Because of His Name; Luke 21:5-19

Posted on November 20, 2019 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:        Because of His Name…
Scripture:     Luke 21:5-19
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Date:              November 17, 2019

You may watch the entire service here.

Turn in your Bible to Luke 21:5-19. Jesus has entered Jerusalem for his last week alive and thus far he has been having to defend himself from the leading religious authorities in town.  Now he is reflectively speaking with his disciples as they pause to soak in their beautiful surroundings.  The ancient historian Josephus wrote roughly 40 to 50 years after Jesus died and describes the setting which will help us better appreciate the scripture story. Josephus reflects upon what the Temple in Jerusalem looked like in its glory. He writes,

The exterior of the building wanted nothing that could astound either mind or eye. For, being covered on all sides by massive plates of Gold, the sun was no sooner up than it radiated so fiery a flash that persons straining to look at it were compelled to avert their eyes, as from the solar rays.[1]

            Now listen to the Word of the Lord!

Luke 21:5-19

5When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6“As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

7They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 8And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.

9“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” 10Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

12“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17You will be hated by all because of my name. 18But not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your souls.[2]

This Sunday’s text has Jesus talking with his disciples about what to expect when he has gone. Granted, at this point, they are too obtuse to realize Jesus is about to “go away” via a cruel death, and Jesus is trying to give them a heads up. He tells them,

When I’m gone there will be wars and rumors of war.

When I’m gone, family members will turn against one another and stab each other in the back.

When I’m gone, you will be run out of all your social and civic clubs.

When I’m gone, you are going to be expelled from the Temple as well as the synagogues.

When I’m gone, you will be mocked and made fun of because of me.

When I’m gone, you are going to be seen as a threat by the religious officials and civic government and arrested because you know my Name.

When I’m gone, you are going to be hunted down like wild animals, beat, tortured, and killed because of me.

When I’m gone, your friends will throw you under the bus and will leave you high and dry to figure out life’s hardships on your own.

I wonder if our Christ-followership would have more meaning if all Christians had to sign an indemnity clause before they joined a church and professed their faith.  Indemnity clauses are signed when one party agrees to hold harmless another party in case there are problems or bad consequences while undergoing an activity or experience.  You have signed one of those before, haven’t you?

Years ago, I went on a thrill ride in Orlando called the Skycoaster invented by a church member and friend of mine, Bill Kitchen. Three people are strapped into a harness which is then attached to a cable on your back.  You are then hoisted straight up into the air 300 feet high coming to an abrupt stop causing you to rock and sway totally exposed some thirty stories up in the air. If that wasn’t scary enough, one of the three riders has to pull the ripcord which causes the trio to fall over 120 vertical feet reaching terminal velocity before you began to arc out and over the crowds below. Even though he was a motorcycle riding buddy of mine and a member of my church, I still had to sign an indemnity clause releasing him from responsibility if the cable snapped. Indemnity clauses are sober reminders to us to really reflect and think upon what we are about to do and sign up for on the dotted line.

What if Christians had to sign an indemnity clause before we followed Jesus promising not to hold him responsible for any harm, discomfort – mental or physical – or any other liability we may encumber as we follow him?

Now, some may laugh at that thought.  I mean, how hard is it to be a Christian in our western culture today?  Well, in our culture’s eyes, not very hard at all.  Christian discipleship today is marked with rugged utilitarian individualism; who needs the church or a community of people to be close to God when I can do it by myself?  People crow, “The church is full of hypocrites!” and I smile and respond, “And we’ve got the room for one more just like you to join us!”

The reality is, Jesus tells his disciples that before the signs of the end appear before the Temple is torn down and wars and rumors of war emerge, disciples will be persecuted. He did not say they would be inconvenienced but they would be persecuted.  Why? Because of his name. Twice in a short few verses, Jesus reminds us that the faith we hold onto in his name will bring us in confrontation with authorities and will cause people to hate us.  All because of his name. But we protest, “I don’t like confrontation and I want to be liked!”

When we follow in Jesus’ name it means our professed faith in Christ matches our outwardly lived allegiance to him in the world. It means when we say they will know we are Christians by our love that our praises in worship will not turn into snippy, snarky, grousing, backbiting attacks about other church members by the time you reach the parking lot.

When we sign up to follow Christ, we don’t sign up to follow a list of rules; however, there does need to be congruence to what we say we believe and how we live and relate with God and each other. Why? Because we are sharing in his name.  Professor Alan Culpepper notes, “Truth is tested and faith is confirmed not in idle speculation but in the crucible of adversity.  Those who wish to find a more vibrant religious experience, therefore, should not look for a sign of the future but for signals that it is time to live by Jesus’ call for obedience here and now.”[3]

Perhaps Christians in America need an indemnity clause to sign to remind us of what we are agreeing to get involved with when we say, “I believe in Jesus.”  Perhaps the Christian Indemnity Form reads like this and we are being asked to check these boxes in agreement.  From the comfort of your seats, see if you can honestly complete this indemnity clause for being a Christ-follower.

