"The
Health of Our God-Connection" Sermon Delivered By Reverend Richard E. Stetler
– October 27, 2013 Centenary United
Joel 2:23-29; Luke 18:9-14 In our lesson for
today, Jesus compared the practices of two believers, something that a
number of us do from time to time.
For example, we have a preference if we were to choose between
traditional and contemporary worship services.
We have thoughts about Christian churches that play Bingo to
raise money. We know
are High churches that feature
a lot of ritual, chanting and liturgical responses and
Low churches that provide only
a few rituals. We are aware
of congregations that stress the
baptism of the Holy Spirit where members speak in tongues and church
families that stress the values and attitudes associated with living in
The Why is the practice
of our Christian beliefs so different across the Body of Christ? If
we tried to answer that question, we would be here all day and not
scratch the surface of finding an answer that would satisfy everyone.
When we examine what Jesus taught, it might appear obvious to
some of us that it is not the style of worship or even what we believe
that ultimately matters.
What matters is the spirit by which we live and the trust we place in
God for our eventual destiny. Among the followers
of every religion are people that take their religious practices and
beliefs very seriously.
are others that remain completely uninformed about matters
of spirit and still others that consider themselves
more flexible with what
priority they give to their beliefs.
When Jesus compared two such believers he said, "Two men went up
to the One man was highly
skilled in his knowledge and practice of the Hebrew Law. He voiced his
gratitude to God that he was not like others that were engaged in greed,
dishonesty and adultery. He
fasted twice a week. He gave
a tenth of his income to the Next Jesus described
the tax collector who had chosen to become skilled in the ways of the
world. Tax collectors had
all their material needs satisfied, but apparently that was not enough
for the man in Jesus’ illustration. He hung his head acknowledging the
poverty of his life-style. He
said, “God, I have missed the mark in so many areas of my life.
Have mercy on me.” It is interesting
that both had come to the Jesus said, “The tax
collector and not the Pharisee had an honest and sincere relationship
with God when he went home.” How
could a person perform with near perfection everything that he had been
taught to do by his teachers and still remain spiritually
bankrupt in the eyes of Jesus? I once performed a
wedding ceremony for a unique man and his soon to be bride.
He was a sixth degree black belt in Karate and had countless
international titles to his credit.
In fact, no one had ever defeated him.
He was absolutely the best at what he did.
He was the master of a school where he trained others in a
variety of Martial Arts. During our
counseling session together, I asked him a question for which he had no
answer. I could tell that my
question bo d him tremendously.
In probing for Joseph’s other interests I asked, “Who would you
be and what would you do if a car accident left you paralyzed from the
waist down?” A long time ago, I
was also a student of Karate.
The discipline I learned had spiritual development at its core.
I wanted to know if his school also trained students in various
methods of gaining control over their inner world.
Mr. Joseph indicated that his primary focus was teaching students
to sharpen their techniques in self-defense.
was no spiritual component. The Pharisee in our
lesson was similar to Mr. Joseph in his level of skill. The Pharisee was
also the best at what he did.
These skills of faith
possessed by the Pharisee, however, were judged by the Apostle Paul as
being pure garbage and worthy
of being thrown away.
(Philippians 3:8) Paul knew that
demonstrating perfection had
more to do with a strict discipline than with a willing spirit.
Many highly skilled people
can perform extremely well at their craft and yet have a zero in their
spiritual development. The Pharisee had
made his perfection his god.
His perfection formed his identity.
Mr. Joseph had done the same thing with his life.
His power and prestige were anchored to his skill as an expert in
the disciplines of Martial Arts.
We find people everywhere defining themselves by their skills.
Often they have little room for considering their God-connection. The last
time our son, Steve, came to visit, he had come across an ad in
the States where a Jamaican said, “If you are going to Bermuda is
only one place to get a fish sandwich on that island – Art Mells
Spicy-Dicy.” Steve wanted to
find that place when he was with us. We drove to the Pembroke carry-out
within eye shot of St. Monica’s Anglican Church.
That Jamaican was absolutely correct.
Those sandwiches were the best we have ever experienced. While we were
waiting for the sandwiches to be made, a young man came in to pick up an
order that he had placed earlier.
He appeared extremely confident and even had a swagger in his
body language. He
glanced at us several times and then he pulled from his back pocket a
wad of money that was probably two inches thick.
He paid the cashier in a manner that allowed everyone in the
store to observe the transaction.
As he left the carry-out, he had a look on his face that
suggested, “I can buy anything I want in this life.” The image that Jesus
presented of the Pharisee and the tax collector plays itself out over
and over again in every society. are lots of people that communicate “I have arrived.
I am at the top of my game.” and miss the mark on holding on to
the tether that connects them to God.
Most of us cannot imagine life without some understanding of
our connection to God. A number of years
ago I came across the adventure
of a family that experienced the most unfathomable, terrorizing high
drama imaginable. Through
every moment during this series of events, they never lost the sense of
God’s presence even though uncertainty, fear and vulnerability were a
constant reminder of how fragile life can be.
Colonel John
Franklin of the United States Air Force wrote about his family’s
adventure when doubts and anxieties repeatedly tried to overshadow their
faith. His article appeared
in Guidepost magazine, a
publication created by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Colonel Franklin’s
family was living in The next chapter of
the family’s drama occurred when the Colonel received orders that sent
the When this
long-silent volcano erupted, the Colonel and his wife were at work and
their three daughters were at various schools.
There were moments when
the five of them experienced the overwhelming fear that they might never
see each other again. The heavy rain of
ash was transported on waves of superheated air. Reports were coming in
that many of their neighbors and friends had been killed. The Air Force
base was destroyed. Their home was buried under tons of debris. This time none of their
possessions survived. The family had developed a plan to meet at a
pre-arranged place in the event of some disaster.
Miraculously, they each showed up at that location one by one.
What happened to
them next was unbelievable. The Colonel's new orders sent his family to
Homestead Air Force Base in No one can
possibly imagine what it would be like if our experience happened to
their family. You had to be a part of it to know how terrifying life can
be. For a while, it seemed
as though the universe had turned against us. Our experiences, however,
awakened us to values we had taken for granted. Uncertainty filled each
of our minds as to whether or not we would see each other again.
I am not one that
believes that everything has a purpose.
I believe that each of us gives our experiences the purposes that
we assign to them. God may
never have intended for us to find a purpose in such disasters, but we
have.
The sustainable
power of our faith remained intact even though it seemed beyond all odds
that our family could survive a third onslaught of nature. What proved
indispensible to our lives during and after those events is the link
that each of us experienced with God.
A lot of families are losing this and that is their loss.
For our family, our faith remains our sails, our rudder and our
anchor.
There was nothing in the life of the Pharisee that allowed him to trust
God. He was never made to feel
threatened or vulnerable by anything.
The tax collector found favor with Jesus because he was
attempting to reestablish what he had misplaced in his journey -- his
connection to God. Today is a new day for people of faith.
Churches have to work hard and become
creative in order to attract
new members. As we have realized, a lot of people do not feed their hunger the way we
do. Others have the same
yearning within them, but they do not realize what their hunger
symbolizes. Often they
retreat into loneliness, issues associated with poor-self esteem and the
fleeting highs from alcohol and drugs. They become angry that life is not
working for them. They have
not learned what their experiences are telling them.
Hunger
is a form of guidance. The God-connection gives us a dimension to life that brings healing, joy
and peace now and forever.
Nothing in this world can ever replace that. Our job is to help others
find the same treasure within them that we have found.
The world we find in
front of us is our mission field. |