What’s in Your Wallet?, Matthew 22:15-22

Posted on October 23, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

A sermon deliverd by Rev. Patrick H Wrisley, D.Min. on October 22, 2023

This morning, we are going to look at the notion of precedence and what matters most. As we approach our text this morning, it’s helpful to realize where we are in Matthew’s story time. Whenever we’re reading a story and the author suddenly expands the scene we are reading, it’s her invitation for us to slow down and pay attention to the details. This is what Matthew is doing in our text today. Matthew takes two and a half chapters of his gospel to describe for us a singular scene that takes place in the Jerusalem Temple. What as readers are we supposed to be seeing? Well, beginning at Matthew 21:23 and running through the end of chapter 23, we find Jesus confronting hostile civic and religious authorities while an awed crowd sits back and watches all the drama unfold. The people came to the Temple and feast as they always did; who would have expected or imagined something exciting would happen “at church”?

The religious and civic leaders at the time, having been ensconced in power for a long, long time are now feeling threatened by the words, deeds, and wisdom of this upstart country boy from Nazareth. Jesus in his humble but direct way is outlining what is about to unfold in Jerusalem. He is laying the groundwork for reclaiming the Temple for God’s work that will be completed with his upcoming resurrection.

Our Story has four main characters. There is Jesus. There are the Pharisees, or as Dale Bruner from Whitworth University calls them, “the religiously serious.”[1] Then there is this group of folks known as the Herodians who comprised a group of Jewish political leaders who put up with and supported their Roman overlords. And the final characters are the myriads of people in the crowds – people like you and me watching and soaking all this up. We are like a Greek chorus sitting in the balcony wanting to shout directions to the players on the stage. We want to yell, “Watch out, Jesus! This is a trap!” You see, the Pharisees want to charge Jesus for religious sedition and blasphemy.  The Herodians want Jesus arrested for political treason because he posed a threat to Caesar and Rome. Listen to the Word of the Lord!

Matthew 22:15-22

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21 They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away. [2]

In a perfect example of damning someone with faint praise, the Pharisees begin their conversation with Jesus by appealing to his ego. In their mind, they are softening him up so he will get caught off-guard with a seemingly simple but ever-so-loaded question. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” Well, it kind of depends on who you were.

The Pharisees only saw one answer: No. This is because the Jews are a sovereign people, and their god is not Caesar but is the God Almighty. 

The Herodians only saw one answer: Yes, it was lawful to pay taxes to the Roman government because they were the occupying force at the time that was bringing “justice and safety” to Palestine.

Both of these groups knew full well that whatever Jesus said would upset one of the two groups. It would be like having Jesus stand before us today and ask him, “So, Jesus, do you agree with Donald Trump that Joe Biden stole the election?” Whatever Jesus says from the pulpit will deeply upset one side or the other. The reality is in our story, both sides wanted to lock him up.

The highly educated religious scholars and the smooth and slick political operatives underestimate this woodworker from a backwater peasant town. Jesus’ answer is brilliant and slams both sides knocking them back on their heels.  With a wink in his eye, he baits them, “Show me the coin you will use for the tax.”  They quickly produce a coin that has a picture of the emperor on one side and on the other side it is inscribed with something to the effect, “The Supreme Holy Divine Caesar.”

Zoom out and look down at this incredible scene! We can imagine Jesus looking over the top of his glasses at the ultra-pious, self-righteous religious leaders who keep reminding Jesus that there is no God but the true God of the Jews; Jesus, meanwhile, is smiling pointing at the picture of Caesar, a Roman god, on the coin the Pharisees are carrying in their pocket!  The implication Jesus is making is, “Why would righteous Jewish religious leaders like yourselves be carrying around these miniature idols that declare Caesar is god?”  Jesus reveals their hypocrisy at this point. In essence, he tells them, “Listen, don’t be all high and mighty about worshipping God when you are acknowledging the cultural Roman god Caesar by using a currency that declares Caesar’s divinity.” I imagine their faces looked like a child whose hands had been caught in the cookie jar!

