Steelers and Exorcism

Sermon on Mark 1:21-28

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, February 1, 2009,

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B,

(word count: 649)

The Baptized are Exorcists

Why are the Steelers addictive? One reason is that the Steelers make us feel powerful. The Steelers are big, fast, talented, and strong, and when they win, we win. Their victory is our victory. Their speed, strength, and skill are, in a way, our speed, strength and skill. They are our team. One reason we obsess over the Steelers is that they make us feel powerful, special.

There is nothing wrong with adoring the Steelers, with drawing power from them. Granted, we don't want to get carried away. If our devotion to the Steelers interferes with our well-being or our relationships with others and God, then we have a problem. For the most part, though, sharing in the Steelers' power can add enjoyment to our lives. Go, Steelers!

If the Steelers can give us so much power, think about how much more power Christ gives us. After all, Christ is stronger, faster, more powerful, and, best of all, more loving than Hines, Ben and Troy combined. Christ has the ultimate authority, the highest power, and Christ shares that with us.

We have a dramatic picture of that power and authority in our gospel, Mark 1:21-28. In the middle of the worship service, a man possessed with an unclean spirit, a demon, yells at Jesus. Jesus yells back, “Be silent, and come out of him!” The demon convulses the man, cries with a loud voice, and leaves the man. Jesus is so powerful that even unclean spirits from hell are afraid of him and must leave when he commands them to.

This story does not guarantee that Jesus will protect us from all evil, from all demons. Unclean spirits spin and howl throughout this world, and we Christians will sometimes suffer because of them. What this story does guarantee is that, ultimately, Jesus Christ is stronger, mightier, more powerful, and has greater authority than evil.

Further, Jesus shares his power with us. His power is our power. Jesus has given us eternal life. Jesus Christ has given us the Holy Spirit. Jesus has assured us that we shall do wondrous works of power because of him [support]. Just as the Steelers help us to feel powerful and special whenever they win, even more so Jesus Christ gives us the highest power, the power of God.

Therefore, because of Christ's power, we do not need to cower when the world's evil scares us. We do not need to wave the white flag of surrender when hatred seems to rule. When Satan holds us at gunpoint, we can retaliate with the perfect love that exorcises fear. We are exorcists who, by Christ's power, can say no to evil, no to Satan, no to despair, no to injustice, no to racism, no to abuse, no to alcoholism, no to poverty. We are the baptized, the saved, the holy. By Christ's power, we can refuse to surrender to Satan. We must not be overcome by evil but must and shall overcome evil with good.

Just as the Steelers give us victory through their power, Christ gives us a far greater victory through his powerful authority. Through Christ's powerful authority, we, the baptized, are exorcists. We are the ones who can, must and shall drive away evil, drive away the Devil.

Let's do something from the baptismal service. I am going to ask you a series of questions. In response to each question, say, “We renounce them.” Here we go.

“Do you renounce the devil and all the forces that defy God?” If so, say, “We renounce them.”

“Do you renounce the powers of this world that rebel against God?” If so, say, “We renounce them.”

“Do you renounce the ways of sin that draw you from God?” If so, say, “We renounce them.”

By Christ's power and authority, we renounce evil and the Devil. We are exorcists.

Theovolution

Sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, January 25, 2009,

Third Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B,

(word count: 1157)

Theovolution

Our second reading, 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, is weird. In those verses, Paul writes, “Let those who have wives be as though they had none. [A] nd those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no possessions, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.”

“What? Paul, are you saying that, if I am married, I should act like I'm not? I don't think Kim would take kindly to that. And if I am grieving, am I supposed to put on a phony smile and pretend that I am fine? That's dishonest. Aren't we Christians supposed to be honest, genuine, not phony? Paul, why do you urge us in this passage from 1 Corinthians to act the opposite of the way we are?”

Paul replies, “Dave, you're misunderstanding my poetry. Of course I want you to be faithful to Kim. After all, I write elsewhere in 1 Corinthians that a married person should care for her or his spouse. Likewise, if you are grieving or rejoicing, of course you are not be phony. Christians are to be genuine, truthful.”

