Tag Archives: Apostle Paul

People Who Live By Hope

20 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by in Justice, Peace with justice, Sermon portions

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Today’s scripture reading from Romans 8:12-25 reminds us that while what we see all around us every day – human tragedy, strife, conflict, illness, and death – are signs of this life in the flesh, as children of God we are heirs to a future we do not yet fully see. The apostle Paul never claims that the lives of Christ’s followers will be trouble-free. In fact, he acknowledges the very real suffering at the heart of the life of faith. Yet these are not worth comparing with the glory that is yet to be revealed (vs. 18). Paul is convinced that nothing in all creation is able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (see verses 31-39), a powerful reminder for us to always remember who we are.

Bishop Minerva Carcaño and other interfaith leaders have called us to pray and act on behalf of unaccompanied migrant children. There is a humanitarian crisis at our borders and many of the thousands of children making the arduous journey north are refugees fleeing the violence of gangs, drug cartels, and severe economic conditions in Central America.

In many instances, the lives of these children have become so unbearable that they have little hope but to flee. Bishop Carcaño has reminded us that how we receive these unaccompanied children will determine whether our witness bears the heart of Jesus who said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14b).

We are a people who live by hope! We hope for what we do not yet see – creation set free from the bondage of decay, the redemption of our whole selves, and the inheritance of the children of God. We hope for a world where vulnerable children do not have to flee their homes in order to merely survive.

Hope always moves us forward into God’s future! Hope helps us endure the suffering of the present age knowing that God even now is at work to redeem all of creation. Hope gives us a restless heart, because it is a yearning for a more peaceable and just world than currently exists. We can’t create this new world ourselves, but we can join God in the places God’s kingdom is coming and God’s will is being done on earth as it is in heaven.

The American prophet William Sloane Coffin once observed: “God is as much ahead of us as within and above us. When asked, ‘Where do you stand?’ Jews and Christians should probably reply, ‘We don’t; we move!’ Both should regard themselves, if not as permanent revolutionaries, at least as pilgrim people, people who have decided never to arrive, people who live by hope, energized not by what they possess but by what is promised: ‘Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth’ (Isa. 65:17)” (“People Who Live by Hope,” The Living Pulpit, July-September 2006, pp. 23-24).

As people of hope, we lean forward into what God is bringing to pass, even though we do not yet fully see it. We have been adopted into God’s purposes and become heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. We see the suffering of the world, and we don’t just take a stand; we move out into the world with the grace of the One who loves us with an everlasting love. We hope, because God has not abandoned us, and God has not abandoned the children who want nothing more than to live beyond childhood.

We also groan inwardly, along with all creation, while we wait for God’s redeeming purposes to come to fuller fruition. Hope saves us from a sense of futility or desperation. Hope saves us from throwing in the towel. Hope saves us from our own worst instincts of protecting life only for ourselves and those we love.

Hope calls us toward greater faithfulness, deeper compassion, and a more just and humane world where all of God’s children are given the possibility of life in its fullness. Hope calls us toward beloved community where we live in relationship with God in ways that give us freedom, joy, and life abundant enough to be shared.

Let us be a people who live by hope!

Words (c) 2014 Mark Lloyd Richardson

What Grows in God’s Garden?

21 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by in Sermon portions

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I don’t usually post entire sermons, but on Sunday, June 15, I preached my final sermon among the wonderful congregation at the First United Methodist Church of Santa Maria, California, and am being appointed now to the First United Methodist Church of Santa Barbara, California, as of July 1st. So here I am including my final sermon called “What Grows in God’s Garden?” based on 1 Corinthians 3:1-9.

As I look over the vastness represented in Scripture – the many voices, times, cultural and historical contexts, the personalities, and the ways of expressing faith – a consistent theme is faithfulness. It is a theme that encompasses the relationship between God and creation, and between God and humankind.

Scripture portrays God as always faithful to the people God has called for particular purposes – first Abraham and his descendents, the Israelites, and then the early communities who gathered around the story of Jesus and moved out under the Spirit’s power to change the world.

Those who seek to live according the commandments of God in the Hebrew scripture are themselves called the faithful. Those who seek to live according to the way of Jesus and the greatest commandment in the New Covenant are also called the faithful.

In other words, faithfulness is somehow sown into the very fabric of this divine-human encounter toward which each of us is drawn.

The Psalms lift up this theme of faithfulness repeatedly. In Psalm 145:10 we hear:

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your faithful shall bless you.

Then just a few verses later, after extolling the glorious splendor of God’s everlasting kingdom, the psalmist adds (vs. 13b):

The Lord is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.

As we theologize on Scripture and consider how God is revealed in this world, in the church, and in our lives, and as we pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are aware of only glimpses of the kingdom here and now. Yet we still believe God’s kingdom will come in the fullness of glory someday! We believe that God is always faithful and that as we contribute our own faithful witness and actions, the kingdom is revealed a little more and a little more.

