Just Believe?

Just Believe?

John 14:1-11[1]

John 3:16 may be one of the most widely known Bible verses of all time. I remember watching pro football games back in the 1970’s, and there was always someone in the endzone, usually squarely in the middle of the camera when it came to the extra point, with a sign that simply read “John 3:16.” I don’t know how effective that method may have been for directing anyone to faith in Jesus Christ, but it was always there. Perhaps less effective than you might imagine, but more effective than you might think. I’m not sure how many people ever took the time to even look up John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” But John 3:16 was everywhere. It seemed like the assumption was that if people would just read that verse, and just believe it, they would be “saved.”

One problem with that approach is that whenever you take any verse out of its context, you can make it say whatever you want. I would certainly say that’s what’s happened to one of the verses from our Gospel lesson for today, John 14:6. At least in the modern history of the church, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” has been treated a lot like John 3:16. Again, I think the assumption is that if people would just read this verse, profess their faith in Jesus (like we do), go to church (like we do), and conform to certain expectations about how they live (like we do), then they can have eternal life. But then we tend to take it further and assume that if people don’t do this, they’re rejecting Jesus and they’ve condemned themselves to an eternity in “hell.” In my mind, that turns this verse on its head. Instead of focusing on Jesus being “the way, the truth, and the life,” and that the life he brings is for “all people” (Jn 1:4), we shift the focus to “no one can come to the Father except through me.” And the result is that a verse that was meant to reassure Jesus’ disciples gets turned into something that excludes people who don’t believe (like we do).

Part of the problem is that it misses the whole point of what Jesus was trying to accomplish. When we look at this verse in the context of the chapter, and even in the context of John’s Gospel as a whole, some things should stand out. First, we should recognize the opening verses. They’re used in most memorial services. Especially Jn 14:3, “if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” The whole extended dialogue in John 13-16 is set during Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. And it’s clear that he’s preparing them for the fact that he was about to die on the cross, perhaps literally the next day! I think Jesus knew that would shatter their faith. So he sets about giving them assurance that would see them through that crisis. He tells them things like “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (Jn 14:27) and “I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (Jn 16:22).

One of the central themes of this dialogue is that all of this was necessary to complete the work of opening the way for us all to come to the Father. In the process of giving his disciples this assurance, we see Jesus engaging with them on some pretty serious questions they had about it all. When Jesus assures them that they all knew the way to where he was going, Thomas says, “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (Jn 14:5). And when Jesus tries to assure them that they have already come to know the Father through him, Philip seems to miss the point altogether! He says, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied” (Jn 14:8)! These are Jesus’ closest followers. The ones he would commission to take the good news to the whole world. And they don’t seem to understand the first thing about any of it. And Jesus responds to their struggles by meeting them where they are and helping them work through their questions. 

That’s quite different from what passes for evangelism in too many cases these days. The standard approach is to throw a few isolated Bible verses at someone and then pressure them into “just believing” like we do. I know, because I had to learn that approach for a class on evangelism in seminary. That phrase, “just believe” reminds me of what Jesus said in response to Philip: “Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (Jn 14:11, NLT). But that can be a tall order! Just taking what that verse says as an example, I’m not sure any of us really understands how it is that Jesus of Nazareth could be “fully human” and “fully God” at the same time. Perhaps that can help us recognize that much of our faith will always remain a mystery that defies explanation. That may be one reason why some people are slower to believe than we may think they should be. They may just have a hard time wrapping their heads around the message of the gospel.

It seems to me that we should be a lot more hesitant about making assumptions regard the faith of those who are “outside” the church (or their lack thereof)! If we can’t wrap our heads around this basic affirmation, that Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him, how can we judge anyone for their so-called “lack of faith” in what we may think is the simple “truth” of the Gospel? It’s so easy for us to assume that everyone “should” believe like we do. But you may have heard that phrase that I used earlier: “like we do.” I used that phrase on purpose. It’s easy for us to assume that everyone “should” believe “like we do.” But people come from all kinds of backgrounds. And those experiences shape how they view faith. I’ve known people who’ve been deeply hurt by their own church family, and they never returned to church because of that. Others simply approach faith differently, and the “just believe” line doesn’t work for them. Some people can’t get past childhood trauma they may have experienced. When you dig deeply enough, you can usually find that someone who doesn’t believe (like we do) has some pretty big reasons for their struggle with faith.

Beyond that, it seems to me that it’s not our business to judge other people based on what we perceive to be their “lack of faith.” It strikes me as really quite unkind and disrespectful to assume that we know the condition of another person’s relationship with God because we think that they “lack” faith. At least that’s the way it felt to me back in the day when I was the one trying to “fix” someone’s “lack of faith” by “throwing” Bible verses at them and expecting them to “just believe”! More than that, if as Paul reminds us (Eph 2:8-9), faith comes to all of us as a gift from God, then perhaps we should be more empathetic with those who may struggle to believe. Perhaps we should follow Jesus’ lead in dealing with his own disciples and try to meet people where they are. When we take the time to actually listen to their story, to really hear their questions, and to understand their challenges with faith, we can demonstrate God’s love for them by the way we treat them. That’s not a very quick method for “winning souls for Christ.” But building a caring relationship with them can become the foundation for sharing our faith in a way that they might just be able to hear and take to heart. Different people respond to different approaches to faith. Maybe this is one we should consider when dealing with some who have a hard time coming to faith.

