Say It Like You Mean It: Reformation I

June 26^th, 2016         “Reformation I”           Rev. Heather Jepsen

Summer Sermon Series: Say It Like You Mean It – Confessing our Faith

Romans 3:21-26 and Matthew 26:26-29

          This morning we continue our summer sermon series: “Say It Like You Mean It” our study of the Presbyterian Book of Confessions.  Last week we discussed the ancient creeds that we share with the Roman Catholic Church and even one, the Nicene Creed, that we also share with our Eastern Orthodox friends.  This Sunday we head into what will be two weeks on the Reformation.  Creeds from the period of Reformation by far take up the majority of our Book of Confessions.

          I mentioned last week that the importance of this sermon series was for us to become more aware of the church of which we are a part.  If we are to call ourselves the church, than it is imperative that we know just who the church is.  Being part of the Presbyterian Church means that we are a part of the Reformed tradition.  Understanding the Reformation movement and our roots within it is an integral part of understanding the church that we call our home.

          We begin with the Scots Confession which is the first Reformed confession.  Presbyterians trace their roots to Scotland and John Knox who wrote this confession so this one, of all the Reformed confessions, is what we might think of as “ours”.  While reading the Scots Confession may be a bit boring, the story surrounding its creation certainly is not!

          Europe in the 1500’s was an unstable place.  There was a lot of political intrigue as royalty of France, Spain, England, and Scotland battled for power.  Religion was one of the tools used in battle.  The Catholic Church was known for deep corruption in Scotland.  Positions in the church were often granted to the idle sons of wealthy nobles who paid handsomely for them.  Consequently, many of the Catholic clergy were illiterate, rarely preached, and were generally un-interested in the church or the religion. 

          The writings of Martin Luther were being smuggled into Scotland and the Reformation movement began to catch fire there.  Of course, it literally caught fire, when people started preaching Reformation openly.  Several prominent leaders in the movement were charged with heresy, and burnt at the stake in an attempt to quiet down the revolution.  As often happens when one tries to set an example with violence, the resulting backlash against the Catholic Church only added to the growth and fervor of those demanding Reformation.  Reformers started getting even by murdering cardinals, and before long the whole movement was running wild. 

          Unrest became revolt and it is into this environment that John Knox comes on the scene.  Knox began his life as a Catholic priest but soon fell in love with Protestant theology.  Avoiding the threat of violence, Knox fled to Geneva where he studied with John Calvin and spent time on some of his own writings.  Trapped under the power of Mary of Guise, ruler of Scotland and Catholic supporter, Knox penned a famous treatise titled “The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women”.  (You gotta’ love that!)  It was only after he realized that he would need the help of Queen Elizabeth to secure Scotland, that he decided that that particular work might need some revision.

          Eventually English troops marched into Scotland, and with the help of Scottish rebels they overturned the government.  The time was right for a Reformed Scottish Church and it was to this cause that the Scots Confession was written.  In four days and with the help of several friends, John Knox penned the Scots Confession and it was adopted by the Scottish Parliament as well as the Scottish Reformed Church in 1560.

          One issue of Protestant theology, of who the church is, that is significant in the Scots Confession is the issue of election.  This is where all that tricky language about pre-destination starts seeping into our church.  The general idea of election is that God is the one who saves us.  The thought is that there is nothing a person can do to earn their salvation, their grace, before God.  Rather, it is the spirit of God, moving through the person that draws them to faith and eventually to salvation. 

          I chose the reading from Romans in connection with this idea.  Paul writes that apart from the law, we are justified by grace as a gift.  If grace is a gift from God, then there is no way it can be bought or earned.  When one thinks of the corruption of the Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation, this begins to make sense.  We have heard stories of the role money often played in the absolution of sins.  Plus the Catholic doctrine that declares you must attend mass to be saved, also plays into this.  The Protestants were seeking to strip the church of that power by declaring that salvation was a gift from God alone, and could not be bestowed upon anyone by the clergy or the church.

          The second Reformed confession I want talk about today is the Heidelberg Catechism.   Written in 1563, just 3 years after the Scots Confession, this document too was composed in the crucible of the reformation.  Coincidently, this is the first reformed confession in America, as Dutch settlers brought the document with them to New Amsterdam in 1609.

          This confession comes from the Reformation movement in Germany and was orchestrated by Frederick III, who served as Elector of the Palatinate in Heidelberg.   This time the issue isn’t Catholics vs. Protestants, but Protestants vs. each other.  (Sound familiar?) 

