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Sermon
Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – November 24, 2019
Centenary United Methodist Church
Proverbs 4:1-13;
Matthew 7:24-27
Centenary's 180th
Anniversary
What does it mean
to us to be celebrating Centenary's 180 years of continued service to
our community? What purpose
has our church served? In
fact, what does any church hope to accomplish in their respective
communities? The mission of
every church should be an extension of what Jesus was doing – teaching
people how to live in this world.
Jesus' mission can be summed up in three words:
"Follow my example."
Jesus said: Anyone who listens
to my words and follows through on how to live in our world is like a
person who builds a house on a rock.
Those who hear my words and they choose to ignore them are
building their houses on sand.
When the storms-of-living come, only one house will survive
because it was built on a rock. (Matthew 7:24f) What is fascinating is that Jesus did not teach a message that was new to people. Jesus did not teach theology. He taught very practical values and attitudes that have been around for centuries. There was never any secret to living a life that produces satisfaction, happiness, fulfillment, and peace. The road map
or blueprint for such a life has always been available to anyone
interested in finding it. Even
conventional wisdom tells us that God feeds the birds. However, God does
not throw food into their nests.
The birds have to search for their food, and their intuition
tells them how to find it. Birds are guided by their instincts but where
does their behavior come from? Read the Book of
Proverbs that was written in the tenth century B.C. and you will
understand that the way to a happy, successful journey here on earth has
always been available.
We must learn the Law of Consequences which teaches people, "You
will reap exactly what you sow." When Jesus said,
"Build your lives on a foundation that is as solid as a rock,"
what was he teaching? Many
churches have had a similar identity as a lighthouse for
mariners on the seas. The
purpose of a lighthouse is a navigational aid and warns sailors of
dangerous areas. People who pay
little attention to the role of a church in their community may remain
completely unaware of its purpose.
Where else in our society can people learn how to navigate
successfully in a world filled with seductive advertisements for must
have products that various vendors are marketing?
What was this rock
that Jesus was referencing? Obviously, the
rock is a symbol for something else.
People who think they know the answer could say, "Jesus was
teaching that the kingdom of God is within each of us."
Communicating with words that only Christians may appreciate is
nothing more than a word game. Word
games sound wonderful but they do not communicate very well. We have to
remember that what Jesus taught really had little to do with a religion.
Jesus' words were
giving a verbal-compass to anyone who wanted it for navigating in the
material world. Most of his lessons were based on variations of the
The Golden Rule that can be found among the teachings of every
religion, "Treat others in the way that you would like people to treat
you." Again, Jesus teachings
play a similar role as the light that comes from a lighthouse.
There are no religions based on the role that lighthouses
play for mariners. Every church has a
culture that may be totally different from any other church. Definitely,
there are different strokes for different folks.
Even in the United Methodist
Church, a newcomer can find a variety of church cultures.
Everything can be found from a social club to fire and
brimstone worship services that declare that everyone needs
saving by the blood of Jesus Christ. If anyone presented
me with such a message, particularly if I were a newcomer to that
church, I would find another culture that was less judgmental!
If being bathed in the blood of anyone was important to
navigating in the maze of living, most certainly Jesus would have
mentioned it during his ministry. He did not. However, we Christians
know the meaning of being saved by Jesus blood is like building
our lives on a firm foundation. Again, what was the
meaning of this rock Jesus referenced in our lesson?
A tension has existed within people since the beginning of our
species on earth. We are
all infinite beings who are having a physical experience in very
limited and temporary bodies.
What causes this tension in our lives? Most people
understand that there is the one world that surrounds us with
opportunities to earn a living, to select a mate, and to make choices of
where we want to live. The lighthouse, the Church represents,
teaches that there are actually two worlds.
There is a tension, a tug-of-war, between the two worlds. A vast
majority of people have no idea about the existence of a second world. In one
world, our experience comes through our five senses and the other world
remains invisible to our senses.
Of the two worlds, the invisible world is dominant but who is
telling people about world number two? The world that we cannot see
governs our attitudes, our intuition, our imagination, and our
motivation. Where do we think artists, musicians, authors, and inventors
get their inspiration to create? For
instance, the first personal computer came from the mind of Steve
Jobs, founder of the Apple company. The idea of inventing a product that
would forever influence how business is done, how people communicate all
over the world, and how one industry would inspire the development of
artificial intelligence along with other associated technologies came
from the world that no one can see. If this invisible
world remains unrecognized and undeveloped, we tend to become lost by
hoping that the temporary props found in the world that everyone
can see will save them from a life associated with scarcity and poverty.
Nothing in the material world will give us what we hope it can. Such
a hope is why so many people chase wealth, power, prestige, and
notoriety. King Solomon, ruled
the Hebrew people for 40 years and became the wealthiest person in the
ancient world. He collected
wisdom literature searching for a missing piece of life's puzzle.
He never learned about the existence of the invisible world.
