Pastor Steve Richards

As I read today’s scripture, I thought of all the movies I’ve seen. When does the movie end? Is it when the actors are no longer on the screen? Is it when the final name rolls across the screen – even though the attendants are already picking up the popcorn containers from the floor? Our daughter has yet to get her name in a major motion picture, but she has worked on a lot of lesser known films. Only the big names that come at the beginning of the movie get the fame and fortune. Of the hundreds of names at the end, some receive nothing more than their names in the credits. In respect for them all, I now watch every name roll across the screen. I read the names listed in 1 Chronicles, looking for a name that means something to me.

This morning, I met a young man who was walking along the beach (I’m on a retreat in Florida this week.). It was his first time on the beach. He said he came out to find a shell and there was not one shell but millions of them. “I want to find a big one to bring to my girlfriend,” he said. I told him he needed a good storm the night before if that’s what he wanted. “No, I don’t want a storm,” he replied. “Then I guess it all depends on what you are looking for.” After all, there were millions and millions of tiny shells that the tide had brought in. And as I walked, I wondered does each one matter? Do we matter? Some days it feels like we are just a tiny little spot among billions of other tiny spots on a small planet circling one of millions of stars. Hundreds of years from now will anyone remember? Will my name or your name be remembered? Do we matter?

1 Chronicles seems to indicate each name matters. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul indicates that even those who have died matter. In fact, we will be with the Lord forever (vs 17). You don’t have to recognize a name to believe a person matters. All matter to God.

It is God’s will that you should be sanctified (vs 3). To be sanctified is to be holy. It is a process of spiritual growth by which we draw ever closer to God and become more and more the image that we find in Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (vs 14)

You matter! Each one matters to God.

Maybe we spend too much time focused on what we are not doing or how we are not good enough. We could be more faithful. We could pray more. We could read scripture more. We could serve the poor more often. But that’s not the word I hear this morning in 1 Thessalonians. Paul is encouraged by what he hears about the Christians in Thessalonica.

We were encouraged about you because of your faith… you are standing firm in the Lord. (vs 7-8) They were a small group in a large city that not only did not share their belief in the resurrection of Jesus but they suffered as a result of their belief. And yet, they continued to believe and not quietly. They were sharing their new-found faith with others, some of whom also came to faith.

We don’t face the obstacles that they did. Our obstacles are more subtle or internal, but sometimes more difficult to overcome. So on this Monday morning, I am encouraged by those times when I have been faithful. This is not the time to pat myself on the back and tell the world what a model I am for Christianity in America – because I am not! With all humility, I am still encouraged when I see people standing firm in the Lord. Maybe for you that was going to church yesterday when everything within you was saying “It’s a beautiful day to do something else.” But you went to church anyway and to your surprise the worship experience has set the course for your week. Or maybe when faced with a frustrating situation or individual you did the most loving thing possible when that was not your first or even second inclination. But you did the most loving thing. It didn’t make everything better but it had an effect. Or you took a few minutes and came to this page. Maybe you haven’t been as diligent with the scripture readings as you had hoped when the year began, but today you picked up the Bible and you are reading this. That’s encouraging! Sometimes we need the kind of affirmation that Paul offers based on what Timothy has reported.

So, this morning, after reading Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, I took a long walk and I thought about all the ways I am encouraged by what I see happening in the lives of people around me, most especially the people I serve at Messiah Church. And with Paul, I am saying: How can (I) thank God enough for you in return for all the joy (I) have in the presence of our God because of you?

How encouraged I am because of you! Amen.

Thessalonica was a thriving seaport in northern Greece. Paul traveled the 100 miles to Thessalonica after leaving Philippi where he had been beaten and thrown into prison. Paul’s practice was to enter a city and begin preaching in the synagogue or place of prayer. Some Jews responded to his message of Jesus risen from the dead. Many more were non-Jews, but most found this message to be crazy.

But for those who listened, a power gripped their lives that Paul tells them was the Holy Spirit. They would understand the message and suddenly a power would take hold of their hearts and minds. The message would make sense and their lives would begin to transform so that this message, this power was now the most important thing in their lives. And their changed lives would become a witness to others who would be drawn to this same message and experience this same power and find their lives being transformed.

This is what still happens today. When we don’t just read the scripture but feed on it – that is, allow the deeper message of the words to take hold. It is in the time that follows the reading that I suddenly discover there is something here for my life, something that grabs hold and changes me.

We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (vs 3)

Faith is something we have to work at – thinking through what we read and hear and bringing our mind and our will into line with it. Love also requires hard work. And hope needs patience, which is hard as well. Faith, Love and Hope – the Thessalonians had this. So can we.

What does it mean to you to be on the receiving end of always? The gospel of Matthew concludes with a promise that God first delivered in chapter one when God entered the world as Emmanuel – God with us. The final verse of the gospel renews the promise: I will be with you always.

Always means even when I don’t know for sure, even when I forget, even when the evidence would seem to suggest otherwise. Always means all ways, all time. And it is an unconditional commitment. The resurrection has proved the final word is not death, it is hope grounded in this single promise – always.

Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you (vs 22). Always…

The story of Absolom comes to a tragic end. Not only is it the death of a son, but it is the end of a father’s longing for a relationship with his son. If only Absolom would have reached out to his father. If only.

I’ve often wondered what would have happened if Judas had waited three more days. Instead of taking his own life, he had waited three days to hear about the resurrection. I have this thought that Judas would have been the first one to whom Jesus would have appeared. What a powerful witness it would have been if Judas has accepted forgiveness and found redemption. If only.