“Okay, Paul, so what do you mean when you tell us to act the opposite of the way we are?”

Paul puts his large, rough hand on my shoulder. He holds up an index finger and says, “What I mean, David, is that you and I, the baptized, need to focus on God. Don't let marriage, grief, joy, possessions, or worldly dealings get in the way of concentrating on God.” He nods. I nod. We both nod. Then he adds, “And one crucial reason for focusing on God is that the end is near. The end is near.”

When I hear Paul say that, I remember him writing in 1 Corinthians 7, “The appointed time has grown short [ . . . ] the present form of this world is passing away.” The time is fulfilled, so focus on God first. Get ready. Repent and believe. Drop everything. Put Christ first. Don't procrastinate. Don't put Christ off to tomorrow. The time is now. The end is near.

I say to Paul, “Sir, no offense, but the Church has been announcing for two-thousand years that the end is near. You wrote 1 Corinthians two millennia ago, but the end has not come. Why should I continue to believe that the end is coming, that the present form of this world is passing away?”

Paul clears his throat. He says, “We simply must have faith that the end will arrive. In the meantime, the present form of this world is passing away. It may be passing away slowly, but it is still passing away. God is today working on making all things new. The new creation is a work in progress.”

I recall Revelation 21:5, in which, indeed, God declares, “I am making all things new.” We don't know when the end will come, but we do know that God is working in the present to erase the old world, to make all things new. The deletion of this world and the final renewal will not happen in a blink at the end. The renewing process goes on yesterday, tomorrow, and today, right now.

God is causing creation to evolve into a new world in which sin and death will be extinct and new life will stand upright. God is making all things new. God is causing the world to evolve.

By using the term “evolve,” I don't mean evolution in the sense of Darwin, although Darwin's theory is sound. Darwin was a genius who gave us an understanding of nature that scientists have verified over and over. Further, a Christian can believe in Darwin's theory and be a Christian. In fact, Darwin himself writes in The Origin of Species, “I see no good reason why the views given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of any one.” Moreover, in 2005, 10,000 clergy signed an e-letter that states, “[ . . . ] the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist” (in Peters, Martinez, Can You Believe in God and Evolution, p.88). I agree.

I agree with much of Darwin's theory, too, but I am not talking about Darwin here. Here, when I use the word “evolution,” I mean simply that God is working right now, today and every day, to make the old world pass away and to make all things new (Peters, Martinez, p.130-1).

Many of us Christians talk as if the opposite were the case. We speak as if the world is getting worse, not better. It is indeed tempting for us to believe that good is losing to evil.

However, the Bible declares otherwise. Granted, Scripture, such as in Revelation, warns us of terrifying disasters and unprecedented evil. At the same time, the Bible holds before us fragrant, blooming hope. In essence, Revelation and other passages announce, “Yes, there will be horrors, but do not give up hope. Even when Satan spits in your face with his claws around your throat, do not give up hope.” God assures us, saying, “I am making all things new. Trust me. I really am. You'll see.”

Hm. Technology and medical science have never been better. Maybe those improvements are part of God making all things new. What other improvements are there? Could it be that we can see, hear and feel evidence of God making all things new, of God making the world better? I wonder.

In any case, whether we can see evidence or not, we have the promise that sin will not win; Satan will not survive; death will die; wickedness will wither. Christ will return to end evil. We have the scrumptious promise that today, right now, God is working, sleeves rolled up, making all things new. By God's power, the world is evolving away from evil and toward love eternal. In fact, maybe this week, God will use you, one of the baptized, to help make the world new.

Now Jesus stands face-to-face with you. He says, “I have won a place in heaven for you. You are the baptized, the saved. So then, drop everything. Follow me. Help make the world new.”

Stand Up

Sermon on Theodicy and St. James' Mission

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, January 18, 2009,

Second Sunday after the Epiphany, Year B,

(word count: 979)

Stand Up

The number one reason people give for rejecting God is suffering. “If God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and supremely loving, then why is there suffering?” Why? Some people say, “I can't believe in a god who allowed the Holocaust and 9-11. I can't believe in a god who allows cancer, Alzheimer's and drunk drivers to kill people I love. God, we're through. As of now, you and I are no longer on speaking terms.”

