You Can Live Your Life to the Max - Its A Matter of Prayer

 God surrounds us with love every moment of our life.
There is power in this love.
And there is a standing offer of friendship and communication on God's side.
All we have to do is risk believing in the offer and open ourselves to God's welcoming Presence. When we do that, we have begun to pray.

Enjoying something fully –
even something as basic as food, drink, a bath or shower, a hug, a nap –
if it is done with an awareness of God, can be prayer.


From the Ancient Texts:  Habakkuk 3:2,17-19
From the Early Church: James 5:13-18


There you go, James said it:
The prayer of a good  person has a powerful affect.

The Apostle Paul said: Pray Unceasingly.

Jesus said: When you pray, do not be ostentatious, like the hypocrites!
Do it in private and don't use a lot of meaningless words.
(God already knows what you need before you ask.)
If you forgive others, you will be forgiven.

Maybe you saw the cartoon in the funny papers:
Two little kids were standing there in their pajamas beside their bed with a toy telephone between them.
One is instructing the other in the finer arts of saying their bedtime prayers.
He says: "Now, remember you don't have to worry about God being too busy when you call, because he has "Call Waiting".

And you don't have to worry about him not being home, because he has "Call Forwarding".

And remember, it's always a Toll Free Call.

And God never puts anyone "On Hold."

"Don't hang up, your call will be answered in the order in which it is received.

And Operators are standing by ready for your call." And that's about it, isn't it?

Some time ago, I was intrigued by a report of a study that was done by health-care researchers.
They surveyed a lot of people over a long period of time and asked them various questions over the years –  questions relating to their life-style and to their health.

One of the life-style questions concerned whether or not they went to church recently, and how often.

And you know, one of the completely unexpected conclusions of that study was that people who go to church regularly were healthier, over all, than people who did not.

And people who go to church regularly, lived longer, over all, than people who did not.

Now, I thought that was really interesting, and it confirmed what I have observed in many churches over quite a few years now,
and I had some hunches why this may be so.
And so, for some twenty years or so, I have been engaged in a low-impact research project:
reading reports,
collecting data from studies in several fields of inquiry,
cataloging anecdotal evidence from a myriad of sources,
and studying what literature may be available on the subject.
Because, while it may be that we take a lot of these things for granted,
there are a lot of folks who never darken the doorway of this church,
who may like to hear what we have to say,
and may be seeking what we have to offer.

So I put together this series of sermons to share with you the results of some of this research –  sermons that having been focusing on living the max-life that Jesus said he came for, after all.

Now, I don't mean to suggest that people who go to church, don't get sick, we do.

And I don't mean to suggest that people who go to church won't die, we do.

Going to church is not a guarantee,
it is more like an insurance policy that pays dividends on a daily basis,
and promises an ultimate payoff in the end.

Today, I want to talk about the power of prayer.

James proclaims, what most of you know: The prayer of a good person has a powerful affect.

To date there have been nearly 1000 scientific studies on the effects of prayer. 
Over half of these studies show that under laboratory-controlled conditions, prayer does something truly remarkable.
While the belief that prayer heals is older than recorded history, you should know about some of this research of the last few years.

One study at the University of Virginia, showed that orthopedic patients in the hospital that were visited by chaplains needed less medical care than those that weren't visited by chaplains.
They made two thirds fewer calls to the nurse for help,
and they got out of the hospital an average of two days earlier than those who didn't receive spiritual support.
And those same patients needed 66% less pain medication, than those who never saw a chaplain.

Another study was done among more than 700 coronary patients in a VA hospital near Boston. Patients were undergoing care for heart attack and chronic heart disease, and endured bypass operations, valve replacements, and open heart surgery.
An experimental group was selected randomly to receive daily visits from a chaplain.
The other group received less frequent visits, or none at all.
Again, those who received regular care from a pastor, went home one or two days sooner than those who did not.
Now, the VA attached some dollars and cents to this study, and concluded that providing a chaplain visit for a patient cost no more than $100 a day, and resulted in savings as much as $4000 a day.
Total savings from a robust and prayerful chaplain's program could amount to several million dollars a year for each hospital.

Another study was done at San Francisco General Hospital of about 400 people who were admitted to the coronary care unit suffering congestive heart failure, heart attack, low blood pressure and other heart problems.

Half of these patients were assigned to a group of regular churchgoers who were asked to pray regularly for the health and recovery of the patients –  whom they never met.

None of the patients, none of the doctors, none of the nurses, knew they were on anyone's prayer list. And what they found out was startling:

the patients that were prayed for were far less likely to require antibiotics,
they had fewer infections from their surgery.
A dozen of the patients who were not prayed for required mechanical breathing support following the surgery,
and remarkably, none of those who were being prayed for needed help with breathing.
(Fewer of those chosen for prayer died –  but the difference wasn't statistically significant.)
The results of this study caused quite a stir when they were published in the Southern Medical Journal.
One physician at the time wrote: "Maybe we doctors ought to be writing on our order sheets, 'Pray three times a day.'"

I am sure that if this study went one step further, and told the patients they were being prayed for, the results would have been even more dramatic.

