Drink From The Fountain of Grace: Do We Get To Choose?

 Psalm 16   Common English Bible

Protect me, God, because I take refuge in you.

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord.

    Apart from you, I have nothing good.”

Now as for the “holy ones” in the land,

    the “magnificent ones” that I was so happy about;

    let their suffering increase because

        they hurried after a different god.

I won’t participate in their blood offerings;

    I won’t let their names cross my lips.

You, Lord, are my portion, my cup;

    you control my destiny.

The property lines have fallen beautifully for me;

    yes, I have a lovely home.

I will bless the Lord who advises me;

    even at night I am instructed

    in the depths of my mind.

I always put the Lord in front of me;

    I will not stumble because he is on my right side.

That’s why my heart celebrates and my mood is joyous;

    yes, my whole body will rest in safety

    because you won’t abandon my life to the grave;

    you won’t let your faithful follower see the pit.

You teach me the way of life.

    In your presence is total celebration.

Beautiful things are always in your right hand.

Nancy and I spent yesterday looking at possible new homes in the Western Suburbs of Chicago --- the process of looking for a new home is at times overwhelming because we are confronted with so many choices.

• Townhouse or single family

• Ranch or multi-storied

• How many bedrooms

• How big

• And I could go on and on

And of course, the problem is, we are never certain that something better isn’t going to come along.

So we wrap our minds and bodies up in knots --- and if we are not careful become paralyzed.

But life is all about choices.

Those choices all seem to be momentous, and we start forcing our children to make choices at an early age

• What activities should I participate in?

• What University should I attend?

• What major should I choose?

• Who should I marry?

• Where should I live?

• What compass should I follow?

And we fear that if we make the wrong choice, we are doomed to failure . . . and some would even add damnation.

I think I have shared this before --- but I received my call into ministry when I was a sophomore in college --- or at least that is when I first recognized it.

But it took me a number of years to CHOOSE to follow that call

I stuck my toes in the water

Got involved with a campus ministry

Actually, was hired by a local congregation to do college age ministry

But it wasn’t until Stewart died, that I really made the decision to go all in and follow Jesus.

Father Richard Rohr likes to say that Roman Catholics have made idols out of Bishops, Popes and doctrine --- and Protestants made an idol out of the Bible.

And I clearly fell into the idea that the BIBLE was the answer to all of life’s perplexing problems.  

It was a user’s manual and had all the answers

I remember learning that the Bible stood for

Basic

Information

Before 

Leaving

Earth

After Stewart died --- my biblical worldview was shattered.  And I began to decide not to follow the BIBLE --- but to follow Jesus.

As I say that --- I am sure that some of you are getting a little nervous

It became obvious to me that one could follow the Bible and not really follow Jesus

The question is which one comes first 

Which one created the frame for the other

And for me --- I chose to follow Jesus and let Jesus frame the bible and not the other way around.

We all to choose who we will follow.

One of the key stories for me became the invitation to relationship with God that is found in the book of Deuteronomy

God speaks to Moses and the Hebrew people and offers them this choice.

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, (Deuteronomy 30:19 NRSV)

Choose life!

Our Psalm is saying the say basic thing.

We are not sure who wrote Psalm 16.

Some attribute it to David

Others, maybe surprisingly, attribute it to possibly a Canaanite --- someone who was living in the land when the Israelites conquered it and made the choice to follow Jesus.

Regardless of who wrote it --- the author seems to be suggesting that we all have the option of choosing who our what we are going to follow in life.

The psalmist speaks of choosing God using the image of a cup (verse 5) by contrast with those who “choose another god” (verse 4).

The “cup” here is a way of describing what a person’s life is going to be like, or their “lot in life.” 

This “cup” or life may entail many different things

• Punishment or suffering

• Blessing and salvation

The same idea that is found in Deuteronomy.

We can choose which path we will follow.

When the psalmist says, “the Lord is my chosen cup,” the psalmist is not claiming the power to control what happens to them. 

