Sermons in Glass 12. Spirit

Sermons in Glass: 12. Spirit

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

November 24, 2013

Isaiah 6:1-3; 6-8; Acts 2:1-4

          One Hundred and fifty years ago this past Tuesday, President Abraham Lincoln gave the historic Gettysburg Address.

          I found the news last week to be fascinating. It strikes me that it was only one hundred years from the time Lincoln gave his famous speech till President John F. Kennedy was killed in Texas fifty years ago.

          Yesterday, Linda and I drove through Gettysburg on our way home from my mother’s funeral. We stopped for a few moments at the site where Lincoln gave the infamous speech and Linda took this picture.

          As we paused, hoping we wouldn’t get too carried away and miss our flight out of Washington Dulles Airport, we watched people in uniform gathering to reenact the terrible battle.

          I was once again struck with awe at the terribleness of that war and the eloquence of Lincoln’s Address. As I looked at the site where he stood I tried to feel his feelings. Thousands of men lay dead in unmarked graves. What did Lincoln feel as he gave that eloquent speech?

         

          All war is terrible but….. THAT war…….?

          Many years ago I memorized the Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. I am sure many of you did as well.  Let’s see how much we remember as we read it together:

          Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

          Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

          We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

          We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.

          It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

          But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.

          The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.

          The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

          It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.

          It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

          There are many sermons that I could give from the Gettysburg Address but this morning I conclude the series I have titled, “Sermons in Glass.” These are messages based on the pictures in our stained glass windows.

          Today we turn to the twelfth and final lancet.

            At Pentecost the Holy Spirit of the risen Christ descended upon the disciples as tongues of fire. The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit.

          On the day of Pentecost, a holy hurricane, or tornado, or typhoon whipped through Jerusalem and blew away the expectations of all who were gathered there.

          The descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost has traditionally been understood as the birth of the Christian church.

          We may never know precisely what happened on the Day of Pentecost but we know that on that day the Holy Spirit came to the church in a special way.

          On that day the Holy Spirit became the dominant reality in the life of the early Church.

·        The spirit was the source of all guidance.

The early church was a spirit-guided community.

·        All the leaders of the Church were people of the spirit.

·        The spirit was the source of day-to-day courage and power.

          I ask.

                    Where is the spirit in our lives?

                    Where is the spirit in our church?

                    Where is the spirit in our world?

          Let’s sing together:

Spirit of the living God, fall a-fresh on me.

Spirit of the living God, fall a-fresh on me.

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

Spirit of the living God, fall a-fresh on me.

          A young man was apprenticed to a master artist who produced the most beautiful stained glass windows anywhere.

          The apprentice could not approach the master's genius, so he borrowed his master's tools, thinking that was the answer.

          After several weeks, the young man said to his teacher, "I'm not doing any better with your tools than I did with mine."

          The teacher replied, "So, it's not the tools of the master you need; it's the spirit of the master you need."

          We have the tools to do our work as a church.

          It is the spirit of Jesus that we need.

          Today at our Church Conference next year’s leaders will be elected. May they be filled with the Spirit!

          When was the last time something totally unexpected happened in your spiritual life?
          Where do you experience spirit—the living spirit of God—in your life?

          St. Francis of Assisi who gave up all worldly goods to live in poverty and founded the Franciscan Order, was such a lover of nature and animals he was said

to speak with them—even the wolf  was calmed by his quiet spirit.

         

          Francis was canonized in 1228. After a care free youth, he turned his back on inherited wealth and committed himself to God. He lived a very simple life of poverty and gained a reputation of being the friend of animals. 

          He established the Order of St. Francis.

          He died at age 44.

          He is the patron saint for ecologists.

          He is probably most famous for the Prayer of St. Francis. Let’s see if we remember it as we say it together. It is found on page 481 in our hymnals.

          Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

                   Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

                   where there is injury, pardon;

                   where there is doubt, faith;

                   where there is despair, hope;

                   where there is darkness, light;

                   where there is sadness, joy;

          O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

                   to be understood as to understand;

                   to be loved as to love.

          For it is in giving that we receive;

                   it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

                   and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

          Isaiah, the Royal Prophet, described his prophetic summons in the temple at Jerusalem. In an awesome vision he sees the Almighty God and is overcome by a sense of his sinfulness. Absolution is given when a seraph holding in tongs a live coal from the altar touches it to his lips.

          The call of the prophet Isaiah is one of the great literary insights into the realm of the divine. Among the most famous of the world’s mystical visions, it broadens the concept of vision to include not only sight, but also sound, smell, touch and, possibly, taste.

          It was for the prophet a truly experience of the divine.

          Worship happens wherever God is radically present, and the result is unplanned, unrehearsed and uncontrollable.

          Soren Kierkegaard tells a parable of a community of ducks waddling off to duck church to hear the duck preacher.

          The duck preacher spoke eloquently of how God had given the ducks wings with which to fly.

          With these wings there was nowhere the ducks could not go;

                   there was no God-given task the ducks could not accomplish.

          With those wings they could soar into the presence of God himself.

          Shouts of "Amen" were quacked throughout the duck congregation.

          At the conclusion of the service, the ducks left, commenting on what a wonderful message they had heard -- and waddled back home.

          Too often, worshipers waddle away from worship as they waddled in -- unchallenged and unchanged.

           Occasionally, though, something happens.

                   A serendipity.

                   Unplanned.

                   Unrehearsed.

          Someone's eyes are opened to a deeper awareness of the grandeur of God by the majesty of the music.

          Someone recognizes his or her life's story as the Scripture lesson is read, and a new believer is born.

          Someone hears in the sermon, as if for the first time, the forgiving love of Jesus, and a new hope is born.

         

          Isaiah’s call to prophetic service was for him an encounter with God so profound that afterward he could no longer see himself or his people in quite the same way.

          To Isaiah it seemed that the entire building shook with the presence of God.

         

          The Church of the Wayfarer, Carmel-by-the-Sea’s first Church, was founded in 1904 and has been on its present site since then.

          California redwoods appear in the corners.

          So, where are we as a church today? Our mission statement says:

Discover the wonder of life

Through Carmel’s Church of the Wayfarer by:

Reaching up to God

Reaching in to ourselves

Reaching out to others

          Our Vision statement reads:

                   The Church of the Wayfarer is a vibrant Christian community with                             dynamic worship and enriching ministries having the mission of                        bringing love and wholeness to our world.

          The Lackey Family Window above the front entrance was to add light and cheerfulness to the choir loft. It is simply spectacular at night—that is when the bulb is not burned out!

         

          The Arlen Lackey Family chose to help fund this addition in memory of Arlen’s parents.

          The church wanted a remembrance for people whose ashes are scattered and have no graveside markers remembering them.

          Marian Clemens says, “I think of it as "a remembering" of very special people and as a guardian angel.

          On this Sunday before Thanksgiving

                   Let us give thanks for the spirit of God among us.

                    Let us give thanks along with St. Francis for God’s creation.

                   Let us give thanks for worship of a holy God

                   Let us give thanks for our church and our guardian angel.

Prayer

          Some of us have too much.

          And others have too little.

          And your sure intention is that we each have all that we need. That we learn not to want what others cannot have. That instead we learn to want what we do have.
          Deepen the everyday grace at our table this Thanksgiving.

          Let us know our daily food as a miracle, as abundance.

          Let us remember each member of our family as a beautiful facet of
your creation, even those from whom we are estranged.
          Hear our thanks for our church, our leaders—all who let us worship together and who keep things working here.
          And finally, O God, hear our prayer for those who don't have enough.

          Let us play our part in the return of their abundance.

          In Jesus' name. Amen.

