Easter Message: No Fear!, Matt. 28:1-10

Posted on April 14, 2020 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:        No Fear!
Scripture:     Matthew 28:1-10
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Date:              Easter, April 12, 2020

You may click here to see the Livestream the service.

Jesus Christ is risen! And the people reply with me, “He is risen, indeed!”

Is it just me or does it feel like Easter is just a little different this year?  For the first time in over three decades of ministry, this is the first time I have not been able to come and be with my church family. It causes me to feel sad on one hand but eagerly excited on the other.  The sadness is that we cannot physically be with one another; the excitement arises from knowing that this season of time will pass and we will be together again; when that happens, what a celebration it will be!

Late this past week in the weekly sermon sneak peek, I threw out a challenge for you to see if you could read Matthew 28:1-10 and discover something you have never noticed before. It was not until this year this small but very interesting fact jumped out drawing attention to itself. One’s context is everything, I suppose.  It’s a reminder that the Word of God and the old, old Story is both the same and very dynamic at the same time. The Spirit is moving all the time to reveal new revelations from God in the midst of our routine readings of Bible stories we have read or have heard many times before. Let us listen and read Matthew 28.1-10 and see if you can discern that which you have never noticed before! Hear the Word of the Lord!

Matthew 28:1-10

28After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. 5But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” 8So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. 10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” [1]

As you listened to this old, old Story, did you notice something new? You see, just like today, there was not a public Easter celebration! Just like today, people were in lock-down huddled in their homes afraid to emerge and show themselves.  It was not because of COVID-19 but it was for fear of the locals in Jerusalem who may want to herd the Jesus Followers up and give them a kangaroo court trial and kill them like they did Jesus.  In the public’s mind, these Jesus Followers were agitators.  They were disturbing the status quo because they followed a man, Jesus, who held a mirror up to his people, his religion, his culture, the government and showed them how unjust they really were. It was the life of Jesus who reflected to the people that the true way to honor God and neighbor was through willful, extravagant, costly love. Forget public and political displays of self-righteous living and pomp, these Jesus Followers were taught that the conversion of a person to the heart of God begins in the heart – first in God’s and then in a follower’s.  Just like today, people during the first Easter Sunday were not gathered in community but were sheltered at home in fear.  Dale Bruner from Whitworth University writes, “Fear monopolizes (our) attention and paralyzes (our) response.”[2] So, beloved, as you live in lockdown and social distancing, what are the fears that are gripping you?  What are those thoughts that keep you up at night? What does the devil Wormtongue whisper into your ears during your time huddled behind closed doors?

So, what are those whispering fears you hear?  I want you to gather them up, collect them, put them on a list!  Acknowledge the fears of lost job and wages, health, dying alone, or getting behind on rent or mortgage. Point them out in your mind: Call them out!  And beloved, once you and I do, I want you to hold that list of fears up into the Easter morning light and hold them up to what the promise and hope this days provides!

Yes, I am afraid to die alone! But Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!  His resurrection means I am never alone as God is my constant guide and comfort.

Yes, I am afraid of getting the virus! But Christ is Risen! He is risen, indeed! His resurrection enables you and me to overcome our fear and strive to live outside of ourselves and love others out of their loneliness.

Yes, I am afraid that as a working parent I will not have the energy to work at my job from my home while watching over my kids undergoing homeschool for the rest of the year! But remember Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! He promises strength, resolve, courage and Spirit that will sustain you through anything life throws at you!

Beloved, our Easter scripture is a resounding call for us not to cower behind closed doors but to go and check this marvelous thing out ourselves!  Come, look, the tomb is empty! No fear! Jesus is telling us to go and tell others about how our fears have been overcome by the power of the resurrected Christ! There is no longer a need to cling to those fears as Easter beckons us to let them go and lift our hands in holy wonder and praise!  Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!

Easter is different this year and to quote Martha Stewart, “It’s a good thing.” It’s a good thing because we get to experience what the first century church and the first disciples experienced: A dislocation from supportive community and fear. We get to experience the Easter miracle from the inside and behind the door just like Peter, Mary, John, Andrew and the others did.