Rather, the psalmist is choosing to follow God and confessing trust --- 

that in doing so, God will protect and take care of them.

Think of this in relationship to our receiving God’s grace.

We do not earn grace.

But in turning away from false gods and turning toward God, we are in a position and posture to receive the grace that God offers. 

Even our ability to choose to turn toward God is made possible by grace

In our Wesleyan theology we call this prevenient grace.

REMEMBER --- choosing God is not something we achieve

It is a response to the gifts and promised of God.

The psalmist describes what being attuned toward God looks like for them: 

• Confessing faith and trust in God (verses 2, 5, 10-11) 

• Looking to God for instruction and help via prayer, Scripture, community (verses 1, 7, 11)

• Praise, rejoicing & gratitude (verses 6 - 11)

The challenge for us is --- How can we position ourselves to be shaped into the vessels we were created to be? 

How can we choose the living water?

How do we choose life?

The reality is --- most of us inherited our faith.

We --- like Cooper and Finn --- were baptized as babies or young children and not given the choice.

Regardless of when this journey began --- we must choose to follow Jesus

Choose to follow EVERYDAY

We like to talk about the ancient Greek or Roman cultures being ones with a pantheon of gods ---

But we have created our own pantheon

We elevate sports heroes to god like status

Or our musical gods

Or movie and TV stars

How do we CHOOSE LIFE and follow Jesus?

For me it is a conscious choice

What is going to frame how I approach life?

Do I approach life with my agenda or God’s?

For years I served on a scholarship committee that gave out full tuition scholarships to Indiana public universities.

I found the process fascinating

We all had the same basic criteria to “judge” students.

Actually, some of the basic scoring and sorting was done prior to the students’ applications ever getting to me.

Most of that was based on HOW MUCH the student had done

• Grades

• Types of classes taken

• Activities they were involved it at school and home

But when it came down to the nitty gritty --- what becomes the paradigm?

And what I came to see, is that each of the seven of us on the committee operated out of slightly different paradigms.

The longer I sat on the committee --- the more I tried to bring my paradigm into alignment with my Jesus worldview.

And by that I mean that I shifted from looking for the negatives in peoples applications (which were easy to focus on)

• Things missing

• Typos

• Poor grammar

I began trying to hear the possibilities

• What their dreams and hopes were

Was it a better system than the others --- 

I don’t know

But what I do know is that it changed my attitude

I focused on the life-giving aspects of their applications and not the shortcomings

Unfortunately, I think we in the church fall into the same trap

We focus on the gods of our own making --- things like:

• We have always done it that way

• Attendance numbers

• Status and significance

And forgotten about the life transforming possibilities that God is offering

• Connecting and building relationships with our various ministries

• Soccer program

• Children’s Day In

• And our newest ministry --- our Summer Camp --- in which we have over 80 children already signed up despite our late start.

We got a phone call this week from a funeral home asking if we would be willing to hold a funeral for a non-member

What we were told was they did not particularly want a religious service

Our think in our default stance it is --- let’s pass --- why do we want to bother with this.

But I said sure, let me meet the family and see if we can get together on the same page so that we can honor and celebrate this loved ones life

What I came to find out was this was a “gay” couple that had not had good experiences with the church --- but the family and friends really wanted a service in the church.

As we met, I was able to focus on our connections and not our differences

How God loves ALL and that we could celebrate that love.

At a second meeting I asked one of the friends why they had ended up calling us at Meridian Street?

The answer I got surprised me

• It wasn’t because of our inclusion statement --- (they did not know it)

• It wasn’t because of the rainbow colors on our sign (they didn’t see them)

They came because one of the close friend’s children played soccer on our fields.

We don’t know how God is using our ministries.

But what I do know is --- God is.

Why am I so encouraged by our new Summer Camp program?

Because it builds more opportunities for us to love our neighbors.

As we continue this Lenten season --- God asks us what god we are going to follow?

