Sermons in
Glass: 5. Teachers
The Church of the Wayfarer
Dr. Norm Mowery, Pastor
October 6, 2013
Matthew 5:1-12
Our stained
glass windows are miraculous! I think that it must have taken a miracle to get
a committee of people to agree on what is in each window.
I don’t know about you but I am
enjoying learning more about our windows as I prepare each message in this
series. I have been here for ten years and I did not know that John Wesley and
Father Junipero Serra were both depicted in the same lancet of our windows.
In fact, both Wesley and Serra lived
during the same time—the 18th Century, both lived long lives and
both preached the gospel…… but in two different worlds….Wesley in England and
Serra here on the west coast of California.
In this series of messages I am
focusing on the life of Jesus as represented in the top windows. We have seen
The manger scene
Jesus in the temple
Jesus being baptized
Jesus tempted in the
wilderness
Today in this lancet we will learn
four teachers—
Jesus teaching the Sermon on
the Mount
Martin Luther
John Wesley
Father Junipero Serra
All in about 15 minutes!
1.
Jesus teaching the Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on
the Mount is found in Matthew 5, 6, and 7.
Your homework is to read the Sermon on
the Mount this afternoon or evening before you go to bed.
Our scripture this morning is what is
called the Beatitudes.
Beatitude
people are the people of God—the Body of Christ.
They’re
poor in spirit,
they
are wounded and hurting,
they’re
gentle and meek,
they’re
hungry for what is just and fair,
they’re
pure in heart,
they
seek peace,
and
they have a tolerance for being misunderstood by an unknowing
and unbelieving culture.
The Beatitudes are
not about us, and they are not about how we feel. Instead, they are all about
what God has done for us.
What is a church like that has a
Beatitude attitude.
They bless and are blessed.
They heal and are healed.
They pray and are prayed for.
They mourn and are comforted.
They hunger and thirst and
are filled.
They are gentle and inherit
the earth.
They pursue peace and they
are called children of God.
They are poor in spirit, but
rich in eternal life.
They are merciful and receive
mercy.
They are pure in heart, and
they see God.
A few months ago a
homeless woman named Susan Beach died here in Carmel under a tree in a vacant
lot.
I had a little
memorial service for her here in the church and about 100 people attended. It
was one of the best things I ever did.
Last week I got a
phone call from a police officer here in Carmel. The officer said, “Pastor
Norm, Susan Beach was cremated. Her cremains are at the Coroner’s Office in
Salinas. If no one claims them they will be scattered in an open field.
Wouldn’t you like to go get them and
bring them back to Carmel?”
“If you do,” he
said, “I would like to be present when you scatter them!”
Now, how could I
say, ‘No’ to that?!
Isn’t it amazing
that a police officer would want to be present when a homeless woman is put to rest?
I would say that there is something beautiful in this officer’s caring attitude.
He is living the Beatitudes.
Anyway, tomorrow I
am going to Salinas to get Susan Beach’s cremains.
In the Sermon on
the Mount there are teachings about
Anger
Marriage
Love for
enemies
How to
pray and how not to pray
Possessions
How to
give and how not to give
Judging
others
The folly
of worry
And the
Lord’s Prayer
I could preach a
whole sermon on any of these.
2.
Martin Luther—(1483-1546)
here we have the German reformer nailing his 95 theses of protest on the door
of the chapel at the University of Wittenberg on the first of November, 1517. That’s
500 years ago! Luther and Calvin were contemporaries—Luther in Germany and
Calvin in Switzerland.
The academic debate which ensued from
this action was the beginning of the Reformation.
Martin Luther was a German monk, Catholic priest, professor of theology and seminal
figure of a reform movement in 16th century Christianity known as the Protestant
Reformation.
He strongly disputed the claim that
freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money.
His refusal to retract all of his
writings resulted in his excommunication by the Pope and
condemnation as an outlaw by the Emperor.
Luther taught that salvation and
subsequently eternity in heaven is not earned by good deeds but is received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
His theology
challenged the authority of the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching
that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed
knowledge from God.
