Sermon Video: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" - Mark 9:14-29

 Is faith all or nothing?  Is there room for hesitancy, fear, or doubt?  Faith isn't like a light switch, all on or all off, but a continuim, it can grow and it can be weakened.  As Jesus helps a father whose son health need is too difficult for his own disciples to overcome, he also confronts the issue of wavering faith.  Jesus does not condemn the man who admits that his faith is weak, he helps him.  As Christians, and as a Church, we need to do likewise: admit our own weaknesses and help those in need.

Sermon Video: "Peace be with you!" - John 20:19-23

 On the evening of the first Easter, following a confusing morning involving an Empty Tomb and visitations from angels, the disciples of Jesus were gather together, with the doors locked for fear of arrest. Suddenly, Jesus enters the room and dispels their collective anxiety and fear, telling them, "Peace be with you!" (Shalom in Hebrew) Not only was their recent fear releaved, for Jesus was truly alive, but the future's concerns were suddenly less daunting. Jesus immediately tells them their next step, to go and tell the Good News. Without Jesus, they were anxious and afraid, with Jesus, they were confident and ready to take on the world. That's the difference that the presence of Jesus makes, he brough peace then, and he brings peace now.

Sermon Video: Jesus loved to the end - John 13:1

 Contemplating the Last Supper (in our celebration of Maundy Thursday) through the eyes of John's commentary at the start of his extended section regarding Jesus' passion. For all of John's deep philosophical and theolgoical material, this introduction to the culminating days of Jesus' mission on earth has but one theme: Jesus loved his friends. What was on Jesus' mind when Judas approached with the mob, when standing before the Sanhedrin, when being mocked and beaten by the soldiers, when hanging in agony from the cross? His love for his friends. A simple truth, but a profound one.

Christianity has always been a self-imposed Cancel Culture, on purpose

Few ideas are as controversial in this moment in American history as the notion of a Cancel Culture.  Firebrands and pundits on both the political Right and Left are up in arms either calling for those on the opposite side to be 'cancelled' or decrying that someone on our 'team' was cancelled by 'them'.  Both sides seem immune to the irony that they're playing the same game while yelling that the game isn't fair.  That being said, and without making any particular recommendation as to how we as a country get out of this ever deepening Culture War (aside from an Armistace where both sides agree to stop fighting, which seems unlikely given how much power and money is to be made on both sides by those who wage it), it occurs to me that this moment could also be instructive regarding the nature of the Church in particular, and Christianity in general.  You see, it may come as a surprise to some, but the Word of God, both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, repeatedly calls for the people of God to 'cancel' their own involvement in immoral culture by not participating in it.  God was calling for boycotts long before anyone considered them as an economic/political tool.  This is not a call for seperation from the culture, for both Israel and the Church are called to be a light to those 'living in darkness', but a call to voluntarily avoid those aspects of culture that lead to temptation, particularly temptation to lessen our commitment and devotion to God.  Examples abound, here a few to illustrate the point:

Deuteronomy 18:9-13  When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

One of many places where God emphasizes to the nation of Israel that they must not be like the Canaanites, that in fact God's judgment upon the collective culture of the tribes that inhabited the land at the time of the Exodus was to purge the land of them lest their evil practices become a snare of imitation to the his covenant people (which in fact it did in future generations, repeatedly).

Leviticus 18:24-28  Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. 25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. 26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the foreigners residing among you must not do any of these detestable things, 27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. 28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

How serious was God about this warning?  Very serious.  If the Israelites failed to maintain a culture, using that term as a catch-all for the collective behaviors and choices of the people, that honored and pleased God while avoiding the very things that their neighbors did which caused judgment upon them, God would drive evn his own people from the Promised Land.  In the end, the ten northern tribes, known at the time as Israel, where conquered by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. and dispersed among that empire's peoples, and the two southern tribes, known as Judah, were sent into a seventy year exile in Babylon in 586 B.C. precisely because they continued to indulge in idolatry, sexual immorality, and failed to provide for the unfortunate among them (typically referred to as widows, orphans, and foreigners as they were the most likely to need charitable help).  God took the requirement of a much more pure people than those living around them very seriously, when his own people failed to live up to this standard he judged them and didn't hold back.

