The Ancient Future Church

Matthew 13:1-16 (From May 14, 2012)

“Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.”

And just what are these thorns? Jesus goes on to explain, “the cares of this world and the delight in riches.”

Life requires so much maintenance. If you own a house, you have unending yard work, not to mention light bulbs to change, and air conditioning filters to be replaced. Add a car and you have more to maintain which is helped but not eliminated by Express Oil and Goo Goo. And most of us own more than one car. Then there is the energy expended just to sustain human life. There is thinking about food to buy, buying food, cooking food and finally cleaning that in which the food was cooked and this before the next meal so we can begin the cycle again.

It is easy to understand how “the cares of this world” could prevent the Word from producing something in us. So how do we insure we are not consumed or choked by them? Nothing new but two words: prioritize and simplify.

Prioritize: Keep the main thing the main thing. Life is meant to be lived not maintained so never let maintenance become the goal. If being fed (the Word) is high priority, you will order your life accordingly. Listen to a podcast while you mow or run. The question becomes what else can I do while I read or hear the Word.

Simplify: Don’t try to harvest your life to the edges or, in other words, don’t fill your calendar. Parents, limit the number of extracurricular activities for children. Don’t allow any activities that conflict with church or youth group. Let your commitments expire on things trivial.

Matthew 7:1-12

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that in your own eye?”

One must navigate this passage with great care. When a pastor commends its central truth, he may have become the passage’s foil, the man with a log. Just the same a pastor cannot shrink back from preaching what is the mind of Christ.

It goes without saying that there are a lot of judgmental people in the church. This should be a surprise to no one as there are a lot of judgmental people in the world. We are probably all reconciled to this reality with only moderate hope that sanctification will eliminate the problem worldwide. What is difficult to bear are those who make judgments and have no capacity for self-examination. We can hear criticism even judgment, as painful as it is, from those we trust are keenly aware of their own shortcomings and routinely lays them before the Lord for healing and transformation. But we resist those who are clueless.

And the clueless abound. A man once suggested to me I was not filled with the Holy Spirit because I did not speak in tongues. And yet the universal assessment of this man was that he cared not a whit for the poor and often had contempt for anyone inferior to him in class and intellect. Now from a biblical point of view which situation would suggest a greater absence of the Holy Spirit?

Socrates once said “the unexamined life is not worth living.” This man is in obvious need of self-examination. But am I any less? When I am strong in the Lord, I can receive what he says, love and him and pray about what truth might be in that statement. Perhaps I am not void of the Holy Spirit and yet spiritually dry. Perhaps some solitude would lead to a season of renewal.

In the end seeing a tiny imperfection in another is not forbidden. But it yields little fruit if we do not recognize the same or worse is ourselves.

Preached at Holy Cross Anglican Church, Loganville, Georgia, on Sunday, May 6, 2012.

Click here to hear or download a podcast:

http://www.holycrosspodcasts.org/C1-media;show,161

Leviticus 19:1-18

“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border.”

Margins for those on the margins, that is what God is describing here. The burden upon the people of God is to not consume all that they produce. That way the poor and sojourner, who have no means of production, can feast upon what remains, the crumbs under the table if you will.

This makes me think of mowing my grass which by the way I thoroughly enjoy. But in the ordinary course of things when I mow the grass I cannot get the grass right up against the house or against the edging around the beds. For that I must use my trusty Weedeater. It takes some effort to harvest to the edge of the yard. It would be much easier to leave some grass on the edge, much easier to leave margins.

Of course this is meant literally. Leave un-harvested what is on the edge! Pluck grapes from the vine but leave those which have naturally fallen to the ground. This is a means of compassion and God’s provision for the poor.

But not all of us live in an agrarian society, so we need to look for the deeper truth to apply to our often urban lives. It is this. If I consume all that I produce, I have nothing to give away. If I plan every minute of my life in pursuit of my needs or even the needs of my family, I will have no time to devote to anyone on the margins, the poor, the sojourner, the brokenhearted, the lonely, the abandoned, nor the lost.

The truth is I need to be intentional about creating margins in my life. When I ask someone “how are you doing” my demeanor needs to say I will listen attentively as long as the answer takes. How many times have we asked that question expecting the standard response, “fine thank you?” How many times have we been annoyed when someone dared to take our question seriously?