As some of you know, from your experience, there is something invigorating knowing that you are being prayed for.
Knowing that you are connected to a network of prayers is bouying to your soul –  and it brings peace and confidence.

Prayer works.

The prayer of a good person has a powerful affect.

Measurements show that a hospital visit by a pastor reduces stress hormones, produces a calming effect, and stimulates the production of endorphins in the patient.

Now, understand what is being said here.
Bad things happen to good people.
Good people get ill.
Bodies wear out.
Accidents happen.
Good people die.
But, prayer lets you face your illness squarely, actually producing a strength in your body and psyche to face your situation and get through it. Prayer prepares you for what is to come.

The prayer of a good person has a powerful affect.

It may not change the situation we find ourselves in and may not give us the miracle we want,
but what happens is,
prayer changes us.
As one writer put it well, "Through prayer, we find inner resources of strength and hope and courage we didn't know we had.

Through prayer we are no longer facing our fears and pains alone;
God is there beside us, renewing our spirit, restoring our soul, and helping us carry the burden when it becomes too heavy for us to bear."

Prayer has a powerful affect: on our bodies, on our minds, on our lives.
To really clue in,
to really experience change,
to really know what prayer can do for us,
Paul tells us, to "Pray unceasingly."

What does that mean?
Standing at a prayer wall all day from morning to night?
Kneeling at the foot of the cross 24 hours a day?
Reciting a mantra over and over and over again?
No.
Pray unceasingly means to live in a state of prayerfulness.
Wherever you are,
whatever you are doing,
whatever is going on around you,
know that God is with you,
and is in conversation with you –
helping you through the events,
guiding the way,
providing strength and support you know you never had alone.

Do you remember Fiddler on the Roof?
In this marvelous story, you remember the old man, the papa, Tevye, was constantly talking to God.
(Tevye is my prayer mentor.)
There was a comedic effect as he constantly was getting his Bible facts confused,
but here he is in constant prayer with the Almighty.
He prayed when he delivered his milk,
he prayed when his wife got on his nerves,
he prayed when he rejoiced with a daughter,
he prayed when he met people.
Prayer helped him get through the difficulties and tragedies and joys of his life.
O, for sure, God didn't "smite him with riches" as he jokingly talked to God about, but Tevye didn't really expect that to happen.

The point is: There was never a moment when Tevye did not know that God was with him.

Tevye was sure and certain of his relationship with God.
And gives clues to us as well.

There is an ancient parable that speaks to our situation.

There were a bunch of fish swimming in the sea. And this rather young fish swam up to an older and wiser looking fish and asked, "Pardon me, but I have heard of this wonderful place called the Ocean where all manner of living creatures and colorful things live?
I have decided to go there where life is much richer. I have been searching everywhere.
Can you help me find the way?"

The older fish said, "Son, This is it!
You're in the ocean now.
It doesn't get any better than this.
This is the ocean."

The young fish put his nose up, and said, "Silly old man, what do you know. This is only water.
I'm looking for the ocean."
And off he swam to continue his search.

It takes a wise fish indeed to perceive the ocean in which it lives.
Not knowing a life outside the ocean, it is hard for it to see the environment in which it lives.
Like the fish, whose relationship with the ocean is a given, so is our relationship with God.

God surrounds us with love every moment of our life.
There is power in this love.
And there is a standing offer of friendship and communication on God's side.
All we have to do is risk believing in the offer and open ourselves to God's welcoming Presence. When we do that, we have begun to pray.

As Tevye did.

As James did.

As Paul did.

As Jesus did.

Prayer can take many forms –  sometimes we attempt to communicate in a communal way, like we do here in church;

sometimes we attempt to communicate in a personal way behind closed doors;

sometimes we attempt to communicate in a traditional way by using words that have inspired people through the ages.

But, praying unceasingly means doing it right in the midst of our daily activities.
Whether we are writing a letter,
playing golf,
talking with someone on the telephone,
bandaging a a bruised knee,
or challenging an unjust policy,
we make it all prayerful by recognizing the presence of God with us in what we do,
when we do it,
where we do it.
Our prayer can start from our work,
the important relationships of our lives,
the things we wonder at,
the restlessness and loneliness of our hearts,
our experiences of success and satisfaction,
a painful conversation,
a recent gift of love.

We meet God daily in all we do and all we see.
Our prayer rises spontaneously in the presence of mountains or sea,
in park or woods,
at sunrise or sunset,
on fishing and camping trips,
at the sight of beautiful flowers, birds, animals, or persons.
Enjoying something fully –
even something as basic as food, drink, a bath or shower, a hug, a nap –
if it is done with an awareness of God, can be prayer.

If you feel at a loss as to where to start a prayer, ask yourself what you enjoy,
what you marvel at,
what you struggle with,
what you suffer from.
God is in the depth of things.

Whenever movement and energy is in our lives is where engagement with God is taking place.
Pray unceasingly.

Sometimes prayer is spending time with a friend.

We are made for a relationship with God, and the hunger for this relationship lurks in our souls as a yearning.

If we take this yearning seriously, we turn to prayer   as naturally as a flower turns toward the sun or reaches it roots for water.

