June 28, 2020 Sermon: Matthew 10: 40-42

June 28, 2020                     Sermon                                Matthew 10: 40-42

                 Matthew begins our passage today with a very fitting tribute to the “divine waterfall” used so often in John.  “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”  Whoever welcomes the disciples are welcoming Jesus, and whoever welcomes Jesus welcomes the Father in heaven who sent Jesus.  So let us say…welcome.

                This is the conclusion to the passage that began a couple of weeks ago when Jesus commented the fields were ripe but the workers were few.  And we have had two weeks of Jesus describing the up’s and down’s, most recently Jesus letting the disciples know that when he sends them out with the ‘peace that surpasses all understanding’, into the world dominated by sin, the world under the house of Beelzebub, the devil, that what Jesus calls peace is actually going to be a sword.  And we dealt with the consequences of that. 

                But there is one final dimension to be considered.  We have moved past where Jesus will acknowledge us before the Father who acknowledge Him before others.  We have moved past enduring to the end to be worthy of Him.  The disciples, now and then, have presented themselves to the world, and now we are where the welcome of the world is received (when it is welcome and not the sword).

                Jesus gives us three possible outcomes:  Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; ⁴²and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

                So round one: Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.  Recall, Jesus is NOT calling his disciples prophets.  He uses the images of disciple and teacher or slave and master, which his audience would have been familiar with.  Being a prophet was never what the disciple or apostle was.  In the New Testament, it moves to becoming a gift of the spirit that an apostle may possess.  That is not what it once was.

                A prophet was the mouthpiece of God.  Most of the books of the Old Testament are named for the prophets whose words are collected within.  Isaiah, Jonah, Malachi, all the guys in-between, they were prophets.  It was their job to make sure the Children of God knew what God wanted of them.  It was not a message that was forever new or evolving over time.  It was laid out in the law of Moses.  Thus certain of Jesus’ opponents claim Moses as their authority.    

                In the Old Covenant, the trouble was that the people would drift away from what the Lord had commanded.  And when they did that, the Lord had a prophet to come and tell them what they were doing wrong.  And that is always a popular role to have isn’t it, being the one to tell others that they are doing wrong?  Especially people of power…

               In Hebrews 11, which lays out the prophets who were heroes of the faith, we have this description of the rewards program for being a prophet, from verses 36-38,

Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

                The last fully accredited prophet in the Bible is John the Baptist, who spoke God’s Word to the authority of Herod, the King.  The Word he brought was a very public condemnation of Herod’s involvement with his brother’s wife.   And though he is the one who baptized Jesus, his prophetic work cost him his head.

                So when Jesus talks about the prophet’s reward, it’s not a good thing.  There is a pattern of evangelism that follows the prophetic style.  It tends to be very legalistic in its approach, very much “I say God says ‘do this’ or God says ‘don’t do that’, so you better listen or its hell for you…” or “You better give your life to Jesus or you are going to hell!”  See the pattern?

                And this is a generalized condemnation where prophecy in the Old Testament where obedience and consequences were inside the bounds of time and space to a specific generation.  You, now, obey the Lord your God or I will raise up this enemy to come beat up on You.  It was a constant reminder that the Promised Land was a land given them by God and maintained for them by the power of God.

                So…maybe not the prophetic route…how about the righteous person?  Whoever welcomes the righteous person in the name of the righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous person.  A lot of interpretation on this passage likes to compare and contrast ‘prophet’ and ‘righteous person’.  The prophet is the one who speaks the right words, while the righteous person (yes, I am intentionally changing this from the masculine “Righteous man”), while the righteous person does the right thing-which is better.  In other words, don’t be the prophet, be the righteous person, don’t say it, do it.

                I don’t agree with that interpretation.  Being a prophet is not a bad thing in the eyes of Jesus.  It is just an old way of doing things.  Jesus’ approach was far more wholistic.  Yes, he certainly prophesied, especially when he foretold the doom of Jerusalem.  But what he did was far more than that.  Teaching, healing, raising from the dead, all part of the Jesus mission.