Jesus’ genius does not end there! He goes on to say, “Give back to the emperor what is the emperor’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” The Herodians like his answer because Jesus is acknowledging the role of the Roman state. Protestant Reformers like John Calvin and Martin Luther would look at this text as an example of how we cannot confuse the state, the system, and the culture’s way with the way of God and the Kingdom of heaven. Yes, we are to live under the laws we have been given but when those laws and systems conflict with God’s ways, God’s decrees, and God’s just system, we have but one choice and that’s we must side with God. Jesus is declaring the State and surrounding culture have definite boundaries that can, and at times will definitely, encroach upon the boundaries of the Kingdom of Grace. What do we do about it?  Jesus’ encounter with the Pharisees and the Herodians is a reminder to all of us to make sure the realm of God takes precedence over all our political, financial, and social matters.

So, Church, does it? 

Years ago, Methodist actress Jennifer Garner made popular the credit card commercial jingle, “What’s in your wallet?”  In essence, this is exactly what Jesus is asking the Pharisees, the Herodians, and by the way, you and me.  “What’s in your wallet?” In other words, Jesus is demanding of us, “Show me where your ultimate loyalty lies.”  

Beloved, the object of our loyalty shapes and determines how we live and in what we invest ourselves. This is the essence of what Jesus is trying to teach us. The Pharisees and the Herodians all said the right things, they publicly did the right things, but their loyalty and money were devoted to and invested in their own sense of power, rank, prestige, and privilege. So, Jesus is calling them out on it.

So, Church, what’s in your wallet?  What is the object of your loyalty my friends? As a church, as fellow pilgrims, and disciples of the Way, it is vital for God to know where we place our ultimate loyalty and where we invest the best of our time, energy, and money.

I recently mentioned to the Session that each one of us is the first impression of Jesus Christ people see and engage with each and every day. What type of Jesus do they see? Another way to think about it is like this: Church, we each are all puzzle pieces that come together to form the identity of Jesus in our community. But do you know what? There’s nothing sadder than to see a beautiful puzzle all completed except for one little piece that’s missing. Jesus is saying he wants your life, your heart, to complete the picture of Christ in Warren County and beyond. The puzzle, the picture is incomplete without your piece. Your piece, no matter how large or small it is, is needed to make the portrait complete. Beloved, your personal loyalty to God speaks to the larger loyalty of your church, this church!

I want to close today by leaving you with a question that may seem to be a non sequitur but it’s not. The question is this:  Why is it so easy without giving it any thought to drop down twenty dollars for a mediocre hamburger for lunch on Glen Street but find it so difficult, so painful to drop a dollar in the offering plate for the work of God in the church?  

What’s in your wallet? What do the receipts we have tucked in there say about where our ultimate loyalty lies? Do they indicate God take precedence over everything in your life? Is your piece missing from the puzzle?

Let’s pray.

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, Glens Falls, New York and may not be altered, re-purposed, published or preached without permission.   All rights reserved.

[1] Dale Bruner from Whitworth University calls the Pharisees the “religiously Serious.”

[2] 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.

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You Cannot Fill a Full Bucket, Philippians 2:1-13

Posted on October 2, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

A sermon delivered on October 1, 2023, by the Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley

This morning we celebrate World Communion Sunday whereby churches of all ilks and denominations celebrate the power of the unifying work of Jesus Christ. It began in 1933 by Presbyterian Pastor Dr. Hugh Thomson Kerr of the Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. It serves to remind us that all Christian churches are interrelated and connected to one another. In essence, we are stronger when we work together.[1] There is no better way for us to remember this that than we remember that on the night Jesus was betrayed, he took bread, broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you, take and eat! Similarly, he took the cup and told his followers, “This is the cup of the new covenant sealed in my blood. Drink this, in remembrance of me.”

World Communion reminds us that all of us are bound with Jesus in his life and all of us are bound with him in his death. The Gospel news of World Communion Sunday reminds us that all of us are united with him in his resurrection as well   Our scripture lesson this morning from Paul’s letter to the Philippian church is a perfect text for our commemorating World Communion Sunday.  Open your Bible or the Pew Bible to Philippians 2 as we will read verses 1 through 13.

Our reading this morning hits all the high notes for what Paul was trying to tell them in this letter. He reminds them that as Church, they are to make Paul’s sense of joy and accomplishment complete by becoming like-minded in all they do in ministry. They were to cease from grumbling and having parking lot, cigarette-stomping conversations after church and instead look out for each other by eagerly exhibiting expressions of out-gracing other church members by following the example that Jesus gave.  

Listen to that again: It’s a love letter from a pastor to his beloved congregation that they are to eagerly exhibit expressions of out-gracing their fellow church members.

