TRPC Congregational Meeting – May 20, 2012

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Tyger River Presbyterian Church
by Dr. Douglas D. Cushing, M. A.; M. Div.; D. Min.

 May 20, 2012

7^th Sunday of Eastertide

 “They do not belong to the world just as I don’t belong to the world.”

John 17: 14

Questions

• What is normal? When people say: “I just want to be normal, again,” what do they mean?
• How would you characterize ‘normal’ suburban Upstate South Carolina living? What do we have in common? What defines our everyday living? If that is normal do you want to be normal?
• Can you think of some examples of how Jesus’ teachings are weird by the standards of the world?
• How can being Jesus-Weird save us from the hellish prison of normality?

Scripture

^{JOHN 17:  9-16}

⁹I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. ¹⁰All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. ¹¹And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. ¹²While I was with them, I protected them in your name that^* you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost,^* so that the scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.^{* 14}I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.^{* 16}They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

I JOHN 5: 9-13

⁹If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has testified to his Son. ¹⁰Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe in God^* have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. ¹¹And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Sermon

April 1^st, 2012 police in Maryland pulled over a black Lamborghini for a routine license plate violation, only to find Batman behind the wheel.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gDX2anG6nE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gDX2anG6nE

Watching that video I said to myself: “that’s weird.”

But it started me thinking about what it means to be normal? The other day I was talking with Linda Jeffrey, our Administrative Assistant, about her husband’s impending retirement. At one point she said: “Once Ralph is retired he won’t have to work second shift any more. He can start having a normal life.” “So,” I thought to myself, “What exactly does it mean to be normal?”

I was chatting it up the other day with a church member about her upcoming chemotherapy. At one point she said, “I can hardly wait to get my chemo out of the way so things can get back to normal around here.” What does normal look like?

(Slide # 3) According to the dictionary normal means conforming to the standard. It means regular or natural. Psychologically being normal means being average. Biologically, being normal means being free from infection.

But what does it look like to be normal if we define normal as: fitting in and being like everyone else? To live in the Upstate of South Carolina (or just about anywhere in the US for that matter) being normal means being crazy busy. (Slide #4) It means not having enough hours in the day to do the things you NEED to do. Normal means being overwhelmed, overworked and exhausted.

It means wanting more time just so you can catch up on the things you haven’t done. It means having way more commitments and obligations and responsibilities than we have the time or energy to fulfill. Being normal means being simultaneously over-programmed and exhausted.

What does it mean to be normal; to fit in and be like everyone else? (Slide #5) To be normal means being deeply in debt. The average credit card debt per household with credit card debt is $15,956. About 11.1 million households, or 23.1 percent of all mortgaged homes, are underwater. 61% of Americans are living pay check to pay check and 42% report not being able to save any money. Being normal means making money an idolatrous obsession.

What does it mean to be normal? (Slide #6) If being normal means having normal relationships, well, good luck. 25% of adults living in suburban America report having zero close friends. Over 50% of marriages end in divorce. One study I read online reported that 60% of children would rather watch TV or play video games than talk with their parents. Being normal often means feeling alone in a crowded room.

What does it mean to be normal? (Slide #7) Evidently being emotionally normal means contemplating going postal at least once a month. One study revealed that 76 percent of Americans reported feeling stressed because of money, and 70 percent blamed the cause of their stress on work. The report found that the most common symptoms of stress were irritability, fatigue and a lack of energy.

Two thirds of those surveyed said they over ate as a result of stress, and more than four in 10 said they lay awake in bed at night because of it. Being normal means teetering on the edge.

(Slide # If this is the picture of normal…well, then being normal is no longer working. If this is the picture of normal then maybe it’s time to consider a different way to live life…an abnormal way…a weird way. If you hear me suggesting we ought to consider being weird instead of being normal you are right. But it’s not in the “I’m-going-to-wear-a-batman-suit-weird.” It’s more like “I’m-going-follow-Jesus-weird.”