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[1] © Alan Brehm 2026. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 5/3/2026 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

Real People

 Real People

1 John 5:6-13[1]

We live in a world where it’s getting increasingly more difficult to live as “real” people. By that, I mean taking the risk of being vulnerable enough to show others your true self. Hopefully we all have family and friends with whom we can share who we really are and do so with the confidence that they will love and support us. The sad truth is that’s not the case for everyone. But outside that circle of family and friends, most of us keep our “guard” up. We don’t really show most people our true selves. Instead, we hide behind the “appearance” that our lives are all “put together” and everything is “just fine.” But when we do so, we also make it more difficult to build relationships. And it’s through relationships that we share the “hope that is within us.”

Of course, there’s wisdom in not telling everything about yourself to everyone you meet. And when you run into a stranger in public and they ask “How are you?” it’s perfectly acceptable to answer “Just fine, thank you.” But the problem is that we get used to hiding behind the effort to keep up appearances that everything is “just fine.” So when we have an opportunity to share who we truly are or what we’re really dealing with in life, even with a trusted family member or friend, we may instead stay hidden behind that wall. And when we do so, we miss out on the opportunity to give them a chance to show just how much they truly do love and support us, just as we are, no matter what we may be dealing with in life.

At the same time, that’s a problem for us as followers of Jesus Christ. The only way we can share our faith with others is by taking the risk of being vulnerable enough to reveal who we really are and what we’re actually dealing with in life. Of course, part of the problem is that many of the people we meet are doing the same thing as we are. They’re hiding behind their own efforts to “keep up appearances.” And when we take the risk of sharing who we really are with them, it may make them feel awkward. We live in a world where it’s difficult to live as “real” people. But if we’re going to live as witnesses to the new life in Christ, we’re going to have to find a way to take that risk.

I think our lesson from 1 John addresses this issue. As I mentioned last week, the community of believers to whom the Elder John was writing was going through something very much like a “church split.” The point of disagreement was over how to understand the idea that Jesus was both fully God and fully human. Some insisted that he was so fully God that he couldn’t possibly “die” on the cross. After all, how can God “die”? But the author of 1 John knew that affirming Jesus’ very real death as a part of his full humanity was essential to the good news. So he insisted that part of the testimony to Jesus as the Son of God was his very real death on the cross.

In our lesson for today, the Elder says that “those who believe in the Son of God have this testimony in their own heart” (1 Jn. 5:10, NLT). There’s some debate about what it means to have the “testimony” to Jesus “in your heart”, but I think it means that when someone’s faith in Jesus is real you can see the new life that is in them. It’s obvious by who they are and how they live.  You can’t miss it. They “have the witness in their own hearts.” The most effective way we as believers in Jesus have of drawing others to faith in him is demonstrating this “witness” we have by living as “real people.” We have to show others who we truly are.

Some of us may be feeling like that’s just not something we can do, and certainly not on our own. We may think we’re not worthy, or we’re not capable, or perhaps we’re just not comfortable putting ourselves out there as witnesses to faith in Jesus Christ. I understand and resonate with that feeling. Bearing witness to faith in Jesus Christ is a big task, and it’s one that none of us can do on our own. But it’s not meant to be a “do-it-yourself” project. We can only bear witness to our faith as Jesus Christ himself enables us to do so through the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re called to share our faith by sharing our lives with others. If our sharing actually leads them to faith, that “miracle” happens because of what Jesus Christ is doing through us by the power of the Spirit.[2] It’s not something we can do on our own. For me, that’s a relief, because it means I don’t have to do on my own.

Of course, the hard truth is that it’s difficult for all of us to be truly genuine all the time. Many are afraid to let others see too much of themselves. Being “real” people can mean letting others in on our flaws and weaknesses and failures. Truth be told, most of us have some sort of dirty laundry, and we’re not eager to let everyone see it. Of course there’s room for some discretion here. We don’t have to share everything we’ve ever done that we regret in order to be basically genuine people. We don’t have to put every mistake we’ve ever made on public display to bear witness to the new life we have through our faith in Jesus Christ. Even though we’re all flawed and fallible people, we can still be “real.”

Part of the power of the “Twelve-Step” movement is that it creates an environment of confidentiality that makes it a place where people feel more comfortable letting others see who they really are. One of the sayings in Twelve-step meetings is “Who you see here, what is said here, when you leave here, let it stay here.” That promise of “safety” makes it possible for participants to share their “experience, strength, and hope” by taking the risk of being vulnerable enough to show others their true self.

I think the challenge for us as believers in Jesus is to do the same thing. Sharing our faith is not something that comes easily. But it’s something we’re called to do. And we can share our faith, even when we feel inadequate or unworthy. We do so by taking the risk of being “real” people. I think the most effective way to draw others to faith in Jesus Christ is to be people of whom Jesus can say, “my life is on display in them” (Jn 17:10, The Message). That means showing the new life we have through faith in Jesus by living as “real” people. We do that by sharing our lives with others. That’s all we’re called to do: to share our lives with others. And we leave the results to Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of us all!

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[1] © 2024 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 5/12/2024 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, 4.3.2: 609: “The Christian is called to be the accompanying and confirming sign of the living Word of God. It thus follows that he must indicate and attest this Word in the act of his whole existence. … And if the Christian has the power to make perceptible the self-witness of Christ as its echo in the world, this power is Christ’s and not his human power. To the Christian and his fellow-men it is always a miracle when his witness has this power.”

Among Us And Through Us

 Among Us and Through Us

Mark 1:29-39[1]

I’ve been here long enough for you to recognize that I have certain phrases that I use every week in worship. What you may or may not realize is that I do that on purpose. Each of them makes a theological point that I believe is important for us to be reminded about regularly. One of those phrases occurs in my prayer after the sermon: “Eternal father, creator of all the heavens and the earth, continue to bring your kingdom among us and through us.” There’s quite a bit packed into that short prayer, and it would take more than one sermon to discuss all of it. What I’d like to focus on today is the prayer for God to continue working “among us and through us.”

