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The voice crying out in the wilderness….

09 Saturday Dec 2017

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Today we find ourselves in the second week of Advent, this time of waiting and anticipation of Christ’s return.  A time to reflect on our own lives and prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

The scripture from the beginning of Mark’s gospel is titled, “The Proclamation of John the Baptist.”  Mark’s gospel is the shortest of the four gospels, it is direct, it is to the point and each verse is filled with meaning and purpose.

Mark is direct enough that he skips the nativity and baby Jesus account and immediately begins with the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Mark begins his gospel and account of Christ by going back in time.

Mark goes back about 600-700 years to the time of Isaiah.  From the Old Testament account of Isaiah he quotes, “A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”

Make straight your paths, for the promised one is coming.  In Isaiah’s day he spoke to a Jewish audience that had been exiled.  In Mark’s account he talking about Christ and the messenger preparing the way for him.

Mark writes, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’

In this painfully hectic time between holidays, how much time are we spending preparing our hearts, souls and minds to meet and be present with our God?  This time of year we don’t celebrate credit card debt or empty bank accounts.  We don’t celebrate added inches to our waistline. 

No, we celebrate the birth of our God.  The mystery of the incarnation and the insane lengths our God went to, to reconcile us to him.  To bring us closer to him.

In preparing for this sermon I read about and questioned why our God would need someone to prepare the way for him.  Why would an all-present and all-powerful God need a man dressed in strange clothes – camel’s hair, and who ate weird things (locusts and honey) to prepare the way for him?

Is it because we all stand on the shoulders and accomplishments of those that have gone before us?  We all stand on the ground that was prepared for us by others.  All the hard work of our ancestors and their desire to see their children succeed have benefitted each of us. 

Unfortunately, these bodies and minds of flesh that have short memories and are inclined to take credit for what has been accomplished. 

Even our God, who emptied himself of all his divinity, needed someone to prepare the way for him.  An all-present and all-powerful God would rely on a mere mortal to be the voice crying out in the wilderness.

Why would God need someone to prepare the way for him?  And why would he pick a strange looking and acting guy to be that person?

….It would take someone with far more knowledge than I to fully answer that question.  I think it has to do with the humility of our God.  We celebrate, honor and worship a God that gave up the splendor and glory of heaven, all that beauty to come to this world riddled with sickness, disease, war, famine, acts of evil and death.

I think that I would rather look at that from a distance and bask in the beauty of heaven.  But not our God.  He saw the terrible consequence that sin caused and he decided that something had to be done about it. 

He traded his mansion for a mud hut, he traded power for humility and splendor for suffering.  He sent his messenger, John the Baptist, before him.  John appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

In spite of his strange appearance people flocked to listen to him and to be baptized by him in the Jordan River.  “Make straight your paths, prepare the way of the Lord.”

People came from the Judean countryside and from Jerusalem to see, hear and be baptized by John the Baptist.  He had his own disciples and was popular enough or posed enough of a threat that even the Pharisees came to see what all the commotion was about.

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near, make straight your path, prepare the way for the Lord…….Repent……confess……..understand your own brokenness before your God……..ask for forgiveness for the kingdom of heaven has come near…….

What if each of us in our own way is John the Baptist?  We may not go out into the timber or near the closest river and cry out or wear strange clothes, but what if each of us as we commit and recommit to our faith every day is living like John the Baptist?

Every time we commit to be read our bibles, to pray, to be a part of a small group, to do something for someone else, every time we chose to be intentional about our faith that we straighten our own path and influence those close to us.

Lives of faith can scream and proclaim the gospel without speaking a single word.  Proclaim the gospel always said St. Francis, use words only when necessary.

People went to John the Baptist to repent of their sins and to be baptized.  In his humility, John proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.  I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

John the Baptist knew his mission was to prepare the way for the one that is coming, one far more powerful than he.

We have also been made aware that one that Christ, is going to return.  Are we preparing the way for his arrival……

Are we proclaiming the good news of God’s action and arrival in this world, the coming of God’s kingdom, his ministry, death and resurrection?

As we celebrate and honor the second Sunday of Advent, let us remember all of those that have gone before us.  Let us remember the spiritual giants in our own lives and Mark’s gospel does recalling the words of Isaiah.

Let us live bold, courageous lives of faith that speak to this world and those in it who we are and what we are about.  In this painfully busy time of year, let us slow down and take time to reflect on what is truly important and why we celebrate with gifts, good food and precious time spend with family and friends.

Let us go with the knowledge and the truth that our God is coming back to this earth.  It may not be in our lifetime, but he is coming back.  If we don’t see him in the time each of us has left, that is no reason or excuse to be convenient or flippant about your faith.

Let us be about the work of the one that created all that is good and holy.  Let us be about the work of a God that became the word incarnate.  A penniless, nomadic preacher that come to save the souls of many.

 

Pastor Shawn LaRue, Seymour UMC
Author of Incomplete

You did it for the least of these…..

25 Saturday Nov 2017

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We have arrived at the end of Christ’s public ministry in the book of Matthew. Matthew’s gospel was written in the last half of the first century with an emphasis on the fulfillment of Christ as the Messiah.
This passage of scripture opens with the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy from the book of Daniel, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, and then he will sit on the throne of his glory.”

Christ is in the last week of his life. He has spoken parable after parable of what it will be like upon his return and the work, we as Christians should be about until his return to this world. Christ gives fair and ample warning about what will happen come Judgment Day.

Today’s scripture is titled, ‘The Last Judgment.’ “All the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.”

All nations means just that – all Jews, Gentiles, everyone from everywhere. Separating the sheep from the goats was a common practice for shepherds in biblical times.
Having mixed herds was common, at night sheep would be placed in an open pasture, while the goats needed to be protected from the cold. Sheep have more commercial value than goats do.

The bible oftentimes makes reference to the vocation of being a shepherd. God’s people are often times referred to as sheep, whether we like it or not. Have you ever wondered why………

Given the context and setting – 2,000 years ago in the Middle East, being a shepherd and tending to livestock was a common occupation – people could identify with it.

Sheep need protection, guidance and provision. It is also believed that sheep respond to the voice of their shepherd.

We share these things in common. We are also in need of guidance, provision and protection and if we take the time to listen we will also recognize the voice of our shepherd, of the one that provides, protects and guides.

A shepherd had to be willing to lay down his or her life for who and what they were protecting. Christ, our shepherd, was willing to and did the same when he laid down his life for us.

On that Day of Judgment, when the Son of Man returns in all his glory, the herd will be separated, like the parables of the past two weeks – the wise and foolish bridesmaids and the servants who were charged with investing their owner’s estate.

“Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.

I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”

Our God is omnipotent and omnipresent. He has unlimited power, he knows everything and is always present. Everywhere all the time, to everyone. The God we serve is a God for everyone.

Our God champions the poor, the marginalized and disenfranchised. Our God is a god of the poor, downtrodden and forgotten. A god of the hungry, thirsty, sick, lame and the incarcerated.

A God of the homeless, those in care facilities, nursing homes, the homebound and all those that can’t do for themselves. We do not need to look any further than Christ’s life and who he spent time with during his ministry.

He spent time with those that needed him most. He eased their suffering through his own acts of mercy. He gave sight to the blind, provided living water and broke the shackles of sin that enslave us.

After they have been separated the righteous answered, “Lord when was it that we say you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? When was it that we say you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?

When was it that we say you sick or in prison and visited you? The righteous seemed to be surprised and unsure how to answer God’s question. We don’t remember seeing you or we would have surely given you food, drink, clothing and visited you.

I am reminded of Mother Teresa’s life and example. Taking care of the dying, cleaning their wounds, teaching young children by writing the letters of the alphabet in the dirt with a stick.

She said that each person she interacted with was Jesus in a distressing disguise. Each person, every human being bears the image of the Creator and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.

The king answered the righteous, “Truly, I tell you just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” When you treated one of the least of these well, someone that could do nothing for you, you did it for the very God that we serve.

Then, Christ will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.

I was a stranger and you did not welcome me. The accursed when into panic mode, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry, thirsty, as a stranger, naked or imprisoned and did not take care of you?”

