THE PULPIT: our weakness, his strength
EZEKIEL 2:1-5
PSALM 123
MARK 6:1-6
2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-10
Can I be honest with you all? Life has really stunk lately. It began with our trip to Pennsylvania. On our trip out, we were looking forward to getting back home. We had a great experience with the people there. We made some good friends. The Sunday Service was awesome. The DS was great. We were so excited. But then the evening service happened. Hard questions were asked and tough answers were given. Tough, but honest. Since that night, there has seemed to be a dark cloud hanging over my head.
Where would we go? What would we do? Will we ever get home? Will I ever find a church that I am excited about? Will I have to settle for something I am not super enthused about? I got a brief reprieve at graduation time, but joy was short lived as staff meetings began centering on budgets, money and our future. It did not take long to see the writing on the wall.
That writing was confirmed as I began looking at projected numbers. There would be NO youth pastor in this new year. There would be no janitor in this new year. And still no church. Board meeting came, and we had a healthy discussion about budgets. My darkest fear was once again thrust upon me. No job to go to, no church to serve, no house to live in. Where are you God? Where are you?
There is some comfort to be found. There is comfort in knowing that I am not alone in this dark time. If we are honest with one another, all have us have felt frustration at the gravity of our situation here. When was the last time we were without a youth pastor? I was talking to my friend Kirby the other day. He was telling me about growing up around this neighborhood in the early 70’s. His little brother came here for youth group. He also told me about a family vacation his family share with the youth pastor here: Paul and Sue Bruning. It has certainly been a long time since we have been without a youth pastor.
When was the last time we have been without a paid secretary? How about a paid janitor? I remember someone sharing with Pastor Caleb that at the next General Assembly he would receive an award for 50 consecutive years of paying our budgets. Now that is not such a sure thing. Our budget has room for a pastor, a building, budget apportionments, and that is about it! Credit cards have been rejected, and the phone was disconnected. Where are you God? Where are you?
If we are all honest, life has really stunk for all of us lately.
Perhaps there is even more comfort to be found. We are not alone in our darkness. We are not alone in our experience of tough times. This morning’s readings show us unequivocally that we are not alone in persecution.
First, we encounter Ezekiel. Now Ezekiel is, well, a little special. The entire first chapter is a vision, unparalleled by any vision since…including those of the 60’s and 70’s! But Ezekiel, despite his quirks, goes on to become one of our beloved prophets. However, his present task is quite daunting. He is sent to the people of Israel. One would think that the people of Israel would be an easy ministry assignment, but one would be wrong to make such an assumption. God is very clear. The Israelites are rebellious, hardheaded, and will not listen to Ezekiel. This is God’s promise! I know I would love a DS to call and say, “Hey, I’ve got a great church for you. It is full of rebellious hard-heads, that won’t listen to you no matter what you do.” I would not be here right now if I would have gotten that sweet offer. So Ezekiel is sent into a life of guaranteed failure, knowing that his efforts would be futile. What could be more frustrating and discouraging than that?
Well, for starters, how about our Gospel reading! It is a story about none other than Jesus Christ. Presumably, Jesus has been away from home for some time. He has been quite busy. He has been baptized. He has been tempted. He has called the disciples, taught, healed and even raise a dead girl back to life. His fame preceded him wherever he went. Stories sprang up about him faster than dandelions in the springtime. Here now we find him returning home. Perhaps it was on his way somewhere else, or perhaps it was just to visit family. He decided to take full advantage of his time there. He would do tad of teaching and a helping of healing while he was there. We would expect a great homecoming parade, but the streets were empty. Jesus should have been greeted with open arms, but instead he gets the cold shoulder … and from his own people no less. What could be worse than having your own people turn you away, unwelcome?
Perhaps it was worse for St. Paul. This guy is the original super-apostle. St. Paul is the epitome of life conversions. The one-time Christian hater was confronted by the love of God and became history’s greatest Christian maker. St. Paul is proof that no one is confronted by the love of God and comes away unchanged. A worse person there was not, but after encountering Christ, a better Christian there was not. He gave his life to spread the good news that so changed his life. What was his reward? A thorn it the flesh … in contemporary English, a pain in his rear-end! This was no little pain; this was the mother of all pains. It was with him at every turn. It nagged him day and night. Paul gave his life to the one who saved him, and in return, he was rewarded with a horrid affliction.