The 17^th chapter of John’s gospel records a long prayer that Jesus prays on behalf of his disciples. We read part of this prayer in our scripture lesson for this morning. I want us to read, together, verses 14 – 19. In this part of the prayer Jesus’ prays for his disciples to carry out the mission Jesus began on earth. If I were to put a title on this section it would be: Jesus Prays That The Disciples Become Weird. Let’s read this together. (Slide #9   – The congregation and I read it out loud)

Now, stay in this passage for another minute. If the word weird was used in Jesus’ day (which, of course, it wasn’t) this passage may have sounded something like this: “God, I have given them (the disciples) your Word, and the world has hated them because they are, by the world’s standards, really weird. In fact, they seem weird to the world in the same that I seem weird to the world. I am not asking you to take away their weirdness, but I’m asking that you protect them from all the forces trying to make them normal. They are weird by the world’s standards, just as I am weird by the world’s standards. Bless them as they try to follow your weird ways; your weird ways are the right ways. As you have sent me into the world to be weird, so I have sent them into the world to be weird.”

Our Lord does not want us to be normal. Being normal is exactly what the Evil One wants us to strive for because normal is lie. It’s a myth. Most importantly, normal ain’t working anymore. We know that. So did our Lord. Perhaps that is why Jesus prayed that his followers would embrace weird.

This sermon series: Staying Tied During Eastertide has been inviting you to stay connected to the risen Christ by looking for Him in different contexts…different venues…different relationships. This morning I’m suggesting that to stay connected to the risen Lord in your daily living you need to throw out normal and embrace weird. Being Jesus-weird is, perhaps, the easiest way to encounter the risen Christ in your life.

(Slide # 10) Oh, so you DON’T think Jesus calls us to be weird? Let’s dig a little deeper. How about if you break out your weird-meters and I’ll break out the gospels, ok? Let’s see just how weird is a Jesus prescribed lifestyle.

• In a nation bombarded by TV ads employing us to save for retirement Jesus says in Luke 6: 38 that it’s in giving that you receive.
• In a nation where bookstores are lined with self-help books Jesus says in Matthew 5: 3 blessed are the poor in Spirit they will inherit the Kingdom of God.
• In a society that is obsessed with finding and keeping happiness Jesus says in Matthew 5:4 blessed are those who mourn.
• In a culture that believes that the nice guys finish last Jesus says in Matthew 5: 5 blessed are the meek.
• In a nation that has endured two wars in the past years that have killed countless men, women and children costing us trillions of dollars with remarkably little to show for us Jesus says in Matthew 5:9 blessed are peacemakers for they will be called children of God.
• In a society were litigation is normative Jesus says in Matthew 5:39 that if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. Then in Matthew 5:44 He says that we should forgive those who mistreat you.
• In a nation deeply divided by partisan politics and wedge issues Jesus has the unmitigated temerity to suggest in Matthew 5:44 that we should love your enemies.
• In a country psychologically drained by anxiety Jesus invites us in Matthew 6:44 not to worry about tomorrow.
• In a nation obsessed by the pursuit of wealth Jesus gets down right weird in Matthew 6:19 when he says not to store up treasures on earth. And then in 6:24 you can not serve God and wealth.
• In a society fascinated with reality shows that pit one angry person against another Jesus offers a different way in Matthew 7:1 when he says not to judge others but instead turn our razor sharp judgmentalism upon our self.
• In a nation where self-fulfillment and self-indulgence has been raised to an unalienable right Jesus says in Matthew 10: 39 that whoever loses his life will find it. Then in Matthew 16:24 he says these equally counter-cultural words that we should deny our self, take up a cross, follow Him.
• In a country where many believe the poor and down trodden are merely reaping what they have sown Jesus says in Matthew 24 that when we do compassionate things to the most vulnerable, most needy, most unworthy people it’s like we are doing it to Him.

How’s your weird-meter reading right now? It should be off the charts if it’s calibrated based on being normal. But let’s face it…normal isn’t working anymore. Jesus invites us to be weird. Being weird is, perhaps, the easiest way to encounter the risen Christ in our everyday life.