·
His translation of the Bible into German had
a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture.
·
On
a negative side in his later years Luther became increasingly critical of Jews writing
that Jewish synagogues and homes
should be destroyed, their money confiscated, and liberty curtailed.
·
His
hymns influenced the
development of singing in churches. There are nine hymns in our hymnal that we
still sing today—500 years later.
One of his great hymns we sing
represents him well. It is ‘A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.’ Stanza 3 says:
And though the world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
The California poppy decorates the
upper corners. I believe that they represent God’s grace.
3.
John Wesley—(1702—1791)
founded the Methodist Church whose beginnings date from Wesley’s first meetings
in 1736. His mother, Susanna, who profoundly influenced him, stands in the
background.
It is quiz time. Who was the founder
of the United Methodist Church? Many of you say John Wesley but I remind you
that Jesus was our founder.
John Wesley was an Anglican cleric and Christian theologian. John Wesley along
with his brother Charles Wesley, started a
movement which began when they took to open-air preaching to coal miners and
dock workers
in London.
Here at the bottom of the picture you
can see some of these people.
Wesley came to Savannah, Georgia, and
had a difficult time. His mission to Georgia contributed to a lifelong struggle
with self-doubt.
He returned to England depressed and
beaten. It was at this point that he turned to the Moravians. That led to John's
famous " Aldersgate experience" at a Moravian meeting in Aldersgate Street, London, in
which he heard a reading of Martin Luther's preface to
the Epistle to the
Romans,
and penned the now famous lines "I felt my heart strangely warmed.”
Methodism became a highly successful evangelical movement in
Britain and later in the United States. His work also helped lead to the
development of the Holiness movement and Pentecostalism.
Wesley helped to organize and form
societies of Christians throughout Great Britain, North America and Ireland as
small groups that developed intensive, personal accountability, discipleship and religious
instruction among members.
His great contribution was to appoint
itinerant, non-ordained preachers who travelled widely to evangelize and care for
people in the societies.
Under Wesley's direction, Methodists
became leaders in many social issues of the day, including the prison reform and the abolitionism movement.
He had two primary messages:
2. Social action and involvement.
Even though during much of his life he
was at odds with the Church of England toward the end of his life he was widely
respected and referred to as "the best loved man in England."
4.
Father Junipero Serra—(1713-1784) established missions a day’s journey
apart throughout the length of California. Here he stands in front of his
beloved Carmel Mission where he is buried.
Junípero Serra was a Spanish Franciscan friar who founded the first nine of 21 Spanish missions in California from San Diego to San Francisco, which at the
time were in the Alta California Province of New Spain.
He
was bitten by a snake at an early age and suffered from it throughout his life,
though he continued to make his journeys on foot whenever necessary.
He
suffered intensely from his crippled leg.
The missions were primarily designed
to convert the Indians, and develop self-sufficient land enterprises. He
confirmed 5,309 persons who were Indians.
Serra not only dealt with church
officials, but also with Spanish officials in Mexico City, to deal with his
frequent controversies with the military officers who commanded the nearby
garrisons.
He brought to California the European
products that eventually became central to the state's agriculture empire:
oranges, lemons, olives, figs, grapes, and vegetables, as well as cattle,
sheep, goats, and horses.
The treatment of the Indians at the missions
has been controversial, for they were under tight controls, were given corporal
punishment (beatings), and were not allowed to leave.
At the age of 70, Father Junípero
Serra died at Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo. He is buried
there under the sanctuary floor.
Franciscans saw the Indians as
children of God who deserved the opportunity for salvation, and would make good
Christians but Franciscans considered Indians to be childlike and in need of
protection.
The California grey whale decorates
the upper corners of this window.
This morning we have remembered four
teachers Jesus, Luther, Wesley, Serra.
Each one had a message.
Each one had flaws.
Each one made a difference.
We are all teachers.
May God help us to have wisdom and
grace as we live and proclaim the Gospel message.
