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Sermon
Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – February 2, 2020
Centenary United Methodist Church
Psalm 15; I
Corinthians 1:18-31
Paul began one of
our Scripture lessons this morning by saying a rather judgmental
comment. He wrote: For the message
about Christ's death on the cross is nonsense to those who are
being lost; but for us, who are being saved, it is God's
power. As the Prophet Isaiah once wrote, 'God said, I will destroy the
wisdom of the wise and set aside the understanding of the scholars.'
(Isaiah 29:13-14) Today we are going
to explore the meaning of Paul's words. Actually, Paul was merely
stating a fact of life. To the average person, spotting the difference
between material and spiritual wisdom is not as recognizable as
we might imagine. People,
who have anchored themselves to the wisdom of the spiritual path, carry
themselves with a unique and different level of confidence. Such people
do not need to advertise anything about themselves. What they have found
is their treasure and those gifts of spirit generate results that
benefit everyone. People who have
recognized and trained their spiritual nature have taught themselves how
to recognize and master their fears. People can talk about this
state-of-their-spirits by treating it as a noble concept, worthy of
further study, but for it to work to serve them, this aspect of their
lives has to be a daily experience. One evening a young
man entered my grandmother's unlocked back door that opened to her
kitchen where she was washing her supper dishes.
He grabbed her and held a knife against her throat while
demanding she give him money.
Her immediate response was that of a fearless woman.
She said, "What would your Sunday School teacher say if she saw
what you are doing? What
would your mother say?
Would you like something to eat? How does a nice egg and sausage omelet
sound?" He removed his
knife and said, "I have not eaten all day."
She said, "Well, sit down." As he was eating, in no time my
grandmother had transformed him into a friend who returned numerous
times to visit her. One act
of kindness from a woman who felt no threat turned his life around.
My grandmother lived with a different set of attitudes that
created her spontaneous responses. When we lived on
Capitol Hill, a similar incident was featured in the Society section of
the Washington Post. Our townhouses frequently had alleys between them
that opened into small courtyards with gardens. Outside furniture was
often placed on existing pavers. Groups of single, young government
staffers would gather in spaces like this to socialize.
A group was sharing
their work experiences from their respective agencies when a young man
burst into their midst brandishing a semi-automatic pistol.
He demanded that they give him their watches, wallets, and
purses. Most of the young
people were panic-stricken by his entrance.
One woman appeared to take a page out of my grandmother's diary.
She said: Hey, we are all
struggling government workers who are trying to make it in this town
just as you are. Why don't you put your gun away and sit down and have
some wine and cheese with us?
We also have tasty hors d'oeuvres and a shrimp platter that will
soon come out of my kitchen.
We would be delighted to share our food with you as we listen to
your story. As incredible as it
sounds, her response completely transformed the experience. He put his
gun away and sat down as one of the guys poured him a glass of wine.
He spent over an hour with them.
And truly everyone had a good time. The young man engaged
the staffers with his experiences of living on the street.
After a while, he thanked them
for their kindness. He told
them that his gun was empty since he could not afford to buy bullets and
he left with a lot to think about.
A fearless hostess defused a frightening moment by being able to
express her thoughtful compassion.
When Jesus
died on the cross, he gained a place in history but not because he was
being executed.
He is remembered because of what he was able to
say before he died. Jesus has inspired future generations by
refusing to abandon where his responses were anchored even up to the
moment when he breathed his last. Paul stated in his letter that the
entire drama was God's power at work. To a thief beside
him he said: "Today, you will be with me in paradise." A little while
later he said: Father, forgive
these people who have done this to me.
They have no idea what they are doing.
They honestly believe that killing my body will also kill my
spirit. Everyone who
skillfully engineered Jesus' mock trial and death could not conceive
that after all that they had done to him, he was still capable of asking
God to forgive them. None
of the authorities standing near that cross could have said those words.
They were spoken by a man who had no fear of dying and who
trusted his Heavenly Father during the fragile moments when his
life's energy was slipping away. Forgiveness
makes no sense to those who are committed to the wisdom of this world.
After all, what justice is being
served by forgiveness?
From the point-of-view of Jesus' enemies, they were getting rid
of a man who was threatening much of what they were teaching and
practicing. Their orientation to the wisdom of this world, as
religious as these authorities were, they were the ones that
Paul defined as being lost. What is interesting
to note is that Christian authorities did the same thing later in
history with their witch hunts and killing those who dared to translate
God's Holy Word from its high Latin into the common language of
the day. Paul gave a
definition of this unique power of God with what he wrote: For what seems to
be God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom.
And what appears to be God's weakness is stronger than human
strength. (I Corinthians
1:25) We cannot
understand what Paul is saying by applying the values of our world to
what Jesus experienced on the cross. My grandmother was
fearless. So was the woman
who invited a thief to stay for wine and cheese. When our fears are
gone, we have a firm grasp on a power that very few people
possess or understand. This power
enables us to love those whose values are different, to have total
confidence that whatever comes up for us is our opportunity to express
our values of spirit and to know positively that our lives are a
window through which God's spirit enters the material world.
(Matthew 6:33) Which
wisdom really works, the wisdom of this world or the wisdom that arises
from our spiritual awareness?