         

Sermons in Glass 11. Missions

Sermons in Glass: 11. Missions

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

November 17, 2013

Matthew 2:13-16; Luke 24:1-5

          One Sunday morning, a mother went in to wake her son and tell him it was time to get ready for church, to which he replied, “I’m not going.”

          “Why not?” she asked.

          “I’ll give you two good reasons,” he said. At that church—

                   1. “They don’t like me, and

                   2. I don’t like them.”

          His mother replied, “I’ll give you two good reasons why you SHOULD go to church today:

          1. You’re 59 years old, and

          2. You’re the pastor!”

          I found that in my box this week!

          I do like you and I know you like me so I am here this morning!

          I can always tell when my sermons are getting a little dry because someone always comes to the rescue with a joke.

          Before I go to the ‘Sermon in Glass’ message I want us to pause to remember two great men.

          Both died on the same day, November 22, 1963, 50 years ago this coming Friday. They are:

          President John F. Kennedy, and

          C.S. Lewis.

          The death of C.S. Lewis was overshadowed by the assassination of Kennedy. C.S. Lewis touched my life in a special way with his books, Mere Christianity and Screwtape Letters.  

          I could do a whole sermon on C.S. Lewis but instead we will go to Lancet 11 in our Stained Glass windows in this series based on the ‘Sermons in Glass’ from our windows.

         

          The stories in our windows are

                   stories of the life of Jesus,

                   stories of faith,

                   stories of history,

                   Bible stories that have been passed down through the years.

          They surround us each Sunday and I think that it is important that we know them.

          In fact, next Sunday, there will be a quiz and a prize for the person who can identify the most pictures. The prize will be that you don’t have to listen to my sermon! NOT!

          In today’s window Jesus triumphantly emerges from the tomb in this scene of resurrection.

 

          Then we go back to the beginning of Jesus’ life. Here we have the flight into Egypt. Joseph, Mary and Jesus leave Judea, having been warned of Herod’s rage, and escape the “Slaughter of the Innocents.”

          And finally, Albert Schweitzer, doctor, missionary, scholar, minister and musician stands at the pinnacle of twentieth century western civilization.

          Here we have two stories of Jesus life.

                   An event that happened when he was an infant, and

                   Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.

          There is an unusual Easter card on the market. It is designed to look like a Christmas greeting card.

          The upper half of the card features a nativity scene with a baby in a manger, surrounded by adoring shepherds.

          The lower half of the card features those same shepherds, 30 years later, standing before Jesus' empty tomb.

          Ever wonder which revelation of God was greater news to tell?

                   Was it the birth of God's love?

                             Or the triumph of God's love over death and hell?

          Isn’t it interesting that in the same lancet we have both miracles—

                   Jesus birth and resurrection.

          It takes child-like trust in God's love and assurance to have faith in these two visions of love incarnate.

          1. Jesus triumphantly emerges from the tomb.  

          Do you see the butterfly?

          Jesus is still wrapped in the grave cloths coming out of the tomb.

          The phrase in this scripture that stands out to me every time I read it is the question by the angels,

           “Why are you looking for Him who is alive among the dead?

                    He is not here. He is risen?”

          This is the all-important question for us this morning. There are some of us who still look for Jesus among the dead.

·        There are those who regard Jesus as the greatest man who ever lived on earth and who then died.

          That will not do.

                   Jesus is not dead; He is alive.

                             He is not a hero of the past;

                             Jesus is a living presence today.

·        There are those who regard Jesus as a man whose life must be studied and whose teaching must be analyzed. Jesus is not only someone to be studied; he is someone to be met and lived with every day in life.

Jesus is a living presence.

·        There are those who see in Jesus the perfect pattern and example.

He is that.

He is not only the pattern and the example,

          he helps us,

          and guides us,

          and strengthens us to follow that pattern.

He is not simply a model for life; Jesus is a living presence.

It might just be that our faith has lacked something essential because we too have been looking for Him who is alive among the dead.

