Sermon: January 29, 2012

 “The Great Liberator”

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ January 29, 2012 – Annual Meeting

Recognition of Audrea Cannon

Scripture: Psalm 111 read responsively and Mark 1:21-28

Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana 

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE

Psalm 111 read responsively

This is a Hallelujah psalm; the Hebrew words that mean “praise the Lord.”   Where in your life do you need to liberate your praise and express all God means to you?  Here in this song of praise we can join with believers through the centuries to sing "Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” 

¹Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

²Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.
³Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.
⁴He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the Lord is gracious and merciful.
⁵He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.
⁶He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations.
⁷The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.
⁸They are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
⁹He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name.
¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.

Mark 1:21-28
Jesus comes teaching the kingdom of God has drawn near in his very personhood.  He teaches through preaching and storytelling and most important demonstrating the reality of the kingdom of God.  The kingdom of God brings liberation from the demons that seek to possess us and our world.

They went to Capernaum; and when the Sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

SERMON

Keep in mind that earlier in the chapter, Jesus was blessed and baptized with the Holy Spirit as he heard the promise proclaiming, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased!" Now Mark contrasts this experience with that of the man possessed by an "unclean" spirit; a spirit that is most assuredly is not telling this man that he is beloved of God or God-pleasing in anyway.  Indeed, we would be far better served to abandon our Hollywood-fed raging demons reaching out to destroy us from outside ourselves to forces that are opposed to God's will within ourselves. Rather than bless, they curse; rather than build up, they tear down; rather than encourage, they disparage; rather than promote love, they sow hate; rather than draw us together, they seek to split us apart.[1]  To be possessed by such a demon would not only destroy the person possessed but everyone around them would suffer.

While many of the healing stories provide examples of the power of faith, exorcisms have a rather different function. They offer no example of faith at all. The possessed have no control of themselves; the demons speak as they choose. [2] These stories are about being liberated.  The freedom Christ gives this man is greater than he could ever request, for he was unable to ask for help.  Have you ever been in a place where you knew you needed help but did not even know who or for what to ask?

…We all can attest to the presence and persistence of evil in our world in various guises. The good news in this text, however, is that Jesus demonstrated his power to overcome the forces of evil wherever we may encounter them.[3]

So what possess you?  What are you powerless to change?  As believers and in particular church “goers,” we may think we are never possessed by demons.  Yet here was a man in the place of worship.  Everything should be perfect in worship, right?  Yet the very experience of worship is not to exclude suffering but to bring to a head the destructive forces within us. In worship our darkness meets the light of the great liberator.  It can be unsettling.  Unsettlingly, I like that word: set in our ways, settling in, set aside, set apart, set up, all set…  God in Jesus Christ is unsettling, especially in worship.  We deliberately come to encounter the Holy Other and offer our praise and thanksgiving and intersession and confession.  In worship the truth about who we are in laid bare.  There is no place to hide now.  The demons within us could cry out “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, and I am out of here!”  If that demon has its way it will get us out of church, out of relationship with other believers, forgetting the word of God.  If that doesn’t work it will seek to destroy the worshiping body itself.

Today we will have our annual church meeting.  Have you ever participated in a church meeting that was destructive?  Let’s be honest, of course we have all experienced destructive forces in the church.  Right among those who should be most representative of the kingdom of heaven, a force for tearing down rather than building up rises up.  Our demons tell us were stupid or foolish or can’t do whatever we know God is calling us to do.  They send us away discouraged and afraid.  Yet we come back again and again.  Because when we are truly attentive he shows up.  Who?  Jesus of Nazareth is singing next to you in the choir or welcomes you at the door, or sits with you in the pew. This is Holy Ground!  Not because of how it was built but why!  When we intestinally gather to worship, to study, to fellowship to plan for the future, we are standing on Holy Ground.  And anything can happen on Holy Ground.  Demons run screaming from Holy Ground.  And for a brief moment the kingdom of heaven has not only drawn near, it is right here among us and we are free.  Free to love and celebrate all God has done for and with us.

