The Power of an Interruption, Mark 5:31-45

Posted on July 1, 2024 by patrick h wrisley
Photo by Tobi on Pexels.com

A sermon delivered on June 30, 2024, by the Rev. Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.

This morning, we are picking up right where we left off last week. Last Sunday, we noted how Jesus and the disciples were caught in a powerful storm that almost swamped their boat. We found Jesus asleep at the wheel when in fact he had total control of the situation as we were reminded that he has the whole wide world, even nature in his hands. Following that experience, they have crossed back to the western side of Galilee to the area of the Gerasenes and Jesus has cast out demons into a herd of pigs who ran into the sea and drown. The townspeople, upset and annoyed at the loss of income floating dead off the coast, begged Jesus to leave the area; so, he crossed over the Galilee yet again. This is where we pick up in Mark 5:21-43. Listen to the Word of the Lord!

Mark 5:21-43

21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. 22 Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet23and begged him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.”24 So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. 

25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 26 She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.” 29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

35While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” 36But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.38When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha cum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” 42And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.[1]

Interrumpitur vita. Life Interrupted. This is the type of life Jesus lived every single day. In our text this morning, Jesus barely gets off the boat when he is confronted with no less than five interruptions. Jesus can hardly get a word in edge-wise. As soon as he gets off the boat and begins teaching, Jairus, the synagogue ruler, interrupts him and falls to his feet. His daughter is deathly ill and begs Jesus to come and heal her. Interruption One (v.23).

Then, while Jesus is making his way to heal the girl, a huge crowd follows and presses in on him. In the middle of this thronging mob, a desperate and impure woman whose own life has been interrupted some twelve years with a non-stop menstrual condition, risks her life and joins in the crowd to simply touch Jesus’ garments. Outcast from her family and social support system, she risked discovery and getting stoned on the spot. As the group makes its way to Jairus’ house, the bleeding woman in a last-ditch effort for life touches the hem of Jesus’ garment. Jesus felt the power leave him and he came to a full stop. He looks back around knowing someone with faith reached out to him (v. 28). Interruption two.

As Jesus is intently scanning the crowd for the person who touched him, the ever-impatient and clueless disciples start riding Jesus about, “What do you mean, ‘Who touched me?’ Look around Jesus! Who has not touched you?” The disciples were trying to get Jesus back on schedule, back onto the itinerary to Jairus’ house (v. 31). Interruption three.

Ignoring the haranguing disciples, Jesus finds the woman who touched him and was in the middle of declaring her well and giving her a blessing of peace, when suddenly, people ran from Jairus’ house, interrupted his blessing of the woman to say that Jairus’ daughter had already died (v. 35). Interruption four.

Finally, Jesus arrives at Jairus’ house looking for the little girl when he confronts a mob of mourners who had already gathered at the home. Before Jesus can get to the little girl’s room, he first clears the house of all the people who are mourning for the girl and are now laughing at Jesus for saying the pre-teen is asleep (v. 40). Interruption five.

How well do you handle interruptions in your life? Are we able to calmly and cooley handle them as Jesus does with his five interruptions? Jesus cannot walk two hundred yards without getting interrupted five separate times. Everyone is pulling at and on him. Everyone is trying to get something from him. Jesus stops and focuses on one person at a time and then someone pulls his attention away toward something else. Have you ever felt that way in your life? Think of a moment when you have been incessantly interrupted. How did it make you feel? What was your blood pressure doing? How are you scoring on the annoyance meter from 1 to 10? How was your temper handling yet another knock on your door? How did you sound when you finally opened your mouth to respond?

A young couple finally puts the kids to sleep, and they now have some alone time together. They begin snuggling up and then they hear, “Mommy!”

