Live your faith

Exodus 16: 13-18

1 Corinthians 9: 24-37

Mark 1: 40-45

Faith In Action

If you will, join me in a little exercise of our imaginations.  Close your eyes, feel yourself relaxing, letting the worries of the day fall away from your thoughts.  Take a few deep breaths.

Imagine yourself far away from McConnelsville, in Israel, near the Sea of Galilee.  You can hear the sea birds and you can feel the cool breeze on your face.  You are in your small village, having just finished a long day of work.  You take some time to walk out away from the commotion of the village, seeking some quiet after a busy day, making sure not to wander in the direction of the group of lepers which you know live nearby.  As you walk you find yourself on a small hill overlooking a group of tired looking men.  They can't see you, but you can see and hear them talking.  One man stands out.  The others are obviously deferring to him.  He's not at all striking in appearance, but there's something about him, something in his expression which intrigues you.

As you sit, partially hidden behind a bush, you hear, then see, another man approaching.  This man is obviously not doing well.  As he comes closer, you get a good look at his face.  White splotches cover what you can see underneath the rags.  Scabs and sores are everywhere.  This man, you realize shockingly, is a leper, and he's coming towards this group of men below you. Most are appalled and begin to back away. One man, though, continues to stand there.  Even as, you can't hardly believe this, the leper kneels right before him, prostrating himself with his hands outstretched before him.  You then hear a raspy voice, full of emotion and desperation, "If you want to, you can make me well again."

Then you hear a quiet, compassionate voice say, "I want to."  Then with more authority than you've ever heard in your life he says, "Be healed!" 

In Mark 1:40-45 which was the basis of our imaginative journey, we find a leper in need of something good, something real, something life-changing. Jesus healed the man.  Jesus saw a need, and he met it. A life was transformed.

Transforming lives is what Habitat does, by giving people a hand up, not just a hand out. Habitat is a Christian organization, providing the opportunity for people to extend God’s love through action. Habitat also transforms communities, all around the world, as people who need homes find that by their own hard work joined with others who volunteer their time, talents and other resources, their dream can come true.

All of us who call ourselves Christians are given a similar opportunity as Jesus was given in this passage. We, too, can participate in the transformation of lives, by doing what Saint Francis once said: “Preach the word; if necessary use words.”

I wonder if what we say is good news would be better accepted as being really good, if more of us acted in a way which showed God’s goodness.  Today in our society we are faced with a society that is spiritually eager and starving, but not so much interested in what we in the church have to say. Habitat is one way to reverse this trend, by showing the Gospel in action.

Habitat for Humanity’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat has an open-door policy: All who desire to be a part of this work are welcome, regardless of religious preference or background. Their policy is to build with people in need regardless of race or religion. Volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds are welcomed.

The organization is driven by the desire to give tangible expression to the love of God through the work of eliminating poverty housing. Habitat’s mission and methods are predominantly derived from by a key theological concept:  putting faith in action, just as Jesus did.

 

Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior we begin a journey of faith—a race if we are to follow what Paul wrote to the Corinthians. It is a journey to become more and more like Jesus and live more and more as he has commanded us to live. We are saved by grace, not by works, but as James wrote in his letter to the churches, faith without works is dead. Paul, too, calls us to use our God given gifts and faith to bear fruit.  To put faith in action requires commitment, and risk taking, and perseverance. Paul speaks of all of those in his letter to the Corinthians.

Our journey, or race, with Christ is not s speed sprint. It is an endurance race. It lasts a lifetime. Once we accept Christ as our Savior we are to go into strict training. We are to constantly prepare ourselves, by prayer and by study of God’s word, to continue the race as long as we draw breath. The prize we gain upon completion is not material rewards. If we stay on God’s path he will provide us all we need, just as he did for the people of Israel in the Exodus. He will give us the strength we need, and bless us, but we need to remember the blessings are given so we may be a blessing to others.