                But being a righteous person is a little different.  It depends on a certain code of behavior.  What does it mean to be righteous?  It means to be right.  So self-righteous is when I myself have decided I am right (and I am going to tell you about it), but in the Biblical perspective, the righteous person was made right by Jesus, through salvation.  It is a fundamental difference, because the righteousness of Jesus sticks.

So the interpretation that divides prophet and righteous person is correct, so far as it goes.  Righteousness is based on what we do, proper behavior, following the rules.  And an evangelism based around that tends to be one that talks about how we must behave.  It is not exactly legalistic, but it can easily begin to look like it depends on one’s self-control. 

                Unlike the prophet, there is no clear Biblical precedent of the reward of the righteous on earth.  There is certainly the heavenly reward, but, like the prophet, there is nothing inherently wrong with the righteous person.  But where this evangelism may begin in the testimony of Jesus’ work for us, “I was lost but now am found…”  it can move quickly to “and I do these things because this is what Jesus wants.”  But I believe Jesus is after something more.

                Who remembers this television reference?  Monty, I will take what is behind Door Number 3!! ⁴²and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” Here is, to continue the television reference, where I am ready…To Make A Deal…

                Giving a cup of cold water to a little one.  Seems somehow unimpressive when stood up the proclamation of God’s Word, or being made Right by God.  But see how Jesus uses language here.  First, he sets up a comparison, with the word Welcome.  Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, welcomes the Father.  What comes next revolves on the word ‘welcome’, whoever welcomes the prophet…whoever welcomes the righteous man…the structure is fairly precise. 

                But consider this, when Jesus says, “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me…”, who is he referring to?  Prophets?  Righteous people?  No, his disciples.  This is how we interpret the contrasting language.  It is not about welcoming, it is about giving, giving cold water in the name of a disciple.  It is not about who we welcome, the prophet or the righteous, it is about what we do with that welcoming.  The one who gives EVEN a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple…the implication being that the disciples has come and been welcomed and action follows, “none of these will lose their reward”, the implication being their ‘heavenly reward.’     

                See what Jesus did there?  He is NOT dismissing the words of the prophets, he is not dismissing the righteousness, He is seeking the reaction to the Good News.  In other words, it is not good enough simply to accept the Good News of Salvation, it must translate into action, and something as simple as cold water for a little one in need.  

                The Word of God, the Deed of Righteousness, it begins in the simplest actions done in love and compassion.  The work of the disciples begins in mercy.  Nothing more, nothing less. 

                That’s why getting involved in a political movement against the palaces of power that suppress and repress these people….and I leave you to fill in the blank.  That is why this involvement is Jesus’ work.  This is why Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is one of the most compelling and vibrant ministries of the PCUSA, because we are front-line helping those who have suffered disaster.

                And you know why PDA has the blessing of FEMA and the blessing of the Red Cross to be a clearly faith-based organization going in to help while many, many others are not?  Because PDA takes this mandate clearly.  It is the glass of cold water, it is the response to the immediate need.  We are NOT hinging our help on acceptance of what we teach.  The homeless do NOT have to listen to the sermon before they receive their supper. 

                It is important to note that the work of the disciple BEGINS with the glass of cold water.  It certainly doesn’t end there.  Welcome the disciple and Jesus is welcomed.  Jesus is welcomed and the Father is welcomed.  Our faith is in the one who can provide for EVERY need.  No matter what.  Perhaps the richest question we could be asked when helping someone else is “Why are you doing this?”  The short answer to that one is “because Jesus has sent me to do this.”  Now that is a conversation starter of unique proportions.

                So here’s the thing.  We are coming to a week when we are going to be able to gather in person again, as well as remotely.  This is a tremendous time to consider how we, the First Presbyterian Church of Perth Amboy, are going to be the givers of the Cold Glass of Water, how we are going to reach out with the love and mercy of Jesus, how we are going to be there for a world in need.  There is our future, there is our purpose, there is the vision that Jesus has for us.  Shall we embrace it?

Amen.