Let me ask you?  How’s that working for you?  It’s not easy, is it? Perhaps Church throughout the world needed a slap in the face to remind us that our gathered community is precious and we have taken it for granted. Perhaps Church around the world needed the reminder that there is no such thing as solitary Christians but that to be in Christ means to be in Christian community. Perhaps the Church throughout the world had to die to her old ways and habits, get buried behind doors so that it eagerly prepares and anticipates to be released into new life and launched back into the community!

Me? I miss the hats.  Easter is the one time of year young girls and women come to church wearing hats! I love the bright dresses and bright bows in the hair. I miss seeing the young boys who are forced to dress up in suits and a tie with their hair slick back to look good in the family pictures.  I miss Mr. Jackson Easter Bunny at our children’s Easter party in Colee Hammock.  I miss the solemnity of the choir singing their beautiful music helping us to physically enter into the spirit of Lent and Easter.  I miss seeing the Chreasters – those who only show up at Christmas and Easter – because they are now friends asI have come to know them the last few years and I long to see their faces in the pews. I miss breaking bread and drinking from the cup of Holy Communion but I realize its absence in our life will make it that much more powerful when we gather to take it again. What do you miss?

Yet, the more I ask that question, the more I realize that is a sophomoric question, a silly question to ask. The right question we are to be asking ourselves is, “What have I, what have WE gained from Easter this year?”  Already we are learning the preciousness of this life we have been given.  We are remembering the gift of a hot cup of coffee on the patio of Anne’s Florist and Coffee Bar surrounded by friends. We are remembering how in the midst of the lockdown, hundreds of members of this church have been making masks for hospital staff and first responders in Broward County because even if they are locked up at home, COVID-19 cannot lock up the Spirit’s work in helping others sustain their lives while helping others.

Easter, new life miracles are abounding all around us, beloved. It’s just that we, like Mary, have to go and see for ourselves how the Spirit is already moving.  My Easter prayer is that the Spirit of Christ will reveal itself to you and declare very plainly, loudly, and clearly: No fear!  Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed.  Jesus invites you to look at your life with a new set of eyes. He invites you to look and see! He invites you and me to go and tell others.  He also tells us gather everybody up because we will all be together again in Galilee. “I promise,” he says, “you will see me then!”

Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Senior Pastor & Teaching Elder
First Presbyterian Church
401 SE 15th Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
http://www.patrickhwrisley.com

© 2020 Patrick H. Wrisley. 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] Frederick Dale Bruner, Matthew. A Commentary, Vol. 2, The Churchbook, Matthew 13-28, (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishers, 1990), 787

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Our God Cries, John 11:27-37

Posted on March 30, 2020 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:        Our God Cries: Where is Jesus When it Hurts?
Scripture:     John 11:27-37
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      Virtual First Presbyterian Church Fort Lauderdale
Date:              March 29, 2020

You see the Livestream of the service here.

Today we have a story about four friends separated from one another by distance.  Sisters Martha and Mary, along with their brother Lazarus, live in a village just a few miles from Jerusalem.  Jesus was recently there for the Feast of the Dedication but had to make a hasty retreat because the religious officials got upset with him and tried to stone him. Jesus has taken the long, hot road down to the Jordan river and went to gather his thoughts at the place his cousin John baptized people before John was beheaded. In the time between his leaving Jerusalem and getting down to the river, a reasonable two day’s walk, his dear friend, Lazarus had become deathly ill. The sisters sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was dying but explained that if Jesus acted quickly, he might get back to Bethany in time to cure him.

Jesus self-distanced himself thinking about it.

He waited two extra days before he and the other disciples climbed the long mountain road back to Bethany.  By the time he got to his friends’ home two days later, Lazarus was already dead and buried for four days.  We are picking up in the Story as Jesus is walking into Bethany and is met by Martha, Lazarus’ sister.  The first thing she says to Jesus in verse 21 is, “Jesus, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.”  In response to her indictment, Jesus levels with her: Do you really believe in the resurrection and the life?  Hear the Word of the Lord!