 

Habitat teaches us about being a blessing to others.  A Habitat family is blessed with the opportunity to own a home, but they must not only work on their own house, they must work on the house of someone else. It is a form of paying it forward. And, the volunteers who use their God given skills to help accomplish a house are blessed by the relationships developed and the satisfaction of knowing someone will now have a safe and pleasant house to live in.

 

 Jesus’ love was and is given unconditionally. His love was and is all inclusive, available to anyone who seeks it. As his followers we are called upon to extend God’s love in the same way. God gives each of us many opportunities to do pay his love forward.  It is up to us to keep our hearts open to God,  our eyes and ears open to the opportunities to serve others that he gives us, and our hands open to reach out with compassion to those in need and put our faith in action.

 

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your life is a sermon

Daniel 9: 3-10

Hebrews 2: 10-18

 Matthew 4: 1-11

Sermons

A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and your head out the window cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

There is an old song that says, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”  Saint Francis of Assisi once taught his followers, “Preach the Gospel. If necessary. use words.” 

What the young lady, who professed her Christianity loudly on her car, forgot was, our lives are sermons. We preach our beliefs by the way we live our lives every day.  No amount of words will ever have a greater impression on others than the way we treat others, and who, when, and how we choose to help others.

Jesus came out of the wilderness vulnerable and tempted. He did not yield to those temptations. Instead he began his ministry of preaching, teaching, and serving others.

Two things drew people to Jesus. First, he served people’s needs, without strings. He met their needs when no one else did. Second, spent time with and developed relationships with people no “church” people—Pharisees and Sadducees-- would.  It was not his preaching that drew them to him. They were willing to listen to his preaching and his teaching because he cared about them and served their needs. Because he extended love to them, without being judgmental.

That is an essential lesson for us to reflect upon during Lent. People will be drawn to church because of how we live our lives and serve them outside church. Whether we admit it to ourselves or not, what we truly believe about God and the teachings of Jesus is transparent. It is certainly transparent to God. And, we cannot hide our true beliefs from others.  Lent is a time for us to see ourselves as others see us.

Lent is a time for us to ask ourselves, what is the sermon we preach everyday with our lives?

Religion in political campaigns-- statement of principles

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Religion in political campaigns
‘Interfaith Statement of Principles’NEW YORK, N.Y. — The United Methodist General Board of Church & Society is among 14 endorsers of an “Interfaith Statement of Principles” on religion in political campaigns. The statement, released Feb. 21, says freedom of religion is one of the United States' “most cherished liberties.”

The statement sets forth four standards of ethical behavior by candidates.

The diverse coalition of national religious organizations calls on all candidates for public office to honor the United States’ traditions of religious liberty and avoid sowing religious discord.

The statement encourages candidates for public office to respect “essential American ideals and values,” such as religious freedom for all, no religious tests for public office, and separation of church and state.
The statement sets forth four standards of ethical behavior by candidates. “Candidates for office bear the primary responsibility for setting the proper tone for elections, according to the Statement of Principles.

4 principles

Candidates for public office should:

Attempt to fulfill the promise of America by seeking to serve and be responsive to the full range of constituents, irrespective of their religion.

Conduct their campaigns without appeals, overt or implicit, for support based upon religion.

Reject appeals or messages to voters that reflect religious prejudice, bias or stereotyping.

Engage in vigorous debate on important and disputed issues, without deliberately encouraging division in the electorate along religious lines, or between voters who characterize themselves as religious and voters who do not.

“Candidates for public office are, of course, free to worship as they choose,” the statement emphasizes. “And they should feel comfortable explaining their religious convictions to voters, commenting about their own religious beliefs, explaining, if they wish to do so, how those beliefs shape their policy perspectives, and how they would balance the principles of their faith with their obligation to defend the Constitution if the two ever came into conflict.”

Inappropriate, unsettling, divisive

There is a point, however, where an emphasis on religion in a political campaign becomes inappropriate and even unsettling in a religiously diverse society such as the United States, according to the statement. “Appealing to voters along religious lines is divisive,” it declares, adding that voters who insist on adherence to these principles contribute to the protection of religious freedom.

