Even the Smart Ones Sometimes Get it Wrong, John 3:1-17

Posted on March 8, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

A sermon delivered on March 5, 2023, by Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.

Our New Testament reading on this second Sunday of Lent and our journey to the Cross and Easter is a wonderful text to hear, not because most all people are familiar with it, but because it is a primer for Christianity 101 all of us need reminding of from time to time.

There are three primary characters in our Story this morning. First, there is Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee, the equivalent of a Jewish Ph.D. in religious studies who spent his life studying the Torah and teaching his findings to his fellow Jews. Second, we have Jesus. And third, you and I are in the Story as well. You and I are sucked into the conversation in verse 11 and following when the Story’s author, John, has Jesus direct his conversation directly to you and me. You see, beginning in verse 11, John switches to using the second person plural, y’all, and has Jesus speaking directly to us. Listen carefully to what Jesus is saying to us. The Holy Spirit give each of us ears to hear this well-known scripture anew! Listen to the Word of the Lord from John 3:1-17.

John 3:1-17

1Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”

3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”

4Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”

5Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’  8The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So, it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? 11“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe; how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”[1]

Lesson One in Christianity 101: Jesus can ill-afford hidden followers and disciples. John immediately gets two facts right out there for us: Nicodemus is a prominent religious scholar and official and Nicodemus was afraid to publicly show his faith in Jesus. We’re told he came by night to meet Jesus. He came when the streets were clear. He came when he wouldn’t be noticed. He came when everyone else was winding their day down preparing for bed. He came in secret making sure his reputation would not get sullied. Nicodemus came to Jesus when it was convenient for him to do so.

Bless Nicodemus’ heart – and I really do mean that in the Southern sense of the phrase. I really want to cheer him on but his late-night slinking around trying to get to know Jesus doesn’t come across too well. Fortunately, Nicodemus’ behavior in the Story moves more into the daylight the subsequent two times he appears later in John’s gospel.

The unfortunate reality is the church today is full of followers like Nicodemus; sadly it always has been. Early Church Reformer, John Calvin back in the sixteenth century referred to those ‘Nicodemites’, those Christians who sympathized with the burgeoning reformation of the Church but were reluctant to be publicly identified with those reforms in the open.[2]  Closet Christians. You could not recognize them as Christians unless they put on a sandwich board sign that indicated they were.  The Church today can ill-afford to have nighttime, hiding-in-the-shadows followers of Jesus Christ. It forces you and me to ask ourselves, “Is my faith out in the open daylight where others can see what I believe in my daily living or not? Can people even tell I am a follower of Jesus? Am I a nighttime follower of Jesus like Nicodemus? Am I a Nicodemite?

Christianity 101 Lesson Two:  The work of our salvation is God’s initiative, not ours (vs. 3). Salvation, just like the communion supper we will have in a few minutes, is a gift given to us. Verse 3 is too often translated as ‘born again’ when the same word also means to be born anew or born from above. The latter two definitions better fit the context of the table talk they’re having. In The Message, Eugene Petersen translates verse 3 as, “Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see that I am pointing to God’s Kingdom.” 

Western Christianity has beaten it into us that if you and I simply mentally consent to acknowledge good doctrine and make up our minds Jesus is God’s Son, then we get or earn eternal life. In other words, my eternal destiny rests upon my saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to believe in Jesus. Beloved, that’s a lot of power that frankly none of us has. There is no grace if we think about our salvation that way. If our salvation and eternal destiny were all up to our individual decisions, then why did Jesus come in the first place? Why did he have to die and rise again if it’s all up to you and me saying ‘I believe’ or not?

Jesus tells this religious scholar that it’s not following the little nit-noids of the Jewish Law that earn you love from God; God’s love is already extended! All you have to do, Nicodemus, is be an open vessel for God to pour his Spirit in you! Think of it like this: you and I are the shy, timid boys and girls ringing the gym’s wall at a mid-high dance; Jesus takes the initiative to come up to us and asks us to get out onto the dance floor! This leads me to the next lesson our text teaches.

