Sermon Series on the Apostles Creed pt 7 (9 weeks)

 1John 1:1-5; Hebrews 12:1-3

...the communion of saints February 13th 2022

The other night at the table as we were finishing dinner we decided to go around and list our top 3 of something. One person would pick a question and all of us would answer. One question that came up was the Top 3 Childhood heroes. There were famous people, superheroes, and people we knew personally listed. As I was thinking the 3 that hit my mind were part of the ones I have listed my whole life starting in childhood. 

  First my great grandmother, a faithful woman of God who influenced my life of faith in remarkable ways. 

Then I listed Jesus

And finally Laura Holbrook, she was my childhood Christian Education director, teacher, and then mentor as she went to run programs at the camp that formed my call to ministry. 

I felt like I had to defend my 3 because it seemed such a pastor's answer but it was honest. Jesus truly has been my hero as I try to emulate him in my life. And my Great-Grandma and Laura were two that helped me understand how to live like Jesus right now. I look to them for strength still, one in heaven and one still alive both teach me so much. 

The author of Hebrews was a pastor type, this book is a long sermon, a message of encouragement to the people of his flock. Chapter 12 is about the application of faith in life, living out a holy life. As it starts it gives words that guide the focus statement of the communion of saints. Hear now God’s word from:

Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV 

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD. THANKS BE TO GOD.

Today we are looking at the phrase in the Apostles Creed…the communion of saints. Remember that this creed was created over hundreds of years. The first time this phrase of the creed was seen was by Nicetus of Reminiciana who wrote a commentary on the Apostles and Nicene Creed, in 414 AD,  for those preparing for their baptism. 

Justo Gonzalez gave a great description of what was meant and means that we believe in the communion of saints.  He says, “communion of saints,” in reference to the belief in a mystical bond uniting both the living and the dead in a confirmed hope and love.” (80)

In Latin it was written communio sanctorus. 

Communio that means either fellowship but also “the sharing of the saints”  ; the sharing was important in Acts as this was how the church lived. It was all sharing in life, in community, by the time Nicetus was around this way of life was only in the monastic life. 

Sanctorus means either “of the saints” or “of holy things” 

Put together it seems to be about how the people of God gather, fellowship, and live out their faith together. The ‘of holy things,’ the communion, the holy thing we share most often is the remembrance of Jesus when we partake of the elements that we call Communion today. 

Gonzalez says that if we are affirming that our faith contains a belief in the communion of the saints we are affirming:  

1) our fellowship with believers of all times and places 

2) our readiness to share with others who are in need

3) that our sharing includes “holy things” 

We may not live monastic lives, or in particular communities where we live, eat, and share all things are happening but we have a communion of the saints. It is happening right now as we have members visiting the sick in our congregation, it is happening now with two members holding the hand of a dear former pastor as she has held the hands of so many others over the years. We have a fellowship together and we share holy moments and holy things, like communion often. 

As we look to how those Christians lived out these words in other confessional documents that helped adults and children of the faith understand the words of the apostles and nicene creed. 

The Heidelberg Catechism (4.055) states that the communion of saints affirmation is that: 

First that believers one and all, as members of this community share in Christ, and in all his treasures and gifts. 

Second, that each member should consider it a duty to use these gifts readily and joyfully for the service and enrichment of the other members. 

In 1 John 1:1-5 it is about the fellowship of the believers and that we are connected to each other and to God. We have eternal life with God and therefore believe that there is more in this life and in the life to come. That we have a bond with those living and those who are no longer physically present with us. That the Spirit of God guides us through what we know and that may come from the wisdom of a great grandma, a teacher, a spouse, a parent, a child, a pastor. 

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. What a comforting feeling for us that we are not only on this journey, or the race set before us. 

A striking fact about ancient churches is some of the ways they worshiped that seem so bizarre to us. The first Christians worshiped in cemeteries, for they believed the deceased were very much alive, with God, and still in fellowship with the Church on earth. (James Howell, 127)

Could you imagine having regular services held in a cemetery? What would that mean for how we feel about death and feel about the comfort of the communion of saints being a part of faith in life and in death. 

There are some cultures that may not regularly worship in cemeteries but have the day of the dead and have shrines in their homes not to worship the beloved that passed but to be reminded they are very much alive. It’s interesting that animated movies took this on in recent years with The Book of Life and Coco both fascinating movies about Hispanic culture and those who have died. 