You make it through the traumatizing efforts of going to the airport — dropping your car, checking your bags, then being chosen by the TSA for an added search — and you were even able to grab coffee and a sandwich at the deli. You board the plane and get the last overhead space for your carry-on above your seat. You are now finally settling into your seat before take-off as you pull out your sandwich and take that first luscious bite of roast beef with heavy mayo and you are in heaven. You are about to take off when a member of the flight crew walks up and says, “Gee, Mr. Beyerbach, you’ve just been reassigned to another flight later tonight.” 

How is that blood pressure doing now?

Interruptions. They are a part of life. They can irritate you. They can intrude at the worst times. They can jolt you to see things or people you have never seen before. They can scare you. They force you to slow down. The question for us, though, is how do we handle them?

Years ago, I was phoned to the hospital by a young couple I had married, and the woman was in hard labor. The delivery was not going well, and the husband called to get some support. Upon arriving, I met the laboring mother’s daddy, the grandfather. He was an incredibly nice guy and a psychologist from Birmingham. His face was long, and he said, “Patrick, our grandson was born a few minutes ago. My daughter is doing fine but the baby has Down’s Syndrome.” I remained silent; what was I to say? Granddad continued, “We had dreams for who this little boy would grow up to be and do and now those dreams are gone. Our plans got interrupted by things outside of our control.” And then after a moment of silence, Grandfather a prophet. He continued with a small smile beginning to take shape, “But you know what, Patrick, now is the time we begin to dream new dreams for this little boy!” I was in awe and humbled by his wisdom and his sense of hope.

Interruptions into our expected, ordinary routines are going to happen. It is how we respond to those interrupted expectations and routines that matter. If we are honest, most of life’s interruptions are mere inconveniences and annoyances. Yet, some interruptions in life are life-changing and alter the direction or trajectory our lives take. What do we do when those moments come? I suppose it depends on whether you and I are willing to dream new dreams and seek the Lord to redeem those interruptions!

Interruptions are moments in our lives where we are offered an opportunity to deepen our spiritual depth and develop our Christian character. I love what the late C.S. Lewis wrote, “The great thing if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions is precisely one’s real life.”[2]  So often, our go-to place is to level blame on God for the major interruptions in our lives whether a job loss, a health tragedy or crisis, or a death in the family; Lewis reminds us all of these threads are the actual wool that makes up the fabric of our life.

Professor Kosuke Koyama has a wonderful little book written years ago entitled, Three Mile an Hour God. He writes, “(When walking) in the wilderness, our speed is lowered until gradually we come to the speed on which we walk – three miles an hour.” In the person of Jesus, God slows down and matches our pace – God slows down to three miles per hour. He says, “Jesus came. He walked towards a ‘full stop.’ He lost his mobility. He was nailed down! He is not even moving at three miles an hour as we walk.  He is not moving. Full stop! What can be slower than a full stop—nailed down? At this point of ‘full stop’, the apostolic church proclaims that the love of God to men (sic) is ultimately and fully revealed. God walks ‘slowly’ because he is love…Love has its speed.”[3] Love has its own speed. I love that! And Love’s speed is three miles per hour and full stop. God, however, takes the time to stop in the crowd helps us redeem those interruptions, and weaves those threads together to become a blanket of healing and peace.

Beloved, the Good News is that God is in the thronging chaos with us and walks at our pace because love has its own speed. God loves us enough to come to a full top in the road and look us in the face if needed. The Lord stops and looks around for you and me to bring a word of healing and peace. There is power in an interruption and if we pay attention, we will even find God right there to support us. Amen.

© June 30, 2024, by Patrick H. Wrisley. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, NY, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[1] New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] C.S. Lewis, The Collected Works of C.S. Lewis. Accessed on 6/29/18 at https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/interruptions

[3] Kosuke Koyama, Three Mile an Hour God (London: SCM Press, 1979), 5, 7.

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Does It Ever Feel Like Jesus is Asleep at the Wheel? Mark 4:35-41

Posted on June 26, 2024 by patrick h wrisley
Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

A sermon delivered on June 23, 2024, by the Rev. Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.