The heart of prayer is the awareness that the Source of our lives supports us right where we are. We are loved.
And the gift of life, moment to moment, is a lover's gift –  and an invitation to friendship.

Now, in case you haven't gotten it yet, write this down and take it with you: Prayer is simply being together with God.

Acknowledging that you are always in God's presence.

Prayer is mutual awareness and the quiet exchange, as when two friends sit before a fire.

Prayer involves exchange.
Just knowing that the power of the infinite surrounds us in all we do, we offer an effort to live a good life.

We give to God our human loves and our daily chores.

We give to God our small efforts to create a better world.
We share with God all our concerns,
for that is what friends do, isn't it?

Most of us live busy lives, and when we pray unceasingly, much of our prayer takes place on the run.
Whether we operate machinery,
change diapers and wash dishes,
or grapple with problems at a desk or on a phone, we too can have those moments of heightened awareness and greater exchange with the Mystery that is always right where we are.
We have people, concerns, and appreciations to hold up to God as we bathe and dress,
as we drive from place to place,
as we stand in the line at the bank or grocery store, as we wrestle with our responsibilities,
and as we relax with our friends.

Friends, the prayer of a good person has a powerful affect.
In God we live and have our being, and prayer is as natural as breathing.
We come as we are.
God is already present.
As soon as we tune in, the exchange begins.
It is usually quiet and low-key, but something profound is happening.

Many of you in this room can attest to the veracity of the words of James: The prayer of a good person has a powerful affect.
Prayer has an affect on others,
and prayer changes you.
Pray unceasingly.
Experience for yourself, the healing power of prayer.
And you will be well on your way to living a fuller life – a max-life.

Amen.

The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service November 13, 2011.

You Can Live Your Life to the Max - Its A Matter of Forgiveness

Anger, resentment, hate have tremendous power to affect our psyche, to affect our minds, to affect our bodies.
Seemingly, in and of themselves, they have an ability to cripple, maim, and kill.
They are insidious, self-destructive killers.

And, curiously, a proven antidote to these killers is forgiveness.
In point of fact, forgiveness is often the only antidote with long-term affect.


From the Ancient Texts:  Daniel 9:4-7a,18-19
From the Early Church: Matthew 18:21-35

I miss Calvin and Hobbes.
It has been twenty years since Bill Watterson stopped drawing the comic strip.
But, I still love to read it – and undoubtedly find something to support a sermon idea every time I look at some.
You remember: Calvin is a little six-year-old with a very vivid imagination whose purpose in life seems to be to drive his parents batty –
in fact, he seems driven to drive all adults batty.

Calvin has a stuffed tiger he has had for a long time, ever since he was a kid.
He calls his stuffed tiger Hobbes,
and in his imagination Hobbes comes to life and is, in fact, his best friend and accomplice.

In one memorable episode, the mother of the little girl across the street has arranged for Calvin's mother to watch her for a couple of hours after school one day.
Well, being six years old, Calvin has fits that this "girl" is coming into his domain.
And, he is simply outraged that his stuffed tiger doesn't do something about it.

After reading Hobbes the riot act, they go downstairs and discover Suzie sitting at the table with a pencil, and paper, and a book.
Calvin looks puzzled, and asks, "What are you doing?"

Little Suzie replies, "My homework."

Calvin says, "What?   Your homework?
We just got home from school.
There's lots of daylight left.
We haven't had dinner yet.
We haven't watched television yet.
We haven't been told its bed-time yet."

Little Suzie says, "I know. I like to get my homework out of the way, and do it right after I get home from school while things are fresh in my mind."

The last scene has Calvin walking away with his stuffed tiger, shaking his head, and mumbling,
"I used to think she was smart."

In one of my all-time favorite episodes, that was repeated at least twice, Calvin is playing some kind of game in the driveway with his make-believe friend, Hobbes.
After a while, Calvin stops and says, "You know we would have much more room to play if this car wasn't here."

Hobbes says, "Do you think you could get your mother to move it?"

Calvin says, "Naw. Now why would I bother her with a little thing like that?
We would just be a bother to her. I can do it."

Calvin opens the door of the car, climbs in the front seat, and manages to put the car into neutral and releases the emergency brake.
He then gets out of the car, puts his little six-year-old body in front of the car and pushes with all his might.
In his imagination, he gets his tiger Hobbes to help.
And, much to their amazement, the car starts to move.
They are ecstatic as the car begins to slowly roll down the driveway.

Then, suddenly, they realize they haven't figured out a way to stop the car.
And they stand there watching the car slowly roll down the driveway,
into the street,
across the street
and into a ditch alongside the road.

Well, Calvin is mortified.
His mother is surely going to kill him for this. Together, they can only think of one solution: run away from home.
But, before they go, they sneak around the house, run through the back door into the kitchen, and make a few peanut butter sandwiches.

Meanwhile, his mother, in the front room, looks up and notices cars stopped in the street, and people milling all around, and she wonders what all the commotion is all about.
Then, she notices a car in the ditch,
then she realizes it is her car in the ditch,
and runs out the door screaming, "Calvin!!!"