Eagerly exhibit expressions of out-gracing each other. In other words, they are to imitate Jesus. Listen to the Word of God.

Philippians 2:1-13

2.1If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.[2]

Paul enjoins the Church to work out their salvation with fear and trembling and then describes to them how to do that. First, the members of the community are to agree with one another for the purpose of unified ministry. Second, the only ambition any member of the church should have is to insist that others take their preferred place in line. Third, each member of the church is to place the needs and interests of other church members above their own needs, interests, desires, and ambitions. We do this, Church, by becoming like Jesus.

Paul encourages the Church to do this by quoting what is thought to be one of the oldest Christian hymns ever written in verses 6-11. Known as the Christ-hymn, Paul quotes a hymn the early church had already been singing for some time and whose words hold the secret of what it means to be like Jesus.

We may rush to say that to be like Jesus means we must love others and though that is very true, there is a prerequisite for being able to love like Jesus loved. Like Jesus, we must empty ourselves.

The King James Version translates verse 7 as, “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and made in the likeness of men.” The NRSV translates that as “emptied himself.” The KJV sounds like a line from a country song, “Jesus made himself of no reputation!” I kind of like that! A person has to go out of his or her own way to publicly demonstrate they are ruining their own reputation! Just look at what is going on in Washington, D.C. this past week, for example. What that means for Jesus is that he was not riding the coattails of his being the Son of God. Nope. Jesus emptied himself. He became an ordinary ragamuffin, as Brennan Manning would say; he became a nobody like you and me.

Beloved, to be able to love others as Jesus loves means we have to empty ourselves. We have to get out of the way. We have to identify all that is within us that makes us proud and feel better than others. We must shine light upon all our prejudices and biases. We must fight and clamor to get to the back of the line. It means, like the late Trappist monk, contemplative, and writer Thomas Merton says, to address our false self and put it to death. He believed that each of us constructs and is shadowed by an illusory person that does not really reflect who we really are on the inside, and which prevents us from fully knowing God in the deep places in our hearts.

Our false self is constructed initially to keep us protected from the harms of the big wide world as we grew up but as our knowledge of how to relate with the world matured, we still cling to the false self we relied on as children. In other words, we may have learned as a child that to get ahead in life requires us to be aggressive and fight for everything. It may have meant suffering from abuse or some other trauma that created a false self that is shrouded in fear, suspicion, or anger.  Each of us created this false self as children for protection but as we grew up as adults, we still clung to those childish ways of looking, relating, and behaving[3].

Beloved, what is your false self composed of? What do you and I need to empty ourselves of in order to love God as God loved us in Jesus’ life and death? What are those things in our life and soul prohibiting us from humbling ourselves, from making other people’s ambitions greater than our own, and from looking out for other people’s interests instead of our own?

If we are honest, we cannot kill our false self without help. We cannot humble ourselves without help. We cannot empty ourselves without help. It’s because we need this help that our Lord emptied himself, was broken, shed, and given. This Lord’s Supper is the penultimate expression of our Lord’s self-emptying for us and all Creation. And it’s through this bread and through this cup, we are strengthened to address our own false self and empty ourselves. Church let’s be like Jesus. Church, empty the buckets of your souls of all that keeps you separated from God and one another. Empty the buckets of your souls in order to be filled with the Living Water of Christ.

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

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 8 West Notre Dame Street, 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] Please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Communion_Sunday.

[2] 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.

[3] Merton says it this way: All sin starts from the assumption that my false self, the self that exists only in my egocentric desires, is the fundamental reality of life to which everything else in the universe is ordered. Thus, I use up my life in the desire for pleasures and the thirst for experiences, for power, honor, knowledge, and love, to clothe this false self and construct its nothingness into something objectively real. And I wind experiences around myself and cover myself with pleasures and glory like bandages in order to make myself perceptible to myself and to the world, as if I were an invisible body that could only become visible when something visible covered its surface. Thomas Merton, The New Man (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Cudahy, 1961), 117-118,

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The Difference Between Tradition and Nostalgia, Exodus 16:2-15

Posted on September 25, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

            This morning, we are going to hear a Story whose gist is something all of us can relate to at some level. It’s a Story about longing for that which we don’t have but have this mindset that if we did have it, our lives would be so much better.