Marathon training has had me on the streets a lot lately. On several occasions in the last three months a car has slowed beside me in order to ask directions. Sadly, there was in me that momentary frustration of “hey, can you see I’m running?” No margins. But then I have stopped, listened and answered as best I could. And what great satisfaction there is in orienting someone who is lost.

More and more I find there is stress in life without margins and joy in life with them. It seems God is on the mark yet again.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

Paul is assuring the Thessalonian believers they need not fear the end times that will come like a thief in the night. They are sons of the light, indeed sons of the day as opposed to sons of the night. Not wrath but salvation determines their destiny.

The Apostle is actually doing for the Thessalonians what he is commending to the Thessalonians. He is encouraging them. He is building them up. Waking or sleeping the Thessalonians live with Christ Jesus, their future secure.

As are many pastors, I am looking for apostles like Paul. We would love to receive what it is we are meant to give away.

The layman immediately wonders why such encouragement would be in short supply. The reasons are many and varied but here are some contributing factors.

Too often church leaders are driven by the success of the thing (church) more so than the souls of the people (read pastors or sheep for that matter). What wasn’t driven by a desire for success in the late 20^th century? Remember “In Search of Excellence” and “Dress for Success” and “Alex Keaton?” However, whenever the “end” justifies the “means” people are reduced to pawns in a bigger scheme. I wish I could say I never fell personally into this trap so ever present on the American church scene. The pressure is enormous. One has to make a conscious decision to buck the success model (or career path) in order to care for souls. For in matters of following Jesus, souls are always the end. What does it mean to gain the world and forfeit your soul? People, beating hearts are what matter to God, not bricks and mortar or even butts in the pew (industry jargon ;-)). It was said of one of my past senior pastors, that he counted legs and doubled that number when he logged the attendance for any given Sunday. Obviously priorities were amiss.

But therein is the next contributing factor, insecurity. Too often church leaders are consumed with justifying their leadership even their job. They bristle at the best and brightest beneath for fear their fortunes might be reversed. Consequently, they don’t encourage or build up. They rein in the competent and transfer their insecurities.

There is a word here for laymen. Refuse to participate in a search for a CEO to lead your church. Demand a pastor, one who has no designs on the future other than the care of souls entrusted to his care. Insure he knows what the “end” is. There is a word here for church leaders as well. If you don’t have the confidence and security to build up others even to the point of preparing them to take your job, find it. Otherwise, consider early retirement.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

“When you give all alms, . .”

When you give alms. When you pray. When you fast. When, when, when! When, not if. Jesus assumes these acts of piety will be a part of our lives. Giving, praying and fasting are ordinary to people of faith. Each of us is meant to engage in them but in ways unknown to others. “Practicing your piety before men” might draw attention if not accolades from others and puff us up with pride. And if these acts are done “to be seen by them” they are done for all the wrongs reasons.

In spite of the admonition we tend organize these acts and promote publicly them with great zeal. We have a national day of prayer. We have national days of fasting. Hmm. I cannot recall a national day of giving alms. We will tackle that another day. So we nationalize acts of piety because surely praying and fasting collectively and publicly is better than us doing it individually and privately! Right?

Now before you fire off a response, hear what I am saying. I am not opposed to these organized acts of piety. But I wonder if they are not observed by many in lieu of what should be ordinary to a follower of Jesus. It should not be necessary to ramp up prayer or fasting among believers. Should we not be praying daily? Perhaps twice a day? Without ceasing according to Paul!

In some ways we in the church mimic the culture of dependency that surrounds us. The nation or church tells us when to pray and what our prayers should address when the mature ought to be doing things for himself. I am always harping on individualism but it seems to me Jesus is promoting it here as it relates to piety. Each of us has the responsibility to engage. No one else can do it for us.

1 Thessalonians 3:1-13

“So that he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness and before our God and Father.”

Unblamable in holiness before our God and Father? I want that. How do I get it?

Well surely I just figure out what the rules are and follow them, right? Read my bible. Go to church. Tithe. As some unsuspecting bloke once said, “All these I have done from my youth.”  But does my knowledge and my adherence to the rules save me? The question itself “how do I get it?” reveals a hubris that God must necessarily address every day, simply because such hubris is rampant.

