"Grab Bag: Me and You, Noah" Genesis 9: 8-17; Isaiah 54: 6-10

This week we flip Bill Cosby's Noah's comment "me and you, Lord" that he utters when the rains start to fall.  Instead, we think about how God says, "Me and you, Noah."  IN fact, God says, "Me and you, humanity!" 

  1.  Not sure if the following illustration from the TV show Archie Bunker will make it to the sermon, but I found it fascinating, particularly since we have a baptism Sunday.

After returning from church one Sunday afternoon, Edith's recount of the service prompts Archie to ask when their grandson, Joey, will finally be baptized. Edith reminds Archie that he knows how Mike feels about such a thing; however, when Mike and Gloria bring Baby Joey over that day for Archie and Edith to babysit, Archie immediately launches into the subject. Mike and Gloria won't hear of it. Archie tries to persuade them that Joey will be denied entrance into heaven with him and Edith, and then suggests that Joey will be safe from his "own kind" throwing rocks at him if he "has religion." Archie affirms this by admitting that he threw many a rock when he was a kid.





Laughing him off, Mike and Gloria leave. Archie then tries to persuade Edith to assist him in having Joey baptized at Edith's church, on the sly. Edith will not consider such a thing, however, and Archie goes as far as to try to trick her into taking a walk in the park, with the intention of stopping by the church on the way. In the midst of their argument, the telephone rings, and Edith tries to give directions to their house for a clothing pick-up to the driver on the other end. While Edith is in the midst of her explanation, Archie takes advantage of her distraction and grabs an old sweater from the charitable donation pile, and also Joey, who is sleeping on the porch in his baby carriage. By the time Edith makes the discovery that they have left, it's too late.





Once at the church, Archie is dismayed to find out that the Reverend Felcher is not available to perform the baptism, but rather the ethnic Reverend Chong. After a series of politically incorrect gaffes on Archie's part, Reverend Chong assures Archie that he is perfectly capable of giving Joey a Christian baptism, but that he (Reverend Chong) is beginning to sense that Joey's parents are against the idea. After lying to the minister initially, Archie finally offers him a bribe, which the minister refuses.





Daunted once again in his efforts, Archie stops the stroller on his way out beside a station of holy water, before leaving the church. He proceeds to pray, opening a dialogue to God with the line, "A. Bunker here" and asking God not to forsake Joey just because "his old man's a dopey atheist." Archie then lifts Joey from the stroller and sprinkles water on his head, adding, "I hope that took Lord, 'cause they're gonna kill me when I get home." http://www.tv.com/shows/all-in-the-family/joeys-baptism-38238/recap/

  2.  Was the world more evil in Noah's time than we are now?

  3.  Having seen the photos and news stories from Hurricane Katrina, I don't think we can ever put the flood story back into the realm of sweet, little children's stories.  Flooding would have been devastating.

  4. The story suggests that God changes God's mind about how to deal with humanity.  Are we ok with the idea that God can change God's mind?  Or is that just our human perspective of how God is at work?

  5.  God remembers (8:1).  Walter Brueggemann notes that "the gospel of this God is that he remembers. the only thing the waters of chaos and death do not cut through (though they cut through everything else) is the commitment of God creation." This "remembering is an act of gracious engagement...an act of committed compassion."  Brueggemann, Interpretation:  Genesis, 85.

  6.  As we reflect on the flood, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina should be a constant reminder that even as we "water down" the Noah story for kids, we are still talking about total devastation, not a some sweet story in the Children's Bible.

  7. The Isaiah passage references the Noah story for the Israelites who are in exile.  They are asked to remember and trust that the God who remembered Noah will remember them.

  8.  I have an image of being on the ark and wondering if it will ever stop raining (in the Bill Cosby routine, Cosby has an interchange in which God says it will rain fro 400 years, to which Noah replies, "just stop up the sewers and you need to have it rain for 40 days and 40 nights!); will life ever be the same; will they ever see dry land;   a sense of hopelessness surely overwhelmed the ark. Imagine when the bird returns after not finding any dry land.  Sick of being wet; sick of being cooped up; wondering if there is any hope.  Into that moment, God remembers and rescues.

Reflections on "You and Me, Lord" Genesis 6: 5-22; 7: 11-16

This sermon grew out of the request to preach the Noah story from an adult perspective -- i.e. no animal stories!