            Today we are going back to Egypt and resuming the Story we looked at last week. At this point, Jacob has died as well as Joseph and all of his brothers. It’s an entirely new generation of Hebrews and it’s also a time when the Pharaoh who was so amenable to Joseph and his descendants is also dead. A new Pharaoh is in charge and is making life miserable for the people of God. God has appointed Moses to lead the people out of Egypt and today we are picking up on their journey in Exodus 16.2-15. Open your Bibles to the text and let’s join the Story.

Exodus 16:2-15

2 The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

Let’s pause a moment right here. Hear that whining line one more time: If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in Egypt when we sat by the pots of meat and ate our fill of bread. Memory and time combined with a little stress have a way of tempering things, don’t they? The Story of Exodus in chapter one immediately begins by outlining the plight the Hebrews were facing. This new Pharaoh set taskmasters over them and put them into forced labor. We read in Exodus 1 how the Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites and made their lives bitter with hard service. It seems the Israelites have forgotten some things. They were longing for a time that never really existed.  “Oh, we had it so much better back in the good old days when we were getting beaten by Pharaoh’s taskmasters! Back to the scripture:

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way, I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not. 5 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather on other days.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “In the evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 7 and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaining against the Lord. For what are we, that you complain against us?” 8 And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning, because the Lord has heard the complaining that you utter against him—what are we? Your complaining is not against us but against the Lord.”

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites: ‘Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.’” 10 And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked toward the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

13 In the evening quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.[1]

            God provided the people with what they needed; they may have pined for the fleshpots, but they got manna and quail instead. The Hebrews were instructed to take as much as they needed for each day but no more. Our Story this morning is such a wonderful Story of God’s provision and Providential care in spite of the grumbling congregation. But that’s not what we are going to primarily focus on today. I want us to linger with the human tendency to nostalgically long for “the good old days” when times get difficult or stressed.

            People have this tendency to make things better off than they used to be based on a cognitive need we have to find and feel safe when life around us is swirly and chaotic. It’s called rosy retrospection when we view the past more favorably than the future. For Americans today locked in our national congressional, executive, and judicial dysfunction, we fondly remember a Rockwellian time when his pictures showed scenes of dad sitting in a chair, smoking a pipe while reading the newspaper while the kids are quietly playing with toys on the floor next to the sleeping dog as snow is gently falling outside and mom peeks out of the kitchen saying, “Dinners ready!” Those were the days, right? Sadly, those days are rosy retrospective fantasies locked in our national sense of nostalgia because those were the days of two World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam wars, The Cold War, segregation, lynchings, and women fighting for their rights to vote.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/35/6f/4c/356f4cac38f1147019a481e7030e0f0e.jpg

            Over the years in ministry, I have heard the pining for the fleshpots of Egypt in the Church, too! I call it Fleshpotting. Fleshpotting in a church sounds like this:

            I remember when our youth choir had 75 kids in it!

            In my old church, we would do this differently.

            I remember when we had a huge staff and budget.

            We have never done this that way before.

            It’s always been like this so there’s no reason to change it now.

            What nostalgic, Fleshpotting comments would you add to the list?

            One that I often heard that sparked worship wars in the church was this whole argument about traditional worship versus contemporary worship.  One was perceived as good, pure, divine, and true and the other was perceived as loud, not holy, or worshipful, and just flat-out bad. My personal opinion is that the church has had the argument all wrong. It’s not about traditional versus contemporary worship; rather it’s about traditional versus nostalgic worship. The church, like the Hebrews, is too often locked in nostalgia pining for the wrong things. The word contemporary describing worship is a misnomer. For example, First Presbyterian Glens Falls has a contemporary service; we are all in it right this moment! As an adjective, contemporary describes that which is of the present and so for us, our classical worship format is our contemporary, present-moment mode of worshipping. This is why I refer to the dynamic tension as traditional worship versus nostalgic worship.

            Singing is a tradition in worship that began with our Jewish ancestry.

            Dancing has been a tradition in worship since the time of David when he brought the ark back to Jerusalem.

            Instruments in worship are a tradition. For the Jews and early Christians, they used stringed instruments, drums, horns, rattles, singing, chanting, and organs! Well, maybe not the organs.

            Speaking, prophesying, or preaching is a tradition.

            Reading sacred literature is a tradition as is the offering of prayers.

