February 2018

February 25 2018

February 25, 2018 – “Unburdened: Pressured or Called?” by Rev. Cody Sandahl

codysandahl Sermons Littleton, sermon

Sermons

February 25, 2018 - "Unburdened: Pressured or Called?" by Rev. Cody Sandahl

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Lay Reader = Isaiah 43:1-7

1But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Sheba in exchange for you. 4Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. 5Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; 6I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— 7everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

Introduction

We are still in our series for this Lenten season called “Unburdened.” We are asking how much space we need to clear out of our lives so that God has enough room to speak and work. And taking out one pair of socks for Lent isn’t going to make a difference in the overstuffed suitcases of our lives.

On Ash Wednesday we asked who we were trying to impress with our overstuffed lives. Last week we saw that most of our busyness isn’t helpful, and it has a cost. This week we get to think about our purpose. Our higher calling from God. So if busyness is a question of how MUCH we should be doing, this week we are asking WHAT we should be doing.

To ask that question, we’re looking at John the Baptist. If you remember, John was Jesus’ cousin. And he actually became well known several years before Jesus started his ministry. John even baptized Jesus. To give you a sense of John’s impact, there are a few historians who wrote about what we call the first century in the Israel/Palestine area, and they all mention John. Historians knew he was important right from the start. Only one mentions Jesus. John was very well known. His ministry had a large impact.

Given John’s prominence. Given his impact. John’s disciples start to wonder about this Jesus fellow. Why should Jesus’ followers be allowed to take away some of John’s followers? Jesus is just the lesser known cousin. John’s the important one, right? And here’s how John responds.

John 3:22-36

22After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he spent some time there with them and baptized. 23John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim because water was abundant there; and people kept coming and were being baptized 24—John, of course, had not yet been thrown into prison. 25Now a discussion about purification arose between John’s disciples and a Jew. 26They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27John answered, “No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven. 28You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’29He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease.” 31The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. 33Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. 34He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.

The Expectation Game

What’s so wrong with telling a kid they’re smart? That’s what an international team of researchers answered when they studied 300 kids between 3 and 5-years-old. The kids were playing a number guessing game, and one group was given no feedback other than whether they got it right or not. The second group was told “you did well this time.” And the third group was told “you’re so smart.”

Then the fun begins. As a side note, if you’re ever in a study about behavior or psychology, I guarantee they’re lying to you about what they’re studying. If you want to have an excuse to lie to hundreds of people as part of your job, run some of these studies. They’re always looking at something else.

And in this study they were wondering about cheating. So the person running the game would come up with a reason they had to leave the room for a minute, and they got the kids to promise not to look at the number guessing cards. They had to promise not to cheat while the person left the room. Now, of course, there were hidden cameras. Told you they were lying.

And here’s what they found out. The kids who weren’t praised and the kids who were told they had done well – a few of them cheated but not too many. But the kids who were told they were smart? They were FAR more likely to cheat when they thought no one was looking. It turns out that when you praise a child for their innate ability or talent – like being smart – they then feel a pressure to perform that can undermine they’re moral fortitude. But giving no praise or praising for effort doesn’t make the same kind of pressure.

In fact, researchers have replicated this by just mentioning to kids that they have a reputation for being smart. Mentioning their reputation, even without reinforcing it during the study, created pressure to perform and cheat.

Have you ever felt pressure to do something you thought was wrong?

Changing the Nation

I have to imagine that John the Baptist faced a similar kind of pressure. His followers certainly felt that pressure according to our text today. But to understand why, let me tell you a little bit about John’s baptism and why he was so important and so famous.

There were a lot of ritual washings in ancient times, and especially in ancient Israel. It was a regular thing you did whenever you needed to enter the presence of God. So the idea of washing away sins, of washing away whatever separates you from God? That idea was very well known.

But that’s not what John was doing. He talked about his baptism as a one time thing. A kind of decision. A permanent change. That was different.