So my prayer for you is that surrendered to that Great liberator your need to be right and perfect.  Surrender you desire to be in control.  Surrender you anger and distrust.  And out of you surrender may you be freed by the Great Liberator to love again and again even after you have been hurt.  May you be feed by the Great Liberator to share out of abundance and even more amazing out of loss.  May you be freed by the Great Liberator to live a life filled with joy even when anger wants for ferment into rage.  May the Great Liberator give you peace beyond your asking, beyond your understanding and beyond your circumstance.  May you be free.  Amen.

---

[1] David Lose, Commentary “Possessed”  Posted 01.22.12 on WorkingPreacher.org for  Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN

[2] A Markan Epiphany: Lessons from Mark 1 by DONALD H. JUEL AND PATRICK R. KEIFERT, Word & World, Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota, 8/1/1988.  Or see: http://www2.luthersem.edu/word&world/Archives/8-1_Spirituality/8-1_Juel-Keifert.pdf

[3] “Gleanings From the Text” Mark 1:21-28  by Beverly Zink-Sawyer January 2, 2009. Or see: http://jointhefeast.blogspot.com/2009/01/feb-1-2009-mark-121-28-beverly-zink.html

Sermon: January 22, 2012

Sermon: “Get-up and Go!”

Scripture Psalm 62 read responsively and Mark 1:14-20

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ January 22, 2012

Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana

Introduction to scripture

Psalm 62 read responsively

If you have ever known the pain of slander or the vicious nature of gossip, you will understand the Psalmist desire to trust God alone.  God is our refuge from evil.

1For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

2He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3How long will you assail a person, will you batter your victim, all of you, as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence. They take pleasure in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.
5For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
6He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
9Those of low estate are but a breath, those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath.
10Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,
12and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord. For you repay to all according to their work.

Mark 1:14-20

What would make you drop everything and pursue an entirely new life? A great job offer? A marriage proposal? The chance to make a huge difference in another part of the world? What would it take for you leave everything you know for something entirely different? What if it was a former carpenter and itinerant preacher talking about the kingdom of God coming near?  Today we will ordain and install new Ruling Elders of the Session.  They may not have dropped everything to serve but in the midst of very demanding lives they have chosen to follow the will of God in service with our church. 

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

SERMON

Let’s be honest that we all love the idea that romantic movies tell us; that the couple running toward each other in love can give up jobs, other relationships, family even dreams; to be with their “soul mate.”  But we also know that after the slow motion embrace there will come the fast pace of living and making choices together that will not be easy or without suffering. 

The call to discipleship can be seen in the same romantic vein.  Drop everything and follow Christ.  Just get up and go.  Do it!  It will all work out because Christ is with us.  In Susan Garrett’s article “The Problem of Evil” she writes: 

Jesus’ lordship over the powers, and our authority as his disciples, is not manifested in supernatural protection of the saints as much as in the divine strength we are given to persevere in the midst of this fallen world.[1]

If our commitment to Jesus is truly just an emotional response it is less likely to be sustained throughout life.  Our get-up and go, will have gotten- up and gone.  We know the original disciples that Jesus called into ministry with him were ordinary people.  They got jealous of each other, wanted the best seats in the house, thought Jesus should tell other people what to do, denied him and even betrayed him.  Yet in spite of the difficulties and the losses they were still together when he rose from the dead.  They came when he called and went where he told them and many died horrible deaths because of their witness to him.  How can we become as responsive?  First we do have to get-up and go.  We have to say yes to Jesus’ call.  No matter where we are in life, we can say, “Here I am, Lord.  Send Me!”  Discipleship does not stop when we are confined to a wheelchair or can no longer drive.  Every day there is someone you encounter who is waiting to hear good news.  You have His story; share his story with those you meet.  You may be planting a seed that others will water, or you may be blessed to see that seed grow into a profound faith that will last a life time.  Like Luann taking the first step in leadership, you are a child of the living God, be all God created you to be.  Amen.

