How Voting Can Lead To Sin

"I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election and advised them, 

1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy: 

2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against; and 

3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side."

Rev. John Wesley, October 6, 1774

   John Wesley encouraged those in the Classes and Societies, which were the small groups that made up the Methodist movement in its opening decades, to vote in local elections. He went on further with a word of warning about the temptations of human nature. Wesley encouraged them to resist the tendency to speak or think badly of those who voted on the other side. John Wesley has taken a truth from the scriptures and brought it all the way to November 2012. Jesus made it clear in the Gospels that not only are we to resist the actions that cause harm to others, we are also to avoid the thoughts and inner work that can be just as harmful. He said we can murder in our mind. We can cheat with our thoughts. Go read about it in Matthew 5:21-30.

   He knew us well, didn't he? After forming our thoughts along any issue or contest, our next inclination is to begin forming opinions against those who see the thing differently. Many of us believe that if you are for something you must be against those on the other side. We find it easier to place things into categories, so being able to fit people inside of 'little boxes' is one of the lazy ways our minds would prefer to work: he is a conservative, she is a tree-hugger, they are all free-spenders. It is not fair, it is not correct, and it is certainly not 'of Jesus' to try and hold a person captive in a little box. Jesus publicly proclaimed that he came to do the very opposite when he said, "He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free," in Luke 4. 
   In just the one issue of voting alone, we find where our tendencies and our nature can cause us to stumble. I am talking about sin; the very sin that leads us away from the Father and separates us from the path to life eternal. I pray that we guard our hearts and our speech. I pray that we avoid placing people in little boxes, or even large ones. This is not the way of Jesus and we are either with him or we are not. Let us not be led into temptation over something as passing as an election.
   Grace and Peace, Scott

We Write Down Where We Want To Be

   I once read that Charles Wesley wrote hymns that started on earth and finished in heaven. He did not consider himself above those who would sing the songs he wrote. He, like us, was grounded on earth as mortals aware of our small place in this giant world. But, like us, he also knew that we are more than just flesh and bone, made from dust only to return there. We are something more.

   It was also true of his brother John's theology. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement nearly 300 years ago, was a fascinating study of a man. He synthesized his experience and the vast readings he consumed throughout his life into a unique theology unlike any other around today. The most unique part of his theology was what he believed about life after the moment we are saved, or justified, by the grace and work of Jesus Christ. He preached about it extensively, referring to it as sanctification that leads to Christian Perfection. Thomas Langford wrote, Wesley "was firmly convinced of the coming day of Christ, which is not yet, but toward which humankind, with the whole creation, is moving."

   I'll grant that he is speaking more eloquently, but it was this very truth that I was trying to convey to the children seated at my feet this past Sunday. I was holding the $1, $5 and $10 and talking about the motto "In God We Trust" found on each of them. It is an inspiring and equally puzzling phrase.

   I said sometimes we write things down that are not yet true, but that we want to be true one day. As a nation, we are both trusting and striving to trust in God. As individuals, we are both faithful to that which we cannot see yet still believe, and desperately praying for our faith to grow. We are both there and not even close. We are moving. We are being made perfect, but have a long way to go. For some of us, a very long way! 

   To live like this requires grace. To remember that none of us has arrived takes patience. To believe that any of us can one day get there, requires a great deal of faith, doesn't it? God really will be a miracles worker if some of the people I know can get in! But it is true.

  All of this, in my mind, is related to Consecration Sunday. We are asked where are we and where is God leading us? We are not stationary or standing still. God wants us to grow in grace and not stop moving. I believe he has trusted us with abundant blessings so that we would get a glimpse of what is still yet to come. I am so thankful for the faithful and trusting people of Epworth. Let us continue to grow and trust.

New and Old

   Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver and daredevil, set a couple of new world records on Sunday when he was lifted to the edge of space in a balloon before jumping out. He fell an estimated 24 miles as he set an even more amazing record for speed: an estimated speed of 833 miles per hour, or Mach 1.24. Beyond the significance of this new level of craziness and daring, even the date was historic. The first person to break the speed of sound, US Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager, broke the record on October 14, 1947, exactly 65 years prior. If you did not see the video footage of Baumgartner, I highly recommend it (check it out here). As far as new things go, it is amazing.
   However, there is more to the story than new records. Like the story of God's work in the world, there is both the new and the old. The Gospel of Luke opens with God doing a new thing, but the very words used to describe it were of old. Mary, Zechariah, and a host of others are quoting the Old Testament. When the baby comes, one of the best moments features Anna who, who we are told, is 84 years old (Luke 2). It is like the new thing cannot be described without a reminder of the old thing.
   It is hard to believe that 65 years has passed since Yeager's first record flight. He is 89 years old now. On this Sunday afternoon, as the young Baumgartner sets a new record, we could easily see Yeager sitting somewhere comfortable, watching and reminiscing. That was hardly the case, however. Yeager was flying. Fast. Again. It is what he does. 
   Taking off from Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, this legend, nearing being a nonagenarian, flew in the second seat of an F-15 for another trip. Exactly 65 years to the moment after he first piloted the Bell X1 jet past the speed of sound, he took the controls and did it again. Imagine. What is especially rich is that his speed on Sunday just slightly edged Baumgartner's. A nod to say, I still have the "Right Stuff." 
   We see similar acts of wonder all of the time. Of course, we celebrate the new: the newly born, baptized, converted, or joined. But there is something just as amazing about those who have done it before, and go out and do it again. I see such folks every Sunday, and visit with them on the days in between. They do not stop flying through life with faith after their first success. It is what they do. They persevere. I celebrate them. They are witnesses, like those first who appeared in the Gospels, to the God who continues to do new things with each of us.
   Grace and Peace, Scott