The heroes of faith are those who not only show us the Gospel but they are living out the Gospel in real tangible ways, the grace of God, the Spirit of God is living in and through human life. 

One of the things that I think we as protestants sometimes push aside is those claimed by the Roman Catholic church as saints because of the baggage put with how we pray to the saints and how it can be misconstrued. There are many men and women that have been given sainthood that clearly have lived out the Gospel in their lives, they have championed what they have read and internalized it so much that they dedicated their lives to a cause that sparked from their reading, studying, and knowledge of the scriptures. 

One of those saints that is most familiar is Saint Francis of Assissi, he was first known as the patron saint of Italy and then later known for the patron saint of animals and the environment. Blessing of the animals first started with him in the 13th century. (And we get to look forward to another Blessing of the Animals in May here at SPC. )

Saint Francis gave away all his wealth, yet his last words were, “I have done what is mine to do; now you must do what is yours to do.”  (Howell, 128)

St. Francis was calling to those to run the race set before them and many people looked to others for examples of how to make it through. 

There is a movement of people that are thinking about the people of faith outside of the Roman Catholic and even outside of the Christian church who are saints, who are people that lived a life of faith, that challenge, that are bold. 

One of my favorites is, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church in San Francisco had an artist, Mark Dukes create an artwork that is more than remarkable to be reminded of the communion of saints as we worship our God together. This came from the church website: 

The Dancing Saints icon is a monumental, surprising and powerful statement of faith for the ages, created by artist Mark Dukes with the people of St. Gregory’s. Completed in 2009, it wraps around the entire church rotunda, showing ninety larger-than life saints, four animals, stars, moons, suns and a twelve-foot tall dancing Christ.

The saints—ranging from traditional figures like King David, Teresa of Avila and Frances of Assisi to unorthodox and non-Christian people like Malcolm X and Anne Frank —represent musicians, artists, mathematicians, martyrs, scholars, mystics, lovers, prophets and sinners from all times, from many faiths and backgrounds.

As the congregation dances around the altar, the saints dance above, proclaiming a sweeping, universal vision of God shining through human life.

There are saints among us who live out the gospel, there are saints that have passed and are with Jesus in glory that help guide us still, there are saints that are to come. 

We can see through the lives of others the things that draw us close to Jesus. We also know that through scripture and the lives of the saints that we don’t always get it right, but we are called to keep striving, keep working on the relationship. 

We are connected to each other as I stated last week with being part of the holy catholic church, we are also saying we share in the holy things of God. We share the sacredness of each other, we share time in holy spaces, we share in holy acts of service, of worship, of laughter and tears. 

We are called to look to those we consider heroes, they may be figures that have changed the world in big ways, they may be people that changed your world in big ways. They may have affected a small community or a large one, the world may know them by name or not. The reality is there are heroes among us, people that live out faith in the day to day. 

You may be a hero to someone and not even know it. 

Take time to think about those whom you believe are heroes of the faith today.  Who are your heroes? 

Why would someone consider you a hero? 

The saints are among us, the saints are us, we have and can be a living presence of God as we love others, as we care for others, as our lives change and others change by the grace of God. 

We are all saints and sinners, we are all called together to remember what was and be strengthened by the work of the past as we become strength of the present and work towards the witness to Jesus now and always. 

Sermon Series on the Apostle Creed pt 8 (9 weeks)

 The Forgiveness of Sins....

This week I chose not to preach but open the pulpit to a dear friend Rev. Dr. Joshua Scott a colleague from the Baptist world. He preached the text of Genesis 9 talking about God's Provision and Humanity's Need. He address the forgiveness of sin against poor interpretation of scripture that hurt black and brown bodies by the phrase Noah spoke to his son Ham, "curse be Canaan."

We made space in the entire service of worship to ask God for the forgiveness of sins of racism and hatred against brothers and sisters. We spoke of ways that white men and women have been unaware of the daily injustice of those who are black and brown simply because of the color of their skin.

As an introduction to the Apostle's Creed I gave these words:

This weeks focus from the Apostles Creed is the “forgiveness of sins” this was added around the same time of the communion of saints in the 4th century. It is important that we believe in this because one we recognize our brokenness, our faults, and failings and two that there is forgiveness from God and that we too are to do the work of forgiveness in our lives and relationships with those we know and those we have never met. 