          2. The flight into Egypt.

          This picture tells a story about Jesus early life—one we don’t talk about very often. When Jesus was a baby his parents were afraid that Herod would kill him along with all the other male children under two years old.

          This was called ‘the slaughter of the innocents.’

          The ancient world had no doubt that God sent his messages to people in dreams. So Joseph was warned in a dream to flee into Egypt to escape Herod’s murderous intentions.

         
          Matthew shows that Jesus' early childhood consisted of a series of moves—        the whole family shifted from place to place, giving Jesus a lot in common with modern day "army brats" and "preachers' kids."

          Joseph and Mary live both undercover and underground in order to safeguard their child's life.

          Joseph is told that no less than King Herod himself wants the baby not worshiped, but killed.

          Joseph's obedience to the angel's warning is immediate and unquestioning. He turns away from

                   his homeland,

                   his established livelihood,

                   and goes "underground" for the sake of his family's safety.

          Matthew's gospel interjects into the birth narrative the intertwined stories of the baby Jesus' family's flight into Egypt, and the murderous rage of Herod the Great.

          The so-called "slaughter of the innocents" recounts a crime so heinous that it continues to confound and confuse us—even with today’s violence.

          This is a story of choices.

          Joseph faced a night of terror.

          Faced with the choice of staying where it was comfortable and familiar or leaving for a strange land, he chose the latter, based on the divinely relayed word of warning he had received in the dream.

          We, too, face the same choice. We can stay where it is comfortable or go through new doors of opportunities.

          What doors?
          • The door of resentment, opening up possibilities for achievement.
          • The door of materialism, opening up opportunities for contentment.
          • The door of destructive habits, opening up pathways of freedom.
          • The door of sterile spirituality, opening up vistas of growth and maturity.
          • The door of relational distance, opening up circles of intimacy.
          • The door of entrenched attitudes, opening up arenas of openness and flexibility.

          When we are crippled by fear there is one thing to do—open the unknown door.

          This past week I spent time with a business man in our community. With tears in his eyes he shared his fears with me. Among them was fear of failure—he had a major business set back that day.

         

          Joseph had fear for his family.

          So, he opened the door to a strange land.

          We can do the same.

          3. Albert Schweitzer was a German—and later French—

theologian, organist, philosopher, physician,

and medical missionary in Africa,

known for his interpretive life of Jesus.

          He challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by historical-critical methodology current at his time in certain academic circles, as well as the traditional Christian view.

          He depicted Jesus as one who literally believed the end of the world was coming in his own lifetime and believed himself to be a world savior.

          Schweitzer received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of "Reverence for Life.”

          Among his famous writings is the book, The Quest of the Historical Jesus.

If you go home and read it you will get extra credit for today!

          From 1952 until his death he worked against nuclear tests and nuclear weapons with Albert Einstein, Otto Hahn and Bertrand Russell.

          Dr. Albert Schweitzer was not without controversy particularly his paternalistic attitudes regarding the Africans he worked with.

          Dr. Paul Woudenberg was the pastor here when the windows were installed. He spent time with Albert Schweitzer and even wrote a book about him.

          I have talked with Paul a couple of  times over the past weeks as I have worked on these sermons. This past week I asked him about the criticism of Schweitzer. His response was instant, “Schweitzer was totally honorable and this criticism is nonsense.”

          There are many Schweitzer quotes that I like:

          “In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.

          It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.

          We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”

          “Success is not the key to happiness.

                    Happiness is the key to success.

          If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

          “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.”

          “Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.”

          “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”

          Today’s Sermon in Glass reminds us of the resurrection of Jesus,

                   the protection of Jesus because of Joseph’s courage,

                   and a unique, though flawed, visionary missionary.

         

         

Sermons in Glass 10. Sacrifice

Sermons in Glass: 10. Sacrifice

The Church of the Wayfarer

Norm Mowery, Pastor

November 10, 2013

Genesis 22:11-14

            A few months ago a movie was filmed here at our church. It is ‘The Right Regrets’ staring Marilyn Mason. There was a private showing of it last Sunday at Del Monte Theaters so Linda and I attended. It is very good.