Let me close by offering you glimpses of being Jesus-weird in your daily routine. Being Jesus-weird is praying with the kids you coach. Being Jesus-weird is putting down your agenda for the day in order spend it with someone who is alone or who is scared or who is in pain. Being Jesus- weird is what one member of this church did by going to work without pay for a friend while this friend underwent cancer treatment.

Being Jesus-weird is what one woman in our church did by volunteering to be the designated driver for another woman through her cancer treatments. Being Jesus-weird is what a surprising number of people in this church do when they take time from a busy day to shop for food for The Carpenter’s Table so stranger they will never meet can feed themselves.

Being Jesus-weird is doing what I know at least one Elder in our church does when he prays for peace in the world despite so much evidence to the contrary. Being Jesus- weird is giving up time with family on vacation, like one Elder did, to help lead a Maundy Thursday service. Being Jesus-weird is sneaking into the church during the week to bang out on the drums in an effort to strive for excellence in Sunday worship.

Being Jesus-weird is leading a youth group even when you don’t have kids in that youth group…even though you don’t have kids. Being Jesus weird is continuing to believe that the non-believing friend you’ve known since grade school will one day accept Christ as Lord and Savior. It’s burying the hatchet with someone who has hurt you. It’s increasing a pledge when the salary is decreasing. It’s singing with all your heart these words on Easter: And he shall reign forever and ever. Hallelujah… Hallelujah… Hallelujah… Hallelujah.

When Jesus prayed that His disciples would be in the world but not of the world he was praying for them to be weird. If you want to encounter the risen Lord this Easter trying becoming Jesus -weird. It’s either that or trying to be normal. But let’s be honest, normal just ain’t working any more.

“When I hear Mitt Romney say that he believes that Jesus is the Son of God–that he’s the Christ, raised from the dead, that he’s his Savior–that’s good enough for me. [...] Mormonism is a little different, but I still see them as brothers in Christ.”

-Pastor Joel Osteen talks to CNN about the ongoing debate among over whether or not Mormons are ’Christians.’

Recently someone said to me: I can hardly wait till my husband retires so we can get back to a normal way of life.” What is normal? If being normal means conforming to our crazy-busy, in debt-to-the-hilt, emotionally-on-edge, numbingly isolated American way of life then I’m not sure any of us wants to be normal. And I am sure our Lord does NOT want us to be normal.

Is there is another way to live life…an abnormal way…a weird way…an “I’m-going-follow-Jesus-weird.”

The 17^th chapter of John’s gospel records a long prayer that Jesus prays on behalf of his disciples. If I were to title that prayer it would be called: Jesus Prays We Become Weird.  Staying connected to the risen Christ means we have to be weird. This Sunday bring your weird-o-meter and join us as we worship our gloriously, weird Lord. Here are some questions to think about for Sunay.

Questions:

• What is normal? When people say: “I just want to be normal, again,” what do they mean?
• How would you characterize ‘normal’ suburban Upstate South Carolina living? What do we have in common? What defines our everyday living? If that is normal do you want to be normal?
• Can you think of some examples of how Jesus’ teachings are weird by the standards of the world?
• How can being Jesus-Weird save us from the hellish prison of normality?

Do you think living in the suburbs makes it’s harder to form deep friendships?

What do you think is the difference between being ‘friendly’ and forming friendships?

Finally, building on the TEXT QUESTION from yesterday….why do you think people shopping for a church are fixated with finding a ‘friendly’ church? Let me hear from you all!

Tyger River Presbyterian Church
by Dr. Douglas D. Cushing, M. A.; M. Div.; D. Min.

May 13, 2012

Sixth Sunday of Eastertide

“And I call you friends.”

Questions

(TEXT QUESTION) What words do you think most churches us to describe themselves to others?

a ) We are a disciple making church;

b) We are a warm, friendly church;

c) We are a welcoming church;

d) We are a (insert denomination) church;

e) We are a traditional church.

What do you think most people look for when they shop for a new church?

