Presented at Trinity UMC, August 16, 2015
Scripture Reference:
Ephesians 5:15-20
Be filled with the Spirit
So
be careful to live your life wisely, not foolishly. Take advantage
of every opportunity because these are evil times. Because of this,
don't be ignorant, but understand the Lord's will. Don't get drunk
on wine, which produces depravity. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit in the following ways: speak to each other with psalms,
hymns, and spiritual songs; sing and make music to the Lord in your
hearts; always give thanks to God the Father for everything in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
and
submit to each other out of respect for Christ.
What is a Methodist?
The first Methodists were
those groups that followed John Wesley's methods for Christian
living. John Wesley himself, and those early “classes” and
“societies” he formed were part of the Anglican Church. Their
desire was to renew the church and bring about a more faithful way of
living as disciples of Christ. John and his brother Charles began
preaching that God's love and forgiveness are free to everybody...not
just the rich folks in the right churches. The religious
establishment of the day had become very materialistic, seeing wealth
as a sign of God's favor and poverty as a sign of God's rejection.
The established church leaders started refusing to allow John and
Charles to preach in their churches. They accused them of too much
“enthusiasm.” So the Wesley's shared the Gospel message wherever
they were welcome: in homes, in prisons and in religious society
meetings.
John was initially
reluctant to preach outdoors, thinking it almost a sin and against
established church rules. When the minister of his home church at
Epworth refused to let him speak, he stood on his father's tomb in
the churchyard to tell the Good News. But he did more than preach.
Wesley knew that without the support of a faith community, people
would tend to fall back into old patterns of behavior. Wherever he
preached, he formed small groups called classes. A class was made up
of about 12 people and had a dedicated lay leader. These lay leaders
had some training, but were not allowed to preach. However, they
could teach and “expound” on scripture. The lay leaders included
men and women, rich and poor. Methodist Societies were made up of
several classes in the same area. These were not churches because his
intention was not to form a new church, but to reform the Church of
England. But because Wesley preached to the factory workers and the
farm workers as well as factory and farm owners, many of the people
that followed Wesley were poor. They were not welcome in the
established churches.
These people who became
Methodists were noticed because their lives had changed. They had
more than just a momentary emotional experience. Whether rich or
poor, they no longer wasted money on drinking, gambling and fancy
clothes. They didn't steal. They worked hard and took care of their
families. The great innovation that led to the success of the
Methodist movement was the formation of classes in which the members
held one another accountable for Christian living. Wesley formulated
three simple rules for his Methodist societies: Do no harm, do good,
and attend upon the ordinances of God. The first two sound pretty
simple, but they are actually quite difficult to practice
consistently. The third sounds complicated, but is actually quite
simple and is the foundation of our faith action. Let's look at each
one.
Rule 1: Do No Harm
This is easy to
understand, but following it can be challenging. Wesley made a list
of activities that could bring about harm that might sound quaint to
us today. Many of his specific prohibitions, like not buying and
selling on Sunday, had to do with economic injustice. Some had to do
with our relationships with other people and some about our
relationship with God. Even without a list, we can look at ourselves
and ask, What harm am I doing? Is my action hurtful to some one? Is
it harmful to my community? Does it waste resources? If we look
deeply and honestly at ourselves and at the groups to which we
belong, we are likely to find some unintended harms. It takes
discipline and insight to live in today's world and do no harm. But
isn't that the point of Christian discipleship?
How can we possibly live
without doing harm? In his book “Three Simple Rules” Rueben Job
makes several suggestions. One is that we can decide not to
harm those with whom we disagree; to lay aside our weapons of
conflict and intentionally try to find points of agreement. John
Wesley says that when we love our neighbor, we will “work no evil”
again them.
Wesley also saw the
collective harm done by our social institutions. In his day the
institution of slavery clearly caused harm and he preached and fought
against it. In our day, if we ask who or what is being harmed, the
answers are so overwhelming that we feel helpless to do anything:
violence, war, racism, poverty, lack of access to basic medical care,
hunger, climate change, harm to the environment. The list of harms
goes on and it is hard to avoid being part of the problem in one area
or another. Problems are complex with no easy answers. All we can do
is be intentional about being part of the solution whenever possible.
