Remaining a Place of Joy - Colossians 1:1-14

Yesterday, I ran over to a sandwich shop for our takeout lunch.  As soon as I got into the door, a boy named Tyson yelled out…”I loved Vacation Bible School.” 

And in case any of the lunch customers did not hear he yelled it out again.  He was so excited.  It was fun hearing and feeling his joy.  And after we talked a bit I needed to order our lunch so I left the family.  It was a joy for me to be associated with Tyson’s joy.  He wanted me to eat lunch at the same table with his family but I told him that I was headed for home.  I slipped out behind him.  As I left I heard him say to his family, ”This has been a very good day!”  Just remembering VBS made it, for him, a fun day.  For Tyson, church is a place to have great fun and learn some great things. 

I am always saddened when I realize that many people do not agree with Tyson.   I am saddened when I think of how many churches have so little joy.   And, churches have every reason to be joyful.  Many in our land see church as a boring place where devout believers and their church leaders are uptight and grumpy.  They are seen as people who are judgmental and joyless.  And as I talk to people this is ecumenical and even interfaith.   This is a big problem.

I am convinced that at the center of our faith is an awareness of God’s grace that leads to joy.  God is not primarily a joyless judge.  God made us with an enormous capacity for joy.  Not to enjoy that in church is a sin.

One of the characteristics of CAUMC I have never mentioned in a sermon, but I want to do so is our joy as a church.  You can, in almost every church meeting, count on great joy and a lot of laughter and some good-natured teasing.

This past week, Penny and I began our vacation with two joy-filled days helping with our new grandson, Toland.   Hopefully, our care for him meant his parents, Josh and Leena, got some needed rest and time to do a few other things.  Our arrival coincided with Toland’s first full smiles.  And, of course, we took full credit for that.  Just kidding.  But what a joy!  And with our phones we took lots of photos and videos of him making noises and smiling. 

My fondest memories growing up include late nights my parents spent with visiting with friends and family…the many hours they laughed and laughed until late at night into the morning hours.  I knew that the following morning they would be tired but much more full of joy.  And I am so grateful that the church programming in our home church provided enjoyment and joy.  I cherish also the times when our son was small…the joys of laughing together.  I cannot wait to hear my grandson’s laughter. 

HEAVEN

Churches have every reason to be joyful.  One of the most joyful parts of faith is our realization that heaven is for us.  Thinking of heaven and our privilege of our being there someday is a joyful thing.  I expect that seeing God will be the greatest joy of all.  For the Christian joy is happiness in God, in this life and the next.  And joy is not a fleeting feeling that comes and goes; it is part of our connection with God which gives us identity, stability, and hope.   Joy in God is one of the ways we are helped through the hard times. 

JOYS TOGETHER

And who could not enjoy the dance today?  Thank you Kate and Audrey for initiating this for us and for the youth and their willingness to learn and be a part of the joy this morning.

REMEMBERING THE PAST

In addition to our friend Tyson remembering his joy at Vacation Bible School, we have lots of great memories that bring us joy at CAUMC.  I remember the first day, someone came up the ramp when we put improved entrance on the narthex.  I will feel the same kind of joy the day when an elevator will provide an easier way to get up and down in this building.

THE WORLD HAS BEEN FULL OF DIFFICULT EVENTS

The last month has brought to us all a deep sadness: 19 firefighters who lost there lives in AZ, the plane crash in SF, the train accident in Canada where 50 died.  And I have been praying daily for the people of Egypt that they will be guided to a stable government. 

I remember conversations with those who have been on mission trips.  There is a startling realization that occurs at some point in the experience.   Those we go to serve those who have little, yet often they have so much joy.  Here we are Americans blessed more than we know with available food, amazing wealth, clean water, medical achievements, and technology beyond belief.  Even with all of these opportunities, we sometimes have less joy than those who do not have these things.  Paul, if he were here today, would want us to know that technology may multiply the opportunities for happiness, but technology does not necessarily generate joy.  Joy comes from God…a different source.  When my mother calls me after receiving another photo of Toland, I give thanks for the technology…but I give thanks more for the love and joy.  Joy is happiness in God.

I mention these because the world is in need of communities of mutual support which intentionally invite God to work among them.  For each of us has been through hard times and needed the support of a group.  Someone we needed and loved passed away or left.  Or perhaps we had an illness or treatments that were difficult to endure.  Our Christian faith declares that when somewhere, somehow, someone came to fill our emptiness.  I do not believe that comfort just comes only through determination, or busyness, or time expired.  These help, but what heals the human heart and soul is the Holy Spirit, a gift from God.  God grants us relief and the strength to go on.  And then, thank God, moments of genuine joy return.

