Remembering What Matters

Remembering What Matters

A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson

May 27, 2018

at Bethany Presbyterian Church, Zuni, Virginia

Joshua 4: 1-9

2 Peter 1: 5-15

Let us pray,

Help us to see despite our eyes

Help us to think outside of our minds

Help us to be more than our lives

For your eyes show the way

Your mind knows the truth

Your being is the life.

Amen.

On this day in 2012 asked to give Commencement address

Love as if life depended on it

Taken from Commencement

Know yourself, be yourself, always,

One unified searching soul.

Encounter each challenge as it comes.

Remember that suffering strengthens,

That pain deepens your soul,

So instead of avoiding, attack.

Attack life and live.

Taste each breath you take.

Feel each tear you shed.

Treasure each time you laugh.

And love as if your life depended on it

Because it does more than you ever could know.

I can give no other advice

On this your commencement,

Than to stop for only a second,

Smile, take a breath, and go. . .

In that speech I challenged them to just like the title says, Love. . .

We worked to define love last summer

The giving of your complete self - - like Christ

The offering of yourself to another

For Christ that meant the cross

But what does it mean for us. . .

what is our sacrifice. . .

what is our gift. . .

how would we know

For those boys I told them to go seek, and find, they were young and headed to new things

We sit here having lived a life of giving, but I think we would all agree, we are still searching, still seeking, and still therefore have more to give. . .

But how do we seek?

Calvin links two ideas in his Institutes that may help us. . . Knowing God, and Knowing Self

They are linked because as being made in the image of God

Having been made by God

Having God be the source of all good things

If we can come to know God it shows us something about ourselves, and conversely if we can come to know ourselves it teaches us something about God. . .

How do we come to know ourselves. . .

Who are we?

What forms us? Or how does God form and shape us?

He shapes our inward parts. . . we each have it. . . our internal self

He shapes the experiences we have, and all of these come together in making us. . .

And he shapes the world around us, and the people who play in our lives. . . external influences on us

One of the troubles the world has today is that people only recognize bits and pieces of this spectrum

We often distrust external, WE think they can define themselves

Or we think we know everything from our own limited experience

Or we try to shut off our nature, and overcome it and shape ourselves,

as if what we are is something in need of changing

You see it all over. .. . and it is destructive

Balance needs to be attained, summoning and welcoming to all aspects, in harmony, whole

Trinity Sunday – External, Internal, Experience

There is much we could talk about with each

But today I want to focus on the external. . .

the world around us, the people who play a role in our lives

And the amazing part is, some of these people you will never meet,

some have come before, living in the past,

some live in another town, another state, some have lives which take place overseas. . .

but they all through God’s providential hand play a role in making us who we are

And we cannot know ourselves unless we recognize that important piece

Look at our Old Testament Lesson. . .

4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, ² “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, ³ and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”

⁴ So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, ⁵ and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, ⁶ to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ ⁷ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

⁸ So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. ⁹ Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been^[a] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

Look at the importance of memory, memorializing, looking at those who have come before. . .

And given. . .

It is a theme of life in the promised land

And when they forget. . . .

The slavery itself in Egypt was caused by a forgetting,

 “Pharoah came to the throne who did not know Joseph” he had forgotten, simply forgotten

Can you think of all the men and women who God has given who have brought you to this point?

It is a fascinating exercise to try to trace an event or a life, and trace it backwards, outwards,

To do history in reverse. . . it is a never ending set of circles outward, lives interconnected

Paul calls it a cloud of witnesses. . . do you ever take a moment to consider that cloud?

All the people who have lived and made a difference on who you have come to be and the world you live in?

Some positive, some negative, all though a part, and you can’t pick and choose?

Why do people want to tear down statues and memory? To change things

To try to control what has shaped their lives, and the lives of others. . .

Not because they are afraid of the statues, though that may be the public claim

Not even because they are afraid of the ghosts of the statues

To be honest it really isn’t about the ideas either too much. . .

Clue – Communism is just a red herring – Slavery is just a red herring

Obviously slavery isn’t the problem because they are doing exactly what a slaver would do

Rob someone of a piece of themselves, its about trying to shape a reality that is different from what is

To change ourselves. . . to change others. . .