Everything we do as a community of faith rests on what God is doing among us and through us. Jesus defined what God is doing with the phrase “the kingdom of God.” After all we’ve heard and learned about this, it may still elude us. The kingdom of God refers to everything God is doing in this world to right all the wrongs, to free all who are oppressed, and to fill the lives of those who are afraid or who have lost hope with the joy of a whole new way of living. We may think of it as “salvation,” but it’s not just something that affects us spiritually. It’s about transforming everything and everyone so that God’s will may be done “on earth as it is in heaven.”

As I mentioned last week, Jesus not only preached the message that “the kingdom of God has come near,” he also enacted it. We saw that Jesus had the authority and power to bring the presence of God’s kingdom into people’s lives. This week we see an extension of that ministry in that Jesus heals not just Peter’s mother-in-law, but also “all who were sick.” Our lesson for today tells us that “the whole city” of Capernaum was gathered at the door after the sun went down, marking the official end of the Sabbath day. And while we’re told that Jesus healed “many,” we ought not make too much out of the contrast between “all” and “many.” Very likely, “many” was just another way of saying he healed them all.

Mark’s Gospel is notably brief in recounting Jesus life and ministry. And this episode is no exception. We’re left to wonder what happened. Did he simply “speak the word” and perhaps “wave his hand” over the whole crowd, and they were instantly cured? We might be tempted to think so. But that wasn’t the way Jesus typically operated. Luke’s account of this event says it this way: “he laid his hands on each of them and cured them” (Lk. 4:40). The idea is that Jesus healed each and every person who was brought to him, perhaps ministering to them until the wee hours of the morning!

Now, some of us might have just as many questions about the reports in the Gospels regarding Jesus’ healing miracles as we do about the idea that he expelled the powers of evil. We may wonder why Jesus healed people like Peter’s mother-in-law, but didn’t heal a loved one for whom we may have prayed. I don’t know why our cherished friends and family have to suffer, sometimes for a long time, and may never find healing. Despite the fact that we’re all familiar with various traditional “reasons,” I’ve often said I don’t think there is any way to truly answer the question “Why?” It’s one of those mysteries that rests in the hands of the God who reigns over all our lives with grace, mercy, and love.

What I do know is that the miracles of healing that Jesus performed in his ministry had a purpose. Just like his power to set people free from the evil that afflicted them, so also his ability to heal those who were ill brought the presence of God’s kingdom into their lives. While we may not see “spectacular” miracles today, I would insist that Jesus is still at work among us, bringing the kingdom of God into our lives. And when the kingdom of God comes into our lives, we are transformed by God’s grace, mercy, and love so that we can live new lives of faith, hope and love. God’s work in our lives enables us to become people through whom God works in the lives of others. The presence of his kingdom “among us” leads to the impact of God’s kingdom “through us.”

Our Gospel lesson has a surprising ending. After a night of using his power and authority to release the people of Capernaum from all the ills and the evils oppressing them, Jesus spent several hours alone in prayer. Peter and the others finally “chased him down” to bring him back to the crowd that was doubtless waiting for him back in town. But Jesus knew he had more important work to do: to “go on to the neighboring towns” to preach the good news of the kingdom there. He knew that he had a task to fulfill, and that was to bring the presence of God’s kingdom to all who would receive it.

We here today are among those into whose lives Jesus has brought the presence of God’s kingdom. We have experienced the transforming power of God’s grace, mercy, and love. And we are on the path of discovering what it means to live new lives of faith, hope, and love. But I would say most of us tend to take for granted the presence of God’s kingdom in our lives and the impact that has on our world. While the transformation we witness in the lives of those around us may not seem “miraculous” in comparison with Jesus’ ministry, I would say it is real nonetheless. When take a closer look, I think we will see that God not only continues to work “among us,” he’s also working constantly “through us” to bring his grace, mercy, and love into the lives of those we encounter.

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[1] © 2021 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 2/7/2021 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

Notorious

Notorious

Luke 19:1-10[1]

I’m fascinated by the way we use language. Specifically, the way the same word can mean something completely different in different times or different settings. For example, I’m sure some of the women would find it rather funny if I were to say that back in the day I used to wear thongs. Of course, those “thongs” were for your feet. We call them “flip-flops” now. And, back in the day, one’s “cell” number referred to the part of a prison where you served your jail time. In those days, if you asked someone for their “cell” number, they might take great offense, as if you were assuming they were a criminal! Of course, now it is just a common part of life to ask for a “cell” number.

The word notorious is one of those flexible words. For many people, “notorious” has meant the worst of the worst law-breakers. These days, it can mean that someone is famous. This was true even back in the day. Some of the worst law-breakers were not only notorious because they committed monstrous crimes. They were also notorious in that they were folk heroes, celebrated and even idolized by many. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker carried out one of the most vicious crime sprees of the 1930’s. Yet thousands of people attended their funerals to mourn them! In their case, the fact that they were “notorious” meant that they were “worshipped” as heroes.

Our Scripture lesson for today involves some bending of words. This story, of course, is not about the Zacchaeus of the children’s song, a lovable “wee little man” who loves Jesus. Rather, it’s about a man who had become obscenely wealthy by cheating his own people. Zacchaeus was not just a tax collector; he was a “chief tax collector.” He would have been one of those who bid for the contract to collect taxes in Jericho. Obviously, he expected to make a lot of money off of it. And the way he was going to make that money was by forcing his own people to pay every last cent he could get from them. Zacchaeus was not lovable; he was a “notorious sinner.”