Christianity 101 Lesson Three:  The Kingdom of God is both a present reality and a future expectation. Jesus speaks of salvation in the present tense. We tend to associate eternal life with that which happens to us when we die; we forget that eternal life is both a present and future reality. In John’s gospel, the word faith is a verb and not a noun. As a noun, faith means it is something I have or possess. As a verb, it means pledging fidelity and loyalty to someone that requires present-tense action, effort, and demonstration of that fidelity.

I did a wedding last night and when the couple stood in on this chancel and pledged their loyalty and fidelity to each other, it signified that they were from that moment forward living a new life. It meant they detached from their family of origin and began a new family of their own. It signified they were no longer going to date other people but pour everything into this new marriage relationship. Their lives were now bound together and when something happens to one, it affects both of them. This is what faith means; it means living devotedly to another showing reciprocating love for the other. Spiritually, it means that Nicodemus, you are going to take all that religious stuff you have stuck in your head, put it down, and hold my hand as we take an adventure together!

Another way our text teaches us that salvation is a present reality is the word for salvation itself. For too long the Church has said salvation is equated with not going to hell; it’s time we reclaim the larger meaning. The word Jesus uses for salvation can mean being rescued from adversity but it also means for a person to be healed, restored, and made whole and complete once more. When we understand salvation this way, we hear Jesus’ words, “God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be restored to its original pre-Fallen state, that the world might be healed and made whole again.” This is what the reference to Moses lifting up the bronze serpent means in our Story.

In Numbers 21, we read how snakes were giving the wandering Hebrews fits; the poisonous vipers kept biting and killing too many people and they complained loudly to Moses and God. Well, God told Moses to make a bronze staff in the shape of a viper and if any of the Hebrews were bitten by poisonous snakes they just had to look at the snake-shaped bronze staff Moses held and they would be immediately healed. For Nicodemus, for you and me, healing, wholeness, and restoration all occur in the present moment, beloved. When we pledge fidelity to Jesus and walk in a way that demonstrates our fealty to him, our healing and restoration immediately begin.

This morning we come to the Lord’s Table. It’s a tangible reminder of the three basic Christianity 101 lessons we learned this morning. It demands that we publicly partake of this meal thereby making a communal profession that Jesus has died for us. It reminds us that the gift of our healing, wholeness, and restoration is a gift given to us as Jesus gave his body and blood for us. Finally, we take the nutrients from this food and live out our fidelity to Jesus in the world bringing healing, restoration, and wholeness to our families, our neighbors, our business colleagues, the faceless, nameless broken ones we pass by on the streets and yes – even for this home of ours we call Earth. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 401 SE 15th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33301.  Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida and may not be altered, re-purposed, published or preached without permission.
All rights reserved.
 

[1] NRSV. HarperCollins Study Bible: Fully Revised & Updated by Harold W. Attridge, Society of Biblical Literature https://a.co/j4JJ2Pt.

[2] George Stroup, Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide (Feasting on the Word: Year A volume) by David L. Bartlett, Barbara Brown Bartlett, https://a.co/4MkMhfr.

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Making Choices, 1 Corinthians 3: 1-9

Posted on February 16, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

A sermon delivered February 12, 2023, by Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.

Making choices. You and I are faced with making choices the moment we wake up in the morning. Do I stay in bed, or do I get up? What shall I have for breakfast? What am I going to wear today? Who am I going to root for in the Super Bowl? Actually, do I really care about the Super Bowl? Those, in fact, are pretty benign choices we are faced with each day. But there are other types of choices we are faced with, too.

Do I fudge the numbers so the boss thinks things aren’t as bad as they are? Do I quit my job? Should I report to the authorities my company is exploiting non-documented workers? Do I turn a blind eye when I witness disparity and discrimination in the workplace?