---

[1] See: Presbyterians Today, 2011 special issue on “What Presbyterians Believe”

Sermon January 15, 2012

Sermon “You are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made”

Scripture: Psalm 139: 1-14 read responsively

and 1 Corinthians 6:11-20

Preached by Linda Jo Peters

January 15, 2012, Martin Luther King Sunday

Introduction to Scripture:
In this Psalm, singers praise God for God's goodness in delivering them from various life-threatening situations.  The psalmist celebrates the creative goodness of God in these first 14 verses.

Psalm 139: 1-14 read responsively

¹O Lord, you have searched me and known me.
²You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away.
³You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely.
⁵You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.
⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it.
⁷Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?
⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
⁹If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,”
¹²even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.
¹³For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.

I Corinthians 6:11-20

In the Corinthians letters there is a conversation going on, but we are only hearing one side of it.  Paul is writing to a congregation he probably helped found.  He is facing some challenging behavior for this congregation and it has brought conflict to the community as a whole.  There is a freedom living as Christians that laws and norms of culture cannot prescribe.  It is our union with Christ that directs the choices we make in life.  For Paul the main thing is: there cannot really be a divided loyalty. As God is one and Christ is one, so what we do needs to be coherent. His argument has less to do with laws of immorality and more to do with what happens in relationships and how they can compete with our relationship with God.  Two slogans were probably circulating in the Corinthian church:  “All things are lawful for me,” and “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food.”

Paul wrote by challenging these with some wisdom in Christ Jesus:

¹¹And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is meant not for fornication but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that whoever is united to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For it is said, “The two shall be one flesh.” But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. 

SERMON 

Each one of you have been fearfully and wonderfully made.  You were made with a purpose.  Paul wrote about your purpose to the church in Ephesus:
“In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of God who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.” (1:11-12)
So our purpose is to give God glory?  How do we that? 

By being all God created us to be.  We know God created us good, yet over and over we make choices that diminish us.  We abuse our God given bodies with variety of pollutants that make us ill and unable to live up to all God has created us to be.  We consume what we do not need and destroy our relationships with one another.  They we see ourselves as failures rather than as blessed children of our Heavenly Father. 

On Thursday evening before the Praise service, Jan gave me a resource with a series of studies for young women to develop their God given gifts for leadership in the church and society.  As I was perusing it, I saw one study was on “women and food.”  Now I love food and I am a woman, so I was reading it when I came to a discussion on body image.  Now when I grew up the perfect woman was like a playboy bunny or Marilyn Monroe who was a size 16 in her famous white dress.  Now while most Americans have gotten heavier, our ideal woman is almost anorexic, some models and movie stars have even needed treatment for this eating disorder.  There right in the middle of this study was the statement the “Many women struggle to see themselves as “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the image of God…”[1]  For a preacher that is a God moment.  I get really attentive when that happens to me. 

So I started to consider, “What is the body image of most people?”  Is it, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” or is it more “Does this make me look fat?’  We are very visually conscious society.  All about projecting a perfect image of youth, health, control.  But Paul is challenging us that our body image is not found in our outer appearances but in our relationships, especially our relationship with Jesus Christ.  He was speaking to both individuals and the corporate church as well.  We are held accountable to how we treat the temple of the Holy Spirit whether it is our physical body or our communal body. 

I love to swim.  But when I am in a big pool or at the beach, there is a comfort to see a life guard watching over me.  The life guard is a sign that if I get into trouble, someone will act to help me.  The church gives God glory by being the life guards of the world.  We stand prepared to risk our lives for others, and equipped to help.  Once people are rescued from the water, the life guard may make suggestions about water safety but on the whole they do not say, “just stay out of the water.”  People have to live in this world.  They have to leave the safety of the congregation and go where others will judge them if they are tall or short, heavy or thin, dark-skinned or light, male or female, extraverted or introverted.  Paul in his letter to the church in Corinth was dealing with some very unhealthy behavior that believers had come to justify because they were Christian.  Anything goes because in Christ they are forgiven and made new. 