That’s what the people who witnessed this interaction between Jesus and Zacchaeus said: they “grumbled” that Jesus had gone to be the guest of a “notorious sinner” (Lk. 19:7, NLT). Now, we’ve seen before in Luke’s Gospel that the Jewish leaders grumbled about Jesus being the friend of tax collectors and sinners. And we’ve seen that Jesus told parables to make it clear that the proper response to the “lost” who find their lives restored is to celebrate, not grumble. But here, it’s not just the Jewish leaders who grumble about Jesus. It’s the crowd! Apparently associating with one so “notorious” as Zacchaeus was going too far even for the people who were drawn to Jesus! Even they were beginning to view Jesus as “notorious” for breaking their sacred taboos!

 There are other twists in this passage as well. We just talked about the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector going to the Temple to pray. In that passage, Jesus says, “all who humble themselves will be exalted” (Lk. 18:14). In our lesson for today, we have perhaps one of the richest men in Judea climbing up a tree to get a look at Jesus. That was something a rich man didn’t do! I’m sure a fair number of the crowd got a laugh out of that. But Zacchaeus was intent on seeing Jesus—perhaps more so than anyone there. And he was willing to humble himself to do so! Once again, an outcast shows the religious people how to respond to Jesus!

The previous chapter of Luke’s Gospel also contains the story of Jesus’ encounter with the rich ruler who would not give his fortune to the poor. On that occasion, Jesus said, “how hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (Lk. 18:24). In fact, he compared it to a camel going through the eye of a needle—in other words, something impossible. The “ruler” in that story was very likely a religious leader for the Jewish people. But here we have the story of a “notorious” tax collector who probably had a greater fortune eagerly giving half of it away to the poor! While it may be difficult for those with wealth to find their salvation in God (and not their riches), Zacchaeus shows that “what is impossible for mortals is possible for God” (Lk. 18:26).

In a very real sense, this passage summarizes all that Luke wants to convey to us about Jesus and the way he embraced outcasts.^[2] That was where Luke’s story of Jesus began: with his announcement at the synagogue in Nazareth that the promise of Isaiah had been fulfilled: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free” (Lk. 4:18). The poor, the blind, and the captives were all included in God’s salvation. The despised as well—Samaritans, tax collectors, and all who were considered “unclean” for any reason. Jesus as the “Son of Man” came “to seek out and to save” every one of them (Lk. 19:10).

In order to carry out God’s purpose “to seek out and to save the lost,” Jesus embraced with God’s love those who had been written off as beyond help. In the process, Jesus crossed lines and violated traditions that offended not only the Jewish religious leaders, but also the crowds who followed him! In the end, they came to view Jesus as “notorious.” I think at least part of the message for us is that if we follow Jesus in trying to fulfill God’s purpose “to seek out and to save the lost,” crossing lines and violating traditions, we too will be viewed as “notorious.”

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[1] ©2019 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 11/3/2019 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] R. Alan Culpepper, “The Gospel of Luke,” New Interpreters Bible IX:357, 359.

Talking about Jesus

Talking About Jesus

Mark 1:29-39[1]

I ran across a surprising statement this week. Comedian and Actor Russell Brand was quoted in an article as saying, “My personal feeling is the teachings of Christ are more relevant now than they’ve ever been.”^[2] If you are at all familiar with Mr. Brand, you may find yourself equally surprised. If you’re not familiar with him, he is this generation’s version of Howard Stern. He made a career as a “shock jock”—basing his comedy on extremely vulgar and crude antics. Which, of course, explains his success among adolescent and young adult males! I would have to say that, not knowing Russell Brand personally, he’s the last person from whom I would have expected to hear about the importance of Jesus.

But then, if you think about it, that might not be so surprising after all. When it comes to actually talking about Jesus publicly I would say that we have “delegated” that role to celebrities. But the fact that we don’t really know them personally makes their “testimony” shallow at best and merely sensational at worst (Mr. Brand is promoting a new book). Those of us who have been around the block a few times have been stung by celebrity evangelists. They may flourish for a while, but it seems that their true motivation is always about themselves. I have no way of knowing whether that’s true in this case. But then, I think that’s part of the problem.

Our gospel lesson for today is about the importance Jesus placed on carrying out the task of publicly telling people the good news. After a hugely popular reception to his ministry of healing in Capernaum, Jesus up and disappeared. In fact, he had gone out of town to pray alone—perhaps to have the strength to resist the temptation to bask in his success! That this was an issue he faced is, I think, illustrated by the fact that Peter and the others “hunted him down”—most likely because they wanted him to come back and continue to draw crowds where he was.

But Jesus responded in a very strange way.  He said, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do” (Mk. 1:38).  In effect, instead of staying in Capernaum where he already had a receptive audience, he felt that he must be going, leaving behind the crowds to preach his gospel message elsewhere! For him, it was more important to fulfill the task of publicly spreading the good news than to stay in a place where he was apparently a big hit!

I don’t know about you, but this interesting episode from Jesus’ life makes me wonder what we’re missing about the importance of talking about Jesus. It would seem that Jesus viewed his preaching of the good news as something so vital that he would leave behind crowds clamoring for healing. I think we might be excused for wondering why he would do that. At least part of the answer was that Jesus saw himself as the one appointed by God as the messenger of “the good news” (Mk. 1:14) that “the kingdom of God has come near.” It would seem that Jesus insisted he must be going to other places because were many who still had not heard his message.

In our day, we may not think Jesus made a smart choice. We place a value on actions rather than words. But the words Jesus was speaking were no ordinary words. It would seem that he viewed speaking the gospel publicly as one of the important means of spreading God’s kingdom and bringing freedom and peace and new life to the people of his day. Rather than being “mere words” that have little or no effect, Jesus believed that his preaching of the good news was crucial. And so he told Peter and the others that he had to spread the word elsewhere.