I had a lot of fun listening to and sharing part of the Bill Cosby routine about Noah.  In fact, I turned the Noah story into a two-week mini-series with Noah's comment (through Bil Cosby's imagination) "You and me, Lord" being the key phrase.  This week it was used to illustrate how we run back to God; next week the phrase will be shifted to "Me and you, Noah" to describe God's covenant.

Early in my reflections, I thought about focusing the whole sermon on how we turn away from God until the emergency arrives.   As I continued to reflect, however, I decided to expand the sermon. My guiding principle was "what would adults have questions about as they read the text."

The suggestion that seeing what makes the Noah story distinct from other ancient myths, and how that speaks to our distinctiveness as God's people would be a good starting point for a series of sermons on Christian distinctiveness.

Not sure how well listening to Bill Cosby in the middle of the sermon worked for the listeners, but I enjoyed it!

“Me and You, Lord”  June 23, 2013; Grab bag series Genesis 6: 5-22; Genesis 7:11-16

Introduction:  Another week of grab bag sermons, this time on Noah, but not from a child's perspective. Last week that comment was defined as, "don't talk about the animals."

Move 1: Other myths

a.      You have perhaps heard of the Gilgamesh epic.

1.       The Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem from Mesopotamia, is amongst the earliest surviving works of literature. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epic_of_Gilgamesh).

2. Several similarities – dimensions of ark (more like a houseboat); flood; birds being sent out to find dry land

3.      Did the Biblical tradition draw on Gilgamesh or vice versa?

4.  In fact, biblical scholars can point out (as I think we can too with a careful reading) how the Noah story bring together two different strands of the biblical story to make one story (much like the creation story earlier in Genesis)

5.       Perhaps Gilgamesh and biblical story are parallel stories that both describe a huge event from history?

6.       Reveals the common human need for answers about God and God’s relationship with the world. 

7.      Our question – where was God on 9/11 paralleled by the question, where was God when the world flooded?

b.      What makes our Christian tradition distinct?

1.      Important question in our time.

2.      Important because of other faith traditions –

3.      Important because of society’s way of watering down, or blurring our faith with anything and everything.

4.       The “I am spiritual, but don’t give me that Jesus or God stuff”

5.      “we’re right and you’re not” does not seem workable anymore.

6.      In this world, we are called upon to share what makes our faith distinct and why following Jesus matters.

c.       Clues from the text

1.       Character of God.  Vs. 6: 6 – it grieved God to the heart; Word grieved in Hebrew is the same word that is used to describe the “pain” of childbirth.

2.      Walter Brueggemann suggests that the Noah story reveals the Image of God as” a troubled parent instead of an angry tyrant” (77).  An important distinction – We worship God, who is paid by our sinfulness and wants to find a way to overcome it, instead of a God who angrily reacts to our sinfulness.

3.      blot out; but wait – salvation still comes.  ark; same word that will be used for the basket in which Moses is put into to the basket of reeds to avoid being put to death at Pharaoh's decree.  And we are reminded that God chooses to save us. 

4.      We also see themes of God remembering and God offering covenant (I'll be hitting those two themes in next week's sermon).

The Noah story God and helps us claim our Christian identity.

Move 2: why all the details about the ark?

a.              I am fascinated with why there is such detail given about how to build the ark.

1.      I don't really care about how many cubits there are in the ark or that pitch was used to seal the ark.

2.      Maybe some engineers in our midst want to know that stuff, but I don't understand why it's there.

3.      But it is.  So we have to figure out why this is some important that the details are part of the biblical record.

4.       Why should we not dismiss it as just unimportant details?

b.              God is real.

c.               The challenge of following God.

1.      the tasks will be laid out for Noah, and they will be hard work.

2.      not easy being going where God calls.

Move 2:  Final point (still quite a bit of sermon left!):  the cycle of discipleship.

a.              Not quite the biblical story, but the comedian Bill Cosby's has a wonderful routine about what might have transpired between Noah and God.  Listen to how he envisions a conversation that might have taken place between Noah and God [“Noah: Ma and You, Lord” from Bill Cosby’s Greatest Hits (Track 3) was played for the congregation at this point}.

1.      Initially, Noah sort of likes the idea that he knows the flood is coming and his friends don't. He cryptically asks his neighbor, "How long can you tread water."

2.      You now the excitement of discipleship:  the first day or two on a mission trip; the month in seminary; the first mission project you get involved in at church. Awesome feeling like you are doing what God calls you to do; you are impacting others, being a disciple is so good!