 

 

June 28, 2020 Scripture Lesson

June 28, 2020  Scripture Lesson:  Matthew 1:40-42

⁴⁰“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; ⁴²and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

June 28, 2020 Order of Worship

First Presbyterian Church

Remote and Mail Order of Worship

June 28, 2020

                                                   CALL TO WORSHIP (In Unison)                         

 Rejoice, for when we welcome another, we are welcoming Jesus into our midst.  Rejoice, for when we welcome Jesus, we welcome our Father in Heaven.  Rejoice, for as we welcome the Lord so are we welcomed into the Household of faith.

Let us worship the Living God

 AMEN

Hymn Today: “There’s A Spirit in the Air”

There's a spirit in the air, Telling Christians everywhere;
"Praise the love that Christ revealed, Living, working in our world!"

Lose your shyness, find your tongue, Tell the world what God has done:
                 God in Christ has come to stay. Live tomorrow's life today! 

God in Christ has come to stay. Live tomorrow's life today!

  CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON (In Unison)

Dear Father in Heaven, we confess that we are comfortable in this life.  It holds us complacent instead of to active service to You.  Where we have fallen down and not done as You have commanded, please forgive us.  Where we have sinned against You and our Neighbor, please pardon us.  Remind us of the grace that comes through our Lord Jesus Christ that we may serve You better.  Amen.

 INVITATION

If you do not know Jesus as Your Lord and Savior, but You would like to come to Him, or come to Him again, You can do wo with this simple prayer:

“Dear Lord I need You, please come into my life today.  Amen”

 

Scripture Lesson for Today, Matthew 10: 40-42

SERMON:

“Who Are We Welcoming?”

THE OFFERING OF OUR TITHES & GIFTS

Until we have other options open to us, please mail your tithes and offerings to:

                First Presbyterian Church of Perth Amboy

            45 Market St.

            Perth Amboy, NJ  08861

 

 

 

A PRAYER OF DEDICATION (To be prayed individually, out loud or in silence):

Father in heaven, from the bounty You have blessed me with, I give this gift back to You with joy and thanksgiving to further the work of Your church.  Amen.

SONG OF RESPONSE: “There’s A Spirit in the Air”

When a stranger's not alone, where the homeless find a home;
Praise the love that Christ revealed, Living, working in our world.

 There's a Spirit in the air, Calling people everywhere;
Praise the love that Christ revealed, Living, working in our world. 

Praise the love that Christ revealed, Living, working in our world.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Pray for us as we continue to curtail our lives against the virus.

Pray for those who live separated because of the virus.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in this congregation as we continue to worship together.

As you lift each request to God, the appropriate response is “Lord, Hear My Prayer”

 

 THE LORD’S PRAYER (In Unison)

 Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

OUR BENEDICTION AND DEPARTURE (In Unison)

May the Lord bless us and keep us.

May the Lord make His face to shine upon us and be gracious to us.

May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us and give us peace.

Amen.

 

 

This past week, we celebrated the 6 month anniversary of Christmas.  That means Christmas is only six months away.  To celebrate, we sang today’s hymn to the tune of “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing”.

 

Sunday Worship June 21, 2020 Father's Day

June 21, 2020 Matthew 10: 24-39 Sermon: “Bearing the Cross? Now? Today?”

Rev. Peter Hofstra

                Whosoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  How is that for a challenge to who we are as Christians?  If we have not taken up our cross, we are not worthy of Jesus.  Wait a minute, this is ten chapters or so before we even get to the crucifixion of Jesus, why is he talking about crosses here?

                That is the Gospel for you.  It is a unique style of literature.  Part history, part hero tale, part theological treatise, part a half dozen other things.  Simply put, it is the witness to Jesus Christ.  Assuming a chronological order of unfolding events is not the way to read these verses.  Reading every piece in light of the climax, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is far more appropriate.  But wait, can we trust a text that is talking about the cross before we ever get to the cross?  Chronological thinking.  This is God-inspired literature, whose purpose is to share with us the truth of the gift of Grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Better to take it as truth rather than history.

                As we go through this passage, there are a couple of ‘lifted’ verses from this passage, proof texts that are used in other areas of life, but, out of context, carry a very different spin.