If that is true, it means that we have an important task to fulfill. The good news still has not been fully proclaimed. There are many in our day who have no idea that “the kingdom of God has come near.” And even if they did have an awareness of that, I doubt that they would understand the implications for their lives. In order to address this problem, we have to give substance to Jesus’ message that “the kingdom of God has drawn near.” I think we do that by first learning to live our lives in the freedom and peace of the kingdom ourselves. But we have to go beyond that. We have to find a way of putting our experience of that freedom and peace into words, words that we speak to those around us.

We may not like to hear it, because we much prefer to stay in our “comfort zones” than to take the risk of talking to anyone about our faith. But just as Jesus knew that he must be going to other places to tell the good news about God’s kingdom, so we must leave behind our personal comfort. I don’t think we have to make it all that difficult. It’s a matter of simply sharing our experience with faith. Many of us may think we’re not qualified to do that.  But the truth is that one of the most powerful things we can do is to simply speak out of our experience of living the Christian faith. And each of us can do that. Just as Jesus knew he had to spread the word, so we must be going to share the good news with our world. The place to begin is to start talking about Jesus.

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[1] ©2018 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 2/4/2018 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Jesse Carey, “The Second Coming of Russell Brand,” RELEVANT Magazine, Oct. 8, 2017.

Next Generation

Next Generation

Psalm 78:1-7[1]

There was a time when “new and improved” was the marketing slogan that would move products off the shelf. Of course, over time, it got used so much that we began to ignore it altogether. “New and improved” was just a part of the packaging. Different times bring different slogans. For a while “Next Generation” was the ticket for selling a new product. I’m not sure many of us even knew what “next generation” meant, but it seemed to convince us that we needed to “upgrade”—or at least it made us want to! I think we’re already getting to the point where “next generation” is losing its punch. There have been too many “next generation” devices that just didn’t perform well enough to justify the expense!

One arena in which “next generation” still seems to have some selling power is in the church. In fact, there is focus group of Presbyterians calling themselves “NEXT church” that has been working to to promote church renewal since 2010. Their goal is to answer the questions, “What’s next for the church? What’s the spirit calling us to? How do we be the church of Jesus Christ in the 21st century?”^[2] It would seem that there are enough people trying to find answers to those questions that there is sustained interest in what NEXT Church might offer.

Our lesson from the Psalms for today addresses this question quite explicitly. In fact, the practice of teaching the “wonders” God has done to the next generation is something that the psalmist recalls as a command to be obeyed. The purpose of this command is fairly straightforward: “so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments” (Ps. 78:7). In this context, it would seem that the answer to the questions posed by various renewal groups is clear: if you want the next generation of the church to thrive, make sure to keep telling the story of what God has done. And do it in a way that is compelling so that they will “set their hope in God.”

Unfortunately, if we were to read the rest of the Psalm, we would hear from Israel’s history that telling the story of God’s wonders doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the next generation will actually “set their hope in God.” In fact, time after time, those who actually witnessed firsthand God’s “wonders” turned away from faith. The psalmist says that they “forgot” what God had done (Ps. 78:11). They “had no faith in God, and did not trust his saving power” (78:22). Perhaps the psalmist gets to the heart of the problem by pointing out that “their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not true to his covenant” (78:37). It is a sobering reminder that even those who witness God’s wonders may not “set their hope in God.” And it is a reminder that even the faithful retelling of God’s story does not guarantee that future generations will put their trust in God.^[3]

In spite of a history of unbelief on the part of Israel, generations later, the psalmist continues the tradition of telling the story of God’s saving wonders so that future generations would trust in God. In fact, he envisions the effect of telling the story not only on the children of the present day. He believes that each generation has to the responsibility to recount God’s wonders “that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children” (78:6). It seems clear that that faithfully telling the story would affect a generation not yet born. And beyond that, continuing to tell the story would lead that future generation to pass it on to their children. Even though the psalmist is well aware that not all will embrace the story of God’s wonders with faith, he continues to tell the story nevertheless.

It seems to me that as each generation of the people of God faces new challenges and seeks new ways to be faithful to the gospel, this never changes. Telling the story of God’s saving wonders always has been and always will be vital to the life of the church.^[4] While I remain interested in the ideas generated by movements like NEXT church as much as anyone else, I believe that a foundational part of the answer to the question of how we are to be the church of Jesus Christ in the 21^st century must include a commitment to telling the story of God’s wonders to coming generations.

As I mentioned last week, I would say if you are searching for a reason to motivate you to contribute to the work of Hickman Presbyterian Church, this is another place to start. While on the one hand I think we must entrust our children to God’s grace and love, we support the work of the church with our tithes, our time, and our talents to ensure that we are doing everything we possibly can to lead them to “set their hope in God.” We offer our service, our faithfulness, our telling of the story, as well as our contributions in order to plant the seeds of faith in the next generation.

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[1] ©2017 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 11/12/2017 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Gregg Brekke, “What’s next for NEXT Church?” Presbyterian News Service, September 9, 2016. Accessed at https://www.presbyterianmission.org/story/whats-next-next-church/ .

[3] Cf. J. Clinton McCann, Jr., “The Book of Psalms,” New Interpreters Bible IV:993.

[4] Cf. James L. Mays, Psalms, 256: “remembering and telling are essential to the existence of the people of God.”