3.       But Noah gets fed up with dealing with the building the ark, with the God who remains silent when Noah introduces God to the neighbor, and with all the elephant dung in the bottom of the ark.  At one point, God asks Noah, "how long can you tread water!"

4.       Noah is not so excited with all the work, the frustration, the acting in the present in the belief that it will matter in the future.

5.      The first days of mission trip morph into the 5^th and 6^th day – you’re tired of being gone from home, tired of your leaders, tired of the person who snores in the room, even tired of those cute little kids you have met.

First month of seminary gives way to the class discussions that give you an image of God you’re not sure you like, and then papers and final exams arrive and it does not feel like too exciting a call.

First project at church leads to your being on a committee for the next project; now you get to deal with the details, the decision that have to be made, the volunteers that have to be found.

            6. This following Jesus gig is a little tougher than you had imagined.  Maybe you ought to move on to something different.

            7. Maybe you have a gripe session with God like Bill Cosby’s Noah does (this is biblical by the way – see Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness or the Psalmists)

8.      And the lighting and thunder arrive soon followed by the rain.

9.      The complaints give way to the reality that you really need God.

10. Race back to God

b.              The cycle of discipleship – hearing the call, obeying the call, deciding to turn away, discovering God anew.

Conclusion:  Kids love the story of Noah’s ark. Great story.  But as you counts off the animals by twos, don’t forget the God who is revealed in the story – the God who calls us; the God who challenges us; the God who is waiting for us when the rain starts to pour.

Amen.

"Grab Bag: 'You and Me, Lord' Genesis 6:11-22; 7: 11-16

Another week of grab bag sermons, this time on Noah, but not from a child's perspective. Last week that comment was defined as, "don't talk about the animals."

Reading through the beginning of the Noah story led me in several directions:

1.  Bill Cosby's wonderful comedy routine about Noah.  he describes what it might be like for Noah to be building an ark in the neighborhood.  Noah sort of likes the idea that he knows the flood is coming and his friends don't.  He cryptically asks his neighbor, "How long can you tread water."

But Noah gets fed up with dealing with the building the ark, with the God who remains silent when Noah introduces God to the neighbor, and with all the elephant dung in the bottom of the ark.  At one point, God asks Noah, "how long can you tread water!"

The climax of the routine comes when God tells Noah that he has to get rid of one of the hippos. This sets Noah off and he goes off on an angry diatribe.  As he is talking, we hear lighting and thunder. Noah keeps complaining, and then he says, ""That's not a shower is it?"  Then, "me and you Lord."

That comedy routine has me pondering how often we align ourselves with God, but then we run into a little problem or two, how easily we give up. But, we quickly return in a crisis.

2.  I am fascinated with why there is such detail given about how to build the ark.  What purpose does that have in the biblical story?  Why should we not dismiss it as just unimportant details?

3.  Walter Brueggemann has a wonderful commentary on Genesis.  He focuses in the Noah story on how God's heart was changed.  how God chooses covenant.  I am actually preaching on the Noah story next week as well, which is where the covenant language fits better.

4. Brueggemann also describes Noah as arriving" in the story as the possibility of what can happen" (79) Interpreation:  A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, the commentary on Genesis.

What are your memories of Noah?

Can you think of times when you gave up on doing what God had called you to do?  Or a time when God's claim was so clear to you that you answered in a big way?

Reflections on “Grab Bag: Angels, Please Come to Order” Acts 12: 5-19; Hebrews 1: 1-14

Somewhere in the midst of all my words was a sermon!  I took out Move 3 (in italics) between Chapel and Sanctuary service, which made the sermon better.  I continue to find that these grab bag topics lead me to more material than I can use, so paring down the sermon becomes a challenge.

Weak conclusion at Sanctuary.  Worse at Chapel, although I don't remember what I did there.  

I think the analysis of how our angel conversations grow out of our imagination, culture, and biblical text hit the mark.  I also really liked the section about what angels reveal about God.  Admittedly, I didn't have a lot to say about concrete angel illustrations.  I suppose I'm not really an angel person, which may have inhibited my ability to illustrate better.

I found the John Calvin stuff really interesting.  I didn't reference it much directly in the sermon, but the notes are at the end of the text here.  Amazing how his thoughts from so long ago seemed so appropriate today.

I would like to pursue the topic of angels who are named in the Bible.  There are also lots of other stories about angels in the Bible.  I could spend several weeks preaching on different episodes involving angels.