Pleading their case they are. If we only would have known we would have stepped up to the plate. If we hadn’t fallen in love with everything that the world has to offer we would have taken care of you.

If they had only not fallen into temptation, if they could have only gotten past themselves, if they would have only taken to know our God and his heart the accursed may have had a different outcome.

The challenge of being a Christian in a world of commercialism, advertising and temptation. The challenge of living a spiritual life in a body of flesh and blood.
It can be very difficult. I think it would be hard, almost impossible to know the heart of our God without spending time with him, without reading his word or spending time with others that believe in him.

This chapter from scripture, the 25th chapter of Matthew gives another window into the heart of our God.

There is no mention in today’s scripture of church affiliation, tradition, attendance or giving. It is about how we treat others. It is about having compassion and spending time with those that are suffering. It is about living merciful lives and easy the burden of others.

This scripture speaks to the heart of a God of compassion, a god of mercy, it speaks to a god of love. May we always be about God’s work.

Pastor Shawn LaRue, Seymour UMC
Author of Incomplete

 

 

 

The parable of the talents….

18 Saturday Nov 2017

Posted by in Authors Books Reviews & Interviews, Guest Bloggers on BnV, Poetry

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We are closing in the on the holidays already which doesn’t seem possible.  Soon we will be in the season of Advent in the church, a season of waiting and anticipation of Christ’s return. 

Like last week’s scripture, today’s scripture is about what we do while we wait for Christ’s return.  Today’s scripture is titled, “The Parable of the Talents.”

At this point in Matthew’s gospel Christ is in his final days.  He has returned to Jerusalem for the last time.  His final parables in Matthew’s account are about what we are to be doing while waiting for his return.

“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his servants and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability.

 A talent was a measure of weight in biblical times.  The master of the estate was incredibly wealthy.  A talent is about 75 pounds of precious metal.  75 pounds.  An ounce of gold today is worth around $1,300. 

If you do the math a talent or 75 pounds of gold today is worth around $1.5 million dollars.  That is one talent, the first servant got five and the second servant got two. 

What does scripture say that the master of the estate did after giving this large amount of money to his servants…….He went away.  He didn’t give them any instructions.  He just gave it to them.  It seems apparent that he trusts them to be wise with it.

Helluva nice guy isn’t he.  What if I were to tell you that the master in this parable is Christ, he left but not before giving a bounty to his people?  What if I told you that the servants in this parable were you and I? 

That we have been given a treasure or a talent in the form of intellect, knowledge, life experience, talent, time, our ability to earn and a ton of his grace to boot?

And what if I told you that someday we will have to account for what we did with our God-given talent?  I will come back to that.

The master of the estate, he just left.  No directions, no instructions.  The servants were free to do what they would with what they were entrusted with, much like we are.  I want to talk about this for a minute.

Our God, the God that we serve limits himself in this parable and he does this often.  He limits himself so that others have an opportunity to lead and flourish. 

Christ, being of the same spiritual substance of The Father, came to this earth in the same limited manner that we exist, in flesh and blood.  Bound by time and space among other things. 

He limited himself as a penniless, itinerant carpenter turned preacher who emptied himself of his divinity to take on our broken condition.  He goes beyond limiting himself, he completely emptied himself.

He lived like the poorest of the poor with the poorest of the poor and spent his time with the lowest of the low.  Now, Christ did heal people, he performed miracles, he brought people that were dead back to life. 

But he lives his time on this earth consistently restrained.  And why would he do that………Is it because he hands the keys to the kingdom over to us, to each one of us?  That he wants each one of us to be about his work.

Is it because we are in his final days in the book of Matthew and he is making sure to make his point that he is leaving and these are the expectations for those who profess to know him?

God calls us to lead in one form or another.  Leadership isn’t about titles, we are called to lead our families, our church, our community, our school and many other things.

We weren’t made to sit on the sidelines idly watching the world go by.  Here is another window into my cynical and twisted mind.  In my experience in different leadership positions those that sat idly by, not only did they not help, they consistently attacked, smeared and hurled insults at the ones trying to get things done. 

Enough of that.  We are called to lives of service.  He are called to lead, we are called to be in ministry and we are called to be the light in this world.  We don’t retire from Christian service.  As long as there is air in our lungs we are called to be of service to the church.

After leaving his servants to do what they would with his money, the master returned.  “The one who had received the five talents had gone off and traded and made five more talents.”  He had doubled his master’s money.

“In the same way, the one who had been given two talents made two more talents.”  He also had doubled his master’s money.  Pretty impressive, do you know how much time it would take to double your money – legally?

“But the one who had received one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.”  After a long time the master, or Christ in this example, returns.  He is anxious to see what his people have done with what he has entrusted them with.

The one given five talents had pleased his master, “Well done, good and trustworthy servant, you have been trustworthy in a few things.  I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.”  Enter into the kingdom and splendor of God’s presence.

The one given two talents had also pleased his master and is greeted the same, “Well done, good and trustworthy servant, you have been trustworthy in a few things.  I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.”

The servant given one talent had to give his account of what he had done with what he had been given.  This servant’s response appears to be more of a reflection on his own character than the nature of the God we serve.

“Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, gathering where you did not scatter seed, so I was afraid and I hid your talent in the ground.  Here you have what is yours.” 

The third servant, the one given one talent sat idly by.  After many years, maybe even a lifetime he had not been about his master’s work.  I envision this servant shrugging his shoulders as he hands the money back and then goes on the offensive about how it isn’t really his fault.  It is the master’s fault, it is God’s fault that I didn’t do anything productive with what he gave me.

The master was not happy.  “You wicked and lazy servant!  You knew, did you that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter seed?  Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it with interest.”

“Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten talents.  For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 

“As for this servant, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

A warning parable about the accounting we will have to do when Christ returns.  Everyone is gifted whether they think they are or not.  The gifts we are given vary from person to person, no one gift is better or more important than another.  Those gifts are not to be wasted or to sit idle.

In this season of Thanksgiving, as we approach Advent and the celebration of Christ’s birth, let us be about God’s work in this world.  Let us feed, clothe and minister to the poor.  Let us be the church.  Let us be the light, the city on a hill that give sight to the blind and ears to hear for those that need to know our God.

Pastor Shawn LaRue, Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

Lord the Lord your God………

29 Sunday Oct 2017

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Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  I’m sure that today isn’t the first day that you’ve heard that statement, that sentence.

It appears multiple times in scripture, it appears in song.  What does it mean to love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind and all your strength?  What does that look like?

We are still in Matthew’s Gospel, the disdained tax collector that went from exploiting Jewish people to trying to save them.  At this point in Matthew’s account, we are in the last week of Christ’s life.  He had made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

He was spending his last week in or near the holy temple.  Three prominent groups in Israel at that time, the Herodians I talked about last week, the Sadducees and the Pharisees were taking turns questioning Christ in an effort to trap him in front of large crowds that had gathered for the Passover.

Today’s scripture occurs at the end of a long day for Christ.  He had been teaching and preaching, he had given the parable of the wedding banquet, talked about paying taxes and spoken about the resurrection.

Christ had silenced the Sadducees, they were a conservative group that only accepted the Law of Moses.  Much less is known about the Sadducees as compared to the Pharisees. 

The Pharisees, this religious group mentioned often in the bible, heard that the Sadducees had tapped out and they decide it is time for one more go around.

They offer up one of their best and brightest, a lawyer to question Christ.  An expert on religious custom and law up against a man with no formal training or education.

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” the lawyer asked.  Christ’s response can be found in the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy, it was his response to the devil during the temptation.

It is part of Jewish daily prayer called the Shema.  Christ’s response points to what our whole lives and being should be about.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and first commandment.  And a second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Considering all his exchanges with these religions and political groups it would be easy to come to the conclusion that he was anti-Jewish or anti-establishment.  That is not the case.

Christ is an orthodox Jew, he believed in the law.  But he didn’t come to this world to beat people up with rules, he came to fulfill the law, to fulfill the Old Testament prophecies that a promised one was coming.  The promise of the Messiah that would take away the sins of the world.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  Love your neighbor as you love yourself. 

