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the sermon was preached as part of a "Kirkin' of the Tartans" worship service. I am indebted to Karl Travis, a friend and colleague who pointed me in this direction for the sermon and gave me the ditty that did not quite work in my sermon (I suspect he pulled it off better when he used that ditty). the sermon was a little dry as I tried to give some historical perspective about our Scottish heritage. The reminder of the marks of the true church (emphasis on God's Word and sacraments rightly administered) was a helpful reminder to me as I prepared the sermon. Setting up our Scottish heritage in connection with last week's World Communion celebration was important to me. I did not use the Matthew passage as much as I had intended when I chose the passage to pair with the Deuteronomy passage.
“Stuck and Unstuck” Kirkin of the Tartans Sunday; SAPC, October 13, 2019; Matthew 28: 16-20; Deuteronomy 1:6-18
Deuteronomy 1: 6-18 The Lord our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Resume your journey, and go into the hill country of the Amorites as well as into the neighboring regions—the Arabah, the hill country, the Shephelah, the Negeb, and the seacoast—the land of the Canaanites and the Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land that I[a] swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.”
9 At that time I said to you, “I am unable by myself to bear you. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times more and bless you, as he has promised you! 12 But how can I bear the heavy burden of your disputes all by myself? 13 Choose for each of your tribes individuals who are wise, discerning, and reputable to be your leaders.” 14 You answered me, “The plan you have proposed is a good one.” 15 So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and reputable individuals, and installed them as leaders over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officials, throughout your tribes. 16 I charged your judges at that time: “Give the members of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien. 17 You must not be partial in judging: hear out the small and the great alike; you shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God’s. Any case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.” 18 So I charged you at that time with all the things that you should do.
Introduction: Last week we heard lots of languages and saw breads from different countries;
we proclaimed that “from north and south, from east and west, people will come to sit down at the Table” a testimony to the broadness of God’s reach and God’s love; a reminder
Today, we zoom in to the Scottish church, the church built in Scotland that gave birth to Presbyterianism, in which we find our roots.
Move 1: when we look at the Reformation era, we see that the Presbyterian Church (that is, the kirk, as the church is called in Scotland) stuck in Scotland.
a. In the time of the Reformation, there were changes going on across the European continent and England, changes in both the political world and the church world.
1. It was theological:
the reformers argued and fought over their understanding of who God was;
how people could or could not access God,
and the importance and availability of God’s Word.
2. But it was also political as princes, kings, and popes fought for power.
3. in Germany, for instance, the battle for power between regional princes and kings allowed cover for Martin Luther to survive and lead the Reformation.
4. In England, a similar mix of church and politics and the changing landscape.
5. England was Protestant for a short time (during which the Westminster Confession, which became part of the Protestant landscape), and then returned to Catholicism and morphed into what we know as the Church of England now.
c. Scotland was no different.
1. Into the battle between rival nations, kings, queens, and churches the Scottish church came into being.
2. In a hurried four days in 1560, John Knox, with a small handful of others hammered out the Scots Confession (a portion of which we will affirm later in our worship) The Confession was immediately passed by the Scottish parliament.
3. Scotland would be Protestant.
4. Scotland’s church would be Presbyterian.
d. From a theological perspective, the Scottish Church would redefine what it meant to be church.
1. Knox said that there were three marks of the authentic church.
2. First, the Word of God is truly preached. Scripture was to provide the primary measure of a church’s faithfulness.
3. Second, the sacraments of communion and baptism were to be rightly administered.
4. Third, the church was to be a community of discipline. To belong to the church would inspire a life of obedience and piety. In this way, the church would build a just and merciful society.
5. In its worship, the Presbyterian church in Scotland saw itself as very different from the church that was emerging in England and its liturgical ties to the Catholic church.
In fact, my friend and colleague Karl Travis shared a ditty he learned in Scotland that spoke to this difference (as background, remember the Larger and Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Confession begin with the question: what is the chief end of man?).
Piscy, Piscy, bend and boo
Up and down all service through.
Presby, Presby, dunnie bend,
Sittith down on man’s chief end.
e. Beyond worship and theology, the Presbyterian Church in Scotland also gave us a church with a democratic approach to leadership
1. that transition reminds us of the story we read in Deuteronomy.
2. A pivotal moment in the life of the Israelites as they are about to enter the promised land.
3. Moses takes that moment to remind them of what had happened earlier in their time in the wilderness when his father-in-law Jethro had come to Moses and told him that he need to enlist the help of others in leadership.
4. Now as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, Moses again reminds them of the need for shared leadership.
5. Here’s how the text says it; “Choose for each of your tribes individuals who are wise, discerning, and reputable to be your leaders.” To this point, the Israelites have had Kings and Prophets. Now, authority is trickling down.
6. And Moses did what God directed. From each tribe, Moses chose leaders. He shared responsibility and authority.
f. the church Knox helped put into place shared this same concept of sharing leadership.
1. in fact, its name, our name, Presbyterian comes from the Greek word presbyteros. Presbyteros means elder. A Presbyterian church is a church governed by elders.
2. As God instructed Moses to “choose for each of your tribes individuals who are wise, discerning, and reputable,” emergent Protestantism envisioned a church run not only by a professional clergy, top down, but governed by the people, through elected elders.
3. This was nothing short of a religious revolution. The church would never, could never, be the same again.
The Presbyterian Church had its birth and stuck in Scotland.
Move 2: Then, we might say, the Presbyterian Church came unstuck as it left its roots in Scotland and moved to America (not that the church in Scotland fell apart, but some of its members migrated)
a. The patterns of migration brought Presbyterians to settle in America.
1. Not quite following Jesus’ command to make disciples of all nations, but still going into the world to seek a better place or escape from issues at home, Presbyterians arrived in the colonies.
2. The first presbytery pulled together by Francis Makemie in 1706.
3. The Presbyterian Church growing in America, but also the Presbyterian church expanding beyond its Scottish heritage as the first presbytery included Puritan Presbyterians, Scotch Presbyterians, and Scotch Irish Presbyterians (A brief History of the Presbyterians, Leffers Loetscher, 61).
b. In a new place, with an expanding membership outgrowing its Scottish roots, the Presbyterian Church sticking to its core values in its new home.
1. The Word of God truly preached.
2. the sacraments of baptism and communion rightly administered.
3. The church as a community of discipline to inspire obedience and a commitment to working to make our world and just and merciful place.
4. and, of course, rule by elders. no pope or bishop in charge (they were stuck with ministers); instead elders elected by the congregation.
5. leadership that grows out of the pews, if you will.
6. The Presbyterian church stuck in Scotland; then some “unstuck” and move to America, where they “stuck” again in the same understanding of God and church.
c. Such is our call in our time.
1. The times change, we move to new places, come “unstuck” if you will, both geographically and theologically, but still the call to to stay “stuck” in our commitment to God’s Word and the sacraments.
2. We may change how we understand God’s Word or the sacraments, but God’s Word remains the place where we turn to judge our faithfulness, and the sacraments continue to be the place where we discover the means of grace.
3. To continue to be a church that calls for discipleship as we seek to bring mercy and justice to the world.
3. To be the church whose leadership comes from the people.
conclusion: the bagpipes, tartans, and drums take us back to the time of our beginning as the Presbyterian church - a rich heritage indeed.
God calls us forward to the new time and the new places where we live out our calling - a rich future indeed.
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