Sunday, February 24, 2008

Obey Your Thirst

John 4:4-26
I have a favorite WW II movie that I enjoy seeing over and over again. It is about a squad of allied soldiers who lost contact with their units and were trying to get back to Tobruk in the desert of North Africa on board an American tank. They had no more water. With great difficulty they find a well in the desert, but find that the well produces only trickles of water. So they patiently fill their canteens with water and rest in an abandoned stone house. They secure the perimeter. The next day, a battalion of thirsty German soldiers also in search of water come to the well. They briefly negotiate. German general: you are vastly outnumbered, surrender or die. American sergeant says, surrender your weapons and you get water. They fight fiercely. The handful of allied soldiers turn back the Germans, but the Germans return again and again. Finally, after many are killed on both sides, the Germans surrender all their firearms to the allied soldiers. One cannot fight indefinitely if one is thirsty.

There’s a couple of interesting facts about physical thirst. Thirst is something we experience when the pituitary gland secretes two hormones in the body. One causes a physical reaction in the kidneys and the other causes the hypothalamus to send signals to the salivary glands to reduce secretions. It is said that just thinking about thirst could make you thirsty — that is because the hypothalamus sends signals to the salivary glands that causes the mouth to dry up.

It was in thirst that Jesus went to a well and asked a Samaritan woman “for a drink” in our Scripture reading today. But their discussions turn from physical water and Israel-Samaritan relations, to the promise of living water. At the end of the story, it is the Samaritan woman who is asking Jesus for the living water. And receiving Living water is nothing more or less than finding God.

The first point of our story is we need to obey our thirst. Whether this be thirst for H20 or thirst for God. There is a story about a young student who went to his spiritual teacher and asked the question, “Master, how can I truly find God?” The teacher asked the student to join to go into the water. When they got to the middle of the river, the teacher said, “Now put your head under the water.” The student did as he was instructed, whereupon the teacher put his hands on the young man’s head and held him under the water. The student began to struggle. The master held him under.
Seconds passed. The student was thrashing and beating the water with his arms. Still, the master held him under the water. Finally, the student was released and he jumped up from the water, lungs bursting and gasping for air. After he had regained his breath, the teacher told him, “When you desire God as truly as you desired to breathe the air you just breathed — then you shall find God.”

Thirst is one of the most powerful spiritual words in Scripture. Thirst for Life. Justice. Peace. Truth. God. As our thirsty bodies long for water, so a spiritual thirst draws our spirits into a search for deeper meaning for our lives. The Psalmist expressed it this way, “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1-2)

Secondly, thirst for God pushes us to genuinely seek God, and not just go through the motions. Isn’t it true, the more we thirst for Peace, Justice, Truth, Life, the more we thirst for God?

We had a very interesting discussion in the Bible Study of the Young Adults Fellowship last Tuesday. YAF 40s include Roy de Leon and Elman Caguindangan. YAF 20s meets at the same time at Catacombs.

We were discussing the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4:1-20. We were discussing our un-preparedness as a people to receive the seed – God’s word that the sower is sowing. We are like the rocky soil that receives the seed and causes sudden growth, but when the sun becomes hot, the plant withers because we have no roots. We seem to be unproductive soil that does not produce any harvest.

Proof of which is Jun Lozada’s testimony in the Senate. EDSA 1 in 1986 was about people’s disgust about Marcos’ abuse of power and corruption. EDSA 2 in 2001 was about our disgust in Erap for his womanizing, drinking, gambling, corruption. Now, it appears people are going to spill out into the streets once more because we cannot “moderate the greed.” Yesterday, former Pres. Fidel Ramos gave a comment that EDSA sins are back — Marcoses, Estrada are back.

Sociologists call it ningas cogon. With great fanfare we receive anything new enthusiastially. And then we smother it with our old ways. It is like the soft drinks ads of young men who gulp down the cola and are instantly satisfied until they thirst again. Is our thirst addictive? Do we need another EDSA fix?    

Perhaps we thirsted for something else? Maybe it is not good government we thirst for but just a change of people who are easier to manipulate for our own interests. The problem with people who get to power is, they start out thirsting for God and spiritual living. Then their own interests and those around them, command them to take advantage. But because God’s seed is not rooted, corruption wins.

