The Good Treasure

This sermon was not preached.  It was written for Sunday October 6, 2019 (World Communion Sunday).  I was scheduled to preach the vespers service at Presbyterian Communities in Florence, SC but the schedule was changed.

The Good Treasure

Today is World Communion Sunday;

some of you may have attended worship this morning

and received communion.

Communion, the Lord’s Supper is a sign and seal of God’s love

and covenant of grace.

You and I remember as a community the sacrifice, death,

and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and his love and

continuing presence

as we are commissioned to serve God and neighbor.

What is the purpose of World Communion Sunday?

It is simple,

it is about our unity of faith,

unity in Christ.

We are one,

no matter who we are as individuals,

we are one in faith.

So how does this scripture from Second Timothy connect to

our worldwide community of faith?

Second Timothy is part of the pastoral epistles of Paul.

You and I are used to the letters of Paul as he writes

to churches and communities.

However. this letter is to Timothy, an individual,

Paul’s trusted co-worker.

This epistle is about the faithful life of an individual Christian.

Paul uses the familiar kinship language he is fond of,

calling Timothy son.

Throughout his letters he uses kinship to express unity,

that we are all ‘brothers and sisters’ in Christ.

Paul has a relationship with Timothy;

not just with Timothy, also with his family.

I am reminded of your sincere faith,

a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois

and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.

Lois and Eunice are believers!

Timothy has been raised in a legacy of faith,

a tradition within his family.

I imagine that sounds familiar to most of us.

Faith thrives in families;

we have been nurtured in faith

by family,

by friends,

by mentors.

We are our experiences and

what has inspired us

has shaped us into believers and disciples.

This letter to Timothy is written near the end of Paul’s life,

some scholars view it as a last will and testament;

I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy.

Paul is remembering what he has done

and is in a way,

passing on the torch to Timothy.

Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have

heard from me,

in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Guard the good treasure entrusted to you,

with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

The good treasure.

What is this Good Treasure?

Faith.

Faith is something you and I carry within ourselves.

When I read this verse, I am reminded of Paul’s words

to the Corinthians:

But we have this treasure in clay jars,

so that it may be made clear that this

extraordinary power belongs to God

and does not come from us.

A better translation from the Greek is earthenware vessels;

‘Vessel’ referring to the human body.

The clay jars are you and me;

The treasure is the Holy Spirit working within us,

inspiring our actions of faith.

The rest of the scripture from Second Corinthians

speaks of endurance using the metaphor of clay;

the trials and suffering that we encounter,

yet, there is still strength.

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;

perplexed, but not driven to despair;

persecuted, but not forsaken;

struck down, but not destroyed;

You and I are molded by God,

from the second chapter of Genesis:

…then the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground,

and breathed into the nostrils the breath of life;

and the man became a living being.

Through Christ we carry the Holy Spirit

within our earthenware vessels.

Paul know the gift of God (faith) is within Timothy;

it is within each one of us.

Timothy is called to pass on the legacy of faith,

we too are called to do this;

proclaim the gospel,

share our faith,

and do not be ashamed or embarrassed by our faith.

In verses 9 and 10, Paul sums up the Gospel in a few words:

God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling,

not according to our works but according to his own

purpose and grace.

This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the ages

began, but it has now been revealed through the

appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus,

who abolished death and brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel.

Faith, the good treasure as Paul defines it,

is a combination of

grace enabled energy/power,

the work of the Holy Spirit +

compassion/love +

sound mind and self-discipline.

In the Gospel of Luke, we are told:

The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. You and I have the good treasure. Grace and the Holy Spirit enables us to do God’s mission in the world. We are called as individuals, as Timothy was called; You and I have been nurtured in faith as Timothy was nurtured: We too have a faith legacy. Grace has been given unto us;       the Holy Spirit enables us;       you and I have the good treasure… The treasure of faith. Guard it well, share it with others,       and pass it on as you would a light from a candle,        one to another, neighbor to neighbor. Your treasure will shine and be a light in the dark places       until finally the worldwide community of faith       will shine in unity.

By Faith

The scriptures include Hebrews 11:29-12:2.  It was preached on August 18, 2019 at Presbyterian Communities Vespers service in Florence that afternoon..


By Faith

A few years ago, before seminary,

I took a course where I had the opportunity

(and the challenge)

of reading the entire Bible in less than a year.

When beginning in Genesis, a very long book in itself,

one wonders how long it may take to get through

the entire Old and New Testaments.

For me, Numbers in the Old Testament was probably

the most challenging book to get through.

My favorite book of the Bible was Hebrews.

Why?

It connects the Old Testament and the New through Jesus;

Jesus is seen through the eyes of the Old Testament

as Jesus is the new covenant between the people and God.

The book of Hebrews is about faith;

faith which is active in obedience.

Faith endures.

God’s love for people continues and

Jesus brings a new covenant.

The faith begun in the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New;

God’s love embodied in Jesus.

Shalom.

This is a common greeting in Hebrew

used for both ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’.