He's nowhere to be found.
She looks everywhere: in the car, under the car, behind the car.  No Calvin.
Nobody's seen a little boy.
She is beside herself.
And begins to expand her search to the yards of neighbors.
Meanwhile, Calvin sneaks out the back door of his house with his peanut butter sandwiches and his stuffed tiger, and runs to the park.

There, he decides he is far enough away, and besides he is tired and hungry.
So, for safety's sake, he climbs a tree and starts to be afraid of the situation he has gotten himself in this time.
His mother has every right to clobber him on the spot.

His mother finally gets to the park and notices him sitting on a branch about five feet off the ground, with tears streaming down his face.
She runs over and says, "Calvin, are you all right? Are you OK? Are you hurt?"

Calvin responds, "I'm not hurt. Why should I be hurt?"

His mother says, "Thank God, come on down out the tree, and let's go home."

Calvin, stops sobbing long enough to pause and with some apprehension in his words, says,
"Before I come down, first I think I would like to hear you say you love me."

Forgiveness is something we all need to hear sometimes, isn't it?
[Maybe some of us, more often than others, huh?]
And forgiveness is at the heart of our faith, isn’t it?

The story of Jesus is the story of forgiveness.
In Christ all barriers between God and us are broken down, and makes possible for our adoption as children of God.
Jesus said, "I have come that you may have life, and have it more abundantly – a fuller life, a max-life."
And the practice of forgiveness is one crucial element that contributes to that max-life – that abundant life.
There is healing power in forgiveness.

We know some of the causes of many of our illnesses today.
Many of the illnesses which plague our world: stroke, high blood pressure, heart disease, some cancers,
many of the psychological disorders,
are linked to things like anger, hate, resentment, even jealousy.

Anger, resentment, hate have tremendous power to affect our psyche, to affect our minds, to affect our bodies.
Seemingly, in and of themselves, they have an ability to cripple, maim, and kill.
There is no mistake about it: anger, resentment, hate, and jealousy are insidious, self-destructive killers.

And, curiously, a proven antidote to these killers is forgiveness.
In point of fact, forgiveness is often the only antidote with long-term affect.

Aside from an abundance of antidotal evidence, we now have hard cold facts that prove that forgiveness has great value in physical and emotional health –
and forgiveness training can be effective in reducing hurt and stress.
Researchers at Stanford University's Center for Research in Disease Prevention are currently involved in a large study on the implications of forgiveness for health care and education.
The director of the Center suggests that the time will come soon when forgiveness will be offered as part of primary health care programs.

The health care professionals are coming to realize what we have known for a long time:
There is healing power in forgiveness:
in forgiving yourself,
in forgiving others, and
in being forgiven.

Professional counselors know that often for psychological healing to take place, a person needs to identify, or name, a particular problem, and then to forgive themselves.
There is real therapeutic value in forgiving yourself.

Often when a person feels deep and massive guilt for his or her own shortcomings, or mistakes, or transgressions,
we simply do not hear words of forgiveness from God or anyone.
Sometimes this guilt literally cripples a person.
No matter what you may have done to another person, or yourself, one of the crucial ingredients for healing is to forgive yourself.

One of the twelve steps of recovery programs is the forgiveness of oneself after confession and affirmation of faith,
and willingness to let go and let God.
We see on a basic level, there is healing power in forgiving yourself.
And this is one of the things you are taught to do in church, isn't it?

There is therapeutic value in forgiving others, too.
This is overtly a basic part of Jesus' message to his followers.
No less a stellar apostle than Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, if my brother keeps on doing me wrong, how many times do I have to forgive him?"

A fair question, isn't it?
A question we ask all the time –  in one form or another.

Often we say, "I just can't forgive that person, don't even ask me."
Often we feel that we can't, or don't want to, forgive even one time, don't we?

Jesus told a story about a certain person who had a certain debt forgiven,
and then went on to confront another person who owed him a debt which he just couldn't forgive.
That person was sentenced to horrible punishment. And Jesus concluded his story with this tag line: "That is how my father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from the heart."
He couldn't have been clearer on this.
The Kingdom of God is available for you ...
You who forgive.

"Fine, Lord, but just how many times must I forgive this person who keeps sinning against me?"
It's hard enough to do it once, isn't it?
But, for a repeat offender ?

Notice what Jesus does not say.
Jesus does not say, well forgive him once and give him a warning.
Forgive him again.
And, if he does it again, all bets are off.
Three strikes and you're out.
Jesus did not say that, did he?

How many times am I to forgive this Bozo, anyway?
Once, twice, three times, five times, seven times?
Jesus said, "No. Don't be absurd.
You must forgive him not one time, not two times, not three times, not five times, not seven times,
but seven times seventy times.
If you fail the test of not being able to forgive a person an infinite number of times, you simply do not get it.
You simply do not know.
You simply will never know the Kingdom of God."

Now, that's a radical concept –  that simply can blow away everything you may have worked for all of your life,
blow away everything you may have saved for,
blow away everything you may have believed.

You won't find this in the political debates in Washington.

You won't find this in the President's Crime Bill.