When you think of the term ‘transaction’ what comes to mind?

Is there a difference between being friendly and making friends?

List the two characteristics that Jesus uses to define friendship. How might you apply these characteristics to existing or new friendships?

Scripture

JOHN 15: 9-17

⁹As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. ¹¹I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

12 ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. ¹³No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you. ¹⁵I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant^* does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. ¹⁶You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. ¹⁷I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

I JOHN 5: 1-6

5Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child. ²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. ³For the love of God is this, that we obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, ⁴for whatever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. ⁵Who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?6 This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth.

Sermon

(TEXT QUESTION) What words do you think most churches us to describe themselves to others?

a ) We are a disciple making church;

b) We are a warm, friendly church;

c) We are a welcoming church;

d) We are a (insert denomination) church;

e) We are a traditional church.

During my years in ministry I’ve often heard people who are church shopping say they are looking for a friendly church. Yet, I’ve never heard anyone say that in looking for a church what was important was finding a good friend. Similarly, when I do consulting work for churches and I ask church leaders to describe their church the answer I hear most often is: ‘we are a warm, friendly congregation.’ Yet, I’ve never once heard a church leader refer to their church as a friendship-forming congregation

So why is it that people are so intent on finding and being a friendly church but nobody talks about making friends within a church? Could it be that we aren’t sure of the difference? Could it be that true friendship is so complex and demands such a commitment that friendship has moved from priority to luxury in American society? Could it be that we lack the models needed to help us grasp what true friendship is all about?

Earlier I asked you what percent of adults in American report that they have zero close friends? The study was conducted by the American Sociological Review and the answers were published in USA Today. The researchers concluded that American adults have fewer friends than a generation ago, and increasingly fewer confidantes.

(Slide #4) The research also showed that (wait for it) twenty-five percent of those surveyed said they had zero close friends. For those few who do have confidantes, 80% turn to family, and are less likely to count on friends from clubs, neighborhoods, or social and religious organizations. The report said the chief causes for these trends are longer working hours, less time for socializing, and living in the suburbs.

How could living in the suburbs work against friendships? The answer is related to what is called the Transactional Model of Communication. When you think of a transaction what comes to mind? Maybe you think of a transaction at the Publix where you hand the cashier money in exchange for some bread and milk. When we communicate with each other a similar transaction takes place only what is exchanged is information.

Those who study these things believe that friendships in suburban America are often forged around such questions as: What do I have to offer the other person? And more importantly, what do they have to offer me?

(Slide # 5) So the theory is played out this way: Many of our adult relationships are facilitated by our kids. If our kids are on the same sports team or in the same play group, we become friends through proximity and convenience.

And those friendships work fine, as long as the kids are getting along and the team is winning. But as soon as it’s your kid who strikes out to end the game, or is teaching the others how to eat paste, the nature of those relationships changes. We no longer have value to the other person.

Because time is our most precious commodity we don’t want to waste it on just anybody. So, the thinking goes: If I’m going to invest time in you, I want some return on that investment. I want to know it’s going to be worth my while to be your friend. Sooooo, in the screwed up world that is suburban America we often look at friendships with an eye toward what value they can add to our lives.

Strangely enough this is exactly how the concept of friendship evolved for the ancient Greeks. In earliest antiquity friendships were based on one of two factors. (Slide # 6) First, friendship could be based on the pleasure one gets from a relationship and secondly friendship was based on the usefulness one derives from a relationship. (Wait a minute) that sounds a lot like the description of suburb friendships today, doesn’t it?

(Slide #7) In time writers like the Philosopher Aristotle stressed that the deeper, longer lasting friendships were based not on the pleasure or usefulness one gets from another person but on a shared commitment to do something virtuous. So a third type of friendship emerged in antiquity called virtuous friendships.

Virtuous friendships were based on people remaining loyal to each other, expressing care for each other, and sacrificial sharing with each other. (Slide #7 scroll first bullet) From this the Greeks came to believe that virtuous friendships were rooted in sacrificial love.