Turn in your Bible to Mark’s gospel and we are going to be reading chapter 4, verses 35-41. While you’re finding the page, let me give some context. Jesus thus far has been healing the people, choosing the twelve disciples, gathering a large following, and already having confrontations with the religious establishment. The first part of chapter four, thus far, is a large section of teaching by Jesus through parables. The crowds were so large that Jesus had to get in a boat just offshore just to be heard by his growing audience. It’s at the end of this very long day when Jesus and a small armada of boats push off to travel to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. This is where we pick up in the Story. As you listen, see if you hear echoes of Psalm 107 we heard a few minutes ago. Listen to the Word of the Lord.

Mark 4.35-41

35On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”39He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” [i]

Have you ever felt that as a result of the events in your life that at times your life was careening out of control?  

You walk in one day and your boss lets you know your services are no longer needed in the company after 32 years.

You get a routine physical and discover certain levels within your body are all askew and more tests need to be taken.

You arrive home one afternoon to discover that your spouse has had a heart attack out back in the garden.

Your retirement funds have been absconded and lost in a Ponzi scheme.

You feel life is spinning out of control. You feel as though wave after wave of trouble and problems are breaking upon you one after the other like the waves across the disciples’ boat. Like the disciples, you look heavenward and desperately cry out, “Jesus, don’t you care that I’m dying down here! Don’t you see what’s going on here?” 

The Sea of Galilee is surrounded by mountainous regions that rise on its eastern, northern, and western sides. The hot air from the deserts comes up and over the hills and mixes with the colder air from the high mountainous regions of the north and nasty squalls come out of nowhere. We’ve seen these on Lake George or at beaches at the shore. One minute we are playing in the water on the lake and the next minute a thunderstorm develops, and lightning knocks a child unconscious. In the blink of an eye, worlds get turned upside down and inside out. And in that moment, we cry out to God, “Don’t you care about what’s going on down here?”

If you read the scriptures long enough, you begin to notice two realities in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. First, momma was right in that no good things happen at night.  For our ancient brothers and sisters, night was a time of shadows and unseen danger lurking and skulking about. Second, the waters of the sea or ocean are perceived as dangerous and chaotic; it is the place where evil lies waiting. And so our poor disciples already have two strikes against them! There they all were in the chaotic and unpredictable waters of the Sea of Galilee at night. Mark has painted a verbal picture setting up the first-century perfect storm!

Like a Greek chorus that shouts instructions to the actors on the stage, we want to yell, “Wait till morning Jesus! There is no rush to cross the sea at night! We have heard of the potential weather forecasts, and we are telling you to please wait ‘till morning!”  But Jesus is tired. He has had a full day, and he feels the need to be alone and quiet. He needs to get going. He needs rest and hops in the boat and off he goes.

Now at this point, I want us to notice where Jesus was on the boat. For those of you who were in the Navy, you need to know that not everyone understands nautical terms. “Yonder, Captain, is the great whale who is swimming aft to fore leeward to starboard.”  I don’t know why you just can’t say the whale is moving from the back to the front, first on the right and then on the left but then a sailor will correct you and say, “But sometimes the leeward side is on the right and sometimes on the left depending upon which way you’re headed!”

Huh?

I still like front and back, left, and right better than bow and stern, port, lee, starboard, amidships…oh bother. But for sailors, nautical terms are important. So, for those of you who are nautical types, what typically happens in the stern of the ship? This is not only where the rudder is located but it is also where the one steering, the helmsman, would be. So where is it we find Jesus in our Story this morning? We catch Jesus fast asleep at the wheel while the boat is sinking! The storm is brewing, and water is slamming into and over the sides! This story of Jesus on the water, with shades of the Jonah Story all along the edges, looks as though the boat is going down. Things are spinning out of control. All seems desperate and lost. During the watery chaos, the disciples collapse into a full-blown panic and start yelling at Jesus to wake up and do something!