However the meaning of this Hebrew word is peace.

Peace,

harmony, wholeness, completeness,

prosperity, welfare and tranquility.

Shalom.

So what does ‘peace’ mean to you?

Peace and quiet.

Peace of mind.

Peaceful rest.

How about the peace in the enjoyment of God’s gifts?

Feeling the presence of God?

How about faith?

The scripture from Hebrews this morning

highlights the phrase ‘by faith’.

 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea

as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians

attempted to do so they were drowned.

  By faith the walls of Jericho fell after

they had been encircled for seven days.

 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those

who were disobedient, because

she had received the spies in peace.

She had received the spies in peace /in Shalom.

The faith of the Israelites,

their faith in God was stronger than Israel’s opponents.

By their faith they were righteous, obedient, and

were willing to take chances and have hope.

The book of Hebrews reflects the historical memory

of the Israelites,

remembering the early ancestors, the patriarchs,

the prophets, and those who answered God’s call.

Something else to note about the book of Hebrews,

it is not written as letter to a church in a specific location.

Hebrews is a sermon, a sermon on the subject of faith,

the endurance of faith.

Moses and the Israelites wandered in the wilderness

and died before they reached the promised land.

They believed in God’s promises without seeing them fulfilled.

It was another generation who crossed the Jordan.

That original generation, the ones who left Egypt,

journeyed by faith.

Their hope for something better was not just for them,

but for the next generation

and the next.

Moses began the journey, then Joshua continued it.

Faith sustains.

Faith endures.

They were part of the cloud of witnesses.

Those who came before.

Those who begin the journey and

give others a path to follow.

You and I are a continuation of that journey.

We look to our cloud of witnesses….

As you look around this community of faith

think about all those who have been here before you;

they have sat in the pews before you,

other men and women living together in unity,

praising God, supporting each other, learning and teaching;

all in faith;

Former residents

Those who have passed on to God’s heavenly kingdom,

those who may have supported you,

family and friends.

All those who have led you to this point on

your journey of faith.

In faith,

for their times and the present times;

In faith

of what is done now and done for future generations.

Faith,

Enables believers to persevere in the midst of suffering.

Faith, as defined in the first verses of chapter 11 of Hebrews,

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen.

 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval

 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared

by the word of God, so that what is seen

was made from things that are not visible.

Faith in the presence of God.

God is present in our lives and in the world.

That conviction of things not seen

and assurance of things hoped for.

Faith and Shalom.

The prophet Jeremiah asks a couple of interesting questions.

²³ Am I a God nearby, says the Lord, and not a God far off?

²⁴ Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?

says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord.

God fills heaven and earth.

God, the Creator, is in touch with every aspect of creation.

God is able to discern all that happens.

God is transcendent.

And God is both near and far.

God is hidden (not fully revealed) from human beings,

but human beings are not hidden from God.

Think about that a moment.

God is hidden (not fully revealed) from you and me,

yet, we are not hidden from God.

What are some of the ways we express how we know God?

By anthropomorphizing God:

Those phrases you and I use to express God in human terms and

giving God human form and traits.

This is our way to comprehend the incomprehensible.

Yet, the reverse is not true. God, our Creator knows us!

Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.

The prophets in the Old Testament were led by their faith:

faith in God

faith in the hopes for the future

faith for the promise of something better.

And something better came forth in the New Testament.

Someone to blaze the trail for others to follow,

a perfect example,

a better hope,

a better covenant,

a better promise,

a better sacrifice,

a better high priest,

a better resurrection.

Jesus.

Jesus is the model of faithful endurance.

We ‘run the race’ with Christian endurance;

you and I as individuals are always moving

toward our need for wholeness/shalom.

On our pilgrimage toward God,

we yearn to be in the presence of God.

The fulfillment of that desire is a lifelong journey,

a journey of faith.

Christ acted on our behalf.

Jesus was the first to attain faith’s goal,

presence of God and

Jesus makes it possible for others to have access.

So, you and I focus our attention to Jesus for guidance.

The true prophet,

speaking God’s word,

giving hope for the future,

knowing the promises of something better.

Our believing,

you and I taking action in the world

as Jesus’ disciples;

we do this by faith

as so many before us have done.

You and I will become part of the cloud of witnesses.

We reach for Shalom,

for peace,

for wholeness, and completeness,

for connections to our faith.

Shalom, my friends. Shalom.

Ask, Search, and Knock

The scriptures include Luke 11:1-13.  It was preached on July 28, 2019 at Presbyterian Communities Vespers service in Florence  that afternoon..

Ask, Search, and Knock

What is your prayer life like?

Do you have a certain time of day set aside for praying?

Are you spontaneous or do you use a devotional?

Do you pray out loud or speak to God in silence?

Throughout the Gospels we witness Jesus at prayer.

It is an important image for the disciples and for you and me.

One of Jesus’ disciples requests:

“Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

Luke’s version of the Lord’s prayer is similar

to the scripture in Matthew’s Gospel.

