Faith helps us be all we can be.
Faith helps us endure all we must endure.
And faith reminds us that we do not live our lives alone.
There is One who is with us.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us - cheering for us.
We can make it through all kinds of times of trouble.
Hebrews 12:1-2a
For anyone paying attention, you may realize that this is one of my all time favorite Biblical texts.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us!
What a great thing to be reminded of – anytime, but especially on this day –
homecoming Sunday –
when some will remember a time when . . . .
Or a certain somebody –
or somebodies . . . .
There is such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us:
All the folks that ever have attended this church throughout its 85 year history –
as well as all the saints from all the ages.
All assembled in the gallery cheering and rooting for you – and for me – and for all of us.
Not only do you and I have a race to run,
but we need to make arrangements to continue the tradition for the others needing encouragement to run the race that are coming up after us –
like all those who went before us here in this church did.
Just before these words from our scripture, the 11th chapter of Hebrews gives many dynamic examples of Old Testament men and women who did great works for God by faith.
“By faith Noah . . . built an ark . . .
By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going . . .”
Then the 12th chapter begins with these words that give us our text for today: “THEREFORE, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
It’s a vivid picture.
In the grandstand of our lives there are cheerleaders: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Rahab, and other Old Testament heroes,
as well as Paul, Peter, and leaders of the New Testament church.
And there are our loved ones, family and friends, who have gone before us.
The message is, the reality is,
We are not alone in our faith journey.
No matter how discouraging the events of our lives are,
we can make it through with the encouragement of those who have gone before.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us!
This is not a text for a cynic, for the cold of heart or spirit.
This is a text for believers.
It is very much like that text that says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me . . .” (Philippians 4:13)
Those words are precious to the believer.
To the world, they mean nothing at all.
Some of you know that Suzanne and I adopted a dog a few years ago.
This dog was about 4 and half years old when he came to our house having been rescued off the streets of Albany, New York.
The dog obviously has been abused and is very fearful of any and all people.
Except us.
He knows who feeds him.
He knows who keeps him warm in the winter and
provides him with a place to sleep and companionship and a safe environment.
Now, he thinks it is his job to protect us from all intruders and suspected terrorists –
a list which includes any and all who have the nerve to drive down the cul-de-sac in front of our house,
or walk within a hundred feet of our house,
or ride a bike near our house,
or even slow their car or truck down as they go by our house on the highway.
Now, the thing is, he has a very keen sense of hearing.
That dog hears things long before I do –
and sometimes he hears things I don’t.
A while back, I happened upon a television show about dogs and what research tells us about how they do what they do.
It had a segment there on what and how dogs see – and showed the viewers a screen that let us in on just what a dog can and cannot see.
Apparently, dogs don’t see in all the colors that we do,
and dogs don’t see all the fine detail that we do,
but dogs have a more panoramic view than we do,
they have a much wider field of vision –
dogs can see about two times what we can see without moving our eye.
But, the real unusual part of how a dog sees, is that although they cannot see the fine detail, they can detect very slight movement – anywhere in their field of vision.
So, they see a rabbit and they are off after the rabbit.
Fact is, they don’t know it’s a rabbit.
What they see is that there was a movement over there and they can pin-point where it was with great accuracy.
Likewise what and how a dog hears was of great interest to me.
Dogs can hear sound four times the distance that we can.
And, they can hear sounds that we are not even capable of hearing – they can hear sounds that are three times higher in frequency than we can.
This ability means that a dog is flooded with sounds at any given time.
And the miracle is that they have an ability of discernment.
Not only can they selectively discern what noises they react to,
but, they can pick out specific sounds that make up a whole.
You and I hear a vrooom of car going by.
But a dog can discern individual sounds that make up that whoosh sound you and I hear.
They can hear that the car is missing on cylinders 2 and 4,
has a loose wheel cover on the right front tire,
and a slight rattle of the radio antenna slipping in the wind,
and a hundred other individual sounds that make up the vroooom you and I hear as the car goes by.
Not only do they hear these individual sounds, they can discern which sounds are associated with their owners car –
the sounds of the neighbor’s cars,
and the UPS truck,
and all kinds of other vehicles that pass by.
My dog hears sounds I simply do not hear.
And so, I am thinking that just because we cannot hear a sound does not mean that it does not exist, right?
The fact that we cannot hear it says more about our limitations than it does about the sound.
So it is with things of the spirit.
There are realities that are perceived only by those in tune with God’s Spirit.
One of these is that great cloud of witnesses surrounding us,
providing us with encouragement and strength.
Benjamin Weir was a Presbyterian missionary in Beirut, Lebanon.
Some of you will remember when he was kidnapped by Muslim extremists and held hostage for sixteen months.
During that time he was locked in a barren room and unable to see another human being.
His hands were tied.
He was blindfolded most of the time.
Even when the blindfold was taken off he had no view from his tiny cell.
But this did not defeat him.
An electric light cord dangled from the ceiling.
The bulb had been stripped off, leaving three fragile filament wires exposed.
For Benjamin Weir, these wires became a symbol of hope.
They reminded him of the life-giving fingers of God reaching down to Adam in the Sistine Chapel.
“Here God was reaching toward me,” he would write later, “reminding me, saying, ‘You’re alive.
You are mine;
I’ve made you and [I’ve] called you into being for a divine purpose.’”
And he could see the horizontal slats of the shutters on the French doors.
There were 120 of them.
What could those horizontal pieces of wood stand for?
He decided these represented that great cloud of witnesses we are reading about this day, champions of our faith past and present,
who through times of trial have observed the faithfulness of God.
Finally his eyes lighted on two white circles near the ceiling, one on the right hand wall, the other on the left.
In reality, these were plastic covers for electrical connections, but in Benjamin Weir’s imagination they were something else.
They were ears – the ears of God.
“The Lord hears the groaning of the saints,” Benjamin Weir remembered.
As he reminded himself of all the blessings of our faith, he was greatly encouraged and spiritually strengthened.