You won't find this in welfare reform.

You find this in the Gospel of Jesus the Christ.

You find this in the Kingdom of God.

You find this in the Body of Christ –
this church in Drexel Hill,
in churches throughout the Delaware Valley,
in churches all over the world.

People who forgive others live healthier than those who don't.
People who forgive others live longer than those who don't.
People who forgive others experience the abundant life Jesus talked about – a fuller life, life to the max.

There is healing power in forgiving yourself.

There is healing power in forgiving others.

And there is healing power in being forgiven...

A leading theologian of the past generation wrote about the overwhelming power a person experiences at the moment that the realization comes that he or she is fully, and unconditionally, accepted by God –  accepted just for being who they are, and what they are.
In our service each week, we try to recreate that moment –
after our corporate and personal prayers of confession we hear an assurance of our acceptance,
an assurance of our forgiveness.
And many people actually feel that that is the liberating moment for them during the entire worship service.
No matter what I may preach about,
no matter what we may sing,
no matter what we hear,
nothing is more important than that one moment.

That one moment when you may realize that no matter what has happened in the past,
no matter what you may have done,
no matter what you may have said,
when you sincerely ask for forgiveness, you get it.
It's a whole new ball game.
There is a whole new slate to write on.
A whole new world begins.
There is a whole new life ahead.
And, more than any other, that kind of healing is what we are about here at Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill.

A best selling book a while back is called: "Forgiveness: the Key to the Kingdom."
He talks about the power of forgiving someone, and of the power of forgiving your self:
He says, "that's really the key to the kingdom.
It not only opens the door,
it's the hinges on the door,
it's the key to the door,
and it's also the little bell that rings and lets you know that door has opened."

Paul wrote to the Ephesians that one of the marks of the true church,
one of the marks of a real Christian,
one of the marks of an authentic soul,
is forgiveness.
In the midst of one of the most horrible miscarriages of human justice, entrapped in the bonds of sin, captured by the throws of death, Jesus uttered those words that haunt today: "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do."

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
Our God forgives us, even when we do not know what we do.

Our God forgives us, even when we do know what we do.

Our God forgives us, period.
Paragraph.
End of story.
The beginning of a new story.
The first day of the rest of your life.

As some of you well know, there is real authentic healing power in forgiveness.
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

When you pray, say, Our Father, ...forgive us our wrongs, as we forgive those who wrong us.
Forgive your brother and sister from the heart ... seven times seventy times [if need be]...and you will know the Kingdom of Heaven.

Friends, a key to abundant living,
a key to a full life,
a key to life to the max,
a key to the Kingdom of God,
is forgiveness.

May you know it.

May you experience it.

May you express it.

Amen.

The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, experienced this sermon during a regular worship service November 6, 2011. 

You Can Live Your Life to the Max! It's A Matter of Allegiance

Even in dark times –
especially in dark times –
navigating life with a moral compass calibrated to the ways taught by Jesus,
remembered through our faith,
yields a fuller, more abundant, more satisfying life in so many ways.

Today, it seems that we have so many temptations that come to us in so many ways to violate
the first commandment, to have other gods,
to have other allegiances that take precedence over our allegiance to God.


Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 13
Matthew 22:35-40

Jesus said I have come that you might have an abundant life – that you might live a full life – that you might live it to the max – being all you were meant to be (which is so much more than you ever thought possible).

Jesus told his followers that it was a matter of choice – for them and for us –
echoing Joshua who said: It is a matter of choice.  And you had best choose now!

Jesus referred to this abundant life,
this full life,
this MAXlife,
as the Kingdom of God (sometimes translated at the Kingdom of Heaven).

This metaphor of the Kingdom of God worked for those who heard his words, because everyone knew what a kingdom was.
The Jewish people had had their own kingdom with King David and a whole host of other kings –
and they knew their history.
They knew about kings and kingdoms.
In fact, they had spent many many years living under the rule of foreign kings – to whom they had to pledge allegiance.
And, although it was not called a kingdom, they lived under the aegis of the Roman Empire
with the Caesar, the Emperor, in the role of the king.

They knew about taxes and they knew about the allegiance expected by the king or emperor of his subjects.

Jesus’ talk about the Kingdom of God was about living with a radical reorientation of societal benchmarks:
the least shall be first,
care for others preempts care for self,
peaceful pursuits trump war and violence.
In story after story, point after point, Jesus turned the accepted values of the society on end
in contrast to the values of life in the Kingdom of God.

We all remember the story that appears in Matthew just before the text I read today,
the story where the Pharisee came to have it out with Jesus asked plainly:
So, Jesus, you talk of this Kingdom of God and the all the differences in the way we are to live, and you say that the Kingdom of God is here, so what do you say?
Should we pay taxes to the Emperor, or not?

Ultimately, for them then, and for us now, it was and is a question of and of ultimate authority.
By what criteria or authority are you to make decisions?
By what criteria or authority are you to establish values?
By what criteria or authority are you to find meaning and purpose in life?

Up to this point what Jesus had been saying challenged the listeners' thinking,
challenged their belief system,
challenged their traditions,
challenged their allegiances,
challenged their positions of privilege,
and, yes, challenged their patriotism.