Partners

Partners

Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21[1]

It seems to me that there have been two extremes in the way Christians throughout history have viewed our participation in God’s work in the world. Some have made it out as if everything depends on what we do. It’s as if God got the whole thing started, and then handed it over to us. And if we don’t do it all, it won’t get done. I think that perspective has probably inspired a great deal of effort that comes from guilt, but I’m not sure that’s the best way for us to participate in what God is doing in our world. After all, we are talking about God’s work here. It’s always been my opinion that if God doesn’t “provide the growth,” then what we do will not last. And yet neither do I endorse the opposite view which says that everything is in God’s hands, that God has to do it if it’s going to get done, and that we really have no place interfering in what is essentially God’s business and not ours! That view frees us from the pressure of results, but I’m afraid it lets us off the hook too much. The simple truth is that, for whatever reason, God has chosen to accomplish his purposes in this world through flawed and fallible creatures like you and me!

It seems to me that the biblical perspective on our participation in what God is doing in this community and in our world is somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. We’re not responsible for everything that happens, but neither can we just hand it all over to God and sit back to watch what happens. I think the concept that best describes our role in what God is doing in this world is partnership. We have the opportunity and responsibility to join with God as partners in what he’s doing in this world. I don’t know about you, but when I think about that, I feel both humbled and overwhelmed!

We see this partnership reflected in our lesson from the Psalms for today. The Psalmist expresses his wonder that God pays such careful attention to the human family in view of the vastness of creation. Then he goes on to recall that we mortals were created in the first place for the purpose of serving as partners with God in his work of creation. He recalls that when God created humankind in his image, he gave them “dominion over the works of your hands” (Ps. 8:6). [2] If you think about this, again, I think it is both humbling and overwhelming. God goes to all the trouble to create a beautiful world full of life, and then he entrusts it into our care! In a very real sense, God created us to be his partners in caring for and sustaining his creation.[3] What an incredible opportunity and responsibility! [4]

Unfortunately, there has been some confusion about this word “dominion.” There have been some who have taken it to mean that we can “rule over” the created order and do whatever we please with it.[5] In essence, this approach gives us permission to tear down and use the created order for our own benefit, regardless of whether what we do actually helps or hurts the natural world.[6] And yet, from a biblical perspective, nothing could be further from the truth! Our calling is to serve as God’s partners in creation, which means it is our responsibility to make sure how we treat the world around us actually preserves and sustains the delicate balance of the natural world.

That is an awe-inspiring calling. And yet there is more to our partnership with God. As St. Paul reminds us, we have not only received the wonderful gift of new life through our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Again we have been given the  responsibility of joining God’s work of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18).[7] We have calling and the opportunity to share this new life with those around us who still feel separated from God, alone and forgotten, lost and left out.[8] Once more, I have to say that the notion that God has called us to be partners with him in “reconciling the world to himself” (2 Cor. 5:19) leaves me feeling humbled and overwhelmed. What an amazing task we all share: “we are ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:20)! And Paul explains what that means: he says “God is making his appeal through us.” I don’t think that Paul was thinking only of himself. I think he was speaking of all Christians as partners with God in the work of healing our world.

The bottom line here is that there is a balance to be maintained. God’s purposes for this world are not solely our responsibility. The work of creation and redemption is essentially God’s work, not ours. And yet, neither is this work something that God does while we sit back and watch. God has chosen to accomplish his work of sustaining his beautiful creation and his work of reconciling the human family to himself precisely through us. We have been given a calling to be God’s partners in the work he’s doing in our world, a calling that is both humbling and overwhelming.[9]

When we think about our stewardship, it seems to me that what we may or may not give to support the church’s budget is a token of our response to that calling. Our giving through this church represents the level of our commitment to join in the joyful and exciting work of sustaining God’s beautiful creation and bringing all those who are estranged from him back into the fold.  And this commitment is one that calls for all that we have to give--not just money, but also our time, our energy, our intelligence, our imagination, and our love. And when it comes to stepping up and accepting this role as God’s partners, it will take all the energy, intelligence, imagination, and love that we can muster.

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[1] ©2014 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 11/9/2014 at Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. James L. Mays, Psalms, 67, where he reminds us that the Psalmist’s language is a close reflection of the original wording in Genesis 1:26-28.

[3] Cf. Mays, Psalms, 69: “God didn’t just make us; God made us both a representation and representatives of the reign of the Lord to the other creatures.”  Cf. also Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr., Christian Doctrine, 150: “God has graciously invited and commanded us to participate in God’s own creative work in and for the whole world.” Cf. also Donald K. McKim, Introducing the Reformed Faith, 38.

[4] Cf. H.-J. Kraus, Psalms 1-59, 185, where he points out that while the Psalmist expresses the idea that “The world and the human being are permeated by the radiating power of diving creation and ordaining,” he also adds that “the insight into this permeation awakens in the event of the revelation of salvation,” which points forward to our calling to be partners in the work of reconciliation.

[5] Cf. Mays, Psalms, 70, where he points out the “disparity between the vision of humanity and the reality of human culture.” He says it this way, “Dominion has become domination; rule has become ruin; subordination in the divine purpose has become subjection to human sinfulness. The creatures suffer.” Cf. also Guthrie, Christian Doctrine, 196-97, where he says it is a “fatal misunderstanding” to thinking that dominion means the power to dominate rather than the responsibility to care for creation.

[6] Cf. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 3.4.349-50 et passim where he contrasts this perspective with Albert Schweitzer’s views on respect for all of life.

[7] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 64 “It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill to the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church, creating the church as it goes on its way.” 

[8] Cf. Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.3:826, where he observes that the church’s existence “finds not merely its meaning but its very basis and possibility only in its mission, its ministry, its witness, its task, and therefore its positive relation to those who are without.”

