You may be wondering about my sermon title: “MAYA Jesus.” MAYA is an acronym for “Most Advanced, Yet Acceptable.” Think about that as it relates to Jesus! Let’s face it, appearances can be deceiving. In Jesus’ day, the religious elite (Scribes, Pharisees members of the Sanhedrin) were thought to be great examples of piety and religious sensitivity. Piety in Jesus’ day was a good thing, something to be sought after; it was not a bad thing.
However, they had made the Law, those 613 pesky “thou shalt, thou shalt not’s” into a form of a god. The Law was all they knew and it had become something no one could live up to. So along comes John the Baptist and he shakes up the religious elite. His message was simple, “Repent (turn around) and be baptized for the remission of your sins.” (Luke 3) John the Baptist laid the ground work for Jesus and John made it very clear that he was not the Messiah but that the Messiah was coming soon. Jesus then begins his earthly ministry and he really shakes things up. He brought a new message to the people and he summed up all 613 Laws into just two: Love God above everything else and love your neighbor as you love yourself!” Seems simple enough, so Jesus became the ultimate MAYA—most advance yet acceptable. The truth is though; he was not acceptable to everyone. The religious elite just could not give up their power and so they rejected Jesus and his teachings. Today, how about you? Jesus brings us the most advanced spiritual message ever—can you accept him for who and what he is? I certainly hope so! Amen. In our scripture reading for this week (Philippians 1:21-30), we read of Paul’s struggles in wanting to be with Christ in Heaven while understanding that he still has much work to do before he dies. The same holds true for you and me today. There isn’t anywhere in the Bible where we find that as Christians, there comes a time when we can retire (from serving Christ).
Paul implores those who read this letter to “live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ…” (v27a) Why does Paul ask who ever reads this letter to live a life such as that? Simply put, so that he will know that you are “standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel.” (v27b) One spirit, side by side with one mind is the sign of a strong church. One of the things I love the most about this congregation is that spirit of one-ness. We do work together side-by-side in many areas. Could we do better? Yes, because there is always room from improvement. We are always looking for new ways to serve this community, the region, the greater church and to the ends of the earth. If you have something in mind that you would like to see this congregation become involved with, please speak up! Paul reminds his readers that there will always be opposition, so expect that. But as a congregation we are called to stand together, work together all the while keeping our eyes firmly fixed on Christ as our example and guide. Amen. I am becoming more and more a fan of Eugene Peterson’s “The Message – Remix.” I guess that is another name for version 2! In the Epistle reading for this week (Romans 14:1-12) we read some interesting words as translated by Peterson. He begins by writing, “Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department.” Just think about this for a minute, “How would church be if we were all the same?”
One of the things I love the most about the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is that we do not have a dogmatic belief system that we must adhere to or we can’t be a “Disciple.” I hope that you realize that one of the early “belief statements” of the Stone-Campbell movement was the simple phrase, “In essentials, unity, in non-essentials freedom, in all things charity (love)” which was adapted from an older source. Think about what that means. What is essential to being a Christian? In reality, there is one thing that allows us to become “Christian” and that is, as Romans 10:9-10 reads, “confess with your mouth that “Jesus is lord” and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead and you will be saved.” (paraphrase mine) However, that only puts us in what we could call a “right relationship with Christ.” Then we are required to live out the Christ-like life, using Jesus as our primary example. That is what Peterson is getting at in his opening verse here. He also writes that “None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters (the non-essential things). It is God we are answerable to—all the way from birth to death and everything in between.” (vv8-9) And then one day we all will stand before God and will be judged, not according to what someone else did, but what we did! That is an essential! Peterson closes this by writing, “Your crucial and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit!” We can and should be able to accept each other for who and what we are. We are different and yet we love and serve the same God together. Ain’t that great?!!? Amen. Have you ever questioned God’s timing? I know that I have, more than once! In the wake of the current disasters that are happening in our little corner of the world right now, we may very well be wondering what God is up to! There are major fires in California, Hurricane Harvey was devastating to the Houston area and only God knows what Hurricane Irma is going to do. And just in case you weren’t aware of this, there is another tropical storm already formed in the Atlantic which is coming up behind Irma!
Why so much so close together? The fires in California are possibly the worst ever. The fires themselves set the stage for something much worse for those living in that area. When the rains of Fall/Winter come, mud slides will abound and they will do just as much damage as the fires! The same with the hurricanes. The initial damages are just the tip of the ice berg, so to speak. It will take a long time to recover fully from the devastation those storms have and will cause. With all that said, we need to remember one thing – God’s timing is always spot on. As Christians we must remember that God does not use the same time piece that we humans use. We also have to remember that God did not cause these disasters to hit. Could God stop them? Certainly, but that would mean that God would have to transcend the Laws of Nature, Laws that have been around since God created the world in which we live. Some people want to blame all the storms on “global warming,” but the truth is it is just nature doing what nature does! Sometimes the storms of life are necessary to show us just how powerful nature really is and to allow us to appreciate all our blessings really are! Just remember that Jesus is coming and it may be sooner than later! Amen. |
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This blog consists of reflections written by the minister each week for the Sunday bulletin. We hope that you enjoy the musings! Archives
January 2020
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