Attention was on edge.

So they put Jesus to the test.
They wanted to get Jesus to comment and say what they thought he was saying,
so they could discredit him,
entangle him in his words,
prove to the audience that he was a revolutionary that should be silenced.
They suspected in their hearts that he was soft on patriotism, so they went after his Achilles' heel.

You can feel the atmosphere.
The air is tense with emotion.
"What do you mean God may take the kingdom away from us and give it to another nation?
Are you suggesting that our faith, our religious values, our leaders are wrong - are misguided -
are leading us down the wrong way?"
Their conscience is pricked.
Their long held traditions are challenged.
They are upset because Jesus exposes their hypocrisy, their idolatry.

So they pick an issue he has alluded to and they try to pin him to the wall.
Let's ask him about allegiance to the empire, to government authority.
That will get people stirred up, divided.
They'll stop listening to him if we can expose his lack of patriotism.
We'll get this radical teacher to say something that will call his patriotism into question.
He's been questioning our uncritical acceptance of those in authority - the status quo - the present world order.

Let's give him a scenario that will force him to reveal his lack of allegiance to the government, to Caesar.

"Teacher - we know you are true and teach the way of God."
Teacher, you don't seem to care what the polls say, what popular opinion is.
You are not that impressed or care what a person's title is or how many degrees one has or where one hails from.
Tell us, is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?

They knew that Jesus taught a way that was in direct conflict with Caesar on many points.
Caesar stood for the sword - conquer, control by violence.
Jesus taught non-violence –  turn the other cheek, equality among the sexes.
They knew that Jesus taught the way of justice, cooperation and partnership.
Caesar stood for power over others,
acquisition of wealth,
dominance over others
and manipulation.

They knew that Jesus was polls apart from Caesar in his teachings about loving one's enemy,
about suffering on behalf of others,
about respecting all people.
There was no doubt in their mind where Jesus stood with regard to Caesar and his politics,
his economics, his warring madness.

So in their crafty manner they plot, "Let's test Jesus to see if he will say it.
Let's bring out the implication of his teachings.
Then they will accuse him of being unpatriotic."

For the questioners in those days,
and for Jesus,
it was a matter of allegiance.

Jesus knew that there is nothing that belongs to Caesar and does not first belong to God.
His disciples knew that.
He made it clear that you cannot serve two masters.
You cannot serve God and money
– God and Caesar -
God and the empire -
God and something else.
You have to choose where your ultimate allegiance is.

Whether we pay taxes (money) to Caesar, we must pass the first test: Does this please God?
Does this enable me to be faithful to my supreme allegiance, which is the kingdom of God?

Does it serve the cause of justice for all God's creation?

For sure, Jesus is not suggesting that there can be two gods for us.
We cannot split our ultimate allegiance in two directions.
Part of me follows God, part of me follows the empire.
Money belongs to Caesar and the Bible stories belong to God.
On Sunday I listen to God and on Monday I listen to Caesar.

As we grapple with life's choices and values, Jesus reminds us that there is nothing, not even taxes or orders from Caesar to go to war, that can escape passing through the test of my allegiance to God, my obedience to my conscience.

The ultimate issue at stake here is the first commandment.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind.
If Jesus would have suggested by his answer that some things belong to Caesar, no matter what, it would have been in direct violation of the first commandment.

Nothing belongs to Caesar that does not first and ultimately belong to God.

It is about allegiance.
Today, it seems that we have so many temptations that come to us in so many ways to violate
the first commandment, to have other gods,
to have other allegiances that take precedence over our allegiance to God.

Do you remember the story of Daniel in the lion's den?
Caesar, who then was called Nebuchadnezzar, had decreed a law that no one should pray to any other god but him.
The empire needed a sign of loyalty and a gesture of unity from its citizens.
He asked all citizens to give their full allegiance to the empire.
Daniel, however, had a higher allegiance.
So it was again a question of allegiance - Caesar or God,
the power of public policy vs. the individual conscience.

That story of Daniel is pertinent for you and me today.
For you and me, as it was for Daniel, it is and was a question of allegiance.
Where is our ultimate allegiance?

You may be tempted to cheat on your income tax.

You may be tempted to cheat.

You may be tempted to sleep in on Sunday.

You may be tempted to waste your money on the lottery or some other risky venture.

You may be tempted to lie, steal, covet, swear.

But the great temptation,
the one that is the ultimate test,
the one that shapes everything we do,
is the temptation to idolatry.
The temptation to have more than one God, to serve two masters.
The temptation to give part of our ultimate allegiance to Caesar and part to God.
The temptation to bow our knees before two altars - the ways of the society around us
and the ways of our faith.

It is a powerful temptation.
It is real for every one of us.
If we have not wrestled with it, maybe we have already given in to it.
If we do not recognize this temptation with its modern application, it may be a sign that we have not come to grips with what it means to follow Jesus.
Folks today feel the effects of strong peer pressure,
pressure from our surroundings -
pressure from popular opinion polls,
pressure to not rock the boat for financial reasons.
No one wants to be considered different.