Thirdly, the real question is how does the church make all un-moderated greed in Christians (for all the greedy ones are pious people) thirst for living water?
In our Bible Study group some questioned whether metanoia the real spiritual turning back, the contrition and repentance of individuals and society ever happened in our history. Has the Christian church in the Philippines ever given up its power, influence and wealth and has it not been in a conspiracy to be in power since. That model of 300 years ago is basically still the same model today.
There is no tradition of honesty or integrity in governance that we can recall and practice. Faith is no more than a means to secure power for groups… and God relenting to their desires. There is no deep understanding, therefore, no deep thirst for Living Water.

Since there is no thirst for God, then is that why there is no satisfaction?

We are a Christian country no doubt and some good derivatives are undeniable, Cory Aquino being one. But the greedy are like the rocky soil who receive God’s word. The seed does not take root. They believe they are holy because they have been baptized, listen to mass, give money to the poor, do a little service and take some sacrifices. Those with un-moderated greed think that the way to Jesus is plain works. But friends, they have it backwards.
The way to Jesus is to have a deep thirst for him to rule our lives. When God rules, we receive grace, greed has no place. The way to Jesus is to have him deeply rooted in our lives, Spirit filled lives that bring love, integrity, truth, justice and real change in our lives.

What do we really thirst for? If we thirst for our lives, we lose it. If we thirst for Living Water, we find it. If you thirst for living water, obey your thirst. Repent and let God rule.  Isaiah 58:11 promises “ The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 

(Sermon delivered at SU Church, 24 Feb. 2008, 10 am, with acknowledgement to Ryan Johnson for stories)

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Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Family for the Harvest

Matthew 9:35-38
I would like to thank the Chapel of the Evangel Fellowship for producing the all important Bible Study literature for University Christian Life Emphasis Week (UCLEW) last week and for being a part of the training team, for hosting the Galilean fellowship, for preaching, and for being there on UCLEW launching Sunday.
 
I also wanted to thank Circuit Jerusalem for inviting me to preach here this Sunday.


As I was thinking about what to preach on Church Membership and Leadership which is the theme Circuit Jerusalem wanted this Exchange Pulpit Sunday, I thought the issue in church membership is really the issue of discipleship. I thought of Silliman University ’s 8,000 potential church disciples but only 1,200 actual regular Sunday church goers and the words — “fields are ready for harvest, but workers are few” came into mind. So I began with the Bible Dictionary and it provided me these following references to “Harvest.”


1. The harvest as God’s Providence (Gen. 8:22): “Seedtime and harvest…shall not cease.”  Not particularly congruent with the theme.
2. The harvest from sin: (Gal. 6:7) “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap“. Not particularly helpful for the theme.
3. The harvest as final judgment: (Matt. 13:39). “The harvest is the end of the age” Not too helpful.
5. The unit of harvest — church family: The harvest is plenty but the workers are few (Matt. 9:38) There, I thought, is a challenging sermon.

The church is described in scripture as a family, different parts belonging to one body. There is one Parent of all. We are one family, but are comfortable in our own groups. We stay in our own comfort zones. About 75% of our students and faculty are Catholic Christians. Most of them see no reason to attend worship and fellowship with the community and come to church only when compelled by UCLEW or other college religious convocation. We expect Sillimanians to have a sense of brotherhood, but are unable to have common worship with them. We are thankful though that there are regular ecumenical devotions in the dormitories and among faculty and staff.

There are several problems: 1) the Protestants in the community are perceived to be overly class conscious. Paul emphasizes that in the fellowship, all have been reconciled in Christ; 2) the Catholic faculty and even some UCCP faculty do not encourage their students to attend worship activities and only mobilize students when checking of attendance is required; (only the university, can compel people to attend church!) 3) there are doctrinal and liturgical differences among Christians, molehills made into mountains, really; 4) there are personality conflicts among Christians in various levels.

Of course the last UCLEW has made a start to show visible unity in the community. But let me outline how we may “harvest the field” (make disciples of members) more fully as mature Christian family members. Let me talk about Method of the harvest; motivation of the Harvest; Means of the Harvest.