          The good news is that I was an extra in the movie.

          The bad news is that I was cut out and ended up on the editing room floor.

          After the movie Linda and I took the ‘red eye’ and flew all night to Pennsylvania to see my 94 year old mother for a couple of days.

          The good news is that we had a very fine visit with her.

          The bad news is that it was very hard to leave her. We both cried.

          Our ‘sermon in glass’ this morning has good news and bad news.

          This a series of messages based on the stories of faith in our stained glass windows. We are now looking at the tenth lancet.

          The top picture is the crucifixion of Jesus.

                    The good news is that the cross is a symbol of love.

                    The bad news is that the cross is a symbol of death.

          The Biblical Scene in the major theme window is of Abraham who is put to the test by God as he is required to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah.

         

          As he is about to plunge his knife into the boy, the angel tells him to stop. Abraham sees a ram caught in a thicket which is offered up instead of the boy.     Sarah, Abraham’s wife, waits anxiously at home.

          The bad news is that Abraham was asked to sacrifice that which was most precious. 

          The good news is that God’s grace provided an alternative.

          The bottom window is of William Taylor an early Methodist preacher in San Francisco who preached at Union Square.

         

          Taylor Street is named for him.

          After seven years in California, Taylor went to Australia, and it is said that he returned with eucalyptus seedlings which introduced the tree to California. I am not sure how factual that is but that is what has been reported.

          He then went to South Africa. As a retired lay man he was elected Bishop of Africa and served twelve years in Liberia. In the window Bishop Taylor stands in front of the Golden Gate with a eucalyptus tree at his side.

          The good news is that William Taylor preached the gospel.

          The bad news is that he brought those nasty, dirty, fire prone eucalyptus trees to America. If you have ever seen El Camino Real in Burlingame following a storm you will know what I mean.

          The key word in all of the pictures is sacrifice.

          Sacrifice is the act of giving up something that you want to keep in order to get or do something else or to help someone.

          1. The Crucifixion of Jesus is the ultimate example of sacrifice.

                    Here the last act begins.

                    Here we see love’s extravagance.

                    Here we see love’s last appeal and the failure of friends.

                    Here we have courage and cowardice.

          2. Abraham was willing to sacrifice that which was most dear to him to fulfill God’s demands.

          There is hardly any more disturbing story in the Hebrew Scriptures than the binding of Isaac.

          The only way I can make sense out of this story is to think of it as a test. Genesis 22:1 says, “After these things God tested Abraham.”

          The Bible never meant its readers to understand that God would allow Isaac to be harmed. While Abraham apparently does not know, we are allowed to know that the whole episode is a TEST, a test of Abraham's devotion to God.

          If you're expecting me to resolve the Abraham and Isaac story for you, I can only say that I can’t.

          I don't have the answer.

          Some people say that Abraham's wife, Sarah, was there all the time, hidden, pushing the ram up the hill in order to save her child.

           It wouldn't surprise me to find that a woman once again had saved the day, and once again had been God's instrument—and had been left out of the story!

          I suspect that the story says more about the way the ancient Israelites understood God than it says about God himself or herself.

          There may not even be an answer.

          Muslims tell this same story but instead of Isaac the child is Ishmael.

          There is no way to soften this story.

                    You have to feel some sense of moral outrage.

                    This is a strange, strange story.

                              A command to kill a son.

                              An obedient father.

                              An example of great faith.

          We have to remember that this story comes after Abraham has walked with God for quite some time.

          He’s seen God provide for him over and over again.

          He has come to rely on God, rather than on luck, to sustain him.

          Now, in this ultimate ‘test’ of faith, Abraham puts everything on the line and demonstrates a radical dependence on God, even offering God the most valued part of his life.

          This was not the first test of Abraham and his wife Sarah.