                Verse 24 is the first, the disciples is not above the teacher, nor the slave above their master.  The base content is putting humans alongside God, in Jesus and in heaven.  Disciple/teacher is the relationship Jesus has fostered.  Slave/master is one metaphor of the people of Israel to their God.  This verse has been used in any number of contexts where the point has been to keep someone in their place over and against a higher authority.  In one of its most flagrant abuses, it was preached from the pulpit in the antebellum south to keep blacks in their place, as slaves.  “Because the Bible tells me so.”

                The context of the verse is not about disciples or slaves.  It is about the masters.  Whose your master?  Whose your teacher?  Is it Jesus?  Or is it Beelzabub?  Is it the devil?  But it is not about the House of the Devil either.  It is about who truly is in charge.  Have no fear of “them”, according to verse 26, what is covered will be uncovered.  A modern rendition might be ‘the truth will out’. 

                As Jesus concludes in verse 27 “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.”

                See what Jesus is doing here?  When he is telling his disciples they will be sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of salvation, he is also telling them that they will be revealing the secret knowledge of Beelzebub, of the devil, and the devil’s plan in this world-which is to lead all to destruction.  And rest assured…verse 28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

                And over and against this diabolical power, Jesus stacks up the power of God, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  I have used the line about God knowing the count of the hairs on my head, because that number is in decline. 

                But why sparrows?  It is a reference that the disciples would understand.  Two sparrows sold for a penny, that is the most basic animal sacrifice that can be brought to the temple.  So there is a real connection to Godly worship.  Jesus is saying something like, “You know the sacrifice of the poorest of the poor (the two sparrows).  Not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the Father.  The Father in heaven preserves the sparrow and humans are worth much more than many sacrifices to God.”  See the spin?  Makes the comparison a little less random I hope.

                But the key to these verses is that they stack the power of God against the power of Beelzebub, the devil, and the clear victor is God.

                So what has Jesus told his disciples?  He has told them to spread the Good News of the Gospel, even though that news is against the plans of the one who, by Jesus’ own acknowledgement, has the power to destroy not only the body, but also the soul.  Those whose master is Beelzebub will see both destroyed.  In the grand scheme of God’s plan, the body is already spoken for, to be resurrected and preserved for eternity by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.    

                Now comes the dividing line between heaven and hell:  "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.”

                Sidebar, can you imagine how Peter felt after denying Jesus to others three times on the night of Jesus’ arrest in light of these words?

                But note the activity that is required in these verses.  It is about an active acknowledgement of Jesus before others or an active denial of Jesus before others.  There is a HUGE middle ground in the church today of people who acknowledge Jesus in heart and mind and would NEVER deny Jesus in front of others, but who do not express an opinion about Jesus one way or the other outside of church.

                And there is a HUGE middle ground of people today who would say that they believe in God, but never follow that up with active participation in one of the communities of believers that cross this nation. 

                This is confirmation of what has been repeated multiple times as the biggest problem with the church today, that being Complacency.  We got it good so we don’t rock the boat.  We feel we are ‘good enough’ so we do nothing more.  We are not bad people, which is as far as we need to go.  And in light of what Jesus says next, I can understand holding the status quo.

                He says "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household.”  What’s the rule?  No discussing religion or politics at the table?  Why rock the boat? 

                Ever been witness to when that rule has been broken?  When family members won’t talk, sometimes for years, because of that “stupid argument”?  Maybe it wasn’t about religion exactly, but something derivative of faith?  A homosexual or trans child is banished because of their sexuality?  How about the charge of fatherly authority, derived from Paul, “If you walk out that door, don’t ever come back…”  Or if there is an active believer in the family, one whose aim in life is to make sure their loved ones know Jesus as Lord and Savior, and are convinced that everybody in the Middle Ground is actually in the group that Jesus says he will deny before the Father?  In the eyes of that believer, they are trying to save their family’s souls. 

                Once again, we come back to the measure of our faith.  Now it is a matter of being worthy of Jesus, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” 

                In my experience, the two sides of this sentence are generally separated.  The first part is pretty much dismissed because it reads like we have to be less loving to our parents and children than to Jesus, like he is somehow making us pick.

                The second part of the sentence is a “call to arms”, in line with Jesus bringing a sword and not peace.  It is the call to get off our duffs and share the gospel. 