The truth is that both worlds will work in harmony with
each other when our loving energy becomes the dominate guide for
how we respond to all circumstances. Only when we
personalize the pessimism, negativity, and hostile attacks of others do
we open the door that allows their spiritual energy to take up
residency within us.
However, when our loving energy completely replaces fear, we have
silenced a host of demons that once tormented us. (1st
John 4:18) One day a
well-respected businessman returned home after work from his Financial
Investment Firm. He found a
note on the kitchen table from his wife who wanted a divorce.
Her clothing and a number of
articles from their home were gone. He did not see this coming. She had
written a long list of grievances that she had been nursing for years.
And, yes, there was a
significant other who had entered her life. Although her
husband was in the top ten of all the Financial Advisors in the United
States, Henry could not navigate peacefully around his wife's decision.
He invited a friend to have
lunch with him. This friend
had mastered the world of spirit and this was the reason why the
investment banker sought his guidance.
The grieving
husband said, "What should I do? She wants the house, a million dollars,
her car, and our condo at the beach.
The response from his friend was shocking.
His friend said, "Give her everything that she wants."
His knee-jerk response was, "No, I am not doing that! I am so
angry that" . . . his friend cut him off and said: Henry, stop!
Look at yourself.
She is not the one destroying you by her list of what she wants. You
are! You must have lost 20 pounds.
You look awful. You have been so distracted that your performance
at work has been influenced by her decision.
She wants a small part of your wealth. You could buy a hundred houses if you wanted without batting an eye. Besides, if you love her, you will want her to be happy. She did not find that in your relationship. If you did not see this coming, that says something about the quality of your attentiveness. By forgiving her
and giving her what she wants, everything that is important and
essential to you will grow. You
may not understand this now but by keeping your wife as a friend,
your two adult children will not take sides with either of you. Also,
your anger will do nothing to change her decision and it certainly will
not help you heal from what she has decided to do with her life.
It is amazing how
quickly and easily we allow others to take control of our lives.
Why not choose to allow people to display exactly where they are
in life? We could choose
to turn other people into our personal spiritual trainers.
Transforming our experience will
take courage and patience. When we are secure enough with ourselves and
have conquered our own neediness for personal justice, think about the
skills that will enhance the attractiveness of our personalities.
Rude and hostile
people can teach us to sharpen our skills like forgiveness, compassion,
and patience. People who
emotionally abandon us can give us further resolve to become kinder and
more supportive toward people, whom initially we may feel that they do
not deserve it. Can we understand
why the meaning of spiritual skills appears as nonsense to those
who have become anchored to their material assets and their numerous
accomplishments? Paul was correct.
Those of us who are followers of Jesus know that none of us
deserves God's love, but that love surrounds us every moment of our
lives. God gives all of us total freedom to be whomever we
wish to be. After his personal
transformation, Paul confided that what he had been striving
for during his earlier life was pure garbage. (Philippians
3:4-8) The only thing that was missing from the litany of personal
achievements that contributed to his pedigree was his Roman
citizenship, a status not held by many Jews. (Acts 22:27-28) Paul had
learned how to navigate the wisdom of the material world by being guided
by his transformed passion.
That passion was generated from his loving energy that flowed
from being the spiritual path that gave his life a totally different
meaning and purpose. Once we
learn to define ourselves by our skills of spirit rather than from our
material assets and our accomplishments, our vision and understanding
will keep us anchored to remaining an
angel-in-the-flesh. It does not matter if anyone notices us
or not. Jesus did not care
what anyone thought about him. Having
this awareness enhanced the quality of his personal experiences. Jesus
had silenced his ego. When we follow his
example, think of who we have the potential to become.
Such a daily awareness will bring peaceful, optimistic attitudes
into the patterns of our living. Have we learned this lesson or do we
still have some homework to do?
CONGREGATIONAL PRAYER We thank you, God,
for creating us with the potential to leave our world a better place
because we have lived. Yet
you remain a mystery to us. You might coach us on having more patience
by coming as one who tries to anger us. You might come in the form of
temptation that tests our character, an unanswered prayer, or a chore
that begs that we roll up our sleeves and become involved. Enable us to
realize that every aspect of life has the ability to give us gifts that
will help our spirits to mature.
Help us to recognize that there is a purpose for everything that
comes up for us. How
blessed we are to have so many teachers.
Amen. PASTORAL PRAYER With humble and grateful hearts, O God, we have
come into our church to celebrate life’s adventure and for the
remarkable role that you play within each of us.
We have learned that we can extend our love through a vast number
of venues -- a paintbrush and canvas, our choice of words, our smiles,
our healing touch, our patient listening skills, our confidence in and
support of each other, and our willingness to take risks. Thank you for our confidence to
step into the rapid waters of life, knowing that we no longer need to
fear the sounds of all that rushes by us or the pull of the currents.
Thank you for teaching us how to release to you the outcome of our
pending surgical procedure, a business decision, or one of life's
seemingly endless chain of uncertainties.
When our fear is gone, what a great ride the experience of life
is! Help us to move beyond the
thoughts of what life should be so we can think of how best to
serve with what life is. Inspire us, O God, to play big, to wear more
smiles, to experience more laughter, and to spread more joy as we
breathe new life into all our relationships. We pray these thoughts
through the loving spirit of Jesus, the Christ, who taught his disciples
to say when they prayed . . . |