By the end of the day, he said, he was humming, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one.”
You see when the guards came in, they could only see a broken light bulb,
a French door with slats
and two plastic covers on the walls,
but this Presbyterian missionary could see much, much more.
He could see the hand of God at work in his life, even in these dismal circumstances.
And so Ben Weir came out of his hostage experience stronger than he went in.
That’s faith.
I wonder if I could do that.
In my research file, I have an article that was published in the magazine RUNNER’S WORLD. The article was about a unique phenomenon which they called, “The Bislet Effect.”
The Bislet Effect is named for Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway.
More than 50 track and field records have been broken over the years at Bislett.
No other stadium can boast of this kind of record setting.
And it’s not because of the frigid weather in Norway.
Runners do not run faster in the cold.
And it’s not the altitude.
The secret seems to be the track itself.
As tracks go, it is narrow. It has six lanes, and the stands that surround it are very close to the track itself and they are very steep.
According to RUNNER’S WORLD, when 21,000 fans all scream, “Go, go!” in this kind of up close and personal setting, you run faster.
The crowd forces you to keep your rhythm and push harder for one more stretch, for one more turn –
and the runners respond.
It’s like being surrounded by a cloud of witnesses.
Such faith helps us be all that we can be.
Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! cheering for us.
We can make it through all kinds of times of trouble:
whether it is trouble with our health,
trouble within our family,
trouble in our economy,
trouble on the job –
whatever it might be.
Friends this is the Gospel.
We can go on.
We follow in a long line of people who have persevered and been victorious.
In 1953 the first people to climb to the top of Mt. Everest were Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa guide.
Some 45 years later, Tenzing Norgay’s son, Jamling Norgay, climbed Mt. Everest.
Jamling Norgay describes what it felt like standing on the world’s tallest peak:
“I looked down on the ruins of the Rongbuk monastery,” he writes, “where my father chased yaks as a very young boy.
Then I turned back and I saw him – my father.
He was right there behind me, off to the side where a patch of rock meets the snow.
His face was shining, beaming.”
Jamling Norgay had a witness to his climb –
his father who had been there 45 years before him.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, so have we.
Faith helps us be all we can be.
Faith helps us endure all we must endure.
And faith reminds us that we do not live our lives alone.
There is One who is with us.
And there is such a large crowd of witnesses all around us!
That’s what this church is about.
That’s what our faith is about.
That’s what we have here –
a connecting place, really:
where we can connect with others,
where we can connect with the world around us,
where we can connect with God,
where we can connect with the large crowd of witnesses that have gone before us.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, experienced this sermon during a worship service on Homecoming Sunday, October 21, 2012.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
A Man of Constant Prayer
My personal prayer guide, the one who taught me about prayer and about personal prayer life, was Tevye.
He was a man of constant prayer.
Oh, no, he did not go into a dark room and light a candle and recite holy mantras,
no, he did not engage in long prayers with big learned words,
no, he did not wait for a quiet time when he could be still and know God.
One of my very favorite writers is Anne Lamott.
Anne Lamott, Tevye, and James are all part of the same school.
And we should pay attention to what they say and their understanding of prayer.
James 5: 13-16
One of my very favorite writers is Anne Lamott.
Anne Lamott lives near where Suzanne and I lived in Northern California just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
Anne Lamott makes her living writing and teaching others how to write.
She writes novels and many fine personal essays on events that happen in her life that take on cosmic significance.
She once wrote:
I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives,
human hearts,
spiritual transformation,
families,
secrets, wonder, craziness —
and that can make me laugh.
When I am reading a book like this,
I feel rich and profoundly relieved to be in the presence of someone who will share the truth with me,
and throw the lights on a little,
and I try to write these kinds of books.
And, that’s what I feel when I read her writing.
She continues: Books, for me, are medicine.
Anne Lamott’s life was not an easy one.
It is involves surviving bouts with drugs and booze, hard-living and depression.
Finding herself pregnant at the age of 35, she writes about finding the local Presbyterian Church – the same one I worshiped in many times when we lived there.
About that experience, she writes about how she week after week after week, she would show up at the door of the church right as the service was beginning; but, would not enter the room.
Week after week she stood there listening to what was going on inside, observing the people, listening to the preacher.
She did eventually enter the room, and was warmly greeted and accepted by all – despite her strange looks, her odd dress, her big belly, and her lack of a marital partner.
She credits the people of that congregation of helping her to raise her son.
She tells of the gray-headed ladies doting over the baby, and eager to provide relationships for him through the years.
Now 20, with a son of his own, her son Sam, considers the folks of that congregation as his extended family.
And she writes about how this church has helped her with her faith journey.
She first wrote about this in a book she called:
Traveling Mercies : Some Thoughts on Faith
A few years later, she published Plan B : Further Thoughts on Faith.
And soon her latest book will be published with the title:
Three Essential Prayers: Help, Thanks, Wow!
She describes three kinds of prayers that really can enhance our lives – if and when we do them.
Anne Lamott begins with the premise the prayer
“is communication from the heart to that which surpasses understanding . . .
communication from one’s heart to God.”
I have admitted several times that my personal prayer guide, the one who taught me about prayer and about personal prayer life, was Tevye (?) – the lead character of Fiddler On the Roof !
Throughout the whole play,
throughout the whole movie,
Tevye demonstrated to us – the audience, the reader, the viewer -
there was absolutely nothing in his life that was devoid of God’s involvement.
He was a man of constant prayer.
Oh, no, he did not go into a dark room and light a candle and recite holy mantras,
no, he did not engage in long prayers with big learned words,
no, he did not wait for a quiet time when he could be still and know God.
No.
Tevye prayed when his horse went lame.
Tavye prayed when his daughter and the town butcher wanted to get married.
Tevye prayed when he and his family were moved out of their historic village.
Tevye lived his life in constant prayer.
“I am a man of constant sorrow,” the song goes.
Tevye was a man of constant prayer.
(That ought to the title and topic of a song!)