May we all seek forgiveness for the injustices done in the name of Christ. For the hurt and suffering put on generations of people of color and those who are different that what has been deemed normal and acceptable. We do believe in a forgiveness of sins and therefore we are called to work for reconciliation with our siblings, with our neighbors all created in the image of God.

Sermon Series on the Apostles Creed pt 6 (9 weeks)

 Acts 2: 42,46-47; Ephesians 1:3-5

...​​the holy catholic Church, 

(Preached on February 6th, 2022)

The line in the Apostles Creed that usually gives most people pause and some confusion said in protestant church is the line “We believe….in the holy catholic church…”

The first thing I usually tell people is catholic means universal and we just kept the old word catholic to stick with tradition because as Presbyterians we don’t like change, especially things that date back to a long tradition within our denomination. 

As I spent the week preparing for this sermon I found a lot more information about the theological importance of the word catholic and why this word is stronger than just changing the creed to the word universal to fit our modern sensibilities. Also I found that some scholars thought the pause and question would be about the word holy to term the church because what is holy about the church? 

We will take time to explore both of these avenues of understanding of this line as well as look at the scripture to see what the church is called to be in the world as we confess the church as an importance in our belief. 

In the Ephesians scripture the Apostle was helping the church in Ephesus see themselves as a part of a larger whole. The Apostles were spread throughout the world to make disciples. They planted churches all over, some stayed in a general location and some, like Paul, were called to move place after place and correspond to the churches that he planted and left or send information ahead to others. The beginning of Ephesians is Paul’s prayer to the church. He is hopeful that the church will see themselves in the expanse of the church that the body of Christ, the church, is not just in one place but bigger than themselves. This is a prayer to us today to see ourselves in the story of God that we are part of a larger story across time and place. 

I think about how this church alone has a history dating back to the early 20th century and how the body of Christ was working to be faithful then as we look to how we are to be faithful as a church today. God is at work in our lives as individuals but really God has brought us together for such a time to respond to the needs of the world, celebrate the love of God in this place, and share the good news with others. 

Teresa of Avila, a Spanish nun of the 16th century said, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ looks out on a hurting world. Yours are the feet with which he goes about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless now.”

The body of Christ is the church. It is made up of individuals but we are called together as a community to do the work of God as we are not to be solitary. 

We better understand our faith, we better serve, we are better as a community. We could try to do it alone but we are called to come together, to inspire and be inspired by one another. 

The Acts 2 scripture talks about the work of the church. Praying together and breaking bread together. For the early church the  community gathered regularly, probably more than once or twice a week to pray, to lift one another up, and to eat together. The church supported each other in body, mind, and spirit. The early church was made up primarily of house churches, people that met in homes and had the sacred opportunity to know all of each other. 

James Howell talked about how, “Faith is something we do together, something that presses us up against people with whom we normally might have no contact at all, only to discover that with regard to what really matters, we are brothers and sisters in God’s quirky family.”

Church brings together people of all backgrounds, personalities, ages, and more. I think fondly of the people I interacted with as a child in my church that raised me and how they were my family. The lady who was a German WWII bride who became another grandmother to me as I spent hours in her company as a young adult and how my parents then visited her every Sunday until her passing. I think about how we have come together from different cultures, states, denominational backgrounds, we have a variety of educational backgrounds, we have a variety of ages. Where else do you go that you are able to meet so many different types of people and be together for one purpose? 

The holy catholic church means that we are connected to each other. Even those of us at Stockbridge are connected to churches across the community, the world, and across time. We are connected to the early church of Ephesus, we are connected to the church down the street that looks and praises very differently than we do. We are connected to churches we understand and look similar as well as churches we don’t agree with theologically. 

When we state that we believe in the catholic church we are saying not only that we believe that the church is universal but the other meaning, the deeper meaning is “according to the whole,” it means that it is for people to contribute to it and be part of it. This part was added in the 4th century probably as a way to remind the people of the church who used these words as a proclamation of their faith that they are in this together. 

Justo Gonzalez put it this way, when we say we believe in the ‘caholic church’ we say, “We believe in the church; we are part of the church, we are believers within the church. We don’t believe in the church the same way we believe in God.” but we believe in the purpose of church in our lives as practitioners of faith. 

The church is a place that guides us in our beliefs, we believe that the church is the place that we all called to be a family, a mixed up, messy, wonderful family with all its joys and concerns, failures, and faults, all its successes. 

The other part of the phrase that has caught up some people isn’t just the caholic part, and again catholic is not about the Roman Cathollic denomination but the word holy in terms of the church has tripped up people. 