I.THE METHOD of HARVEST – PREACHING, HEALING AND TEACHING

Matt. 9:35 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.”

Teaching, preaching and healing — are the methods of Jesus that we have adopted. Notice the troika of Silliman – church, medical center and school venues for preaching, healing and teaching. Silliman uses this method, yet the harvest is relatively few, I think perhaps because the method has been used to the exclusion of other methods. (“Relative” is used here in context of expectations that 107 year old Silliman should be influencing the city or province, or even the nation, in a greater way.)

Our UCLEW theme emphasized that the church has varied gifts.  The variety of gifts approximate the variety of functions the body of Christ is to perform. The gifts and ministries we know well are preaching, healing and teaching, but the list is not meant to be exhaustive. We have more gifts now. We have social workers, engineers, economists, entrepreneurs, farmers, politicians, media communicators, biologists, prophets, doctors, counselors, artists. How well have these been developed as ministries?  All those gifts are to be used to “build up the human family until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, and become mature like Christ.” Eph 4:11-13

One of the most common causes of conflict in church is our inability to accept the gifts of others and to put our gifts as most important, i.e., prophecy over reconciliation. Sometimes we emphasize the importance of our gifts to the exclusion of other gifts and functions. And so instead of building each other up we tend to compete. Certainly it prevents cooperation.

It is also true in politics. Self love makes politicians, regions, parties, exclude other’s gifts and contributions to heritage and history. This results in society being truncated. Paul says, “Each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” I.e., the differences we exhibit are often the result of the different ways Christ wants us to work. Someone once likened the Church to a jigsaw puzzle. We are never complete until every chip is accounted for.

II. THE MOTIVATION / PRODUCT OF HARVEST: COMPASSION & LOVE

Matt. 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Two psychiatrists occupied offices in the same building. One was 40 years old and the other was 70. They took the same elevator at the end of an unbearably difficult day. The younger man was completely exhausted after seeing patients all day long. The older man looked as fresh as a daisy. The younger psychiatrist said to the older, “I don’t understand how you can listen to hurting people all day long and still look so great at the end of the day?” The older psychiatrist said, “WHO SAYS I LISTEN?”

I am not saying that we do not listen. I am saying each one of us is tuned in to our favorite things that we often forget to reach out to others. We certainly cannot do any kind of harvesting if we do not have compassion for church members who see theological or social issues differently from us, no harvesting by the teacher if we have no compassion for the student, no harvest without compassion for workers if we are entrepreneurs, no harvest without compassion for patients if we are doctors, etc. No harvest without compassion. The motivation of the church is compassion, the product disciples of love.

III. THE MEANS OF HARVEST – the Household Family

Matt. 9:37-38 “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”  The context of farming and harvest in the Bible is family. The more members of the family, the more harvest workers. The family invites neighbors to the harvest.

If we are to be co workers of the harvest in the vineyard, whatever our professions and gifts may be, we are to build up each other in fellowship. We refer to the household of God as the workers of the vineyard.
The Trinity is the best example for fellowship in that household: “One God, in perfect fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”. The church fellowship is patterned after that. There’s one fellowship because there is only “one Spirit who binds different personalities together. There is only one Lord Jesus (the Son) who is its head. There’s one hope, one faith, one baptism, because there’s only one Lord Jesus. Finally, let us remember not to be exclusive, there’s only one human family of God because there’s only one Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. “

Recap: THE CHURCH is the means (the worker) of the harvest that invites others. Disciples of love are the harvest. The use of various gifts is the method. Compassion is the Motivation. The Church family and the wider household of God are the means to harvest. May God help us unite, build up and take in the harvest as a family of one God!


(Sermon delivered at Chapel of the Evangel Fellowship, SU, 17 Feb 08 with acknowledgements to Steve Shepherd’s sermon structure)

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Monday, February 11, 2008

Mud Turtles

Matthew 4:1-11
A young man said this about his life: “It seems like I was a mud turtle trying to climb out of a muddy, slippery swamp and every time I just about reached the top, someone would come along, put his foot in my face and push me back into the mud. And so, finally, I decided to stay in the swamp. And what the heck, I have a lot of company.”