I guess my thoughts in reading today’s scripture is that it is not too late. It is never too late – for a broken relationship, for a broken life, for a broken heart to be healed. There is always hope. And as we will read tomorrow, God is not finished. God’s greatest work in your life and mine is yet to be.

We all know the experience of being overwhelmed. We are facing a deadline with too much to do and not enough time to do it. We are in the midst of a task or a responsibility that suddenly feels far greater than our ability to succeed. Or, the circumstances of life are beyond our ability to cope – be it a relationship, unemployment, or a health crisis. Or maybe it is someone in your life who is continually taunting you, attacking your integrity, maybe even lying about you. Maybe you are overwhelmed at this very moment, seeking something that could give you reason to hope.

I don’t know how our experiences to compare to what David and Jesus were facing. David’s son, Absolom, had taken possession of the capitol city of Jerusalem and everything that once belonged to David, and now an army of 12,000 was ready to attack and kill David. In Matthew 26, Jesus was annointed with expensive perfume, an act that represented two things: his annointing as King Jesus, the Messiah; and his  annointing in preparation for burial. What lie ahead for Jesus would be excruciatingly painful, and within 24 hours he would be dead. Both David and Jesus were facing what would seem overwhelming.

Some people in the face of overwhelming challenge fall to pieces, others facing the same circumstances get stronger. Many of the challenges that we face cannot be removed. We cannot walk away or hide. But we can always get through them. How did David and Jesus get through and get stronger? They had a Rock of Refuge. That same Rock, the power and the presence of the One greater than this world is ready to be your Rock of Refuge.

Be my rock of refuge to which I can always go… I will always have hope. (Psalm 71)

I don’t like to talk about sin. We don’t much like hearing about other people’s sin either, but given the choice I will talk about someone else’s sin over my own! And yet, it happens – sin happens. As I’ve gotten older I recognize more of what I have failed to do – and those moments are even more painful to me than the moments when I did what I should not have done.

The story of David has entered that phase in his life where the decisions of the past continue to unfold with great sadness. Sin has ripples that extend into the future and out into the lives of others. That happens because relationships are part of our lives and what we do and fail to do has impact. But then the psalmist says: Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds those who trust in him. (Psalm 32:10)

In Matthew 25, Jesus concludes a long discourse in which he denounces his own people and especially their leaders for their failure to live as God’s people should. There will be vindication for the faithful. And for those who are not? That frightening sentence is hard to ignore: throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 25:30).  When Jesus speaks of someone being thrown into the darkness outside, it is important to remember that Jesus himself was on his way into the darkness where he himself would feel abandoned by God. And yet, there in the darkness was where God would accomplish the greatest act of all time – resurrection.

Even when we are at our worst, we are not left entirely alone. We are never far from redemption and resurrection. “the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds those who trust in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad…” (Psalm 32)

What do you make of the parable of the Wedding Banquet? It is told in the waning hours of Jesus’ ministry. The invitations had been sent. Come to the Wedding Banquet! But those invited did not come. This is a story about the coming of God’s Kingdom and the arrival of the Messiah. Come to the banquet!

But they refused. Galilee refused and now Jerusalem was refusing. This was a party that God had been planning for a long time. The Messiah was present. The time had come, but the people didn’t want to know. They ignored the prophets who announced his coming. John the Baptist had been killed. And in 70 AD the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed.

But wait, there is Good News! God sent out new messengers to invite others to the banquet and who arrived? The blind and lame, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, people who everyone else had forgotten, even children. And they were glad to be there. The last will be first and the first will be last. Yay! The wedding banquet is now filled with people.

The message of the Gospel is that all are welcome. Not everyone who is invited will choose to come, but God will keep inviting and even those who least expect an invitation will be welcomed. Everyone is welcome at the banquet. God loves everyone. But God’s love wants the best for people, and best does not mean we stay where we are. If you are involved in behavior or practices that are displeasing to God, God’s love remains. But God wants the best which means lives transformed, healed, changed. We can’t remain at the party forever without being changed.

There are new clothes to be wore at the party. Everyone who heard the story knew that such clothes were provided at a wedding banquet. If the clothes are provided, why not put them on?  If you refuse to put on the clothes, you are saying you don’t want to come to the party.

Later, Jesus describes these clothes in the words of the Greatest Commandment – love. Come to the banquet! Be changed!

Today’s readings present two kings: King David and King Jesus. Jesus enters Jerusalem (the City of David) on a donkey. Why a donkey? To show humility and peace. His first act is to cleanse the Temple so that it would be a house of prayer. He healed people. He taught as one who had authority. That, of course, is not what the people had in mind for a King. They were hoping for a King like David who was victorious in battle and established Israel as a nation to be feared and respected. In 2 Samuel 7, David was told that the Messiah would be among his descendants. Could Jesus be that Messiah? But is he the Messiah the people wanted?

The Bible provides pictures of two kings. Which one will we follow? Which one will we honor? Which way will we live?

Today is a new day. There are plenty of things that we want to accomplish and must accomplish today. But by the end of this day when we look back over the day, what will we see?

King David wanted to build a house for God, instead God promised to build a house, a royal dynasty, for David. It would not be David but his son, Solomon who would build the house for God. David embraced God’s promise not so David would be great but so God would be. What if today’s agenda is all about making God’s name great? It might not change what you do today, but could it change how you do what you do?

Then from Psalm 2, I hear these words: be wise…serve the LORD with fear…take refuge in him. And in Matthew, I hear the message that whatever I do for the LORD today is not so I will be rewarded in the end. My reward has already been secured. Today, I want to serve in order to honor God.

Maybe I, too, have just had my eyes opened to what this day is truly all about. And what greatness is really about. LORD, help us to see.