Our Hebrew text this morning is from Deuteronomy 30 and records the words of God addressed to Moses and the wandering masses, “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life” (30:19-20).  God wanted to make sure that before the wandering Hebrews crossed the Jordan River to claim the land of promise they would keep their focus on what is important. All they had to do was to remember that the Lord was their life and that every choice and decision they made thereafter would be one where they chose life. Sadly, we know how that all turned out.

Our preaching text today offers a similar call to the people of God. The indefatigable Apostle Paul is trying to convey the critical message of the power of the crucified Christ and the life-saving power of the Holy Spirit but the people in the church are not choosing life; they’re choosing sides. For the second time within 46 verses at the opening of his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is calling out the Church for making poor choices and for losing sight of who is the source of their life. 1 Corinthians verse 12 Paul writes, “One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; and still another, “I follow Christ.”  Let’s see what he says in our scripture in 1 Corinthians 3:1-10. Listen to the Word of the Lord!

1 Corinthians 3:1-10

3.1 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit but as people who are still worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.  NIV

In case you missed it, that last verse is the key that unlocks this passage’s point. “For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” The Corinthians are wrapped up around church leadership and programming and Paul is telling them, “You’re missing the point! It’s not about me or Apollos, it’s all about God working in and through you, members of the Church!”

Paul and Apollos are mere agents, catalysts, in helping the people in the pews get to working in God’s fields and in God’s house. The word Paul uses for a co-worker is the same word we get our word ‘synergy.’ Co-workers create synergy, mutually beneficial movement, change, and opportunities for growth. In a synergistic relationship, one person is not more important than another; one’s person’s gifts complement the gifts of another for the sole purpose of spurring the growth of the fruit of ministry and grace on God’s behalf.

Over my years in ministry, I’ve been privy to parking lot conversations where whispers are made from members, “You know, I don’t like that pastor. He is hard to understand.” I’ve heard, “I don’t come to worship if she’s preaching; I don’t like her style.” I’ve heard, “You know the pastor is divorced, don’t you?”  I’ve heard, “He shouldn’t be a minister because he has a beard, and tattoos and rides a motorcycle!” When I hear things like this, I look heavenward and feel the tears of God washing over my face! They are comments that are a lesson in missing the point.

Patrick plants, Pam fertilizes, and Nic waters but it’s God who is producing the growth in the recalcitrant soil and is transforming barren space into a vibrant, fruitful field and household community. The Lord is our mutual life together. The focus is not on Paul, Peter, Apollos, Nic, Pam, or Patrick; it’s on our Lord Jesus Christ. When that focus is taken away from the Lord Christ, the field we call First Presbyterian grows weeds and the house we call First Presbyterian becomes uninhabitable.

1 Corinthians 3 talks about our choices as a community of faith and about the way the community conducts itself. Paul is reminding us that the Church of God operates vastly differently from the way the world works. The Spirit of God does things differently from the spirit of our flesh. The challenge with churches today is that we overlay the way the world conducts its business and expresses its ways, values, and behaviors onto the way the church conducts the way it does business and expresses its values within the community of Jesus.    

The world tells us to live with an attitude of scarcity so we better horde all we can whereas the Church encourages us to live lightly and in the confidence of God’s abundance.

The world says the best leaders are outgoing, extroverted, smooth talkers, and charismatic whereas the Church insists that church leaders are to be unique and use the individual gifts God provides each of them to create synergistic energy between Paul, Apollos, Peter, Patrick, Nic, and Pam.

The world says it’s the survival of the fittest and as such we either set up sides or manufacture layers of hierarchy; my side, my point of view, my theological point is better and is clearly more superior than yours! Church members and churches then take up sides on who is right and who is wrong causing divisions and jealousy because our worldly pride and hubris get in the way. The church that chooses life and lives for God operates where members live in humility on a level playing field where love and egalitarianism are the keys.

The world says we each can choose what to eat on the all-you-can-eat spiritual buffet that makes us feel all good, fat, and happy whereas the church says we are not to overload and fill up on feel-good spiritual carbohydrates but instead eat a healthy, protein-enriched faith of intentional worship, spiritual education, and service to others.