And he does. In fact, he does that which only God can do: He exercises control over the perilous realms of nature. Just as God, whose Spirit hovered over Creation’s watery chaos and brought forth order and beauty, so Jesus wakes up and commands the watery chaos to be still; one scholar goes so far as to say Jesus is telling the chaos and storm to literally “Shut up!” [2]  And it does. And so too do the disciples.

Jesus’ command is to be still do two things that night. First, it calmed the storm and crashing waves. Second and more importantly, Jesus silenced the disciples amid their fear and helped them begin to realize how far they had to go in their faith development. Our Story has a vivid contrast between Jesus’ faith which brings him peace during a storm and the disciples’ fear. I don’t think Jesus was upset with the disciples per se when says to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” I believe Jesus’ tone was more like sad disappointment such as,  “Have you no faith in me yet?”

Jesus just showed the power that only God has – command over nature. As Episcopal priest, Mark Edington says, “Here is the conundrum: Jesus has godlike authority over the primordial chaos; he is king of the created order. Yet the immediate response to this demonstration of kingly power is not joy, not praise, not acclaim, but fear.”[3]  Unlike the sailors in Psalm 107 who gave thanks after the Lord delivered them safety after they cried out to God, Jesus’ disciples were filled with awe. The KJV translates verse 41 the best as it says the disciples were ‘exceedingly afraid.” There were no “thank yous” uttered by the Twelve.

Friends, fear is not necessarily a bad thing as it reminds us to pay attention. The key to meeting and handling our fear is that once it gets our attention, we then must decide how we are going to relate to that which is creating the fear. Do we relate with spiritual hopelessness and cowardice as the disciples did and complain to God, “Don’t you care we are perishing?” Or do we relate like Jesus with the confidence that indeed, he has the whole, wide world in his hands? Fear is not a bad thing; how we relate to it decides how it will affect us. Is it hopeless cowardice that God has abandoned us or is it faithful confidence that indeed nothing can separate us from the love of God — not job losses, not cancer, not knee or hip replacements, divorces, strokes, nor overdue taxes and bills! We may get the feeling Jesus is asleep at the wheel and life is spinning out of control, but the reality is he is situated in the stern of our life’s ship and has the wheel firmly in hand! Let us remind ourselves, shall we?

Back in the mid-1800s, our African American brothers and sisters in slavery would sing to each other heartfelt spirituals to encourage one another. Although the author of this particular spiritual is unknown, it’s a powerful reminder that when it feels like our life is getting swamped, we are to have hope. I want you to sing back to me the refrain of this old spiritual. It’s just three words that you’ll remember once you hear it and let these words be a reminder to us when we feel fear the boat will capsize!

He’s got the whole world in His hands . . .
He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands, He’s got the whole wide world in His hands.

He’s got the sun and the moon in His hands, He’s got the wind and the rain in His hands, He’s got the fishes in the sea in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands.

He’s got you and me, brother, in His hands,
He’s got you and me, sister, in His hands, He’s got the little bitty baby in His hands,
He’s got ev’rybody here in His hands,
He’s got the whole world in His hands.[4]

What are your fears sisters and brothers? Believe the Good News:  Jesus is not asleep at the wheel; indeed, he’s got the whole wide world in his hands! Sometimes my friends, we just need to be reminded of this when life gets a little swirly.

In the Name of the One Who Is, Was, and Is to Come. Amen.

© 2024 Patrick H. Wrisley. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, NY, 400 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved. See http://www.patrickhwrisley.com.

[i] New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[2] Joel Marcus, Mark I-VIII, from the Anchor Bible Commentary Volume 27 (New York: Doubleday, 2000), 339.

[3] Bartlett, David L. and Taylor, Barbara Brown (2011-05-31). Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3, Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) (Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) (Kindle Locations 5887-5889). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.

[4] See this interesting article on the history of this spiritual. Accessed on June 19, 2024 at https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/history-of-hymns-hes-got-the-whole-world-in-his-hands.