            Religious leaders wearing certain garments is a tradition.

            Sacred rituals like sacraments are traditions. But…

            The color of the preacher’s robe or choir member’s robe is nostalgic.

            Which hymn book is used is nostalgic.

            How we take communion whether getting served in the seats, having to come forward, or receiving it by intinction is nostalgic.

            Sitting in pews or chairs is a nostalgic issue.

            Stained glass or screens in a sanctuary are nostalgic because stained glass was the screen that told the Story of the gospel before there was technology.

            Wine or grape juice – nostalgic.

            King James, NIV, RSV versions of the Bible – nostalgic.

            J.S. Bach or Allison Kraus – nostalgic.

            Beloved, nostalgia deals with our perceptions of what makes us feel comfortable and warm. Tradition is that which focuses on glorifying God in the most precious way possible. Lest we forget, let’s remind ourselves who worship is for to begin with.

            Is worship for you or me? Nope. Worship is for God alone. Worship is for an audience of One. The primary point of worship is not for you to come and get fed at God’s glorious smorgasbord where you leave all fat and happy feeling good about yourself; the primary point of worship is to make Jesus feel all fat and happy and loved and adored at the end of the hour. If you and I are “fed” it is only because we have worshipped well. It’s because we got out of the way and cultivated the environment for the Holy Spirit to thrive and teach us.

            Friends, my official title is pastor for congregational renewal. It’s what I do and have fun doing it. I am an unabashed evangelist who loves to talk about Jesus in ways people can hear and relate to in their life. I am a teaching elder who is passionate about our rich Reformed tradition but really care less about nostalgia. Jesus cannot tolerate American churches whose members grouse amongst each other about the way things used to be because right now there is a world outside those doors that desperately needs him and his life-giving Spirit. 

For the record, God gets pretty annoyed with the Hebrews constantly grumbling during the Exodus because when a person grumbles, it is because they are focused on what they didn’t get. When we grumble about what we didn’t get or what we don’t like, our attention is focused on ourselves, and God is ignored.  And this my friends, is why we focus on tradition and not nostalgia. Tradition becomes the guardrails that keep our attention on the blessed Triune God.

            In the name of the one who is, was, and will ever be. Amen.

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 400 Glen Street, 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] New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE). New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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They Put the “FUN” in Dysfunction! Genesis 50:15-21

Posted on September 18, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

A sermon preached by the Rev. Patrick H Wtisley, D.Min. on September 17, 2023.

Hear the main point of today’s message: God thrives in the messes we create for ourselves. God thrives in the messes we create for ourselves. Let’s look at how that is presented biblically.

One of the most owned but least read books in existence is the Bible; it’s on many nightstands or bookshelves but too often simply remains there. We have forgotten that an unread Bible on a shelf is nothing more than a book. It becomes holy scripture when and only when a person asks the Spirit for guidance as they open the pages and begin to engage with the words on the page. It has always fascinated me as a pastor with over three decades of ministry under my belt because the Bible is full of such “whopping good tales!” as my old Hebrew professor, David Gunn, would say. When people tell me that the Old Testament does not relate to them, I have to stifle a chuckle. Today’s reading is a good example of this.

Our Hebrew text actually begins back in chapter 37. 2 where we read, “This is the story of the family of Jacob” and it’s a story that spans the next 13 chapters of the book of Genesis. It describes a family system that models all families, really. Jacob’s family, frankly, puts the “fun” in the word dysfunction. Beginning with daddy Jacob himself who we have already learned has had a deceptive love/hate relationship with his own brother, Esau, and whose parents Isaac and Rebekah played their own sons off one another, the story of Jacob’s family simply perpetuates the family messiness onto a new generation.

Jacob has twelve sons of varying ages. Typically, the oldest son gets their daddy’s blessing and lion’s share of the inheritance, but Jacob has tossed that out the window and plays favorites. Genesis 37.3 tells us, “Now Israel, i.e., Jacob, loved Joseph more than all his other children.” Apparently, it was common knowledge in the family as we are told his brothers, “Hated him and could not speak peaceably to him” (vs. 4). Jacob even made Joseph an extravagant and flowing robe for him which was just a visible reminder of how much more loved he was by daddy. For today’s scripture text to make any sense, it’s vital we know the gist of this Story.