John 11:27-37

[27] She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” [28]When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” [29] And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come to the village but was still at the place where Martha had met him. [31] The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” [33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. [34] He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” [35] Jesus began to weep. [36] So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” [37] But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” [1]

Jesus is met by Martha, then Mary, and then all the others in the village who were sitting Shiva with family. Sitting Shiva is the Jewish practice of surrounding a family with your physical presence for up to seven days helping them grieve. You speak of the deceased person; you cry and wail for the loss of the one who died on behalf of their family because they may not have any more tears to shed. Death is a social event for our Jewish neighbors just as it was for Jesus in the first century.

So, picture in your mind this very emotional reunion of Jesus with his dear friends; he is surrounded by them as these crying, wailing neighbors keep huddled around the women as they go. This time it’s Mary who falls at Jesus’ feet and reminds him yet again that if he had come sooner, her brother would not have died. It’s at this point, Jesus himself becomes overwhelmed in his own grief and looses it giving us what has been called the shortest verse in the Bible in John 11:35: Jesus wept. His best friend is dead. He looks at the two sisters who now have no one to care for them and he just loses it. The weight of grief is too much.

Reading the text confronts us with Martha and Mary’s gentle dig at Jesus: Why didn’t you come sooner? Jesus, you could’ve prevented all this pain and sadness! We hear the crowds mutter, “He could open the eyes of the blind but he could not save his friend? Why, Jesus, why?”

If we are all honest, we have asked that question, too.  Events have occurred in our lives that we pause and look to heaven and ask God, “Why?” Why did Jesus wait until is his friend was not only dead and buried but wait so long, as we read further along in our story, until the dead body would’ve been at the point of smelling of decay? Why?

Here’s my shot of an answer: In John’s gospel, Jesus was aware of his identity as being the very presence of the Almighty  in the world. His claim as the Great I AM  earlier in John’s narrative affirms that. You see, it’s my contention that Jesus knew that if he was the Resurrection and the Life, the God-among-us in the fleshiness of our humanity, he was going to need to fully relate to our human experience in every possible way. Jesus needed to experience the grief all humanity feels when someone we love dies. Jesus spent his life loving and healing all types of people. These “other people” matter to him, matter to God, because they are created by the Almighty and deserve His love. It’s easy to love “those other people”, those strangers that desperately come up to him and cling to him, begging for mercy and grace in a world that is full of selfishness and pain. But Lazarus was different.  Lazarus was not like “those other people” we read about in scripture.

Lazarus was Jesus’ dear friend. He was a soul brother. The love expressed in the healings of the others in the gospel Stories are Jesus’ expression of agape love – the sacrificial, intentional, and graceful love to those who do not deserve it. Jesus’ love for Lazarus was different than that. Verse 36 has the crowds say, “Look how he (Jesus) loved him.” The word John uses for love is filial love not agape love. It’s the type of love used to describe brotherly love, affection and emotional connection. It is love that describes a personal intimacy within the relationship between people.

Lazarus was not just somebody; Lazarus was a soul brother that Jesus shared an emotional bond. They were tight.  Lazarus wasn’t a part of the masses; he was a special friend akin to family to Jesus.  It was at Lazarus’ house he could be authentically Jesus, authentically himself and let his guard down. So why let Lazarus die? Why not save his best friend?

Passion. You see, to fully relate to all men and women in our common humanity, Jesus not only had to suffer the death all people face; Jesus had to feel the deep pain and pathos of anguish from the loss of someone close to him. He had to experience the searing loss of death of an intimate person in his life, not from a divine point of view as the Christ of God but as Jesus, the man of God living as a human being. God Almighty, Creator of All, would feel the pain of loss for his Son on Good Friday just as Jesus experienced the loss of his beloved friend. It’s only in this way that the Glorious Triune God fully enters into and experience of human death in both its finality and in its overwhelming sense of loss and sadness.

So, Jesus wept. Jesus the man felt the total weight of emotional loss of an intimate friend. Not only would he taste death on Good Friday like every human will encounter death, but in our Lazarus story, Jesus weeps because he feels the human sense of loss and sadness we experience. Jesus, the man of God, feels the sting of death as a human. God the Father feels the sting of death at the loss of his only Son on Good Friday. The whole Godhead, the Trinity, experiences what we humans are experience!

Where is Jesus when in hurts, when life goes amuck and awry? He’s in the midst of it all. It means that as we read the Sentinel, the Times and the Journal, we know God completely relates and empathizes with us as the headlines report the impact of this pandemic we are in at the moment. God is weeping with you in the fears that silently vibrate through your life and in our country right now.