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I Believed, and So I Spoke, 2 Corinthians 4:13 – 5:1

Posted on June 17, 2024 by patrick h wrisley 
Article after article lists "Public Speaking" as one of the top 10 most common fears people have. And yet, when asked to deliver a message for church one Sunday for our Youth Sunday worship, a thirteen year-old upcoming high school freshman, Emily Fitzgerald, did not bat an eye and agreed to preach that Sunday. I sat next to Emily near the pulpit that morning but she was so relaxed and chill you would never know she had never done this before. This is Emily's messagee to her church family.

A Message Delivered by Emily Fitzgerald on Youth Sunday, June 9, 2024

Good morning!

Our second lesson comes from Second Corinthians, chapter 4 verse 13 through chapter 5 verse 1.

I’ll be reading from Eugene Peterson’s “The Message.” Pastor Wrisley has used this book’s translation a few times this spring and I liked the simplicity of the wording.

We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not hand-made—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again.

“I believed, and so I spoke.”

Today on Youth Sunday, I’d like to speak about my interpretation of the text and how church has helped me in my life…that of an ALMOST rising high school freshman.

It’s very easy, especially in middle school, to get wrapped up in the negatives and only focus on the bad parts of our lives. The stress that we often feel can be overwhelming; feeling like the world is collapsing from underneath us and we have no control of it. In the passage I just read from Second Corinthians, it says, “Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace”.  These words are so powerful because sometimes all we need is someone to remind us that not everything is hard.

Most days, it seems like the only thing on the news is horrible stuff that might keep me up at night. I remember during the height of COVID I would hear all about it on the news and get sad that I couldn’t see my friends.  But my mom helped me realize that it was ok to feel that way and that if I looked for the little parts of my day that bring me joy, I could hold onto those moments and think of them whenever I feel like things are not going my way. Even on a seemingly bad day, I’ve been taught to look for God’s grace even in small ways.

Grace is something that we all need in our lives. For me, I look for it when I might not flash my rock-climbing project. (This means achieving the rock-climbing route on the first try without anyone telling me how to do it or watching someone do it.)  Or more recently when I don’t get all the questions correct on a practice algebra Regents exam.

In these moments, my grace is realizing that it’s ok to fail because failure teaches me things I didn’t know, like maybe having to hold a climbing hold a different way or work on a specific topic in algebra that I’m not as good at. Telling myself it’s ok to make mistakes and not do things perfectly is so important to have good mental health and be successful. If we harp over every detail, everything else we need to do is not going to get done.

But grace doesn’t have to be just what you give yourself, other people can too. A teacher could give an extra day to finish a homework assignment – that’s grace. Or a friend or loved one can support us even when we make mistakes – that’s grace. And most importantly, God always gives us grace every day. We are reminded of this in church when we say the declaration of forgiveness. We are saying out loud God’s promise to always forgive us and give us grace when we need it most.

Church has always been a big part of my life. It’s been a great source of volunteer hours that helped me get into the National Junior Honor Society, but more than that, it has given me a place where I can be myself and feel a part of something. From being in Christmas pageants to mastering the art of acolyting, or face painting at Trunk or Treat, it gives me a place to feel like I belong.

And even now church supports me differently. Helping and volunteering is so fun, but above all, it is so rewarding and humbling. Since joining the Earth Care Committee a couple years ago, I’ve learned how to share my thoughts on how we could help the environment as a ministry. Over the past year or so, I realized that church has helped me grow as a person. I am more confident taking chances and doing public speaking like being a liturgist or speaking here today.

I find myself going out of my way to be kinder, humbler, and more appreciative of the things and opportunities I have. Like right now I’m so honored to have the opportunity to tell you how this church community – people like you in the congregation – helps kids like me grow and succeed.

Because of the church, I have found the person I want to be: I want to be a helpful Christian community member, reach my full academic potential, and most importantly I want to be a good role model. God teaches us to love our neighbor and to give grace. I want to share with others that being kind matters, that it’s up to you to decide who you want the world to see, and that if you have a supportive community you can reach your goals and aspirations no matter what they are.

