“Our Ever-Controlling Beliefs”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – September 29, 2019

Centenary United Methodist Church

Psalm 92:1-6, Luke 16:19-31

    This morning we are going to discuss the role that our beliefs play in the unfolding of our lives.   We may pay little attention to them but these mysterious thought and emotional patterns play a major role in forming our attitudes, our drive to find solutions, and how we define our experiences.

    I had a friend who lived in a home that was next to ours.  He had what many people would label an emotionally abusive father.  When Randy and I were in his father's presence, the experience was never a good one. Yet, my friend appeared completely unscathed by his dad. Once I asked, "Does your father always talk to you in that tone of voice?" He said:

Yes, he does, but that's my dad being my dad.  I wouldn't know what to think if he suddenly spoke to me any other way.  I have become accustomed to him being that way. What dad has taught me is how to be very careful when I am around him.  It does not take much for him to become upset.  He is a very serious, intense person who has a short fuse.  In fact, I cannot remember a time when I saw him smile.

    Randy's family moved to Florida when we were in junior high school.  I would like to know what eventually happened to Randy.  The skill that Randy had developed was amazing at such a young age!   He was definitely an inner-directed person rather than allowing his identity to be formed from the feedback he was receiving from others.

    Another child may have easily become shy, withdrawn, or lacking in self-confidence. Every year we read and hear of suicides from young teens after receiving false allegations being spread on Facebook by their peers.  Getting approval is such an unproductive belief because that permits the development of our identity to be in the hands of others.

    Randy had a belief that it is okay to be around bees but you do not want to mess with them or they will sting you. He respected his father's inability to show love and kindness.  Somehow, Randy had learned to live with his dad without allowing such a negative influence to sabotage his life.  

    Our lesson today is a story that many of us may remember from our Sunday School days.  It is a wonderful story where Jesus used human symbols to described events and places. The story is very graphic in its details and reflects the beliefs that the Jews had developed during Old Testament times.

    Heaven and Hell were understood as being physical destinations for people once they graduate from this life.   The two parcels of divine real estate were separated by a great chasm that prevented the passage of people from going to one realm or the other.  

    During his life, a very wealthy man was blind to the presence of a sick beggar named Lazarus who camped outside the gate of the man's luxurious home. Lazarus had a daily habit of going there in the hope that he could get some food that was being thrown to the dogs.  Both men eventually died.   The wealthy man found himself in a realm of great pain.  When he saw Abraham and Lazarus on the other side of the chasm, he pleaded with them to have mercy on him. Abraham said:

Remember, my son, that in your lifetime you were given all the good things, while Lazarus got all the bad things.  But now he is enjoying himself here, while you are in pain.  (Luke 16:25)

    The man persisted:  "If you cannot forgive my mistakes in judgment, please send someone to warn my five brothers lest they come here too."  Abraham responded, "They have Moses and the Prophets.  Your brothers should pay attention to what they are teaching." The man said, "That will not be enough!  Send them a message by someone who has come back from the grave to warn them."

    At the end of his story, Jesus gave the lesson he wanted to teach to his listeners.  He said: 

Abraham said, 'If they will not believe the teaching of Moses and the Prophets, they will not believe anything even if someone who has died were to carry your warning to them.'  (Luke 16:31)

    If we look at Jesus' story critically, Abraham appears to be having the same response that the wealthy man had toward Lazarus.  However, Jesus was teaching that in spite of how compassionate Abraham may have been, he and Lazarus could not remove or reverse the attitude that the rich man had developed and maintained during his life.  The man was having to live on a level of separation he had chosen by a belief he had developed while he was alive.  (John 14:2)

    Many of our beliefs have a shelf-life.  We can change them as we mature because they no longer work for us. Other beliefs, take root in our character and influence the spirit by which we live.  We may not even realize that many responses to life-experiences come from unrecognized beliefs.

    Some of us may be acquainted with the speech delivered last week to the United Nations Assembly by 16-year old Greta Thunberg.  Her topic was climate change.  She was scathing and bitter in her harsh condemnation of the various heads of state for not being more responsible in their countries for finding solutions to the changing climate.   

    Like many people who are extremely passionate about their causes, she was long in her attitudes of condemnation but short in offering solutions.  It is doubtful that many among the United Nations delegates found her speech helpful.

    Greta appeared to have her words tightly anchored to an unshakable belief. With having her state-of-mind, could anyone have convinced her to be open to other points-of-view that are equally valid?   She would not be able to accept a point-of-view that suggested that climate change is a natural, cyclical event that has little to do with human beings.

    The above conclusion is held by numerous scientists who have chosen not to share their conclusions anymore.  This is due to the vast number of people who believe in a counterpoint that has made them champions of alternative sources of energy that require no fossil fuels.

    An example of a counterpoint comes from the evidence provided by ice and earth core samples taken from various parts of the earth.  The samples document that climate change has been happening for hundreds of thousands of years.  The core samples show proof of the existence of long droughts, the formation of glaciers, massive fires, enormous floods, and perhaps the greatest polluter of all, volcanic eruptions.  