In fact, there was only one similar kind of washing in Judaism at the time. When foreigners wanted to convert to Judaism, they had to spend a lot of time learning the Jewish ways, and the men had to be circumcised, and everyone had to have this one time ritual washing to signify that their old life, their old gods, their old habits were washed away.

So John is basically telling the Jewish people that they need to be re-converted to their own religion. That’s pretty shocking. If I came in this week and said all of you need to be re-baptized, because clearly your earlier one didn’t take. Would you appreciate that?

But John’s baptism DID make an impression. And the people ate it up. They were hungry for change.

So John was the one the people looked to. He was the one who was telling the leaders how they were leading people astray. He was the one who was bringing about change in the nation. He was the catalyst. He was the leader.

If smart people feel pressure to cheat, natural leaders can feel the pressure to eliminate rivals to their leadership. So in our text today, John’s followers are asking him to put Jesus in his place.

And how does John respond? “I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.” “I am the friend of the groom, not the groom.” “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John passed the test. He didn’t do what his followers were pressuring him to do. He did what he was actually called to do.

Honoring Your Calling

John knew what he was called to do. If you look in your bulletin you’ll see a piece of art that illustrates John’s calling. Almost every piece of art featuring John shows him the same way as this one. What’s he doing? Pointing to Jesus. That’s it. That’s his calling. Not pointing to himself. Pointing to Jesus.

That’s how many have been talking about Billy Graham this week to honor his passing. He was known for asking people to commit to Jesus with “no reserve, no retreat, no regrets.” Three stories stand out to me out of the MANY from his life. One was in 1953 in Chattanooga, TN. As he saw the ropes the organizers had erected to segregate the audience into white and black, he stormed out and tore down the ropes. He told the organizers to leave the ropes down or they could do the revival without him. In 1953, I guarantee he felt pressure to keep up the status quo of segregation. But he knew his calling.

The second story comes from talking to one of the people who was supporting one of Graham’s crusades. This person was in charge of praying on a very particular schedule. I don’t remember the whole plan, but it started with several minutes of prayer that the hearers would be unimpressed with Billy Graham. That they wouldn’t see him as a great speaker and preacher. Think about that – Billy Graham wanted a prayer team to pray for people to be unimpressed with him. Why? After a few minutes of that prayer, they moved on to praying that people would be impressed with Jesus, not Billy Graham. Man, I love that. Just like John, he knew his calling was to point to Jesus instead of himself.

Third story comes from my personal experience. There had been a crusade in the area of my previous church, and I received a phone call about two days after it was over. The man introduced himself as one of the people working with Billy Graham’s crusade, and he had the information for a man who had made a first-time commitment to Jesus. Their follow-up team had determined that he would probably be a good fit at a Presbyterian church, so he asked if I would invite the man to attend our church to continue his faith journey. I said no, I don’t want your stinking contact info! Oh wait, no, I enthusiastically said yes. And here’s what really impressed me.

The man said, “Thank you! Great! I’ll give you a call in a couple of days to see how that conversation went.” Not only did they go through the effort of connecting people with churches. Not only did they think and pray through what the best fit would be. Not only did they personally call a pastor at the church to make the hand-off. They also did a follow-up call with the pastor to make sure it happened. That’s keeping your eyes on the ball!

We talked last week about removing busyness. But that guy on the phone was pretty busy. The difference is that he was doing it to honor his calling. Just as Billy Graham did. Just as John the Baptist did.

Do you know your calling? Do you know what Jesus has in store for you? If so, how much time do you spend focusing on it? If not, let me give you a place to start.

Some of you have heard this story before, but there are enough who haven’t heard it that it’s worth re-telling. I went to the Hawaii Leadership Practicum during a phase where I was feeling particularly burned out of my ministry. And the leader of that conference, Wayne Cordeiro, was helping us in a lot of different ways. This particular talk he was covering doing ministry as a team. Making sure you’re not doing everything alone. Helping others live out their calling. Stuff like that.

And he said, “You know, half of your job anyone can do. Anyone can answer emails or phone calls. Anyone can fill out paperwork. Forty percent of your job, anyone can do with the proper training. Anyone who has been to seminary can give interesting tidbits from the Bible. But ten percent of your job, only you can do.”