Professor James K.A. Smith writes, “The church – the body of Christ – is the place where God invites us to renew our loves, reorient our desires, and retrain our appetites.”[1]

The Lord is our life. Isn’t it reasonable that our choices and how we make them reflect that reality? Shouldn’t the way we do things in the Church, the way we act in the Church, be a dramatic contrast to the way people treat each other, relate with others, disagree with one another, and solve problems together in the world? Your pastors and church leaders of First Pres are trying to live this reality out. We are a diverse group of people in this body, and we are not all going to agree all the time; but this is what we are committed to doing: Work synergistically with our particular gifts to create an environment where the Spirit can move among us, form us, and send us out into the larger community helping others to learn and participate in the Lord of Life. If the Church of Jesus Christ cannot figure out how to live and relate with other Christians regarding religious, political, and cultural inclusiveness, then the world will never get it either.

Beloved, it doesn’t matter if you’re for the Chiefs or the Eagles. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, Hispanic, black, or Asian. It doesn’t matter if you are gay or if you’re straight. When any of us become a follower of Jesus Christ, we put away those things of the world and put on a new identity of Jesus and in Jesus.

Today, a man made a choice and was baptized and took on a new identity. He immigrated from being of and in the world to become a man of and in the Kingdom of God.  He has, as one scholar says, been “Given a heavenly passport; in his body (the Church) we learn to live like “locals” of Jesus’ kingdom.  Such immigration to a new kingdom isn’t just a matter of being teleported to a different realm; we need to be acclimated to a new way of life, learn a new language, acquire new habits – and unlearn the habits of that rival dominion (that we call the world).  Christian worship is our enculturation as citizens of heaven, subjects of the kingdom come.”[2]

And so, beloved, that requires each of us to make choices. As you leave today, reflect on how you make choices in your life – a life that’s based and grounded in Jesus Christ and as members of the Church, his holy Bride.

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 401 SE 15th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33301.  Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[1] James K. A. Smith, You Are What You Love.  The Spiritual Power of Habit, (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2016), 65.

[2] Ibid., 66. Words in parentheses are mine and are added for rhetorical clarity.

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The Characteristics of a Disciple, Matthew 5:13-20

Posted on February 6, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

A sermon preached by Patrick H. Wrisley on February 5, 2023.

Matthew 5.1 says that Jesus went up onto the mountain and Matthew 8.1 says Jesus came down the mountain. Sandwiched between these two verses are three chapters that comprise what we call The Sermon on the Mount. It’s here Matthew has poured the majority of Jesus’ teaching into his particular gospel. Who is Jesus speaking with and teaching? Well, first and foremost he’s teaching his growing circle of disciples and yet we are told vast crowds follow him up the hillside as well.

All so subtly in chapter 5, the writer Matthew changes the voice moves to use the second person plural; with this change in voice, Matthew invites you and me into the Story as participants and now we are invited to join the others in ascending the hillside just north of Capernaum experiencing all Jesus was saying and doing. Matthew 5.1 declares, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him and taught them saying…” As such, as you and I go up that hillside, we have a choice of where we sit. On the one hand, we can go sit with the disciples who are scrunched up close to Jesus in order to hear him loud and clear. On the other hand, we can sit and mill around with the anonymous crowds waiting to see something happen; in other words, we are looky-loos.  One group is comprised of earnest listeners and followers. The second group is comprised of observers, also known as a run-of-the-mill Peanut Gallery.

Members of the church, where do you choose to sit on that hillside? You have a choice, you know. Are you sitting with the disciples or are you with the multitude milling about and watching what Jesus does? Frankly, where you sit determines how you will hear our text today. We are picking up immediately after the Beatitudes, or as Dale Bruner refers to them, “The blessed ares.” Today, we move on from the blessed ares and dive right into the “Your ares.”[1] Hear the Word of the Lord.