Who are we compared to Ezekiel, St. Paul, and Jesus Christ? It should make me feel a little better knowing that I am not going through a dark time alone. We should feel better knowing that we are not alone in our dark time, but none of this really takes the pain out of our suffering. Alone or together, it all stinks just the same
It all came to a head Monday night. After an exhausting week, I was looking forward to a good night of sleep without the belligerent buzzing of the blasted alarm. Antonina and I went to bed, and she fell asleep straight away. But not me! I tossed and turned, and turned and tossed until the clock, as if taunting me, glowed a big 1:00 in the darkness. I had had enough. I could not sleep and so I got up, dressed, and came over here to my office. It is in my office where I am at my best. I think best, I work best, I pray best. Monday night, in the wee hours of the morning, I found myself doing all three.
Earlier that day I had began reading so I could write my sermon. I read this week’s readings, and now in the still of the night I began to reflect upon them…Ezekiel 2, a favorite passage, but I preached it here before, I think. … Mark 6, an interesting passage, but I don’t know how I would connect Jesus’ homecoming with my home-leaving, for over the past four years you all have become my family and this place my home. … 2 Corinthians 12, boasting… visions… thorns… grace… contentment. Grace? Contentment? GRACE! ...CONTENTMENT!
"Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Being Christian is so easy when things are going well. When life is good, it is easy to focus our life on God and others, but as the sun sets and darkness begins to encroach, it grows harder and harder to maintain a proper focus. In the good times, it is easy to put God and others first. It is easy to be ministers of grace. It is easy to be healers in a broken world, but what happens when our world becomes broken?
The tendency is to let our focus shift from others back to ourselves. After all, how can we minister to people when we are so very broken? How can we give when we are in such great need? I think St. Paul would turn the question around and ask what are you in such great need of? And which of those needs is not met by God’s gracious provision? "For my gracious favor is all that you need."
You see, in my brokenness and confusion, I had lost sight of the grace of God working so miraculously in my life. When my focus faltered, I grew frustrated. I began to doubt. I began to grow discontented. All three of our characters this morning had the same opportunity to grumble, to resent and to withdraw. None of them did! If we read on in Ezekiel, we will find that God promises to make Ezekiel as heard-headed and resilient as are the Israelites. St. Paul rightfully prayed to have his thorn removed, but it was not. He could have grown bitter, but he rather grew content. Realizing that there was little he could do about the situation in which he found himself, turning it over to God, and focusing on the sufficiency of God’s grace allowed Paul to be content and to be a minister of the very grace that sustained him.
What if Jesus had taken his rejection personally? What if he would have walked away from his task because his own people rejected him? Henri Nouwen writes, “ Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not “How can we hide our wounds?” so we don’t have to be embarrassed but “How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?” When our wounds cease to be a source of shame and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers. Jesus is God’s wounded healer: Through his wounds we are healed. Jesus’ suffering and death brought joy and life. His humiliation brought glory; his rejection brought a community of love. As followers of Jesus we can also allow our wounds to bring healing to others” (Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997), July 8.).
We cannot be healers if we have not found contentment in our weakness. Contentment does not mean that we quit trying to grow strong, but it does means that our strength is not in ourselves, but rather in the grace of the God. Our strength is not our own, but our strength is the grace of God. Our identity, our mission, our ministry, our strength is not dependent on numbers or facilities, or finances, but rather on the grace of God. Our future is not determined by our knowledge of where we are going, but our future is determined by the grace of God.
So in our times of trial and trouble, we must strongly resist the urge to let others slide to the back burner until our needs begin being met. In our times of problems and persecution we must remember with St. Paul, “[God’s] gracious favor is all [we] need. [His] power works best in [our] weakness. So now [we are] glad to boast about [our] weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through [us]. Since [we] know it is all for Christ's good, [we are] quite content with [our] weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when [we are] weak, then [we are] strong.”