Now at this point, I had my pen ready, right? Not even my pencil, I had my PEN ready. Permanent.

And then he said, “No one else can be husband to your wife. No one else can follow Jesus for you. No one else can be the same parent to your children.”

For me, that started a process that re-ordered much of how I made decisions with my time. That changed my understanding of my calling. I might have said similar things before, but it didn’t really become part of my life until that moment.

Most Important Things

So rather than asking what you need to remove from your life, this week let me ask what’s the most important thing in your life? Not the thing others are pressuring you to do or be. Not the ways you’re pressured to cheat because you’re smart or a leader or whatever.

What’s your calling? What’s your ten percent that only you can do? What’s the most important thing in your life?

And to use Billy Graham’s quote, how can you do that with “no reserve, no retreat, no regrets?” In fact, what can you do to keep the most important thing, the most important thing THIS WEEK? Amen.

February 18 2018

February 18, 2018 – “Unburdened: The Barrenness of Busyness” by Rev. Cody Sandahl

codysandahl Sermons Littleton, sermon

Lay Reader = Romans 12:1-3

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Introduction

On Ash Wednesday we started a new series called Unburdened. This Lenten season we’re going to look at how we free up our overburdened lives. A lot of times in Lent we give up something small. But removing a pair of socks from an overstuffed suitcase doesn’t make a lot of difference. So this season we’re going bigger – how can we clear out our overstuffed suitcases and make sure God has room to speak and work in our lives?

This week we’re looking at busyness. How are we overstuffing our lives with constant activity? What value are we really getting out of that busyness? What cost comes with it – what are we NOT doing or what are we MISSING because we’re too busy?

In our text today we are spying on the first king of Israel – Saul. And the ancient Israelites asked God to give them a king because they were afraid of one of their enemies in particular – the Philistines. This was the first group of people they couldn’t conquer.

And Saul became king for two overarching reasons: #1 he could fight, and #2 he was a handsome devil. Best-looking guy in Israel, the Bible says. As a side note, how great would that be to put on a business card – “handsomest man in Israel – God”? And Saul has some early success against the other enemies of Israel. But in our text today, he’s finally going to take on the Philistines. The people rally to his side, ready to fight. But there’s a snag. They have to wait for God’s prophet – Samuel – to come and bless the battle. They weren’t going to fight against a better-armed, larger army unless they KNEW God was with them. So they waited for Samuel.

And they waited. And they waited. Seven days they waited, and still no Samuel. Some of the frightened soldiers started to sneak away, so Saul – never one for waiting – a busy man if ever there was one – he decided that ACTION was required!

1 Samuel 13:5-14

5 The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. 6 When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

8 He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. 9 So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord’; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” 13 Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, 14 but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

The Discernment Struggle

So imagine that you’re in the doctor’s office. And your appointment is at 1:30pm. So you dutifully arrive at 1:15. The waiting room is full of people wearing those cough masks. Except for two people who should be wearing the masks but aren’t. The only seat available for you is between them, of course. And 1:30 comes and goes. Your watch reaches 1:45. Then 2. Then 2:15. Are you with me?

Quick multiple choice survey here. As 2:30 rolls around, are you (A) grateful for the chance to remind yourself what Reader’s Digest thought was important in the 1997 issue sitting on the table? (B) frantically texting your friends, family, and pets to tell them how the receptionist clearly doesn’t like you and that’s why you haven’t been seen yet? Or (C) striking up a very loud conversation with someone next to you so you can mention your highly contagious and potentially fatal disease in the hopes of getting the other people to leave so you can be seen sooner?

Waiting doesn’t come naturally or easily to many of us. If you really want to know how well someone waits, take their phone from them and see how many times they reflexively reach toward their pocket or purse to pull it out anyway. I can empathize with Saul in this text.

There’s a fine line between waiting for God and simply being passive. It’s not always clear.

