| "Can Truth Sustain Us?" Sermon Preached By Rev. Richard E. Stetler - December 24, 2001
Lois recently gave me an
article she clipped from the Washington Post that perfectly
illustrates this confusion. This was written by Krista Adams who
lives in Bethesda.
My father was a minister. My husband is
half-Jewish, half-Roman Catholic. We have two young daughters. We
don't go to church. Yet I find myself longing to reconnect with my
spiritual side and to give my girls some grounding in the life of
the soul. But how? Where? Who would take us?
One Sunday morning, watching my daughters
dancing around in their fairy princess garb, I mused out loud:
"Aren't we a picture? One lapsed Baptist. A secular Jew. And two
little pagans." My oldest daughter heard me and her reprimand was
stern. "Mommy," she said, "we are not penguins." Well, at least
that issue is settled. I believe her questions
surfaced as a result of her fears of rejection, a response that can
lurk within many communities of faith. She longs for what will
nourish her spirit. She wants to rear her daughters in an
environment without all the denominational exclusivity that
frequently confronts newcomers. How quickly some of us forget that
"Our way is the way" was the same intolerance that allowed
some very religious-minded people to rid themselves of Jesus
Christ. Krista asked, "But how? Where? Who would take us?"
Shortly before his death,
Jesus found himself with the Roman governor of Judea. Pontius
Pilate asked, "Are you now telling me that you are a king?" Jesus
replied, "You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the
world for this one purpose -- to speak about the truth.
Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me." Pilate asked,
"What is truth?" The Gospel writer did not record Jesus' answer. To find out how Jesus could have responded to Pilate, we have to turn to something he said earlier in his ministry. In these words we find his truth. Here they are:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and
the most important truth. The second most important truth is like it.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself. The whole Law of Moses and the
teachings of the prophets have their basis in these two truths. Truth does not depend on
anything to exist. Truth does not care whether anyone believes in it or
not. Truth does not care whether someone takes the time to discover
it now or that it's ability to enlighten must await for more eager minds
hundreds of years in the future. Regardless of what anyone thinks or
believes, absolutely no one will evolve spiritually without having
discovered it. What Jesus taught is capable of
being expressed by anyone, whether that person is a United Methodist, a
Roman Catholic, a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu or someone not associated with
any spiritual group. Jesus taught and demonstrated the enormous
power that can arise from within us when our spirits, energized by love,
reach out to all living things. It was Christmas day in England
during the final phases of World War II. Three G.I.s found themselves
with nothing to do. Since the weather was warm they decided to go for a
walk. While being lost in conversation, they came to the outskirts of a
village where they found themselves facing a rundown pub. Having
developed a thirst by this time, they thought a little English libation
would taste pretty good. When they tried to enter the front door,
however, they found it was locked. To their complete chagrin a nun
opened the door. She explained that the place
used to be a pub and now it was an orphanage. She invited the three
Americans to come in. The children, who had heard so much about the
Americans, were very excited to see them. One of the men noticed a
small tree in the corner decorated with many ornaments that had
obviously been made by the children. He whispered to the nun, "Where are
the Christmas presents?" She said, "We have so little money to feed
them that I'm afraid the tree is all we could afford this year." When the three G.I.s heard this,
they emptied their pockets of pens and pencils. They gave away
everything from their hats to their chewing gum. After everything was
disbursed, one of the Americans noticed a shy little guy hiding behind
an old piano. They looked at each other realizing they had nothing left
to give him. One of the soldiers walked over to the boy, knelt down to
his eye level and said, "What would you like to have for Christmas my
little man?" The boy's eyes filled with tears as he silently reached
out to be held. The soldier picked him up and
asked the nuns if they could borrow him for a little while. They
carried him back to the barracks where they summoned the troops. Over a
hundred G.I.s responded with their trucks filled with blankets, food,
and clothing, enough items to stock that orphanage with everything those
nuns would need for quite some time. It is in us to do such things
every day even when we have been hurt. This is who we are regardless of
our color, religious heritage, or culture. This is how God made us. All
of us have the ability to reveal our identity as angels in the flesh.
We saw this response when the World Trade Center buildings collapsed.
We saw this as people rallied around the uncertainties at the Pentagon.
We saw people donating everything from blood to money. Yes, there are a number of
misguided people in the world but Jesus came to show us another way.
Some may have to wait until they learn that expressing hatred and anger
is nothing more than desiring spiritual cancer to attack their own
souls. Those of us, however, who have
found the truth have discovered how creative and filled with light our
spirits become when we give ourselves away. This is what Jesus came here
to teach us. This was the purpose for his being born. Merry Christmas!
PASTORAL PRAYER
What a great time to be gathered together for
Christmas Eve. O God, all humanity needs the arrival of the Prince of
Peace. We have a 126 nations in our world and right now 59 of them are
engaged in some kind of armed conflict within their own borders or with
their neighbors. Our technology moves the world forward at warp speed,
while emotionally and spiritually humanity still does not know how to
sing its song with one voice. How fitting that we gather to celebrate
the birth of Jesus. We need to hear again his plea to us, "Learn to love
each other as you love yourselves." As we are here in the comfortable space of our church, may we collectively send our thoughts and prayers to those who cannot be with their families this night. They are performing emergency surgeries. They are patrolling our nation's highways. They are preparing for the morning additions of their newspapers. They are fighting fires, fixing broken water pipes, repairing fallen power lines, and making late deliveries so that our lives will not be inconvenienced. And many of them are in other countries trying to stabilize regions filled with people who keep alive their ancient hurts. As we renew ourselves tonight with familiar Christmas carols and candle lighting, touch our lives with truth. As we come to the table and receive the bread and the cup, help us remember all that Jesus said we could be. In our haste to live creatively, may we not forget how to live peacefully. We pray these thoughts through the spirit of Jesus, who taught us to say when we pray . . . |