The statement, organized and drafted by the Anti-Defamation League, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and the Interfaith Alliance.

Other endorsers are American Islamic Congress, American Jewish Committee, Islamic Society of North America, Hindu American Foundation, Muslim Advocates, National Council of Churches USA, Sikh American Legal Defense & Education Fund, Sikh Coalition, Union for Reform Judaism and United Church of Christ Justice & Witness Ministries.

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Religion in Political Campaigns
An Interfaith Statement of Principles

Freedom of religion is one of our nation’s most cherished liberties. It is at the very foundation of America. Our nation’s Constitution protects religious freedom for all, prohibits religious tests for public office, and mandates separation of church and state. These are essential American ideals and values, which candidates for public office should respect.

Candidates for public office are, of course, free to worship as they choose. And they should feel comfortable explaining their religious convictions to voters, commenting about their own religious beliefs, explaining, if they wish to do so, how those beliefs shape their policy perspectives, and how they would balance the principles of their faith with their obligation to defend the Constitution if the two ever came into conflict.

There is a point, however, where an emphasis on religion in a political campaign becomes inappropriate and even unsettling in a religiously diverse society such as ours. Appealing to voters along religious lines is divisive. It is contrary to the American ideal of including all Americans in the political process, regardless of whether they are members of large and powerful religious groups, religious minorities, or subscribe to no faith tradition.

Voters should be encouraged to make their decisions based upon their assessment of the qualifications, integrity and political positions of candidates. A candidate’s religious beliefs — or lack thereof — should never be used by voters, nor suggested by political candidates, as a test for public office or as a shorthand summary of a candidate’s qualifications.

Candidates for office bear the primary responsibility for setting the proper tone for elections. Anyone who legitimately aspires to public office must be prepared to set an example and to be a leader for all Americans, of all faiths or of no faith.

What is ethical is every bit as important as what is legal. Therefore candidates for public office should:

Attempt to fulfill the promise of America by seeking to serve and be responsive to the full range of constituents, irrespective of their religion.

Conduct their campaigns without appeals, overt or implicit, for support based upon religion.

Reject appeals or messages to voters that reflect religious prejudice, bias, or stereotyping.

Engage in vigorous debate on important and disputed issues, without deliberately encouraging division in the electorate along religious lines, or between voters who characterize themselves as religious and voters who do not.

Abiding by these principles, candidates for public office help ensure decency, honesty, and fair play in political campaigns, and they honor America’s oldest and most fundamental values. Likewise, voters who insist on adherence to these principles contribute to the protection of our religious freedom.

Date: 2/22/2012©2012

Churches respond to 2012 winter twisters - UMC.org

By Barbara Dunlap-Berg*

6:00 P.M. ET Feb. 29, 2011

A tornado destroyed Harveyville (Kan.) United Methodist Church.
UMNS web-only photos by Julie Pohl.

Late-winter tornadoes and high winds roared across several Midwestern states early Feb. 29, leaving death and destruction in their wake.
But even as United Methodists grieved loss of life and assessed damage, they sought ways to be Christ in their communities.

In Harrisburg, in southeastern Illinois, six people were confirmed dead, and many were missing. Earlier reports from state officials said 10 had died. The undamaged First United Methodist Church became a hub for disaster relief.

The Rev. Paul E. Black, director of communication ministries for the Illinois Great Rivers Annual (regional) Conference, said the EF-4 twister hit south of Marion and moved northeast through Creal Springs, damaging several buildings. It continued to Carrier Mills and missed the main residential section. Then it hopscotched up U.S. 45 to Harrisburg. The tornado continued northeast to nearby Ridgway, which according to news reports received massive damage.

To date, no United Methodist church or parsonage in the conference was damaged or destroyed.
In Harrisburg, “the Walmart and a farm implement dealership sustained heavy damage, and a strip mall located across the highway was destroyed,” Black said. “The latest updates show 300 homes damaged or destroyed and 100 persons treated for injuries. Officials are proceeding with evacuating the Harrisburg hospital, sending patients to nearby Marion.”