Even in the Bible you can find different guidance. We see stories like this one today, or Mary and Martha where Jesus says the one sitting at his feet listening was doing better than the one preparing for the meal. But then you have Proverbs 6, “Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise… How long will you lie there, O lazybones? When will you rise from your sleep?” Or 2 Thessalonians 3:10 – “the one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

How do we know when we should wait on the Lord, and when we should take action ourselves? Have you ever wondered that?

Giving Up Too Soon

Well to figure that out, let’s first look at what Saul did wrong in our text. I think a big one is that he lacked trust. Samuel said he would be there on the seventh day. But as it got closer and closer to nighttime on the seventh day, Saul lost his nerve. The text says Samuel actually arrived on the exact day he specified, it was just later in the day than Saul was willing to wait.

So Saul’s first mistake, and one we can do ourselves, was giving up on God’s timing. I gained a greater appreciation for God’s timing through an unexpected source. I was hoping to ask a girl out on a date in college, but I knew she had just been dumped by her former boyfriend. And I had to debate every time I saw her if I had waited long enough, but not so long that someone else could swoop in or she thought I had lost interest. I realized that God must be like that sometimes – “I know what I want to do, but I have to wait for the exact time that they’ll be ready for it.” I, of course, jumped the gun, went too soon, and crashed and burned. But hey – it was a nice theology lesson.

But that also demonstrates the problem most of us have – we are FAR more likely to jump the gun like Saul and like I did than we are to wait too long for God. Humans aren’t good at waiting. The answer is usually that we should wait for God longer, because we are very likely to give up too soon.

Have you ever given up too soon on God’s timing? Ever jumped the gun?

Magic

Saul’s second mistake was thinking that God could be manipulated by his own religion. The text says that Saul did two offerings – a burnt offering and a well-being or peace offering. The burnt offering is the one used on the Day of Atonement – you completely burn an unblemished animal as a way to ritualistically burn away your sins. So Saul wants to make sure there aren’t any sins getting in the way of his army’s success.

Now we could make fun of Saul, here. We could say how silly it was for him to think that God would bless him because he burned a goat and incense. We could say that God isn’t so easily fooled. We could say that Saul had no right to do the offerings himself – he should have waited for the prophet Samuel.

But have you ever thought, “I’m a good person, why did this happen to me?” Or have you ever thought, “I’m at church every week – so why do I still struggle?” That’s the same thing that Saul did. Saul thought his religion would protect and bless him. All he had to do was perform the right rituals – go to church every week, have a quiet time, refrain from cursing when anyone else is around – and God would bless him. I bet everyone in here has had that same thought.

But God isn’t a magician. He isn’t a giant soda machine in the sky, just waiting for the proper change to be put into the slot to dispense the blessings. Psalm 50 reminds us that God already owns everything we could sacrifice to him. All those religious acts aren’t worth anything without the heart. So the psalm says, “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.” Living your faith in your life is what God cares about – not the religious rituals.

Have you ever tried to earn God’s favor with your religious rituals? Ever tried to bargain with God – his blessings for your good behavior?

It’s About Me

Saul’s third mistake came with the well-being or peace offering. That offering is designed to show that the person doing the offering is in a positive relationship with God. It’s like a seal of God’s approval. But by doing it himself, Saul is self-proclaiming his rightness with God. But you’re kind of supposed to have someone else say that you’re right with God.

Doing the peace offering for yourself would be like giving yourself a nickname – it just doesn’t have the same impact as when someone else gives it to you.

And again – I can empathize with Saul on this. Lately my basketball group has been calling me the mailman, because I always deliver on my midrange jump shots. And there’s even a Hall of Famer who had that same nickname, but I don’t know. Mailman just doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of the opponent, right? I understand why Saul would want to pick his own nickname.

But what’s the purpose of a nickname? It’s to tell other people something about yourself. It’s a reputation. It’s about changing other people’s perception of you. So if I’m the Mailman, I guess I’m boring and reliable. But when I was in college I had a different nickname on the court. I would go on a run where I would hit every shot, play great defense, and take over the game. That’s when one of the guys would shout out, “here comes the Cody Show!” That has a different message than the Mailman, right? But how would it go if I told my new basketball group, “No, I’m not the Mailman. I’m the Cody Show!”