How can you call a church holy when it can be wrapped up in so much ungodly and unholy things. We have seen priests, church musicians, church leaders use their power to do heinous things to others. We have seen people in churches use the name of Christ to not lift up the broken-hearted but spew evil words. 

The church in spite of its complicity to wrong is holy because of the work of the Spirit of God. We are holy because of the work of the Spirit of God in us in spite of the wrong we have done. All of us, including the church are redeemed and being redeemed in and through Christ as we gather together, as we pray together, as we break bread together, as we sing together, as we cry together. The work of the Spirit of God is happening in the church that we think has it all together but is struggling and with the church that looks rough from the outside but is full of the Spirit on the move. 

The church is the people, we might be in a building that is deemed Stockbridge Presbyterian Church but it is made up of legacies, testimonies, people. When I pray for the church I am praying for our leaders, I am praying for those who are suffering, who are struggling, I am praying for the people. 

When a church building was torn apart and destroyed by a tornado in Kentucky the church family gathered together and worshiped. When this building and others across the world closed due to pandemic precautions the people still gathered to celebrate God, to worship, fellowship, and pray. When the people of God are persecuted in the 1st century, and in places like Laos, North Korea, and other places the people of God find a way to be the church gathered, not always in a building that has a steeple, not in storefronts, or fancy buildings, the church is the body of Christ who gathers, who prays, who shares in the story of God together. 

We are catholic as we are part of the story of God with ancient foremothers and forefathers, we are part of the story of God with the people in scripture. We are part of the story of God with Stockbridge in 1909, in 2022, and part of the story of God for all time that has yet to come.

As a church we are called to welcome others to be a part of the work of Jesus in the world. We are the hands, the feets, the eyes, the ears. When we have the heart of Christ we desire for all types of people, those who are different, look, talk, act different than us and by loving each other and learning from each other we learn more about the Jesus who calls us to gather, time after time for such a time as this.

BONUS

CHILDREN’S SERMON 

Here is the church, here is the people. 

Not a building but really about people. Next week is the communion of saints and today we are celebrating communion by gathering at the table with everyone across the world and across time. All those who belong to God we are all at one table. 

Universal church, one body of Christ. 

A few other ways to look at this rhyme 

Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and welcome all people

We are the church, we gather in places, the body of Christ, reaching out to all spaces. 

(fingers wiggle, hook fingers together, turn and hand out and open)

Sermon Series on the Apostles Creed pt 5 (9 weeks)

 John 14:18-20, 25-26

I Believe in the Holy Ghost

(Preached on Jan 30th, 2022)

Prayer for Illumination: Song Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli

Holy Spirit, You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence, Lord

Your presence, Lord

In our series of the Apostles Creed we are now at the one-liners. We believe in the Holy Ghost, or as we see it all over scripture the Holy Spirit. The final part of the Trinity. The part of the Trinity that helps us relate to God and Jesus, the inspiration of the word of God. 

Scripture has many ways that the Spirit of God is described or mentioned. In Genesis 1:2 is the ruach, the breath of life. It is the creative and working gift of life in the Old Testament. It is working in a variety of ways all throughout the scriptures, giving gifts, courage, hope, and justice in the land. The Spirit wasn’t dormant but an everlasting presence. 

 In Acts 2:4 at Pentecost the people were filled with the Holy Spirit, the pneuma, which is defined as a great wind. The Spirit is active in the life of Jesus and is the closest possible relation to Christ. The Spirit moved from being an outside source to one that worked in and through the people of God as witnesses to Christ. 

John is the only one to use a different word for the Holy Spirit. Instead of a form of pneuma, he used parakletos, which means Comforter, Advocate, Helper. This is how John has Jesus describe the Holy Spirit 4 times in the gospel  and in 1 John 2:1 uses the same word, Advocate, to emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity. 

Let us hear now the Word of God from John 14:18-20, 25-26 of the Common English Bible 

18 “I won’t leave you as orphans. I will come to you. 19 Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you.

25 “I have spoken these things to you while I am with you. 26 The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.

THIS IS THE WORD OF THE LORD. THANKS BE TO GOD. 