In today's scripture, Paul
reminds us to live our life wisely, not foolishly; to understand
God's will; to avoid selfish or self-indulgent behavior; to be filled
with the Spirit; and to submit to each other out of respect for our
common love of Christ. Do No Harm.
Rule 2: Do Good
Wesley's second rule also
seems simple on the surface. Most of us here think of ourselves as
good people and we are. What does it really mean to do good? To do
good requires seeing a need and taking action. It means not waiting
to be asked to help. Often we are so focused on having our own needs
met that we are blind to the needs of others. And it's pretty easy
for those of us who live comfortably to confuse our desires with
needs. For most of us here today basic needs – food, shelter,
clothing – are taken for granted, but this is not always true for
all of our neighbors. Seeing a need, and doing something about it is
what Wesley was getting at.
Wesley is often quoted as
saying. “Do
all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you
can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the
people you can. As long as ever you can.” Scholars are not certain
that this is a direct quote, but it is consistent with his teaching.
From Wesley's day forward, Methodism has been associated with good
works such caring for the poor and disadvantaged. In her newly
released book “Go Set a Watchman,” Harper Lee, a Methodist,
described Methodists as being short on theology but long on good
works. Wesley believed that through acts of mercy, we receive God's
grace. He was clear that doing good was not a means of salvation, but
our natural response to the gift of God's love and grace. In the
letter of James in the New Testament Christians are reminded to be
“doers of the word and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.”
Faith without action is dead.
So
we are obligated as Christians to do good for those around us, in our
immediate community. We can do that through our gifts to the church
and to charitable organizations in the community, and by volunteering
our time and talents to those organizations as well as our church. In
a couple of weeks, folks from Trinity are partnering with a group
from Central to have a “mini-VBS” Fun Day on Saturday morning
August 29 in our parking lot. We can use more volunteers and we
would love to have some cookies to give to the kids that come. Talk
to Walter or me after the service if you want to be part of this
activity. The day before, August 28, our UMW is hosting a group of
senoir ladies from Wesley House in Knoxville for lunch and games. The
purpose of these activities is to do good by sharing a spirit of love
and friendship with our neighbors.
The
Methodist Church is organized to do good beyond the reach our local
community through our district and conference apportionments and
giving to special mission initiatives. This year, churches in the
Holston conference collectively gave over $150,000 to be used for
children in poverty within the Holston Conference. In addition,
almost $55,000 was collected through the Change for Children
initiative and mission kits valued at more than $225,000 were sent to
Africa. By contributing our small share we are participants in doing
good at home and around the world.
Another
aspect of doing good is working for the common good, when we put the
interests of community or society ahead of our own. An example of
this is practicing stewardship of the environment. When we
intentionally use less of disposable goods, when we recycle, when we
repair, reuse or repurpose things, we are promoting the common good
of caring for the environment. These kinds of practices don't
directly benefit ourselves or any individual, but indirectly benefit
all of us.
We
can think of dozens of way to practice doing good – visiting the
sick, volunteering, serving civically, helping with church mission
projects such as our annual sale. In fact, if we have eyes to see the
needs right around us, we can easily be overwhelmed. I feel exhausted
just thinking about it. There is so much to be done so what good is
the little that I can do? Will it really make a difference? What if I
get in over my head? What if all this do gooding conflicts with my
other priorities and commitments (like going fishing)? These are some
of the thoughts that might keep us from the regular practice of doing
good.
In
spite of of all of that, I think that the practice of intentionally
doing good is good for the doer. It is a form of generosity of
spirit. Did you see the article in the Echo this month about
the benefits of giving. That was not just about giving money, but
about giving of ourselves. When we do good for others, we reap
benefits of well-being and health. Read the article.
The
awareness that we are the recipient of the unmerited gift of God's
grace is what enables us to do good and to keep on doing good.