Where am I going with this other than giving you ammunition to make fun of me about my basketball nicknames? Saul’s mistake in doing the peace offering himself was that he did it out of fear of the crowds. He did it because he was afraid he would lose his nickname. He did it because he needed to keep up the façade that God was always with him in whatever he did. He was driven by the perception of the crowd. On Ash Wednesday we saw how Jesus said that if we dance for the crowd, we’ve already received our reward. But if we dance for the Lord when no one else can see it, our true reward will be greater than we can imagine. Our first text today says “do not be conformed to this world” – don’t dance for the crowd.

Have you ever done something because you were afraid of how others would perceive you?

Worthy Busyness

So we’ve seen three kinds of busyness that aren’t worth anything. When we’re busy because we’ve lost patience with God, not helpful. When we’re busy because we’re trying to earn God’s favor or manipulate God into doing our bidding, not helpful. When we’re busy because we’re dancing for the crowd, trying to keep our nickname, not helpful.

If you’re looking for ways to clear out some space in your life, to remove more than just a pair of socks from your overstuffed suitcase, ask yourself if you’re doing any of those things. Are you copying Saul anywhere? That’s some busyness you can do without.

But what’s worthwhile? What’s worth keeping?

Our first text today, after reminding us not to be conformed to this world, says, “but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Does your busyness help you discern the will of God? That’s helpful.

Does your busyness arise from doing what is good in the eyes of Christ? That’s helpful.

Does your busyness draw you closer to the goal of being, as Samuel says to Saul, a man or woman after God’s own heart? That’s helpful.

Those are worthy forms of busyness. But if it’s just busyness because you’ve lost patience…or busyness because you’re trying to earn God’s favor…or busyness because you’re trying to keep your nickname with the crowd…not helpful. That’s barren busyness. There’s no value there. You can toss it out of your bag.

Sisters and brothers, whatever busyness you choose, make sure you’re dancing for the Lord and not for the crowd. Amen.

February 14 2018

February 14, 2018 (Ash Wednesday) – Unburdened: Impressive?

codysandahl Sermons Littleton, sermon

Introduction

Tonight marks the beginning of Lent, and Lent is really supposed to help us prepare our souls for Holy Week. Our guidepost for this Lenten journey is Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. And a fast is intentionally removing something from your life so that you can better worship God in spirit and in truth.

A lot of times we talk about giving something up for Lent. Maybe chocolate, or soda, or exercise – just kidding on that last one. But this year we’re going to look at our lives more holistically. How can we clear out space in our lives as a whole?

Here’s what Jesus had to say about that.

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

6“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2“So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5“And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.6But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

16“And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Overstuffed

I am a cheapskate. I am married to a cheapskate as well. So there is no way in Hades I am going to pay extra to check luggage on an airplane if there is any way to avoid it. Did you know that you can use the extenders on your carry-on luggage, stuff it fuller than a Chicago ballot box, sit on it, and then be able to zip those extenders closed again so it will still fit in the overhead compartment? Useful trick. You can thank me later.

But what do you think happens if you need to open up that suitcase to swap out some clothes? Let alone add something else in there?

And then there’s another issue with this method. If you read the book or saw the movie “The Martian,” there’s a scene where he’s happily going in and out of the airlock on Mars when suddenly *BOOM*! His habitat explodes. He discovers that he had been using the same airlock over and over and over until finally the seams burst from the constant stress. That has happened to my compressed clothes bomb known as a carry-on bag. It’s not a pretty site.

If your life is the carry-on bag, how full is it right now? Are you comfortably packed with margins on the sides? Are you offering to your spouse to carry some of their luggage because you have room? Or are you as overstuffed as one of my bags on an airplane? How full is your life? And what have you filled it with?

Impressive?

