"The Health of Our God-Connection"


Sermon Delivered By Reverend Richard E. Stetler – October 27, 2013

Centenary United Methodist Church

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 Kingdom of God. 

    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 Temple to pray, one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector." 

    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 Temple.  His faithfulness to God had few limitations or boundaries.

    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 Temple to pray.  What each man shared with God appeared to be at near opposite ends of the spiritual spectrum.  Both prayers were very personal.  Both prayers came from the heart.  One heart was filled with a sense of having fulfilled the Laws of his ancestry while the other man recognized that he had not.

    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 San Francisco during the earthquake a number of years ago. Some of you may recall that moment because the powerful quake struck just prior to one of the World Series baseball games. The Franklin home was reduced to a pile of rubble.  Fortunately, the members of the family that were home at the time were able to escape. The family was able to salvage only a few of their possessions. 

    The next chapter of the family’s drama occurred when the Colonel received orders that sent the Franklins to the Philippines. They considered themselves fortunate to secure off-base housing. Their beautiful home had a commanding view of the mountains. One of those mountains, however, was Mt. Pinatubo.

    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 Florida.  For a third time their lovely home was obliterated by Hurricane Andrew that had reach Category-5 strength when it hit Homestead. The Colonel wrote this article for Guidepost magazine from their new home at Langley, Virginia.  He closed his commentary on his family faith journey with these words:

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.   Jesus did not do that.  What he did was feed people who came to him because they were spiritually hungry. 

    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.