Rule
3: Attend upon the ordinances of God
I
started out with three simple rules. The first two are easy to
understand, but may be difficult to practice. The third rule requires
a little more explanation, but if practiced, actually enables us to
sustain our commitment to do no harm and to do good. Wesley stated
the third rules as “attend upon the ordinances of God.” The
theologian Rueben Job states it as “staying in love with God.”
They are both referring to practicing the spiritual disciplines that
Wesley called the “means of grace.” These practices are prayer,
bible study, communion, worship and fasting.
Wesley
practiced a regular discipline of daily prayer, both private and in
public. He used the written prayers of others as well as his own
heartfelt expressions. He used external ques, such as the chiming of
the hour, to remind him to pray. He knew that prayer is our primary
connection to God. Prayer is a way of intentionally putting our mind
on God so that we align ourselves with His purposes.
Reading
scripture and really engaging our mind and hearts with it is another
way we hear God speak to us. Find a translation of the Bible that you
like, follow a reading or devotional guide such as the Upper Room, or
make a plan of your own. The key is to open your heart and mind to
God as you study scripture. God will not let you down.
Communion,
the Lord's Supper, unites us as a community of God's people, sharing
a common table, worshiping a loving God. It is a means by which we
confess our sins, declare our need for God's love, and give thanks to
God. Like prayer and bible study, communion is personal, but it is
also a shared experience of receiving God's grace.
Today's
scripture tells us to “be filled with the Spirit in the following
ways: speak to each other with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs;
sing and make music to the Lord in your hearts; always give thanks to
God the Father for everything...” When we worship together and sing
together we build unity in our community – unity that is grounded
in the Holy Spirit and that lifts our sight and heart to God. As we
know, the Wesley brothers put a lot of time and effort into composing
and publishing hymns. Their hymns were a means of sharing the gospel
story, of giving thanks to God, and of confessing our sins. Is it
even possible to sing together in harmony without experiencing a
unity of spirit? Singing together builds community. I am looking
forward to our 5th
Sunday of hymn singing two weeks from today.
Being
part of a worshiping community keeps us connected to God in ways that
go beyond the Sunday morning service. In a worshiping community we
learn more about living out our Christian faith and we are empowered
to do good works of justice and mercy in the world.
Three
Simple Rules: you can write them on a post-it note and paste them on
your mirror. 1: Do no harm. 2: Do good. 3: Practice spiritual
disciplines. So simple. So hard. Rules 1 and 2 are about how we
relate to one another in ways that show and share God's love. Rule 3
is about staying in touch with God's love so that we can be who God
would have us be.
O
God, Awaken us to your presence and help us to pay attention to the
practices that keep us loving you. Keep us mindful of the ways these
practices keep us in loving relationship with you and with each other
as we strive to to do no harm and to do good. AMEN.
Pastoral
Prayer:
Loving
God, You are so gracious to us. You prepare the way for us. You watch
over us, ever ready to meet our need. You find us when we are lost,
comfort us when we are broken, and rejoice with us when we are glad.
We are glad today to be in your house and give thanks for your
presence among us.
Still
our hearts are heavy with the needs of those around us... the sick,
the lonely, those who mourn, those who lack adequate food and
shelter, victims of violence, war and natural disasters. Open our
eyes that we may see the need and open our hearts that we may
respond.
Keep
safe those who are traveling. Travel with Pastor Robert so that his
time away will refresh and renew his spirit. Likewise, refresh and
renew the spirit of our church as we seek to find your will for us.
We
confess that we do not always do the good that you would have us do,
that we do the very things that we know we shouldn't do and that we
neglect the very acts that bring us closer to you. Thank you for
being there for us in spite of our shortcomings, for forgiving us
even before we ask, and for providing through your Son the means of
our salvation.
For
all your acts of mercy and grace, we give Thanks, in the name of
Jesus the Christ. AMEN.
Offertory
Prayer:
Let
our prayer be as Paul wrote in 2nd
Corinthians: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he
who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So, let each one
give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for
God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound
toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things,
may have an abundance for every good work.”
****************************************************************************
Benediction:
Let
us go forth, filled with the Spirit, giving thanks to God the Father
for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN
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