Why does God permit misery? That's a legitimate question, and it is difficult to answer. The Bible, such as in Psalm 22, gives us permission to ask why, but there is no guarantee we will receive an answer. I have yet to hear an answer to the why question that puts to rest all doubts and follow-up questions. Why does God permit misery? I don't know.

Part of the answer is free will. God does not want us to be robots. God wants us to be free. God has granted us free will, and free will means that we humans have the freedom to sin. Free will means that people have the freedom to fly planes into buildings or shoot strangers at school. Free will means that people have the freedom to lynch people because of their skin color. Why does God allow suffering? One reason is that God allows free will, and free will includes the freedom to do evil.

Further, sometimes that freedom to do evil has a far-reaching effect. Think about it. A little girl is hit by a car and killed. We are angry with God. We want to know why he let this happen. We demand answers. What we don't know is that she had raced into the road to try to catch her cat. Her cat had escaped from the house because the girl's older brother had left the screen door open. He had left the screen door open because he had been moving his stuff out of the house. He had been moving his stuff out because he had just had a fight with his parents and had decided he wouldn't live at home anymore. He had fought with parents because he had come home drunk the night before. So the girl's brother's free will resulted in the girl running into the street after her cat.

On top of all that, the driver didn't see her until the last instant because he had been driving too fast. He had been driving too fast because he was mad at his wife. He was mad at his wife because she had cheated on him. So then, the wife used her free will to cheat on her husband, and the husband used his free will to drive too fast. As a result, he did not see the girl until it was too late, and the girl was in the road chasing her cat, who had escaped from the house due to the brother leaving the door open while moving out of the house after having been yelled it for coming home drunk. Why is there suffering? Part of the answer is the web of free will in which we are entangled.

So what can we do about suffering? Get mad at God and stop talking to him? Get mad at humanity and declare the world no-good? We could, but we Christians are a people of hope. Indeed, our mission this year at St. James is to be the voice of God proclaiming hope in Christ, the Holy Light.

By the Holy Spirit's power, we at St. James can and shall use our free will to be the voice of God proclaiming hope in Christ, the Holy Light.

When a child lies dead, we may lack a good explanation why, but we can be the voice of God for the bereaved. We can visit, pray, bring food, and donate money to help the family, not just in the days after the death, but in the months and even years to come.

When a family has lost its home to a fire, by the Spirit's power we can use our free will to be the voice of God proclaiming hope. We can raise money to help that family. We can assist those people in finding housing. We can pray for them.

When we worry that our children aren't learning proper values, by the Spirit's power we can use our free will to be the voice of God proclaiming hope in Christ. We can make sure our Sunday school program teaches our kids the values we believe they need to know.

We can worry and fret, complain and grumble, full of doubt and pessimism, or we can, by the Spirit's power, use our free will to be God's voice proclaiming hope in Christ, the Holy Light.

That's what Martin Luther King, Jr. did. Racism and violence surrounded him, but he refused to give up. He refused to let doubt and darkness overpower him.

Who kept King going? God. One night, someone called King on the phone and threatened to blow his brains out and blow up his house. King hung up, sat alone in the kitchen late at night. He prayed. He then heard an inner voice say, “Martin Luther, stand up. Stand up for justice. Stand up for truth, and I will be with you, even to the end of the world!” By God's power, King was a man of hope, full of the voice of God.

So also with us, the people of St. James, the baptized. Stand up for hope. Stand up for the Good News. The Spirit gives us power, so we can use our free will to be God's voice proclaiming hope in Christ, the Holy Light. Stand up. Stand up.

“Lord, speak to us that we may speak,” and God says, “I AM.”