In his writing titled: Symposium, Plato writes, “Only those who love wish to die for others.” Lucian, a Hellenistic philosopher and storyteller, promised to tell his readers of “many deeds of blood and battles and deaths for the sake of friends.”2

(Slide #7 scroll bullet 2) In addition to being rooted in sacrificial love a second characteristic of virtuous friendships was a shared commitment to moral improvement. Typically this commitment to moral improvement meant that friends were very candid with each other in offering encouragement, advice and even criticism if it were done for the other’s good.

The Hebrew culture in which Jesus lived adopted this Greek/Hellenistic definition of virtuous friendship. These two dimensions of friendship in the ancient world— 1) sacrificial love for a friend and 2) candid speech given for moral improvement—informed the way that the Gospel of John and its readers understood language about friendship.

Now, let’s take another look our gospel lesson. When Jesus says in verse 13: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” He is embodying the first characteristic of friendship, namely sacrificial love. Then in verse 15 when Jesus says: “You are my friends if you do what I command you,” He is embodying the second characteristic of friendship by being totally candid with his disciples in order for moral improvement.

In light of Jesus’ definition of friendship can we see possible differences between being friendly and making friends? Today, when we speak of friendships I wonder if we have the transactional understand of friendship in mind. When we, who live in the Upstate, speak of our friends we often talk about what a good time we have together grilling out or vacationing together.

Or we talk about the things we share in common like our kids being in the same school; that we attend the same church; or that we live in the same neighborhood. But it’s not hard to see that such descriptions of friendship emphasis the return on the investment given and the social capital receive. At the margins of such descriptions of friendship is an emphasis on transactions and exchanges and these types of relationships seem to be rooted in what we receive rather than what we give.

And I wonder if such transaction relationship is anything more than being friendly.

There’s a difference between being friendly and being friends. One psychologist defined a friendship as “two people who demonstrate an irrational commitment to each other’s well-being.” The key is an “irrational commitment,” meaning we’ll do stupid, crazy, sacrificial things for each other.

Jesus calls us to a very similar type of friendship. It’s irrational because it’s a friendship based on 1) Candid speech that seeks to build each other up. 2) Self-giving love based on the self-giving example of Jesus.

If you want to encounter the risen Christ this Easter season one place to look is within your friendships. But if you go there don’t look to see how your friends bless you or how they reflect the love of Christ back to you.

Instead, look to see how you are offering them sacrificial love. Check and see how you are speaking to them in order to build them up in Christ. Chances are you will find the risen Christ not in what you are receiving from your friends but in how you are giving.

Who are the people in your life you most want to love sacrificially and build up in Christ? Who are the people in your life that love you sacrificially and build you up in Christ?  These are among the places you will find the Risen Christ, alive in your life.

Marcie and Andrea, here is what I mean when I refer to Paul’s dictum: “Speak the truth in love.” When I’m in a conversation with someone about scripture, theology or ethics I try to hold in tension passion and humility.

I am passionate about what I believe to be true but I am also humble recognizing that God’s truth is bigger than me. In 20+ years of ministry I’ve seen my theology and my world view change as a result of remaining in conversation with others whom I disagree with.

For example, while going to seminary in the late 80′s I believed women should not be ordained because of how I understood the relevant passages of scripture. (I’m VERY embarrassed to admit that today). That said, with a greater understanding of the relevant passages in the bible I’m convinced women were leaders in the early church and that our Lords ethic of equality should prevail in church, in the work place and in the home.

So, I try to hold in tension my passion for what I believe with my humility and willingness to always be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Additionally, ‘speaking the truth in love’ means that I NEVER vilify people whom I disagree with. The growing edge for me is to stay in relationship and continue to love people who I don’t agree with theologically or politically. It’s one thing to disagree. It’s another to demonize or label someone I disagree with.

Our Scripture passages the past few weeks in worship show the supremacy of love in the teaching and mission of Jesus. At the minimum I’m called to embody the love of Christ to everyone – even those whom I disagree with. I can’t yet do this but it is an ethic I aspire toward.