We celebrated 140 years of Christian ministry in this valley last year – 140 years of people doing their utmost to be faithful to the call of God so that this congregation could be part of what God is doing in the world.

Imagine the settlers of this town and others who followed them putting their sweat and their tears and the joy they had in Christ and their Wesleyan spirit of grace all out on the line so that a Church could be planted here and so that all who would listen would hear of God’s faithful love.

Think of how many Sunday School classes have been taught and how many children have been touched by the story of Jesus in those years!

Think of the worship that has been conducted in several different locations, and now in this place, and of all the worshippers who have felt the strange warming of their hearts in the presence of Christ expressed through word and sacrament!

Think of the caring fellowship that has been expressed among the faithful in this church over the years, moving beyond the superficial to love one another as Christ commands us!

Think of the mission trips, service projects, outreach efforts, and ministries that have been undertaken by this community of faith … and more importantly, think of the lives that have been changed, the addictions that have been overcome, the meals that have been served to the poor, the lonely who have been visited, the lost who have been redirected, the grieving who have been comforted, the showers that have given a new sense of self-worth to so many, and the homes that have been rebuilt or repaired!

These are all validation of God’s faithfulness to us and our faithfulness to God. These are a confirmation of the fruit of the Spirit in our life together. These are an authentication of the presence of Christ in this community.

I commend you for carrying on the vision of this faith community after 140 years – building beloved community and helping people commit their lives to Christ and grow in grace.

All of the beautiful ways that this church has witnessed to the faithful love of God over many years continue to this day. We can look upon all of it and see what God has done in our midst, and be grateful.

As I came here four years ago, I told you that I was pleased and proud to be appointed to this church. As I leave here I want to express the same sentiment – I am pleased and proud that I was given the opportunity to be your pastor and to provide spiritual and temporal leadership for a time.

You will continue to be a witness to the love of Christ through your ministry presence in this community. You will continue to give spiritual nurture to children and people of all ages.

You will continue to serve others with tangible signs of God’s gracious kingdom, by visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, encouraging the stranger, praying for those in need, and serving the poor.

I have no doubt of any of this because I believe God is faithful, and I believe you are faithful, and that is enough.

The apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthian church, says that he is one of the “servants through whom (they) came to believe” (1 Cor. 3:5). But he acknowledges he isn’t the only one. Paul says to them, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (3:6-7).

In the United Methodist Church, appointments are made and ministers are moved, and congregations must rely upon the growth that God gives. None of us is indispensable, but each of us is necessary. Our gifts are necessary. Our hearts are necessary. Our love is necessary.

Like Apollos, I have carried the water pail for awhile, and have tried to give the right amount of attention to the needs of the church, and now another one of God’s servants is coming to be in ministry with you, to help you grow in faith and trust, to listen with you for the promptings of the Spirit, and to walk with you in discipleship and mission. You are called to live out your baptisms and be the people God created you to be – generous, giving, hopeful, loving, gracious, Christ-like.

Paul uses a metaphor for God’s people not used anywhere else in scripture. In the midst of his observation of how God desires growth in the spiritual life, Paul says to the people of God, “you are God’s field” (vs. 9). This is an intriguing way to think of ourselves, as a field in which things grow, things of beauty and things of usefulness. God’s field – a place of growth and emerging life. As I look over the past four years and consider the growth that God has caused in our lives together, I am glad that I could be a part of your journey for this brief time.

A father and daughter prepared to part at the airport one day. After a hug the father said, “I love you. I wish you enough.” His daughter boarded the plane, and a few moments later, a woman who overheard their conversation asked the father what it meant to wish someone “enough.” He said that wishing someone “enough” was a tradition in their family. There was even a short poem attached to it.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
I wish you enough ‘hellos’ to get you through the final ‘goodbye’.
(Mennonite pastor and author Ralph Milton in an e-zine titled Rumors)

The life of faith provides us with the opportunities to be generous and supportive of one another. As Paul says, “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share it abundantly in every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8). That’s a pretty healthy way to think about our discipleship – seeing our lives as full of enough of God’s goodness and grace, and choosing to help other people see their lives as full of enough too.

I close with a Franciscan Blessing that makes me want to be a Franciscan:

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers,
half-truths and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice,
oppression and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those
who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them
and turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

God is faithful.
You are faithful.
That is enough.

Words & photo (c) 2014 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Generosity and Grace

25 Saturday Aug 2012

Posted by in Reflections, Sermon portions

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A monk was out walking one day and saw something shiny on the ground. He bent down to pick it up and found that it was a very valuable, precious gem. So he cleaned it off, put it into his bag, and continued on his way.

A little further along, he met up with a man who asked him if he could spare something to eat. The monk said “Sure” and he opened his bag to get something out. When he did, the man looked inside and saw the gem. He asked the monk, “Could I have that?” and the monk said “Certainly.” The man took the gem and went on his way.