Matthew 5:13-20

13“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.[2]

This morning’s text is written for those of us who have chosen to sit at Jesus’ feet as disciples, as Christ-followers. That is not to say those who are sitting apart just watching and wondering cannot change their seats and move into the disciple’s circle, but his words are directed emphatically to those who claim to be his followers. Jesus provides us three characteristics of what it means to be a Christ-follower.

First, followers of Jesus are commissioned into service. We are familiar with the Great Commission in Matthew 28.16 where Jesus tells his disciples to go and make other disciples, baptize, and teach them about Jesus but the disciples’ first commissioning takes place in our Story today. The force of the way the text in its original language is emphatic and direct: You are the very salt of the earth! You are the very light of the world! It doesn’t say, “you ought to be,” “should be,” or “could be” the salt and light of the world. It tells the disciples you are the very salt and the light in the world. Jesus isn’t asking us to be those things; Jesus is emphatically declaring we are to be salt and light.[3] This is what you and I signed up for when we called ourselves, “Christian.”

Beloved, the first characteristic of a Christ-follower is that we live into the commissioning we have been ordained with by Christ. Jesus doesn’t ask us to stay on the mountaintop eating bon-bons and listening to great speakers at a Chautauqua; Jesus is commissioning, sending his disciples to go and do something.

The second characteristic of a Christ-follower is that we fully live into who we are as followers of Jesus. In other words, disciples are called to be salty lighthouses! In antiquity, salt was used as a preservative, for fertilizing the soil, in cultic sacrifices, in covenant-making, in cleansing, and in signifying loyalty.[4] I have to believe that aside from all these ancient uses of salt Jesus most likely meant its most basic purpose: Salt adds flavor to the food we eat. “Salt brightens and sharpens other flavors already present” in the other foods.[5]

This past week I was invited to have dinner at John and Melissa Rubino’s; for those of you who don’t know, John is a chef. They provided gracious hospitality and a wonderful dinner and for dessert, John made some homemade chocolate chip cookies. Because of my diet, I have not had sweets in months, but as a guest, what was supposed to do? Say, “no?” So, I took one of the huge cookies, and my goodness, I swear I was lifted like Paul to the third heaven! As we talked, I nonchalantly reached over and had a second one. After dinner, they prepared a little take-home bag and put four more cookies in there. I had not driven 300 yards when I pulled out my third one! What was it about those cookies? After my third one, I realized why I couldn’t stop: John added just the right amount of salt to them that hit the palate once you took a bite. Salt makes you crave more salt!

Yet, too much salt can be a problem, too. You add too much salt to your food and it will cause it to taste horrible. The purpose of salt is to enhance not to make foul.

Christ-followers are told to be the salt of the earth. A disciple’s flavor in the world should enhance the lives of others and give glory to God. A characteristic of a disciple is that as salt, we brighten and sharpen the flavors of other people, places, or organizations in the world that are already present.  The quality of our lives should, like the taste of Rubino’s cookies, cause people to yearn for more of the flavor you and I as disciples add to their life.

Sadly, though, too many Christian disciples follow the tenant that if a bit of salt is good, then a lot of salt is better. Some Christians smother others by overdoing it with salt when judging and condemning people different from themselves spiritually, politically, socially, ethnically, and sexually. Over-salting is evident in gross displays of false piety or wrapping up Christianity in our flag. If people are leaving the Church, it is oftentimes because there is not enough saltyå flavor to make our faith appealing and desirable to others or there is too much salt and that makes Jesus distasteful and inedible.

But we are also to be lights to the world. Again, Jesus doesn’t say “ought, should, or could” be the light of the world; disciples are commissioned to be the light of the world. Notice I didn’t say “lights of the world” of the world but the very light of the world. Collectively, discipleship means all of us are to shine a singular lamp of the love and grace of God expressed in Jesus who is the Light of the World. Once a light is lit, it’s not covered up but is placed in a prominent spot to show people how to navigate a room. The right amount of light unveils the shadows. But like salt, too much light can be blinding. Light has to be directed and either muted or intensified depending on the conditions. If people encounter us and shield their eyes it’s because our light is too bright, it’s because we are shining our own light and not the light of Jesus.

