Sermons in
Glass: 4. Butterflies and Sea Otters
The Church of the Wayfarer
Dr. Norm Mowery, Pastor
September 29, 2013
Psalm 42
A man who went to the Methodist Pastor
and said, "Pastor, I want you to say a prayer for my dog."
The pastor was indignant. "What do you mean, say a prayer for your dog?"
"It's my pet dog," said the man. "I loved that dog and I'd like you to offer a prayer for him."
"We don't offer prayers for dogs here," the pastor said. "You might try the denomination down the street."
As the man was leaving, he said to the pastor, "I really loved that dog. I was planning to offer a million-dollar stipend for your church."
And the pastor said, "Wait a minute. You never told me your dog was a Methodist."
The pastor was indignant. "What do you mean, say a prayer for your dog?"
"It's my pet dog," said the man. "I loved that dog and I'd like you to offer a prayer for him."
"We don't offer prayers for dogs here," the pastor said. "You might try the denomination down the street."
As the man was leaving, he said to the pastor, "I really loved that dog. I was planning to offer a million-dollar stipend for your church."
And the pastor said, "Wait a minute. You never told me your dog was a Methodist."
Today we celebrate the Festival of St.
Francis and thank God for all living creatures and, yes, we will offer prayers
for our animal friends. You don’t even have to give a million dollars for me to
do so!
A 5-year-old at the beach ran up to
his grandpa, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore. There a sea gull lay
dead in the sand.
"Grandpa, what happened to him?" the little boy asked.
"He died and went to heaven," the grandfather replied.
The boy thought for a moment, and then asked, "And God threw him back down?"
"Grandpa, what happened to him?" the little boy asked.
"He died and went to heaven," the grandfather replied.
The boy thought for a moment, and then asked, "And God threw him back down?"
This is the fourth in a series of
sermons based on the stories in our stained glass windows. Today we look at the
four windows in the fourth lancet.
Each week I am focusing on the top
window of each lancet because these tell the story of the life of Jesus. We
have seen the birth of Jesus, Jesus in the Temple and the baptism of Jesus.
Today we have the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
The other three windows tell of the
four horsemen of Revelation, St. Peter the fisherman with the keys of the
kingdom and the first Pilgrim Thanksgiving.
It is interesting for me to note that
the artists and lay persons of the church over 30 years ago decided to include
sea otters and butterflies among these rather serious topics.
But that makes sense. When we are
surrounded by darkness—temptation and the apocalypse off we need to add the
beauty of the natural world.
Butterflies and sea otters and all of
God’s creatures are needed in our lives to bring balance.
On Friday morning after the walking
group Linda, Pixie and I sat on my bench at the beach and watched a pod of
dolphins frolic in the surf. We needed that moment to balance some of the
stress of life.
1.
Jesus tempted in the wilderness
Jesus' ministry was characterized not
only by great expectations but great refusals.
During every stage of our lives, our
actions and attitudes are curtailed by a certain number of what might be called
"necessary no's."
For example, yesterday I took my
granddaughters Emma and Kira for a walk around the art Galleries of Carmel. I
thought that they needed a quick ‘appreciation of art’ course but the whole
time I kept saying, “No. Don’t touch.” Some of the clerks were not so sure
about a four year old and a six year old hanging out with grandpa surrounded by
thousand of dollars of paintings.
We say:
-"No" you can't run into the street for your ball.
-"No" you can't reach for that steaming pot on the stove.
-"No" you can't have Peanut Butter Cup ice cream for breakfast.
-"No" you can't have a slightly squashed earthworm for lunch.
We drum these necessary no's into our kids' skulls while we have them at home, hoping and praying that our lectures and lessons will sufficiently sink in.
What did Jesus refuse to say? What did Jesus refuse to do? Morrison studied the silences of Jesus, his refusals, in order to understand what these "no's" were actually affirming.
How can we say "No" to the powers and principalities of this world? By saying "Yes" to the ultimate power and authority, God.
-"No" you can't run into the street for your ball.
-"No" you can't reach for that steaming pot on the stove.
-"No" you can't have Peanut Butter Cup ice cream for breakfast.
-"No" you can't have a slightly squashed earthworm for lunch.
We drum these necessary no's into our kids' skulls while we have them at home, hoping and praying that our lectures and lessons will sufficiently sink in.
What did Jesus refuse to say? What did Jesus refuse to do? Morrison studied the silences of Jesus, his refusals, in order to understand what these "no's" were actually affirming.
How can we say "No" to the powers and principalities of this world? By saying "Yes" to the ultimate power and authority, God.
In fact, the necessary no cannot be
invoked without the affirming yes.
Jesus said no to the Devil because he
had already said yes to the Father.
Jesus said no to the seductive words
of the tempter because he said yes to the authority of Scripture.
You say to your child, no, you cannot play in the street.
You say to your child, no, you cannot play in the street.
That necessary no is only possible
because you, as a loving parent, have already said yes to your commitment to safeguard the health of your child.
You say no to drugs because you have said yes to clean living.
You say no to revenge because you have said yes to forgiveness.
You say no to temptation because you have said yes to self-control.
You say no to Satan because you have said yes to the Spirit.
You say no to racism because you have said yes to love.
You say no to oppression because you have said yes to justice.
You say no to crankiness because you have said yes to kindness.
Once several members of a Hasidic congregation had become hopelessly lost in a dense forest. They were delighted when unexpectedly they came upon their rabbi who was also wandering through the woods. They implored, "Master, we are lost! Please show us the way out of the forest."
The rabbi replied, "I do not know the way out either, but I do know which paths lead nowhere. I will show you the ways that won't work, and then perhaps together we can discover the ones that do."
You say no to drugs because you have said yes to clean living.
