Things to Do and Places to Go

Things to Do and Places to Go

Text:  John 3:1-17; Romans 8:5-14    (Reading from Eugene Peterson’s translation, The Message)

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored. 

 9-11But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's! 

 12-14So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! 

Let me highlight the heart of what I have just read.  Listen again:

Obsession with self is a dead end.  Attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.  Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God... When God lives and breathes in you, you are delivered from that dead life. With Christ's spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's. ..the best thing for you to do is give your old self-centered, do-it-yourself life a decent burial, and get on with your new life.  God's spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go.  

Well that pretty much sums up the basic meaning of the gospel. 

Unless we can get our ego out of the way, we will continue to live in a dead end life. 

Unless we die to self, we will not rise to new life.  We will live in a dead end. 

If you want to follow Jesus, you have to get ego out of the way so the Spirit can come in and take over.  God is in charge, not your ego.

If there is no death of ego, there is  no Spirit filled life. So, let go, and let God. 

I wonder what it is like for each of you.   I know what it is like for me.  

It is damn hard to get ego out of the way. I struggle with it every day. How is it with you?

Jesus said the only way is that we must undergo a “death”.  That is why he said we have to daily take up our cross to follow him.  Unless the self dies, we will seldom live in the here and now.  We will seldom live in the present where God is.  That part of our self we call the “ego” always takes us to some other place, to some other time. In fact many of you sitting here now are not present—you have been lost in the past, or running off to the future after church is out, or you have been off somewhere doing something else.  Your ego has split you into a divided person, and you are seldom all present. Your heart is divided, you mind is filled with many things.  And part of you says you want to know God better, to have God touch your life. You want to walk with Christ.

But,  our  thinking, planning, self-serving ego is in charge and it is busy controlling our life. As long as this is true, we will miss seeing the Christ in our presence, we will miss the movement of the Holy Spirit blowing around us, we will miss the touch of God.  The abundant life promised by Jesus will elude us. 

Don't take me for a fool when I say this. But the reality is that your “head” may lead you into the greatest success story of your family, or of your school classmates, or of your fondest dreams.  Strong egos are good achievers.  But you will be living a dead end life, and miss the adventure of life with God. There are places to go and things to do that you can not even imagine as long as our ego is in charge.

Have you found that being religious isn’t really much of a help?  You go to church, you give you money, put in some time, maybe sing in the choir, say a prayer now and then.  But all the words, all the ritual, doing all the right things–and you still wonder if God even notices.  Is God even around?  The more religious we are, don’t we expect God to hang around more often?  I mean, why not?  If some people talk to God every day, and some people talk to God only once a month–where do you think God is going to hang around?  

But I have found it doesn’t work out that way.  Being religious doesn’t guarantee a difference.

That’s what Nicodemus found out.  John’s gospel says that Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of the leaders.  He knew the Law, and he lived with a religious discipline.  People followed him.   But something was wrong.  Being religious left him wondering what he had to do to be close to God.  He was religious, but he did not have the Spirit.  Jesus figured him out right away.  Here is a man who is living a religious life and yet is missing out on the whole thing.  Even with all his religion He has missed the kingdom of God.  He has not breathed the Spirit.  He has not been filled with the Spirit.  

Jesus said, “Nicodemus, you must be born from above. From the Spirit.”

This was not a good week for Nicodemus.  He came to see Jesus, and was looking for a way to be close to God, and Jesus talks to him about being filled with the Spirit to be born from above.  

And so Nicodemus missed it–religious man that he was— he missed it all. 

“What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?"  He asks Jesus.

Isn’t that our question too?  Isn’t that what we ask on most days.  

Here I am Lord!, Where are you?

Are you walking with me?  Are you working with me?

Are you running beside me?   Here I am, Lord.  

What do I have to do to know you are with me, here?

Oh yes, we are a lot like Nicodemus–we carry our religion around with us from day to day–say our prayers from time to time; worship on some Sundays and count it worthwhile. We want to think our baptism was enough–after all, we had the water on our heads, the preacher said the right words.   

 David Adam says in our REFLECTION FOR WORSHIP, “We have a little bit of faith, a few beliefs, some grasp the story of Jesus, some even know a few parables.  But it can hardly be called an immersion.  We dip in now and again when we feel like it.  It’s a strange relationship with our God.  It could hardly be called a “love affair.”