From the Acts story, I would also like to preach on Rhoda not letting Peter in immediately; Peter thinking he was dreaming when the angel was rescuing him; or the gathered community of faith praying for Peter while he was imprisoned, including their not believing that in answer to their prayers Peter has been rescued is at their door step.  

I thought the Hebrew passage worked very well with the sermon.

 "Grab Bag:  Angels, Please Come to Order” 6/16/13; FPC, Troy; Acts 12: 5-19; Hebrews 1: 1-14

Introduction:  Rev. Alex Coyle served this congregation for 27 years  from  1943 – 1970. Some of you actually knew him!  He was a poet, and many of us have read some of his poems. 

Rev. Coyle also wrote a play entitled, “Angels, Come to Order” that I believe was first presented at a gathering of the Presbyterian Women’s Association.  Some of you may recall that a few years ago we updated that play, added a scene or two, and presented it as our Advent play.

As its title suggests, the play revolves around the work of angels.  In the original play, they gathered around a meeting table and discussed what God should do humans and how the angels could be involved in that.  In the updated version, the angels gathered at Jehovah’s Java joint to discuss what God was doing in the world and how the angels would help.

The play depicts angels in a humorous way, including the presence of a bumbling angel or two, a power hungry angel, and so on.  The title of the play comes from this sense of humor and chaos that is shared about the angelic gatherings in heaven.  These angels perhaps reveal more about humans than they do about angels, but they also point to the God who has acted and continues to act in history.

The play also reveals what I think has been an ongoing human fascination with angels.  No surprise to me that one of the grab bag sermon suggestions was to preach about angels.  And no surprise that I have spent my preparation time scrambling to come to sense of how to understand angels from a biblical text and from our Reformed tradition.

Move 1:  Angel conversations, if you will, involve a blend of our own imaginations that are fed by our own needs; what our culture (heavily influenced by movies, I might add, thinks about angels, and the biblical text. 

I want to try and sort through those different aspects this morning.

a. Let’s begin with what you think about angels.

1.      I suspect you think about angels in several different ways.

2., one ways in which I hear people refer to angels is when describing how they feel like a loved one who has died is looking out for them. 

4.      3.  Reflects our desire to be connected with out loved ones and know that they love us, even after they have died. 

5.      Or I hear people talk about how an angel saved them by intervening to prevent an accident or to give them some extra ability to get them through a crisis.

6.       Sort of like the Holy Spirit conversations I sometimes have, except the angels are more concrete than the mysterious Holy Spirit.

7.      Reflects our fascination with trying to figure out how God is at work in the world and our recognition that we need God’s help.

8.      Heavenly images – very few stories of heaven leave out the presence of angelic beings.

9.  Christmas pageants –  Hard to comprehend God at work.  I am reminded of the Marj Carpenter tells the story of two little angels waiting in the wings to go on stage for the Nativity play who were looking at their drab white robes and wings.  One said to the other:  “I know one thing about angels – their mothers pick out their clothes.”

b.       movies

1.                              The movies: A Bishop’s Wife, Cary Grant; Dudley; Remake  The Preacher’s Wife – Denzel Washington as Dudley – preacher prays for help; angel, who looks human, appears and teaches the preacher a lesson.

2.                             Heaven Can Wait, bumbling angel who brings a man to heaven before he dies. Warren Beatty movie;

3.       Christmas classic  "It's a Wonderful Life" gives us Clarence, the good-natured angel trying to earn his wings by helping George through a difficult time.

In particular, Clarence gives the impression that angels are humans who get to heaven, and that there is a hierarchical category of heavenly beings with angels needing to perform acts on earth to earn their wings.

            4. I suspect these movies and other cultural influences shape our understanding of angels.

c.      Look for a moment at the biblical depiction of angels.

1.      Angels are creations of God.  A separate created being.  Not some variation of humans or some super human that we become after death.

2.                     Angels bring messages from God.  Angel means messenger; “a spiritual being created by God, who serves at God’s command and pleasure to deliver God’s messages (Harper’s Bible Dictionary).

Story of Jesus’ birth, angels bring messages to the principal players, namely Mary and Joseph and then

I am reminded of a kid reading the Christmas story to another kid:  “Because they didn't have email then.  That's why god sent an angel to proclaim the baby's birth.

3.                     "Angel of the Lord" is a fairly common phrase in the Old Testament.