Schools are closed, and Saline County officials are asking people to stay home while emergency crews assess the damage.

The United Methodist Cache River District is mobilizing disaster response. The Midwest Mission Distribution Center is on alert, ready to ship emergency kits and other supplies to assist in cleanup.

Several church members underwent early response training through the United Methodist Committee on Relief because of flooding last spring in southern Illinois. They will go to work as soon as the assessment is completed. Another early response training session, already set for March 17 at First United Methodist Church, Harrisburg, will proceed on schedule.

Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg said, “The loss of life breaks my heart. The outreach is heartfelt and appreciated. Many of our people went to Joplin to help, and today we are the ones who find ourselves in need.”

Kansas and Missouri also hit

In Kansas, what is believed to have been a tornado flattened the Harveyville United Methodist Church. About 40 to 60 percent of the town sustained damage. The town of about 230 is southwest of Topeka near the Kansas Turnpike.

Dozens of homes were damaged in Harveyville, Kan.

The storm downed trees and power lines, according to Lisa Elliott Diehl, Kansas Area communications director for The United Methodist Church. “Dozens of homes were damaged,” she said, “along with an apartment building.” The Rev. Dennis Irwin, pastor of Harveyville United Methodist Church, has been in contact with his congregation. While several members’ homes sustained damage, no injuries were reported.

High winds and hail hit other areas of Kansas, Diehl said.

Three deaths were reported in southwestern Missouri, where a suspected tornado hit a mobile home park outside Buffalo.

Grace Community United Methodist Church, Buffalo, sustained minor damage.

“We just accounted for the last of our church members,” said church secretary Lee Ella Oglesbee. “No one is hurt, although one elderly couple's home is a total loss. The worst of the storm seemed to be confined to a few square miles.

“It's a small town,” she added, “so, of course, several of us know the woman killed and the people who were injured.  But they were not part of our congregation.”

UMCOR assesses needs
Thirty miles away, First United Methodist Church, Lebanon, Mo., had only a few loose shingles.

To support United Methodist disaster relief – Disaster Response, United States, UMCOR Advance No. 901670 — through The Advance, donate online or give a check through your local church.

“Several area business, campground travel trailers and mobile homes were damaged,” said the Rev. Barbara L. McKenzie, associate pastor. “Trout season begins tomorrow, so the campgrounds and motel in the Bennett Spring State Park area were filling up. 

“We’ll know more later about other damage. Right now, a lot is secondhand reports.”

In Branson, Mo., a popular tourist area, 32 people were treated at one hospital for minor injuries. News reports said what was believed to be a tornado moved through downtown Branson, heavily damaging the city’s famous theaters and sucking furniture from hotel rooms.

Forecasters cautioned that more tornadoes could hit the Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians as the storm system moved east.

Tom Hazelwood, disaster response executive for the United Methodist Committee on Relief is in contact with his counterparts in the affected annual conferences to assess relief needs.

“We are inviting people to follow Tom’s Twitter feed as well as to check back at the UMCOR website and Facebook page for updates,” said Linda Unger, UMCOR staff writer.

*Dunlap-Berg is internal content editor for United Methodist Communications, Nashville, Tenn.
News Media contact: Barbara Dunlap-Berg, Nashville, Tenn.,(615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.

Legacy

Leaving a legacy to build upon

By Jenna Cho

Publication: The Day

Published 02/04/2012 12:00 AM

Updated 02/04/2012 12:12 AM

Old Lyme - On any given Sunday, David W. Good might summon the words of T.S. Eliot. And Emily Dickinson, Theodore Roethke and Robert Frost.

If he weren't also referencing the Bible, you might mistake Good, with that gravelly voice of his, for a college professor rather than the longtime senior minister of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme.

This lover of poetry finds as much meaning in the words of great poets as he does in the interpretations of the words of God.

"We don't need to rely exclusively on the literature of the Bible for inspiration," says Good, whose philosophical interest in religion led him to where he is today.