A love affair!  Isn't that what you want? Instead of  being a dipper, to be a lover!

What is Madison Square like, after all?  Are we dippers or lovers?  

Brother Lawrence was a 17^th century monk who mostly worked in the monastery kitchen. But he became famous for the letters he wrote to people inquiring about matters of  faith.  Those letters are collected into a little book title, Practice of the Presence of  God. In it he writes about the immersion into faith, the love affair with God.  Listen to his words:

It is not necessary to always be in church to be with God, we can make a private chapel of our heart where we can retire from time to time to commune with him, peacefully, humbly, lovingly; everyone is capable of these intimate conversations with God, some more some less.  God knows what we can do…Become accustomed then, little by little to adore God in this way: demand of God his grac; offer him your heart from time to time during the day in the midst of your work, at every moment you can…

How do we immerse ourselves?  How do we learn the practices of faith to be present with God?

• When you come to church, is this the place where you learn how to get your “ego self” out of the way so you can be present with God?   
• Is this the place where you learn the disciplines of meditation to silence the mind so you can hear the Spirit whisper?
• Is this  the place where prayer comes alive and you not only speak to God, but become practiced in listening to God as well.
• Is this the place where you learn to love and not fake it?   
• Is this the place where you learn the meaning of serving others instead of serving self?  Where self-centeredness is left outside the door?
• Is this the place where you learn how to bring justice into all relationships, both private and public?
• Is this the place where you discover what it means to be born from above to be led by the holy spirit?
• Is this the place where you learn the practice of holy reading, lectio divina, so God can speak to you in the reading of scripture or other texts?

Learning these practices is what the church community is for. Are we there yet?

Is it happening here?  It can.   

What kind of church might we become if we were to be filled with the Spirit? There is a book titled Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. The fruitful congregation practices “radical hospitality,” it has “passionate worship,” it does “intentional faith development,” it is involved in “risk-taking mission and service,” and it practices “extravagant generosity”.  

The disciple came to the Master and said, “Will these disciplines you are teaching me lead to enlightenment?”

“No more than they will cause the sun to rise,” the Master said.

“Then why are you teaching them to me?”

“So that you will be awake when the sun rises.”

There is nothing holding you back from becoming any kind of church community you want to be.  There is nothing holding you back from reaching out and embracing each other and creating a strong community of faith. The lid is off of Madison Square Church.

You know this song, so join in singing with me, “Day by Day” . (Day by day, dear Lord, three things I pray, to see thee more clearly, to love thee more dearly, to follow thee more nearly, day by day). 

Jesus speaks to us, even as he answered Nicodemus:

Oh, Nicodemus, you are not hearing me.  You are a respected religious leader, but you only listen with your ears.  You are not listening with your heart–so you have not understood the ways of God.  Your ego hears the ways of the world.  But your heart hears the ways of the Spirit.  It is the Spirit that you seek.  It is the Spirit that brings life.  It is the Spirit that gives you new birth.  It is the Spirit that comes like the wind blowing free and unannounced, and uncontrolled.  Like the wind, you breathe it in and let it fill you and transform you.  Like the wind, you do not see the Spirit, but you feel it. Open your heart, Nicodemus. Let the Spirit fill you with trust:

  Trust me.  Trust my life, trust my death, trust my resurrection, 

trust my Father in Heaven who loves you.

 Let the Spirit fill you and lead you into a new life of adventure. 

God has things for you to do, and places for you to go.

Tell God you are ready, Nicodemus. Say to God, 

“Here I am. God.  Take me. Take my Day.  Take my life. ”

Take me in, send me out.  

Trust God, Nicodemus. Listen with your heart for the Spirit.

Pentecost: Come to the Party

Texts: Acts 2:1-21; Romans 8:12-17

God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! 

 15-17This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. 

What kind of church do belong to? I mean, what describes our church? 

This morning I want to talk to about belonging to a church that is adventurously expectant, that is exciting, that is festive, that celebrates. I want to talk to you about belonging to a church where all kinds of people are welcome; not just your kind of people, or my kind, but where all kinds of people are welcome. 

I want us to think about belonging to a church that is more like a party than a meeting. When you think about church, I want you to think about inviting all kinds of people to a wonderful party. Where people say, “what's next, Papa?”

Let me share a story about that kind of church.

Tony Campolo is a sociologist at Eastern College in Pennsylvania. I want to share a Tony Campolo story. Once he was invited to speak at a conference in Honolulu. He flew from the East Coast to Honolulu and found himself wide awake at 3:00 am. So, he went out for something to eat. He found a little greasy spoon restaurant open and went in and sat down on one of the stools at the counter. 

The fat guy behind the counter came over and asked, "What d'ya want?" 

"A cup of coffee and a doughnut."

He poured the coffee, and put a doughnut on the counter. Then, the door of the diner flew open and in marched eight or nine provocative and boisterous prostitutes. It was a small place, and so they filled the counter stools all around him and started talking.

Just about the time Tony got up to leave, the woman sitting next to him said, "Tomorrow's my birthday. I'm going to be thirty-nine."

Her friend responded in a nasty tone, "So what do you want from me? A birthday party? What do you want? Ya want me to get you a cake and sing 'Happy Birthday?"

"Come on!", the first woman said, "Do you have to be so mean?" I was just telling you, that's all. You don't have to put me down. I don't want anything from you. Why should you give me a birthday party? I've never had a birthday party in my whole life. Why should I have one now?" 

When Tony heard that, he made a decision. He sat there until the woman left, then called over to the fat guy behind the counter and asked him, "Do they come in here every night?

"Yeah," he answered.

"The one right next to me, does she come in here every night?"

"Yeah! That's Agnes, yeah, she comes in every night. Why d'ya want to know?"

"Because I heard her say that tomorrow is her birthday. What do you say you and I throw a birthday party for her-right here-tomorrow night."

A smile came across his face and he said, "That’s a great idea. Lets do it."

So Tony agreed to get decorations, and Harry, the guy behind the counter, agreed to make a cake. At 2;30 the next morning Tony was back in the restaurant with crepe paper decorations and big cardboard letters that said "Happy Birthday, Agnes." The whole dinner was decorated from one end to the other.

They must have put the word out on the street, because by 3:15 it seemed like every prostitute in Honolulu was there. Wall to wall prostitutes, and Tony.

At 3:30 the door opened in in came Agnes with a girl friend. Tony gave the signal and everybody screamed, "Happy Birthday."

Agnes was flabbergasted...stunned....shaken. Her mouth fell open. She sat down on one of the stools, and everybody sang "Happy Birthday." Her eyes got all misty and moist. Then they carried out the cake with all the candles aflame, and Agnes lost it and just cried.

Finally Harry said, "Blow out the candles Agnes. Come on. If you don't I will." She sat and looked at them, finally she did. Then Harry handed her a knife and said, 

"Yo, Agnes, cut the cake. We all want some cake."

Agnes looked at the cake. Then slowly said, "Look Harry, is it all right with you if I...I mean is it okay  if I kind of...well, is it okay if I keep the cake a little, I mean, if we don't eat it right away?"

Harry, shrugged and said, "Sure! If you want to keep the cake, keep the cake. Take it home if you want to."

Agnes looked around and said, "I just live down the street. I want to take the cake home. okay? I'll be right back. Honest!"

She picked up the cake, and carrying it like it was the Holy Grail, walked slowly toward the door. Everyone just stood there motionless. She left.

When the door closed there was a stunned silence. Not knowing what else to do, Tony broke the silence and said, "What do you say we pray?"

Well, Tony admits it was kind of a dumb thing to do. But he prayed for Agnes, for God to be good to her, for her life to be changed.

When he finished, Harry leaned over the counter and said with some hostility in his voice, ""Hey, you never told me you were a preacher. What kind of church do you belong to?"

Tony said, "I belong to a church that throws birthday parties for prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning."

Harry waited a moment, then almost sneered as he said, "No you don't. There's no church like that. If there was, I'd join it. I'd join a church like that!"

Wouldn't we all?

Wouldn't we all love to join a church that throws birthday parties at 3:30 in the morning  for the outcasts and the left out ones, and those who have never had a party?"

Wouldn't we all love to be a part of a church where grace reaches across barriers and divisions and touches the lives of all kinds of people to give them joy and worth and dignity? 

Did you notice in Luke's story in the reading from Acts who was in Jerusalem that day? Did you notice who came to the party ? 

Luke says it was everybody. People from all nations gathered at Pentecost, the celebration of the Feast of Weeks. This was a harvest festival bringing the first fruits of harvest to offer to God. Jewish males gathered from all over the world to bring their offering to the Temple. It was a holy day. 

Luke gives us a role call of the nations. Strange nations with funny sounding names; 

Persians, Parthians, Cappadocians, Phrygians,  

Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians. Cretans

What the author is telling us in this passage is that people were there from everywhere, every tongue and tribe. The Tower of Babel is reversed in this story.  Once God scattered the proud.  Now God reunites all people and all tongues.  The fractured, broken, divided, alienated people who did not speak the same language, and often were at war with each other-they were all there.

And then, at something like 9:00 that morning, while they were gathered in one place, the wind came up, and that holy wind blew through the room and 

blew across their nationalities, and 

blew through their differences, and 

blew into their nostrils and filled their divided hearts with fire and set their tongues in motion, and 

they spoke words to each other, and 

everyone understood, for the fire burned the words into their hearts, and 

they wept, they sang, they remembered who they were:

they were the children of the God of Love, 

they were the chosen people of the God of Joy; 

they were the holy people of the God of Jesus, the Christ.

That mighty Wind of Fire and Spirit created the church that day. 

A church that was born when the Holy Spirit overcame the divisions and barriers that keep people apart, and made them one body in Jesus Christ. 

On that day of Pentecost, the celebration was so joyful, the carrying on was so remarkable, that outside observers thought they were drunk even though it was early in the morning! 

Well, that is the kind of Church Jesus came to create. That is what this morning's texts are all about. The church is a party where everybody is included. 

People from all the nations: 

the Mexicans, the Indians, the Germans, the Ethiopians, the Koreans, 

the Pakistanis, the Viet Namese, the Iraqis, Iranians, and the Americans

People from all stations in life—prostitutes, and lepers, and tax collectors, lonely people, old people, awkward adolescents, gay and straight, stressed out business people, professors and teachers, janitors, jailors and musicians. 

Jesus came to have a party. 

He included the people who have been left out. 

So he ate with them and drank with them, and told stories to them, and did whatever was necessary to make them feel accepted and whole and worth a party. 

The kind of church I think you and I want to be a part of began with Jesus including everybody. And before he was finished, he prepared a feast for everyone to be invited to gather around the table, and eat and drink and become one in the love they shared in God. 

And then, when he left us, he sent the Holy spirit to break down the barriers between us, to open our hearts so we can understand each other, and love each other, and continue the party in his name. 

That's the kind of church Jesus had in mind. 

Is that the kind of church you want to belong to? 

Is that the kind of church you could invite others to belong to?

 

Madison Square can be that kind of “adventurously expectant church every week of the year if we do just three things. 

First, We can be that kind of church if we let this same Holy spirit lead us in sharing our faith in Jesus Christ with each other. Open your hearts to each other. Share your story of pain and joy and faith.  Meet together, Talk together   about your faith in God.  All kinds of people can join Madison Square Presbyterian Church. When there is caring and sharing of faith, there is  fire of the the Spirit.

Second, we can be that kind of church if we let the Holy Spirit lead us in sharing our faith with folks outside our church. Open your hearts to those you are with during the week. People are waiting to hear good news. Tell them the exciting good news about Christ, about your faith.  People want to hear your good news. Tell them what you have found to be true.

Third, invite them to the party. Tell them you would like them to come to a wonderful party, and invite them to come with you to Madison Square.  Everyone is welcome here. We are all here because the Holy Spirit brought us together. No one is excluded. Who do you know that you can invite to the party? They are welcome here.

"There's no church like that," Harry said. "If there was, I'd join it."

And so would I. And so would you. 

Open your hearts to the Holy Spirit. 

Come to the party. This party is for you.

Sermon preached May 29th: When Christians Must Say No

TEXT:    1 Peter 2:11-17 (The Message)

 11-12Friends, this world is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it. Don't indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives. 

 13-17Make the Master proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order. It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of the fools who think you're a danger to society. Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government. 

(Take box out and stand on it.)What do you see?

Yes, I am standing in a box.  Let's say this box is my religion. It is the set of beliefs and perspectives, prejudices, values and hopes that I use to interpret and make sense of my world. As I grow, the box grows. Everyone has their own  worldview, their own religion, their own box. Most of the time we see the world and ourselves from within our box of beliefs. Sometimes we change change boxes. We convert or adopt a  different set of values and beliefs. Then we stand in a different religion box. 

(Step out and step on the box).   Now, what do you see?

Yes, I am standing on the box. I have stepped outside my box, my religious values hopes and beliefs, and am now standing on them.  I haven't left them, but now I am viewing the world rather outside that  perspective. Furthermore, I have turned my views upside down, and so the world looks different.  This allows me to compare my values, beliefs and world view with other religions, other views.  I have my own perspective on which I stand, but now it doesn't confine, but allows me to make comparisons, choices, changes, analyze and evaluate.

With this all too simple illustration, I want to make several quick points about the boxes we all have, and how they function in our lives.

1. Most of us grow and mature in our religious beliefs and values and perspectives, and  therefore we must often get larger or different boxes. Look back over your years, and you might see boxes you left behind.  Our  boxes offer peace, clarity and protection—but often when we are fearful we use the box of our beliefs to hide or to fight.  
2. Most religious talk, and religious confessions of faith are written from inside a box in order to make sense of the world outside. Theology and confessions are attempts to make the box and the world compatible for believers. Often  confessions are written to strengthen the walls of the box when there is confusion, major threats or change. Such language is often used to teach and pass on the world view gained in the struggle to make sense. 
3. Learning how to stand outside and on  top of the box enables analysis, evaluation, and change. Dialogue with other religions and views is most possible from this position. In fact it is what great reformers have done, in order to bring great changes. It is pretty much what Jesus did. It is also what good teachers do—they help people stand outside their box to see options, possibilities and answers that they can then bring into their box with new insight.  
4. If you don't know how to stand on your box, or don't know where to stand, it is hard to make change, make progress, to grow with insight and understanding. Christians need to be comfortable both standing in their belief box, and on their belief box. That is how we gain spiritual maturity in a changing world.

Now, I want to talk about one of the great struggles Christians have in dealing with the world, and one of he great church confessions written as a result.   

Is there a time when we as Christians  must say "No"  as well as "Yes" to the culture and the government in which we live?

Is it harder to live as a Christian in a country where the Government and culture is contrary to the values of the Christian faith?  Or where the Government  and culture seems friendly to the values of the christian faith?

You read those words with me from the ancient text of 1Peter:

Friends, this is not your home, so don't make yourselves cozy in it…

Make the Master proud of you be being  good citizens.  Respect authorities whatever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order.  Exercise your freedom by serving God, and not breaking the rules….Revere God.  Respect the government.  

This is not your home so don't get cozy, but don't rock the boat. 

Can you sense the tension between the first part and the second part of  Peter's  advice to the early church?  It is the tension of the Christian living as an alien in a culture whose values do not conform to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That was the wisdom for the first century Christian church which was struggling to survive in a hostile culture. If you were Christian, you may lose your life. The apostle Peter was crucified--but he insisted on being hung upside down, not seeing himself worthy of dying like his Lord and Master.

Learn to say yes. "Don't rock the boat."

Live at peace with those around you.  The government is there to keep order.  It is how God works in the world to make life possible.

For the most part, you and I have grown up in an America assuming that American values and Christian values are the same.  We have been raised to think that  being a Christian and being a Successful American are the same thing.

It has not been hard to say "yes" to the American culture, or our political leaders.

But, this morning, we have a much more significant question to answer.

At what point in our life as a Christian, must we say "No"?

At what point do we say "no" to the authority of our leaders?

And at what point do we say "no" to the underlying cultural values of our society that  empower our leaders?  When and How do we say "no""

For all the Presbyterian Churches in the World--all the Churches that have their history in what is called the Reformed Faith, for all these churches, this weekend has a special meaning. For all of our Church family, we remember May 29-30 as the  Anniversary of the Declaration of  Barmen.

The Barmen Declaration is a part of the Book of Confessions which we Presbyterians use to define who we are as a Christian Community.  It is part of our constitution, and it is part of the story we tell ourselves.

On May 29 1934, there were 139 clergy and lay persons who met in Barmen-Wuppertal in northern Germany.  Because of the growing totalitarian reach of Adolf Hitler's government, and his hostility to the church, these Christians felt compelled to take a stand to resist. They needed to be clear about about several issues:

Who is Lord over our lives-God or the state?

What is the relation of the church to the state--servant or separate?

How is God revealed to us--in the bible or in history? 

The Barmen Declaration is the statement they made in answer to these questions.

Most of you know the story of the rise of Hitler. As a young man in 1919 right after World War I he founded the National Socialist Party dedicated to "race, blood and soil."

As the Nazi Party gained strength, many Christians joined the party and formed a faith movement in 1932 under the Party, called "German Christians."   They believed in the principles of the party, and in a strong German state.  They did not seek God's revelation of truth in the scripture, but in history: God's saving work could be seen in Hitler, and the divine election of God for the place of the German people in history. 

What did these Christians believe?

• Germany shall rise to new strength; 
• Germany shall lead the nations into a world order; 
• Germany has the divine favor of God on her side. 

(If this sounds familiar to Americans, it should.  These same ideas have been goals for our own country at different times in our history.)

In public Adolph Hitler was a strong advocate of The Christian faith and the church. Christianity and German culture were almost equated.  In one of his speeches he promised,

"The national government ... will maintain and defend the foundations on which the power of our nation rests. It will offer strong protection to Christianity as the very basis of our collective morality." - Adolf Hiter, The Speeches of Adolph Hitler, 1922-1939, Vol. 1 (London, Oxford University Press, 1942), pg. 871-872. 

Later, he made an even stronger appeal to Christians, equating the Christian faith with the strong moral position of Nazi Germany, against the immorality identified in society. He said 

"Today Christians ... stand at the head of Germany ... I pledge that I never will tie myself to parties who want to destroy Christianity .. We want to fill our culture again with the Christian spirit ... We want to burn out all the recent immoral developments in literature, in the theater, and in the press - in short, we want to burn out the poison of immorality which has entered into our whole life and culture as a result of liberal excess during the past ... (few) years."  Adolf Hitler. Ibid, pg. 871-872. By Michael Hakeem, Ph.D. 

One of the amazing realities of Nazi Germany was that most of the people, most of the Christians, bought this kind of talk making an alliance between Christianity and Nazi ideology.  If you look at what Christianity teaches, you wonder how German Christians could support Naziism, Hitler's wars and the Holocaust. Not only did they occur, but with insignificant and wavering exceptions, neither theologians, clergy, nor ordinary Christians as individuals, nor churches as corporate bodies, objected. In fact they overwhelmingly supported them. Three of the most distinguished German Protestant theologians--Gerhard Kittel, Paul Althaus, and Emanual Hirsch.  were highly respected, extremely erudite, uncommonly productive, and internationally known professors, each at a different, first-class university. Yet  these and other Christian leaders,  each supported Hitler openly, enthusiastically, and with little restraint." 

Kittel and a group of twelve leading theologians and pastors issued a proclamation that Nazism is "a call of God," and they thanked God for Adolf Hitler. 

By 1933 Hitler appointed Ludwig Muller, who was the leader of the "German Christians" to create a State Church, the "German Evangelical Church."  All Protestant Churches were united into this single Evangelical State Church.  

In September, 20,000 German Christians gathered in the Berlin Sports Palace to affirm the alliance between the church and the Nazi Party. One of the tasks of the Church was to keep the Arayan Race pure and free Germany from all non-German  persons. That excluded  Jews, gypsies, communists, and homosexuals.

It was against this overwhelming and large-scale movement  of the German Christians into a State Church that a few pastors and churches began to form resistance that resulted in the Barmen Declaration.

Already in January, 1933, 21 pastors met and begin to develop a dissenting voice to this whole "German  Christian" movement.  They called themselves the "Pastor's Emergency League." By the September  meeting in the Berlin Sports palace, there were 2300 pastors who had joined this resistance; and by January, 1934 there were 7000.

So, 139 pastors and leaders  met in Barmen, May 29-30, 1934 to organize and alternative church to the state church.  At that meeting they would adopt their own position, and become known as the Confessing Church.  Turn to the part in the Order of Service, and lets look at the Declaration.

The first and second affirmation of the Declaration center on Jesus Christ as Lord. In Jesus Christ we see God and understand who we are. It is Jesus Christ we trust and obey in life and in death.  It is in Jesus that we learn who we are and what is true.  It is in Jesus that we find the freedom to serve God and others. The second affirmation states that the claim of Jesus on our life is total.  No area of our life is outside his claim.  Not our spending, not our buying, not our schooling and intellectual life, not our sexual life nor our loving; not our political life nor our citizenship; not our church life, nor our values. We can not be Christians, and hold out parts of our living as out of bounds. Jesus Christ accepts you totally; Christ forgives you totally; Christ heals you totally.