I have discovered that “busy” is the default response whenever I ask someone how things are going. “I’m busy,” “we’re busy,” “oh you know, so busy!” And it seems like we have elevated busyness to the point where it’s a goal in-and-of itself. If I am busy, I must be doing something right. If my bag is stuffed full of clothes and trinkets, I must be important. If I can tell people five things I’ve done since the last time we spoke, I must be impressive.

But who are we trying to impress?

In our text today, Jesus tells the people listening that if you’re dancing for the crowd, you’ve already been paid. Dance for the Lord where no one can see you, and then your true reward will be greater than you can imagine.

Here Jesus says, “God won’t love you more because you’re so impressively religious around other people.” Jesus says, “God won’t love you more because you have such long and eloquent prayers.” Jesus says, “God won’t love you more if you give more to the church and everyone notices.” Jesus says, “God won’t love you more if you are known for your spiritual practices.”

So if God won’t love you more for doing any of these religious things, will he love you more because you’re doing any of the other things you’ve got stuffed in your life bag?

Who are we trying to impress with our busyness?

Making Space

I remember going to a University of Texas football game once, and we were getting our hindquarters handed to us. And the not-so-G-rated comments and shouts from everyone around us made it hard to hear. But suddenly, we scored right before half. And then we scored again after half. And then we scored again. And suddenly the entire stadium was booming with throaty cheers. The concrete stadium was literally swaying beneath the shouts and jumps of 90,000 people. One of the cheers at Texas games is for the crowd to spell out Texas. “T-E-X-A-S!” Every letter hit my chest like a sledgehammer, such was the noise.

But do you remember when the Old Testament prophet Elijah went onto the mountain to find God? There was a mighty noise, an earthquake, and a fire. But God wasn’t in the might noise. God wasn’t in the earthquake. God wasn’t in the fire. God was in the sound of sheer silence.

Do you think I could hear God’s voice in the midst of that “T-E-X-A-S?”

This Lent our challenge is to make the space to hear God’s voice in the sound of sheer silence. Or the “still small voice” is another way you might have heard it.

But let’s go back to my overstuffed airplane luggage. If I remove one shirt from that bag, is that going to be enough? No way. If one section of fans left the stadium, would it have made it quiet at that Texas game? No chance. Eliminating one thing from our lives this Lenten Season isn’t going to make our lives unburdened. We need to go bigger than that. Well, actually we need to go smaller than that.

How much stuff needs to come out of your bag so that you can fit in your relationship with God? How much space needs to be cleared out in the stadium before you can hear God’s voice in the sheer silence? However big that pile needs to be – that’s our goal this Lent.

And what happens when you get rid of half the stuff in your suitcase? It’s a lot easier to carry now, right? It’s a lot quicker to get where you need to be. In the same way, when we clear out space in our lives we’ll find out how much lighter we feel.

Jesus says later in Matthew, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” If that’s not your experience right now, what needs to go? How do you need to unburden yourself?

To close today I’m going to give you a minute of silence to picture what things might need to come out of your overstuffed bag. Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what needs to go so you can hear God in the sheer silence.

February 4 2018

“Ruth: Fighting for the Outsider” by Rev. Cody Sandahl – February 4, 2018

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Sermons

"Ruth: Fighting for the Outsider" by Rev. Cody Sandahl - February 4, 2018

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Lay Reader = Matthew 5:1-16

1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot. 14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Introduction

We are still in our series looking at the story of Ruth in the Old Testament. We have seen what it feels like to be an outsider. We have looked at Boaz as a model of how our church can show the vulnerable in our community extravagant hospitality. Last week we heard Ruth’s own powerful voice – the Ruth’s in our community have something to say to us that we can’t hear anywhere else.

Last week I shared some of the details about Israelite inheritance, and that’s still in play this week. We saw how Ruth asked Boaz to be the next-of-kin, which in Old Testament terms meant marrying her and producing an heir to continue the family line since Elimelech and his sons died.

But that’s only half of the story. The other half is the actual land itself. The text today implies that Elimelech actually sold his family property before leaving for Moab many years before. But since God is the one who parceled out the land, it becomes the extended family’s duty to buy back the land so it remains in the family. That’s another job of the next-of-kin.