    Since the year 2000, the world has experienced 26 explosive volcanoes spewing their ash that has created changes to the planet's climate.  Several of them have had as many as five eruptions. When we are pointing fingers at who to blame for climate changes, we need to remember our planets history.  Severe climate changes are what caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

    When people know that they are right in their beliefs, everyone else has to be wrong.  When people are not open to other points-of-view and when their beliefs have been caused or supported by politicians running for office, substantive communication becomes very challenging between opposite points-of-view. 

    What is revealing about the spirit of many people is what their beliefs have done to them. What evokes our passions tells the world who we are.  Some people are passionate about issues present in the material world.  Others become passionate about matters of spirit, which are attitudes that each individual can control with a little effort.  My friend, Randy, knew that his father would probably never change.  Randy was okay with that.

    He never wondered if his father ever found joy by looking at beautiful sunsets or witnessing the magnificence of a double rainbow, the smiles of a child, or a litter of puppies or kittens? Randy allowed his father to remain the way his dad had chosen to be. 

    Jesus was communicating a message to his listeners of what transforms people by their dwelling on what inspires the power and direction of their energy. The results can produce countless saviors of the world.  It does not matter which scientists we believe when it comes to climate change or what we believe about any other just causes in our societies.  What matters is what our passions have done to the quality of our lives.

    Do our passions create freedom for us to find happiness every day?  Do our passions help us to live in the world with a sense of wonder and with an eager anticipation for the coming future?  Do our passions bring excitement to every adventure and enable us to find solutions for many of life's challenges? We can readily understand the marvelous affects that the beliefs of others are having on us when we become inspired from being around them. 

    Peaceful, loving spirits understand that many people find their comfort from being passionate about fixing all the nightmare-experiences that they encounter in life. We know that such people are highly valued by the pharmaceutical industries and the medical community for giving them a non-ending market place for their new products and clients that enable doctors to write their prescriptions.

    Jesus had simple solutions for people by teaching countless variations of the Golden Rule.  In 1881, there surfaced a song that instantly became a favorite among children when they sang it in a round.  All of us know it.  The song has a marvelous message that defines how to live a successful life and why any other method may not be as helpful as a guide to living. "Row, Row, Row your boat, gently down the stream.  Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, life is but a dream." 

    Jesus came to teach individuals how to live life abundantly.  He never discussed that it is the duty of his followers to fix the world.  He taught people how to fix themselves by developing healthy attitudes and by keeping their energy flowing away from them toward others.  His life and teachings have demonstrated that in time, the world would be fixed by the spiritual evolution of those living in it.

    People can find lots of things to worry about. The concerns of people can grow countless frightening story-lines from their imaginations.  But we also have the ability to sow seeds that will influence others by our smiles and laughter, by our cluster of delightful attitudes, and by our ability to find solutions.

    When our lives are filled with loving energy that consistently flows away from us, that love has the potential to guide us to places where we are needed.  Such people become song writers, musicians, those who become involved with Doctors Without Borders, and Hollywood actors who establish foundations to drill wells in arid countries, or provide free homes for families whose veteran spouse was killed by some invisible enemy. The places for people to make a difference are everywhere.

    The influence loving people can have is enormous. There is no telling how influential we have been with our lives simply by being who we are.  Many of us do not care if anyone notices us or not. Obviously, Jesus was one of these.  His primary belief must have been, "If God can use by my three years of ministry . . . Great!" What have our beliefs created that has given us our passion, inspiration, and enthusiasm to be who we are?

     

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER

Loving God, as we gather for worship, we are aware how often our lives reflect our culture rather than our faith.  There are times when we remain blind to the consequences of what we do.  We confess that often our best judgments can become flavored by the spice of self-interest.  Help us to learn, O God, that we cannot live courageously by character-strengths we do not have.  We cannot trust in your daily presence by borrowing such an awareness from those who have spent their lives cultivating it.  Lead us toward what will heal the areas in our lives that separate us from allowing your influences to shine through us. Amen.

                            

PASTORAL PRAYER

Eternal God, our Creator, we stand in awe of your handiwork and remain eternally grateful for the beautiful world made visible not only on our island but all over the world.   You have declared that everything you have made, including us, was good.  We are grateful for life’s numerous challenges to our faith that mold our character.  There are times when our frustrations declare, "Why me?"  If we are patient and accepting of all the lessons that come to us, later in life we find the answer to all the "Why me?" questions that we ever asked.  

Our faith tells us that there will always be a silver lining to our clouds, that pain is never permanent, that vacuums are always filled with unexpected pleasant surprises, and that the day will come when our life-experiences will be nothing more than an ancient memory.  And yet the journey to that day is often filled with many pleasant surprises. May the challenging realities everyone faces help to bring more people into a sense of being a community. 

Today help us to find healing for our spirits.  May those of us who remain worried and anxious, leave this service feeling reassured by the understanding that your presence surrounds us during every moment. Rather than believing that there is so much more that we need in life, inspire us to take what we have and use it to make your Kingdom more visible.  We pray these thoughts through the loving spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who taught us to say when we pray . . .