[9] On this balance, cf. Barth, Church Dogmatics CD 4.3:842, where he says that the church “works in the power of His work, of the name hallowed in Him, the kingdom come in Him, the will of God done on earth as it is in heaven in Him. Not in its own power, but in His, its work is neither meaningless nor futile.”

Sharing Ourselves

Sharing Ourselves

1 Thessalonians 2:1-8  [1]

These days it seems like we’re all trying to protect ourselves from something. Whether it’s crime, or a financial scam, or the latest health scare, it seems that we’re always protecting ourselves from something or someone. And when we go into that protective mode, our “walls” go up, our suspicions are high, and we close ourselves off from those around us. Don’t misunderstand: I realize there are aspects of our world that are frightening and even dangerous. But the question we face as people who practice the Christian faith is how we are going to respond to those concerns. It seems to me that we can either withdraw from everything or everyone around us, or we can find the good in life and open ourselves up the way St. Paul did.

I think that, as we look at our lesson from St. Paul for today, it’s all too easy for us to think of him as “St. Paul the Apostle.” We may even unconsciously envision him as having a halo of holiness visible around his head. But the reality is that St. Paul was a human being, subject to all the trials and hardships and fears that we are. I might even say that because he was constantly putting himself out there for the sake of the Gospel, he may have faced even more challenges with the dangers he faced. After all, as he tells us elsewhere, at one point in his ministry he had actually been pelted with stones and left for dead! I think many of us might re-think our career choice after experiencing something like that.

But St. Paul didn’t do that. In fact, he seemed to constantly be going from the frying pan into the fire as he went from town to town preaching the gospel. In our lesson for today, he mentions the fact that he had been “shamefully mistreated” at Philippi just before coming to Thessalonica. If we read the story of Paul’s visit to Philippi in the book of Acts, we find that he was arrested and thrown in jail, although it was illegal to do that to a Roman citizen without due cause.[2] I don’t know about you, but I wonder how willing I would be to go on preaching the gospel after spending a night in jail. I’ve never been in jail, so I can’t say for sure. But what I do know is that jails in St. Paul’s day were a far cry from jails today! I think it would be more accurate to say he spent the night in the city dungeon.[3]

And yet, after all that he had already been through, when St. Paul came to Thessalonica, a new town he’d never visited before, he says, “we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition” (2:2). Just exactly what that opposition was, we may not be able to know for sure. The story in the book of Acts mentions opponents who followed Paul from town to town, stirring up opposition against him, gathering crowds to run him out of town. Again, I find it amazing that Paul didn’t just sail away to a quiet place where he could just make tents in peace! But that’s not what he did. He kept right on proclaiming the Gospel because he was compelled by the love of Christ and the calling he had received from God.

What I find even more amazing is that, after all that Paul had already been through at the hands of his opponents in a wide variety of places, he says that he cared so much for the Thessalonians that he was “determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves” (2:8). It seems to me that it’s one thing to share the Gospel. That was taking a great risk in and of itself. But St. Paul went even further in sharing himself with them. He cared for them deeply. He opened his heart to them. And in doing so he made himself vulnerable. But I wonder if that’s not one of the reasons why the gospel took root so well in the hearts and minds of the people there.

We may be tempted to think that St. Paul’s experience doesn’t really have anything to do with most of us. After all, he was an apostle. What can the life of an Apostle teach those of us who are ordinary human beings? Maybe his life and example relate to pastors, but how do they relate to those of us who aren’t walking around with visible halos? Well, I think St. Paul himself answered that question on a number of occasions. He often instructed the people in the churches he was writing to follow his example, because he was striving to follow the example of Christ. In other words, St. Paul didn’t see himself as an example of someone with a special vocation. Rather, he saw his life and work as an example for all believers to follow.[4]

So it seems to me that what it comes down to is how we will respond to the example St. Paul and many others like him have set for us. They faced dangers and criticism and opposition--and many still do today. I think we have to determine what we will do with the dangers and criticism and opposition we face as we seek to live out the Christian faith and share the gospel with those around us. Our natural inclination may be to withdraw into our protective shell and hide from what we fear in our world. But it seems to me that if we’re going to follow the example of St. Paul, in fact if we’re going to follow the example of Christ, we’re going to have to find a way to get past our fears and our tendency to want to protect ourselves. If we want to share the gospel with those around us in our community, if we really want to share the gospel with them, we are going to have to find a way to get past our protective walls. We are going to have to be willing to risk our safety and open our hearts to the people around us. We are going to have to make ourselves vulnerable and share not only our faith but our very hearts and lives with them. It’s a bit scary to do that in our day and time, but I think the only way we can genuinely share our faith is if we share ourselves.[5]

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[1] ©2014 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 10/26/2014 at Hickman Presbyterian Church in Hickman, NE.

[2] Cf. F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 24-25: “The outrage ... lay not so much in their being subjected, Roman citizens though they were, to treatment from which Roman citizens were legally exempt, as to their being publicly stripped and flogged without any inquiry into the charges brought against them.”

[3] Cf. L. Gregory Bloomquist, “Subverted by Joy: Suffering and Joy in Paul’s Letter to the Philippians,” Interpretation 61 (July 2007): 274-75. He says, “Prison in antiquity was not a ‘holding cell,’ but a place to impose greater suffering on the wrongdoer than the wrongdoing itself had caused. We would be shocked by the length of imprisonment for crimes that today would be considered matters either for fines or for a short jail sentence. And we would be shocked by the conditions of the prisons—overcrowding, hunger, chains, filth, inadequate clothing, illness and death.”