Jesus tells the disciples in John 14, which is the Farewell Discourse to the Disciples, a whole chapter of Jesus explaining that he is preparing a place for the disciples, he is preparing them to continue the work of witnessing after Jesus is physically gone. They don’t get it, we sometimes still don’t get it. But this is what Jesus gives as an incredible gift. The Holy Spirit, which is how we are able to understand any of what Jesus has said, is the presence and the life giving purpose. It is the wind that moves us in the way to go. 

Last week I talked about the Weeds and the Wheat and mentioned a dandelion. I think about the positive part of this image. It is spread by the wind every which way, it is moved not on it’s own and goes where the wind takes it. What an image for us to think about the Spirit of God moving us and sending us out to different places to fulfill our purpose. That the wind can move us in any direction, sometimes even a direction we wouldn’t have taken on our own. 

Poetry is a beautiful work of the Spirit. One of the great women of Christian faith, Hildegard of Bingen wrote this poem about the Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit is life-giving life,
Universal Mover and the root of all creation,
Refiner of all things from their dross,
Brings forgiveness of guilt and oil for our wounds,
Is radiance of life, most worthy of worship,
Wakening and reawakening both earth and heaven.


I love this poem as it describes how the Spirit has moved and is moving us in the direction of Jesus. The poetry describes all the work that the Spirit did in the Old Testament and how the Spirit keeps us connected to God in ways we could never do on our own. 

I always was struck that the Holy Spirit didn’t get more attention in the creed that I stated over and over again in life. It feels a little like an afterthought and not part of the amazing way that I connect with Jesus and witness to Jesus in the world. 

This is where I feel so connected to the Brief Statement of Faith the church put out a few decades ago. This is what is stated all about the Spirit:

We trust in God the Holy Spirit, everywhere the giver and renewer of life. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the Church.

The same Spirit who inspired the prophets and apostles rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture, engages us through the Word proclaimed, claims us in the waters of baptism, feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation, and calls women and men to all ministries of the church. 

In a broken and fearful world the Spirit gives us courage to pray without ceasing, to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior, to unmask idolatries in Church and culture, to hear the voices of peoples long silenced, and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.  

This is a gift for us to take the one line of the creed and really expand on the work of the Holy Spirit. 

What does the Holy Spirit do?

Richard Ward describes the task of the Spirit, “ to help us understand what we have been taught and learn to act upon it. The Spirit is present to us as one who will “teach [us] everything” when we are perplexed about how to act in loving obedience.

The Spirit guides us to understand what we are reading in the scripture. What we are to do with our faith, how it is we are supposed to witness to the lost, the last, the least of these. The living word of God in scriptures is living because of the work of the Spirit.

How then does the Spirit help you to understand Jesus in your life?


As believers in a Trinitarian God, the Spirit is fully part of God and Jesus and yet works on it’s own. We have our Father Almighty, We have Jesus our Redeemer, Our Savior, and we have the Spirit which is not only the Comforter, the Helper, the Advocate, the Spirit sustains us and gives us peace. Each was there at the beginning and throughout time and yet each has very special ways in which we understand their function in our lives as we understand any of this at all.

Back to  John 14, Jesus tells the disciples he will give them the parakletos, the Helper, the Advocate. And then says the most beautiful verse:

27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.

The Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth is what Jesus leaves as an incredible gift that we will have peace.

Peace of God may come in moments. There may be a moment in the midst of a crisis that somehow a peace wafts over the chaos in order to have the energy to keep going. That is the peace of God. In the moment of seeing or hearing a sound of a baby that reminds us of the precious miracle of new life that is the peace of God. The moment of taking that sip of coffee or the warmth of a sigh that is the peace that Jesus leaves us. It may be big and sustaining, it may be small and fleeting but also sustaining. The peace of God is one that truly surpasses all understanding, but we are left with the promise that even in the shadow of heartache, loss, loneliness, suffering, we are able to receive the peace of God through the work of the Holy Spirit.

John is the only one that calls the Spirit an advocate. What is an advocate? 

It is one who stands with you, it is one that is “called to stand beside…” through a court case. Today maybe we can see a word like sponsor or supporter as one that listens, that supports, that goes beside them through the good, the bad, and the in between. 

I think about the important work of groups like AA and Al-Alon that use the work of the Sponsor as an integral part of the community and process. The sponsor is one that listens, that stands with the one in recovery, alongside them, the sponsor isn’t one that is outside of the community but is one that is with the person, for the person, wanting them to want their best. 