Lent is a time to remind ourselves that our Christian faith is the only faith in the world that draws strength from the fact that God knows how to cry out of pain for and with those he loves. Our God cries for and with us! Christians have the beautiful confidence, power and strength that our God cries. Jesus wept. His tears are a warm rain that overs us when all around us seems so swirly and scary. You, me…we are not alone, beloved. Our God cries out for us! Amen.

Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Senior Pastor & Teaching Elder
First Presbyterian Church
401 SE 15th Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
patrickw@firstpres.cc
www.patrickhwrisley.com

© 2020 Patrick H. Wrisley. 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] The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Becoming Lights in Shadowy Places!, Ephesians 5:8-14

Posted on March 23, 2020 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:        Becoming Lights in Shadowy Places
Scripture:     Ephesians 5:8-14
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      First Presbyterian Church Fort Lauderdale
Date:              March 22, 20207DBF9479-9CB2-4773-B504-F4DF50F37B39

Click here for the Livestream

A friend and colleague of mine, Dr. Michael Christensen, wrote a thesis many years ago about the apocalypse.  In his work, he describes two types of apocalypses. One type of apocalypse is the “Big A” Apocalypse when the culmination of time occurs and our world as we know it is no more. In our Christian tradition, it’s the time Jesus returns.  But Michael said there is a second type of apocalypse, a “little a” apocalypse.

Little “a” apocalypses happen throughout the course of history. They do not necessarily portend the end of time as we know it; instead, they usher in a new time and way of living, experiencing life, relating with others. These little “a” apocalypses are the world events which cause cultural paradigm shifts in the way we see and relate with the world and one another. One apocalypse he cited as the example of forcing the world to sit up and change was his study on the Ukrainian community of Chernobyl. Chernobyl is a nuclear power plant near a small village that had a meltdown in 1986, some 33 years ago. It was an event that challenged our view of sustainable energy, the environment, and the fabric of community. The people in the Ukraine do not overlook the irony of it all. You see in Revelation 8:11, the scripture tells us the, “Waters will be turned into wormwood” in the last days.  In Russian that verse reads, “And the waters will be turned into chernobyl.”

Friends let’s be bold and say that our country and the world we have known is undergoing a little “a” apocalypse.  Everything we were certain of, confident about, and relied upon has been totally upended in the course of a few days. As yesterday’s article that appeared on the AP newswire declared, Taking Stock of Strange Days: The Week that America Changed.[1]

It’s a week when reveling Spring Breakers on the beach were viewed as out of touch and selfish. It’s a week when UPS drivers, mail carriers, grocery store clerks were seen on the front line as being seen as courageous. Medical personnel are today’s super-heroes. The very way we do business is changing. How we relate to one another is changing. Cut off from those we love in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, or even relatives from a different city or state, people all over the world are adjusting to a new way of life called Social Distancing or “lock downs.” Churches are scrambling to meet the spiritual and emotional needs of their parishioners as we learn to do ministry during this little “a” apocalyptic time. Communities are getting creative in how they respond to the needs of those in the hospitality industry who are losing their jobs as servers, cooks, and even corporate leaders at hotels like Marriott are getting furloughed.[2]

The deal is this, beloved: God is sovereign. God’s got the whole world in his hands!  This is not the first little “a” apocalypse humankind has experienced and it will not be the last. What these swirly times do provide, however, is an opportunity for Christ-Followers to step up their game and demonstrate to the culture we are not out of touch and irrelevant and that a vital spiritual relationship with God makes our lives joyful in the midst of turmoil. This is our time as Church to rise up and become once again a beacon of Light in a very shadowy world.

Today’s scripture is from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. We will be looking at chapter 5:8-14.  Our reading comes from a section of the letter where Paul is talking about what it means to be in Christian community. He speaks of the necessity of the unity in the Body of Christ. He is comparing one’s old way of life with the new life found in Christ and grounded in God. Following today’s reading, Paul goes on to talk about how relationships in the family and in business should work. Today’s verses from Ephesians 5:8-14 is in the midst of the section Paul is talking about how you and I are to relate with the world around us.  Listen to the Word of the Lord!