Daddy has the brothers out taking care of the livestock and we quickly learn that Joseph is a tattletale on a few of the brothers who were slacking off on their job (vs 37.2). I’m sure that went over well with his siblings. It was at this point that Joseph had a few dreams that indicated that in the future, all eleven of his brothers, even his mom and dad, would bow down in obeisance to him. This went over really well to the point Daddy Jacob chided him.  Over time, the 11 brothers are out tending the livestock and Jacob sends Joseph out on a mission to go check on his brothers and see how things are going.

Murillo, Bartolome Esteban; Joseph and His Brethren; The Wallace Collection; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/joseph-and-his-brethren-209489

The brothers see him coming in the distance and say to one another, “Here come that dreamer…let’s kill him and say some wild animal ate him.”  The eldest brother, Reuben, talked them down off that cliff and convinced them to simply rough him up a bit and sell him as a slave, which they did. They stripped him of his robe, threw him in a large pit, dipped his robe in animal blood to show Daddy Jacob what had happened, and sold Joseph to some foreigners who later sold him to some Egyptians.

Pharaoh’s captain of the guard bought Joseph for himself and was immediately impressed with the young man’s wisdom. The captain’s wife was impressed with what a good-looking, strapping young man he was and tried to seduce him several times, but Joseph stood his principles and said, “No!”  Frustrated, she lies and says Joseph attempted to be inappropriate with her by making unwanted advances and has Joseph thrown into prison.

There is a refrain throughout the Story where we read, “The Lord was with Joseph” (vss. 39.2, 21), and Joseph being Joseph, impressed the warden of the prison who essentially turns over the prison to Joseph to run and oversee.  Some thirteen years go by, and Joseph now 30, gets summoned to Pharaoh to interpret some of Pharaoh’s strange dreams. Joseph tells Pharaoh his dreams mean there will be seven years of agricultural abundance which will be followed by seven years of famine and drought. Pharaoh was impressed and put Joseph in charge yet again, and we read only Pharaoh was more powerful than Joseph. Joseph stores up grain for seven years and when the drought comes, we hear how the entire world in the Mediterranean basin came to Egypt to purchase food.

Now, let’s get back to Daddy Jacob and those amoral brothers. Verse 42.2 has Jacob telling his treacherous boys, “I hear there’s grain in Egypt. Why do you keep staring at one another – get down there and get some provisions!” They do. When they arrive, they don’t recognize their baby brother; the baby brother, however, recognizes his brothers and is bilingual now as well. Joseph speaks Egyptian and Hebrew and knows all too well what the brothers are up to. For the next several chapters Joseph manipulates his brothers by holding one of them hostage while they go home and tell Daddy Jacob all that’s going on. Joseph later learns how hard all of this has been on his daddy, tricks his brother one more time by hiding money and a silver cup among their supplies, and has them arrested and brought into the palace. He watches all his brothers groveling about and pleading for mercy that there is a big misunderstanding and it’s at this point, Joseph loses it. He has a breakdown and comes clean with his brothers about who he is. “I am Joseph. Is daddy still alive?” The brothers had nothing. They were speechless. He reassures them, “Don’t be angry with yourselves…God sent me here before you to preserve you. God sent me before to preserve you a remnant on earth and to keep you alive…so it was not you who sent me here, God sent me before you” (45.4-12).

In an incredible act of grace and forgiveness, Joseph forgives them and has them go and bring their father and their families back to Egypt for their survival. This brings us to our text for the morning in Genesis 50.15-21. Hear the Word of God:

Genesis 50:15-21

15Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?” 16So they approached Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this instruction before he died, 17‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.’ Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18Then his brothers also wept, fell down before him, and said, “We are here as your slaves.”19But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?20Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today. 21So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

Even after all Joseph has done, even after all those years the families lived in Egypt together, his brothers still didn’t trust him. The make up a lie to say, “Daddy gave us this instruction that you are to forgive us.” Lawd. Really? And once again, Joseph assures them it’s all okay. He reminds them, “Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do me harm, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people.” Scholar John Wright comments, “The eleven sons of Israel lie in their apology to Joseph. In fear for their well-being, they create a fictitious account of their father’s petition to Joseph. They manipulate Joseph so that he might not retaliate against his earlier mistreatment.[1]