Finally, speaking the truth in love means that I commit to building as many bridges with fellow believers as possible. I’m convinced that there is more that unites us as Christians than there are things that divide us. Yet, it seems like extreme voices on both ends of the theological spectrum want the Body of Christ to be divided by wedge issues. Moreover, one of the really cool parts about the Body of Christ is finding connections with people I differ with. I think it is a tangible sign of the Holy Spirit at work to be able to worship and serve with people who don’t agree with me on everything and vic versa. I love knowing that love and devotion to the Lord can transcend points of theological disagreement.

What do you think most people look for when they shop for a new church? What characteristics of a church are most important to American church shoppers? I’d love to hear your answer to this question so I can share of the responses in worship. Let me hear from you!

Also, to help prepare you for worship this Sunday check out John 15: 9 – 17 and I John 5: 1 – 6. We will continue in our sermon series: Staying Tied During Eastertide. See you Sunday.

Part of the conversation during that study focused on how we make decisions to share or not to share our thoughts and feelings in a public setting like a bible study. The concern people in the study expressed was this: An unwanted outcome from sharing our thoughts publicly is the potential to be ‘labeled’ by others. So, the thinking goes, we need to be very careful when we share our thoughts in the public realm because we don’t want to be ‘labeled’ or ‘mislabeled’ by others.

I find it tragic that we are more guarded in our public discourse. I think its a shame that we are less candid in public out of fear of being labeled. This is especially sad given that we live in an era where public discourse is being dramatically reduced because of the various technological ways we have to communicate. In fact, social scientists tell us that within two generations Americans will have substantially lost their ability to communicate orally.

I think the reason people are so quick to ‘label’ each other is a reflection of our culture. We are living in what has to be the most politically polarized and partisan time in American history. We have lost the ability to listen to each other, to work for compromise, to debate great ideas on their merits and to come together as people and a nation. This is the tragic zeitgeist we find ourselves living in today. The metaphor I am draw to is one of an old WWII airplane spinning out of control, hurling uncontrollably toward the earth. That’s how I feel about the level of public discourse in America today.

It seems I’m not the only one who feels this way. This morning I read that long time Republican Senator from Indiana, Richard Lugar, lost his bid for re-election. Commenting on his loss Senator Lugar wrote these lucid and lamenting words: Lugar wrote:

“Unfortunately, we have an increasing number of legislators in both parties who have adopted an unrelenting partisan viewpoint. This shows up in countless vote studies that find diminishing intersections between Democrat and Republican positions. Partisans at both ends of the political spectrum are dominating the political debate in our country…they have worked to make it as difficult as possible for a legislator of either party to hold independent views or engage in constructive compromise. If this attitude prevails in American politics, our government will remain mired in the dysfunction we have witnessed during the last several years.”

I think the Church has a very important, prophetic role in re-shaping public discourse in America today. Grounded in the Apostle’s Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:15 “Speak the truth in love,” Christians can be a model for how to share ideas, feelings and emotions. In so doing we can point the way toward a recovering of civil, life-giving, public discourse. This, of course, will also point the world to its Savior and Lord who commanded us to: “Love one another and I have loved you.”

We, at the Tyger, have a core value of being a safe place. We want to model speaking the truth in love. Let’s do so knowing that we are also modeling a type of discourse the world needs to see and, in fact, my be the part of the salvation of our nation.

Peace,
Doug

Tyger River Presbyterian Church

by Dr. Douglas D. Cushing, M. A.; M. Div.; D. Min.

 May 6, 2012

 Fifth Sunday of Eastertide

“Abide with me and you will bear much fruit.”

John 15: 1 – 15

Questions

A few months ago I made this statement: “Christian faith is easy to understand but hard to do.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement?  Why?

Is it more important for followers of the risen Lord to understand Jesus’ teachers or to imitate Jesus’ teachings?

Fill in the blanks:

Christian faith is NOT – _______________________.

Christian faith IS – __________________________.

Christian faith is NOT – _________________________

Christian faith IS – _________________________ __

Christians are NOT – ______________________ _.