How do we love our God and neighbors like that?  Do we do love them like we should…………..How do we do those things?

Reading scripture, writing a sermon.  Those things are expected from a pastor.  What I often times run into doing those things is I get exposed.  Studying the scripture gives me time to reflect on the message I am to deliver and makes me question whether I do those things.

I tell my wife and children that I love them often, but does my behavior match the words that come from my mouth.  To be kind, not always.

If I love or when I love, it is in a broken, incomplete manner in which I do.  Too prone to get mad, too prone to lose my patience and lash out.  Sometimes, it appears that the only thing I love is my own selfish interests.

That is a window into my twisted, broken mind.  I can say that I believe that I have been obedient to God’s call, have tried to follow the best that I know how and devote time to him in prayer, read his word and give to the church.

But, do I put him first in my life?  Do I love both him and my neighbors with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind and strength…..

We moved into the neighborhood about 3.5 years ago, I have neighbors in that area that I haven’t had a conversation with.  Haven’t taken the time to get to know them.

I will try to spare you anymore of my hang-ups and give you an example of what this kind of love looks like.

Corrie ten Boom, that was her name, a young girl born to a very devout Dutch family.  She lived with her family in Holland during World War II.  She and her family bravely hid Jewish people that had fled their homes.

She offered up herself for God’s people, in anyway, any place at any time.  Scores of Jews passed through the ten Boom home.  Her selfless ways continued until the Gestapo found out and placed her and her family in one of their concentration camps.

The horrible treatment she received did not stop her from sharing her faith or leading worship services.  She would lose her father, a brother and a dear sister. 

Just a few short years after the war ended, Corrie ten Boom was speaking at a church in Germany.  At the end of the service walked an older gentlemen that was one of the most vicious guards at the concentration camp she was held in.

“A fine message he said, as you say, all of our sins are at the bottom of the sea,” as he extended his hand.  Could you imagine her angst, anxiety, anger, all the things that she must have felt.

 He told her he had become a Christian and asked for her forgiveness.  “I forgive you my brother, with all my heart.”  She would later say that she had never known God’s love so intensely as she did then…..

We are called to love the Lord our God.  We are called to be faithful.  We are not called to be rich, but if we are we should be generous with that bounty.  We are not called to spend more time on our phones than with our God.

We are not called to be convenient or cavalier Christians.  We are called to love.  When our love seems broken, imperfect, clumsy and incomplete.  We are called to love.

When we are exhausted, tired, emotionally spent and in a genuinely bad mood, we are called to love.  When devastating and unexplained news of loss, grief and illness come our way, we are called to love.

When people have a different opinion from us, do things we don’t approve of and don’t look like us, we are called to love them.  Respect them, treat them with the dignity that every human being has the right too. 

I will grant you that love is something of an emotion, it can be.  I would contend that love is an action.  Love gets kids up, fed and off to school and is there for them.  Love looks after those that aren’t able to take care of themselves.

Love is an action.  Love requires sacrifice.  I don’t think you can love someone or something that you don’t spend any time with.  The same is truth for our God.  The more you understand God, the more spiritual you become, the greater you should be able to love.

 

Pastor Shawn LaRue, Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

Give to God what belongs to God….

22 Sunday Oct 2017

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In today’s reading two groups that were normally opposed to each other come together in an effort to trap a poor, itinerant preacher named Jesus.  The Pharisees I have talked often about. 

They were the religious leaders of the day.  They studied scripture, laws and customs and were quick to point out the transgressions of other with little awareness of their own sin.

The Herodians are presumed to be followers of Herod Antipas, the Roman leader.  The Herodians were a political group, not a religious one.  Acting as an extension of the Roman government.

Political and religious groups jockeying for position is as common today as it was in Christ’s day.  Israel was essentially a colony of the Roman Empire.  The Jewish people paid a tax to the Roman government that probably went to fund the Roman troops, guards and governor that occupied their country.

There was much bitterness over paying this.  Life was hard.  Large families in a rural society mean long hours of work on the farm, planting crops, tending livestock and praying for God’s provision.

How many of you hear today enjoy paying taxes?  How many of you celebrate when you property tax comes due?  Or when you buy a vehicle, only to be assessed several hundred dollars more….

I do not enjoy paying taxes, but it is the duty of a citizen of this country to help pay their share.  I don’t build the roads and bridges I drive on, plow snow from them or home school my children.

The Pharisees and Herodians approach Christ, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality.

They flatter Christ and try to butter him up.  Teacher we know that you are a good guy, you are the man, you don’t show favorites and are abundantly fair.  They patronize him for what is coming next.

“Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” they ask him.  Should we pay the Roman tax? 

Keep in mind that we have religious leaders that oppose the Romans peacefully and an extension of the Roman government present.  Here is how this is a trap.

If Christ says yes if it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor then he would be seen as sympathizing with the Romans and betraying his own Jewish people.  A yes would give the Pharisees something to run with and undermine Christ’s credibility.

If he says no, it is not lawful to pay tax to the emperor then he could be accused of treason, sedition and be subject to the brutality that the Romans were famous for.

Further, endorsing the Herodian position, their tax and the currency used which hinted at the divinity of the Caesar.  How is Christ to do……….We’ve all been in a position where our choice was the lesser of two evils.

What does Christ do……..How does he find a way out of this well played trap? 

Christ did what he always does.  He saw the condition of the hearts of the men that were questioning him.  He knows the condition of the heart of each of us here today and all those that are not here.

He sees through the deceit, the trickery and the trap.  “Why are you putting me to the test you hypocrites?’ he asks.  Show me the coin used for the tax.

The group brought him a denarius.  The denarius spoke of both Romans oppression and blasphemy.  Farmer’s harvest were taxed, Jewish possessions were taxed.  A denarius was the usual wage for a day’s worth of work.

“Whose head is this and whose title?” Christ asks.  It is the emperor of course, the Caesar.  “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and give to God the things that are God’s.”

Give to the emperor what belongs to the emperor and give to God the things that belong to God.  Fulfill your obligations as working law-abiding citizens to you government, whether you approve of it or not.  Like it or not, it is the obligation and duty of every person.

Give to the government the things that bear the image of the government and its leaders and those that have done great things for their country, but give to God the things that bear the image of God.

So, where is the image of God found, who or what bears it…………Each of us do.  Every human being in every corner of the world does.  All of humankind was made in his image. 

It is us, ourselves, our being, our lives that we are to give to God.  But, do we do that?  Do we trust in God enough to do that?  Do we trust in God at all?

As Christians we have both earthly and heavenly responsibilities.  We are responsible to support our families, to be good parents to our children.  Nurturing and supporting them as them grow.  To respect our parents and elders. 

To work, pay our own way, our fair share.  To be responsible stewards of all that God has given us.  We have heavenly responsibilities as well.  A level of detachment has to exist in our lives.

We have to be able to detach from busy lives and spend time with our God.  We have to separate the wants of the flesh from the life of the spirit.  The wants of the flesh are overwhelming and can only be tamed by the spirit.

You are all probably familiar with the scripture in Matthew 25 – I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.  I was a stranger and you welcomed me.  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you took care of me.

Heavenly responsibilities.  Give to the emperor what belongs to the emperor and give to God what belongs to God.  Christ reasserts God’s ownership, sovereignty and rule.  A God so powerful, yet peaceful, fierce, but loving.

So peaceful and loving that he allows each of us to choose what do to with him.  We might complain how much tax we have to pay and how poorly those dollars are put to work sometime.  Roads full of potholes, spending large amounts of money on things we don’t think are needed.

I’m sure you’ve thought about this……You know how lucky we are to live as freely as we do.  There are people, many people, that live in danger for worshipping our God.  Many people in this world don’t have the freedoms that we have.

Give to the emperor what bears his image and give to God what bears his.  We have to find a balance between our obligations here on earth while fulfilling our obligations to God. 

We are to be about the work of the church.  When I say that I’m not talking about the self-preservation of the church.  I’m talking about growing and investing in people.  In relationships with one other, about being a deep group of people with purpose and vision.

Praying for guidance for this community of believers and how we can better reach people.  Better serve people.  Easy their suffering and bring them closer to God.