          The conflict was all about communion, and how we understand the presence of Christ at the table.  Protestants agreed that no one liked the Catholic idea of the literal presence of the body and blood of Christ at the meal.  Catholic theology at the time centered around the re-sacrificing of Christ for the sins of the people at every mass and Protestants simply weren’t having that.  But then, what did they think was going on?  This became a major issue of difference.  It became such an issue that when Protestants of differing views tried to worship together, there were actual skirmishes between the pastors at the communion table as they tried to grab the elements out of each other’s hands.  Imagine that on Sunday morning!

          I chose the reading from Matthew because that is where this all comes from.  Jesus says “Take eat; this is my body.”  But what does that really mean?  Followers of Luther thought that the body of Christ was still physically present at the table.  Luther took, “this is my body” literally and believed therefore that Christ’s body could be literally everywhere at the same time.  “This IS my body.”

          Followers of Zwingli, another famous reformer disagreed.  Zwingli takes the language as a metaphor.  Objects can only be in one place at one time.  Jesus was physically present at the Lord’s Supper, so the bread there couldn’t be his literal body.  Therefore Jesus meant, “This will be my body, this bread will symbolize my body.”  Communion is a meal remembering the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  It is a memorial remembering what Christ has done for us.

          Followers of Calvin (this is where we Presbyterians line up) believed that Christ was spiritually present at the meal.  Calvin agreed with Zwingli that the body can only be in one place at one time, but he loved the idea of the presence of Christ at the table.  Therefore, he put forward the idea that Christ is spiritually present with us in a real and tangible way when we celebrate at the table.  It is more than just a memorial; it is the spiritual presence of Christ. 

          The Heidelberg Catechism lifts up not only the Reformed doctrine of justification by grace through faith.  It also cements the Calvinist Reformed understanding of what happens at Communion.  Already the Reformers were beginning to split along denominational lines as Reformation churches in Switzerland supported the Catechism but followers of Luther and the High-Lutheran Church did not.

          So, why do I care?  Just like last week’s sermon, the issues that folks were arguing about during the Reformation are still issues in our modern lives.  Communion is an easy one to approach, since I would wager that there are several folks among us who aren’t sure just what they believe about what happens at the table.  When we gather at the table is Christ physically present, spiritually present, or just present in memory?  I’ll leave that for you to decide as an individual, but the church of which we are a part has certainly battled to have its view known, Christ is spiritually present at the table.

          Another issue that remains relevant in our day is that of election.  Does God save us or do we save ourselves?  We live in a culture that highly values the freedom of the individual.  We see ourselves as being free agents, able to choose our own paths and make our own way in the world.  It is not long before that cultural idea bleeds into our faith.  I am saved because I go to church on Sunday.  I am saved because I believe and do the right things.  Before we know it we have wandered into justification by works.  The idea that God alone acts for our salvation, that God alone moves us to God is a challenge to this way of thinking.  No one can save me but God alone, and only God can move me to God.  What does that say about me . . .  and perhaps more troubling, what does that say about my friends who don’t go to church?  Definitely something to think about.

          That’s more than enough for one day so we will stop here.  Next week we will continue with the Reformation confessions and then we will journey on into the 20^th century.  We close with a Declaration of Faith from the Heidelberg Catechism which you will find on your bulletin insert.  Remember this isn’t your confession, and it isn’t mine.  This is the confession of the church of which we are a part; a church with a long and varied heritage.  Let us stand together and “say it like you mean it!”

Say it Like you Mean it: Ancient Creeds

June 19^th, 2016           “Ancient Creeds”        Rev. Heather Jepsen

Summer Sermon Series: Say It Like You Mean It – Confessing our Faith

Deuteronomy 26:5-8 and John 14:8-14

          I am sure that many of you, like me, have been wondering just what our summer sermon series would be this year.  I had several ideas but it took my week away at Summer Pastor’s School to come up with the final plan.  After spending several summers and a mid-year series doing Biblical narratives; like Moses, David, and the books of Kings, I thought we would take another track. 

          Folks have been asking me to return the Declaration of Faith to the Order of Worship.  I had always planned to begin that this summer, and I realized it might be great fodder for a sermon series.  So, welcome to “Say It Like You Mean It!” our summer sermon series on the Book of Confessions.  My goal this summer is to study the confessions of our faith, and to approach them just as I do the Biblical text.  While at first these documents may seem boring, I am hopeful we can find a place where they intersect with our daily lives in a meaningful way.