And this is what’s at stake in the chapter today. The next-of-kin is supposed to buy back the land that Elimelech sold. And as long as there isn’t an heir to that family line, the next-of-kin gets to keep the land and pass it to his kids as inheritance. But if the next-of-kin marries Ruth and produces an heir, that land goes to the new son. Essentially the next-of-kin has to buy the land out of their own pocket, raise a new son as their own, and then give all of it away to that son when they’re of age. To put it into modern terms, imagine that your brother has died and left a widow but no children. And now imagine telling your family that you are going to pay off your sister-in-law’s mortgage as a gift. Is that going to be an easy conversation in your household? It’s very nice, but it’s taking money away from YOUR family, right? What if you can’t pay for your own children’s college because of that? That’s what’s at stake in our text today.

This week we see Boaz respond to Ruth’s powerful voice. Given the background I just shared, the WAY he follows through is fascinating, and it shows us something important. Here’s Boaz speaking to the one man who is a closer relative than he is – the one who has the right of first refusal on being the next-of-kin.

Ruth 4:1-12

1No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin, of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said, “Come over, friend; sit down here.” And he went over and sat down.2Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here”; so they sat down. 3He then said to the next-of-kin, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. 4So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.” So he said, “I will redeem it.” 5Then Boaz said, “The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.” 6At this, the next-of-kin said, “I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”7Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8So when the next-of-kin said to Boaz, “Acquire it for yourself,” he took off his sandal.

9Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses.” 11Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; 12and, through the children that the Lord will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

Worthy

I was talking with one of our staff members this week, and somehow we got to the topic of gym class. She could still viscerally remember her terror in kindergarten. One of their challenges for gym class was to climb this wooden pole. And try as she might, she never could reach the top. Watching the other kids scurry up to the top, seeing the exasperated look on the teacher’s face, she felt unworthy and ashamed.

A church member shared that he was always one of the smallest kids in his class, and he was the only one from another state. He didn’t look like everyone else. He didn’t talk like everyone else. And that made him a natural target. Though he did come up with an ingenious solution to being smaller than everyone else and being picked on – he earned a reputation as a biter. You better think carefully before fighting that kid! But he had to do that, because everyone seemed to think he was unworthy.

Have you ever felt unworthy? Or have you ever thought, I’m OK, but I’d be great if only I could lose 15 pounds? Or stop drinking as much? Or if this person would love me? Or if I could kick this habit? Or read more this year? Have you ever had negative thoughts when swimsuit season is approaching? Ever been worried when going to a high school reunion? Messed up at work or at home? Have you ever felt unworthy?

There’s a story from the early days of IBM, and the CEO brought in an employee to his office. This employee had just made a mistake that cost the company $600,000 – and that’s in 1940’s dollars. Can you imagine what that employee must have been feeling? This isn’t just going to the principal’s office – this could be the end of his entire career! Do you think he felt worthy at that moment?

Well apparently Thomas John Watson, the CEO of IBM, DID think he was worthy. Later he recounted that people asked him why he DIDN’T fire this employee. And he said, “I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody [else] to hire that experience?”

Looking at our sense of worthiness from gym class to CEO’s office, I think we see a few different aspects that are in play in the story of Ruth and our lives today.

In Ruth’s story, we have seen her evolve quite a bit over the last three weeks. She was a dependent widow in chapter one. She learned to care for herself and her mother-in-law in chapter two, but she still called herself “the foreigner” when Boaz talked with her. In chapter three she was suddenly bold enough to ask Boaz to marry her and consider her worthy of all the protections an Israelite widow would receive. I believe she went from feeling like an unworthy outsider to feeling like a worthy woman, which is what Boaz calls her.

Brene Brown is a professor and researcher at the University of Houston – she also has an amazing TED talk if you want to look that up and watch it. In her research she found that the NUMBER ONE thing that separates us from the love and connection that we want and need? Number one thing. You ready? It’s not smartphones preventing us from talking to each other. It’s not the Internet. It’s not a sudden decay in decency. Number one thing separating us from the love and connection that we want and need? The fear that we don’t deserve it. The fear that we are unworthy of love and connection. That’s number one.