Give to the emperor, give to our government the things that belong to it and give to God the things that belong to God.

 

Pastor Shawn LaRue, Seymour UMC
Author of Incomplete

How do you want to be remembered?

08 Sunday Oct 2017

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“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ.  When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.”

How do you want to be remembered?  We have to accept that death is a part of this life.  Not to be feared, but to be a celebration of this life and the life to come.  From a jail cell, Paul wrote, “For you have died and your life is hid with Christ in God.”  The person you were before coming to faith is gone and you have been born again.  When that happen, life changes.  

Lives that burned for the things of this world are transformed into selfless lives of service.  Things are seen for what they are.  They have functional value and it’s nice to have nice things, but not at the expense of being able to do for others or finding your self-worth in them.

We don’t remember people for what the took — we remember people for what they gave.  How do you want to be remembered?

 

Pastor Shawn, Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

Authority.

01 Sunday Oct 2017

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I mentioned last week that we are near the end of Christ’s life in the book of Matthew.  He had made his triumphal return to the city of Jerusalem for the last time.  He had been hailed as a king, “Hosanna, Hosanna, in the highest!”

His relationship with the high priests, those that studied and were experts on religious custom and the law was contentious prior to his arrival in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover, a time of celebration for the Jewish people.

The people hailed him as a king when he entered the city.  Then Christ had the audacity to go to the temple and drive out those who were selling animals to be sacrificed in the temple.  Jewish people traveled from great distance to celebrate, worship and offer a sacrifice to their God.

Those that did the commerce in the temple took a little for themselves.  Let us exploit these travelers, these pilgrims.  Christ kept reversing the norm and upsetting those that took advantage of others. 

In today’s scripture, Christ enters the temple again, the very same place where he had just run those trying to make a profit.  He was teaching and preaching.

Those religions leaders I spoke of have had enough of him.  They approach him and ask, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

Why do you keep upsetting us, why are we the butt of these riddles you speak of, why do you keep exposing us?  That is what I think is going through their minds.  What gives you the right, who do you think you are?

To their defense not many people knew Christ’s true identity.  He didn’t flaunt it around, instead he kept it a secret oftentimes. 

Knowing that they were out to get him Christ responded to their question with a question, “I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.  Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”

Where did John the Baptist get his authority?  It was granted to him by our God of course.  He was called to be the voice out in the wilderness, paving the way for his cousin, Jesus the Messiah.  John the Baptist was wildly popular and had disciples of his own.

After discussing this among themselves, the chief priests, elders and scribes respond, “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘why then did you not believe him?’  But if we say, ‘of human origin, we are afraid of the crowd for all regard John as a prophet.” 

“We don’t know.”  That was their answer, we don’t know.  Christ answered them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Discovering who Christ truly is should be central to our lives.  We should want the answer to the question that was posed…..Oh that’s easy, Christ is God’s son, he’s part of the trinity that many don’t fully understand, there is your answer.

That is a correct, but dangerously superficial answer.  The Christian journey is a life-long adventure into finding the truth in our own lives.  That search for truth always points us in the direction of our God. 

You know, I read this week’s scripture early this week and I was sure that I was going to struggle with it.  So I read it again and I was still sure I was going to labor with this reading from Matthew because the meaning within it wasn’t obvious to me.

I would like to think I can read scripture and know pretty quick what direction I’m going to go with it.  That wasn’t the case with this in spite of the fact that my bible titles this encounter, “The Authority of Jesus Questioned.”

It was questioned during his lifetime.  It is questioned now.  Does God exist, can you see the work of his hand in this world, can you see the work of his people? 

I like to think that I stick to the scripture, but I got to thinking about authority when I was struggling with this scripture. 

Authority.  Was it important to respect and obey your parents growing up?  Of course it was, we didn’t always do it, but they are our parents and they are an authority figure.

Did, or are, you supposed to listen to your teachers?  Your coaches?  To those in law enforcement, your doctor, your attorney, your parole officer – if you have one and maybe even your pastor….Why……

Because each is an authority figure and each has power and influence and hopefully they know what they are doing.  Our God is the ultimate authority figure, to whom we will have to give an account of our deeds someday.

Authority figures give us advise, they look out for our best interest and they tell us what to do and that is where things don’t go so good.  How many of you like to be told what to do?  How many of you didn’t do something because someone told you to do it?

All of us have probably done that.  We like to have options, make our own choices, I don’t like being ordered to do something.  It seems like we live in a time where authority figures are questioned, judged and blamed.

It’s not my child’s fault, the fault lies with the teacher, with the coach, the principal or whoever it was that tried to provide something that looked like discipline. 

We desperately need authority in our lives.  We depend on it.  We need leaders within our church, our school our community that have the courage to step up and lead in spite of the insults hurled at them.

We depend on authority, we need it, we have to have it.  We depend and are reliant on Christ’s authority.  If Christ is not God’s son, if he did not die on a cross and was resurrected three days later we are all wasting our time.  You should have slept in this morning and you certainly should not be paying me to preach to you.

We would be random people living random lives that made little sense.  I would rather believe that I am wonderfully made than I descended from an ape or caveman. 

We need to respect and honor our God’s authority, we need to listen for his voice, for his guidance and direction.  Once we hear it, once we make time to listen for it.  He has a calling for each of us.

Doesn’t mean it is to be a minister, a missionary or a monk or a nun.  We have to take the courage to answer that call, to submit to that authority. 

I think that is what authority is.  We minded our parents, for the most part hopefully, and submitted to what they wanted us to do because they had our best interest in mind in trying to teach us and mold us into hard-working, law-abiding citizens.

Teachers, coaches, family and friends have played the same role in our lives.  It is no different with our God.  

He has looked after and cared for us when we turned our back on him.  We’ve had to endure and suffer and we didn’t like it, it was awful.  But did it make us better?  Did it allow us to be grateful and feel blessed for all that we did have? 

The authority of our God, in three persons, is absolute and pure.  The bible is God’s word, his letter to each of us, it is how he reveals himself in the written word.  It has authority.  Let us honor our God who works tirelessly to bring us closer to him. 

Pastor Shawn, Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

http://www.incompletedevotional.com

The kingdom of heaven…….

23 Saturday Sep 2017

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This week the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner, an owner of an estate, head of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 

Before I continue, in Christ’s parables we are invited into the story to find ourselves a part of it.  With the hope that we can apply the lesson to our own lives.

The landowner, a person of means goes into town to find people to work on his land.  He goes out around 6 am and makes an agreement with those he finds there to work for the usual daily wage, a Roman denarius. 

The landowner went to the marketplace again at 9 am and saw others standing idle in the marketplace and said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.”  And so they went.

Before I continue through this parable, does anyone know or suspect who the landowner is……..The landowner is Christ.  The marketplace is the world.  And the vineyard is……………….Christ’s church.  Any guess who the idle laborers are? 

I was an idle laborer for many years.  An idle laborer seems contradictory.  It could be used to describe many of us at some point in our life, it but for a short season.

As a landowner seeks out laborers to work on his land, Christ is seeking, calling and employing laborers to be about the work of his church.  It is important for us to be about the work of the church.

Yes, we know Pastor.  I don’t know much about much, but I believe that once we become complacent, once the status quo is acceptable as a church, the church begins to die.  That is an important reason it is important to be about the work of the church.

The landowner had gone out early in the morning, again at nine, he goes out again at noon and three and finds more laborers to employ.  He goes out at the eleventh hour, or around 5 pm and found others standing around and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?”

What have you been doing here, nothing?  They said, “Because no one has hired us.”  No one has put us to work, no one has invited us to the vineyard to work, or invited us to church to be part of a community.

So, here are all these laborers.  Some have been working all day under the hot sun since early in the morning.  Some started at noon and some just showed up.  And now we’ve arrived at the end of the work day.

It was a common practice and an expectation of those that you employed that they were paid at the end of the day in biblical times. 

So, it is quitting time.  A hard day’s work for some, an hour of work for others…..I’ve talked about how Christ reversed the expectations of what people expected.

In this parable the landowner said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and given them their pay, beginning with the last and giving to the first.”