When Christ founded the Church and set forth the New Covenant, it was clear that he intended his people to be 'in the world but not of the world' a phrase inspired by Jesus' answer to Pilate:

John 18:36  Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

How could they do that if they lived scattered among the nations, in many cases as a minority?  The answer was to be 'salt' and 'light' wherever they happened to be, acting as both purifying and illuminating agents.

Matthew 5:13-16  You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

How then can that 'saltiness' and 'light' be maintained?  How can Christ's followers be different?  The presence of the Holy Spirit as a counselor is of course key, as is the renewal of the hearts/mind/spirits of God's people known as regeneration.

Titus 3:5  he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Romans 12:2  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The work of God in us is the beginning, a necessary beginning, but moving forward Christians are called to avoid the things in life that lead to temptation.

Colossians 3:1-8  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

And what are Christians, individually and collectively, supposed to replace the immoral aspects of the particular culture in which they happen to find themselves with?  The answer isn't specific, but a set of principles and qualities that should occupy our hearts and minds.

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

As this quick examination of relevant scriptural passages indicates, Christians and Christianity were intended to be discerning of participation in culture, an exercise in self-control and restraint that does not end when Christians went from being a minority to being the majority in a culture, or vice versa.  What particular aspects of culture one chooses to participate in and what one chooses to abstain from is an ongoing conversation that requires both a knowledge of God's Word and a discerning heart to apply it to the present day.  This conversation takes place on an individual basis with our own conscience, and on a collective basis as a local body of Christ or Christian community in general.  Our response to culture is not achieved through a list of rules, which will be obsolete as soon as the ink is dry, but by teaching ourselves and others to evaluate our choices according to Christian principles, shunning that which is immoral and embraces that which is righteous.  

The Roman Empire utilized worship of the emperor as a means of unity within their diverse and far flung empire, but Christians refused to participate in this behavior because it violated God's commands against both false worship and idolatry.  As a result, during the first few centuries of the Church, Christians faced both sporadic and organized persecution, sometimes resulting in imprisonment or death, that tried to force them to join in.  Some gave up their beliefs to save themselves, others held firm and became martyrs.  In the end, after Constantine, the Church was on the road to creating the rules, not defying them.

As Christian Americans, whether aligned with the political Left or Right, we need to ask ourselves an important question: If 'they' came for 'us' and forced us to abandon or 'Christian culture' what would they really be taking?  What do we think, say, and do that is distinctively Christ-imitating?  How much of what we take in and put out through our hearts and minds reflects the Fruit of the Spirit, and how much is just our preferred portion of the culture in which we live, not really Christ-reflecting at all?  These are hard questions, and many of us wouldn't have much that is distinctively Christian to give up if 'they' forced us to.  Here's the thing, 'they' shouldn't have to force you to walk away from the immoral aspects of our culture, Christ has already commanded you to, the Spirit has already convicted you of it, and your ability to be 'salt' and 'light' depends upon it.  A Christian 'Cancel Culture'?  Yes, its called self-control.

Is the 'Cancel Culture' coming after racists?  That shouldn't have anything to do with us.  If it hits one of 'our people' shouldn't we want to know why?  Are they coming for expressions of sexual immorality or greed?  Why is that hitting so close to home?  Maybe we need to be asking ourselves how 'Christian' the culture we've embraced really is.

Sermon Video: The Glory of Jesus revealed - Mark 9:1-13

 After telling his disciples that he must suffer and die, and that they must take up a cross and follow him, Jesus allowed Peter, James, and John to see the divine power and glory that made those sacrifices both possible and amazing. On the mountaintop Jesus' divinity was revealed, momentarily not cloacked by his humanity, but Jesus could not stay at the top of the mountain. That experience would be strength and encouragement for the road ahead. Moses, Elijah, and the Father all spoke to bolster Jesus for the Passion that was coming. For Jesus was indeed a king, worthy of glory and honor, but he would set that aside in order to give his life as a ransom for many.