I began this message with the comment that God thrives in the messes we create for ourselves. Our Story this morning bears that out. Joseph’s brothers intended to harm him stemming from their jealousy. Yet, we learn through the entire Jacob family narrative that “The Lord was with Joseph.” God never left Joseph’s side and was in the thick of the mess his other brothers were stirring up.  The word “intended” in Hebrew has several nuances to it. On one hand, it can mean “planned” to do Joseph harm. Yet, the same Hebrew word can be interpreted as “imputed” or “reckoned” so that God took what the brothers planned but transformed it into something positive.[2]

Beloved, reflect upon the messes in your own life. Perhaps they were caused because of poor decisions you have made in the past. Perhaps like me, you come from a family who puts the ‘fun’ in dysfunction and suffer trauma from abuse, neglect, or rage. Maybe you’ve lived a healthy life only to find out you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, and you look heavenward and say, “Really, God? What’s up with this?” Whatever mess you have been in, are in, or will ever be in pales with what God is doing in and through that mess.  God is in the midst of redeeming that mess and turning it into good just like the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8.28 that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose…if God is for us, who is against us? Who will separate us from the love and forgiveness of Christ? Shall hardship, distress, persecution, famine, poverty, cancer diagnosis, dysfunctional family systems, a rotten boss, or violence? No! Nothing can thwart the redemption of all these things! God is working in our messes helping us to make sense of the nonsense. Isn’t that what Good Friday and Easter are about? God works in the midst of our brokenness to bring about new life. Easter gives us new eyes to see the subtle movements of God’s loving Providence and care.

Poet/author/professor Patricia Schneider wrote a book about this entitled, How the Light Gets In. Writing as Spiritual Practice. In a poem called, Ending, she writes, “Beginning is a gift that comes unbidden, but ending can be crafted as an art.”[3]

Beloved, through Christ, we’ve been given new eyes to see God working in the messes of our lives. Let’s ask the Lord to help us craft those messes into art, into something that is beautiful and useful. In the Name of the One Who is, was, and ever shall be. Amen.  Pray with me…

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 400 Glen Street, Glens Fall, NY 12801. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, Glens Falls, NY, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Connections: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship: Year A, Volume 3, Season After Pentecost by Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, et al. See https://a.co/2mDu6Xn.

[2] See Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 4: Season after Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-Reign of Christ) (Feasting on the Word: Year A volume) by David L. Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor. https://a.co/6eETDm

[3] Patricia Schneider, How the light gets in. Writing as spiritual practice (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 200.

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Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is? Romans 13:8-14

Posted on September 11, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

A sermon delivered by Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min. on Sunday, September 10, 2023.

This morning, I want to see if you can finish this sentence from an old, well-known tune from the band Chicago.

As I was walking down the street one day

A man came up to me and asked me

What the time was that was on my watch,  

And I said…

Does anybody really know what time it is?

(Care about time) does anybody really care?

Both of our texts this morning are blinking large letters on broadside billboards that read, “YES!” Time is vital. Time is precious and not to be wasted. The time is now!

Our reading from Exodus 12 with its description of the first Passover describes how the Hebrew people are to eat their dinner their final night in Egypt. The Lord tells Moses and Aaron to share with the people that, “You shall eat it fully dressed and ready for a road trip with your car packed, your napkin tucked into your collar so as not to spill on your shirt, your shoes are on, your car keys are in one hand and you’re scarfing down dinner with the other. You’re to eat it hurriedly as though an unwanted guest was about to knock on your door!”[1]

The Apostle Paul is focused on time as well. Turn in your Bible to Romans 13:8-14. His words express a sense of urgency that in light of what God in Christ has done for us, we are to shed the past and focus on the present and fast-approaching future. He talks about how we are to get dressed for this present and impending time. Paul reminds us how we are to invest in the time we have. Hear the Word of the Lord.

8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

11Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; 12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; 13 Let us live honorably as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.[2]

As we wade into our texts this morning, we are provided the essential reminder of how we are to live our lives in this crazy world of conspiracy theories, self-indulgence, and devastating earthquakes. Sadly, this one thing is often lacking in our churches as well as in the halls of Congress or State houses.

https://images.app.goo.gl/nbAPbJgaZMbiBxr59

You and I have one job to do and that’s it; yet, more often than not, we fail miserably at it. It’s like looking at a picture of a Department of Transportation worker painting new lines on fresh asphalt. The driver drops his cigarette on the opposite floorboard and bends over to grab it. As he does so, his left hand turns the steering and the line skews hard left for several feet before he steers it back to the center of the road.  We can hear the supervisor telling the line-painter: You had one job, and you blew it! All you were to do was paint a straight line! This is what Paul is reminding us. It’s what Jesus tried to bring home with the disciples.