Theologian Daniel MIgliore speaks about how the Holy Spirit is representative, it is by the Holy Spirit’s work that the gap is closed between us and Jesus in time and space. The church and the work of God and Jesus,  is not a  distant part of the past but a part of life yesterday, today, and forever. Christ is not a memory but part of the life we live in the day to day. The work of God is happening through the breath of the Holy Spirit drawing us near, calling us to love, to serve, and giving us the words to do so. 

The Spirit is one that works with a gentle breath, a violent wind, a comfort, and a peace. The Spirit is what connects and inspires the church to be the church. The Spirit leads us to do what we may deem is impossible (at least for us).

We are called not only to invite the Spirit of God that is there already to work in our lives but we are to listen to the urging of the Spirit to do the hard things, to hear each other, to reach out for guidance and help, even when we feel too proud to take it. The Spirit is guiding the church, the community, and us as individuals each and every day. 

When you ask the Spirit to open your eyes and hearts and minds, change will come. It will change for the better as we are called not only to have peace, to be peacemakers, to work with the Spirit in creativity, justice, and love. 

How has the Spirit worked in you?
How is it that you have come to believe in Jesus and the work of God in the world? 

Take time to allow yourself to be in the presence of the Spirit this week. Notice how you come to understand Jesus in scripture, how you relate to God in life and in prayer, how you are inspired in big and in little ways. 

Friends, 

Will you let the Spirit move you? 

Will you let the Spirit comfort you?

Sermon Series Apostles Creed pt 4 (9 weeks)

 

 Ephesians 1:20-23; Matthew 13:37-43

 He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

(Preached on January 23rd, 2022)

We have now hit the last part about Jesus in the Apostles Creed. 

 He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

Let’s start with the first part of this phrase. Jesus as written in the Gospels and in Paul’s letters was not only risen but after a time he ascended. His physical body was no longer with the people and the way in which followers, then and now, connect to Jesus was different than when he was physically with the people. The resurrection was a transition point and a turning point not only for Jesus but for us as believers and followers because we declare an incarnate God, a God with us always but it is not as it was before. 

The people of that time, and I’m sure even today we wonder why Jesus ascended saying he would come again. The early Christians, Paul, believed it was going to happen in their lifetime. Then ages upon ages of Christians believed, hoped for, and prayed for Christ’s return to have in their lifetime. 

When will it happen, that is not up for us to decide or worry about, but are called to always be ready. 

What the ascension did was give space for the followers for us to know where we stand with God. 

The disciples were no longer scared and huddled behind locked doors, in fact they boldly went out and spread the Word of God North, South, East, and West. Boldly in the face of imminent death, boldly people accepted a life that was counter-cultural, that was despised. 

In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, the theme was about the power and authority of Jesus. That Jesus is above all worldly powers as one seated on the right hand of God the Creator. The people of Ephesus knew power and understood the authority those in power have so this was about making sure they knew that the power doesn’t belong to any earthly ruler, king, or magistrate. That the ultimate power is in Christ. 

The early Christians were gathering knowing that the power of the land was against their way of life and belief system. The power of the day wanted the people to worship not gods, not God but Caesar, the face of god in that time. The earthly authority. And Christians are saying that power on earth, power under and above the earth is not from all these other things but the God of Israel, the God that is Jesus, who is at the seat of authority as part of God. 

This seat of power as written in Ephesians is that Christ is the head of the church. The church being the community with which people engage in the work of the Lord. 

A great reminder for those of us in leadership that all we do for the sake of the gospel, all we do in the name of Christ should not be about us but about the one that calls, and sends us. 

As a day of Installation for our elders, it is a great time to be reminded of who we put our ultimate authority in, Jesus. 

Justo Gonzalez in the Book about The Apostles Creed for today states, “What the ascension tells us is that in Christ’s incarnation and ascension the infinite has embraced the finite.” (Justo, 63)

We understand our time on this side of life to be finite, it will end someday. And Jesus’ human life was finite in a public way, but then in the ascension there was Jesus as an infinite, an everlasting being. Again the one fully human, fully divine. Both finite parts of Jesus were embraced by the infinite part of Jesus. 

What then is Jesus doing as the one that sits at the right hand of God. Jesus is called then the one to judge the quick (the living) and the dead. This is the Jesus that suffered and died, the Jesus that descended to the dead and was risen. 

We come now to the Gospel lesson of today. This is Jesus telling the disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Weeds and the Wheat. 

Hear Now the Word of the Lord from Matthew 13:37-43 in Common English Bible Translation. 