Ephesians 5:8-14

8For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— 9for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. 10Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. 11Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; 13but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.[3]

Paul is speaking of a spiritual apocalypse in the life of a believer. When a person encounters Christ, he or she is dramatically changed and can no longer see, relate with, and experience the world and life the same way.  Once we were in darkness.  Now we are not only in the Light, Paul says we are Light! Everything has changed! Our old life has been turned on its head and we each become beacons of life-giving Light to those around us. People of Jesus are children of Light! Light stands out in darkness.  Light gives direction when culture’s shadowy duskiness begins to fall. It reveals Truth, Beauty, Goodness and God’s Presence.

I received a text from a friend Friday that highlights this notion of revealed Light. It’s written by an older man with mobility issues.  He writes, “Instead of standing in line at Publix, (I can’t stand that long )…I decided to have my breakfast at the Plantation Diner…and then go back to Publix…I sat at a table outside, and when they brought my food, the owner ( who I know) came outside to talk to me…We chatted and told him that I couldn’t stand in the Publix line…I was just going there for  a quart of milk…He left and in a few minutes came back with a quart of milk and gave it to me.

Reflecting on this he says,

I was amazed …
What goes around…comes around…
There’s so much good in this world …
More positive energy is coming through …
I’m home and the mockingbirds are still singing.
Stay well…
Stay safe.

This dear man encountered a child of Light! Friends, we are living in a time of crisis but crisis in and of itself is not a bad thing nor is it a good thing. A crisis is just what it is, i.e. an event that has disrupted the status quo and calm of our life.  What determines the outcome of crisis on whether it is “good” or “bad” is how we each relate to it. For me, I personally choose to relate to this crisis the world is in, this little “a” apocalyptic moment, as a child of Light. My faith and trust in God tells me to look for good and the beauty and the truth in the midst of the swirliness. I invite you to embrace your relationship with God in Christ and intentionally live as a child of Light.

Let me share with you what some may call a cheesy way to remember how to live as a child of Light right now.  Let’s use the anacronym, CARE. If we live in CARE, we will be dual-beam halogen lights shining radiance everywhere!  So, what does CARE stand for?

C – is for calling. Friends now is the time to go old school and analog in our relationships. As a culture, we love our smart phones for texts and movies but now is the time to start using them to call and connect with people. In your mind, I want you to scan the seats of where you normally sit in worship and look at the faces of the people you normally see there. Who are those people you had dinner with on Wednesday nights in the church’s fellowship hall? Who are those people in our Bible studies, AA Groups, sports teams? Who are those folks you have not seen in a while?  Pick up the phone and call them!  See how they are doing! If C is for calling, then…

A – is for asking. It’s fine to have chit-chat and catch up on things but to be a child of Light means to look beyond ourselves and ask how others are doing. Do they need anything? How are they feeling? Are they scared about their job? We won’t know unless we ask. Children of Light show their love by asking how the other is doing. Children of Light demonstrate Jesus when we purposefully ask, “What would you like me to do for you?” C is for calling.  A is for asking.

R –  is for reading. Use this time, friends, to be reading the Scriptures.  Sure, it’s fun to binge-watch Netflix but how is that going to shape you and me so our lives reflect a Christoform character of Light onto others?  We say we are a Christian nation but we are a people of religion who do not know our Holy Scripture.  Now is a wonderful time to begin doing that and learn the character of God by reading the Stories of God! C – Call others. A – Ask others their needs.  R – Read the stories of God to yourself and to your children. And finally,

E – Extend grace.  Children of Light extend grace to others. Have you gone to a grocery store lately? You try going to Wal-Mart or Target? It’s a reminder of the darkness we are living in! People are fighting over the last rolls of toilet paper or hand sanitizer.  People are hording supplies. We are driving distractedly and all the stress is causing us to be sharp and annoyed with others. Those of us who are typically mild-natured have invented new ways to use the King’s English as we shout at people.  Friends, we are children of Light.  As children of Light we are to shine and extend grace onto others and into situations that are hurtful or stressful. Do we mimic the world and live in its frenetic frenzy of “me first” or do we slow down and shine light by showering grace in ungraceful situations?