What we find is that we/I can’t do anything to be found blameless. He, being God, is establishing our hearts unblamable. He is. In every age we attempt to make Christianity a religion, what we do for God. But it is first and foremost about what He is doing for us. He establishes our hearts.

And he does not do it through us following rules but through us loving one another in the same way Paul and his companions loved the Thessalonians.  Now we have narrowed it down. The picture is becoming clear. Loving makes me blameless so I just need to love more and to love better. There is that perennial temptation again. I want to make myself in charge. I just need to love more and love better. That is religion. Faith makes God the chief actor. “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all men.” It is not like I can exercise my way into more and better love. The capacity is not within me. The Lord makes me love in the way he expects me to love. He transforms me into that person.

Does that grate on your nerves? It grates on mine. Faith makes my role next to nil. And I need a role. Without it I feel rather inconsequential! Sounds like I need to reconcile myself to that uncomfortable feeling.

Matthew 5:21-26

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come offer your gift.”

Traditionally, whatever that is, ushers pass plates to collect tithes and offerings. When the ingathering is complete, the ushers present the offering to the celebrant or deacon who has been preparing the table (read altar) for communion.

At our sweet sponsoring church in Norcross the norm bucks the tradition. A large basket is placed upon the table (read altar) and folks walk up and place their tithes and offerings in the basket at their leisure during the preparation or communion. We let Dow (age 3 ½) take ours up (when we don’t mail it in). He takes great pride in being entrusted with this simple act of devotion.

Now imagine applying this teaching to our scene. A man approaches to place his gift in the basket and remembers the misplaced anger he laid upon the Starbucks clerk that morning as he made his way to church. He would place the offering beside the basket and head back to Starbucks to make apologies for (if not repent of) his nastiness. A woman approaches and remembers she gossiped about a fellow church member to a church member. She leaves her gift by the basket and seeks out those members and makes amends.

This is a prescription for an empty church. If every person searched his or her heart before leaving that gift, he would necessarily be on his way. It is hard to imagine that we have not offended someone in the week that follows our corporate worship.

Yes the church would be empty and about that we could cheer! Well, empty till everyone arrived back, now reconciled, and picked their offering up from the table and placed it in the basket. Now that would be an assembly of followers of Jesus!

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

“Just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but to please God who tests our hearts.”

“We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to lead a life worthy of God.”

Exhorted, encouraged and charged. Strong messages with high expectations, that is what the early church offered. And it was offered to please God, not to tickle the ears of man. Flattery, indeed anything that puffs up one’s view of self, was absent from the earliest proclamation.

That was then. This is now. In your mind scribble a quick list of some of the best known preachers in America. Not your favorites necessarily but the most popular, the top forty of the pulpit if you will. How many of them excel in flattery? How many avoid difficult things? One of the most popular, I need not name the man but Houston we have a problem, gladly owns that he avoids preaching that confronts people with sin, preaching that might make the masses uncomfortable because God does not want us to feel that way.

Another very popular preacher, who by comparison to the man above is all about fire and brimstone, was heckled recently on a Sunday morning. Someone yelled, “Why don’t you preach the Gospel?” And the answer is? By the way, heckling in a service of worship is to be admonished. But now that the question has been asked . . .

Far too much preaching in the modern day is entertainment. It makes us laugh. It tickles the ear. When difficult things are not skipped, humor is employed to blunt the hard truths. Risky business given that we hear Jesus say “whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.” Least!

Here is why this is dangerous for the church. Light truth leads to light grace. Of course central to the Gospel is “God so loved the world.” But in a world void of truth what’s not to love? We don’t feel loved deeply because love is an expectation if not an entitlement. It is not amazing given how wonderful we are. The truly astonishing thing about the Gospel is being loved in spite of who we are not because of it. Inexplicable is a God who loves me unconditionally in spite of my ambivalence about Him and at times my outright rebellion towards Him.

Conclusion? Truth makes Grace gracier. And He dwelt among us full of grace and truth, not one to the exclusion of the other.

Charles Francis Adams, the 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: Went fishing with my son today, a day wasted…His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: Went fishing with my father, the most wonderful day of my life.