Thank you so much for creating this graceful, loving environment that helps the greater Glens Falls community, including our youth group and people like me.

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The New Circle of Life, 2 Corinthians 5:6-17

Posted on June 17, 2024 by patrick h wrisley

A Sermon delivered on Sunday, June 16, 2024, by Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley.

Turn in your Bible to 2 Corinthians 5 and we are going to begin with verses 6 – 17. The books of First and Second Corinthians are undoubtedly written by Paul the Apostle; however, most folks think these two books are really two volumes of a series of collected letters to the church in Corinth. Corinth was a bustling seaport town. It was an eclectic place and a melting pot gathering people from all over the world at the time. The people, how shall we say, had a zest for life. It would have been a tough place to start a church for sure, but that’s exactly what Paul did. If churches were people, the church in Corinth was the problem child with its behavior. It is a church that turned the Lord’s Supper into a “love feast” in a carnal sense. The church was full of the cultural mores plaguing the secular world and had a very libertine air about it. Instead of becoming a pillar of contrast to the ways of the world, the Corinthian Church simply adopted worldly ways.

Humility was not a practiced virtue among the Corinthians Christians. Believe it or not, there were factions inside the church where a certain group saw itself as the “right way to be church” and then there were others who favored Paul’s leadership and teaching. The Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kettredge, President and Dean of the Seminary of the Southwest writes, “Scholars differ upon how specifically to characterize Paul’s critics. Paul’s self-defense suggests that perhaps he has been criticized for his physical distress, for his mystical experience or lack of it, or for his outward appearance.”[1] So let’s make sure we get this. Dr. Kettredge is suggesting people did not like Apostle Paul because his body was misshapen because of all the severe beatings he received proclaiming the gospel, or they did not think he was spiritual enough, or because Paul was not pleasant to look upon. These are all good reasons for disliking your pastoral leadership, right?  If anything, it gives us a glimpse into some of the church member’s character.

In the part of the letter we are reading today, Paul is making the argument he is more than qualified in his position as Apostle. Furthermore, Paul is redefining what we call “The Circle of Life.” My beloved, listen for the word of God!

2 Corinthians 5:6-17

6So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. 11Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.

12We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. 13For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.14For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore, all have died. 15And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

16From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new![2]

The circle of life. Old dinosaurs are now our gasoline. A fire that destroys the underbrush also causes the soil to generate nutrients that bring forth life and growth through new vegetation. Animals that die become the food that gives another animal life. People die and then are reabsorbed back into the earth and there you go. This is “the circle of life.”

I want to introduce to you an animal you may not have heard of before but really gets into this “circle of life” thing. A Civet is a bobcat-like creature that lives in parts of Africa and Indonesia. What is so special about a Civet? Well, the Civet is an animal that has a penchant for finding and eating only the choicest and most ripe coffee beans. It is quite fussy in its choice of beans it eats. The Civet devours the beans, and its digestive enzymes work on the beans as the beans ferment inside the Civet’s stomach. Over time, the Civet passes these beans, and farmers have learned to follow along behind them to collect and harvest them. They wash them off, roast them up, and the result is the most expensive coffee in the world called Kopi Luwak – a pound of which goes for $450 today.[3]  Talk about the circle of life for a coffee bean! I don’t even want to think about how they discovered this delicacy! My former church in Celebration purchased me a quarter pound of it one time and I will say, it has a nice nutty, buttery flavor! For those of you who would like to order some, I will footnote where you can get it when I post my sermon online!

The circle of life. Paul is trying to tell the Corinthians they need to totally upend their understanding of what God values in our world and how God works. Paul is reminding the Corinthians they are living and looking at life through an old pair of lenses that are cracked, broken, and out of focus.