Christians ARE – _________________________.

What do you think Jesus means when he says: “Abide in me as I abide in you?”

Faith is in the following means:

1^st – We find the risen Christ ______________________

2^nd – We find the risen Christ ______________________

3^rd – We find the risen Christ ______________________

Scripture

JOHN 15: 1-8

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. ²He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes^* to make it bear more fruit. ³You have already been cleansed^* by the word that I have spoken to you. ⁴Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. ⁵I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. ⁷If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become^* my disciples.

I JOHN 4: 7-21

7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. ⁸Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. ⁹God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. ¹⁰In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world. ¹⁵God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. ¹⁶So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. ¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. ¹⁹We love^* because he first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters,^* are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister^* whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. ²¹The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters^* also.

Sermon

(Slide # 2) In a recent Sermon-Based Growth Group someone, responding to comments I made in the Thirsty For Living Water sermon series said the following: “Doug, in your sermon you said that being a Christian is easy to understand but hard to do. Well, I beg to differ.”

I always like it when folks push back on something I say in the pulpit. She continued: “For me Christianity is NOT easy to understand. I mean, it’s hard for me to believe certain doctrine. And it’s hard to stay faithful when I’m going through a period of doubt and I feel like a phony. I don’t think Christianity is easy at all!”

There was an understandable silence in the room by the others participating in the small group study. I thought to myself: “Wow, what a courageous thing to say.” I didn’t quite know how to respond.

Now, typically when someone makes a comment that I want to ponder for a while I say something like: “So, what do the rest of you think about what you just heard.” Luckily for me the group engaged those comments long enough for me to come up with some inadequate response. I can’t remember exactly what I said but one thing I remember saying was this: “Faith is not so much believing as it is following.”

I also should have said let’s turn to John chapter 15. In John 15, as we read earlier, Jesus said: “I am the vine and you are branches. Abide in me as I abide in you and you will bear much fruit.” In this passage Jesus doesn’t ask us to believe in certain doctrines, does he? No! In this passage Jesus doesn’t demand that we comprehend some complex set of religious principals, does he? No! What does Jesus ask of us? Jesus says abide in me.

The word abide is a relational word. In contemporary language to abide means to stay connected to someone. In a previous sermon I used the example of walking my dog Mattie without a leash. (Slide # 3)

Occasionally, when I am writing sermons at home and I need a book from church, I will take Mattie for a drive to Tyger River. As soon as we walk through the front door I begin saying to my dog: “Mattie, with me, with me, girl.” The goal is that my un-tethered dog will stay close to me even when everything in her wants to run down the hallway and jump into Linda Jeffrey’s lap.

So when our Lord said: “abide in me as I abide in you,” He is asking us to stay close…stay connected…stay in the relationship. This is why I believe that John 15 is a reminder that (Slide # 4) Christian faith is not, first of all a set of religious principles to be understood so much as it is a relationship to be lived out.  It is not, first of all, a set of beliefs to agree with so much as an invitation to follow. We are not asked to be admires of Jesus so much as we are asked to be imitators or followers of Jesus.

“Abide in me as I abide in you,” says our Lord meaning, follow me…and do what I’d do. Jesus said this, I believe, because faith is found in the following. Now remember that the driving assumption behind these Eastertide sermons is that most of us want more out of the Easter season than just another Easter reminder that Christ is risen, sins forgiven and eternal life is ours.

That message is at the very heart of our gospel. Yet, I wonder if hearing that message alone can sustain a dynamic, daily faith. I sometimes wonder if what we are really thirsty for is an ongoing encounter with the risen Christ.

If that is what you are thirsty for then we need to take to heart the message of John 15. We need to remember that faith is found in the following. But that phrase needs a little more nuance. So I want to make three points this morning to provide accents to this important phrase.