                But I see these as one, linked together by the phrasing of “not being worthy of me”.  Why would someone who loves mother or father or son or daughter not be worthy of Jesus?  Look at the verses that we just came through.  Jesus ends them by saying “one’s foes will be members of one’s own family.”  It is a full blown family feud.  So follow out the logic, a massive fight with the family about Jesus and the choice is made to turn away from Jesus entirely to somehow satisfy the immediate family…see how Jesus would say that person is not worthy of him?  I am of a mind that if a family is so insistent that the only way to satisfy them would be to give up one’s faith, I don’t think that family is worthy of the believer.

                Of course, that is so easy for me to say, living in a nation where Christianity is in the majority.  Harder where it is difficult, even criminal to change from the local religion to our faith.

                Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

                That is the tough one.  That’s the one that speaks to Christians who find themselves comfortably on the middle ground, lukewarm about the faith.  Yes, go on Sundays, and at holidays, yes we sing and pray, but when it comes to getting out of the walls of the church, into the mix of life…well…that’s another story. 

                Then we come to that final bit, how does that even relate?  If I find my life I will lose it, but if I lose it for Jesus’ sake, I will find it?  Well, I get the second part, die in the faith of Jesus and we have the promise of the resurrection.  We are worthy.  It’s like Jesus said above, those who acknowledge Jesus before others, Jesus will acknowledge them before the Father.  And since, from a few weeks back, we came to understand that Jesus was given all people, it is not just “a good word” put in with the boss, but it is salvation itself we are talking about.

                But if I find my life, I will lose it…  Who are going to lose their lives in this passage?  Take it back to the part about Beelzebub, verse 28, do not fear him who can kill the body but not the soul, fear the one who can kill both.  Fear the devil?  Well, the devil might be able to orchestrate the end of our life.  But it is going to take service to the devil, the work of denying Jesus to others, the choice for evil, that is going to have Jesus deny that person before his Father in heaven.  And the one who is denied in heaven, I think that’s the one who loses body and soul.  They find their life now, in this time and place, and this is where they die, without hope for more.

                Now that leads to another spin on this passage.  Christians have interpreted it to mean that Jesus basically denies this life for the life to come.  Die soon and get Paradise quicker, to sum it up.  But that is not what Jesus is saying.  Rather, he is answering an age old philosophical inquiry about life.  “Is this all, is there nothing more?”  There sure as the sun shines is more.

                But it all comes down to this.  Christians are out there breaking down the status quo.  Because the status quo, the way things function, that is sin in the world.  That is the place where Beelzebub is in charge.  And the Christian steps into that world and proclaims the truth, that greed and hatred abound, and no wonder Jesus says that he came to bring a sword, and not peace.

                Peace is the ultimate goal, but there is going to be a fight before we get there. 

                Maybe this is why we have a huge gathering of people standing in the middle ground.  They know God and Jesus are good things, but to wade into a fight over it?  Why risk it?  I love the way some phrase it, “Why risk what God has already blessed me with?” 

                Which is actually a pretty great question.  Why should we risk what God has given us?  Why move out of the comfortable middle and into what Jesus is describing as an armed conflict? 

                Last week, I took some time on the Black Lives Matter movement.  That right there is a tremendous reason to get into the action.  There is an entire segment of our American population that has been systemically subject to racism since the first whites even came to this continent.  What really churns my gut is that we have built up a system of law enforcement that twists people who stood up to care for their community and fellow human beings into those who kill and assault others, or feel the intense pressure that they have to cover it up when their colleagues do it.  That is what is important to me right now, and how I am trying to make the name of Jesus truly known-that Jesus loves everyone.

                How about until the day that everyone can see freely and joyfully in church to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, our work isn’t done?  The fight isn’t over. 

                We have this faith of ours, Jesus tells us it is a truth that will overcome the devil’s ‘truth’ of world dominance.  If we just acknowledge Jesus to others, Jesus will acknowledge us to God. 

                So there it is.  The call to action.  Jesus issued it to the disciples and he issues it to us.  He lays out the risks and the rewards, the truth and the consequences.  The future of the church, the success of the church, the lifeblood of the church is in how we take up Jesus at his challenge to us today.