Consecration Sunday Is Coming

   I am pleased to be able, again, to share about Consecration Sunday in the life of our church. This is the third year we have undertaken this specific program, and Epworth’s response the previous two years was excellent. Our stewardship team feels that this is a good way to teach the biblical and spiritual principles of generous giving in our emphasis on stewardship.
   Congregations that approach financial stewardship from a biblical perspective do not view the money Christians give to their church merely as a way to pay its bills. Rather, such congregations see financial contributions as a way to help people grow spiritually in their relationship with God by supporting their church’s mission and ministry with a percentage of their incomes.
   Consecration Sunday is based on the biblical philosophy of the need of the giver to give for his or her own spiritual development, rather than on the need of the church to receive. Instead of treating people like members of a club who should pay dues, we believe followers of Jesus Christ want to give unselfishly as an act of discipleship. Consecration Sunday encourages people toward proportionate and regular giving in response to the question, “What percentage of my income is God calling me to give?”
   During morning worship on Consecration Sunday, we are asking our members and regular visitors to make their financial commitments to our church’s ministries of worship, study and service in this community and around the world.
   Every member and regular visitor who completes an Estimate of Giving Card will do so voluntarily by attending morning worship on Consecration Sunday. The procedure will be done in such a way that no one feels personal embarrassment if he or she chooses not to fill out a card.  We will do no home solicitation to ask people to complete cards. During morning worship, our guest leader will conduct a brief period of instruction and inspiration, followed by members making their commitments as a confidential act of worship.
   We will encourage participation in worship and the meal on Consecration Sunday through letters, announcements in worship, and assistance by leaders in our church. Since we will make no follow-up visits to ask people to complete their cards, we will make every effort to inform, inspire, and commit everyone to attend Consecration Sunday worship.
   Thank you for helping make this year together at Epworth so very good from a ministry and financial standpoint. I am grateful to you for allowing me to partner with you in ministry in this great church.
   Steve Sawyer - Church Council Chairperson

Psalm 101 - A Psalm of David

Oh, let me sing about faithful love and justice! I want to sing my praises to you, LORD! I want to study the way of integrity— how long before it gets here? I will walk with a heart of integrity in my own house. I won’t set my eyes on anything worthless. I hate wrongdoing; none of that will stick to me. A corrupt heart will be far from me. I won’t be familiar with evil. I will destroy anyone who secretly tells lies about a neighbor. I can’t stomach anyone who has proud eyes or an arrogant heart. My eyes focus on those who are faithful in the land, to have them close to me. The person who walks without blame will work for me. But the person who acts deceitfully won’t stay in my house. The person who tells lies won’t last for long before me. Every morning I will destroy all those who are wicked in the land in order to eliminate all evildoers from the LORD’s city. - Psalm 101 (Common English Bible)

   Psalm 101 was believed to have been written first for the coronation of a King, but later used more as a reminder of the values that God desires to be found in all humans, not just those who lead while in office.  I read the following in a commentary on this Psalm:

“In a society where the word politician has become almost synonymous with crooked and where much speech - for instance, advertising - is designed to mislead, the invitation of Psalm 101 is particularly timely: that we speak and embody the truth in love as a witness upon our lives and our world.”

   I admit that at first some of what the writers says is tough to hear. This seems holier-than-thou, maybe even harsh. But on a second reading, and then a third,  I allow myself to ask “What If?” What if we did operate this way? What if my first goal was to walk and speak with integrity? What if I despised wrongdoing in my own life, and avoided it at all costs? The path my life should take would be These words are goals for everyone, and not just limited to leaders. 

   This Sunday we join with Christians around the planet to celebrate World Communion Sunday. I spoke to the children this past Sunday about how much of what we use does not translate or work in every corner of the world: currency, cell phones, or even electrical plugs. God’s love, though, is something that works everywhere we go. For all of the ways that we are different, we share much in common. This Psalm reminds me that maybe nothing is more important as our shared need to have our deeds and words be held to a higher standard.