This parable has been very straight forward so far, but here is where it gets tricky.  Those that had started working last came forward and they were paid the usually daily wage, a Roman denarius.  

What a generous guy this man is.  If he paid a day’s wage for working for an hour, just think he will pay those that have worked since early this morning, since 9 am and since noon.  Am I right?  If I had been there since 6-7 am I would be thinking, YES.  Today is going to be a good day.  I’m eating steak tonight.

Guess how much the all the workers got paid regardless of how long they worked……….the same amount.  One Roman denarius.  One day’s wage.

And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner saying, “These last worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.”

I would be right there with them.  This is a bunch of crap.  I’ve been working all day, I deserve more.  I worked harder, I worked more.  Have you ever noticed how sometimes you or someone you work with or someone you know thinks they are entitled to more?

I’m as guilty as anyone.  There are times when we covet what God gives to others, blind to all that he has done for us.  I’m easily as bad as anyone here today when it comes to coveting.  I want a nicer house, a fancier car, a bigger bank account and everything else I want and I want it right now. 

If I see someone’s existence as more comfortable or easier I want it.  They don’t deserve it, I do.  God, why can’t I have it?  I completely dismiss all that I have been given.  We have all worked hard in our lives, but there is little to nothing of what we’ve accomplished or have that can’t be traced back to something we were given.

Given from our parents, grandparents, family, friends, teachers, coaches, mentors and most importantly our God.  Education level, intelligence, income, good health, safe places to grow up in – those are all things granted to us by the grace of God…..

I am usually first to take credit for what I’ve accomplished.  See, I am selfish.  I bet I’m not the only here today that is.  It is part of our human condition.  We have to fight our human needs, our compulsions, our want to do whatever we want whenever we want.

One of the best lessons we can learn in this life is to learn to sacrifice for others.  To be content and grateful for all that we have and all that we are. 

Not all of us are called to be saints, but we are called to help those in need.  We are called to make a difference in our own, small corner of the world wherever that may be.  To be pioneers in social justice.

This landowner, the owner of the estate was hearing from his disgruntled employees on how unfairly he had compensated them, even though they all had agreed to work for the daily wage.  He answered them, “Friend, I have not been unfair.  Did you not agree with me to work for the usual daily wage?”

“Take what belongs to you and go, I choose to give to this last the same as I have given to you.  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?  Or are you envious because I am generous?  So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

We are called to live lives of service.  The reward for every man, woman and child who has faith in Christ, faith in the God that we serve, will receive the same eternal reward. 

So let us not be idle workers in the marketplace.  Let us not sit by in this world in our sin wasting precious time.  Let us be called by our God into service in his church.  And let us not covet what others have.

Pastor Shawn LaRue, Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

Forgiveness…

17 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by in Guest Bloggers on BnV, Poetry

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The parable of the unforgiving servant.  This parable is pretty straight forward and applicable to today’s world.  Like the se

The parable of the unforgiving servant.  This parable is pretty straight forward and applicable to today’s world.  Like the servant in today’s scripture we are to forgive as we have been forgiven.  All day, every day.

Forgiveness, the amazing power that forgiveness possesses, it frees both the offender and the offended.  It breaks the shackles and chains of resentment, grudges and bitterness.  With such tremendous power, forgiveness should be our number one option, our go to when needed, right?

It doesn’t seem to work that way does it?  When we are injured, our feelings get hurt or some event brings to light those things that we are insecure about – are we quick to forgive…..or are we quick to retaliate?

You’ve heard me tell you I’m a hypocrite before right?  When reading scripture or preparing a sermon I often times get exposed for my own behavior, for my own sin, for my unwillingness at times to forgive.

Sometimes we like to own those offenses, they become a badge of honor to tell others about and plot revenge.  Do you know what such and such did to me?  Can you believe that? 

I’ll tell you something I don’t get mad, I get even.  Ever had that phrase go through your mind and off your lips?  In our broken, human form revenge, retaliation, emotion and anger move us toward retribution.

But why would we want to hang onto such ugliness?  An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.  Those looking for scripture to support their case for revenge often cite that passage.

The message that Christ brought almost always turns human motive and cultural norms and expectations 180 degrees.  Completely reverses what was to be expected.

You must be last in order to be first, those that are humble will be exalted.  This passage is no different.  The disciple Peter approaches Christ and asks him this question, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?  As many as seven times?

Seven times seems like enough doesn’t it?  Seven slams, seven sarcastic remarks, seven times you make me mad, seven times you injure me verbally, physically, emotionally or spiritually and I will forgive.  But the eighth time, you’re mine.

I don’t know where Peter got that number, but it caused me to think and reflect.  If you get beyond those that you live with, spouse, children, family and close friends.  If someone made you mad seven times how much time would you be spending with them?

Probably not a whole lot.  I would be avoiding them as much as possible.  I have a lot of work to do on this forgiveness thing.

Christ responds to Peter’s question of is seven times enough to forgive, “Not seven times, but 77 times.”  I read another translation that said 70 times 7.  Are you kidding, at least 77 and as many as 490 times?

As much as them seems to be I look at those married couples that have been together for decades, some for half a century or longer.  Do you think that forgiveness has been part of their story?

I think that it would have to be.  The inability to forgive leads to bitterness.  Is it enjoyable to be around someone that is bitter?  Our existence was not made to be heavy and burdensome with the weight of every slight one has ever encountered.

Our existence is meant to be light and joyful, full of compassion with hearts willing to forgive.  The granting of forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.  It can be done in person or in prayer.

After telling Peter how many times he would have to forgive he speaks the parable of the unforgiving servant.  “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.  One that owed 10,000 talents was brought to him.” 

A talent is a measurement of weight, it is approximately 130 pounds of what was probably a precious metal or something of value.  10,000 talents is equal to 1.3 million pounds of gold, silver or some other valuable commodity.  1.3 million pounds.

It was more than a lifetime of debt, a debt that could not be repaid.  The servant that owed this amount was well aware that he couldn’t pay it and when the king ordered that he, his wife and children and all their possession be sold to pay it, he begged for patience, he begged for forgiveness.

And what did the king that was owed this extraordinary amount of money do?  He forgave it.  Just like that….You know the bible is rich with symbolism, who do you think that the king in this scripture is?

……It is the God we serve, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The kingdom of heaven is like a king that paid the ransom for those who could not pay it.  Who sent his son to die in their place.  A king that opened the treasure chest of grace and shared it with all and it pleased him to do so.

The servant fell in front of the king and begged not to be sold into slavery.  The kind of slavery that carrying grudges and resentments bring.  The king said that I forgive you of everything, all of it.

As the parable continues the servant that had been forgiven of a mountain of debt, whose family had been spared from being split up and sold into slavery, turns to another servant who owes him a fraction of the debt that he just had cancelled and seizes him by the throat and demands payment.

This servant got down on his hands and knees and pleads for more time, pleads for forgiveness.  The man that had been forgiven of so much refused to forgive a far smaller debt and had him thrown into prison until he could pay the debt he owed.

Very ironic that given the blessing, the good fortune that was extended that he couldn’t extend even a fraction to someone else.  Any guesses on who the unforgiving servant is in this parable…….

I’m afraid that it has been each one of us at some point in our life.  I know it has been me, I suspect it has been you.  It has been anyone that has withheld forgiveness in spite of how much they have been forgiven.

We have all been hurt, injured, slighted, talked about, gossiped about or made fun of at some point in our life.  We have to let those things go, we can’t control what other people do, we can only control our response to such things.

Word got back to the king of what had taken place.  The servant that had been forgiven of a lifetime of debt was summoned to appear before him.  “You wicked slave!” he says, “I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  Should you not have mercy on your fellow man, as I had mercy on you?”

In his anger the king handed over the unforgiving servant to be tortured until he could pay his entire debt.  Christ would end the parable with this word of warning, “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

An unwillingness to forgive not only haunts us in this life, but in the one to come.  Hard hearts, hearts of those whose lives are painfully difficult have to be soften by coming to faith, by knowing the healing power of our God.

We are called to set the example, to live lives full of grace, mercy and compassion to be an example, to witness to those that are distant from God.  To show a willingness to forgive as our Father in heaven has forgiven us. rvant in today’s scripture we are to forgive as we have been forgiven.  All day, every day.