What’s the one job we are asked to fulfill? Love. Love God and love each other. Pretty basic. Pretty simple. Jesus collapses the 613 Jewish laws that are prescribed in the Old Testament and boils them down to two: Love God. Love neighbor.[3] Pretty basic. Pretty simple. Or is it?

We might think to ourselves, “Well, I’m no axe murderer, am I? I’m not cheating on my partner! God has blessed me richly, so I don’t need to steal anything from anyone!” It’s relatively easy for us to say we don’t cheat, kill, or steal but can we really say it’s easy to love? I think not, at least not in the sense Jesus outlined and Paul reinforces in today’s text.

It’s easy not to go kill someone. It’s much harder to demonstrate love towards a person you believe has hurt or wronged you even if they are a fellow church member. It’s easy not to steal something but it’s harder to love that person who committed a home invasion and stole your grandmother’s antique gold watch. It’s easy to not cheat on your spouse but it’s harder to love the partner who has cheated on you and has trashed your trust through a tryst. Love is flat-out difficult!

Remember beloved, the love Paul and Jesus are talking about is not wrapped up in sentimentality; it’s not some gushy, sweet emotion about how we feel towards each other. Biblical love, agape, is a sticky and at times prickly love because it’s an active verb that demonstrates an act of our will. Love is inconvenient. Lord is hard. Love costs us something. Love sacrifices something. Love is purposeful. It’s volitional and at times may not even be very enjoyable. Love is often hard but yet, it’s the bar that we each must clear if we call ourselves “Christian.”

I want you to take a moment and reflect with me. Look around this room at all the faces of people gathered this morning. I bet you like and love every single one of them, don’t you? Isn’t that right? I mean, we’re a church! Of course, we love and like everybody in it! We’ve never had disagreements or shown angst towards each other, have we? We always get along with each other and agree with everything the other believes and does, don’t we?

Right. Of course, we don’t! It’s yet another reminder of how difficult it is to hear Paul’s words today. It’s a reminder to us that sure, we hear Jesus remind us to be like the Good Samaritan and love the stranger, but Jesus doesn’t have to go to church, go to work, or go to school with Milly or Tim like I do! Loving the stranger is one thing; liking, much less loving the people I know is totally different; oh, if Jesus only knew them like I do!

The deal is, he does.  He also knows you and me. He knows how hard it is for us to love each other. His first disciples didn’t get it and he knows we won’t or cannot either. But this is what Jesus does expect of us. He expects us to imitate the way he lived his life among people who both adored him and those who hated him. This is what Paul means in verse 14 when he literally says, “Get dressed in the Lord Jesus Christ.” We are to try to imitate Jesus’ love for and towards others. The demand is to pick up our crosses and follow him, imitate him. Sometimes those cross-bearing acts are outward and obvious. Sometimes, those cross-bearing acts of love are more subtle.

Let’s not kid ourselves; it was hard for Jesus to verbally express love to all the people. As he was beaten and interrogated in the presence of the self-righteous religious leaders, he showed his love through his silence. When interrogated by Pontus Pilate and others in the Praetorium, he expressed his love in silence. As he was nailed to the tree and heckled, mocked, and spit on, he showed his love by quietly praying, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

This morning, we experience the most paramount expression of Jesus’ love: The Lord’s Supper. This is my body, broken for you. Take and eat. This is the cup of salvation given for you, sealed with my blood. Take and drink all of it in remembrance of me.

Are we to simply remember what Jesus did? Oh my, no. We are to imitate what Jesus did. Jesus does not ask us to do anything that he hasn’t done. Himself: We are to break ourselves for others like Jesus did. We are to give our life-blood to others like Jesus did. In so doing, we actively love God and love our neighbors. In so doing, we put on and get dressed in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Does anyone really know what time it is? Does anyone really care? It’s time to get dressed in our Lord Jesus Christ and love those we meet every day.

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

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 400 Glen Street, Glens Fall, NY 12801. Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, Glens Falls, NY, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[1] See Exodus 12:11.

[2] The New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV), 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.

[3] See Leviticus 19:18 and Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

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