After 37 years challenging all sorts of stereotypes about religious institutions, Good, 62, will retire in June, leaving behind a legacy of powerful, thought-provoking sermons and an insatiable desire to tackle current and long-standing social justice issues head on. Senior Associate Minister Carleen R. Gerber will serve as the interim senior minister until the church chooses a permanent replacement.

Both Gerber and Associate Minister Rebecca T. Crosby said they are not interested in taking Good's place.

"The fact that he's courageously stood for human rights over these 37 years is extraordinarily valuable," Gerber said of Good. "He sort of brought the gospel down to the level that we all live at, as well as asking us to stretch ourselves to live the gospel beyond what we see here locally."

Where many churches support mission work by donating money, Good and his 900-member congregation took the work upon themselves.

"(He) was a leader in getting us to a new way of doing mission work," church administrator Robert McCracken said. "It put us ... on an equal basis with the partners that we were dealing with, and the goal was for us to learn as much about them and their culture as for them to learn about us."

The first partnership, established in 1985 and continuing today, was with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The church also established a partnership with a Methodist church in South Africa in the 1980s, at the height of apartheid.

Crosby said mission work was a way to stay current with the world today instead of "building barriers up so the church is protected from the world out there as a sacred institution."

"We are a living, breathing church in the troubled world. And I think that's been a huge part of his ministry," Crosby said of Good. "I don't think that you can be a church that's relevant in the world today if you don't make a stand and act on it. Otherwise, we're just pretty buildings in the town."

Interfaith efforts

Perhaps most visible - and controversial - of the mission work is the series of interfaith dialogues Good helped establish with Muslim, Jewish and Palestinian communities after 9/11. Locally, the dialogues have involved leaders such as Imran Ahmed, former president of the Islamic Center of New London, and Jerry Fischer, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut.

The church developed the annual Tree of Life conference, which brings in speakers from across the country and world and organizes annual trips to Israel and Palestine in an effort to build bridges and forge understanding. Both Ahmed and Fischer have been on those trips with Good.

"It is one of the most successful things that has been done anywhere in the U.S., really paying a very balanced view on this very inflammatory and difficult situation in the Middle East," Ahmed said.

Fischer said he hasn't always agreed with Good, who he said "has great sympathy for the Palestinian side of the conflict." But his friendship and relationship with Good and the First Congregational Church have endured because of the desire on both sides to break down racial and religious stereotypes. Together, Fischer and Good recently officiated an interfaith wedding between a Jewish man and Christian woman.

The two also led an "interfaith build" for Habitat for Humanity a few years back, bringing to the build site Muslims, Jews and Christians - people who may not otherwise have ever met, Fischer said.

"You can't demonize somebody once you really know them," Fischer said of the importance of bringing people together. "When you don't know them, it's very easy to demonize."

Good has raised eyebrows for what some have seen as the distasteful combination of religion and politics. But to members of the church, mission work isn't so much about politics as it is about tackling social injustices.

"People say you can't be political," said Crosby. "We don't think of ourselves as political, but we do think we're a social-justice church. To be a social-justice church, you have to work in the same arena as politicians."

The work isn't over, but Good realizes solving the world's problems is an impossible task for one man.

"If we think we can accomplish them on our own," he said, "we're arrogant and foolish."

Inspiration from Frost

While his church has been his life for 37 years, the Indianapolis native has a wife with whom he wants to spend more time and an ailing mother to whom he must attend.

And so he references Frost's poem "After Apple Picking" while talking about retiring when there's "more to be done":

"My long two-pointed ladder's sticking through a tree

Toward heaven still.

And there's a barrel that I didn't fill

Beside it, and there may be two or three

Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.

But I am done with apple-picking now."

Though those who have worked with Good say they are saddened by his imminent departure, they add that he's built such a strong foundation that the church will carry on the mission work he helped start.

"The way we're looking at it, of course we'll miss him," McCracken said. "We'll miss him terribly. That just absolutely goes without saying. … But when we look at how far the church has come under his leadership and the kinds of things that we're doing and the kind of momentum that we have, we're also looking at this as an opportunity to continue this legacy and build on it."

j.cho@theday.com