And, I believe, Anne Lamott is a product of the Tevye school, as well.
She writes of one type of prayer:
“When we are stunned to the place beyond words... when all we can say in response is ‘Wow!’
that’s a prayer.”
But, I am also sure that Anne Lamott was influenced by the Presbyterian Church she attends.
Where, no doubt, she has read and heard the Bible read.
Ever since the first century, or so, Christian believers have paid attention to this short document we have in our Bible known as the Book of James.
Anne Lamott, Tevye, and James are all part of the same school.
And we should pay attention to what they say and their understanding of prayer.
The Book of James says, when you find yourself in times of trouble, pray.
Of course, it is easy for us to neglect this spiritual gift, isn’t it?
You are I are richly blessed by having been taught about the power of prayer.
It may have started early in your life, when you learned a prayer before bedtime.
Maybe a Sunday school teacher taught you a prayer to say before a meal.
Our worship service begins and ends in prayer.
It is an essential part of our lives.
Prayer has healing power because it is the practice of entering into the presence of God.
We think of prayer only as a means of getting something for ourselves.
Prayer is also a means of giving ourselves to God.
Jesus realized the power of prayer.
It was an important part of his life.
When he was overworked, he sought a quiet place to get away and pray.
When he was afraid of the future, he went off to pray.
When he was disappointed, he sought comfort in prayer.
Prayer helps us deal with our frustration and anger.
Have you ever been so angry with someone that you couldn't stop thinking about it?
A preacher friend offers an antidote to that anger:
Don't pray to stop being angry.
Instead, pray that good things will come to that person who has angered you.
Pray for his welfare.
Pray for blessings to rain upon her.
Amazingly you will feel the hurt and anger drift away.
The obsession with revenge and retribution will dissipate.
That's the power of prayer.
Jesus says that our own welfare depends upon our ability to forgive:
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Matthew 11:25).
The fact is, most Americans do pray.
A recent survey reports that 78% of Americans pray at least once a week -
57% say they pray daily.
Current books in print list almost 2,000 titles on prayer, meditation, and spiritual growth.
After the Bible, books on prayer are among the biggest sellers.
A Newsweek article tells about a 31-year-old woman who drops to her knees at her front door each morning before rushing off to her job as a bakery representative;
and a seventy-year-old bank vice president who prays for twenty minutes while on his stationary bicycle.
A 53-year-old man who prays five times a day says, "I don't look for anything miraculous to happen.
The miracle is being able to speak directly to your maker."
James' first antidote: When you're in trouble, pray!
James also says, "when you're sick, seek the prayers of your friends."
There is strength and power in seeking the support, the comfort, and the nurturing of like-minded fellow believers.
Now, I don’t base the efficacy of corporate prayer on the findings of scientific studies;
But it is interesting to note that several double blind studies have indicated that sick individuals for whom a group of believers have prayed have recovered more rapidly and more completely than those for whom no prayers were raised.
This occurred even though the individuals did not know that they were being prayed for.
Cardiologist Dr. Randolph Byrd conducted a study of 393 coronary patients.
They were divided into two groups.
One group would be the beneficiaries of prayer and the other would not.
No one knew which group the patients were in.
The prayer groups were simply given the first names of the patients, along with brief descriptions of their medical problems.
When the study was completed ten months later, the prayed-for patients benefited in several areas: they were five times less likely to require antibiotics; they were two and a half times less likely to suffer congestive heart failure;
they were less likely to suffer cardiac arrest.
An edition of American Scientist magazine included the article "The Revival of Experiments on Prayer" by Keith Stewart Thomson, former president of the Academy of Natural Sciences.
In the article he wrote, "Evidence is growing that the experience of sharing prayer with friends has a powerful effect on health outcomes.
These benefits are susceptible to explanations that do not necessarily involve the direct intervention of God."
Thomson goes on to note the biblical relationship between prayer and faith or "believing."
Notice that Jesus tells his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours" (Matthew 11:24).
James tell us that when we ask God for anything we must ask in faith:
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
- James 1:6-7
The second antidote is this: "When you are sick, seek the prayers of your friends."
The last antidote, which James offers, is "When you have sinned, 'fess up."
Alcoholics Anonymous has long recognized that repressed and un-admitted guilt leads to deeper and deeper trouble and despair.
When an alcoholic keeps certain facts hidden, it feeds the compulsion to get drunk.
Recovery involves an honest self-evaluation and a public confession of character defects and shortcomings.
With that confession comes relief, forgiveness, healing.
For sure, it's not easy to confess our weaknesses, is it?
It is not easy to say, "I was wrong."
There is something in each of us that insists on being right
and believing that it is always someone else's fault, right?
It really takes great courage to admit failure,
to confess a defect or shortcoming.
But such confessions are part of our spiritual healing and well-being.
Unconfessed guilt festers within us.
It produces impatience, rage, even ill health.
It destroys friendships and leads to isolation and hostility.
We are much more likely to appreciate and respect the person who humbly confesses his guilt than the self-righteous individual who professes to be flawless.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector."
And Jesus said, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." - Luke 18:11, 14b
The biblical message from the book of James gives sound advice, offering antidotes to life's problems.
When you experience trouble, pray.
When you are ill, seek prayer from your friends.
When you’re happy, sing!
When you do something wrong, ‘fess up.
Anne Lamott writes:
acknowledge when you need help – our faith puts us in tune with the ultimate power of the universe;
always, always, be quick with the thanks when things go right;
and when you experience a “Wow” moment – remember the source –
and the more often you do acknowledge the source, the more “wow” moments you will have.
Tevye (and I) (and yes, the Apostle Paul) say:
pray constantly at all times, in all things, all-ways.
James reminds us that prayer has powerful effect.
And, the great thing is.
You can test this out for yourself.
Remember Tevye.
Live a day in constant prayer.
There are many opportunities for prayer.
I have seen lives change.
Attitudes changes.
Health change.
Understandings change.
Prayer has powerful effect.
Try it.
Amen.
The Congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service October 14, 2012.
He was a man of constant prayer.
Oh, no, he did not go into a dark room and light a candle and recite holy mantras,
no, he did not engage in long prayers with big learned words,
no, he did not wait for a quiet time when he could be still and know God.
One of my very favorite writers is Anne Lamott.
Anne Lamott, Tevye, and James are all part of the same school.
And we should pay attention to what they say and their understanding of prayer.
James 5: 13-16
One of my very favorite writers is Anne Lamott.
Anne Lamott lives near where Suzanne and I lived in Northern California just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco.
Anne Lamott makes her living writing and teaching others how to write.
She writes novels and many fine personal essays on events that happen in her life that take on cosmic significance.
She once wrote:
I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives,
human hearts,
spiritual transformation,
families,
secrets, wonder, craziness —
and that can make me laugh.
When I am reading a book like this,
I feel rich and profoundly relieved to be in the presence of someone who will share the truth with me,
and throw the lights on a little,
and I try to write these kinds of books.
And, that’s what I feel when I read her writing.
She continues: Books, for me, are medicine.
Anne Lamott’s life was not an easy one.
It is involves surviving bouts with drugs and booze, hard-living and depression.
Finding herself pregnant at the age of 35, she writes about finding the local Presbyterian Church – the same one I worshiped in many times when we lived there.
About that experience, she writes about how she week after week after week, she would show up at the door of the church right as the service was beginning; but, would not enter the room.
Week after week she stood there listening to what was going on inside, observing the people, listening to the preacher.
She did eventually enter the room, and was warmly greeted and accepted by all – despite her strange looks, her odd dress, her big belly, and her lack of a marital partner.
She credits the people of that congregation of helping her to raise her son.
She tells of the gray-headed ladies doting over the baby, and eager to provide relationships for him through the years.
Now 20, with a son of his own, her son Sam, considers the folks of that congregation as his extended family.
And she writes about how this church has helped her with her faith journey.
She first wrote about this in a book she called:
Traveling Mercies : Some Thoughts on Faith
A few years later, she published Plan B : Further Thoughts on Faith.
And soon her latest book will be published with the title:
Three Essential Prayers: Help, Thanks, Wow!
She describes three kinds of prayers that really can enhance our lives – if and when we do them.
Anne Lamott begins with the premise the prayer
“is communication from the heart to that which surpasses understanding . . .
communication from one’s heart to God.”
I have admitted several times that my personal prayer guide, the one who taught me about prayer and about personal prayer life, was Tevye (?) – the lead character of Fiddler On the Roof !
Throughout the whole play,
throughout the whole movie,
Tevye demonstrated to us – the audience, the reader, the viewer -
there was absolutely nothing in his life that was devoid of God’s involvement.
He was a man of constant prayer.
Oh, no, he did not go into a dark room and light a candle and recite holy mantras,
no, he did not engage in long prayers with big learned words,
no, he did not wait for a quiet time when he could be still and know God.
No.
Tevye prayed when his horse went lame.
Tavye prayed when his daughter and the town butcher wanted to get married.
Tevye prayed when he and his family were moved out of their historic village.
Tevye lived his life in constant prayer.
“I am a man of constant sorrow,” the song goes.
Tevye was a man of constant prayer.
(That ought to the title and topic of a song!)
And, I believe, Anne Lamott is a product of the Tevye school, as well.
She writes of one type of prayer:
“When we are stunned to the place beyond words... when all we can say in response is ‘Wow!’
that’s a prayer.”
But, I am also sure that Anne Lamott was influenced by the Presbyterian Church she attends.
Where, no doubt, she has read and heard the Bible read.
Ever since the first century, or so, Christian believers have paid attention to this short document we have in our Bible known as the Book of James.
Anne Lamott, Tevye, and James are all part of the same school.
And we should pay attention to what they say and their understanding of prayer.
The Book of James says, when you find yourself in times of trouble, pray.
Of course, it is easy for us to neglect this spiritual gift, isn’t it?
You are I are richly blessed by having been taught about the power of prayer.
It may have started early in your life, when you learned a prayer before bedtime.
Maybe a Sunday school teacher taught you a prayer to say before a meal.
Our worship service begins and ends in prayer.
It is an essential part of our lives.
Prayer has healing power because it is the practice of entering into the presence of God.
We think of prayer only as a means of getting something for ourselves.
Prayer is also a means of giving ourselves to God.
Jesus realized the power of prayer.
It was an important part of his life.
When he was overworked, he sought a quiet place to get away and pray.
When he was afraid of the future, he went off to pray.
When he was disappointed, he sought comfort in prayer.
Prayer helps us deal with our frustration and anger.
Have you ever been so angry with someone that you couldn't stop thinking about it?
A preacher friend offers an antidote to that anger:
Don't pray to stop being angry.
Instead, pray that good things will come to that person who has angered you.
Pray for his welfare.
Pray for blessings to rain upon her.
Amazingly you will feel the hurt and anger drift away.
The obsession with revenge and retribution will dissipate.
That's the power of prayer.
Jesus says that our own welfare depends upon our ability to forgive:
"And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Matthew 11:25).
The fact is, most Americans do pray.
A recent survey reports that 78% of Americans pray at least once a week -
57% say they pray daily.
Current books in print list almost 2,000 titles on prayer, meditation, and spiritual growth.
After the Bible, books on prayer are among the biggest sellers.
A Newsweek article tells about a 31-year-old woman who drops to her knees at her front door each morning before rushing off to her job as a bakery representative;
and a seventy-year-old bank vice president who prays for twenty minutes while on his stationary bicycle.
A 53-year-old man who prays five times a day says, "I don't look for anything miraculous to happen.
The miracle is being able to speak directly to your maker."
James' first antidote: When you're in trouble, pray!
James also says, "when you're sick, seek the prayers of your friends."
There is strength and power in seeking the support, the comfort, and the nurturing of like-minded fellow believers.