Do you agree to be personally responsible for all actions encumbered or enacted by you or someone else if you accept Jesus Christ and Lord and Savior?

Do you acknowledge your new life in Christ will cause you hardship at best and hardship at worst?

Do you acknowledge that by checking the box you hereby relinquish all personal control of your tangible and financial assets?

Do you acknowledge you will be discriminated against because of your fealty to Jesus Christ?

Do you acknowledge that by signing this form you publicly agree that there will be congruence in your life between the faith you profess and the quality of life you lead at home, work, play, or in any social arena, online or otherwise?

By checking this box, do you acknowledge public shame, mockery, imprisonment or possible death may occur because of the faith you proclaim?

Just maybe, beloved, our faith should cost us something as it did Jesus his final week before he died because of the congruence of what he said and lived for the sake of his name.  This week, our homework is this:  Does the quality of my faith even demand an indemnity clause?  Amen.

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

© 2019 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]R. Alan Culpepper, The Gospel of Luke, The New Interpreters Bible, Vol. IX, (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 399.

[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] Culpepper, 403

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Dear Jesus, How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin?; Luke 20:27-40

Posted on November 13, 2019 by patrick h wrisley

You can watch the whole service or the sermon by clicking here.

Sermon:        Dear Jesus, How Many Angels Can Dance on the Head of a Pin?   
Scripture:     Luke 20:27-40
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Date:             November 10, 2019

It was a hard day at the office, and I had come home and crashed in the first chair that greeted me when I walked into the door. I wanted simply to enter my cave and be alone and turn everything off for a while. John Gray, author of the famous 1992 book, Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, describes the need for men to decompress in those first moments walking in the door from a busy day of work and refrain from talking, tasks, or anything else that would disturb their time for letting the day settle. It never dawned on me back then Kelly was ready to run into a cave of her own by the time I walked into the door in the evening. She quickly reminded me Gray’s thesis was flawed; I was soon tutored that both men and women need ‘cave’ time after a long day!

Well, there I was trying to sit in my quiet space and our two girls and Golden Retriever puppy were tearing through the house. It grew quiet after some time and I began to relax and soon slipped into a pre-dinner nap. No sooner had I closed my eyes when I felt this plop on my lap.  My youngest Katie had joined me in my chair and was looking at me.  All but 5 or 6 at the time, she began chatting up a storm. Then it came from out of the blue. From what wall this non sequitur emerged from is still a mystery and in retrospect, it was clearly a glimpse into her future as a Ph.D. in Medieval Historical Theology.

“Daddy tell me about hell. What is it like?”

I just kind of stared at her a few moments trying to formulate an answer she might understand. There was no telling what images were going through her mind…flames of fire…devilish looking creatures with pitchforks poking people… Here this little human of five was looking at me with Cindy Loo Hoo eyes wanting an answer to a serious question.  I took a breath, stroked her hair and said to her, “Honey, that is a good question.  In fact, that’s a great question and it demands a really good answer!  I’ll tell you what: Why don’t you take that question and ask your momma!”

Oh, those hard questions that come out of left field.  We all have them, don’t we?

What’s heaven like?

Well, it’s more incredible than we have words to describe.

What’s hell like?

Why do we ask that? Do we think we want to book a ticket?

Is there a heaven or hell at all?

Look at your life.  You tell me the answer.

Why is there suffering if there is a good God?

God looks at all the good Christians in churches worldwide and dares to ask us the same question.

Why did this happen to me?

Because you and I live in a broken, fallen world at the moment.  It could happen to any of us.

Say, Jesus, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

Really?

What are your questions for God?  If Jesus was having a bus tour in South Florida and was here this morning and you could ask him any question, what would it be? Well, this is what is happening in our scripture from Luke 20 today. In Luke’s storytime, Jesus has entered Jerusalem and has been having the religious leaders – the keepers of orthodoxy and moral purity – peppering him non-stop with comments and questions trying to trip Jesus up in front of the people. They were trained by the greatest religious minds of their community so who was this country-bumpkin from backwater Nazareth to school them in issues of life and theology?

In our text, we are introduced to a group of people we have not met before in Luke’s Gospel, the Sadducees. From on old, they were the ones who took care of the Temple and made sure the Torah was kept.  They were scholarly.  They were ultra-conservative in their strict interpretation of the Jewish Law and were seen as wealthy religious aristocrats. The Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife but understood we are to live our best life now as that is all we get. The Sadducees only held to the first five books of the Jewish Bible, the Torah.  The Pharisees embraced the Torah as well as the prophets and other wisdom literature in the Old testament. The Pharisee loved a vibrant oral tradition passed on from one generation to another in the form of Midrash, commentary added over the centuries that help explain the biblical text. Pharisees would almost appear libertine when placed next to a Sadducee.

We meet our Sadducee in Jerusalem trying to trip Jesus up. His question was not so much as to learn any deep truths but rather was a way to show up Jesus and stir the pudding between their religious rivals, the Pharisees. Listen to Luke 20:27-40.