Amen.

 

June 21, 2020 Scripture Lesson Matthew 10: 24-39

Matthew 10: 24-39                          June 21, 2020                    Scripture Lesson

10:24 "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master;

10:25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

10:26 "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.

10:27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.

10:28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

10:30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted.

10:31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

10:32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven;

10:33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

10:36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household.

10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

10:38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

10:39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Order of Worship June 21, 2020

First Presbyterian Church

Remote and Mail Order of Worship

June 21, 2020

                                                   CALL TO WORSHIP (In Unison)                         

 We come before You today to know and be empowered by You, our Father in heaven.  Let us lift our hearts and voices on high!  May we be beacons of Your light to the world that surrounds us.  Let us be bold in the grace we have received.

Let us worship the Living God

 AMEN

Hymn Today: “Take Up Your Cross, the Savior Said”

1 Take up your cross, the Savior said, If you would My disciple be;
Take up your cross with willing heart, And humbly follow after Me.

2 Take up your cross, let not its weight Fill your weak spirit with alarm;
Christ's strength shall bear your spirit up And brace your heart and nerve your arm.

  CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON (In Unison)

 Dear Father in heaven, we confess to You all that we have taken for granted as Your children.  Where we have sinned and not shared the glory of Your Grace, we ask Your forgiveness.  Where we have fallen short, we ask Your strength to take the next step.  As we know the grace won for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus, may we share that wonder in the world.  Amen.

 INVITATION

If you do not know Jesus as Your Lord and Savior, but You would like to come to Him, or come to Him again, You can do wo with this simple prayer:

“Dear Lord I need You, please come into my life today.  Amen”

 

Scripture Lesson for Today, Matthew 10: 24-39

SERMON:

“Bearing the Cross?  Now?  Today?”

THE OFFERING OF OUR TITHES & GIFTS

Until we have other options open to us, please mail your tithes and offerings to:

                First Presbyterian Church of Perth Amboy

            45 Market St.

            Perth Amboy, NJ  08861

 

 

 

A PRAYER OF DEDICATION (To be prayed individually, out loud or in silence):

Father in heaven, from the bounty You have blessed me with, I give this gift back to You with joy and thanksgiving to further the work of Your church.  Amen.

SONG OF RESPONSE: “Take Up Your Cross, the Savior Said”

3 Take up your cross, heed not the shame, And let your foolish heart be still;
Thy Lord for you accepted death Upon a cross, on Calvary's hill.

4 Take up your cross, then, in Christ's strength, And calmly every danger brave:
It guides you to abundant life And leads to victory o'er the grave.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE

Pray for us as we continue to curtail our lives against the virus.

Pray for those who live separated because of the virus.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in this congregation as we continue to worship together.

As you lift each request to God, the appropriate response is “Lord, Hear My Prayer”

 

 THE LORD’S PRAYER (In Unison)

 Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

 

OUR BENEDICTION AND DEPARTURE (In Unison)

May the Lord bless us and keep us.

May the Lord make His face to shine upon us.

May the Lord lift up His countenance upon us and give us peace.

Amen.

 

2020, 0614 Worship

June 14, 2020 Sermon "Are We Living in the Time of Christ?"

Matthew 9 35-10 23

                Day and night.  Heaven and hell.  Good and bad.  We seem to get the full sweep of one into the other in our passage today.  Jesus is doing what Jesus does, “teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.”  “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” is his observation.  So he deploys the disciples, the twelve are sent out to do as Jesus did.  And they were given impressive abilities.  Jesus “…gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.”  Then, the disciples are enumerated, including Judas Iscariot, “the one who betrayed him” before deployment.

                So far so good, Jesus has been doing well, the disciples are equipped to do well.  The mission is focused, among the Jews, not the Samaritans or the Gentiles-well, not yet “go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  They are charged to do works of power, “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.”  This strikes me as being an internship because they are not being paid for anything.

                The mission is pretty straight forward.  Stay where you are welcome, place your peace on the house, if they don’t listen, take the peace back, and shake the dust off your feet from them.  Don’t let them get you down.