The gods of our own creation 

--- our own agendas 

--- or the God of grace and love?

Choose life!

Let God fill your cup to overflowing with love and grace.

Fountains of Grace: When Things Break

 2 Corinthians 4:5-11    Common English Bible

We don’t preach about ourselves. Instead, we preach about Jesus Christ as Lord, and we describe ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. God said that light should shine out of the darkness. He is the same one who shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in clay pots so that the awesome power belongs to God and doesn’t come from us. We are experiencing all kinds of trouble, but we aren’t crushed. We are confused, but we aren’t depressed. We are harassed, but we aren’t abandoned. We are knocked down, but we aren’t knocked out.

We always carry Jesus’ death around in our bodies so that Jesus’ life can also be seen in our bodies. We who are alive are always being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake so that Jesus’ life can also be seen in our bodies that are dying.

This is the first Sunday in Lent --- today we begin our annual journey with Jesus that will take us to that golden city of Jerusalem.

But this trip to Jerusalem will be different.

For this trip, while it will allow us to visit some of the sites that are near and dear to our faith --- it will also take some unexpected turns --- while maybe not completely unexpected for us --- but what took place in Jerusalem 2000 years ago was totally unexpected to that group of followers who accompanied Jesus as he made his way there.

Our past two journeys to Jerusalem have been unlike anything any of us have done before.  

Lent 2020 saw us hunkered down in our homes

Confused and anxious about this unknown virus that was sweeping our world

Unsure if we were secretly being attacked by a foreign enemy

Or just living in an unlucky time

Lent 2021 saw us still in the midst of this horrific pandemic 

But we seemed to be more hopeful

A vaccine was beginning to roll out and maybe --- just maybe --- the end was in sight

And now in 2022 --- we are all cautiously optimistic that we indeed are starting to turn the corner on COVID --- and hoping --- that for the first Easter since 2019 we will be able to gather together and experience the hope and joy of the resurrection.

But we are not there yet!

We are tired.

Tired of masks

Tired of zoom

Tired of that unease that we feel when we are with a large group of people

Even though we are tired and on the verge of exhaustion we must make this journey to Jerusalem 

to try and understand the lessons that Jesus was teaching his disciples on their trek --- and seek to glean what it is that we need to learn today.

We are in a liminal time.

The word liminal comes from the Latin word limens, which means "limit or threshold." 

Father Richard Rohr defines liminal time in this way: 

"It is when you have left, or are about to leave, the tried and true, but have not yet been able to replace it with anything else. It is when you are between your old comfort zone and any possible new answer." 

Many of us seek safety and shelter during crazy liminal times like these.

We flee --- thinking that can keep us safe.

But there is no place to hide.

We must go through it.

The best explanation for liminal time that I have come across is to think of it as that space, that time, when a flying acrobat has let go of one swinging trapeze and is in mid-air, anxiously seeking the grasp of another who is swinging their way. 

That moment is terrifying --- afraid that we might fail and fall.

We have been experiencing this liminal space these past two years during the pandemic.

The past is over, and we do not know what the future will hold

All we know is that it will be different.

As a denomination we have been stuck in this liminal time as well --- as we have sought resolution to the issues that are fracturing the United Methodist Church.

Frustratingly, on Thursday it was announced that the long anticipated General Conference has been postponed once again and now will not take place until 2024.

It is in this crazy time that we must begin this journey with Jesus toward Jerusalem.

Paul in our text this morning is trying to remind us --- again --- in very strong and evocative language --- that this journey is not about us!

Paul writes:

Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus (The Message)

Or as the New Revised Standard Version puts it:

we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. (NRSV)

Slaves --- not a word most of us want to us to describe ourselves.

If anything --- our response to COVID has taught us --- that we do not believe that we are SLAVES to anything or anybody.