37 Jesus replied, “The one who plants the good seed is the Human One.

38 The field is the world. And the good seeds are the

 followers of the kingdom. But the weeds are the followers of the evil one.

 39 The enemy who planted them is the devil. 

The harvest is the end of the present age. The harvesters are the angels.

40 Just as people gather weeds and burn them in the fire,

 so it will be at the end of the present age.

 41 The Human One[b] will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause people to fall away and all people who sin. 

42 He will throw them into a burning furnace. 

People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. 

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. 

Those who have ears should hear.”

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 

The weeds that were sown by evil and then the wise landowner had the workers not gather the weeds but wait until both weeds and wheat are grown to fullness to be separated out. Jesus was telling the people there will be evil that happens along with the good in the world. We will see both in fact we are better able to understand the good when the evil is around. 

And then comes the part where Jesus talks about the fiery furnace. This is the fire and brimstone part that is focused on in many traditions. The separating out of the righteous and unrighteous. The faithful and the unfaithful. 

The writer of Matthew and the words of Jesus talk of a fiery furnace. This was very reminiscent of the place where three very faithful men were thrown into a familiar Old Testament story, Daniel 3 of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then there was a fourth walking around. The judge is in the fiery furnace and is refining those thrown out. 

There will be a Judgment upon the earth but it is not one that is separated out by us humans. In fact Jesus even says the angels will do the harvesting. Not us, not any religious figure head, 

Nancy Hasting Sehested, a chaplain of a prison in North Carolina wrote this about the Matthew text, 

Jesus sounded like a doomsday prophet, but Jesus was not sentencing people to hell. He was inviting his disciples to attend the holy work of tending the garden. He invited a long-range view of the mission at hand. What are the “weeds,” the obstacles and the destructive forces that threaten God’s harvest? If we see with God’s vision, perhaps we can see what needs to thrive and what needs to be tossed, but discernement is required. 

Again, What are the weeds that threaten God’s good harvest? 

There is evil in the world but that doesn’t mean all those who do evil are evil. There is hope for redemption. I’m sure Rev. Nancy understands that as she shepherds the men in the maximum security prison. She must understand the depths of the need for justice in this life and the hope that comes for those men in Christ to give themselves over to the one who has created them, loves them, and wants them to surrender themselves over. 

The one who has come to judge is the one that has been judged. Jesus understood love as we all do but his love ran deeper than we could ever imagine. Jesus healed on holy days, talked to those considered enemies, ate with those who were sinning against God and neighbor, Jesus taught in parables about the kingdom that was about the last, the lost, and the least. There was a new sense of love and justice from God and for us as followers of God in Jesus. 

Justice is an interesting term. We desire justice to happen on this side of the earth and for us justice is usually about come-uppance. That those who have done wrong will get what they deserve and the opposite, those who have done right will get the good they deserve. 

Justo Gonzalez put it this way, 

Justice is when everything is in its proper place. (Note the relationship between “justice” and “adjust.” Adjusting things to their proper place, size, and function is a sort of justice.) Justice is when no one oppresses another, when all show mutual respect, when life and freedom and peace are affirmed. ..Love, on the other hand, is not simply allowing others to do as they please. ..Love is truly concerned over the actions and the being of the beloved. ...Ours is a God of such love that it is perfect justice, and of such justice that it is perfect love. 

What a vision. A God that desires and gives perfect justice, adjusting the things that are out of order. Of redeeming the unredeemable. Of loving the unlovable. 

So what are we to do with this scripture and this part of the creed? 

First, is a reminder that we are not the judge. That is the place where Jesus standss. Jesus is judge, jury, and then Jesus takes on your defense as well. 

We are called to show love and show others the way to live into the promises of following a God who understands our suffering, who understands our wrongdoings, the pain we inflict and the pain inflicted upon us. We are to tell the truth in love. Like a parent that helps a young child know not to touch a hot stove, God is calling us to help each other discern the path but ultimately it is between God and the other person. 

We are to help tend, help show the way, but we are not to pass judgment or condemn others with our words. 

I am forever grateful that God is God and I am not as it frees me to love myself, love others, love those to whom I am related, those I like, and love even my enemies as I am not the one to worry about the final judgment but I am one that is supposed to understand right and wrong, help others understand how to treat one another with love and respect and then to give myself over to go that will judge me but as a judge stands in my place as Jesus took on sin and death and conquered it all for the world.