5. Story of Moses at the burning bush when he speaks to God.  Often use it as an example of God talking to us – if we read the story, we are reminded that “;angel of the Lord appeared to Moses” (Exodus 3:2).

4.      WE note that Angels have names at times in the biblical story.

5.                     Announce from the skies what God has done.

6.         help God’s people and punish God’s enemies;”  they often appear in the a story of the patriarchs:  Jacob wrestled with an angel; angels visited Sarah and Abraham; often confusing since God also talks directly to humans in OT

d.       Acts story

1.         Peter imprisoned.

2.         Night – angel of the Lord taps him on the shoulder and help him escape.  Peter does not even realize he is in the presence of angel.  He thinks he is dreaming.

3.         Angel departs after helping him escape from jail, and Peter goes to a house where church members are praying for him. 

4.         He knocks on the door and Rhoda answers.  She hears his voice and immediately rushes to tell others that Peter is there (it has nothing to do with angels, but I find it fascinating that she races off to tell the others while she leaves Peter waiting at the door).

5. Then  we have this funny little moment in the story. The others know it cannot be Peter because he is, after all, in prison. One says, “Maybe it’s his angel.”

6. This reveals with biblical scholars believe was an ancient myth that held that people had guardian angels, who could in a pinch act as their double here on earth.

7.  Apparently, the early followers of Christ were not sure what to do with angels either (Textual notes, the New Interpreter’s Study Bible, 1979.

Move 2: What angels reveal about God.

a.  God who engages us

1.   John Calvin:  God makes use of angels, not for God's sake, but for our sake (14.11)  

5.      Jacob wrestling with an angel as he tries to figure out where God is leading him and what God desires of him.

6.      Angels coming to visit Sarai and Abram.

7.      Angels announcing the birth of Christ.

2. God acts to save us

1. Go read the Exodus story.

2. an angel goes before the Israelites to lead them in the wilderness

3. Angels announcing Jesus are announcing God’s act of salvation.

3. Christ supersedes angels.

1. Letter to Hebrews reveals the confusion the early church had in understanding Christ in relation to angels.

2. Was Christ some kind of super angel?

3. Resounding no.

4. Christ is the Son of God.

5. God saves us through Christ, not angels.

2.   Hebrews wants to be sure we know that Jesus is God; that we do not need an intermediary like an angel to be in relationship with God.

Move 3:  Laying claim to the non-biblical image of angels.

a.      Loved ones

b.      People who God sends into our lives to help.

1.      God continues to engage us and work to save us.

c.       Trail angels -- trail angels – leave a soft drink or some food;

Conclusion:   John Calvin wrote on the subject of angels.  It is found in the section on God the Creator, and more specifically on distinguishing true gods from false gods (Calvin's Institutes, Book 1, Chapter 14, Sections 3-12).

Calvin reminds us that our focus on angels should not divert us from directing our gaze to the Lord alone (14.12)

"Grab Bag: Angels, Please Come to Order"

The sub-title of the sermon is taken from Rev. Alex Coyle's play he wrote that was first performed by the women of the church, and then a few years ago was updated and added to and became our Advent play.  It depicts different scenes in heaven, and gets its title from this sense of humor and chaos that accompany the angels

John Calvin wrote on the subject of angels.  It is found in the section on God the Creator, and more specifically on distinguishing true gods from false gods (Calvin's Institutes, Book 1, Chapter 14, Sections 3-12). the points Calvin makes about angels are:  1. Angels are created by God and subject to God.  2. Angels carry out things God has decreed and act as God's intermediary messengers (14.5).  3.  Angels "keep vigil for our safety, take upon themselves our defense, direct our ways, and take care that some harm may not befall us." (14.6)  4. Calvin is not sure if each individual has their own angel (he references Acts 12:15 in support of that notion).  He does caution against limiting God's care for us to one guardian angel (14.7)  5. Calvin dares not count the number of angels, but references biblical comments that speak of lots of angels (Matthew 26:53; Daniel 7:10; 2 Kings 6:17 and Psalm 34:7). 6. God makes use of angels, not for God's sake, but for our sake (14.11)  7. focus on angels should not divert us from directing our gaze to the Lord alone (14.12)  7.

Angels have names at times in the biblical story.

"Angel of the Lord" is a fairly common phrase in the Old Testament.

I often hear people speak of an angel as a person whom they know who has died and is now acting in a guardian type role.  While I understand the sentiment, that is not the biblical model for an angel.