Finally, a characteristic of a disciple is that we live a righteous life. Too often we equate being righteous with being morally perfect or overly religious. That’s not it at all. Being righteous simply means we live into our salty-lighthousedness, we live lives that are distinctly different from the culture around us. A righteous life is one where the flavor we add to others is the winsome flavor of a graceful Jesus. A righteous life is one where we shine the light of Jesus and help people find their way, their hope, or their security. Righteousness is anything that helps others see Jesus in you or me.

Church, today Jesus is commissioning us to be who we are as disciples and followers to give brightness to the flavor of the world and to be a warm inviting light so others can experience what we already have: The life-giving Love of God in Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So be it.

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 401 SE 15th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33301.  Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and may not be altered, re-purposed, published, or preached without permission. All rights reserved.

[1] Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew 1-12. A Commentary. The Christbook (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1987), 151.

[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] Bruner, 186-189.

[4] See Feasting on the Gospels–Matthew, Volume 1 (p. 239). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition. “Jesus’ followers are defined as salt. Salt was widely used for various purposes in the ancient world, such as preserving, seasoning for food (Job 6:6), fertilizing soil (Luke 14:34–35), sacrificing (Lev. 2:13; Ezra 6:9; Ezek. 43:24), covenanting (Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5), purifying (Exod. 30:35; 2 Kgs. 2:19–21), cleansing (Ezek. 16:4), and signifying loyalty (Ezra 4:14).” 

[5] Matthew M. Boulton, Feasting on the Gospels–Matthew, Volume 1 (p. 237). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

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Pastoral Prayer for Sunday, January 29, 2023

Posted on January 30, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

Sunday, January 29, 2023

God of Infinite Light and Fathomless Goodness, we come this morning and place our lives before you in gratitude and praise. We really need so little but you lavish us with so much. Your Church gathers this day and we weave our prayers into a single tapestry of faith, hope, and love as our worship joins those who worship in Europe, South America, Africa, China, Memphis, and Kyiv. Different from each other only by address, your people pause this day to celebrate this life, this world, and this moment you have given us.

Your Church, Lord, comes this day seeking the ability, the wisdom, and the courage to live out the prophet’s reminder that we are to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God. We get so caught up in the busyness of the days that we lapse into old ways of living and habits that narrow our vision and fail to reflect the transformed life, the new life, the baptismally claimed life of a follower of Jesus. In lieu of shining the Light of Life, we display the gloominess of despair and doubt. Holy Spirit, come and fill us anew; empower your Church to dynamically live out its faith in courage and joy.

As the destroyer of the status quo, Jesus we pray we can live the blessed life you paint for all. Take our pride and make us poor in spirit instead. Take our mirth and let us feel the cries and pain of all who mourn so that we may become agents for comfort. Take our bent for aggressiveness and instill in us a gentleness, a meekness, that empathizes with all. Take our gluttonous and sated lives and burn in our hearts with a hunger for righteousness for all your creation in its place. Take our proclivity for judging others and bend it to becoming merciful, forgiving agents of grace. Take our polluted hearts contaminated with the callousness of this world and clean them with the washing of your Spirit making them pure once more. Take our passion for war and retribution and mobilize an army of peacemakers throughout the Church. Give us courage when we are persecuted for loving Jesus and forgive those who proclaim evil and screed.

Holy Spirit, we pray you will fill us with the joy only you can give. Work within each of us to redefine our lives so that we may live them abundantly in the sure and certain knowledge Jesus has conquered death and even now prepares rooms for each of us.

Specifically, we pray for those we know who are ill or who are hospitalized…for single parents trying to show the wisdom of both to their children…fortify the sobriety of those who suffer from addictions, and break the will of those who are failing to embrace their illness…give wisdom to our national, state, and local leaders and replace selfish partisanship with ethical justice and concern for all people. And now gracious Holy Three, we pray the prayer Jesus taught his beloved as together we pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth and it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.  Amen.