          The Presbyterian Church, like many others, has a long tradition of confessing our faith as part of the worship service.  Our denominational constitution consists of two parts, the first of which is our Book of Confessions.  From the ancient creeds that we will look at today, to more modern statements from the 20^th century, this document is one of the foundations of our faith.  As Presbyterian Christians we know who we are by reading the Bible and by reading the Confessions.  We obviously spend a lot more time with the Bible.  That is one of the reasons I was inspired to do this series on the confessions.  Many of us are simply unfamiliar with these texts.  We are comfortable saying that we are the church, so it is important that we know who the church is.

          The first confession in our Book of Confessions is the Nicene Creed.  This is our oldest confession and is one we hold in common with all other Protestants, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox churches.  This confession was begun at the Council of Nicaea in 325, revised in Constantinople in 381, and was finally accepted in its current form at Chalcedon in 451.

          The main issue this confession sought to address was who is Jesus Christ.  Is Jesus fully human, fully divine, or both?  This conflict was a very real one and is still at play in theological discussions today.  If Jesus is only God, then he cannot be accessible to humankind.  If Jesus is only human, then he cannot act on our behalf for our salvation.  But how can someone be human and divine at the same time?

          A main issue that folks argued about at the time the confession was written was whether or not Jesus was made by God.  If God made Jesus, then they are not truly the same.  Only if God and Jesus co-exist at the beginning of time can they truly be the same in every way.  The community, under pressure from Constantine, finally settled on the understanding that Jesus was begotten like a child.  Jesus is the same substance as God the Father, and was not made by God.  You will find that language (begotten and not made) in the creed, and also in our hymn today.

          The struggle with this issue was driven by the Biblical narrative itself.  Sometimes in the Bible, Jesus seems totally human.  Other times, of course, he seems to possess divine foreknowledge and power.  Our gospel reading from the book of John is a wonderful example of Jesus talking about his relationship to God the Father.  “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. . . the Father who dwells in me does his works . . . believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”  In the gospel of John at least, Jesus sure seems to be trying to tell us that he and God the Father are one in the same. 

          Another issue that is at play in the Nicene Creed is the role of the Holy Spirit.  If Jesus is begotten and was not made by God, then how does the Holy Spirit enter into the whole thing?  That argument remains unsettled and here the creed begins to split along church ranks.  The Roman Catholic tradition, from which we have inherited this creed, believes that the Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son together.  The Eastern Orthodox Church holds a higher view of the Holy Spirit and they believe it proceeds from the Father alone.  While we share this creed with the Orthodox Church, we do not share one of the lines about the Holy Spirit.  That is a division which exists to this day.

          The second confession we are going to look at today is the Apostles’ Creed.  This is the one we say most commonly in church and I would wager that many of you could recite it by heart, especially with a group of friends to help pull you along.  In fact many non-church goers can still recite this creed, having learned it along with the Lord’s Prayer at some point in their past.

          The Apostles’ Creed is the most widely used confession in the Western Church and surprisingly it is of unknown origin.  The first reference we have to it historically is in 180CE in Rome, but it wasn’t finalized until the 9^th century under the direction of Charlemagne acting as the Holy Roman Emperor.  It is called the Apostles’ Creed because it was traditionally thought to have originated with the Apostles themselves, though later historians have debunked that theory.

          This creed is a recitation of the essential tenants of the Christian faith.  It basically states the facts about who we believe ourselves to be as the church, and what it is that we believe in.  This is our story.  Religious traditions have always used creeds to tell their story and I picked our reading from Deuteronomy as an example of this.  In Deuteronomy we find one of the ancient creeds of the Hebrew people.  “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, and we lived in Egypt as slaves.  We cried out to God for salvation, and God brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand in a terrifying display of power.  God brought us to this place, a land flowing with milk and honey.”  Hebrews would recite this because it is their story, this is what they believe.

          When we look at the Apostle’s Creed in this way, we can see that this is our story.  Our story is that we believe in one God.  We believe that God is almighty.  We don’t mean all powerful where we can get trapped asking questions like “can God create a rock God can’t lift?”  We do mean that God is the sovereign ruler over all people and nations.  We believe that God is like a Father, referencing personal relationship and not gender.  God is accessible and loving.  We believe that God is creator of all that we see and know, against ideas of polytheism that would be contemporary in the culture.  We believe in Jesus and the story we tell about his life.  And we believe in the Holy Spirit and its work among the saints of the church.  This is the story we tell about our faith.  This is who the church is.