*Scripture references are from the NLT
PSALM 123
MARK 6:1-6
2 CORINTHIANS 12:1-10
Can I be honest with you all? Life has really stunk lately. It began with our trip to Pennsylvania. On our trip out, we were looking forward to getting back home. We had a great experience with the people there. We made some good friends. The Sunday Service was awesome. The DS was great. We were so excited. But then the evening service happened. Hard questions were asked and tough answers were given. Tough, but honest. Since that night, there has seemed to be a dark cloud hanging over my head.
Where would we go? What would we do? Will we ever get home? Will I ever find a church that I am excited about? Will I have to settle for something I am not super enthused about? I got a brief reprieve at graduation time, but joy was short lived as staff meetings began centering on budgets, money and our future. It did not take long to see the writing on the wall.
That writing was confirmed as I began looking at projected numbers. There would be NO youth pastor in this new year. There would be no janitor in this new year. And still no church. Board meeting came, and we had a healthy discussion about budgets. My darkest fear was once again thrust upon me. No job to go to, no church to serve, no house to live in. Where are you God? Where are you?
There is some comfort to be found. There is comfort in knowing that I am not alone in this dark time. If we are honest with one another, all have us have felt frustration at the gravity of our situation here. When was the last time we were without a youth pastor? I was talking to my friend Kirby the other day. He was telling me about growing up around this neighborhood in the early 70’s. His little brother came here for youth group. He also told me about a family vacation his family share with the youth pastor here: Paul and Sue Bruning. It has certainly been a long time since we have been without a youth pastor.
When was the last time we have been without a paid secretary? How about a paid janitor? I remember someone sharing with Pastor Caleb that at the next General Assembly he would receive an award for 50 consecutive years of paying our budgets. Now that is not such a sure thing. Our budget has room for a pastor, a building, budget apportionments, and that is about it! Credit cards have been rejected, and the phone was disconnected. Where are you God? Where are you?
If we are all honest, life has really stunk for all of us lately.
Perhaps there is even more comfort to be found. We are not alone in our darkness. We are not alone in our experience of tough times. This morning’s readings show us unequivocally that we are not alone in persecution.
First, we encounter Ezekiel. Now Ezekiel is, well, a little special. The entire first chapter is a vision, unparalleled by any vision since…including those of the 60’s and 70’s! But Ezekiel, despite his quirks, goes on to become one of our beloved prophets. However, his present task is quite daunting. He is sent to the people of Israel. One would think that the people of Israel would be an easy ministry assignment, but one would be wrong to make such an assumption. God is very clear. The Israelites are rebellious, hardheaded, and will not listen to Ezekiel. This is God’s promise! I know I would love a DS to call and say, “Hey, I’ve got a great church for you. It is full of rebellious hard-heads, that won’t listen to you no matter what you do.” I would not be here right now if I would have gotten that sweet offer. So Ezekiel is sent into a life of guaranteed failure, knowing that his efforts would be futile. What could be more frustrating and discouraging than that?
Well, for starters, how about our Gospel reading! It is a story about none other than Jesus Christ. Presumably, Jesus has been away from home for some time. He has been quite busy. He has been baptized. He has been tempted. He has called the disciples, taught, healed and even raise a dead girl back to life. His fame preceded him wherever he went. Stories sprang up about him faster than dandelions in the springtime. Here now we find him returning home. Perhaps it was on his way somewhere else, or perhaps it was just to visit family. He decided to take full advantage of his time there. He would do tad of teaching and a helping of healing while he was there. We would expect a great homecoming parade, but the streets were empty. Jesus should have been greeted with open arms, but instead he gets the cold shoulder … and from his own people no less. What could be worse than having your own people turn you away, unwelcome?
Perhaps it was worse for St. Paul. This guy is the original super-apostle. St. Paul is the epitome of life conversions. The one-time Christian hater was confronted by the love of God and became history’s greatest Christian maker. St. Paul is proof that no one is confronted by the love of God and comes away unchanged. A worse person there was not, but after encountering Christ, a better Christian there was not. He gave his life to spread the good news that so changed his life. What was his reward? A thorn it the flesh … in contemporary English, a pain in his rear-end! This was no little pain; this was the mother of all pains. It was with him at every turn. It nagged him day and night. Paul gave his life to the one who saved him, and in return, he was rewarded with a horrid affliction.