                This is the daytime, the heavenly portion, the good part of the story.  Now it slides as Jesus switches to “worst case scenario” mode. 

                Because if that town doesn’t listen to the words that the disciples share, they are more cursed than the two most cursed cities in the entire bible, Sodom and Gomorrah.  We don’t need to review why they were cursed, just that fire and brimstone was the resultant punishment.  Want to be reminded of it?  The Dead Sea is where they were located.  The single most visible result of God’s wrath is laid out before the disciples as getting an easier pass with God than the ones who reject what they teach.

                Because this is not an easy mission.  The disciples are the sheep, those people are the wolves.  The disciples have to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  Innocent as doves, I get that metaphor, but wise as serpents?  Jesus really dips into the Scriptures for that one.  Genesis 3:1, Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made.  This is the verse that leads into the serpent deceiving Eve and Adam.  Wiser than the creature that made Jesus’ mission necessary…  But that’s not the conclusion of what we know about the serpent.  When God is handing out punishment for original sin, he Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this,
   cursed are you among all animals and among all wild creatures;
upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat
   all the days of your life.

But be wise as serpents while you are out there. 

                Why watch out for those people? Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.  Arrested, flogged, dragged before governors and kings.  That is what happens to Jesus.  Arrested, flogged, dragged before Pontius Pilate and Herod, king in Galilee.  And how did that end?  Crucifixion.

                Once in custody, Jesus’ advice is thus “When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”  One of the most eloquent testimonials of the Spirit of the Father speaking through an apostle comes in Acts 7, vss. 2-52.  A deacon of the church has been arrested, dragged before the high priests.  And he opens his heart and speaks such a moving story of the power of Jesus Christ down through the Old Testament.  The down side is that deacon was Stephen, who was subsequently stoned to death, the first martyr of the church.

                Now we get down into the worst of it, verse 21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name.  Oh yeah, and if you fail, well, those who endure to the end will be saved…”

                So here’s what you can expect:  when persecuted in one town, flee to the next.  And here is the reality, you will NOT get to all the towns before I come again.

                Let me tell you something, this passage was NOT in the brochures when I was getting ready to attend Seminary.

                This entire passage is something that starts so promising.  There are people out there who are desperate to know the love of Jesus Christ, and there are not enough people to share that joy and wonder.  But it is going to cause such divisiveness that children will hand over their parents to be killed. 

                How can something so wonderful end so horribly? 

                We could ask the same question about our nation right now.  I am talking about the relationship between police and the African American community in the wake of George Floyd’s death.  I am talking about the protests that have rocked this nation.  About the President tweeting that looters could be shot.  About video of a white man in gas mask and dark clothing breaking windows in an area of protest to fuel the fire that looting is going on, where it wasn’t-not in that instance.  Makes one question how many other times.  About peaceful protests outside the White House that are broken up by chemical irritants and projectile munitions…but NOT tear gas and rubber bullets mind you, so that the President could walk to a photo op at a church across Lafayette Park.  About national guardsmen, about police in riot gear, about white Americans using their bodies as human shields for their African American brothers and sisters? 

                What is a Christian response to this?  Wade into the middle of it with the message of love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ and you can expect arrest, flogging, even death itself, but salvation is to those who endure to the end.

                Wait…what? 

                What about sides?  Well, I was shown something on Facebook, a posting where we were asked not to judge cops by the uniform, but by the individual.  How about not judging a man by the color of their skin and pinning his neck till he dies, but as individuals?  A 911 call about a man who passed a counterfeit $20 that began the series of events that led to his death.

                Racism is endemic in this nation and it sees its worst excesses in law enforcement.  And the reason it sees its worst excesses in law enforcement is because it runs counter to everything a law enforcement officer should be standing for.  Is every cop bad?  Of course not.  Is every African American a criminal?  Of course not.  But that isn’t the way we are acting as a nation.  Law enforcement officers are first and foremost peace officers.  But the peace is not ringing out.