He could discipline himself to rule wisely, but he missed the
point of ruling wisely from a spirit and desire to do so. There is a
great difference between obedience to laws and using loving energy
patterns to govern the choices that we make. When we develop our
invisible world, we might find a supervisor in our work environment
saying to us: Our business needs
more people working here like you.
Everyday your attitude is enthusiastic, kind, and helpful. I
really like having you on our team.
Whatever you have inside of you affects everyone working with
you. We all feel it. Once accessed and
understood, this invisible world can produce timeless values and wisdom
for living in the world that everyone experiences.
The attitudes that we can
cultivate are welcomed by everyone in the world. The Apostle Paul
described this process better than anyone when he wrote: Do not conform
yourselves to the values and attitudes found in the material world.
Allow the spirit within you to transform the way you think and
the way you feel. Doing so
will completely change how you order and prioritize your lives. (Romans
12:2) What this
process teaches is how to harness and direct the
loving energy patterns within us that will focus
our attitudes like a laser beam.
Here is a list of attitudes that everyone has the
potential to express:
"Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, humility, and self-control." (Galatians 5:22). This
invisible world is the rock that Jesus was teaching his
listeners. By building
our lives on such attitudes of being, we are reflecting the world
where we came from. If you want to read
about an example of what rock-based-attitudes look like, please
read the front-page article in the Lifestyle section of Friday's
Royal Gazette. The story
described Dennie O'Connor who just landed the food and beverage
concession at the new airport.
Attitude is everything a person needs from opening doors that
were not visible, to inspiring everyone who enjoys working side by side
with them. Dennie responds to everyone with the same courtesies to a
custodian as he would to a company's chief executive officer. An insightful
question that an inquiring person might ask is this:
"If God, Jesus or the Apostle Paul created the Church that acts
like a lighthouse for humanity, why has the church fallen out of
favor with people?" The
answer is not that complicated.
People have a choice of what inspires and motivates their lives.
Many people want what the material world promises rather than
harnessing the loving energy within their invisible world.
This energy pattern, our spiritual DNA, came with us at
birth from the world of our origin. Actually, the
followers of Jesus were the ones who created the church.
Jesus started and ended his three-year teaching career with less
than 25 people. Numbers of
people were never important to Jesus.
Think about this -- the entire population of the world died many
times before Jesus' message began spreading everywhere.
What has mattered
in the evolution of humanity is what people have learned about
themselves from being on this temporary journey.
How have we used the little power that we develop to influence
others? The light
from Jesus' teaching has lasted for thousands of years.
Today, as in every generation, Jesus' message is one voice
among many others.
Centenary has lasted for 180 years helping people access their inner
world by learning to reverse their energy flow from being about
attitudes of self-interest to attitudes we display to others. People who
become lost in this life as a result of searching for what has
never been there, need to be loved and given guidance not judged.
One final thing:
God would never put us in charge of our eternal destiny.
Our Creator has never declared, "Chose my way or you will remain lost
forever. Your choice!" Others have made that claim on behalf of God, but
Love would never use fear to interfere with God's gift of free will.
We are
already infinite beings who develop amnesia
soon after we come through the birth canal of our mothers.
This is the price we pay for the opportunity to come here
to see how we do in an artificial world that is nothing more than a
simulator like the one used by pilots to sharpen their skills of
flying. This world is perfect for what it was designed to do.
All of us eventually return
to our home where we will recover from our amnesia during
the process of reentry. (John
14:2) We will not forget
the lessons we have learned about ourselves from our sojourn in a world
where our infinite wings had been temporarily clipped.
Centenary, Happy Anniversary!
Perhaps it would be better to say, "Centenary, Happy 180th
Birthday!"
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER
Merciful God, we are seldom surprised when our faithfulness is being
tested. The voices of
routine, habit, and compromise can easily entice us to perceive without
love. The hurtful words of
others can easily injure our feelings when we personalize them.
Moments come when it appears safer to trust ourselves rather than
to trust God with the words, "Thy will be done."
Life would never be the adventure that it is, if trust and faith
were never required of us.
Heal our present perceptions so that our horizons of thought will
continue to expand and grow.
Amen.
PASTORAL PRAYER
We thank you God that
amidst all the issues that we face every day, we have this congregation
of ours, on its 180th birthday, which helps us to stay in
touch and focus on what is vital and authentic in our lives. What we
celebrate this morning is that our church has been a lighthouse
for thousands of people who have come and gone during all those years.
As we think about the many issues facing
our world right now, help us to remember each day that our mission
field is right where we are. Enable us to understand our calling
with clarity. We look forward to celebrating a period of Thanksgiving.
Help us never to take for granted our being so blessed to be
experiencing our lives in Bermuda. We are glad to be alive. We are glad
that we have a venue where we can live in a virtual garden spot.
As we face the coming of Advent next
week, inspire us to make this walk once again to Bethlehem, a reminder
that you are with us, that you come to us, that you inspire us, and that
you live in us. May what we do hasten the coming of an age where "love
thy neighbor" will be made visible everywhere. We pray these thoughts
through the spirit of Jesus, who taught us to say when we pray . . . |