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It’s So Easy, Anyone Can Do it! John 15, 2023

Posted on January 16, 2023 by patrick h wrisley

A sermon preached on January 15, 2023, by Patrick H Wrisley, D.Min.

This morning’s reading from John is arguably one of my favorite of all scripture passages because it shares how you and I can participate in an Epiphany. Since this is the second Sunday in Epiphany, I thought it might be a good thing to learn how we can help facilitate one. Now many people will gravitate to Psalm 23 as their favorite biblical passage where we are reminded and comforted that the Lord is our dear Shepherd. Others will mention 1 Corinthians 13 as their favorite where we are told that the greatest gifts are faith, hope, and love but the greatest gift of all is love. Still, others will point to John 3.16 when Jesus patiently tells Nicodemus the Pharisee, “That God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.” Do you have a favorite scripture?

This morning’s scripture is one of my favorites because it’s one of those biblical texts that takes something which is perceived to be so hard and difficult and then breaks it down to make it so simple. It takes a scary topic that puts fear in the hearts of those who are asked to do it and makes it what I call, Crayola. In other words, it’s all so easy like a child’s ability to color with a crayon. I really do believe that if all members of the church could learn what our morning text teaches, it would change the world. See if you can pick up what it is I’m talking about. Our scripture comes from John 1:35-40. Listen to the Word of the Lord.

John 1.35-40

35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). [1]

So, did you figure out what I was talking about? I am talking about the instructions for growing the church of Jesus Christ. I am talking about how “to do” evangelism.

The word evangelism causes one of several reactions in people. First, it causes people to shrink with disgust because when someone “evangelizes” another person, it’s usually accompanied by words of judgment or guilt. “Are YOU saved? Really?”

Others hear the word evangelism and immediately think someone is trying to convert someone into following Jesus. We think, “I can’t convert someone to follow Jesus!” and I would say, “You’re absolutely right! You can’t and indeed, no one can but only the Spirit of God is able!”

Still, some hear the word evangelism and think it’s someone else’s job, say, the preacher’s job, to do the work of evangelism. They will tell me it’s too hard to evangelize people and it’s best left to “the professionals” like “you” pastors. Sadly, most pastors don’t know how to evangelize, either. It puts the onus of growing the church upon the shoulders of the pastoral staff instead of placing church growth where it belongs; sharing the faith is everyone’s responsibility. We make evangelism so much more complicated than it needs to be.

It all reminds me of an article entitled, “How Building Ikea Furniture Nearly Destroyed My Marriage” where author Steve Tate writes, “Do you ever wonder how strong your relationship with your significant other is, or how much exactly it can take? There are many things that can apply extra tension — planning a family vacation, spending time with in-laws, talking about money. I’ve been married for 14 happy years, and while my wife and I have had our fill of marital woes, nothing, and I mean nothing, put our relationship to the test quite as much as building Ikea furniture together did. Did you know that Ikea is responsible for 28 percent of all divorces that occurred in the US in 2017? You probably didn’t, because I’m totally kidding and made that up but, honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true.”[2]

Ugh. This, my friends, is what the Church has done with evangelism.  We’ve complicated it. We’ve painted it as something only certain people do, and most of them, in our minds, are religious zealots. Our text this morning helps demystify evangelism and helps to define what it is and what it isn’t. It reminds us Christians of the spirit and attitude in which we do evangelism. Finally, our scripture tells us whom we are to evangelize.

How does our text today define evangelism? Well, we have a Story where two of John the Baptist’s disciples were standing there and then Jesus walks by. The Baptist points him out and says, “Here is the Lamb of God.”  Andrew and an unnamed disciple many presume to be John the apostle, start following Jesus. Jesus, sensing their presence, stops, turns around, and simply asks them, “So, what are you looking for?”