Personalized Voice Proclaimng Hope in Christ, the Holy Light

Sermon on the Voice of God

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, January 11, 2009,

Baptism of the Lord, Year B,

(word count: 868)

Personalized Voice of God Proclaiming Hope in the Holy Light

In our readings, we hear about the voice of God. In Genesis 1, God's voice causes light to exist. In our psalm, we feel the voice of God shaking the world with power. In our gospel, Mark 1:4-11, as Jesus stands naked in the Jordan, God tears the sky in half, the Holy Spirit swoops down to penetrate Jesus, and the voice of God announces, “You are my son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The voice of God – I have heard it. So have you.

Jesus teaches in Matthew 25, “Whenever you minister to the least of my brothers and sisters, you minister to me.” Therefore, when you visit a person in the hospital and he says through his oxygen mask, “Thank you,” you are hearing the voice of God. When you talk with a prison inmate, even if she has committed disgusting crimes, you are hearing the voice of God. An illegal alien begs for food for his starving daughter, and we hear the voice of God. Whenever we minister to a person in need, we minister to Jesus Christ, to God himself.

When else do we hear the voice of God? We hear it when we listen to someone read the Bible, for the Bible is the Word of God. Sure, humans wrote down the Bible. The book is not perfect, because there is a human influence. Even so, the Bible is still God's Word. Therefore, when we hear the readings, we are hearing from God.

We hear the voice of God in the sermon. Granted, we preachers are flawed. We are often boring, irrelevant, even heretical. Still, the sermon arises from Scripture and the Spirit. So then, despite its flaws, the sermon contains the voice of God.

We also may hear the voice of God inside our head. You've heard that voice. It's hard to know for sure the origin of the inner voice. Sometimes the inner voice is the devil, and sometimes that voice is just us. Then there are instances when that inner voice is from God. Figuring all that out, of course, is challenging. We can help each other with that discernment.

It can indeed be a struggle to hear the voice of God, not only in our selves but also in the world. Last Wednesday at Bible study, Nancy and I lamented the death of children in the Gaza strip. That carnage has slain many. All that absurd violence – where is the voice of God in that?

Then Nancy told me about a doctor over there working to save as many lives as possible. On TV he mourned the slaughter and spoke about how there were many more casualties than there were people to tend to them. Nevertheless, that doctor was doing whatever he could to help those victims, and there are others doing the same. That doctor, telling us of the horror, is the voice of God. That doctor, speaking comfort to Israeli and Palestinian children, is the voice of God for those victims.

In other words, sometimes God uses us to be his voice for the sick, the broken, the hopeless. After all, he Bible tells story after story of God using people to accomplish his work. For example, God uses King Cyrus of Persia to liberate the people of Israel. God uses us, too. We can be the voice of God.

We the baptized, God's adopted children, like Devin, have a holy calling to love God and love the neighbor. Part of loving God and neighbor is being God's voice for a world struggling to hear harmony over the cacophony of clanging, crashing sin. God says to you, the baptized, “Because of my dear son, your king, you are among my beloved. Because of my son, with you I am well pleased. So now, go. Be my voice for all the unloved, soulbroken, war-beaten.”

Last Sunday, I proposed that, in 2009, St. James focus on being a congregation of hope in Christ, the holy light. Let me add that St. James focus this year on being the voice of God. We, St. James, in personal ways, are the voice of God that proclaims hope in Christ, the holy light.

Indeed, the Spirit has blessed our congregation to excel at being God's voice. One of the beautiful features of St. James is that our moderate size makes it easy for us to get to know one another. Knowing one another well makes it that much easier to be the voice of God for and with one another. There are many benefits to a large congregation, but one of the benefits of a smaller congregation like ours is that personal touch. We can speak a personal word to each other because we have a size that enables us to get to know each other. Our size makes it easier for us to speak a personalized word as we strive to be the voice of God proclaiming hope in Christ, the holy light.

Picture it. You and I, St. James, part of the baptized, the beloved, will find new ways in 2009 to be the voice of God which proclaims hope in Christ, the holy light.