The world and mindset of the Corinthians were all swagger and prestige. This is what the Empire taught and fostered. Paul is telling them God gives precedence and notices the meek and the broken.

The Corinthians gave value to pomp and circumstance and the need to prove their moral righteousness. Paul is telling them God does not strictly look at \what we do and how we behave; God looks deeper into a person’s heart and sees and values what others cannot and do not see.

The Corinthians valued Aristotelian logic and Platonic thinking. People live and people die, their bodies return to the earth and their disembodied souls fly off someplace. Paul’s gospel message about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection sounded crazy and illogical and this is just the point: In and through the Christ, God breaks all the old rules and changes the circle of life. In an ecstatic flourish of praise and wonder, Paul declares in verses 16 and 17 –

16From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!

As Jesus died and rose as the conquering Christ of God, he upended the spiritual and natural status quo and opened the door for a new life lived with different values and aspirations. When we hitch our wagon to Christ, we are letting go of our need for power and prestige, our sense of privilege and pride, and our desire to consume while leaving a mess for others to clean up. We become new people with new identities embracing new ways of living that will be contrary to the way others in the world live. We become people who no longer perceive enemies but view other people through the eyes of Christ as brothers and sisters.

Beloved, are you regarding God, life, and others in the world from your outdated human point of view or are you looking through the eyes of your new identity in Christ? Paul is saying, “Look, folks, there are two ways of looking at things. One is from a worldly perspective and the other is from a heavenly perspective. Each of you is a fresh, new, Spirit-filled heavenly creation in Christ – do the people you rub shoulders with every day see that?”

Do you remember growing up and being shown a picture that either looked like the head of a bunny rabbit or the head of a duck? Initially, you will see one or the other. But then something happens – you begin to see the other animal. If at first, you saw a duck, you now begin to see the head of a rabbit as well.[4] It is right at that point your brain cannot unsee both the rabbit and the duck. Whereas you could only see one before, now you cannot help but see both.

The world looks at you and me and they see an identity. Is it an identity reflecting the world’s ways of power, pride, consumption, waste, irreverence, prejudice, and vitriol? Or do people look at you and me and see identities that are countercultural and kick against the goads of worldly values? Do they see an identity of grace, humility, love, and service? The thing is, like the bunny and the duck, once people in the world can see both in us, they cannot unsee who we used to be before Christ and the new identity in Christ we claim to have.

This week, our basic homework is this: How do I in my life reflect I am a new creation in Christ? Does my outward life reflect this new inner identity in Christ? And friends, if we find there is a gap between our stated identity and what God and others see, that is the place for our spiritual growth to occur.

In the Name of the One who is, was, and is yet to come. So be it.

© 2024 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, NY 12801. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, New York, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Feasting on the Word: Year B, Volume 3: Pentecost and Season after Pentecost 1 (Propers 3-16) (Feasting on the Word: Year B volume) by David L. Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor. See https://a.co/4poyRVT.

[2] The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

[3] To order your pound, simply go to  https://www.omgcoffeecompany.com/product-page/kopi-luwak-coffee?utm_source=google&utm_medium=wix_google_feed&utm_campaign=freelistings&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIst-BwMDehgMVFFBHAR1tyAApEAQYAyABEgJhTPD_BwE.

[4] See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit–duck_illusion. Accessed on 6/15/24.

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The Answer is Always, “Yes!”, Psalm 88

Posted on June 5, 2024 by patrick h wrisley

A Service of Healing and Wholeness

A Message Delivered on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, by the Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley

It is always from a particular point of view. If we look at the title of our Psalm for the evening, we see it is a song written by the descendants of Korah who, as we learn in Numbers 16, is a man who led a rebellion of 250 Hebrews against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. Some of his descendants, namely, Asaph, Nathan, and the one mentioned in the title today, Heman, were known for their musical abilities and who penned some of the psalms in the psalter. Tonight’s Psalm, Psalm 88, is written from Heman’s perspective.[i]  We know this because in the psalm’s title, which never gets read in worship, we read that it’s, “A Song for the sons of Korah, to the chief musician upon Mahalath Leannoth, Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.”