There is strong pressure to try to have it both ways.
We want God and we want national security and prosperity.
We want God and we want the benefits of Caesar's policy.
So we try to separate our religion and our politics, our Sundays from our Mondays.
There is strong pressure to delay our decision of ultimate allegiance,
to put off choosing,
to living in the middle of the road,
to being silent,
hoping that somehow we won't have to decide,
you know?
That we won’t have to take sides,
that we won’t ever have to reveal our true master.

The great temptation –  is it God or Caesar that I follow –  comes to the surface for us at special moments in our lives.
It came in a powerful way to Jesus when he was in the wilderness for 40 days just after his baptism.

There are certain moments in life when we are confronted, tested, tempted.

Will our ultimate allegiance be to God and the conscience God has given us,
or will we divide our allegiance and try to live with two ultimate authorities in order to get along,
to avoid conflict.

To be sure, the choices seldom seem to be black and white, right?
We are confronted when we are most vulnerable. And, it's not easy.

But, the fact of the matter is that we have evidence that life is better,
life is fuller,
life is more abundant,
when we align our value system in a certain way:
the way of Jesus,
the way of the Kingdom of God.

Even in dark times –
especially in dark times –
navigating life with a moral compass calibrated to the ways taught by Jesus,
remembered through our faith,
yields a fuller, more abundant, more satisfying life in so many ways.

And, the thing is, this is no secret.
None of us is bound by some sworn sacred duty to never reveal the secrets we talk of in this room.

You and I can experience this fuller life.
And everyone you know can experience this fuller life.
And even those you don’t know –
and those you may not even care to ever know –
can experience this fuller life.

And, that’s the purpose of this series of sermons on the MAXlife.

You can help spread the word around.
Being a part of this fuller life,
this more abundant life,
is a matter of choice –
and it is about allegiance.

It is about aligning yourself with the ultimate power of the universe –
as some in this room will attest,
when you do, all sorts of benefits come your way.
Amen.

The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church of Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon as a part of their worship service September 25, 2011.

You Can Live Your Life to the Max - Its A Matter of Choice

Most folks are seeking a full life and would really like to know if there is (or was) any meaning in it.

I have come so that you might live your life to the max –
so that you can be all you were meant to be.

Our gospel is power stuff.
Jesus introduced a whole life style with values that were in direct contrast with those of the prevailing culture of the day.
And, it changed lives.


Joshua 24:15
John 10:10

These two readings from our holy texts have particular meaning for me:
these words from Yoshua and Yeshua.
Yes, it is of no insignificance that these two people born 1500 years apart bear the same the name.
In Hebrew their names are exactly the same – and carry the meaning Yahweh delivers.

The story is remembered that Joshua gathered the people and proceeded to recount to them the oral history of their ancestors and how God continually was involved in their rescue and in leading them toward a life of full measure – unencumbered by slavery and dictates of masters and tyrants.

It was true for hundreds of years, wherever they went, most of the people tried to fit in.
Life just seemed to go better when they adapted the values and customs of the people where they were living at the time.  
Oh, for sure, there was a remnant that kept the faith alive throughout the years wherever they went, but everyone knew life went better for them when they could assimilate and become a part of the culture of the folks around them.

So, now they found themselves back in the homeland again,
Joshua had helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and had installed a provisional council to rebuild and restart the infrastructure of the city.
Life was returning to normal again.

And, Joshua gathered the people around and told them:
“folks, we are at a crossroads.  
We cannot go any further without acknowledging the elephant among us.
You know what our God has done for us in the past. God will continue to do for us in the days to come.
But, each of us must choose whether to follow the God of our faith – who we already know –
or to continue following one or more of the gods of the culture we once knew and valued among the people who kept us imprisoned and subdued.”

It is always a matter of choice, isn’t it?
Joshua said, each one had to make a choice.
It is best to choose now,
today,
don’t put if off any longer.

In my studies, I was reminded that most of the stories we have about Jesus involve a moment of choice, don’t they?

Some of the most obvious stories include the one about the rich young man who came to Jesus wanting know just he had to do to be a part of this new life that Jesus was talking about – this Kingdom of God.
And, the story is that Jesus told him that the most important thing was to keep the commandments.
And when asked “what commandments?” Jesus quoted the text of the 10 commandments of Moses verbatim.
Of course, the rich young man knew these commandments – as did all faithful people of the day.
And, he said to Jesus, “Yeah, yeah, I know those commandments and I’ve kept them ever since I was a kid.”
That’s when Jesus said, “Well, there is only one thing for your to do.”
“What?” the young man said.
“Sell all you have.  
And give all the proceeds away to the poorest among us.
Do this and then come back and you can be a part of the movement – the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus told the man it was a matter of choice for him.
But, as Joshua said all those years before, you need to choose now.
The man couldn’t do what Jesus asked of him.
He could not make the choice that was his to make.

It is a matter of choice, isn’t it?