They know that memory, and identity are forever joined. . .

And if you can cut out parts of yourself, and pretend they are not, you can create a new person

A fragmented shell. . . but a person who is shaped to be the desired outcome

But that person is not whole

Because the world today does not want whole people, how could you control them?

They don’t fit into a demographic

They don’t fit into a statistic

They don’t fit into pigeon hole, a box, their square peg just won’t fit in anyones round hole

They don’t fit into an assembly line

They don’t fit inside a political party

They don’t fit inside a proscribed television news audience

They would be aware, and independent, and responsible, and responsive, and loving,

That is what a whole person does and is

It isn’t only the statues that keep us from being whole, but it is part of it surely

The Church also stands to try to make people whole, or at least it should, but fall short

This comes from a poem by TS Eliot “Choruses from the Rock”

Why should men love the Church? Why should they love her laws?
She tells them of Life and Death, and of all that they would forget.
She is tender where they would be hard, and hard where they like to be soft.
She tells them of Evil and Sin, and other unpleasant facts.
They constantly try to escape
From the darkness outside and within
By dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good.
But the man that is will shadow
The man that pretends to be.

Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good.

Is it important to be good? Why bother, let the system do it for you

Look at the New Testament Lesson

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters,^[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

¹² So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. ¹³ I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,¹⁴ because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵ And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

Look at how Peter connects goodness and memory. . .

I will always remind you

Will always be able to remember these things.

We come to Memorial Day,

and we always say remember those who have died for your freedom

but how should we remember

Cook outs, the pool opening,

Patriotic hymns, they choke me up

Standing for the national anthem? But look at what happens when you don’t. . .

A politician wearing a flag pen on his lapel? Imagine what would happen if they didn’t. . .

Died for our freedom?

What do we do with our freedom?

Do we just give it back?

What Does This Mean?

What Does This Mean?

A sermon delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson

May 20, 2018

at Bethany Presbyterian Church, Zuni, Virginia

Acts 2: 1-13

Joel 2: 28-32

Let us pray,

Help us to see despite our eyes

Help us to think outside of our minds

Help us to be more than our lives

For your eyes show the way

Your mind knows the truth

Your being is the life.

Amen.

Pentecost, Sunday – the gift of the Holy Spirit

The birthday of the church

I’ve always had trouble talking about the Holy Spirit,

Infinite, Indwelling, Eternal

Statement of Faith – 19 Stanzas, I believe. . .

            No direct statement about the Holy Spirit

            But 7 * 3 is 21, so the completed statement should have 21 stanzas. . . why 19. . . incomplete by design, but why 7 times 3. . . 7 days of creation and the Trinity

            One example of how the Holy Spirit is present in my statement of faith

            There are also many other places where the words associated with the Holy Spirit are included, like wind, breath, and Sustaining

            But most importantly the statement itself is a proclamation of the way the Holy Spirit works

Literally, “Inspiring” – hear Spirit in that word?

The Holy Spirit, always present, within us, I have never had real writers block, unless I was fighting against it, trying to direct it, but if I followed instead, I am always sustained. . .

At heart I believe the Pentecost story is about such things. . . let’s take a look,

Acts 2: 1-13 at least to start. . .

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

This is one of those stories you preach on every year, like Easter and Christmas

But it is so much more strange than Angel Choirs and Wisemen, even empty tombs

It all happens with real people- important to remember

What do you say?

The details are strange but memorable. . . there is the speaking of languages

            Connected it to the Tower of Babel, since it’s that story in reverse

            All those towns and places, people coming back together and hearing in their own language. . . one voice, one people,

In the Tower of Babel people were trying to get to God by their own means, here God is coming and dwelling within them.

But I’ve already done that, maybe not here, but I’ve found it hard to recycle, maybe something to do with the Spirit? , always renewing, always therefore new, and fresh. . . Hmmn

There is also the new wine. . . would any one accuse us of that? Maybe a sermon to spur us from Frozen Chosenness. . . been there done that, too

I came across in my research, questions people had about what the Spirit was like before Pentecost and after

            One said before the Spirit would only come upon people, but now they would indwell, and of course he had tons of Old Testament passages that proved his point. . .