Children of Light CARE for others. We call and reach out to others. We ask how they really are and what their needs are. We regain our habit of reading Scripture which will form our character into Jesus’.  We extend grace to others as God has extended grace to us.

Let’s be shining Lights in shadowy places by being CARE-full! Amen.

Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Pastor & Teaching Elder
First Presbyterian Church
401 SE 15th Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
patrickw@firstpres.cc
patrickhwrisley.com

© 2020 Patrick H. Wrisley. 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] Ted Anthony, Taking stock of strange days: The week that America changed, March 21, 2020. Located at https://apnews.com/a82294fc0723630d850603dd7b016ad5.

[2] See https://www.wsj.com/articles/marriott-to-furlough-thousands-of-corporate-jobs-in-u-s-and-abroad-in-response-to-travel-collapse-11584834631.

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

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COVID-19: The First Prayer I Say in the Morning; Psalm 95, The Venite

Posted on March 16, 2020 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:         The first prayer I say when I get out of bed in the morning.
Text:                Psalm 95, the Venite
Preacher:       Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:       First Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale
Date:               March 15, 2020

You may Livestream the service here.
Please note that this was a virtual service held for members and friends of
Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale due to the request of the CDC to limit
the size of public gatherings. No live services were held.

In order to better understand our psalm this morning, it is helpful to hear the background upon which is written. The background is from the Hebrews escaping Egypt under Moses’ leadership. Let’s refresh our memory.

Once upon a time, there was a group of twelve tribes from the same ancestor Jacob who lived far from their ancestral home in Egypt.  They were treated horribly there.  God chose Moses to lead the people, many thousands by this time, on a journey back east to the land where their ancestor Jacob lived in Canaan.

They were pursued by a vicious army through the desert. But God protected them with a pillar of cloud and fire before and behind.

In the chase, the Hebrews got pinned between the sea on one side and an approaching army on the other. God parted the water and all the people crossed safely over to the other side.  Pharaoh’s army was swallowed up in the sea as they tried to follow.

The Hebrews wandered in the desert and complained about their hunger and God rained down manna and quail from heaven and gave them all that they needed.

The Hebrews with their full stomachs weren’t satisfied; they began to complain against God and against Moses. They were thirsty. Moses hit a rock with his staff and water came pouring out. Once again, God provided. And the people grumbled and named the place Grumbling and Quarreling, i.e. Meribah and Massah.

This is the background for today’s text in Psalm 95. Turn in your Bible to Psalm 95. It’s also referred to as the Venite and has been used in the ancient church since the 15th century as the daily invitatory, i.e. the opening prayer, to begin one’s day and daily worship. It literally was the first prayer one said when one got out of bed in the morning! I propose to you it should be ours together as well.

The Psalm is written with two distinct parts.  Verse 1 through 6 are the voices of the worshipping community extoling God’s goodness and mercy.  The last half of the psalm comes abruptly; it pivots from praise and worship to an indictment from God that the people who forget their past are doomed to repeat it. Yet, even in God’s indictment, the Lord provides a clue to help the people not relive the mistakes and failings of the past. Let’s see if you can hear that clue. Listen to the scripture!

Psalm 95

1O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!  2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!  3For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.  4In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also.  5The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed.  6O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!  7For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand…

…O that today you would listen to his voice!

8Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 10For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.”  11Therefore in my anger I swore, “They shall not enter my rest.” [i]

Today’s Psalm paints the picture of a step-by-step plan for being in relationship with God. First, there is a burst of praise and thanksgiving in verses 1 and 2.  Then there is a reminder of God’s greatness that beckons us to worship Him in verses 3 to 6. The people sing, they pray about God’s faithfulness and the Lord’s overwhelming Providence that will always watch out for them.  And then there is verse 7. This is where God begins to speak in the Psalm: If only they would listen to my voice this day.

The prayer to begin the day begins with thanking God for all God has done, is doing, and will do.  It then ascribes to the Lord focused worship that God is the Lord, there is no other. And then there is a call to listen for God’s voice.