The movie "It's a Wonderful Life" gives us the idea that an angel is a hierarchical category of heavenly beings with angels needing to perform acts on earth to earn their wings.  This feeds the sense of humans becoming angels after they die, but this also does not have biblical support.

How have you understood angels in your life?

Reflections on "Grab-bag: Belief -- Risk or Reward" Mark 1: 16-20; Galatians 1: 10-24

Another sermon based on a question from a member.  I have discovered that I have a little fear and trepidation when preaching on a sermon with the person whose idea it was is sitting in the pews listening to the sermon!

I have not figured out why exactly, but so far I have found that the sermons generated by the questions also generate lots of reflections for me, so it has been hard to keep the sermons focused and not ramble.

Mario, our Youth Pastor who has been taking the recorded sermons and formatting them for use on our web-site, taught me how to do that process since he has stopped working for the church as he seeks a call.  As he showed me the process, he noted how patterned I am in my preaching (he can basically look at the sound waves of the sermon and tell me with fairly good accuracy what part of the sermon is being shown).  That has me thinking about how to vary my preaching pattern, instead of getting into a rut.  With that in mind, I intentionally began this sermon with an illustration, instead of some introductory remarks about the sermon series.  In fact, it led to three straight examples before announcing what the question was that prompted this sermon topic.  Mario commented after the sermon that the first illustration might have been too long and included info unnecessary to the point I was making.  As I evaluate the sermon, he might be right!

I also had the challenge in the sanctuary sermon of getting to page 6 of my sermon notes only to discover that page 6 had not made it to the pulpit.  As I preached, I quickly looked through my notes to confirm that page 6 was not there, and then free-lanced that portion of the sermon before finishing up with page 7.  Fortunately, I knew the sermon fairly well, so there was not a major issue at that point in the sermon.

As I prepared this sermon, I recognized that the theme of having a checklist of beliefs vs. following Christ has been a frequent visitor to my thoughts in recent years.  I did have an added insight this week that it might be easier to find common ground with other Christian traditions when we focus on following Christ, instead of on the checklist of beliefs.  That might be an interesting topic for another sermon.

“Grab Bag:  Belief – Risk or Reward” 6/2/13; FPC, Troy; Mark 1: 16-20; Galatians 1: 10-24

Move 1: Perhaps you have heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the 20^th century German theologian.  Maybe you have even read is book, Cost of Discipleship. 

Bonhoeffer was a Christian pacifist who lived in pre-World War II Germany during the rise and rule of Adolph Hitler.  When the German Lutheran church aligned itself with Hitler and the German state, Bonhoeffer was one of the theologians who spoke out against the church’s willingness to partner with Hitler.  He joined with others in forming the Confessing Church that spoke out against the church being aligned with any state government, but particularly the German government.

His outspoken criticism and his pacifism that opposed the military rule of Hitler led to his being in trouble with the German government.

In June, 1939, Bonhoeffer left for the United States at the invitation of Union Theological Seminary in New York.  His friends had helped arrange this trip so that Bonhoeffer could be removed from the threat of living in Germany.

He soon regretted his decision.  IN fact, he wrote to American theologian “I have come to the conclusion that I made a mistake in coming to America. I must live through this difficult period in our national history with the people of Germany. I will have no right to participate in the reconstruction of Christian life in Germany after the war if I do not share the trials of this time with my people... Christians in Germany will have to face the terrible alternative of either willing the defeat of their nation in order that Christian civilization may survive or willing the victory of their nation and thereby destroying civilization. I know which of these alternatives I must choose but I cannot make that choice from security." 

He returned to Germany on the last scheduled steamer to cross the Atlantic. Soon thereafter he was imprisoned, and was killed by a judge’s order in April, 1945.

Bonhoeffer once described his life of like this:  “Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God's will.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/29333.Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer found it risky being a follower of Christ.

Peter and Andrew were in their boats going about their business.  I suspect fishing was not the safest occupation in their time, but they knew what they were doing.  There was safety in their daily routines of catching fish.

Then Jesus calls them to leave their nets and follow him.  Peter and Andrew follow, and their life gets rather exciting.  Not only did they endure the challenges of being with Jesus as he moved through the countryside teaching, healing, and performing miracles, but they felt first-hand the loss of Jesus’ death, and then the exhilaration of his resurrection.

Early Christian writings tell us that both Peter and Andrew eventually were killed for their faith.