Life can be one big swampy mud pit. We can be constantly moving, thrashing, climbing out of the mud pit and sliding back, like a mud turtle.

Our gospel lesson this morning, “the temptation of Jesus” in the wilderness tells us that God understands very well the human condition in which we live. He understands how we struggle and fail. For wasn’t it God’s Son himself who was tempted in the wilderness and came to the same kind of choices we often face?

Today, reading Christ’s temptations, turning stones into bread, or jumping off the highest temple and having God’s angels catch him, or being placed on a very high mountain where he could see the whole world, then having the Devil offer him ownership of all the lands is far out. They could only be understood metaphorically. However, I would like to suggest they are very real.

Jesus was praying and fasting and he had not eaten for 40 days, his throat is parched. The devil approaches, not like a monster but with subtlety, inventiveness, with reason. He says, “Jesus, sir, you look like you are hungry. You are the Son of God, right? So, why don’t you turn all of these stones into bread? Not just for yourself, for I know you are a loving and compassionate person, but for all the starving people of the world. They need you. Give them what they want, what they need. And then you would be their hero. They would follow you anywhere. You would be the king of all lands.”

Doesn’t sound too diabolical, does it? Feed the world, take care of the hungry, that is a noble cause. The temptation wasn’t in the act so much as in the assumptions behind the act. Jesus was tempted to take a short cut, to by pass His Father’s purpose. Take power quickly, forget saving people leave God out of the picture for now. Leaving God out of the picture for now, is what sin is about, a muddy pit.

How often do we leave God out of the picture of our lives? Control, power, accountability, those are the sins of our lives. We like to pretend that we are not as bad, or as unrighteous, or as unholy as others. We point a finger at others, as we sit in the smugness of our own pride, living life according to Frank Sinatra’s - “I did it my way!!” We like to have things our own way. We want to take God out of the picture. We want to control and run our lives our own way. But many times, we are frustrated, so then we become angry, we lash out at God, maybe at a loved one, maybe at ourselves. We want control, but as Paul says “I don’t accomplish the good things that I set out to do, and the evil things that I don’t want to do, I find I’m always doing. Yet, if I do the things that I don’t really want to do, then it is not I, that does them, but it is my own nature in which I am a slave to sin and death.

Everyone labors under the terrible weight of sin. When we need to apologize to someone, we say “let him apologize first”. When we are asked to forgive someone, we say, let him forgive first. When we hurt a loved one we say you hurt me first. When a stranger came to town, we did not introduce him to our friends.

Someone has said –”When we sin we do not break a law; we break our Father’s heart.
Our lesson from Genesis this morning is the story of original sin. God said don’t eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but they listened to the tempter – its ok eat, you wont die.

We live in a mud pit. We like to wallow in the mud. We have no revulsion for sin. What do we do? Turn yourself to God, allow the breath of God to enter life and fill life, allow God to pour Himself into your life, then changes will happen. You will no longer be a mud turtle, you will be a child of God’s. God will control your life and change it and amazing things can happen.

The first step is to acknowledge that our attempts to control our lives do not give us peace, self-worth, nor a sense of contentment. We need to admit to God we are mud turtles caught in the swamp of life and no matter how much we try, or struggle, no matter how far we bury in the mud our deepest hurts, pains, situations which remind us over and over again of our broken lives in a broken world, we cannot escape from these until we are ready to surrender control of our lives to God.

Let me end with a prayer by Martin Luther.  “Behold, Lord, I am an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My lord, fill it. I am weak in faith; strengthen thou me. I am cold in love; warm and make me fervent that my love may go out to my neighbors. I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust Thee altogether. O Lord, help me. In Thee I have sealed the treasure of all I have. I am poor, Thou art rich and didst come to be merciful to the poor. I am a sinner; Thou are upright. With me, there is an abundance of sin, in Thee is the fullness of righteousness. Therefore I will remain with Thee whom I can receive, but to Whom I may not give.” Amen


 (Sermon delivered Feb. 10, 2008, SU church. With acknowledgement to Tim Zingale for the illustrations and the inspiration.)