                When we read verses like these in Matthew, we, in this day and age and nation, have no real concept of what it was like “out there” for Christians.  We are so comfortable, so privileged, so free to do what we want, when we want, how we want.  Can we even fathom that the daily life of the African American community fits the warnings of what Jesus tells his disciples that they might be facing out there.  And the disciples have the option of renouncing the faith.  It is a little more difficult to renounce one’s birth.

                So what do we do about it?  I am given to understand that back in the days of the Civil Rights movement, my predecessor here at First Presbyterian went south to join in the protests against the racism of the whites. 

                I have to admit, I have not seen much in the way of connections being drawn between the Civil Rights movement and the protests happening today.  But the fight that started there has never had a satisfactory conclusion. 

                I am not going to join a protest and I am not going to advocate that others go out and protest.  I think that is a highly personal decision and I commend and respect those who make that choice and I pray that their time will be peaceful and that they will remain living examples of Jesus in the peace that they live out.

                But I am going to say, from the pulpit, that the message that Jesus sent his disciples to share is exactly the message that we need to be sharing out there, in the middle of all of this.  

                And what is the message?  The Kingdom of Heaven has come near!  And I don’t of a message that is a harder sell right now.  I don’t know about you, but I associate this message with a crazy man who has this printed out on a body-length billboard, walking up and down in the streets when there is word that another asteroid is in the range of striking earth.  He’s talking about end times stuff.  And these protests feel like end times stuff.  Is the nation ripping itself apart?

                But the reality is that the nearness of the Kingdom of Heaven has been since Jesus sent his disciples out, that it has never moved out once again.

                Is this moment when we have to look around ourselves and we have to stand up and say that until everyone enjoys the nearness of the Kingdom of Heaven as much as we do, then the work is not done.  Until the day when I can walk down the street and see a person of color and know that is my brother or my sister and until the day that person of color can walk down the street and know that the person in the uniform in the cop car is there to serve and protect, until the day when the foundation of that reality, the love and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ, has opened every heart and touched every life, only then can I take a minute and congratulate myself on a job well done.

                Jesus was out there among the harassed and helpless, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and sickness.  How about this, the pathology of a crazy person who likes to hurt other people, we call that mental illness and our call is to see to their treatment, according to this verse. 

                Why does Jesus send his disciples out?  Because there are not enough laborers to help the harassed and helpless, the people who are looking for an answer about why life is violent and destructive and is there in fact a better way?  I would suggest that every disciple in the church take a look around, find the harassed, find the helpless, and saddle up.

                I tell my children to respect the police because that is the right thing to do.  I don’t know how it feels to tell my children to respect the police out of fear for their own lives if they choose not to.  And that is a privilege that every parent of every color should be able to share with their children.  And until we can, the work of Christ is NOT done. 

                There is a reason why Jesus dips into very dark and scary language when he speaks to his disciples about what will happen when they really get out there to share the Word.  Because that is really what is going to happen.  Because they are digging into the dark underbelly of racism and preconception and privilege and two thousand years of what was considered acceptable behavior because the powerful said it was and they are called to tear it down until every person has the same love, the same justice, where privilege is surrendered for something even more powerful, equality, and we will truly be able to proclaim that we love our neighbors as ourselves.

                Wait a minute?  Am I talking about them or am I talking about us?  A Jew gets beaten to death by a Roman soldier because he fails to carry his gear for a mile-something soldiers could demand of locals.  An African American dies because of a knee on his neck over a questioned twenty dollar bill.  Yes them.  Yes us.

                When we get into it, then we will understand what it really means that the kingdom of heaven is near.  And we will be able to greet Jesus when he steps back on the earth and know that we have endured to the end.  And we will not simply have given lip service to the faith we proclaim and the Lord we love, but we will have used the power of the Spirit of the Lord to truly make a difference.

                It seems to me that every time Jesus mentions the peace that comes from our Lord, it comes after his return.  Then are all things made new.  Until that time, we are sheep.  But we have gotten so comfortable, we do not even see that anymore.  But we won’t know the truth, that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and we are His sheep, until we dare to get out there among the wolves with all our fellow sheep.  There are the harassed and the helpless.  There are the ones who need the message of Good News of Christ Jesus.  And we are called to be the disciples to deliver it-no matter what.

Amen.