Later the man came back to the monk and returned the gem to him. The monk was very puzzled and asked him why he was giving it back. And here’s what the man said to him: “What I want is whatever it is that allowed you to so easily part with such a valuable gem, because that is what is most precious.”

The Christian life begins in grace and grows in grace and reaches its final rest in grace. This life, when we have eyes to see and ears to hear, is pure grace. It is God’s gift to each of us, and we do not know how long it will be.

The apostle Paul speaks of grace as God’s generosity to us and our generosity with one another. The basis for all of this is our relationship with Christ. Paul states it beautifully when he writes, “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).

This is a powerful Christian affirmation. As we hear the words of Paul we become aware again of what has drawn us to this Christian journey – that Christ has done something for us, indeed he’s done something in us, and we can’t see the world the same anymore.

We can’t turn a blind eye to the suffering in other parts of the world. We can’t pretend that people near to us are without need. We can’t live only for ourselves, because that would deny who we are becoming through Christ.

You and I are called to live generous, grace-filled lives. A generous life is a life that recognizes the poverty in riches, and the riches to be discovered in giving ourselves away. God’s grace, when we truly receive it, inspires us to be gracious to others.

How can there be a limit to our lives when we have been given everything? How can we fail to see the amazing grace that is poured into our lives, bringing us forgiveness, purpose, and peace? How can we not respond with an eagerness to reflect the presence of Christ here and now? “For if the eagerness is there,” Paul writes, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has — not according to what one does not have” (2 Cor. 8:12).

That is all God asks of you and me – not to give until it hurts, but to give until we find our joy overflowing, to give until we experience what grace is all about, to give by sharing Christ’s abundance in a world that tends to see only what is lacking.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson

Made Perfect in Weakness

14 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in Reflections, Sermon portions

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Photo by Jeremy Keith, Flickr Creative Commons, Feb. 20, 2006

On a mission trip to Mexico, a coworker named Louise was so impressed with my skills on the compound miter saw that she began to tell everyone she thought I was “perfect.” According to her, I made no mistakes. If that were true, I’m not sure why some of the pieces were returned to me to have small portions shaved off … but let’s not go there! In any event, it was a joke among some of the adults on the crew, with Louise commenting on my perfection, me giving mild protest, and then finally asking her if she would please put it in writing. I thought it might come in handy someday.

We, the people called Methodists, embrace the theology of John Wesley, which speaks of the Christian life as a movement of growth in holiness. Wesley said that from the moment of baptism, the Spirit of God works in a person’s life so that they are able to go on to perfection – that is, they are able, by God’s grace, to grow in love and faith all their days.

Perfection is not a destination likely to be reached in this lifetime, but rather a goal toward which to aim in one’s faith. It is the process of sanctification that Wesley believed occurs within all followers of Christ when they practice the means of grace.

In Second Corinthians 12:2-10, the apostle Paul speaks with a touch of irony about weakness, and specifically of an affliction with which he lived, “a thorn in the flesh.” But our weaknesses are not the end of the story. Our vulnerabilities, our suffering, our pain – God can use and transform even these. Indeed, Paul’s thorn in the flesh helped him rely all the more on God’s grace.

Internationally known astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been confined to a wheelchair for years due to Lou Gehrig’s disease. He once said that before he became ill life seemed “a pointless existence.” He claims to have been happier after he was afflicted than before. “When one’s expectations are reduced to zero,” he said, “one really appreciates everything that one does have.”

There are few certainties in life. We make plans, and inevitably they change. We expect to remain healthy, only to have our bodies betray us. We hope to have good relationships, and then something happens to create separation or alienation.

All we know for sure, as people of faith, is that God’s strength helps us in our weakness. The God whom we know in Jesus Christ is a suffering God, a vulnerable God, a crucified God, and we can be thankful, ultimately a triumphant God.

Not once, but three times, Paul says he appealed to God to remove the “thorn in his flesh,” and it wasn’t removed. Paul, like us, wants more control over his own wellbeing. Paul, like us, wants some sign that God answers prayers. Paul, like us, doesn’t particularly like feeling vulnerable or weak.

During the Civil War, a hastily written prayer was found in the pocket of a fatally wounded soldier. “I received nothing that I asked for,” it read, “but all I had hoped. My prayers were answered.”

Our prayers are answered in God’s own way. The answer Paul received from God is found in these words of assurance: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

It reminds me of something Alice Abrams said: “In life as in dance: Grace glides on blistered feet.”

So you and I needn’t worry about our imperfections. God specializes in making strong the weak. God specializes in making healthy the sick. God specializes in making rich the poor. Not in the ways we might expect, but true all the same.

We worship a God who in Christ embraces the world and becomes vulnerable to suffering and death … a God who invites us to open ourselves to both pain and wonder.

For it is in our vulnerability that we share in the glory of God whose power is made perfect in weakness.

Words (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson