Practicing The Faith Together, In Community January 27, 2008 Third Sunday After The Epiphany

(First, read the text for this sermon: 1 Corinthians 1:10-18)

God the Holy Spirit has called us together this morning. God has made us a worshiping community. At this time and in this place, the Spirit draws us, together, into the mystery that is God.

There is mysterious power in God. It is the power that causes hard-bitten fishermen like Peter and Andrew, James and John, to suddenly leave what they are doing to follow the Christ. It is the power that calls out to us to “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” To repent: which means to turn away from what makes for death, and to turn towards God.

Some worshipers “go to church” expecting what is ordinary and routine. And you know what? That’s just what they experience! But other worshipers are conscious that they have been drawn together by the Spirit. There’s a gathering together in deep spiritual hunger. There’s an openness to what the Spirit is going to do this morning, as the Spirit moves among us during this time together.

Of course, wherever there is power, there is danger of destructiveness. We read verses this morning from Paul, writing to the tiny ancient congregation at Corinth, which was experiencing powerful divisions. Members were suing each other in civil courts; there were people complaining that Paul was paid too much; there was debauchery during Holy Communion – some were getting drunk and others were going away hungry; people were fighting with each other over the use of charismatic gifts in worship…

Paul addresses the power struggles that were going on in the congregation. He writes, For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, "I belong to Paul," or "I belong to Apollos," or "I belong to Cephas," or "I belong to Christ."

What damage is caused, when individual leaders try to appropriate that power of the Holy Spirit to build up their own personal standing. Among the Corinthians, different factions among the members have clustered around strong leaders in the congregation –Paul, and Apollos, and Cephas. Paul, for his part, renounces any claim that he has! He asks, Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

Who was crucified for the Corinthian worshipers? In whose name were the Corinthian worshipers baptized? Of course: it was Jesus who was crucified for them. They were baptized into the grace and forgiveness and salvation of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And so Paul makes his appeal to this divided congregation by his own authority – but not in his own name. Instead, he is appealing to them by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You know, Paul was writing a letter to a specific group of people, to deal with specific problems. He had no idea that we would be poring over his words, dissecting them, all these centuries later! If he had, he probably would have re-worded some of what he wrote!

For instance, there are these lines: Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. Ever since this letter was collected into what we now call the New Testament, many followers of the Christ have tried to hold themselves up to an impossible standard. Is that true: that all of us are to be in agreement? Always? That there can be no divisions among us? That all of us are to be united in the same mind?

Is any of that possible? Not humanly! But, over the centuries, various leaders have done great damage to the Church by over-zealously insisting that everyone believe a whole list of specific tenets of the faith, in certain specific ways. The emphasis is on: “What do you believe?” And what about those who don’t believe “properly?” They are cast out among the great unsaved.

I think this rigidity displays a fear of the Holy Spirit’s mysterious power! I think it serves to close us off from what the Spirit might be doing, which is always surprising, and sometimes unsettling. I don’t think that is what Paul is urging of us.

I claim a strength of the ELCA Lutheran approach to the faith (which, actually, causes great discomfort among some). It is to take seriously the radical sinfulness and radical grace taught by Luther: that not a single one of us can save ourselves, no matter how strong our set of beliefs. Instead, each one of us is entirely dependent upon the grace, the forgiveness, the salvation that we receive from the Holy Spirit in those swirling and splashing baptismal waters. With the “same mind” that that is the case, with the humility that entails, the Spirit draws us together into community, with our many different “minds” about many different issues. That diversity within a worshiping community is to be celebrated!

Are there beliefs that are required? I think so! It’s kind of like envisioning a target – with the most important stuff, the “required” stuff in the center. In the center is the belief that we are saved purely by grace, through Jesus the Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. There. That’s what’s in the middle. Everything else? What a diversity we have among us, of everything else that’s on one of those rings further out from the center!

I think it’s a great strength of our particular Lutheran tradition – that we don’t demand uniformity right down the line – because that allows for the possibility that we can be open to the mystery that is God! When we can release the compulsion to keep God safely defined and under control, we can be open to discerning what it is that God the Holy Spirit is doing, as the Spirit moves among us in this community of the baptized, and within us each, as individuals in community! What healing is the Spirit working? In what ways is the Spirit calling us to risk? There is great and mysterious power in God!

God the Holy Spirit draws us into that mystery through the practices of the faith. In those swirling and splashing waters, you and I are baptized into those practices of the faith. Some of them are listed in the baptismal liturgy, in the promises that parents and sponsors make, when there is a baby or young child being baptized. In practices such as worship, and eating and drinking the Holy Communion, and daily reading of the Bible, and speaking the words of the Lord’s Prayer and the Creed and the Ten Commandments, in daily listening prayer, in learning to trust God, in caring for others and the world God made, in working for justice and peace – by the doing of those things, the Spirit forms us into people open and responsive to the mystery that is God. In the baptismal liturgy, those promises necessarily mean that the parents themselves will engage in those practices – to model to their children what the journey looks like into the mystery that is God! And it’s more than that, and more universal than that. It is responding to the call to practice the faith so that we journey into our own salvation, whether there are children in the household or not!

It is a journey that is more than life-long: because God is always more than what you and I can understand or explain. It is a journey into foolishness, Paul writes. For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. It is a journey that certainly does not depend upon a particular leader, no matter how charismatic, or a particular preacher, no matter how effective. (Indeed, there are intriguing clues that Paul himself was not a good preacher. In this morning’s verses we read, For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power. Isn’t it interesting that this greatest founder of Christian congregations admits his limitations as a preacher?! And of course, there’s the story, in Acts (20:9), of the evening when Paul droned on and on and on – for so long that one of his listeners, sitting on a window sill, fell asleep and fell out of the window!)

If Paul was a bad preacher, how much more remarkable the growth of the ancient church: entirely dependent upon the mysterious power that is in God the Holy Spirit, the power drawing people into the message of the cross that is foolishness, the power motivating disciples to invite others into the practices of the Jesus movement.

It is into that continuing community that you and I have been baptized; the community of people engaging in the life-changing practices of the faith which open us to the mystery that is God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastor Andy Ballentine
St. Stephen Lutheran Church
Williamsburg, Virginia

Sharing A Call Story Deanna Scheffel (Senior at the College of William and Mary) January 20, 2008

When I was looking at colleges, I didn’t know what I wanted to major in, what I wanted to be when I finished school. I chose William and Mary because of the beautiful area, the great reputation, and the amazing sense of community I felt when I stepped on campus. I had to pick an area of study right away to be placed with a freshman advisor. This is when a new pattern emerged in my life: taking the path of least resistance. I knew that I didn’t like memorizing dates, so history was out, and it was torture to write papers in high school, so English was out. I was pretty good at math and enjoyed science, so I told William and Mary that I wanted to be a biologist. After my first semester of classes, I found that I was really not cut out for biology, but I excelled at chemistry. So I followed the path of least resistance, and switched to chemistry. My roommate worked in a pharmacy, and she helped put ideas in my head about chemistry and pharmaceutical companies and research labs. I was easily convinced that this sounded like a great life plan for me. I was making life decisions based on what was easy and what was familiar. My whole family is science and math oriented, so it was a comfortable path to follow. They could walk me through each step: how to write a resume, how to get a summer job, what grad schools to look at.

I grew up in a house where there was always a plan. Schedules were written down way in advance, tardiness was not acceptable, and every step you made must lead to a goal. This has made me a very organized and dedicated person, but it has also made me feel I have to force myself into some kind of path. Once I decided on chemistry my sophomore year, I had to hurry up and get the plan into action. I had to score the perfect summer internships, start lining up recommendations, and make contacts that would help me land a spot in grad school and eventually a job. There was no time to waste, and certainly no time to second guess my decisions.
But academics is only half of the story. While I was playing around with majors and getting a career plan together, I also got involved with various ministries. My faith has always played an important role in my life. I have been blessed with wonderful parents who not only raised me in the church, but also provided great examples of faith filled living. Growing up, church was a big part of my life, as was serving the community. In college God has blessed me with opportunities to serve Him through the Lutheran Student Association, and through Young Life in local middle schools. I know that God is present in every aspect of my life, but in my obsessive organization, I scheduled certain hours for ministry, and certain hours for school work. My job track and my life track were two separate paths that I jumped back and forth between.

It was at this point that Pastor Ballentine, with some encouragement from my hometown pastors, said something that initially made me very angry. He caught me looking at a course catalogue for Gettysburg Seminary while eating dinner in the college room, and told me that he had just visited with my hometown pastors at a synod youth event. They had told him I should consider going into ministry. I responded that the classes looked really interesting, and I’d love to go to seminary just to get the knowledge, but that wasn’t what I wanted to do with my life. As he walked out of the room, Pastor Ballentine said, “Well you know, if it’s what God wants you to do with your life, you don’t really have a choice.”

I was so upset by this statement because the idea that I might not be able to control my future was a radical idea to me. I was in the process of controlling my future. I had chosen to become a chemist, and did not take well to somebody telling me that this may not be the right path for me. I was knee deep in physical chemistry classes. The demands were increasing: grad school, lab research, internships. This class was a test of endurance as the professors seemed to find joy in breaking your confidence. But I was determined to show that I could do it, I wanted to be a scientist, I wanted to show that this was what I was supposed to do. But the hours of study were creeping into the hours set aside for ministry, and I wasn’t happy about that. I began to realize that as stubborn as I was, my heart was not with chemistry; my passion really was for working with kids and helping them grow in Christ. I realized that no matter what I did, I would never be happy with the amount of time I could give to the church.

I knew I needed to take a step back and look at what I was doing. I decided to go on a discernment retreat put on by Project Connect, an organization in the ELCA designed to help young adults understand God’s call in their lives. Here, I first learned the word vocation.

In What Shall I Say, a book given to those in the discernment process for rostered leadership in the church, vocation is defined as God’s call at baptism to belong to God’s family and to be a worker in the kingdom of God. In baptism we are called to follow Jesus, to live in community with fellow believers, and to serve the world God created. We are marked with the cross of Christ, transformed by the water and the word. In baptism we are called to a journey, to follow in the footsteps of Christ and find who God made us to be. In the first reading today, the prophet Isaiah says “the Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.” God knows who we are, He knows what He wants us to do in this world.

We are sent out from baptism with this purpose, but we are not alone. In the Gospel today, John references Jesus’ baptism, saying “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him.” In baptism, God sends the Holy Spirit to be with us, to help us listen, and to help us act. By opening ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit, we see how God uses situations and people around us to help us discover our vocation. It is both an internal and an external call. Frederick Beuchner says, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Vocation is more than a job. It is more than a way to pay the bills. Vocation is stepping into God’s plan, finding your passion, and serving the world in your own unique way. When I finally realized this, and listened to God speaking through the people around me, I felt great peace. I am no longer struggling and fighting to succeed, trying to be someone I am not, but am at rest knowing that God will lead me. As Henri Nouwen says, “We are good enough to do what we are called to do. Be yourself!”

I am now on a journey to seminary and ordained ministry in the Lutheran church. It is a path my family and I know very little about. But I trust that God has given me the gifts necessary to carry out His will, and I trust that He will be with me every step of the way. Vocation is one step in the never-ending baptismal journey. In the words of Martin Luther:

“This life, therefore,
is not godliness, but the process of becoming godly,
not health, but getting well,
not being, but becoming,
not rest, but exercise.
We are not now what we shall be, but we are on the way.
The process is not yet finished, but it is actively going on.
This is not the goal, but it is the right road.”

Baptized and Being Made Holy January 13, 2008 The Baptism Of Our Lord

There is always water in the baptismal font. That’s to help you remember that you are baptized.

It’s not “holy water,” in the sense that a bishop has blessed it so that it is changed into some sort of a different reality. We Lutherans don’t go for that. Instead, we see something dynamic going on during a baptism – that the Holy Spirit is working in the Word of gospel promise and the water and the faith of those who have come to the font for baptism. In the Small Catechism, Luther tries to explain what can’t be explained in this way: “Baptism is not simply plain water. Instead it is water enclosed in God’s command and connected with God’s Word.”

In Luther’s words, baptism “brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare.” But it is not water, alone, which accomplishes these great things. Luther writes, “Clearly the water does not do it, but the Word of God, which is with and alongside the water, and faith, which trusts this Word of God in the water. For without the Word of God the water is plain water and not a baptism, but with the Word of God it is a baptism, that is, a grace-filled water of life and a ‘bath of the new birth in the Holy Spirit,’ as St. Paul says to Titus.”

I keep water in the baptismal font at all times to help you remember that all of that happened to you in that “bath,” when you were baptized! Feel free to dip your hand into the water as you pass the font, if that will help you remember your baptism as a daily reality. Some folks like to mark themselves on their foreheads with a wet thumb. This is especially appropriate to do as you approach the communion table, because there is such a close link between the one-time gift of salvation in baptism and the weekly nourishment in that salvation, as we eat and drink the Holy Communion!

Luther encouraged us to make the sign of the cross frequently. This teaching was lost for centuries in the Lutheran church. It was recovered 30 years ago, when the Lutheran Book of Worship was published. But the practice still sounds suspect to Lutherans who were raised up through the middle of the last century. Many were taught that making the sign of the cross was something that those Catholics did, and so, “good Lutherans” needed to avoid it!

But, for instance, in the Catechism, Luther’s teaching of a short morning blessing begins: “In the morning, as soon as you get out of bed, you are to make the sign of the holy cross and say: ‘God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.’ Then, kneeling or standing, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. If you wish, you may in addition recite this little prayer as well”; and an eloquent three-sentence prayer follows. The Catechism also includes Luther’s evening blessing: “In the evening, when you go to bed, you are to make the sign of the holy cross and say: ‘God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.’” Then comes the same teaching about saying the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer, and another three sentence prayer is offered, for the evening.

Why make the sign of the cross, first thing upon waking and last thing before sleeping? It is to remember that we are baptized! If you’re ever asked by a Bible thumper, “Are you saved?” a good answer to give is, “Yes, ever since about the year 33 AD.” It is through our baptisms that you and I are incorporated into the community of salvation that has existed since Jesus the Christ saved us on the cross. Baptism “brings about forgiveness of sins, redeems from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe it, as the words and promise of God declare.” And so, we are saved, once and for all.

Is that all there is to it? Of course not! There is the life of faith. During our baptismal lives, through the practices of the faith, God the Holy Spirit makes us holy.

I remembered this language last Sunday night, during Affirmation of Baptism class. We were looking at Luther’s explanation of the Creed in the Small Catechism. The third article of the Creed is where we speak the words about the Holy Spirit and the holy catholic church. Luther entitles this section in the Catechism: “The Third Article: On Being Made Holy.” And Luther begins his explanation with, perhaps, the most radical faith statement he ever wrote: “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, …”

Do you see how radical this is? On my own, I cannot even believe in Jesus Christ my Lord! On your own, you cannot come to Jesus Christ our Lord. You and I cannot decide to follow Jesus. It is God the Holy Spirit, within us as individuals and among us as a community of faith, enabling us to do this; leading and guiding us; opening us and motivating us along the baptismal path of being made holy.

What does it look like, to be made holy? There’s a good description in Paul’s short letter to the church at Galatia, that I keep coming back to in my own prayer life. We should all have these words from chapter five of Galatians underlined in our Bibles: the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

So, actually, it’s easy to tell if you’re open to God the Holy Spirit who is making you to be holy! It is as you are growing more deeply in love with God, and as you are becoming more joyful! When you feel angry and judgmental, unforgiving, then your emotions are telling you that you are closed off from God the Holy Spirit who wants to draw you closer, and to make you holy.

Using Paul’s list, you are being made holy as you live more grounded in the peace of Christ, and as you become more patient in suffering. Anxiety and worry are signs that you are closed off from our God who is full of grace.

As you are made holy by God the Holy Spirit, you are kind. You are generous. Faithfulness and gentleness and self-control: these are also fruit of the Spirit, according to Paul, as God is making you holy in the life of faith, through the practices of the faith.

“I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, …”

We remember this when we remember our baptisms.

In the name of God, who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastor Andy Ballentine
St. Stephen Lutheran Church
Williamsburg, Virginia

“Responding To God’s Extravagant Generosity” The Epiphany Of Our Lord January 6, 2008

(First read the text for this sermon: Matthew 2:1-12)

Today, finally, the wise men arrive!

Did you know that they show up so late in the Christmas story? Many people don’t – because, in most children’s Christmas Eve pageants, the wise men are part of the procession, right behind the angels and the shepherds. Since those pageants are much more formative than the Bible stories themselves, most of us aren’t aware of how different the story of Jesus’ birth is in Matthew, as compared with Luke.

It’s a treat to be able to look at all of this on a Sunday morning, because usually, The Epiphany of our Lord, January 6, falls on another day of the week! The 12 days of Christmas ended last night, on “Twelfth Night.” The Epiphany season, beginning today, extends until Ash Wednesday (which is only one month from today, this year; on February 6).

The story of the Epiphany comes from Matthew’s story of Jesus’ birth. In Luke’s story there’s the babe in the manger, and there are the angels and the shepherds. In Matthew, there are no angels or shepherds. But there is the star that we throw into out Christmas Eve pageants! And we were actually unfaithful to Matthew’s story, when, a few minutes ago, the children helped me place the wise men at the manger. In Matthew’s story of the Epiphany, where do the wise men find Jesus? Remember verse 11? We read, On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. It looks like the gospel writer of Matthew doesn't know anything about Luke's story, and assumes Jesus was born in a house!

Here’s your next Bible trivia question. How many wise men were there? The story never tells us! They give Jesus three gifts: of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and so we’ve made it up that there were three wise men, each carrying one gift. But here’s all that the story tells us: In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

The unnumbered wise men might have been astrologers. They have perceived that something important has happened, according to the stars. Seeing the child is an epiphany for them. They kneel down and give honor to the child. (An “epiphany” is a moment of sudden revelation; a moment when something confusing becomes clear; when connections are made; when something suddenly makes sense!)

There’s lots going on in this story. There’s another plot line! It’s propelled by the reaction of King Herod. Is he pleased to hear what the wise men from the East have to say to him?

No! He reacts with fear, and so does “all of Jerusalem,” according to the gospel writer – which means, all those in Jerusalem who want to maintain the status quo of oppressive power. Herod hears that this baby has been born to fulfill what the prophet Micah wrote:

'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel.' "
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."

Hmmm. Is that why Herod wants to know where this child is – so that he can kneel before him in honor? Of course not! Jesus has been born to bring in God’s new order. But Herod wants to preserve the old order, and he is fearful that this child is a threat to his power. (We read later in this chapter of Matthew that Joseph is told in a dream to take Mary and the baby and to flee to Egypt. That’s a good thing because soon after, we read, When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.)

You know what? It strikes me that this is a story about stewardship.

Stewardship is a spiritual practice, arising out of a faith stance: that everything belongs to God, and so we are called to be generous in response to all that God gives us. King Herod does not share this faith perspective. Instead, he thinks that the kingdom of Judea belongs to him, and so he has to clutch it tightly. He has to protect it from threat – even if that threat is in the form of a helpless newborn – and so, in his fear, he causes a horrific slaughter.

But, of course, everything does belong to God, who gives it all away to us! God is extravagantly generous, and it’s a surprising generosity. It’s not like the giving that results in the piles of Christmas wrappings that we cleaned up a few days ago; instead, it is the gift of a baby born in the trappings of homelessness. What a stunning portrayal of God there is in the Christian story: that God is self-giving; that God’s generosity becomes known in God’s self-emptying. What an epiphany: to realize that this is what God is like! It’s the opposite of what anyone would expect a god to act like!

This morning we read a story of God’s extravagant generosity, and the responses to that generosity. We see how King Herod responds: with fear and violence. But look at the model of the wise men. They respond to God’s generosity in the gift of this baby, by offering their own gifts to this newborn. The wise men celebrate Christmas, not by offering gifts to each other (as we do), but by offering gifts to God!

Wow! What an epiphany this is for our own spiritual practice, as we move on from the Christmas season. Christmas is the festival of God’s extravagant generosity. What is our role in the celebration? It is to respond by how we live: how we use our time, our money; how we offer our very selves. Those are our gifts to God!
In the name of God, who is Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastor Andy Ballentine
St. Stephen Lutheran Church
Williamsburg, Virginia