Not Black Hole, But Holy Light

Sermon on John 1:1-18

St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, Youngstown, PA

Sunday, January 4, 2009,

2^nd Sunday Of Christmas, Year B,

(word count: 893)

Not Black Hole, But Holy Light

If someone asked, “What is St. James?” what would you say? “Well, we're a small, country church, and we're friendly.” Actually, statistically we are medium-sized, and we're located, not in the country, but in a small town near a large city. We are friendly, though. What else? What is St. James? What is our identity? We're Christian, Lutheran – ELCA, to be exact. We're largely Caucasian, blue-collar, in the shadow of Pittsburgh. What else? What is St. James?

John 1, our gospel, points us to a crucial, crucible part of the answer: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” We hear that statement in our gospel, in verse five. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” The light is Christ. Christ, the Word, born in the Bethlehem-barn, is the light who shines in the darkness.

Note that the verse does not declare that there is no darkness. We still feel the gravity of darkness: denial, betrayal, abuse, mockery, injustice, thorns, nails. The verse from John one does not claim that the coming of the light means the end of darkness, at least not yet. For now, darkness persists. The Good News is that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

The light is Christ. He shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not, cannot, and will not overcome Christ. Romans 8 tells us that nothing can separate us from love in Christ. Revelation 21 and 22 present a sparkling, flourescent portrait of Christ reigning forever. Christ, the born, crucified, risen and returning one, shines in our darkness, cuts through it, and the darkness has no chance of overcoming him, of overcoming the Light.

Because of this truth, we Christians, red and yellow, black and white, all of us, the baptized, always have hope. No matter how strong the fierce pull of Satan's black hole, the gravitational pull of the holy light is stronger always. Because of the Light, we have hope.

What is St. James? St. James is a place of hope in Christ the Light. Such is the case with all the baptized, but many of us are quick to forget. Have you noticed? Legions of us baptized mope around with our shoulders slouched as if we have no hope, as if a black hole of evil is sucking up our world. We gripe, whine, and grumble. We rant about how kids today are no good, all politicians are crooks, people are more violent than ever, and the future for our grandchildren is dismal. There is some legitimacy to our complaints, but we obsess over the gloom, ignoring the hope. We forget those fragrant phrases: “The light has shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”

What if we at St. James chose to be different from the majority of others? I have a vision. I have a vision of St. James as a place of hope in Christ the Light. We acknowledge the darkness, but we know, believe, and profess that there is something stronger, something greater. Satan's black hole will collapse. The holy light of Christ is stronger. Because of Christ, we have hope. Because of Christ, we shall advance beyond complaining, whining and grumbling to hope. Because of Christ, we have the strength to resist the black hole and show with our words and actions that grow from our belief in the hope of the holy light.

So then, when people fret about violence, we can reply, “Yes, there is the darkness of violence, and there is also the light. Millions of people of all colors and religions help one another and do kind deeds every day, including you and me, and the light of Christ makes all that goodness possible. We are mightier than the black hole; we have the holy light.”

When people gripe about corrupt politicians, we can say, “You're right. There are corrupt politicians, but Christ's light is brighter than corruption. Throughout history, God has accomplished miracles, despite cruel dictators, perverse kings, and stubborn pharaohs. Herod is dead, Hitler is dead, Hussein is dead; Christ lives. We are mightier than the black hole, because we have the holy light.”

When we see our neighbors letting Satan's black hole suck them into a give-up mentality, you and I, the baptized, can recall the words of Gandhi, “You must become the change you wish for.” You and I, full of Christ's light, walking in Christ's light, shall become the change we wish for. We shall lead others, even if only a little each day, away from the black hole toward the holy light.

During this year, 2009, let's as a congregation make a resolution to be a people of hope in Christ's light. As you eat and drink the body and blood – as you eat and drink the Light of God, feel the Light of Christ fill you, warm you, heal you – as we eat and drink the Light, let us resolve to be a congregation of renewed hope in Christ. “We are a congregation of hope, moving away from the black hole toward the holy light.”

Then, when people hear of St. James, Youngstown, they will say, “Oh yes, St. James. That's the congregation full of hope in the holy light.”