Do you remember the story about the prodigal son?
We often, and appropriately it seems to me, think of this story as being more about the generous father rather than the prodigal son.
But, it is a parable about the choices we all make.
Not seeing any future him in the village where they lived, the younger son asked for the inheritance his father had for him so he could go off and seek his fortune elsewhere.
Things didn’t quite work out as well the son had hoped for and he found himself down and out with no prospects of a better life for himself.
Having gone through the entirety of his inheritance, now with no job, no friends, no community of support, the younger son came to moment of decision – a moment of choice.
He chose to suck it up,
go home,
grovel before his father
and beg to be taken on as a hired hand.

All that happened after that:
the father’s demonstration of acceptance and welcome,
the lesson the father gave to his older son,
the analogy of the way God works,
none of this would have happened if the younger son hadn’t made the decision to come home.

It’s always a matter of choice, isn’t it?

Do you remember when Jesus was confronted with the question of whether good faithful folks should pay taxes, or not?
This is when Jesus asked for the questioner to get a coin from his satchel – legal tender.
He asked for the questioner to look at the coin and tell whose likeness was etched there in the coin.
Of course, the likeness was of the Caesar.

And, Jesus said it was a matter of choice:
Choose to give to Caesar all that is Caesars.
And also to give to God all that is God’s.

It seems that is always a matter of choice, isn’t it?

It was a matter of choice for the folks of Joshua’s day – some 3500 years ago.
It was a matter of choice for the folks of Jesus’ day – some 2000 years ago.
And it a matter of choice for the folks of our day as well.

And, it is in this reading that is found in our New Testament, that had meaning and value at least to the early followers of Jesus among the Johannine community,
and, I believe, has enormous value to us living in the 21st century.


Don’t you think that most folks are seeking a full life and would really like to know if there is (or was) any meaning in it?

Again, it is a matter of choice.
Anyone can opt to live a more meaning-full,
abundant life.
Anyone can live a life far more worth-while and abundant than ever thought possible.

Anyone can choose to become a part of the “Jesus movement”
and live a fuller life –
a more abundant life –
to be able live life to the max,
to be all they were intended to be.

Really, by not consciously choosing to be a part of the Jesus life, a person is allying themselves with forces contrary to the Kingdom of God that Jesus was trying to convey.
By not choosing, a person settles for something less –  
a lesser life,
perhaps, even with catastrophic consequences.

I can’t tell you how many conversations I have had with folks at the end of their life where they have realized that most of their lives were in vain,
the values they lived by led to unhappy results,
and all was for naught.

For them, it was a matter of choice.
For us, it is a matter of choice.
For all people all around us, it is a matter of choice.

Again, the words are so profound.
Believing in them produces profound results.
And, dedicating ourselves to the implications of the words are so empowering.

I have come so that you might live your life to the max –
so that you can be all you were meant to be.

Our gospel is power stuff.
Jesus introduced a whole life style with values that were in direct contrast with those of the prevailing culture of the day.
And, it changed lives.
Folks found it empowering.
And, not only were individuals changed,
but, communities changed,
countries changed,
the whole world changed.

And, through some miracle or another, accounts of that life style have been preserved and are handed down to us today.
And, not only do we have the anecdotal evidence of the words of countless individuals who have experienced life change,
but we have the results of scientific studies over the past 25 years, or so, to confirm that those who do make the choice to be a part of this Jesus movement, this church, experience a far fuller, more abundant life than those who do not choose to do so.

I have such strong feelings about this and the evidence that is being accumulated, that I have a planned series using the umbrella of MAXlife.

I intend to spend time on several topics that explore this MAXlife Jesus evoked.
I will share some of the striking scientific evidence in several areas that speak to the fullness of life lived in faith.
There will be sermons,
there will be handouts,
there will be invitations,
there will be information shared on the internet,
there will be a sharing of research, books, papers and writings.
Each week between now and Advent will be beneficial to you,
beneficial to anyone you know,
beneficial to folks you don’t know yet.

There are many aspects of this full, abundant life:
values, attributes, virtues –
all signs and/or goals to strive for.

I like to point out that it is no accident that there are so many gray heads in this room on any given Sunday.
Studies show that folks that go to church regularly actually live longer than those who don’t.
(And, surprise surprise, Presbyterians actually live longer than any other group!)

Also, folks that worship regularly heal faster from major operations, require less pain medication, and stay in the hospital fewer days than those who don’t.
 
Let everyone you know that it is a matter of choice – and it is most prudent to choose now.

Next week we will be looking at one of the most common topics addressed in the Bible – both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament:
allegiance.
Probably the number one (and certainly the strongest) element of the whole Bible is allegiance (or lack thereof).  

It is a matter of choice, we say.
And it is a matter of allegiance – what really has our devotion, our faith, our allegiance.

It is a matter of choice, Jesus says.
Choose now, Joshua says.  
Don’t delay, do it today.

There are reasons to be a part of community of faith such as we have here at Christ Church.
Ritual, prayer, forgiveness, work to let us live fuller lives:
lives of purpose,
mission-driven lives,
lives focused on the needs of others,
lives calibrated with positive attitude.
Full lives,
abundant lives,
meaning-full lives,
lives of significance.

It is a matter of choice.  Choose now.
Amen.

The congregation of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, heard this sermon during a worship service Sunday, September 18, 2011.