We think we are masters of our own destiny --- we seek our OWN freedom

But this journey to Jerusalem is calling to us to remind us that we are not the master

Rather we are the slave

And we feel broken

• Our world feels broken as we witness the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia

• I feel broken when I read of another young person shot and killed in our community

• We feel broken as a denomination

• Broken as a church

• Broken as individuals

Everything seems fragile

Paul tells us that we have a treasure in our lives --- 

We have a God whose light shines in our hearts giving us:

“the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.”

But what strikes me the most about the text this week is that Paul says that this treasure is stored in our lives which are a lot like clay pots.

Now the truth is --- most of us don’t use clay pots much anymore.

But for our sisters and brothers of the 1st century --- a clay pot was the most common storage item around.  

• You kept water or wine in it

• Grain was kept safe in it

• We even know that they were used to protect important papers (the Dead Sea scrolls) are the best example

But clay pots are also fragile --- they can be easily broken

And my guess is, that is why Paul chose to use a clay pot as a description for our lives.

We too are fragile.

We too are easily broken.

I invite you to take a moment and think of a time when you experienced brokenness in your life.

• Maybe a divorce

• Loss of a child, spouse or friend

• Loss of a job

• Someone you trusted deceived you

It is funny how quickly things can change in our lives

Monday, I spend the day with my mother --- working on her taxes, but just being together --- it was wonderful.

Thursday, we got the news that General Conference was postponed

It was like a gut punch to me --- It is time to just move forward!  (but that is a topic for another day)

Then my mother called me to tell me that Sherri White, 51-year-old wife of my friend Bob and mother to Charlie and Kayly had died the day before.

We all have been broken

Take a moment and ponder some of the brokenness in your life 

(SILENCE)

In our society we have made it a habit that when something breaks --- what do we do? --- we throw it out.

We discard it

But that has not always been the case.  Our grandparents and ancestors understood that just because something was broken that it was no longer valuable.

They were creative and they fixed things.

The Japanese culture took this one step further --- not only would they fix an item --- in the process of fixing it they made it even more valuable.

It is called Kintsugi --- the art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.

What is so fascinating about this to me, is that as a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.

It would add significance and meaning to an item

The broken pot becomes not just beautiful but also useful again.

We are a lot like clay jars --- fragile --- and yet God has chosen us to be God’s vessels to carry the wonderfully, life changing --- good news of the Gospel.

As we begin this Lenten journey, we are called to remember that our brokenness is mirrored and mended in Jesus’ passion.

In the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we see that God works through what is broken. 

The promise from Jesus is that even in our suffering, we are not alone.

Jesus is with us. 

And we remember that we are an Easter people

Yes, Jesus’ body was beaten, broken and killed

But we also KNOW that Jesus was raised from the dead.

Death could not contain him.

And Jesus promises to be with us in our suffering.

Actually, Paul tells us that we get to participate in this new life of Jesus.

In the Message, Eugene Peterson quotes Paul this way:

We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives!

For the life of Jesus to be made visible in our bodies does not mean that our jars --- our very lives --- become fixed and smooth, like they were never broken. 

Holding the life and death of Jesus in our bodies at the same time means we have gold seams mending us --- like in kintsugi. 

The “extraordinary power” of putting us back together --- creating life from and within death --- belongs to God and God alone. 

The clay jars of our lives, broken and repaired, are evidence of God’s loving, tender work in and through us. 

We can trust that no matter what happens, God will never abandon us. 

I went out for a run the other day along the Monon trail --- it was such a beautiful day --- I just couldn’t just run on my treadmill.

As I was running, I noticed a small figure with a sign taped on it. 

I saw this as a sign from God that I could stop for a second and I read this simple sign --- all it said was "Breathe," along with a drawn heart.

And I realized that it was indeed a gift from God.

That sign expresses my hope and prayer right now for all of us. 

That even in our brokenness --- may we all find a way to breathe in ---and out --- a little more love in this liminal time --- and allow God to mend us.

May the light of love shine on you during this liminal time of darkness, and may you know that the darkness will not --- cannot overcome that light.