Now, I don’t base the efficacy of corporate prayer on the findings of scientific studies;
But it is interesting to note that several double blind studies have indicated that sick individuals for whom a group of believers have prayed have recovered more rapidly and more completely than those for whom no prayers were raised.
This occurred even though the individuals did not know that they were being prayed for.
Cardiologist Dr. Randolph Byrd conducted a study of 393 coronary patients.
They were divided into two groups.
One group would be the beneficiaries of prayer and the other would not.
No one knew which group the patients were in.
The prayer groups were simply given the first names of the patients, along with brief descriptions of their medical problems.
When the study was completed ten months later, the prayed-for patients benefited in several areas: they were five times less likely to require antibiotics; they were two and a half times less likely to suffer congestive heart failure;
they were less likely to suffer cardiac arrest.
An edition of American Scientist magazine included the article "The Revival of Experiments on Prayer" by Keith Stewart Thomson, former president of the Academy of Natural Sciences.
In the article he wrote, "Evidence is growing that the experience of sharing prayer with friends has a powerful effect on health outcomes.
These benefits are susceptible to explanations that do not necessarily involve the direct intervention of God."
Thomson goes on to note the biblical relationship between prayer and faith or "believing."
Notice that Jesus tells his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours" (Matthew 11:24).
James tell us that when we ask God for anything we must ask in faith:
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
- James 1:6-7
The second antidote is this: "When you are sick, seek the prayers of your friends."
The last antidote, which James offers, is "When you have sinned, 'fess up."
Alcoholics Anonymous has long recognized that repressed and un-admitted guilt leads to deeper and deeper trouble and despair.
When an alcoholic keeps certain facts hidden, it feeds the compulsion to get drunk.
Recovery involves an honest self-evaluation and a public confession of character defects and shortcomings.
With that confession comes relief, forgiveness, healing.
For sure, it's not easy to confess our weaknesses, is it?
It is not easy to say, "I was wrong."
There is something in each of us that insists on being right
and believing that it is always someone else's fault, right?
It really takes great courage to admit failure,
to confess a defect or shortcoming.
But such confessions are part of our spiritual healing and well-being.
Unconfessed guilt festers within us.
It produces impatience, rage, even ill health.
It destroys friendships and leads to isolation and hostility.
We are much more likely to appreciate and respect the person who humbly confesses his guilt than the self-righteous individual who professes to be flawless.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: "God, I thank you that I am not like other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector."
And Jesus said, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." - Luke 18:11, 14b
The biblical message from the book of James gives sound advice, offering antidotes to life's problems.
When you experience trouble, pray.
When you are ill, seek prayer from your friends.
When you’re happy, sing!
When you do something wrong, ‘fess up.
Anne Lamott writes:
acknowledge when you need help – our faith puts us in tune with the ultimate power of the universe;
always, always, be quick with the thanks when things go right;
and when you experience a “Wow” moment – remember the source –
and the more often you do acknowledge the source, the more “wow” moments you will have.
Tevye (and I) (and yes, the Apostle Paul) say:
pray constantly at all times, in all things, all-ways.
James reminds us that prayer has powerful effect.
And, the great thing is.
You can test this out for yourself.
Remember Tevye.
Live a day in constant prayer.
There are many opportunities for prayer.
I have seen lives change.
Attitudes changes.
Health change.
Understandings change.
Prayer has powerful effect.
Try it.
Amen.
The Congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service October 14, 2012.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Tell Me the Stories of Jesus
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 10:25-37
Tell me the story of Jesus, of unseen things above.
Tell me the old, old story – of Jesus and his love.
This is the fourth week I am talking about the stories of Jesus.
We have lots of stories of Jesus,
– some good stories –
and we should be telling some of them.
We should be telling them, because it is up to us.
We don’t hear these stories anywhere else these days.
They aren’t being told in schools,
they are not on television very often,
and, most families today don’t know the stories in order to tell them to their children.
So, we have an obligation, really, to tell the old, old stories . . . of Jesus and his love.
Three weeks ago we looked at the very oldest stories I could find about Jesus.
The very first stories of Jesus that we know of – the stories that the Apostle Paul would have heard.
Two weeks ago I talked about the stories of Jesus we find in the Gospel of Mark – the earliest Gospel to be published.
And, last week we looked at the stories of Jesus that Matthew heard of and used in that Gospel.
(Just to remind us again, the obvious needs to be stated: no one was following Jesus around with a tape recorder loading sound bytes for future generations.
No one was following him around with a pencil and papyrus.
And, again, as a reminder, none of the documents in our New Testament were written when Jesus was alive –
all of the stories of Jesus we have in our Bible,
the stories we have heard all our lives,
were written long after Jesus lived.)
We know that almost all of our stories of Jesus come from the four Gospels in our Holy Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And, Biblical scholars from all persuasions agree on general dates each of the Gospels were written.
And, it has become clear from studies in last 80 years, or so, studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the Nag Hammadi library,
and other “recent’ discoveries of ancient documents,
each of the Gospels in our Bible comes out of a different community reflecting different traditions, (different denominations, if you will) –
communities of “Christians” that differed in some ways from other communities of Christians –
differed in their practices,
differed in their racial/ethnic make up,
differed in their emphases,
differed in their theology behind their understanding of Jesus.
As we heard a couple of weeks ago: all Biblical scholars seem to agree that the very first Gospel (the earliest one that was written) is the one attributed to Mark.
And the second Gospel to be published is the one we call Matthew.
And, Luke is not published until some 100 years after the execution of Jesus.
It seems that the Gospel of Luke came out of a community of Christian believers in and around Philippi – a Roman colony in Macedonia.
These Christians were primarily Gentile – with very few, if any, Jewish adherents.
This group published the Gospel of Luke – and used it as a resource for their faith.
These believers living in the Roman empire at the beginning of the second century AD, were gentiles – and they were Roman citizens.
And, they were careful not to include any inflammatory words or insinuations against the Roman government.