          So, why do I care?  That is the question you might be asking right about now.  Why do I care about all this history stuff?  Well, because these issues are still relevant in our lives today.  Many folks wonder about the question “Who is Jesus?” during their faith life.  It is a deep theological question that still haunts many a thinker.  In fact, in her book on the Emergent Church, Phyllis Tickle suggests that this is the next issue of theological debate.  The church has left the issue of the authority of Scripture behind in the dust of the debates on homosexuality and the next big question was the first big question . . . “Is Jesus human, divine, or both?”  I have seen this issue at play in several discussions I have had with young people seeking ordination in our denomination.  Believe me; this issue is alive and kicking in our world.

          So, who do you think Jesus is?  You may find that you fully agree with the Nicene Creed, or you may find that you do not.  Personally, I find great comfort in the thought that everything God is, Jesus is.  And everything humanity is, everything I am, Jesus is.  I don’t know the details of how that works out, but I do have the faith that it just works. 

          Why do I care?  Because this is our story.  I believe that I am a part of the church.  That means I need to know who the church is.  Reciting the Apostles’ Creed is a reminder of who the church is.  It is a story that we have told for centuries.  I need to know what story we are telling, just as I might struggle with some aspects of the story.  As I have mentioned before, these aren’t my creeds, and they aren’t your creeds.  These are the churches’ creeds and we say them because we are a part of the church.

          My hope in this sermon series is that this summer we will come to know who we are.  It is important for us to be reminded of our history, where we have come from.  And it is these issues that we have wrestled with over time; such as the nature of Jesus Christ and the Sovereignty of God that we will continue to wrestle with in the future.  This summer we will journey from these ancient creeds of the early church, through the reformation, and on into World War 2, the American Civil Rights movement, the re-unification of the Presbyterian Church, and the struggle with apartheid in South Africa.  It should be an interesting summer.  May God bless us as we come to better understand the church in which we have found our home.  Amen.

          And now, as per our new tradition, let us stand and say what we believe.  Today we will recite the Nicene Creed which you can find on page 34 in your hymnal.  Let us stand together . . . and say it like you mean it!        

              

 

Healing Prayers

June 12^th, 2016            “Healing Prayers”        Rev. Heather Jepsen

1 Kings 17 and Luke 7:11-17

          There is an obvious connection between our two scripture readings this morning.  Each features a holy man restoring life to a widow’s only son.  Each story describes a miracle of the greatest proportion.  And each miracle serves to point us to the healing work of God in our world.

          We begin with the story of Elijah.  God has called Elijah to preach against King Ahab.  God is planning to bring a severe drought upon the land, to show that YHWH is a greater god than Baal who was known as the god of rain.  Elijah is sent into the wilderness until even the very streams dry up.  Then he is sent into the area of Zarephath, for God will provide for him through a widow there.

          Elijah arrives and seeing a widow he calls to her for water and bread.  Like everyone in the area, her resources are scarce.  She gives to him what little water she has but she denies him food.  She has only enough to make a last meal for herself and her son.  Elijah convinces her that God will provide if she will only make her last cake up for him to eat and finally she agrees.  She makes the meal for Elijah and then the miracle occurs as her grain and oil now last for many days.

          But, tragedy strikes as her son becomes ill.  The widow blames the man of God for bringing calamity upon her home.  Elijah too, complains to God for such an awful turn of events.  He then stretches himself out over the boy’s body and prays for God to return this boy to life.  God responds, renewing the child and the woman rejoices that Elijah is a true man of God.

          This story would have been told over and over again by the Hebrew people, as it teaches so much about who God is and what God wants for us.  Throughout the Old Testament, the Hebrew people are told to care for their widows, orphans, and outsiders.  Caring for the least among you is written into their very systems of law.  Widows are of special concern for they have no man to care for them.  When only men can hold property, a woman without ties to a man has nothing.  A widow with a son has a chance for a future as that son can grow up to have property of his own.  For a son to die, a widow who is already low on the social ladder slips even further down.  Without her son this woman has no hope.