In many church liturgies as they say or sing the Venite, Psalm 95, they stop right there at verse 7.  They omit the harsh part of the psalm because it is uncomfortable. Yet, even Thomas Cranmer, the great English Reformer insisted that the people sing the entirety of Psalm 95.  Why?  Because it’s one thing to offer God thanksgiving, praise and honor and a promise to listen.  It’s entirely something else to shut our ears to God’s voice. When we tune God out, when we shut out his voice, when we fail to listen, the consequences are we end up right back again at Meribah and Massah grumbling against God and one another and putting the Lord to the test and trying God’s patience.

In my Bible there is a marker at Psalm 95 as I first read and pray it every single morning.  The pages are worn there, reminding me of my daily routine.  It’s paramount for me to start the day with thanksgiving and gratitude, with praise-infused worship of God and the daily reminder to stop and listen for His voice this very day, every day. Over the years, I realize that if I don’t, I will fall off the wagon and revert to my old self – the grumbling, quarreling, doubting self, wondering if God is even here.

Friends, this week has been a week for us to easily revert back to our old grumbling, doubting ways. Our lives have been and are upended with the onslaught of the Coronavirus in our country.

People are worried about their job security because of the market instability.

Parents are struggling to find childcare now that the schools are closed.

Churches worry if people will continue to give to the ministries that are still going on even though the people are not here on Sunday morning.

Loved-ones have been physically cut off from one another because of visitation restrictions to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and hospitals.

People are resorting to stockpiling and fighting over toilet paper in grocery stores aisles!

Schools are being closed; special events are cancelled; the beloved collegiate Sweet 16 is cancelled along with the NBA, NHL, MLS, and now the threat to America’s pastime, baseball.

Beloved, it is so easy to get caught up in the dour, frantic frenzy we are living in today. It is easy to resort to grumbling, arguing, fighting and fearing one another. The antidote for COVID-19 is the Venite, Psalm 95, as you get out of bed every morning.

It’s a call to be thankful for all we have.

It’s a call to be in awe at the loving, gracious Providential Presence of God providing for us in the midst of hardship.

It’s a call to intentionally still ourselves and listen for the Lord’s voice speaking to each of us, to this church, to this community each and every day. Jesus is talking with us in this apocalyptic feeling moment in time; the Psalm invites us to be intentional in our listening. It invites each of us to live more intentionally with God and with our neighbors.  It invites us to re-examine our spiritual walk during this Lenten season and learn more about ourselves and our God in ways we have never learned before now.

Friends, I’m bullish right now.  I am hopeful right now.  Yes, these are swirly times but I believe God is working in a large way in the midst of all this Corona mess. Just maybe, if we take this psalm seriously, we will hear God’s voice as people, as a church, and as a nation and spiritual revival will blow through once more.

Amen.

Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Senior Pastor & Teaching Elder
First Presbyterian Church
401 SE 15th Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

© 2020 Patrick H. Wrisley. 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.

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

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Lent #1: Lent. On Purpose – The Blame Game, Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

Posted on March 3, 2020 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:        Lent – On Purpose: The Blame Game
Scripture:     Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Date:             March 1, 2020, Communion Sunday

Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7

15The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.

16And the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die…”

  3.1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’“ 4But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. [1]

Today is the first Sunday in our season of Lent and all the lectionary texts for this morning deal with the issue of sin and temptation. Matthew’s gospel focuses on the temptations Jesus had to face while left alone with the devil. Our Romans piece reminds us that just as sin entered our human sphere through one person, our sin’s consequences are rectified through the work of one person, the Christ. Today’s Story in Genesis gets to the root causes of temptation and sin. Perhaps, just perhaps, if we can come to better understand the root causes of temptation and sin, we will have a better idea of how to faithfully respond to it.

For those of you who are theologians, and that my friends, means all of you, we need to come to an understanding of what sin is in the first place and our story in Genesis lines it out for us.

Thus far the storyline in Genesis is pretty tight. God creates the heavens and the earth. God creates humankind whose sole purpose is to till and work the land. We get distracted and chase after other fancies instead of what we are called to do which causes broken relationship with God and each other; ironically, however, humanity, in destroying relationship with God, turns about and creates a new relationship with the anti-god, the serpent, as well as with its own overly developed sense of self-importance and pride. So, our text today gives us a pretty good idea of what sin is all about.