Pastor Shawn, Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

Forgiveness, the amazing power that forgiveness possesses, it frees both the offender and the offended.  It breaks the shackles and chains of resentment, grudges and bitterness.  With such tremendous power, forgiveness should be our number one option, our go to when needed, right?

It doesn’t seem to work that way does it?  When we are injured, our feelings get hurt or some event brings to light those things that we are insecure about – are we quick to forgive…..or are we quick to retaliate?

You’ve heard me tell you I’m a hypocrite before right?  When reading scripture or preparing a sermon I often times get exposed for my own behavior, for my own sin, for my unwillingness at times to forgive.

Sometimes we like to own those offenses, they become a badge of honor to tell others about and plot revenge.  Do you know what such and such did to me?  Can you believe that? 

I’ll tell you something I don’t get mad, I get even.  Ever had that phrase go through your mind and off your lips?  In our broken, human form revenge, retaliation, emotion and anger move us toward retribution.

But why would we want to hang onto such ugliness?  An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.  Those looking for scripture to support their case for revenge often cite that passage.

The message that Christ brought almost always turns human motive and cultural norms and expectations 180 degrees.  Completely reverses what was to be expected.

You must be last in order to be first, those that are humble will be exalted.  This passage is no different.  The disciple Peter approaches Christ and asks him this question, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?  As many as seven times?

Seven times seems like enough doesn’t it?  Seven slams, seven sarcastic remarks, seven times you make me mad, seven times you injure me verbally, physically, emotionally or spiritually and I will forgive.  But the eighth time, you’re mine.

I don’t know where Peter got that number, but it caused me to think and reflect.  If you get beyond those that you live with, spouse, children, family and close friends.  If someone made you mad seven times how much time would you be spending with them?

Probably not a whole lot.  I would be avoiding them as much as possible.  I have a lot of work to do on this forgiveness thing.

Christ responds to Peter’s question of is seven times enough to forgive, “Not seven times, but 77 times.”  I read another translation that said 70 times 7.  Are you kidding, at least 77 and as many as 490 times?

As much as them seems to be I look at those married couples that have been together for decades, some for half a century or longer.  Do you think that forgiveness has been part of their story?

I think that it would have to be.  The inability to forgive leads to bitterness.  Is it enjoyable to be around someone that is bitter?  Our existence was not made to be heavy and burdensome with the weight of every slight one has ever encountered.

Our existence is meant to be light and joyful, full of compassion with hearts willing to forgive.  The granting of forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength.  It can be done in person or in prayer.

After telling Peter how many times he would have to forgive he speaks the parable of the unforgiving servant.  “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.  One that owed 10,000 talents was brought to him.” 

A talent is a measurement of weight, it is approximately 130 pounds of what was probably a precious metal or something of value.  10,000 talents is equal to 1.3 million pounds of gold, silver or some other valuable commodity.  1.3 million pounds.

It was more than a lifetime of debt, a debt that could not be repaid.  The servant that owed this amount was well aware that he couldn’t pay it and when the king ordered that he, his wife and children and all their possession be sold to pay it, he begged for patience, he begged for forgiveness.

And what did the king that was owed this extraordinary amount of money do?  He forgave it.  Just like that….You know the bible is rich with symbolism, who do you think that the king in this scripture is?

……It is the God we serve, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  The kingdom of heaven is like a king that paid the ransom for those who could not pay it.  Who sent his son to die in their place.  A king that opened the treasure chest of grace and shared it with all and it pleased him to do so.

The servant fell in front of the king and begged not to be sold into slavery.  The kind of slavery that carrying grudges and resentments bring.  The king said that I forgive you of everything, all of it.

As the parable continues the servant that had been forgiven of a mountain of debt, whose family had been spared from being split up and sold into slavery, turns to another servant who owes him a fraction of the debt that he just had cancelled and seizes him by the throat and demands payment.

This servant got down on his hands and knees and pleads for more time, pleads for forgiveness.  The man that had been forgiven of so much refused to forgive a far smaller debt and had him thrown into prison until he could pay the debt he owed.

Very ironic that given the blessing, the good fortune that was extended that he couldn’t extend even a fraction to someone else.  Any guesses on who the unforgiving servant is in this parable…….

I’m afraid that it has been each one of us at some point in our life.  I know it has been me, I suspect it has been you.  It has been anyone that has withheld forgiveness in spite of how much they have been forgiven.

We have all been hurt, injured, slighted, talked about, gossiped about or made fun of at some point in our life.  We have to let those things go, we can’t control what other people do, we can only control our response to such things.

Word got back to the king of what had taken place.  The servant that had been forgiven of a lifetime of debt was summoned to appear before him.  “You wicked slave!” he says, “I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  Should you not have mercy on your fellow man, as I had mercy on you?”

In his anger the king handed over the unforgiving servant to be tortured until he could pay his entire debt.  Christ would end the parable with this word of warning, “So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

An unwillingness to forgive not only haunts us in this life, but in the one to come.  Hard hearts, hearts of those whose lives are painfully difficult have to be soften by coming to faith, by knowing the healing power of our God.

We are called to set the example, to live lives full of grace, mercy and compassion to be an example, to witness to those that are distant from God.  To show a willingness to forgive as our Father in heaven has forgiven us.

 

Pastor Shawn LaRue

Author of Incomplete

#ThankfulThursday #Reblogs – Ghost Within — breathwords

14 Thursday Sep 2017

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via Ghost Within — breathwords

I just love this 🙂 Such depth and scope in so few words!  If you haven’t visited Breathwords blog, do stop by…there’s always something marvelous to behold!

#ThankfulThursday #Reblogs – Ask the blogger: how did you get so many followers?

14 Thursday Sep 2017

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I recently received a random email from someone I didn’t know, however I chose to read it and am so glad I did. Low and Behold, I’ve met a new blogger who had this simple, yet befuddling, question to ask and in the process of answering, have made a new friend 🙂 Thanks Milly!

The Cat's Write

I went out on a limb and contacted some of my greatest blogging idols to see if a few of them might like to lend us some of their wisdom in response to the one question we’re all thinking about: how the hell did you get so many followers?

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I’d get many replies. Surely these bloggers (with their thousands of followers) are far too busy to answer the many questions, emails and comments they must get every day? Turns out I completely underestimated how LEGEN – wait for it… no really you have to wait for it… sorry just a little longer – DARY these bloggers really are. Because who would answer an email from a random quote-seeking newbie like me?

Legends. That’s who.

So instead of digesting, paraphrasing and regurgitating some of their responses to make the perfect introduction, I thought I’d move aside and let the bloggers do…

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Can you drink the cup?

13 Sunday Aug 2017

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Can you drink the cup?  The mother of the sons of Zebedee makes a request of Christ, “Promise that these two sons of mine will sit on your right and left in your kingdom.”  Christ sets the overzealous mother and her sons straight, “You do not know what you are asking.”

They were asking for things along the lines of accomplishment without hard work, freedom without responsibility, all the gifts and grace that God has to offer without any of the suffering of the human condition.  Can you drink of the cup, of the cup of your own life?

The hectic pace of this life leaves little time for reflection.  It is an effort to put our phones away and pay attention.  Being fully present is in danger of being fully extinct.  Can you drink the cup?

It took me a long time to be willing to look at the cup of my own life.  Growing up in the presence of alcoholism left me anxious and unwilling to discuss what I had lived through.  Little did I know that others endured the same or worse.  I lived with that for far too long.

It took a lot of counseling in addition to God’s ability to heal for me to arrive where I am today.  Much healthier, but still reluctant to trust.  That is my cup.  No shame in the things that were beyond my control.  To be able to see that the events that take part in each of our lives is God’s way of molding and shaping us, even when those things are painful and don’t make any sense.

Christ’s cup was so painful that he asked if it could pass.  All the ugliness and sin the world has to offer.  Christ submitted to his Father’s will, we should do the same.

 

Pastor Shawn, Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

The beatitudes….

06 Sunday Aug 2017

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Christ brought with him a message of hope, a message of salvation and a message that turned how we see the world upside down.  He showed us how God sees this world through human eyes.  This God with us.