          Elijah the man of God is sent to such a desolate person.  Through the powers of God this widow is given means to eat for days, and her son is restored to life.  Elijah’s place with her demonstrates God’s great care for those that have nothing.  Furthermore, this woman was a Canaanite, not even a worshipper of the Jewish God.  For the God of the Hebrews to reach out to her shows God’s deep care for those on the margins.  Elijah has come to illustrate God’s love for all people.

          This story is echoed in Luke.  Jesus has just healed a Roman Centurion’s daughter and as he is walking his group meets a funeral party.  Once again we find a widow who has lost her only son.  Upon seeing her, Jesus is filled with compassion and mercy.  He tells the woman not to weep, and comes forward to touch the bier.  He calls to the young man, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” and the dead man sits up and begins to speak.  Luke tells us that Jesus then gave the man to his mother. 

          Just as in the story of Elijah, a widow is one who has nothing.  To have lost her son, she has lost her only hope.  When Jesus raises her son to life, he raises her as well.  Jesus has given her back her life and her hope, demonstrating God’s healing power and love for his people.

          These are wonderful stories demonstrating the power of God in our world.  But at the same time, we have to admit that they leave us wanting.  When we read these stories we often think of parents we know in our own world who have lost their children.  What hope of healing do these stories bring to us today?

          Of course, in the time of Elijah and of Jesus there were other widows whose prayers weren’t answered.  In Elijah’s time there were faithful families who died during the drought because of lack of food, and there were widow’s who died because of lack of care, and there were sons who died as well.  In Jesus’ day there was probably another funeral the next week for a widow or a son and Jesus was not there that day to touch the bier and bring the person back to life.  It is clear that for every person that Jesus touched and healed there were hundreds more that he did not.  

          As we journey in faith, we come to learn that God answers our prayers in different ways.  Sometimes there are miraculous healings from cancer, near miss auto accidents, and sudden financial windfalls.  And for such things we give thanks.  But for every miracle there are also those that die young from cancer, those that die tragically in car wrecks, and those that just can’t seem to stand on their own financial feet.

          In the midst of our broken and aching world, these stories of healing give us hope.  Elijah and Jesus came to demonstrate God’s grace and love for people.  These miracles were signs of the kingdom to come, not the kingdom itself.  We live in an already and not yet time.  Jesus came bringing the kingdom of God, but that kingdom has yet to be fully realized in our world.  Jesus came showing God’s love to the people and demonstrating the promise of what was to come, the days of a new heaven and a new earth where there will no longer be suffering.

          For now, in these in-between days, our hope rests in the only place it can, our hope rests in our Lord.  Right after Jesus heals the widow’s son, messengers come from John asking if Jesus was the one to come.  Jesus tells them to “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.  And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”  Jesus has come as a sign of our future.  The kingdom of God is within and around him, and he preaches the coming kingdom to our world.

          In our times of suffering and loss, we need to remember that sometimes healing might not be what we imagine.  Jesus brought the miracle of new life to the widow’s son, but he brought the miracle of new meaning to the community that surrounded them.  Jesus still brings meaning and new life into our own places of hurt, even if he doesn’t bring the miracle that we desire.

          One thing that is so wonderful about these stories is how physical they are.  When Jesus sees the woman, the word used for his compassion is splanchnizomai which like it sounds, is a deep physical feeling in the gut, splanchnizomai.  Jesus literally felt for her.  And in the story from 1 Kings, Elijah cries out to the Lord and physically stretches himself out over the boy’s body three times.  Similarly, when we have deep hurts that need healing we feel it in our bodies.  Whether it is our own physical or emotional pain, or pain we carry on behalf of others, our deep prayers live in our bodies in a physical way.

          So, I want to try something this morning.  I want to try an embodied prayer.  Elijah stretched himself out over the child, and I want to ask you to stretch yourself out over an area of hurt in your life.  If you are able and willing, I am going to ask you to stand and we will stretch our bodies three times while we picture an area of our lives that we want Jesus to heal.  If you don’t want to stand, I want you to stretch your hands out three times, remembering Jesus stretching his hand out to touch that bier, and think of an area you want Jesus to touch in your heart.  Let’s try it. . .

          It’s interesting isn’t it how our prayers take up physical space in our bodies.  This is a good exercise that you can do at home if you are interested.  As we continue our journey of faith we would be wise to remember that our God is a God who heals, our God is a God who answers prayers, our God is a God who is with us in our suffering, our God is the God of the cross, and our God is the God of resurrection.  It is to this God that we speak our healing prayers.  Thanks be to God for prayers answered.  Amen.