[4] Cf. 1 Cor. 4:16, 11:1; Eph. 5:1; 1 Thess. 1:6.  See Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, 2.2:576.

[5] Cf. Henri Nouwen, Here and Now, 127: “All human relationships, …, are meant to be signs of God’s love for humanity as a whole and each person in particular. … Jesus reveals that we are called by God to be living witnesses of God’s love.”

Living Witnesses

Living Witnesses

1 Jn. 4:7-21[1]

It’s not hard to see when we look around us that we find ourselves living a world in which a lot of people are looking for love in all the wrong places.  We are one of the most connected generations of all time, and yet we are more isolated from those around us, more separated from friends, family, God, and even ourselves, and therefore lonelier than any generation of humankind.  In a recent article, one observer argued that all of our “connectedness” through social media like Facebook is in fact only an unsatisfying substitute for real relationships.[2]  The study shows that it seems the more “connected” we are through our social networks, the more lonely we’re actually likely to be!

We who have looked to the church as a place of community are, to some extent, more fortunate than most.  Communities of faith like ours serve as extended families and support groups for many of us.  But I think even those of us who continue to actively participate in church would have to admit that the Church doesn’t always do a very good job of practicing the central command that we love one another as we love ourselves.  Sadly, as much as we might wish it were not true, in the church we are all too often guilty of “shooting our wounded.”

Our lesson from 1 John for today suggests that we look to a different source to meet our needs for love.  The elder John calls us to love one another based on the fact that God is love and is the source of love.  More than that, John points to the ultimate demonstration of God’s love in Jesus.  There is some significant theology behind this.  We call it the incarnation, the belief that in Jesus, God somehow came to walk in our shoes, to experience the fullness of our suffering, our struggles, and even our loneliness. Through this amazing demonstration of love, John says that we come to know and “believe in” the love God has for us (1 Jn. 4:16). 

Now, I think the theology of incarnation is an important basis for understanding God’s love for us.[3]  But I doubt seriously that most of us came to know and “believe in” God’s love for us in the first place through dogma.  It seems to me that most of us come to know and “believe in” God’s love because somebody at some point or another in our lives served as a “living witness” of God’s love.[4]  And because we have received that love, that means that we in turn have the opportunity in each and every interaction with other human beings to be the one who helps them know and believe in God’s love for them.

Unfortunately, we often fall short in this. Even in the earliest days, the church fell short.  John the elder, who says that anyone who doesn’t love a brother or sister cannot love God (1 Jn. 4:20), also attacks people who had separated from his community over doctrinal disagreement (1 Jn. 2:22-23).  In fact, he condemns them as “antichrists” (1 Jn. 3:18-19) and children of Satan (1 Jn. 3:10)!  Doesn’t sound like there’s much love there.[5] But if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to confess that we have all been there.  We have all fallen short of relating to those around us as living witnesses of God’s love.

 I myself have to confess that I have in fact cherished hatred in my heart toward other human beings.  The sad thing about it is that when we retreat behind our walls of bitterness and hatred, we are only increasing the isolation, the separation, and the loneliness in our world.  And we do it by isolating and separating ourselves from the world of humanity around us—a world crying out for some indication that there is someone out there somewhere who cares about them, who loves them, who values them as human beings.[6]

But because we know and believe in the love God has for us, we have the opportunity to turn all that around every time we encounter another person.[7]  We have the opportunity to choose compassion, to choose to be living witnesses of God’s love for that person.  We talk a lot about God’s love; we sing songs about God’s love; God’s love and grace and mercy are at the center of our whole approach to Christian faith.  But the real question is whether we actually show that love toward the real-life people we relate to everyday. 

The challenge is that relating to other human beings can be a messy proposition; even on Facebook our relationships can get complicated.  But that’s the way life is.  It’s complicated; it can hurt to relate to another human being; it’s frustrating and challenging to try to show love.  And that’s precisely why God’s incredible love for us calls us to love each other.  God’s love for us calls us to enter into the messy, complex world of flawed people and live as witnesses to God’s love for each and every one of them.[8]

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[1] © 2012 Alan Brehm. A sermon preached by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 5/6/12 at First Presbyterian Church, Dickinson, TX and at A Community of the Servant-Savior Presbyterian Church, Houston, TX.

[2] Stephen Marche, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” The Atlantic (May 2012):60-69. He cites a 2004 study that suggested 25 percent of Americans reported that they had nobody they could talk to, and 20 percent only had one confidant!

[3] Cf. D. Moody Smith, First, Second and Third John, 107; cf. also Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 2.1:275: “The love of God, or God as love, is therefore interpreted in 1 Jn. 4 as the completed act of divine loving in sending Jesus Christ.”  See further, Jürgen Moltmann, The Trinity and the Kingdom, 83.

[4] Cf. Henri Nouwen, Here and Now, 127: “All human relationships, …, are meant to be signs of God’s love for humanity as a whole and each person in particular. … Jesus reveals that we are called by God to be living witnesses of God’s love.”

[5] Cf. Raymond Brown, The Epistles of John, 85.

[6] Cf. Smith, First, Second and Third John, 108: “Apart from love shared, whether by God for us or by ourselves for one another, it is meaningless to inquire about God’s reality or being.” (!)

[7] Cf. Paul Tillich, “The Golden Rule,” in The New Being, 30: “For the other one and I and we together in this moment in this place are a unique, unrepeatable occasion, calling for a unique unrepeatable act of uniting love.” Cf. also Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 121: “Christians must show the friendship of Jesus in openness for others and totally.”

[8] Cf. John Caputo, On Religion, 115: “if we say ‘God is love,’ that means we are expected to get off our haunches and do something, make that truth happen, amidst our sisters and our brothers.”