Ruth is the story of a widow caring for another widow who needs to find her place. Ruth is the story of a foreigner who needs to be accepted. And as we see Ruth’s story, her story unfolds as she begins to see herself as a worthy woman, too. Her story progresses as she claims her place in this society. Her story progresses as she believes that she is deserving of love and connection.

But guess what? Her circumstances haven’t changed until we get to this chapter today. She was still a foreign-born widow when chapter three rolled around. Why did she feel worthy?

Well that’s the great thing about that sense of worthiness. The sense that you deserve love and connection isn’t based on changing your reality. Worthiness isn’t about losing that 15 pounds or looking better in that swimsuit or getting that promotion or new title or getting into that honor society or receiving that scholarship offer. Ruth was a worthy woman even when she was a foreign-born widow. She didn’t need to marry Boaz to become worthy. She was worthy of love and connection just as she was. Now she got a nice upgrade this week, don’t get me wrong. But she still would have been worthy of love and connection even if it didn’t go her way.

That sense of worthiness is a choice, not a circumstance. It is a decision, not something you earn. As Paul writes in the Ephesians 2, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” We are all worthy of love and connection because we are all children of God. Nothing more is needed. Switching that mindset is the number one thing we can do to find the love and connection we want and need according to Brene Brown.

Ruth’s path to joy started with her decision to say “I am enough.” “I am worthy.” And that’s today – not dependent on someone else. When you believe “I am enough,” that is your ticket to joy in life. “I am enough” is the ticket to love and connection. That’s what we see in Ruth’s story.

Do you believe that you are worthy? Do you believe that you are enough – right now? Do you believe that if you’re good enough for Jesus you’re good enough for other people, too? It’s true.

Fighting for the Outsider

If you are already there – if you have claimed your worthiness – what can you do to help others claim that worthiness as well?

We saw that with Boaz a couple of weeks ago where he showed Ruth extravagant hospitality and spoke with her and called her a “worthy woman.” This week he goes a step further and tries to get the rest of the community to see Ruth as a “worthy woman” as well.

The first peculiar thing he does is wait until the town elders are there for this conversation. That’s not required. He does it to ensure witnesses. To ensure broad community support.

Second, did you notice that he only talked about Naomi and the property when he first talked with this other potential next-of-kin? Only after the man said he would buy the land did Boaz talk about Ruth. There are a few things going on there, but I think he was trying to achieve two things. First, he wanted to make sure that this next-of-kin was actually interested in performing his duty, not just acquiring more land to pass along to his children. Second, I believe Boaz was showing the town elders that he valued Ruth, not just the land. By demonstrating that this other next-of-kin wanted the land but not Ruth, whereas Boaz himself saw Ruth as a “worthy woman,” he got their endorsement that she belonged in the community as well.

And it worked. When the town elders pronounced a blessing upon Boaz’s actions, they actually asked for God to bless Ruth. They highlighted Perez – one of Boaz’s ancestors. Perez was born in very unorthodox and morally strained circumstances, and that birth was the result of some next-of-kin decisions as well. They acknowledged that Ruth the outsider was now Ruth the worthy woman.

Looking at Boaz, there are two ways we can help people claim that they are worthy of love and connection. First, we can demonstrate how they are worth something to us – like Boaz did in the fields two weeks ago. And second, we can help the community show that they are worthy – like Boaz did today with the town elders.

Summary

Sisters and brothers, Ruth’s story shows how one foreign-born widow claimed her place and her worth in her society, and that society eventually embraced her as well. Ruth is the story of a woman who recognized that she was a child of God just like the rest of the people around her – and that’s enough. And Ruth is the story of a man who saw her worth and helped everyone else see it, too.

Where are you in this story?

Do you need to claim your worth in the eyes of God? Do you need to claim your worth in the eyes of other people? Do you need to help someone else see that they are worthy?

You are enough. You are worthy of love and connection. Period. No contingencies. Simply because God made you. Amen.