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Maturing in Christ

Eph. 4:1-7

A serious allergic rash prompted a man from a rural area to come to town to be examined by a doctor. After taking his medical history followed by a series of tests, the doctor advised the patient that he would have to get rid of the dog that was evidently causing his allergic reaction. As the man was preparing to leave the office, the doctor asked him out of curiosity if he planned to sell the animal or give it away. “Neither one,” the patient replied. “I’m going to get a second opinion. It’s a lot easier to find a doctor than a good watch dog.”

Our theme for University Christian Life Emphasis Week is – “Growing up in Christ: Living by the truth and in love.” Meant for senior students, we hope that as they leave the university and move into the larger world, the theme will remind them that in Silliman they received a calling.

I received a text message yesterday, from a church member who has made it her ministry to send text messages, “I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong. I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve. I asked for prosperity and God gave me a brain and skills to work; I asked for courage and God gave me dangers to overcome. I asked for love and God gave me the sick to help. I asked God for favors, God gave me opportunities. I received nothing I wanted, but I received everything I needed.”

God gives us what we need, and not always what we want. It is in the nature of our faith and of our life, to understand that Christian faith leads us to a greater need for God, not a sense of freedom from God. Mature faith prepares us for a difficult transition in life.

Maturing in Christ means, Living by the truth and in Love. What is the truth? Life on earth is transitional. Eternal life is the end goal of faith. If our faith was limited to seeking earthly deliverance, it would be a hopeless faith because life on earth ends. Living by the truth means living our lives in the light of eternal life. As someone said – “Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am visibly delivered or not, I will stick to my belief that God is love. There are some things only learned in a fiery furnace.

And what does living in Love mean? It means living in a furnace. That while we are on earth we are to unite in fellowship with one another. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord (Jesus), one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

I. Virtues: Paul lists 5 virtues of the Christian: humility, gentleness, patience, mutual forbearance and love. Lets reflect on this briefly:

1. Humility is an attitude that recognizes the worth and value of other people. Humility is essential to unity. Pride (& false humility) almost always results in discord because it puts down and excludes others.

2. Gentleness is moderation, “strength under control”. So it’s the characteristic of a strong personality who doesn’t let that strength control him, nor use it to control others. Rather it’s a strength used to serve others.

3. Patience is a longsuffering attitude towards aggravating people;

4. Forbearance is mutual tolerance w/o which no group could ever live together in peace for any length of time.

5. The final characteristic is love, which is more of an overarching quality that makes all four possible and enables them to be expressed.

II. Unity: These virtues are reflective of the unity of God in the Trinity. The Trinity is the best example for fellowship: “One God, in perfect fellowship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”. The church fellowship is patterned after that. There’s one body (church, fellowship) because there is only one Spirit who binds different personalities together. There is only one Lord Jesus (the Son) who is its head. There’s one hope, one faith, one baptism, because there’s only one Lord Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.

Finally, there’s only one family of God because there’s only one Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all. I experienced this fellowship during the Bible Reading Marathon Jan 23-26. We were one body of Christians, Baptists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, United Church, Adventists, Catholics, reading one book, about one God, one Jesus who is the head of the church, One Holy Spirit binding us together as one, and one Father of us all.

Our unity derives from the fact that the one Father creates the one family, the one Lord Jesus is the focus of the one faith, hope, and baptism, and the one Spirit is the mysterious agent that moves us to become one fellowship and one body.

III. We are servants with diverse gifts One of the most common cause of conflict in church is our inability to accept the gifts of others and to put our gifts as most important. Paul says, “Each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” I.e., the differences we exhibit are often the result of the different ways Christ wants us to work. Someone once likened the Church to a jigsaw puzzle. We are never complete until every chip is accommodated.

There are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, engineers, nurses, doctors, businessmen, agriculturists, communicators, students. But we are one. Why? Because all equipping gifts have 1 purpose: to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the fellowship.

The only way forward is up. We have to grow up…”To come to the measure of the full stature of Christ. “No longer children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.” Of course our unity is always work in progress. We are the people of God being renewed and transformed as we learn those 5 virtues well.

(sermon delivered, Feb. 3, 2008, SU church, 4 pm)

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