He was having none of that.  Yes “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are beneficial.”  The body image Paul uses over and over in teaching us about our relationships is that together we form the body of Christ.  What kind of body image do we have when we use another to satisfy our desires?  “Use” is the key word.  Using another for our own wants and desires is as destructive to our temple of the Holy Spirit as it is to their temple of the Holy Spirit.  Just as anyone who has carried anger and a desire for revenge around in their body knows it is destructive, just ask them how it makes them feel.  It will push all that is beautiful and true right out of their self image.  This is true of sex, of a desire for control, even a passion to be independent –free as the cost of others is destructive to the body.  It takes over everything we think and do.  The question we must ask ourselves is about any attitude or action we take is, “Will this serve God’s purpose for my life to give God glory?” 

Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  He is best remembered for his position of “Social Justice and Non-Violent Civil Disobedience.” As a pastor he was greatly influenced by the life of Jesus the Christ.  King was also highly educated and well read so the teachings of civil disobedience by Mahatma Gandhi also came to bear on his choices.  He entered the world stage with a determination to eradicate social injustice by building bridges of community and peace. In an effort to bring these ideals to fruition, he encouraged and espoused a life of service. Such an understanding was rooted in his study of the barefoot preacher of Nazareth, who said, “If you want to be great, be a servant of all!”[2]  So tomorrow is a day of service to others.  Use the day to break the bonds that diminish us.  Instead in everything you do remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made.  You were made for a purpose to give God glory.  See yourself not as a business leader, a pretty face, a demanding client, a loser, an athlete but rather see yourself as fearfully and wonderfully made, a child of the living God, a vital part of the body of Christ, a temple for the Holy Spirit. Then let you choices lead you to be a servant of all and give your heavenly Father great joy.  Amen.

---

[1] Lifting Up Our Voices by National Network of Presbyterian College Women, Louisville, KY, 2002. P.64

[2] See: Elvin J. Parker III  article  at http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupLectionaryReading.asp?LRID=249

Reflection on poverty and our response

REFLECTION

"For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, to open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land."Deuteronomy 15:11

"Food! Glorious food!" in the musical adaption of Oliver Twist, Oliver and the other orphans sing this song as their supposed care givers feast and the children are given gruel. Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist in 1837-39. "At a time when Britain was the major economic and political power of the world, Dickens highlighted the life of the forgotten poor and disadvantaged within society. Through his journalism he campaigned on specific issues—such as sanitation and the workhouse—but his fiction probably demonstrated its greatest prowess in changing public opinion in regard to class inequalities." (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Dickens )

As servants of Jesus Christ, small and large congregations seek to ameliorate the suffering of the poor, such as Unity Presbyterian Church does with its food pantry. Even such a simple mission is not without challenges:

"Food pantries often find themselves with too much of one ingredient and not enough of others for people seeking a balanced diet. At the (Chicago) depository, 10 truckloads of canned green beans just arrived. Canned corn — and peanut butter — are especially scarce. To balance cost, nutrition and menu diversity, food banks buy groceries that fill in the gaps, including core staples that have moderated in price, such as rice. Filling the larder takes money. Keeping it filled takes more. "

(see full story about Chicago Food Pantries http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-food-0103-bd-20120103,0,6245351.story )

Right now Unity is blessed with a wonderful supply of frozen chicken and a donation from a local hunter of deer meat. But we have to buy fruits and vetgetables now that our garden is not producing. We also try to provide cleaning supplies to maintain ones home and self.

Congregations are often the first source of assistance for a families in crisis, but the systemic problems persist. As believers, we need to encourage a wide range of support. Unethical loaning can add terrible burdens in an already finanically limited home. Many are without health care and others cannot afford deductables. Then there is a culture of blame that has riddled our country with

either an antagonistic view of the poor or apathy. Do poor people make bad choices? Yes, just about the same as middle class or weathly people do. Blame does not help anyone get better. Jesus could have played the blaming game, instead he spent his life teaching people to love one another and to care for those in need.

"If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." Matthew 19:21