PROCESS

This gift of grace comes from unexpected places.  One pastor was telling the story of how he was with a family through a difficult funeral and at the family’s request accompanied them back to their home where the church had delivered sandwiches and salads.  When they got to the house they were alarmed to see a plumber’s truck outside.  The people watching the house and preparing the food had called the plumber to deal with a problem.  What was unexpected is that the plumber turned out to be a former student of the one who died.  He expressed his gratitude for this wonderful teacher and his interaction with the grieving family turned out to be a great healing influence for everyone present.  When the world’s problems weigh heavy, there is a Holy Spirit that is stronger than the hurt of the world and greater than our weakness in dealing with that. 

In a world where violence and greed are so rampant, churches need to remember that prayer is a great resource.  Too much of the time, we tend to see prayer as our last resort.  After we have tried everything else, we try prayer.  Actually, Paul says prayer should be first.  God put into us the capacity for prayer and an urge that turns us toward our Creator in the ways of thankfulness and joy.   This week I read about some Tibetian monks who collect water bottles and turn them into prayer wheels.  It is a symbol of how our inclination toward God survives even in the mess we are making of creation. 

I invite you to communion.  It is gift to increase our understanding of the will of God.  Some of you might receive ideas for living life more faithfully.  For some of you it might be a joyful acceptance of the person God made you to be.  For someone else, it is acceptance of something he cannot change.  And I am hoping God will continue the way this church laughs and has great hope for the future.

One of our Sunday School classes is studying the Psalms.  Over and over people are expressing their joy that God saved them from slavery.  In the gospels, Jesus actually uses joy to describe one of the goals of discipleship.  Jesus enjoyed wedding parties, great conversations around the table, visiting new towns, spending time with children, explaining the joys of the kingdom, and healing.   These were all occasions for joy.  Paul urges us in another place to “rejoice always” and he tells us that joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit. 

Paul spent so much of his energy telling people how much God loved them.  He spent a lot of time being jailed, being roughed up, running from mobs, defending himself before those in the early church who could not give up the law.  The Christians at Colossae supported him, loved him, cared about him, helped him, and followed him.

We want to do church faithfully.  We recommit today to hospitality and fruitfulness.  We want to encourage people and help them find greater faith.  And we want to people to leave our church programs enlivened in what they do. 

Would someone write to us saying they experience new life and encouragement because of College Avenue UMC?  Would someone write to us saying they have heard of our faith?  The answer is yes.   And one of the reasons is our joy. 

We Get to Carry One Another - Galatians 5:1, 13-26

It is Stampede time and country music lovers are in town for a good time.   I was really worried about them during the storm that came through.  We were in the middle of our closing party enjoying ice cream and popcorn.  And people come up to me and show me on their phones and then I got a call of warning.  So I told people about the storm and they disappeared.  Several people told me:  “Boy, you know how to clear a room!”

 I did not have the opportunity to learn to like country music.  But I know important music is for them and for all people everywhere.   I see in the Stampede so many longings for music, meaning, community, and hope for this world.   Part of it is a search for those things.   I know that it is a temptation of the church to sit in judgment on the Stampede.  And yes, some do get carried away doing very dangerous things.  But the other side is important to look at too. 

People are seeking truth and meaning.  I also do not care for a lot of contemporary Christian music because it seems to push a message rather than following truth wherever it leads. 

This week I read a book about U2 by Gregg Garrett.  While not Country music, U2  shows the power of music.  All of us have heard a song that moved us deeply.  Millions of people have been moved by their music.  The band was very involved in a church-related group in Dublin called Shalom, and how they left because of all the unreasonable rules.   It was a classic struggle between law and freedom.   The band has given millions to help others.  The concerts have a quality of people being gathered up in a purpose to connect each person to the rest of the world.  Their songs are about people on a journey, learning how to find meaning together.  Their themes are very much like the themes for VBS this week…being neighbors, good neighbors, giving neighbors, bold neighbors, and forgiving neighbors.   U2 music might not always sound Christian, but what could be more Christ-like than what they do for the poor.   Their songs encourage people to put their faith into action for the sake of the poor.

The young people at the lake, like all of us are asking questions:

            What can we know about God?

            With whom can we share our spiritual journey?