Peter and Andrew found it risky being a follower of Christ.

We read Paul’s letter to the Galatians and are reminded of his story.  A devout Jew who persecuted followers of Christ until he was struck blind on the road to Damascus and sees the risen Lord.  That begins his journey as a great leader of the early church.

He was imprisoned, lost at sea, faced arguments and anger form some of the church communities, and he dealt with the unknown thorn in his side.  Church tradition has it that Paul ultimately was killed for his faith.

Being a follower of Christ was risky for Paul.

In the context of those stories, I share with you the question raised by one of you:  “If I am following Jesus, why am I such a good insurance risk?”

Do not miss the irony, that I preach and you listen in an air-conditioned sanctuary in a country where the only threat to our being in worship together is that it might interfere with our Strawberry Festival plans or our schedule of athletic events our kids have.

Move 2:  Why is it that being a disciple of Christ does not feel very risky for most of us?

            a.  Context

1. We live in a time and place where the world around us accepts the fact that we are followers of Christ and there are measures in place to safeguard our ability to follow Christ.

2.    In fact, in many instances, people applaud us for our faithfulness.

3. Even in our context of declining church membership and polls that indicate people are less involved in church life, there is still a general acceptance of people who of faith. 

4.  And we certainly live in a country where we are free to practice our faith without fear of retribution from the government.

5. Our context is pre-disposed to risk averse faith.

                        6. Some church historians argue that the worst day for the church was the day long ago when Constantine, the Roman emperor, became a Christian and decided to give special  privileges to the Christian church.   That created a world where faith did not require any risk because the church was supporting it.

b. We also create a faith that focuses on the risk averse aspects of our faith.

1. We tend to turn to God for comfort and support, not for guidance on where to go to put our faith on the line.

2.  Part of this risk aversion is found in our focus on making faith a checklist of beliefs.

3.  Do you believe in Jesus?  Absolutely.  Check that one off.

4. Do you believe in the resurrection? You bet, so check that one off.

5. Do you believe that God loves you?  Yep. Check that one off.

6. Do you believe in predestination?  Wait, I’m not even sure that is, but I probably do, so check that on off.

c.   Believing a series of theological concepts about God is easier than following Jesus.

1. Barbara Brown Taylor describes how this kind of faith works:   “If I am not careful, I can decide that I am really much happier reading my Bible than I am entering into what God is doing in my own time and place, since shutting the book to go outside will involve the very great risk of taking part in stories that are still taking shape.” (107)Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church

2.      That is not say that thinking about what we believe or being theological is wrong. 

3.      But it reminds us that what we believe matters most when it shapes how we act

4.      I am fascinated by what N. T. Wright and Marcus Borg share in their book :“There was a spectrum of belief about life after death in first-century Judaism. The Sadducees, the ruling elite, denied a future life of any sort. This may be because those who believe strongly in the future life were the more ready to risk death in seeking political or religious reform. One can well imagine that existing rulers would not wish to encourage such attitudes. (The Meaning of Jesus:  Two Visions, Marcus J. Borg and N. T. Wright, 112)

5.      Our belief should not serve to keep us from following Christ, but should instead propel us to serving Christ in the world.

Move 3:  how do we become disciples who take risks?

            a.  Force ourselves into new situations.

1.  Maybe one of the reasons that international mission trips have such appeal is that deep down within us we like the idea of feeling as if we are risking something (not too much, mind you, as the trips are generally fairly safe).

            2.  Whether it be the inner city of Lexington, KY or Haiti, or Africa, being in a very different context helps us see things differently.

3. It challenges us to give up what we come to think as the norm of Christian faith and asks us to come to new understanding.

4. do not have to travel – come to the Breakfast Club and engage someone.

5.  Work at Partner in Hope – engage the people.

6. discover how the world looks from the context of someone who is barely making it from day to day.

7. listen to how your beliefs sound in that context.  I bet you will be challenged to rethink your faith.

b. risk by continually challenging yourself to see if how what you believe is impacting how you live. 

1. Bonhoeffer got in trouble first because he was a pacifist.

2.  If you believe God calls people into discipleship, examine your life and see where you can identify God’s calling. 

            3. Work at making what you believe more than just something you learn; make your beliefs something you believe.

Conclusion:  Instead of leaving church family members with the well-meaning wish "Take care," we should depart from each other with the urging, “Take risks.”

Or as Jesus put it, “Follow me.”