There are no stories here of Roman soldiers flogging, or mocking, or beating up Jesus – in fact it includes a statement from the Roman governor that there is no basis in Roman law for a charge against this man Jesus.
By this time, the Gospel of Mark was well known – and a good part of the life of Jesus as described there is included in Luke.
As a side note, in the Gospel of Luke as we have it today, a significant part of Mark’s outline appears to be missing.
Several consecutive lines are simply not there – scholars estimate enough to fill about four pages front and back with the typical writing of the day.
This omission leads to the speculation that early on, someone simply lost four pages of the document (maybe the camel ate it).
At any rate, the earliest copy of the Gospel of Luke we have today comes from a time several hundred years after it was published – of course something could have happened to part of it along the way.
So, Luke knew about Mark’s outline of the live of Jesus – what he did.
Luke also shows that the community knew about stories attributed to Jesus.
Many of the stories in Matthew are included in Luke – and some are not.
But, Luke also has many other stories and sayings that are attributed to Jesus that Matthew did not have.
Now, we know even more about these believers that produced the Gospel of Luke.
We know that the Apostle Paul visited Macedonia and Philippi, in particular, and started the church there.
One of his first converts was a Roman Centurion.
He speaks of several women, by name, that he baptized and taught.
So, today we see a document that is put together in such a way as to not aggravate the powers that be, and that is profoundly pro-women.
In this Gospel of Luke, many many stories are about encounters with women.
Women are given respect and equal status as believers within the community of faith.
Only in the Gospel of Luke do we here the stories of Elizabeth and Mary,
the story about Mary and Martha,
the story about the women who came in and doused Jesus with expensive perfume,
the stories of Jesus casting out demons from women,
the story of raising a widow’s dead son out of his coffin,
and the women who went to the tomb . . .
Of particular interest to me is what we read a while ago.
The story of this teacher of the law coming up to Jesus with intent to trap him into saying something particularly incriminating is in both Matthew and Luke – this indicates that it one of the stories that was being circulated after Mark was published.
But, Luke is the only gospel that tells us the story of the Good Samaritan.
This story of the Good Samaritan is probably the most well-known stories we have in our Bible – certainly one of the most well-known stories of Jesus.
A recent survey that 49% of Americans said they would be able to tell the story of the Good Samaritan if asked to do so,
45% said they would not be able to,
and 6% were unsure whether they could tell it or not.
Among those who attended religious services every week, the proportion who thought they could tell the story rose to 69% percent.
It is a most familiar story, right?
We name hospitals, churches, institutions of mercy, even legislation in honor of the good Samaritan – here in this story.
Here, in Luke, we have this lawyer coming up to Jesus (as in Matthew) and asks the question he hopes will entrap Jesus into saying something incriminating.
But, instead of answering, Jesus turns it around and asks of lawyer, “Well, what does it say in the sacred writing?”
Well, for sure, the lawyer wasn’t about to be tripped up, he knew what the scriptures said,
he knew what had been taught to him and to those who had gone before him,
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind';
and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
“Good answer,” Jesus said.
Then the lawyer continues, “So, I understand the first commandment – I repeat the shema five times a day.
But, just who am I supposed to love?
Who is my neighbor?”
And, that famous question, leads into to the famous story Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan.
You remember:
The first person to whom we are introduced is the poor traveler.
He is one of us.
And, he had taken the road from Jerusalem to Jericho which was notoriously dangerous.
It descended nearly 3,300 feet in 17 miles, running through narrow passes at points.
The terrain offered easy hiding for the bandits who terrorized travelers.
And sure enough, just like was feared, this unfortunate fellow had been stripped, beaten, and left for dead.
A first century mugging.
One more random victim in a randomly violent world.
Jesus' audience that day knew how easily it could happen.
For that matter, with a quick glance at the newspaper or TV, his audience TODAY knows just as well.
While hearers then and now would sympathize with the poor fellow, we are not forced to identify with him because in a story that begins with a tragedy, helpers are sure to arrive, right?
If we will identify with anyone, we will wait for our helper/hero.
Hallelujah! Here comes a priest.
If anyone could be expected to stop and help it would be a priest.
But wait.
The priest is not only not coming over to help;
he is passing by on the other side.
No reason is given.
Some have suggested that, as a priest, he could fear ritual defilement with a corpse,
but truth is if a priest on a journey found a corpse, he had a duty to bury it.
Perhaps it was fear.
Those who beat the man in the ditch might be lying in wait to beat him as well.
Perhaps it was simple revulsion.
Have you ever come upon someone after a bloody accident?
Ugly.
Whatever.
"He passed by on the other side." Some hero!
No matter. Here comes a Levite...an "assistant" priest.
The first one was an aberration.
THIS one will come through.
Right.
As the text has it, "he came to the place and saw him, [and] passed by on the other side."
Another hero!
Now what?
By normal storytelling conventions, we can expect we are about to meet a third character who will break the pattern created by the first two.
In the context of our current parable, the expected sequence would be a priest, a Levite, and then...
TA DAH!...our hero will be an ordinary Israelite who will come to the rescue even when the high muckety-mucks of the Temple fail to do so.
The story would have an anti-clerical edge to it along with the reminder that love of God AND NEIGHBOR are commanded,
but a shot at the Holy Joe's would not be any big shock considering the difficulty Jesus regularly has with the religious establishment.
So, enter character number three – a Samaritan. The GOOD Samaritan!
HA! You know those words are not actually uses together.
Nowhere in the Bible will we find the words "Good" and "Samaritan" next to each other.
For those folks who first heard this story, the phrase "Good Samaritan" would have been an oxymoron anyway -
the only GOOD Samaritan would have been a DEAD Samaritan.
No hero here.
The hatred between Jew and Samaritan in Jesus' day was at least as deep as the feeling Jews and Arabs have toward each other today.
The story goes on.
Just as the priest and the Levite, the Samaritan sees the man, but instead of distancing himself,
he comes closer.
As the text has it, "when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine [oil to keep them soft, wine to sterilize].
Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next day he took out two silver coins [two days wages] and gave them to the innkeeper.
'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"
Not an insignificant amount, not lavish either, but enough to do the job.
So, the story is over.
Jesus has responded to the lawyer's question about the limits of neighborliness with his story and now turns the question back to the lawyer: "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
And the answer, "The one who had mercy on him."
It’s pretty amazing, when you think about it.
The concept of a GOOD Samaritan is so distasteful that the lawyer cannot bring himself to even speak the name.
Jesus concludes, "Go and do likewise."
What?
Be the guy in the ditch?
Perhaps that is not so far-fetched as we might think.
We never hear if this poor victim recovers, but my assumption is that he does.
That being the case, what would the effect have been on him that he had been rescued by a Samaritan?
One would presume that it would forever color his view of Samaritans.
For that matter, one would presume that it would forever color his view of the world's victims.
There would be less callousness, less inclination to lay blame for getting into such a fix in the first place, less temptation to "pass by on the other side."
If Jesus' story had gone on any longer, I would bet that this poor fellow, from that day forward, became a better neighbor to the rest of his world than he would have ever dreamed possible.
Friends, there is much to the stories of Jesus.
This is just one of them.
One that is found only here in this Gospel of Luke.
I only hope and pray that we may never take these stories of Jesus for granted.
Let’s continue to tell them –
in as many ways as we can think of.
Let all who will, listen.
And, may all who listen, understand.
Next week, when we come together we will join Christians at the Lord’s table in all corners of the world –
gathering around the longest table imaginable to join in a World Wide Communion.
More Christians that day will celebrate the Lord’s Supper than any other day of the year.
Don’t miss it.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service September 30, 2012.
The Stories of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke
Luke 10:25-37
Tell me the story of Jesus, of unseen things above.
Tell me the old, old story – of Jesus and his love.
This is the fourth week I am talking about the stories of Jesus.
We have lots of stories of Jesus,
– some good stories –
and we should be telling some of them.
We should be telling them, because it is up to us.
We don’t hear these stories anywhere else these days.
They aren’t being told in schools,
they are not on television very often,
and, most families today don’t know the stories in order to tell them to their children.
So, we have an obligation, really, to tell the old, old stories . . . of Jesus and his love.
Three weeks ago we looked at the very oldest stories I could find about Jesus.
The very first stories of Jesus that we know of – the stories that the Apostle Paul would have heard.
Two weeks ago I talked about the stories of Jesus we find in the Gospel of Mark – the earliest Gospel to be published.
And, last week we looked at the stories of Jesus that Matthew heard of and used in that Gospel.
(Just to remind us again, the obvious needs to be stated: no one was following Jesus around with a tape recorder loading sound bytes for future generations.
No one was following him around with a pencil and papyrus.
And, again, as a reminder, none of the documents in our New Testament were written when Jesus was alive –
all of the stories of Jesus we have in our Bible,
the stories we have heard all our lives,
were written long after Jesus lived.)
We know that almost all of our stories of Jesus come from the four Gospels in our Holy Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And, Biblical scholars from all persuasions agree on general dates each of the Gospels were written.
And, it has become clear from studies in last 80 years, or so, studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
the Nag Hammadi library,
and other “recent’ discoveries of ancient documents,
each of the Gospels in our Bible comes out of a different community reflecting different traditions, (different denominations, if you will) –
communities of “Christians” that differed in some ways from other communities of Christians –
differed in their practices,
differed in their racial/ethnic make up,
differed in their emphases,
differed in their theology behind their understanding of Jesus.
As we heard a couple of weeks ago: all Biblical scholars seem to agree that the very first Gospel (the earliest one that was written) is the one attributed to Mark.
And the second Gospel to be published is the one we call Matthew.
And, Luke is not published until some 100 years after the execution of Jesus.
It seems that the Gospel of Luke came out of a community of Christian believers in and around Philippi – a Roman colony in Macedonia.
These Christians were primarily Gentile – with very few, if any, Jewish adherents.
This group published the Gospel of Luke – and used it as a resource for their faith.
These believers living in the Roman empire at the beginning of the second century AD, were gentiles – and they were Roman citizens.
And, they were careful not to include any inflammatory words or insinuations against the Roman government.
There are no stories here of Roman soldiers flogging, or mocking, or beating up Jesus – in fact it includes a statement from the Roman governor that there is no basis in Roman law for a charge against this man Jesus.
By this time, the Gospel of Mark was well known – and a good part of the life of Jesus as described there is included in Luke.
As a side note, in the Gospel of Luke as we have it today, a significant part of Mark’s outline appears to be missing.
Several consecutive lines are simply not there – scholars estimate enough to fill about four pages front and back with the typical writing of the day.
This omission leads to the speculation that early on, someone simply lost four pages of the document (maybe the camel ate it).
At any rate, the earliest copy of the Gospel of Luke we have today comes from a time several hundred years after it was published – of course something could have happened to part of it along the way.
So, Luke knew about Mark’s outline of the live of Jesus – what he did.
Luke also shows that the community knew about stories attributed to Jesus.
Many of the stories in Matthew are included in Luke – and some are not.
But, Luke also has many other stories and sayings that are attributed to Jesus that Matthew did not have.
Now, we know even more about these believers that produced the Gospel of Luke.
We know that the Apostle Paul visited Macedonia and Philippi, in particular, and started the church there.
One of his first converts was a Roman Centurion.
He speaks of several women, by name, that he baptized and taught.
So, today we see a document that is put together in such a way as to not aggravate the powers that be, and that is profoundly pro-women.
In this Gospel of Luke, many many stories are about encounters with women.
Women are given respect and equal status as believers within the community of faith.
Only in the Gospel of Luke do we here the stories of Elizabeth and Mary,
the story about Mary and Martha,
the story about the women who came in and doused Jesus with expensive perfume,
the stories of Jesus casting out demons from women,
the story of raising a widow’s dead son out of his coffin,
and the women who went to the tomb . . .