In contrast,  the Germans looked to history to discover their destiny. They looked to the Arayan race to restore their purity. They looked to the military to find their strength.  

So, Barmen raises issue the of where we find authority to  in our lives, and affirms that it is with Jesus Christ, and not with lesser authorities.

The Christians in Barmen lead us to affirm Jesus Christ as the  Word of God and Lord of our life.

The second lesson comes from the last four truths in the document. The Declaration of Barmen reminds us that our biggest problem is not atheism, but idolatry.  Presbyterians have always believed that every person knows God. We believe God plants that knowledge within every human heart.  But it is our sin and brokenness that covers it and suppresses it. And so instead of worshiping God, we create idols. We fill our lives with other loves to worship: the nation, a political party, our ethnic heritage, our family, or money, or alcohol, or drugs, or our business. We love our idols, and the sin of idolatry is always tempting us.

Four times the Declaration says:  "We reject the false doctrine that...."  Four times it names the false gods that swept a nation under their influence and led them into evil and destruction.  Four times it takes a stand on the only one and true God, known in Jesus Christ. Four times it says, we belong only to God. 

In short, Barmen said, "There is No führer but Jesus.  No authority but the Scripture, and the church shall not function as a part of the state.

What does it take for us to join those Christians  who gathered in Barmen and reject the idols that crowd into our life to claim our allegiance? 

The Declaration of Barmen is powerful not because it was a good statement, because in some ways it wasn't. For instance, they didn't even address the issue about what was happening to the Jews, or those who were gay or lesbian.  It was much too late to be of any consequence to Hitler and Nazi power.  Nor did it greatly alter the life of the church. 

But its power comes from the struggle of those Christians to live up to their principles.  Its power is in the struggle to put faith into practice in a concrete historical moment and then to move from words to deeds.  

Ultimately, this is the importance of Barmen for us today.  The lesson from the Barmen Christians is about making our faith come alive in our daily struggle against power and authority that suck us along paths we can not affirm, nor believe in. Barmen gives us a lesson about engaging the politics and culture we live in. 

We tend to think that our freedom is a political gift from the state.  No, the reality we learn from Barmen is that religious freedom is prior to political freedom. Our Presbyterian Confession teaches us that our freedom is found in the grace and goodness of God.  That is the basis of political freedom, not the other way around. 

Once we are clear about that, we have the basis to engage our faith with the political struggles in our nation, and with our culture.

I am now asking the the ushers to hand to each of you a more modern statement. This is called “A Social Creed for the 21^st Century”. One hundred years ago in 1908 the Federal Council of Churches adopted a “Social Creed for the 20^th Century.”  Many of its goals and values were addressed and achieved in the past century.  This new  creed  was put together under the leadership of  the National Council of Churches for the American Church community as a response to the overwhelming social issues that we have at the beginning of this century.    This is not a “confession” of our church like the Declaration of Barmen. But it is a statement of our values and beliefs that was adopted by our General Assembly in 2008.  Like most creeds, it is offered from inside the Christian  box  to guide Churches and individuals as they struggle to make a strong witness to their faith.   

Like all creeds, it is not perfect.  Read this one and you will note some issues are not addressed. It has been pointed out that as inclusive as this statement is, it has nothing in it about the LGBT community. But it does focus on a wide range of  social issues.

For instance,  look at its statement of support for the rights of unions—a timely statement after the recent political attacks on labor union's right to bargain.

I commend this Social Creed to you for your study and guidance in the days ahead, hoping that as Christians we can make a difference in the outcome of  so many of these issues. Notice the power of the final paragraph;

 We — individual Christians and churches — commit ourselves to a culture of peace and freedom that embraces non-violence, nurtures character, treasures the environment, and builds community, rooted in a spirituality of inner growth with outward action. We make this commitment together, as members

 of Christ's body, led by the one Spirit-trusting in the God who makes all things new. 

Our opening scripture today said, This is not your home so don't get cozy, but don't rock the boat. 

So, where do you stand on the tough issues of today?  Do you have a good box to stand in, and a good one to stand on?   How does your box of faith prepare you to handle the many voices of our day pushing against us?

May this anniversary of the Declaration of Barmen inspire you to take a stand

that is not cozy with the world but a strong witness of your faith.1 Peter 2:11-17 (The Message)

John 14:15-21

15”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. 

18”I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”