You say no to revenge because you have said yes to forgiveness.
You say no to temptation because you have said yes to self-control.
You say no to Satan because you have said yes to the Spirit.
You say no to racism because you have said yes to love.
You say no to oppression because you have said yes to justice.
You say no to crankiness because you have said yes to kindness.
Once several members of a Hasidic congregation had become hopelessly lost in a dense forest. They were delighted when unexpectedly they came upon their rabbi who was also wandering through the woods. They implored, "Master, we are lost! Please show us the way out of the forest."
The rabbi replied, "I do not know the way out either, but I do know which paths lead nowhere. I will show you the ways that won't work, and then perhaps together we can discover the ones that do."
For Jesus, temptation meant flirting
with more than illusions of grandeur. Problem was the plan involved humble
service, not awesome political dominance. If Jesus did not think of these
enticements himself, a tempter was on hand to remind him.
While in the throes of his spiritual retreat up there in the Judean wilderness with little to do and nothing to eat, the devil reminds him, "You know, you could turn these stones into loaves of bread.
While in the throes of his spiritual retreat up there in the Judean wilderness with little to do and nothing to eat, the devil reminds him, "You know, you could turn these stones into loaves of bread.
Crusty, chewy, extraordinarily tasty
bread."
Of course he could. Water into wine. Stones into bread. What's the difference? But Jesus was up in some down time. Wilderness time meant personal time, spiritual time. He could turn stones into bread, sure, but bread is not everything. One does not live by bread alone.
The devil flatters him. "You could fling yourself off the pinnacle of the temple, and armies of angels will swoop down and save you at the click of a finger. How cool is that?" But Jesus knew better than to test God with such games.
The devil tempts him: "You're the man. You have the power. You could take control of the world." With an arm casually tossed around his shoulder, the tempter eggs him on saying, "One day all this could be yours," as if the devil were the one who could bequeath it. Jesus could have trumped The Donald, out-monopolized Bill Gates, crushed the power of the world's most sophisticated armies, richest treasuries and smartest think tanks. But instead, he waved Satan off like a pesky fly, remembering the commandment: "Worship the Lord your God and serve only him."
Of course he could. Water into wine. Stones into bread. What's the difference? But Jesus was up in some down time. Wilderness time meant personal time, spiritual time. He could turn stones into bread, sure, but bread is not everything. One does not live by bread alone.
The devil flatters him. "You could fling yourself off the pinnacle of the temple, and armies of angels will swoop down and save you at the click of a finger. How cool is that?" But Jesus knew better than to test God with such games.
The devil tempts him: "You're the man. You have the power. You could take control of the world." With an arm casually tossed around his shoulder, the tempter eggs him on saying, "One day all this could be yours," as if the devil were the one who could bequeath it. Jesus could have trumped The Donald, out-monopolized Bill Gates, crushed the power of the world's most sophisticated armies, richest treasuries and smartest think tanks. But instead, he waved Satan off like a pesky fly, remembering the commandment: "Worship the Lord your God and serve only him."
For us to challenge a temptation, you
can ask yourself a series of questions:
Does this bring me genuine power?
Will this make me more loving?
Will this make me more whole?
Each time you challenge a temptation successfully, you empower yourself.
Does this bring me genuine power?
Will this make me more loving?
Will this make me more whole?
Each time you challenge a temptation successfully, you empower yourself.
It is not what we eat, but what we
digest that makes us strong,
Not what we gain, but what we save that makes us rich,
Not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned,
Not what we preach or pray, but what we practice that makes us disciples.
Not what we gain, but what we save that makes us rich,
Not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned,
Not what we preach or pray, but what we practice that makes us disciples.
2.
John, the writer of the Book of Revelation and the four horsemen
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation.
of Jesus Christ to Saint John the
Evangelist
at 6:1-8. The chapter tells of a "'book', or 'scroll', in God's right hand
that is sealed with seven seals". The Lamb of God, or Lion of
Judah (Jesus Christ), opens the
first four of the seven seals, which summons forth four beings that ride out on white, red,
black, and pale horses. Although some
interpretations differ, in most accounts, the four riders are seen as
symbolizing Conquest,[1] War,[2] Famine,[3] and Death, respectively. The Christian apocalyptic vision is that
the four horsemen are to set a divine apocalypse upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment.[1][4]
3.
St. Peter, the fisherman, toils a his craft. Pictured with him are the kesy
of the kingdom of heaven granted him by Jesus.
4.
The First Pilgrim Thanksgiving
Merciful
God,
your Son was tempted as we are,
yet without sin:
Be with us in our weakness,
that we may know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
—Church of the Province of Southern Africa, An Anglican Prayer Book, 1989 (London: Collins, 1990), 166.
Prayers of Confession General
Eternal God,
Your love for us is without end,
yet our love for you and for one another is weak,
often interrupted by self-centeredness ... distrust ... vindictiveness.
Whenever we come together to pray to you,
we have to acknowledge that much of our life deserves your displeasure,
that our life together is too often disfigured by our selfishness and self-love.
Forgive us, we pray, and restore us to fellowship with you and with one another.
For Jesus' sake.
your Son was tempted as we are,
yet without sin:
Be with us in our weakness,
that we may know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
—Church of the Province of Southern Africa, An Anglican Prayer Book, 1989 (London: Collins, 1990), 166.
Prayers of Confession General
Eternal God,
Your love for us is without end,
yet our love for you and for one another is weak,
often interrupted by self-centeredness ... distrust ... vindictiveness.
Whenever we come together to pray to you,
we have to acknowledge that much of our life deserves your displeasure,
that our life together is too often disfigured by our selfishness and self-love.
Forgive us, we pray, and restore us to fellowship with you and with one another.
For Jesus' sake.