Who are we compared to Ezekiel, St. Paul, and Jesus Christ? It should make me feel a little better knowing that I am not going through a dark time alone. We should feel better knowing that we are not alone in our dark time, but none of this really takes the pain out of our suffering. Alone or together, it all stinks just the same
It all came to a head Monday night. After an exhausting week, I was looking forward to a good night of sleep without the belligerent buzzing of the blasted alarm. Antonina and I went to bed, and she fell asleep straight away. But not me! I tossed and turned, and turned and tossed until the clock, as if taunting me, glowed a big 1:00 in the darkness. I had had enough. I could not sleep and so I got up, dressed, and came over here to my office. It is in my office where I am at my best. I think best, I work best, I pray best. Monday night, in the wee hours of the morning, I found myself doing all three.
Earlier that day I had began reading so I could write my sermon. I read this week’s readings, and now in the still of the night I began to reflect upon them…Ezekiel 2, a favorite passage, but I preached it here before, I think. … Mark 6, an interesting passage, but I don’t know how I would connect Jesus’ homecoming with my home-leaving, for over the past four years you all have become my family and this place my home. … 2 Corinthians 12, boasting… visions… thorns… grace… contentment. Grace? Contentment? GRACE! ...CONTENTMENT!
"Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me. Since I know it is all for Christ's good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
Being Christian is so easy when things are going well. When life is good, it is easy to focus our life on God and others, but as the sun sets and darkness begins to encroach, it grows harder and harder to maintain a proper focus. In the good times, it is easy to put God and others first. It is easy to be ministers of grace. It is easy to be healers in a broken world, but what happens when our world becomes broken?
The tendency is to let our focus shift from others back to ourselves. After all, how can we minister to people when we are so very broken? How can we give when we are in such great need? I think St. Paul would turn the question around and ask what are you in such great need of? And which of those needs is not met by God’s gracious provision? "For my gracious favor is all that you need."
You see, in my brokenness and confusion, I had lost sight of the grace of God working so miraculously in my life. When my focus faltered, I grew frustrated. I began to doubt. I began to grow discontented. All three of our characters this morning had the same opportunity to grumble, to resent and to withdraw. None of them did! If we read on in Ezekiel, we will find that God promises to make Ezekiel as heard-headed and resilient as are the Israelites. St. Paul rightfully prayed to have his thorn removed, but it was not. He could have grown bitter, but he rather grew content. Realizing that there was little he could do about the situation in which he found himself, turning it over to God, and focusing on the sufficiency of God’s grace allowed Paul to be content and to be a minister of the very grace that sustained him.
What if Jesus had taken his rejection personally? What if he would have walked away from his task because his own people rejected him? Henri Nouwen writes, “ Nobody escapes being wounded. We all are wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not “How can we hide our wounds?” so we don’t have to be embarrassed but “How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?” When our wounds cease to be a source of shame and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers. Jesus is God’s wounded healer: Through his wounds we are healed. Jesus’ suffering and death brought joy and life. His humiliation brought glory; his rejection brought a community of love. As followers of Jesus we can also allow our wounds to bring healing to others” (Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997), July 8.).
We cannot be healers if we have not found contentment in our weakness. Contentment does not mean that we quit trying to grow strong, but it does means that our strength is not in ourselves, but rather in the grace of the God. Our strength is not our own, but our strength is the grace of God. Our identity, our mission, our ministry, our strength is not dependent on numbers or facilities, or finances, but rather on the grace of God. Our future is not determined by our knowledge of where we are going, but our future is determined by the grace of God.
So in our times of trial and trouble, we must strongly resist the urge to let others slide to the back burner until our needs begin being met. In our times of problems and persecution we must remember with St. Paul, “[God’s] gracious favor is all [we] need. [His] power works best in [our] weakness. So now [we are] glad to boast about [our] weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through [us]. Since [we] know it is all for Christ's good, [we are] quite content with [our] weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when [we are] weak, then [we are] strong.”
*Scripture references are from the NLT
posted by EF + at 6:14 PM
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