As we hear this psalm, you will note the tone and perspective is from a person who is feeling victimized by God. Indeed, Heman is railing against God for God’s utter silence in the face of his multitude of troubles. The tone is not unlike what I often hear from folks who are going through physical or emotional struggles or whose life feels like the wheels have simply fallen off. The complaint goes something like this –

God, I’m a decent person. I don’t hurt people or intentionally do anything wrong. I don’t steal or lie or bully others. I know I’m not perfect but really, why are you doing this to me?

It’s at this point they input their problem or troubles into the prayer.

People over time have not changed much. Both the ancients and people today often hold to the notion that when bad things happen to “me” it is a result of my doing something wrong or a failure to do something right and God is causing the calamity. God is often painted as the scapegoat for our problems. Hear the words of Heman in Psalm 88. Listen and see if you resonate with his prayer.

Psalm 88

1O Lord, God of my salvation, when, at night, I cry out in your presence,

2let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry.

3For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.

4I am counted among those who go down to the Pit; I am like those who have no help,

5like those forsaken among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.

6You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep.

7Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves.   Selah

8You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a thing of horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

9my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call on you, O Lord; I spread out my hands to you.

10Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades rise up to praise you? Selah

11Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

12Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

13But I, O Lord, cry out to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.

14O Lord, why do you cast me off? Why do you hide your face from me?

15Wretched and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.

16Your wrath has swept over me; your dread assaults destroy me.

17They surround me like a flood all day long; from all sides they close in on me.

18You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me; my companions are in darkness. (NRSV)

Heman is writing from a very ancient mindset that when bad things happen, it’s a form of divine punishment. It is written from the perspective of not knowing the full story. In a flourish of rhetorical zingers, Heman peppers God with a series of questions:

Do you work wonders for the dead? The implied answer is an emphatic, “No!”

Do the departed rise up to praise you? No.

Is your steadfast love declared in the grave or your faithfulness in Abaddon? No.

Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? No.

At least, that’s the mindset of Heman and many others. But beloved, as followers of the Nazarene, we hold a distinct perspective that Heman was not aware of and many folks today seem to have forgotten. We are an Easter people. We would say to Heman like Paul Harvey, “Now, here’s the rest of the Story.”

Do you work wonders for the dead? Yup

Do the departed rise up to praise you? Well, yes, actually.

Is your steadfast love declared in the grave or your faithfulness in Abaddon? Yes.

Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? Absolutely!

Friends, this is when our Christian faith reminds us of Jesus’ words from the gospels that God so loved the world he gave up his only Son so that the world would be saved, literally healed, through him. The answer, friends, is always, “Yes!”

Jesus’ primary work was preaching, teaching, and healing. He spent his life bringing healing to people’s bodies, minds, and spirits. He spent his life trying to reconcile people to one another and to reconcile people to God.

If Heman were with us today, what might we tell him?

Brother, God hears you and has already done what is needed to answer your prayer. God does hear your prayer, but your life is such a screeching train wreck you can’t hear the answer just now. We would tell him to continue in his faithfulness even when he can’t see the fruit of it because God is not only listening but is with him through the Holy Spirit.

Friends, have the answer to your prayers seemed silent? Do you wonder where God is during the storms? Are there those times in your living you feel you are existing in the Land of Forgetfulness? Take heart. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus felt his Father was silent. As he was being paraded around the Chief Priests and Pilate, he felt the storms of our lives. As he uttered his last breath, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” he too entered the Land of Forgetfulness. Remember, there is no place we have been or gone or shall go that Jesus has not gone there first.

In the name of the One who is, was, and is yet to come. Amen.

© 2024 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, NY 12801. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church of Glens Falls, New York, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[i] See https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/the-other-psalmists-who-were-the-sons-of-korah.html. Accessed on June 4, 2024.

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