So, how is it that God sees this world?   And what is his message of hope……..Last week I talked about how Christ called his first disciples and they joined him with nothing more than the invitation of, “Follow me.”

Follow me.  Peter, Andrew, James and John did just that.  As Christ traveled throughout Galilee teaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God, crowds of people gathered to listen to him preach and cure people of sickness and disease.

I’ve have talked before about the Roman occupation of the Holy Land.  Life was hard.  The taxes were oppressive, it was all some could do just to exist.  Many were forced to sell their children and themselves into slavery.

Here comes this guy they call Jesus, bringing a message unlike anything they’d ever heard.  Crowds gathered and as this particular group gathered, Christ went up on the side of the mountain and preaches about the kingdom of heaven.

Eight statements, eight blessings, eight beatitudes. Eight statements that turn the world as we know it on end.  The great paradox of Christian life – in order to be first, you have to be last.  The humble will be exalted and the exalted will be humbled.  Where one has to be born again.

In the book of Matthew, the beatitudes take place early in Christ’s ministry – it is his first recorded sermon.  His message of hope.  In the children’s time message I attempted show how things are when they are inverted.

Christ spoke about seeing the world as he sees it, how God sees it.  Not from the vantage point of standing on your head, but of leaving the accumulation of wealth, possessions and other obstacles that get placed between us and our God.

To meet and minister to people where they are and for who they are – children of God, as one who bears the image of the Creator, just as each of us do.  He blesses those afflicted, not based on anything they can do, but simply because they are.

Christ starts this message of hope with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”……I have read that each of these statements build on the previous one and none of them are possible without this one, the first one.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they will see the kingdom of heaven.  Poverty of spirit is the beginning of discipleship.  It doesn’t mean that you don’t have spirituality.  It means that those poor in spirit are not full of themselves.

They understand their own brokenness, have been convicted of sin and put Christ, the cross and faith at the center of their lives….Those poor in spirit know how destructive sin is, they’ve seen it firsthand.  They know that sin causes them to stray from God, even if only for a short time. 

….Well Pastor, I’ve gone to church since I was a child, I haven’t strayed from God….I don’t know every intricate detail about everyone’s life.  But I would contend that we have all strayed at some point in our life, if only for a short time.

The power of sin is great.  God’s power, grace, mercy and love are greater….Coming before God with open minds, grateful hearts and empty hands.  Knowing that money, power, titles, land, riches and possessions won’t save us and they certainly should not define us.

This message of hope – blessed are they that know of their need for God.  Christ continued with these petitions.  “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” 

Do you ever watch the new and some of the stories they report on almost make you sick?  So much suffering, too many evil acts and loss of life.  Blessed are those that mourn over the brokenness of this world. 

For lives that end prematurely, for children that go hungry, neglected or abused.  For people in countries torn apart by war and are displaced.  For those that dead the pain and emptiness in their own life with things like alcohol and drugs.

We mourn for things that we don’t fully understand because they seem so distant or foreign to us….Those that see with eyes and hearts of faith feel the pain of those that suffer.  It is only by the grace of God that we don’t suffer through the same circumstances.

This sermon, not mine – Christ’s beatitudes were taken to heart by many of the saints and they did their best to live out these petitions, as difficult as that may seem.  I’ve talked about Mother Teresa’s example before.

She had been called by God to work with the poor in India.  She sensed that God was calling her to work with the poorest of the poor.  She left behind the work she had done for years and off she went.  She to one of the poorest slums, gathered some children and began teaching them the alphabet….using a stick to draw in the dirt with.

A ministry that would be known around the world, she would become a household name and she started with nothing other than who she was and the message that burnt within her.  Her own message of hope.

That is essentially what ministry is.  Each of us has a message that burns within us, each of us has a story written on each of our hearts – it exists, it is there waiting for that fire to be lit and that song to be sung.

As with the parables that Christ spoke of this scripture, these blessings that Christ bestows call for more than a quick passing over, they have to be studied and wrestled with.  Christ continued, “Blessed are the meek, for they will be filled.” 

God blesses those who are humble and gentle, for the whole earth will belong to them.  Those that submit to God in patience and humility.  What is the opposite of humility………pride, arrogance.  Those things are dangerous.

Pride and arrogance blind us to our own weaknesses while amplifying those of others.  If you are like me, pride can come quickly, seemingly out of nowhere.  It can be easy to take credit for the talent and skills that we have that God granted us. 

Blessed are those who do not return evil for evil, an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.  Who are slow to anger, abundantly patient and wise.

Christ continues this message of hope when he blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Thank God for those who seek justice that believe in the right to be treated fairly. 

The road to seek out fairness, equality and justice is not a short one and seems to be the road less traveled. 

We thank God for those that seek out righteousness, who strive for holiness and seek out their God.  Treating all of God’s creation and people with the respect and value they deserve.  There is holiness that lives within each of us.  It cries out to be joined with the one that placed it there.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”  God has given us this treasure of grace, it is only right that we extend it to others.  We should not judge, label or put down others.  We are called to be merciful and love one another unconditionally.

Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for the peacemakers and those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.  Christ’s message of hope.

We should be reminded of God’s mercy and grace every day and extend it to others. 

This scripture, these eight statements, the Beatitudes, show us how our God sees the world.  It is a message of hope.

Pastor Shawn LaRue

Author of Incomplete

 

The kingdom of heaven……

30 Sunday Jul 2017

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“The kingdom of heaven.”  The kingdom of heaven, you will hear that a lot in this message.  We are still in the same chapter of the book of Matthew that we’ve been in the past two weeks. 

At the beginning of the 13th chapter of Matthew, Christ had gotten into a boat to address the large crowd that had gathered to see him, to hear him preach.  Parable after parable – of the sower, the weeds and the wheat and the mustard seed.  Christ leaves the boat and the crowd.

What would he do now……..It was now time to teach his disciples.  After he explains the parable of the weeds to his disciples, he gives them three more.   Three more parables.  Why these parables, why not just say sin is bad, God is good….

Because it isn’t that easy.  These parables Christ spoke of have to be chewed on and wrestled with.  It takes time for them to sink into our soul and become a part of our being.

Several of Christ’s parables being with, “The kingdom of heaven.”  That phrase appears over 30 times in the book of Matthew.  Which begs the question, “What exactly is the kingdom of heaven?”

I researched this very thing.  I did not find a definition that I liked.  I did find some learned, scholarly definitions that I frankly didn’t understand.  I believe that the kingdom of heaven exists when we live with the freedom that comes with faith.

When we acknowledge and live knowing that everything comes from God.  Everything good comes from God.  Everything we have comes from God.  Our intellect, health, family, provisions, good looks, everything comes from God.

That freedom allows us to do for others without worrying about how much stuff we have.  Christ begins, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid, then in joy goes and sells all that they have and buys that field.”

Keep in mind that this is a first century setting.  There were no lockboxes, safes or banks to deposit or keep your valuables.  To go and bury something valuable during a time of war or oppression would have been fairly common for those that had wealth.

This is a short, one-verse parable.  It appears that the individual that found the treasure wasn’t looking for it, wasn’t searching for it, but found it nonetheless.

Such things happen, you know.  Did anyone meet their spouse by a chance encounter?  Or did you meet them immediately after making the decision that you were getting married right now? 

Did it just happen?  Just happened to meet them, maybe by chance.  Or maybe you knew them or of them and didn’t feel much of anything for them initially.  Maybe you still don’t – just kidding.

This happens, we find things when we aren’t looking for them.  I did not set out to be a preacher.  I would have scoffed if you would have told me 10 years ago that this is where I would be.  It just happened. 

We don’t always go looking for God, but God is always looking for us.  Maybe you have always attended church, that was modeled for you as a child and you are committed to do the same. 

Or maybe you read or heard something that got your attention that stirred something in your soul that would eventually bring you to faith. 

God uses people, places and the circumstances in our life to turn us back to him.  The individual in this parable stumbles across a treasure hidden in a field.  It wasn’t laying on top of the soil on the surface.  It was buried underneath.

Once it is found, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field, to possess this treasure, the kingdom of heaven.

