intends
to alter the thinking of the congregation. Their complacent familiarity about
Jesus will not do. He must wrestle them from their common thoughts, even to the
point of angering them, so that they will let go of their mistaken opinions.
Incidents like this contradict the portrayal of Jesus as meek and mild. On the
contrary, he was a man of bold courage who did not mince words or worry himself
about offending others. In fact, he went out of his way to offend many (Luke
11:45; see also 12:51; 19:45)
His purpose, rather, is to fulfill the kingdom of God, not
the expectations or aspirations of his neighbors.
Jesus recounts two episodes in 1 Kings 17 and 2 Kings 5: in
which Elijah, the second greatest prophet in Israel after Moses, and his
student, Elisha, were instrumental in bringing God's deliverance from death and
sickness to Gentiles. So, Jesus begins by styling himself as a rejected
prophet. He has already anticipated the reaction he will receive. But his two
examples of God's mercy are not designed to sooth them, ("them" being
the widow at Zarephath and Naman the leper). This is no therapeutic Jesus who
pats little children on the head. This is a bold antagonist who makes
preemptive strikes against the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Roman rulers, the
priests, scribes, and any other creature who presumes about what is Divine.
Jesus speaks the "truth" from the pages of the Old
Testament. The stories were well known, but their lessons had been lost. Jesus
uses God's word to point out the Gentile mission that God Himself had begun so
long ago, not once but many times. It is the mission the church would begin to
fulfill on Pentecost.
Jesus had rightly predicted the reaction to his little
speech. The crowd tried to kill him. The pattern of rejection has been set
early in Luke's Gospel for the truth always exposes its opponents. The
disciples are charged with preaching the full and complete word, the hard word,
the saving word.
Let the chips fall where they may when the words fall from
our lips. If it is time for the cross, it is time.
If not, the Word will go on its way. Perhaps the most
disturbing part of this story is that Jesus does not do any miracles in his
hometown. Why should they not receive a little benefit from Jesus’ ministry?
Yet this very sense of being disturbed can be a helpful pointer for our own
church ministry. Do we feel entitled to the work of Jesus among us? Do we think
that Jesus should do ministry for our church first? Or do we share with Jesus
his concern for the marginalized and vulnerable and for those beyond the
boundaries of our local congregation?
Once I met with other pastors in our district who were
directed to Concord to consider the heightened issue of racial discourse in our
nation. One of the pastors in the more northern part of the state told the
story of the Bishop coming to his church. The Bishop looked out upon those who
were assembled to hear his words and said, I looks like I am in the minority
here.
If you don’t know, our Bishop is from India. As the pastor
put it “all he saw was white faces”. The pastor said, “I don’t know of any
minorities in our area”. He further said, “I don’t think my people pay much
attention to the news”. In other words, my people don’t know anything about
racial strife and therefore I don’t know why I should bring up the subject.
So, after some discussion I made this point to the
discussion group I was in: In this country everyone has an influence on how
people are treated in this country and the world. And in this day,, there are
many ways in which people receive information about what is going on especially
among God’s people throughout the world. And when we send people to Washington
DC how do we chose them?
Do we hear the voices that demonize, or do we hear the
voices that call for us to love all of God’s children? Do we seek out the truth
or buy into unjust and fearful rhetoric from those who profit from that
discourse?
As pastors, were we not expected to listen to the words of
Jesus who confronted these very same people in his ministry? As disciples are
we expected to get beaten up the same as Jesus and those who are bold enough to
act as Christ, perhaps not the cross of Jesus but on their own cross? Expecting
others to do the same is a decision that all Christians must make on their own.
People are making history every day with acts of love for
marginalized "others." and they are not all Christians. Sometimes we
may even get as angry as Jesus did and for the same reason. You may know the
story of Ruby Bridges, a six-year-old African American girl, who was the first
person to integrate the schools in New Orleans.
Every day federal marshals escorted her into the schoolhouse
because both sides of the sidewalk would be lined with people who were
screaming threats at her. Robert Coles, a noted Harvard psychiatrist,
volunteered his time to work with young Ruby. Every day he would talk with her,
trying to help her weather the crisis. On the news one night, he noticed her
walking up the sidewalk and the people were screaming and throwing things, but
suddenly she stopped and said something and started backing down the sidewalk.
Then the marshals picked her up and took her into the building.
That night, Cole asked her what she had said to the
marshals. She said, "I was not talking to the marshals." He said,
"Yes, you were. I saw you on the news. I saw your lips moving. You were
talking to the marshals." She said, "I was not talking to the
marshals." He said, "Well, what were you doing?"
She said, "I was praying for those people who were
hollering at me. I had forgotten to pray, and I was trying to go back and pray
for them as I walked to the school building." Cole shook his head and
said, "You were praying for the people who were screaming at you?"
She said, "Yes, my mama taught me that when people speak mean of you, you
pray for them just like Jesus prayed for the people who spoke mean of him."
Would you pray with me:
God of all creation, you have blessed all of your children
with your grace and yet so many do not know that they have been given that
grace. May we be the people to teach the little children in faith that they are
loved by Jesus just as we know that and are so blessed. Help us to overcome the
fear of being humiliated for following Jesus into the dark places of life. In
his holy name we pray - Amen
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