          Remember, how they could not have children so Abraham had a child, Ishmael, by his servant Hagar.

          It was only when Abraham was 100 years old that Isaac was born.

         
          Let’s turn this story into a metaphor of today’s fathers.

 

          Some fathers today are sacrificing their children on the altar of:

                    Materialism

                    Societal expectations

                   Keeping up with cultural norms.

          There are other dads who put their children on the altar of their own needs and ego.
         

          Parenting has never been easy but perhaps there are even more challenges today.

          Linda and I were in the Amish country of Pennsylvania this week. There we heard about the challenges the Amish are facing with their teenage children even to the point of them going out with horse and buggy to party.

          One even got a DUI while driving a buggy!

          While we were three girls were in an accident with their buggy at 11:00 p.m. when they pulled out in front of a large SUV. They were injured seriously enough to be air lifted.

          Parenting has its challenges in all cultures.

          Malcom Gladwell has written a new book. It is David and Goliath. In it he says something very interesting. He says that parents who have an income of less than $75,000 a year can tell their children that they can’t afford to help the children buy a house or a car. They just can’t and the children know that it is true.

          However, he says that if families make more than $75,000 a year they have to say they won’t help their child because the children know they can. That is a very different message and creates a different dynamic between parent and child.

          My point is that parents today are tested just as Abraham was.

         

          From this unforgettable story of faith, let me extract two great truths.

          FIRST, ALL PEOPLE OF FAITH WILL BE TESTED.

          Not as Abraham was, but all of us will be tested.

          Without testing, one’s faith gets flabby.

          Remember, if you want to improve your cardio-vascular condition, you must exercise. So it is with faith too.

          God is not like a recreational director on a cruise ship, just wanting to make sure we are having a good time. God’s aim is to mature us, to grow us into Christ-like people.

          That involves testing!

          As you look back over your life, think of the times when you did the most growing and maturing.

          Were those periods when life was tranquil and easy or were those periods of difficulty?

          My guess is that we do most of our growing and maturing during times of stress and difficulty.

          There is a poem by Robert Browning Hamilton that I like.

“I walked a mile with pleasure;

she chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser

for all she had to say.
I walked a mile with sorrow

and not a word said she;
But oh the things I learned from her

when sorrow walked with me.”

          If you are a follower of Jesus, you will be tested.

          Here is the second truth:

          GOD WILL PROVIDE AS MUCH HELP AS YOU WILL RECEIVE.

The Lord will provide!

          The most important help he provides is for our greatest need—forgiveness.

          In silence father and son walked the final steps to the mountain. As they approached their destination Isaac asked his father, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

          Abraham replied, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering my son." There was no other conversation as they slowly made their way up the mountain.

          A troubled father,

                   a trusting son,

                   making their way into the dim unknown.

          That's what faith is all about, isn't it?

          3. William Taylor was a person who put his faith into action from preaching in Union Square to South Africa to the West Indies to India and finally to Africa.

          He was tested many times.

          But he remained faithful.

          He was an amazing person living during the 1800s. Can you imagine San Francisco during this time? It was pre earthquake and during the gold rush.

          Here is his picture.

          John Wesley once said, “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America.

          But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.

          And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”

          What he meant was that we need to be willing to sacrifice—to give up something that you want to keep in order to get or do something else or to help someone.

          Geoff Van Loucks has a challenge for us. It is an opportunity to sacrifice.

Geoff,would you come forward?

Prayer

          As the world rushes by, O God, we want to slow down and find meaning in
you.

          In the age of information, may we stop and listen and empty ourselves to
find the simple and true message about your love for every human being.
          Create in us a place that is not touched by the world that calls us to rush,
hurry, consume and satisfy all our wants.

          Simplify our desires so that they become one with your desire for us.

          And when we are weary, give us the strength to find the quiet place that renews us for the days ahead.

          In your goodness, we pray the prayer of the ages that you have taught us saying…….