Of particular interest to me is what we read a while ago.
The story of this teacher of the law coming up to Jesus with intent to trap him into saying something particularly incriminating is in both Matthew and Luke – this indicates that it one of the stories that was being circulated after Mark was published.
But, Luke is the only gospel that tells us the story of the Good Samaritan.
This story of the Good Samaritan is probably the most well-known stories we have in our Bible – certainly one of the most well-known stories of Jesus.
A recent survey that 49% of Americans said they would be able to tell the story of the Good Samaritan if asked to do so,
45% said they would not be able to,
and 6% were unsure whether they could tell it or not.
Among those who attended religious services every week, the proportion who thought they could tell the story rose to 69% percent.
It is a most familiar story, right?
We name hospitals, churches, institutions of mercy, even legislation in honor of the good Samaritan – here in this story.
Here, in Luke, we have this lawyer coming up to Jesus (as in Matthew) and asks the question he hopes will entrap Jesus into saying something incriminating.
But, instead of answering, Jesus turns it around and asks of lawyer, “Well, what does it say in the sacred writing?”
Well, for sure, the lawyer wasn’t about to be tripped up, he knew what the scriptures said,
he knew what had been taught to him and to those who had gone before him,
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind';
and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
“Good answer,” Jesus said.
Then the lawyer continues, “So, I understand the first commandment – I repeat the shema five times a day.
But, just who am I supposed to love?
Who is my neighbor?”
And, that famous question, leads into to the famous story Jesus tells about the Good Samaritan.
You remember:
The first person to whom we are introduced is the poor traveler.
He is one of us.
And, he had taken the road from Jerusalem to Jericho which was notoriously dangerous.
It descended nearly 3,300 feet in 17 miles, running through narrow passes at points.
The terrain offered easy hiding for the bandits who terrorized travelers.
And sure enough, just like was feared, this unfortunate fellow had been stripped, beaten, and left for dead.
A first century mugging.
One more random victim in a randomly violent world.
Jesus' audience that day knew how easily it could happen.
For that matter, with a quick glance at the newspaper or TV, his audience TODAY knows just as well.
While hearers then and now would sympathize with the poor fellow, we are not forced to identify with him because in a story that begins with a tragedy, helpers are sure to arrive, right?
If we will identify with anyone, we will wait for our helper/hero.
Hallelujah! Here comes a priest.
If anyone could be expected to stop and help it would be a priest.
But wait.
The priest is not only not coming over to help;
he is passing by on the other side.
No reason is given.
Some have suggested that, as a priest, he could fear ritual defilement with a corpse,
but truth is if a priest on a journey found a corpse, he had a duty to bury it.
Perhaps it was fear.
Those who beat the man in the ditch might be lying in wait to beat him as well.
Perhaps it was simple revulsion.
Have you ever come upon someone after a bloody accident?
Ugly.
Whatever.
"He passed by on the other side." Some hero!
No matter. Here comes a Levite...an "assistant" priest.
The first one was an aberration.
THIS one will come through.
Right.
As the text has it, "he came to the place and saw him, [and] passed by on the other side."
Another hero!
Now what?
By normal storytelling conventions, we can expect we are about to meet a third character who will break the pattern created by the first two.
In the context of our current parable, the expected sequence would be a priest, a Levite, and then...
TA DAH!...our hero will be an ordinary Israelite who will come to the rescue even when the high muckety-mucks of the Temple fail to do so.
The story would have an anti-clerical edge to it along with the reminder that love of God AND NEIGHBOR are commanded,
but a shot at the Holy Joe's would not be any big shock considering the difficulty Jesus regularly has with the religious establishment.
So, enter character number three – a Samaritan. The GOOD Samaritan!
HA! You know those words are not actually uses together.
Nowhere in the Bible will we find the words "Good" and "Samaritan" next to each other.
For those folks who first heard this story, the phrase "Good Samaritan" would have been an oxymoron anyway -
the only GOOD Samaritan would have been a DEAD Samaritan.
No hero here.
The hatred between Jew and Samaritan in Jesus' day was at least as deep as the feeling Jews and Arabs have toward each other today.
The story goes on.
Just as the priest and the Levite, the Samaritan sees the man, but instead of distancing himself,
he comes closer.
As the text has it, "when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine [oil to keep them soft, wine to sterilize].
Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
The next day he took out two silver coins [two days wages] and gave them to the innkeeper.
'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'"
Not an insignificant amount, not lavish either, but enough to do the job.
So, the story is over.
Jesus has responded to the lawyer's question about the limits of neighborliness with his story and now turns the question back to the lawyer: "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
And the answer, "The one who had mercy on him."
It’s pretty amazing, when you think about it.
The concept of a GOOD Samaritan is so distasteful that the lawyer cannot bring himself to even speak the name.
Jesus concludes, "Go and do likewise."
What?
Be the guy in the ditch?
Perhaps that is not so far-fetched as we might think.
We never hear if this poor victim recovers, but my assumption is that he does.
That being the case, what would the effect have been on him that he had been rescued by a Samaritan?
One would presume that it would forever color his view of Samaritans.
For that matter, one would presume that it would forever color his view of the world's victims.
There would be less callousness, less inclination to lay blame for getting into such a fix in the first place, less temptation to "pass by on the other side."
If Jesus' story had gone on any longer, I would bet that this poor fellow, from that day forward, became a better neighbor to the rest of his world than he would have ever dreamed possible.
Friends, there is much to the stories of Jesus.
This is just one of them.
One that is found only here in this Gospel of Luke.
I only hope and pray that we may never take these stories of Jesus for granted.
Let’s continue to tell them –
in as many ways as we can think of.
Let all who will, listen.
And, may all who listen, understand.
Next week, when we come together we will join Christians at the Lord’s table in all corners of the world –
gathering around the longest table imaginable to join in a World Wide Communion.
More Christians that day will celebrate the Lord’s Supper than any other day of the year.
Don’t miss it.
Amen.
The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service September 30, 2012.
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