The instruction on prayer in Matthew is part of

the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew may go into a little more detail:

“do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand

and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners

so they may be seen by others…

go into your room and shut the door and

pray to your Father who is in secret.”

“do not heap up empty phrases…

for you Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

Both Matthew and Luke tell us:

“Ask, and it will be given to you;

search and you will find;

knock and the door will be opened for you.”

The message is the same in both:

pray

ask

search

knock.

How do these 3 terms,

ask, search, and knock relate to prayer?

Ask:

say something in order to obtain an answer, information or

a request of someone to do or give something.

Sometimes in prayer we ask for guidance;

sometimes it is something more tangible.

“Give us each day our daily bread.”

An alternate translation is “our bread for tomorrow”;

That is assurance and hope for tomorrow

and the next day and the next…

You and I know what God has done for us in the past,

what God is doing for you and me in the present,

and we have trust it will continue for the future.

Search:

try to find something by looking or

otherwise seeking carefully and thoughtfully.

Carefully and thoughtfully,

a time of meditation and reflection.

Searching is you and me acting to discover

perhaps something that was lost or

something we have never had before.

Sometimes things get lost as in the parable of

the Lost Coin;

sometimes we get lost as in the parable of

the Lost Sheep;

prayer can center us.

What are you and I searching for?

~peace~ ~understanding~ ~comfort~

~direction~ ~confidence~ ~harmony~ ~faith~

Knock:

strike a surface nosily to attract attention,

especially when waiting to be let in through a door.

I like that definition: doing something to attract attention.

There are times we desire God’s attention;

when you and I have questions about

our lives,

our purpose, and

our place in the world.

Ask, search, and knock all do tie into prayer.

We pray; we address God with a sincere request

or an expression of thanks.

So, the question comes up again…

What is your prayer life like?

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus instructs us “do in secret”.

Prayer is personal,

an individual’s personal relationship with God.

In the gospels, Jesus often goes off to a quiet place to pray:

“…he went up the mountain by himself to pray.”

(Matthew 14:23b)

“In the morning, while it was still dark,

he got up and went out to a deserted place,

and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

“Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw,

knelt down, and prayed.” (Luke 22:41)

There is another element to prayer -silence;

prayer involves times for listening in the silence,

listening for God’s answers,

God’s guidance,

God’s purpose for you and me.

God does answer when we ask, search, knock, pray.

Jesus tells the parable of the friend at midnight.

“Friend, lend me three loaves of bread.”

A simple request at an inconvenient hour.

The one knocking is depending on their friend’s

kindness and generosity.

Hospitality is a theme throughout Luke’s Gospel.

It is the way we treat each other,

the way God wants us to act with each other.

If your friend,

your neighbor,

or your relative does for you;

answers your request,

gives to you what you seek,

opens the door to you,

think how much more God does for and will do for you.

This friend at midnight also lets us know

that prayer can happen anytime, anywhere

and in any way, we chose to pray.

God is always available;

God is not reluctant nor hesitant to answer

when you and I ask, search, knock, and pray.

In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he advises:

“Rejoice always,

pray without ceasing,

give thanks in all circumstances;”

Pray without ceasing:

prayer is to be continual.

I remember reading somewhere that

the idea of ‘continual prayer’ is like

a tune of a familiar song;

we hum along,

it is on our mind as we go through our day.

What is your prayer life like? ~visual part of sermon~

They are so many books on prayer,

that discusses prayer as praise, penitence, and petition

~Common Prayer~¹

different ways to pray,

finding new paths to God ~Praying in Color~²

books filled with prayers,

that guides us in reflection on God’s word

~Praying w/Hildegard~³

devotionals to direct us,

that guides us through themes ~One Minute Prayers~⁴

prayers we find in the psalms,

that are part of our daily prayer life ~Psalter~⁵

poems and hymns as prayer,

that speak to everyday events ~Prayers that Sing~⁶

even a prayer cube,

an aid to give simple thanks

to give different options for grace before a meal.

You and I have so many options for prayer,

no matter the time of day or night,

whether it is spontaneous or guided,

or if we shout our thanks and praise

or silently speak and listen.

God is there with answers,

with what we are seeking,

and ready to answer the door.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things shall be added unto you. Alleluia.

Ask and it shall be given unto you,

seek and ye shall find,

knock and the door shall be opened unto you. Alleluia.”⁷

Alleluia, Amen.

1 Common prayer: a Muslim-Christian spiritual anthology, edited by Kenneth Cragg, Oxford : Oneworld, c1999.

2 Praying in color: drawing a new path to God by Sybil MacBeth, Brewster, Mass. : Paraclete Press, 2007.

3 Praying with Hildegard of Bingen by Gloria Durka, Winona, Minn. : Saint Mary's Press, c1991

4 One Minute Prayers for Women, 2004

5 The Paraclete Psalter -a book of daily prayer, 2010

6 Prayers that sing & stir the heart by Sibley Towner, Richmond, Virginia : Union Presbyterian Seminary, [2018].

7 hymn Seek Ye First by Karen Laferty