            What will make me a better person?

            How can I help make the world a better place?

When the songs of this band talk about the journey, I am certainly with them. 

            I believe when the kingdom comes

            Then all the colors will bleed into one

            Bleed into one

            But yes I’m still running.

            You broke the bonds.

            You loosened the chains.

            You carried the cross of my shame.

            You know I believed it

            But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.

Those are the same as my questions.  From the beginning of the Bible to the end, those are the questions we are to live.  Young people are saying: don’t claim to have all of my answers, before you know me.  Let’s learn together what God is saying in our day.  Almost every day I thank God that we have here in the church younger and older together.  It is happening in churches less and less.  And I am certain it is God at work here and I am so grateful.

I am also sad that many of those persons at the lake do not believe that the very things they are seeking can be found in a church.  They are certain that the church has nothing to offer them in their search.  I am also equally sad that one response the church makes is that we do not want them.  I hear in U2 music a teaching of a message that will make the world a better place. 

When Penny and I were in Ireland, the tour bus drove us by Bono’s house.   Bono is a celebrity redefining what a rock star can be.  He is not known for his trashing of hotel rooms or creating scandals.  His work is more toward motivating us to do something about world hunger or fighting malaria. 

One biblical theme of U2 is that if want to find God, one place to look is the needs of your neighbors.  The love of God for us, our love for God, and love for neighbor connected in a close bond.   Yes, we learn a great deal about God in Bible Study, Sunday School, hymns…but can serious talk about God’s values come from a rock star?  I would say, “Yes!”

One story of VBS was the Good Samaritan.  Jesus told the story to someone on a journey, seeking truth and hoping to score points.  “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  Jesus asked him “What is written in the law?” That story is like the joke in which the Gentile complains: “The trouble with you Jews is that you answer my questions with other questions?  Says the Jew: “Why not?”  He answers that the purpose of life is to love God and neighbor as your self….great answer!   And Jesus answers back: “Do that and you will live.”

William Sloane Coffin, Jr. once said that the Priest and the Levite did not stop and help the man injured and robbed because they were in a hurry to attend a meeting on how to increase the safety of travelers on the road.  Love alone is the expression of being free and alive. 

This week the Bible stories taught us showed to define neighbor the way Jesus did.

The person to whom Jesus told the Good Samaritan story was certain that the idea was to love other Jews, not Samaritan.  Jesus made the despised Samaritan the hero.  I feel sorrow every day when racism declares something at the expense of someone else.  Jews and Palestinians are our neighbors.    It is a fact that no one’s heart is as wide as God’s love.

Chad Bunger of our church is alive because of Good Samaritan in the form of fellow runners.  Chad was out running with a group of runners a week ago yesterday.  He was running and all of sudden his heart stopped.  With the help of those who stayed with him and gave him CPR, he is alive.   One of the amazing ironies of his amazing journey is that for 10 years he taught CPR and taught others how to teach CPR.  It is quite possible that someone he directly or indirectly taught saved his life.

The early church had Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.  The Jewish Christians were tempted to return to all of the rules of the law.  Paul reminds them that the law was the tutor or teacher…until the power of goodness of Jesus Christ brought freedom. 

Another image of what Jesus has done for us is one taken from the Peanuts cartoons.  Charlie Brown is all disturbed.  He is grumping…”I can’t do it.  I can’t do it.”  Lucy comes and offers advice.  “What is wrong?”  “What can’t you do?”  CB says, “I want to build things and I need a workbench.  But I cannot build a workbench because I don’t have a workbench to build it on.”  Jesus is that starting point upon which we can rebuild ourselves first and then the world.  Jesus is the liberator that gets us unstuck and keeps us free and responsible. 

I close with an event that happened this week with Christopher Shanklin.  During the children’s moments last week, Brady was whispering to me that his brother was going to the Kansas City Royals game.  And then I got to hear the story of how Christopher got, not one, but two foul balls.  Some people go for years and do not get one.  And what did he do?  He shared it with another kid who did not get one.

There is a U2 Song, One: We’re one but not the same/We get to carry each other.  One life/with each other/Sisters/Brothers/one life/But we’re not the same/we get to carry one another.

I close with the Message by Eugene Peterson.  It is the same text but beautifully written: 

“Christ has set us free to live a free life.  So take you stand!  Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you. 

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.  Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom.  Rather use your freedom to serve one another in love; that’s how freedom grows.  For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself.  That’s an act of true freedom.”