Did you notice what Jesus didn’t say? He didn’t say, “If you died today, would you be in heaven or hell?” He didn’t say, “Go away. I don’t have time for you.”  He didn’t say, “Are you saved?” Jesus didn’t launch in and tell Andrew what to believe or how to live life. No, Jesus asked a simple question. Jesus asked a question simply because asking a question invites others into a relationship. Jesus didn’t declare what Andrew needed to believe; Jesus asked Andrew and his companion an honest, open-ended existential question about their need. “What are you looking for?” It was a question designed for Andrew to honestly answer for himself. Jesus genuinely wanted to know what Andrew was looking for and then he purposefully asked a question to further and deepen the relationship. Evangelism is about relationships; it’s not about conversion; it’s not about adding numbers to the rolls of the church. Evangelism is nothing more than relationship building so that you and I earn the right to share what Jesus has done for me.

We also learn from the text about the type of relationship involved with evangelism. Jesus enters the relationship with Andrew and the other disciple without any expressed agenda other than to know what they were searching for. Jesus took them as they were and let the relationship develop on its own. His attitude is simple and humble, non-judgmental. Jesus let Andrew and the other disciple dictate where the relationship would go.  Jesus did not impose rules on the relationship that if you are going to follow me then you must do this or you must not do that. Jesus very simply opens the door by trying to establish a relationship with them and then allows Andrew and the other disciple to determine where the relationship goes from there. He places n personal agenda upon them.

Lastly, our text today reminds us where to begin our evangelistic work: It starts with people you and I already know. Just look at Andrew. Andrew hung out with Jesus that day and what did he do? He went home to his brother Simon. He went to someone he already had an established relationship and with whom elements of trust were already present.  He found Simon and didn’t tell him what he had to believe; no, he found Simon and simply shared what he, Andrew, personally experienced: We found the Messiah. The Anointed One. I want to introduce you to him.

“Jesus, this is my brother Simon. Simon, this is the guy I told you about. Talk amongst yourselves.” All Andrew did was make an introduction and then back off. He let Simon and Jesus develop their own relationship so they could see where it would go. 

Beloved, why have we made evangelism so difficult and complicated? Evangelism is simply creating relationships with people we already know and simply sharing with them what Jesus has done for us. That’s it. Nothing more.

Before we finish, I want to lift up a tool from our scripture for you to take and use in your first evangelistic endeavor.  Did you notice in our Story Andrew’s odd answer to Jesus’ question? Jesus asks him, “What are you looking for?” – do you remember Andrew’s answer?  Did he answer Jesus by asking Jesus what the meaning of life was? He didn’t ask Jesus how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. He didn’t ask Jesus about who he thought was going to hell. He didn’t ask Jesus about what being a Messiah was all about. No, Andrew was invited into a relationship with Jesus and is invited to ask Jesus anything he wants to ask. And what profound question does he ask the Almighty One Who Is, Was, and Evermore Shall Be?

“Jesus, where are you staying?” Today, we might say, “So, Jesus, what hotel are you in?” To us, it may be a silly question to ask Jesus. For us, we even might say it was a missed opportunity. The deal is this: Jesus took Andrew’s question seriously and took Andrew where he was. He didn’t make fun of Andrew’s question or question it. Jesus simply let the question sit there and said, “Come and see.”

Beloved, this week, you are going to be an evangelist. You’re going to take what you have learned this morning and apply it in your life this week. Let me tell you how: Find someone you already have a relationship or an acquaintance with and simply as them this: What is the one question you would ask Jesus if you met him face to face?

That’s it. Don’t say anymore. Just be quiet and let them answer and then watch how the Spirit will take the conversation from there.  And it’s right at this point you will see and experience a profound spiritual truth: People love to talk about spiritual things!

© 2023 Patrick H. Wrisley, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, 401 SE 15th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 33301.  Sermon manuscripts are available for the edification of members and friends of First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 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] Steve Tate, How Building Ikea Furniture Nearly Destroyed My Marriage, Popsugar, January 26, 2018. Accessed on 1/15/2023 at https://www.popsugar.com/family/Funny-Story-About-Building-Ikea-Furniture-44714768.

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