Sin is our willing violation of a boundary set by God for our behalf (You can eat everything but not from the Tree of Knowledge). Sin is personal (Eve ate the fruit) but sin is social as well; sin and its effects impact others (so Adam joining Eve with a snack). What our text does so well is to remind us how subtle sin is and can be. We confuse real sin with the big-ticket items like hit-and-run drivers who plow into tourists on A1-A or horrible ax-murderers and the likes. The big-ticket sins are pretty easy for us to shy away from. It’s the seemingly innocuous ones that tend to get us into trouble. Let’s look at our text and see.

In verses 15-17, we read how God gives humanity just one job to do. You have heard that saying people say today, “You only had one job to do!”  Well, our job was and is to till the soil, cultivate this Earth we have been given, to care for it, and refrain from eating this one fruit. We only had one job and we messed it up. Today we have human waste in our waterways, warming of the world’s oceans and arctic areas, and sea rise. I could spend an entire sermon or more on worldwide Church members’ failure to tend to the Earth and care for it and our spiritual, ethical demand that we do but I would be getting ahead of myself.  Suffice it to say that we had one boundary to respect and not violate, one job to do and we messed it up.  Why?  We got distracted by other things instead of God. Like my daughter’s one-year-old Golden Retriever puppy who has the attention span of a gnat, we get distracted by seemingly innocuous things and find ourselves in a mess. Our inability to harness our focus and attention can lead to serious consequences. Who would think that checking a text on Federal Highway would cause such a thing as vehicular homicide? What are the distractions in your life, my friends, that pull your attention off of God’s single purpose in your life?

Sliding to Genesis 3, we see a second issue that generates and perpetuates sin and brokenness in our lives: Doubt and suspicion. Verse 3.1 says the serpent was more crafty than other animals.  ‘Crafty’ can also be translated as subtle which is a great reminder to us that it’s not just big-ticket issues that always get us into trouble; oftentimes is the subtle benign things that do.  So, the serpent asks Eve, “Did God REALLY say you shall not eat from any tree of the garden?”

Did you hear what the serpent did?  What led to humanity’s Fall from grace was not the act of eating the proverbial apple; what led Eve and Adam to totally go off the rails was the introduction of suspicion into their relationship with God.  The serpent introduces doubt into their minds which began their questioning whether God really knew what God was talking about and could God’s word be trusted.  It is through the subtle inference that God really can’t be trusted that prompts them to discover for themselves the deep things of God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

Beloved, what voices are you hearing that are asking you to subtly challenge the veracity and truthfulness of God? What are the underlying issues that cause your suspicion? Are our thoughts and feeling more about what God has or has not done in our lives or our own sense of disappointment we carry because life did not go our way?

So, what causes us problems is that we are easily distracted and turn our eyes away from all that really matters. When we get distracted and lose our focus, we begin to question the character and the stability of God’s character. And this leads to the consequences of that distraction and mistrust: Shame.

Verse 7 tells us that as a result of Adam and Eve’s mistrust of God, the attempted to know the mind of God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge.  The problem was, they lacked the capacity to handle the awareness they received after eating the fruit! They realized their inadequacy which resulted in shame.  Shame leads to alienation from God and others because we do not think we are good enough, worthy enough, or loveable enough. Friends, whenever you feel shame, not guilt but shame, you know it’s from the anti-god. Guilt is that inner compass that reminds us to adjust our spiritual and ethical course. Shame is the overwhelming sense of unworthiness that we are not worth the oxygen we are breathing. Guilt brings new life and opportunity. Shame brings the death of self and stifling, crippling self-absorption.

This morning, we come to the Table prepared by Christ. It comes today as a reminder to keep our focus on that which matters. It serves as a that God can be trusted because God came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. It’s a meal whose power takes away our shame and lovingly lights the path we are to follow.

Out of her distraction, from the depth of her suspicions of God and God’s provision, Eve hauntingly utters words that Jesus would later use. Eve took the fruit, gave it to her husband and they ate.  The result? Alienating shame. Today, God with us stands at the Table and takes himself, gives himself to us, encouraging us to eat and live in communion with God and the saints before us.  Whose voice shall we listen to, friends?

Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Senior Pastor & Teaching Elder
First Presbyterian Church
401 SE 15th Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

© 2020 Patrick H. Wrisley. 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.

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