(Slide #5) When I say faith is found in the following I mean, first of all, that we find the risen Christ in our ACTIVE following. Let’s remember that John, the author of our gospel lesson, was also the author of the other Scripture passage we read earlier. In the epistle of John we read in verse 16: “God is love and those who abide in love abide in God and God abides in them.” There’s that word again, ‘abide.’ Only this time John tells us specifically how to abide or follow our Lord. John writes: Abide in love.

Friends, following Jesus means loving like Jesus loved. I’ve share this story with some of you before but it bears repeating because it’s a story about active love. There is an emerging body of research about youth that demands are attention. It focuses on a young person’s ‘resilience.’ Simply put, their resilience seems to depend on whether or not youth can identify adults in their lives who truly love them.

To measure a young person’s resilience, researchers invite a random sample of young people to think of the worst possible thing they could imagine doing. Then they were asked to name adults in their life whom they could tell that they had done this worst possible thing and who would still love them. Young people have to be able to name at least 4 adults whom they believe truly love them. If they can’t name four, an alarming number of these young people will either be dead or in jail by the time they are 21years of age.

Professor of Youth Ministry Roger Nishioka tells this story about the time he asked the young people in the church he serves in Atlanta if they could list four people in their lives they felt really loved them like Jesus loves. He writes: “I was surprised when one young man named, among us list, a woman in our congregation who I don’t think is very pleasant. Later I pulled him aside and said, ‘You know, Ian, I was surprised that Mrs. Shelton is one of your adults. Are you friends?’

“Are you kidding,’ Ian replied. ‘Dude, she is a mean old lady!’ But then he went on to explain that Mrs. Shelton taught his church school class when he was in third grade. She made them recite memory verses and always scolded them if the messed up. But Ian said that even though she was mean, even now she always called him by name and stopped to talk with him whenever she saw him. She also sent him a birthday card every year. Ian commented that while she seems really mean, he thought she loved him.[1]

John writes: “Those who say, ‘I love God’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.” Friends, we find the risen Christ when we love like Christ loved.

So, when I say faith is found in the following, I mean we find the risen Christ, first of all, in our ACTIVE following and secondly, in our IMPERFECT following. How many of you are perfect followers of Jesus? I thought so!

Jesus doesn’t ask perfection of us…can I have an amen! Jesus merely asks that we try our best to imitate Him. Look at the relationship Jesus has with his disciples in the gospels. It seems like Jesus is either critical or exasperated with the disciples. Have you ever noticed that we never read an account of Jesus saying: Hey guys, great job! You really nailed it today!

In fact it’s quite the contrary. The disciples are hopelessly clueless about Jesus’ mission. They constantly serve as the examples of what NOT to be or do. But, as Will Willimon has helped me to see for the first time, Jesus’ criticism doesn’t mean they aren’t real disciples.

In fact, (and I’ve never thought about this before). Despite being constantly rebuked by Jesus not a single disciple considers quitting. The reason they continue to follow is because they have made a commitment to abide with Jesus even has He abides with them.

Faith is found in the following which means we find the risen Christ, first of all, in our ACTIVE following, secondly in our IMPERFECT following and finally in our PERSISTENT following.

We all go through these times when we don’t feel particularly close to the Lord, right? We all go through these times when we don’t feel particularly inspired or motivated to stay in relationship with the Lord, right? We all go through these times of doubt or cynicism about our faith, right?

Does anyone wanna guess what advice Jesus would give us to help us get through those times of doubt and spiritual dryness? Jesus would say: Abide in me because you’ll rediscover your faith through following… through imitating me.

A preacher I know once said: I know a barber who, after a lazy day of cutting people’s hair for money goes out to a hospital for the mentally ill and cuts hair for free. A friend of his is an accountant who after a long day of serving people’s financial interests for money goes out to cruise local bars, pick up women for one-night stands and to enjoy himself as much as possible.

Both men, the barber and the accountant, are imitators, people attached to some larger vision of what life is about, why we were put here. One is attached to Jesus; the other is attached to American consumerism and selfish hedonism. So the most interesting question to ask them is not the abstract, “What do you believe in?” but the more concrete, “Whom are you following,” Faith is in the attachment…in the following.[2]