That treasure might be different for each of us.  It would be God’s endless treasure of grace, it could be the forgiveness, the healing of deep and painful wounds or the Almighty himself. 

Whatever your treasure is if meets you at your deepest poverty, in the deepest areas of your soul.  It is what brings spiritual riches.

 It is God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit that provides, nourishes and empowers us.  That is true treasure.

Christ would provide another example of the kingdom of heaven.  “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant of fine pearls, on finding one pearl of great value, the merchant went off and sold all that he had and bought it.”

Christ transitions from an agricultural realm to the business one.  There no second thoughts by the merchant.  No, I’ll think about it, I’ll get to it eventually or when it is convenient – those things that we humans are good at.

The last parable of these three short parables begins, “Again the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind.  When it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad.

So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Christ goes from a farming example of finding treasure in a field, to a merchant finding a great pearl to a parable that would resonate with fishermen in the first century.  Being a fishermen was a common trade in Christ’s time.  It was hard work.

This last parable is rich in symbolism.  The net cast out into the sea could represent God’s word being spread throughout the world.  It caught fish of every kind.  People from all walks of life were brought to faith – young and old, rich and poor, black, white, people of all ethnic backgrounds and skin color.

When the net was full.  At the appointed time that only God the Father knows, the net was full and brought ashore.  The good fish, or God’s people, those that put their faith in Jesus Christ were put into baskets.

I don’t think that we will be put into baskets, fish are put into baskets.  The basket represents heaven, where we all hope to be someday.  But the bad fish were thrown out.  Those that were evil, those that rejected God time and time again were thrown out.

Last week I talked about the how the weeds were gathered, bundled up and thrown into the fire.  In today’s scripture Christ states, “The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

The scripture from this week and last ends with this painful and damning language.  But it is true, the collecting of weeds to be bundled and burned and the bad fish to be thrown into the furnace of fire represents hell.

 Our triune God works endlessly, tirelessly to bring us back to him.  There is no joy in seems anyone stumble and fall once, let alone their entire life.  God gives us the choice with what we will do with him.  We can deny and reject him or follow and embrace him.  The choice is ours. 

Given that choice, let us be the ones that went beyond what lay on the surface of that field and find that treasure and embrace it.  Let us be the merchant that finds that fine jewel that is Christ and never relinquish it.  Let us be the ones that brings the kingdom of heaven to this church and community.

Pastor Shawn LaRue

Author of Incomplete

The sower and the seed.

16 Sunday Jul 2017

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Halfway through the book of Matthew, in today’s reading of the 13th chapter, the crowds following Jesus had gotten so large that he got into a boat to address the crowd with his teaching and to speak in parables as he often did.

He got into the boat so that he would not be pressed and could be heard by all that had gathered along the beach.  He presents the parable of the sower and the four types of soil.  Hopefully this passage from scripture and message I’ve prepared will find a home with many of you given our agricultural based way of living in southern Iowa

I would ask you, after hearing he scripture read and the children’s message demonstrated, who is the sower and what is the seed?

Christ oftentimes spoke in parables and parables can be understood by those willing to be taught, for those unwilling they are complex and difficult.  At times, Christ’s own disciples didn’t understand them.

Parables are meant for examination and the searching of one’s soul.  To search for the truth in our own lives.  The search for God because he is truth.  God wants to draw us into relationship with him.  This requires effort on our part.

Christ addressed the crowd and said, “Listen! A sower went out to sow and as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.” 

This sentence could just as easily read, “A farmer went out to plant his crops and some of the seed fell on the highway, a gravel road, in his driveway or the access point to his field.”

Would we expect seed dropped in such places to grow?  Of course not.  Do crops, gardens or flowers grow in soil that is not broken, not plowed or prepared for the seed to be planted in it?  Not usually or not very well.  Our souls, our lives and our being are the same.

Some seed fell on the path, fell by the wayside and birds came and ate it.  That seed laid uncovered, unprotected and was easy prey to those that would devour it.  It had little chance to grow.

Christ would sometimes explain what his parables meant so that those in attendance would understand.  He did not do that with this teaching, with this parable.  He leaves it with the crowd to turn over in their minds and to evaluation their own being and search for truth.

First century life was hard, poverty was common and brutal.  Many had to beg to survive.  This crowd, these people needed hope.  They needed to have their burden made lighter.

We live in an affluent country and probably struggle to fully understand the crushing weight that these people carried.  We lead far more comfortable lives today, but our souls today still cry out to know that easy burden and to be nourished, just as this crowd that surrounded Christ did.

Some seed fell on the path and was immediately eaten.  Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil.  There was enough soil for the seed to take hold and grow.  But the soil wasn’t deep enough for the roots to take hold and when the sun rose, they were scorched because they had no root and they withered away.

I asked earlier who is the sower and what is the seed.  That might seem obvious.  The seed is the word of God and the sower is Jesus Christ.  That may seem easy enough.  But here is the part that requires self-examination.

As I talk about the four types of soil, which one represents you…….Some seed fell on stony places, where there was not much earth or soil.  The ground was shallow and although the seed took hold and grew quickly, there wasn’t enough soil or depth to sustain it.

The sun came out and scorched what had begun to grow because it didn’t have the roots or the ability to withstand the heat of the sun and it withered away.  With our collective knowledge of farming we know that it is hard to grow much out of stony, rocky ground.

I could use this part of scripture to argue that this is what happens when you don’t go to church.  The devil comes and burns up what faith you have.  But attending worship is only a part of the Christian, spiritual life. 

Being part of a community of faith is important, but so is prayer, reading your bible, being of service to your community, loving your family.  If you are completely reliant on my preaching, I’m afraid that we are both in trouble.

The seed that fell on stony ground was quickly burnt up by the sun because it didn’t have deep enough roots.  When things get hot, where there is pressure, too much stress, trials and tribulation. 

When life seems overwhelming, nothing is going right, not only do we not get everything we want, we can’t seem to get anything we want, it is at those times that those fledgling seeds are at risk.  The devil turns up the heat in order to snuff out those seeds of faith.

We’ve had the seed that fell on the path and was devoured.  The seed that fell on rocky ground, didn’t have the necessary roots and was burnt up by the sun’s heat.  Christ would continue, “Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.”

Other seed fell among the weeds and thorns and was choked by them.  Christ doesn’t mention anything that indicates that there is anything wrong with this soil.  The weeds and thorns lay beneath the surface.  They spring up and grow at the same time and maybe even the same pace as the seed that was planted.

But they overtake the seed, they over take the faith that had started to grow and eventually destroyed it.  The seed was sown on ground that appears to be fertile, good ground.  But there was competition, it seems like there always is.

I have talked a lot about things like convenience, selfishness and all the things of this world that this flesh burns for.  You might be tired of hearing about them.  I have some bad news for you.  You are going to continue to hear about them.

I’m not going to continue to bring them up to screw with you, I bring them up because things like convenience, our own selfishness – mine included and all the fun, exciting things that the world offers have the power to kill the church.

Just like the weeds and thorns in today’s scripture had the power to overtake the seed that was planted.  For those of you that plant flowers, do you plant them in the spring and then never tend to them?  I doubt it. 

For those of you that garden, do you plant your tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn, green beans and other vegetables and leave it idle until fall?  Of course not, weeds are pulled, the plants are checked.

Do farmers plant their crops, do they not fertilize, cultivate, watch over and pray for rain for them?  Of course they do all those things.  It is no different with our spirituality and with our souls.  They must be cared for, kept and tended to.

Christ would end this parable with, “Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  Let anyone with ears hear!”

Not everyone that hears the word of God will hear it, listen to it or pay any attention to it.  But for that good soil, that fertile soil – from that will come 30, 60, 100 fold.  That soil that has been broken and is ready to be seeded.

Like that soil we are all broken whether we realize it or want to admit it.  We are all broken people.  All capable of being or becoming that good soil.  Everyone has the ability to bear fruit, to be the fertile and rich soil. 

Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.  Not just to hear the audible words, but to allow these words of Christ to take hold in your soul.  That this parable would not be about information, but transformation.

 

Pastor Shawn, Seymour UMC

Author of Incomplete

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