            Another person, who also had quotes, (And some of them from the Old Testament, defied the “come upon” claim, said that it was the difference of a trickle and a flood,

The dam was built in Eden, and busted open at Pentecost

I liked both images enough to include them this morning at least in mention, but I was being called in a different direction. . . one more connected to what we’ve  been talking about throughout this Easter season, and maybe even before in Lent. . .

Rumi and the Metaphor of the Reed

Empty and hollow, a reed plucked and carried away,

I long for something that was and is no more.

It was I once, while rooted, my now hollow veins filled

With burning blood, and the heat of life,

I thirst for it, to be filled again, connected.

The wind I feel across my breaking point, and I hear a sweetish sound.

What is that sound? Could it be me?

I never knew I had it in me. . .

Keep that image in your head as we                                                                                                               look at the details of the story

First of all . . .

Every one in town for the festival of weeks. . . or fiftieth, for it is the fiftiest day after Passover

                                         ,

Jewish Harvest festival, the fact that it is a harvest festival is impactful, for there will be a quite a harvest today

So that’s why all the crowd has gathered. . .

Now let’s think about the disciples. . .

Remember where the disciples are: what they’ve been through

From the Last Supper to this

-          Put away your sword,

-          Denial

-          Betrayal

-          Crucified, buried in tomb

-          The pit

-          Back to Galilee

-          Rumors of resurrection

-          Jesus Risen before them

-          Full nets

-          Feed my lambs

-          Go forth and baptize, make disciples, I am with you

-          Jesus’ ascending

That is the path from disciple to apostle

And here they are now, to be sent

How would you start. . . what would you say. . . how do you begin a ministry

Knowing you denied, knowing your doubted, knowing you have no idea what to do

Who gives the authority to speak. . . and to say what?

Is Peter like Moses. . . stuttering, empty mouthed

            Certainly has spoken before, but typically impetuously, incorrectly, etc.

But now it says. . .

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! ¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

And he takes the quote directly, so we’ll just take our Old Testament passage from him. . . this is Joel 2: 28-32

“And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
    your old men will dream dreams,
    your young men will see visions.
²⁹ Even on my servants, both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
³⁰ I will show wonders in the heavens
    and on the earth,
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
³¹ The sun will be turned to darkness
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
³² And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
    whom the Lord calls.^[c]

²² “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³ This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,^[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴ But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 

²⁵ David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.
    Because he is at my right hand,
    I will not be shaken.
²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
    my body also will rest in hope,
²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
    you will not let your holy one see decay.
²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’^[e]

He quotes David why?

He could have quoted so many others, Abraham, Jacob, Cain, Samuel, Solomon, Elijah, Jonah

²⁹ “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spiritand has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
³⁵ until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’^[f]

³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

⁴⁰ With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” ⁴¹ Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

And so goes the beginning of the church

But why

Why do so many repent, why such the harvest

To quote, the man, “What does this mean?”

Shared details – Blame in Crucifying Christ, emptiness and Guilt

They  all have felt that. . . and all people at all times. . . those old testament prophets and patriarchs, everyone, we all have

So we all can hear, the language is the same,

And we also feel the answer the same. . .

Being filled. . .

I told you about Rumi before, listen to what his words not mine are

Listen to the story told by the reed, of being separated

“Since I was cut from the reedbed, I have made this crying sound.

Anyone apart from someone he loves understands what I say.
Anyone pulled from a source longs to go back.

At any gathering I am there, mingling in the laughing and the grieving

A friend to each, but few will hear the secrets hidden

Within the notes. No ears for that, Body flowing out of spirit

Spirit up from body; no concealing that mixing. But it’s not given us

To See the soul. The reed flute is fire, not wind. Be that empty.

Being empty. . . nothing you’ve done, thought, believed, and you’ll be filled

I’ve been asked, because I say it almost everytime I preach,

Is it possible to think outside of your mind. . .