Sermons & Meditations

Isaiah 43:16-21; John 12:1-8
Presented March 21, 2010, by Joel D. Kline
The Fifth Sunday in Lent

A story attributed to Henri Nouwen is told in the book Spiritual Direction; it’s the story of a young child observing a sculptor working hard with hammer and chisel on a huge block of marble. The lad watched for some time, as several large pieces of stone fell to the floor and many smaller chips flew off the large marble block. It was all very confusing, but when the youngster returned to the studio several weeks later, he discovered, to his surprise, a large, powerful lion sitting in the place where the slab of marble had stood. With much excitement, the boy ran to the sculptor and asked, “How did you know there was a lion in that piece of marble?” The answer, of course, is that the art of sculpture involves, first of all, the art of seeing. The sculptor had to be able to see in his mind’s eye something more than a slab of marble. The sculptor had to envision new possibilities.

This ability to see beneath the surface, to envision new possibilities, is critical to the life of faith as well. The experience of exile was a shaping experience for the ancient people of Judah. In the years leading up to the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC, a number of the ancient prophets lamented that a time of judgment was fast approaching, should the people not repent from their unfaithfulness to God and their hard-heartedness towards those victimized by injustice. The people had become satisfied with much less than God envisioned for their living; in response, the prophet Jeremiah cried out in warning, “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people who have eyes, but do not see, who have ears, but do not hear… [You] do not judge with justice the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper, and [you] do not defend the rights of the needy” (Jeremiah 5:21, 28). On a number of other occasions Jeremiah lamented that “from the least to the greatest, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest everyone deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (6:13-14; 8:10-11).

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Luke 15:1-2, 11-32; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
March 14, 2010, by Joel D. Kline
The Fourth Sunday in Lent

One of the qualities of life and ministry in the Church of the Brethren that continues to draw me is our persistent focus on reconciliation. The dictionary defines reconciliation as a matter of making friends again, bringing into harmony, settling differences, creating satisfaction, winning over those formerly at odds with one another. Among the New Testament writers, only the apostle Paul makes specific use of this term reconciliation, and yet it is a central conviction of Scripture that ours is a reconciling God, a God ever taking the risk of reaching out to humankind in order that differences might be settled, friendships might emerge where once there had been suspicion and enmity, and those formerly at odds with one another might be brought together in harmonious living. Ours is a forgiving and healing God who responds to our deepest yearnings for wholeness in our living, for meaningful relationship with God and with one another.

In this morning’s epistle lesson Paul asserts that it is God who takes the initiative to effect reconciliation. “If anyone is in Christ,” proclaims the apostle, “there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18). In The Message Eugene Peterson offers this paraphrase: The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and God, and then called us to settle our relationships with one another.

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Philippians 3:17-4:1
Presented February 28, 2010, by Joel D. Kline
The Second Sunday in Lent

The celebrated actor Martin Sheen, also noted for his life-long and passionate advocacy for justice and peace, tells the story of meeting Mother Teresa in the early 1990s, along with a popular motivational speaker. The motivational speaker was in much demand at the time, appearing with some frequency on television shows, addressing conventions and business conferences, offering insight into how people could be successful in life. Upon meeting this woman who took it as her mission to care for the lowest of the low, those pushed to the edges of life—the poor, the forgotten, the lepers, the unloved and the uncared for—the first question the motivational speaker asked of Mother Teresa was, “How did you manage to become so successful, so famous?”

Mother Teresa considered the question for a few moments, smiled, and then responded confidently, “Jesus.” “No,” countered her interviewer, “I mean, how is it that you run such a huge religious institution, serve the most desperate people, travel constantly, all while touching so many people around the globe?”

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Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16; Luke 4:1-13
Presented February 21, 2010, by Joel D. Kline
The First Sunday in Lent

Lutheran pastor Peter Marty puts it well, describing the 91st psalm as “at once [both] beautiful and troubling.” Beautiful, with its comforting words of assurance, its solid conviction that those “who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,” are able to affirm of God, “You are my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust” (vv. 1-2).  Who among us does not yearn for that kind of trusting relationship with our God, a relationship so securely rooted in God’s love that, come what may, we shall not be shaken? A trusting, loving relationship is indeed a beautiful gift.

But there’s something unsettling, even troubling, about the psalm writer’s sentiments. The psalmist is convinced that if we do indeed dwell in God and place our trust fully in God, “no evil shall befall [us], no scourge shall come near [our] tent” (v. 10). “God will command God’s angels concerning [us] to guard [us] in all [our] ways” (v. 11). It’s the conditional character of the psalm writer’s conviction that is disturbing, for the writer seems persuaded that, should we find ourselves facing a time of upheaval in life, a time of loss or grief or uncertainty or pain, it may well be because our faith has not been strong enough or held with enough conviction.

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Isaiah 2:1-5; Luke 9:28-36
Presented February 14, 2010, by Joel D. Kline
Transfiguration Sunday

Floyd Mallott, professor of church history at Bethany Seminary a couple of generations back, in his book Studies in Brethren History describes the early Brethren as mystics. It’s a term we seldom use to describe ourselves, but Mallott’s definition of mystics as those who “seek direct inward experience of God without intermediaries” rings true. We need not depend on a particular priest or guide or pastor or church leader to usher us into the presence of God; individually, and as a community of faith, we may well encounter the living God as we explore the Scriptures, as we celebrate the wonders of God’s creation, as we reach out in loving service to persons in need, as we listen for the still small voice of our God.

This morning’s Scripture lessons—both the words of the prophet Isaiah, and the Gospel story of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountaintop—include the challenge to listen. With significant frequency the Scriptures envision the mountaintop as that place where God speaks to the people and sends them forth on a transforming mission—a mission to bring God’s justice, God’s peace, God’s compassion, God’s new life into reality in the very midst of everyday living. The prophet Isaiah envisions a time when peoples from all nations will respond to the holy invitation, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that God may teach us God’s ways and that we may walk in God’s paths. For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:3). Hearing God’s vision for justice and peace, life shall indeed be transformed. The people “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (v.4).

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