Luke 20:27-40

27Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 29Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; 30then the second 31and the third married her, and so, in the same way, all seven died childless. 32Finally the woman also died. 33In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.” 34Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; 35but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

39Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40For they no longer dared to ask him another question.[1]

This was their way of asking Jesus, “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” They did not care about resurrection because they did not believe in it themselves! For the Sadducee, eternal life was related to the concept of a family guaranteeing there would always be a progenitor to pass on the family line. So, if something happens to me as Kelly’s husband, when I die she would then become the wife of one of my brothers and bear them children as though they were ours. It was a way for the family to continue.[2] The concept of resurrection was absolute silliness to them. Yet, even in their absurd question in whose answer they did not really care about in the first place, Jesus schools them and provides you and me two lessons of what our eternal life is like.

Lesson one: We believe in eternal life, not immortal life.  To be immortal means we don’t die. It means when I “die” things will continue on in heaven as things are here in our earthly existence. It’ll be pretty much the same old, same old except hopefully, we all get an upgrade on our cars and houses and with any luck, I won’t be so short and squatty.

Friends, the man Jesus died. He took his last breath on the Cross and died. The soldiers speared him just to make sure. Jesus is telling us in our Story that though we will face physical decay and corruption, we will face pain and loss, we will cry and feel alone, but that this less than perfect life of ours is not the last word. God provides us the ability to live eternally as a re-created child of the resurrection!

Lesson number two: Jesus says that in the life to come, things are similar but are also radically different. At the moment, you and I have earthly urges and needs that will not matter in our heavenly life. Jesus says we will be like angels of light and will be children of the resurrection. We will be the same but different…uncorrupted and whole while in the Presence of God. We live eternally with the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  What matters to us now – degrees, motorcycles, homes, health, money – will not matter to us any more than knowing how many angels can dance on the head of a pin! When you and I are in the direct Presence of God eternally, the questions that matter most to us now will not even be ones on our mind then. Do you remember what the Apostle Paul says about that time? He reminds us that

8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.[3]

In other words, beloved, it’s at the resurrection we become wholly who God means us to be. The time for absurd questions will come to an end.  We will know as we are already fully known. One day, we will see it all with our own eyes, face to face – not with our earthly eyes but with eyes of angels.

So, here’s the takeaway for you and me. If when we receive eternal life on the other side of the grave, it’s helpful to remember that the questions we ask God will change. The questions we yearn to have answered now are a result of our yearning to know the answers; frankly, on this side of eternity, I don’t believe you or I have the ability to live with the answers we would get. So perhaps our real lesson today is not to pepper God with questions we can’t handle the answers to but instead, let’s begin living that eternal life in the present with lavish displays of faith in God, hope in God and in one another, and love for the Lord as we love on the least of these in our world.

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

© 2019 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.
[2] So, Ruth and Boaz in the book of Ruth.
[3] So 1 Corinthians 13.8-13.

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Jesus Invites Us to the Fetching Table!, Luke 19.1-10

Posted on November 5, 2019 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:        Jesus Invites Us to the Fetching Table
Scripture:     Luke 19:1-10
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Date:              November 3, 2019

Luke 19:1-10

19.1He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”[1]

Throughout his gospel account, Luke has done a masterful job of letting his readers get confronted by those who think they are “on the inside” of favoritism only to be demoted by Jesus as being spiritual and cultural outsiders. Who are those who think they are on the inside? Typically, healthy and wealthy Jewish males with lots of sons and those who were the religious rule followers. If you were unhealthy, poor, physically different, or a Gentile, you failed at receiving God’s blessing.

Luke 18 has Jesus turning those ideas on their heads. The rich young ruler who has followed the Law of Moses, has amassed wealth, has been an upstanding member of his Jewish community wants to have eternal life and follow Jesus. Surely if there was anyone who could fit the bill of being the Uber Jew, it was this man; unfortunately, he couldn’t get past the death-grip he had on his possessions and wealth and would not give it up to follow Jesus.

Today, we have the antitype of a good upstanding Jewish male. He was a little man. He worked for the Roman government as a middle-man tax collector and could charge whatever fees he wanted in obtaining the taxes. His wealth was a result of his exploitation of his fellow Jewish citizens. There is no evidence that he even practiced his Jewish faith. We can easily imagine him at a first-century bar singing along with the Garth Brook’s tune,

“’Cause I’ve got friends in low places
Where the whiskey drowns,

And the beer chases my blues away,

and I’ll be okay.”

Poor, little, wee Zacchaeus. He had money, wealth, and influence but little else. He was a distrusted, disliked, and damned man by his community; in other words, he was just perfect for Jesus.

Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to face his destiny. Jericho is a town a little east/northeast of Jerusalem along the Jordan River. Once you leave Jericho heading to Jerusalem, you began a grueling 18-mile climb from a height of 825 feet below sea level to Jerusalem at 2,500 feet.[2] We can imagine Jesus lost in his thoughts about his climb up to Jerusalem and what awaited him there when all of a sudden, he stops, looks up, and sees Zacchaeus looking down from a tree.

Try to imagine this awkward scene.  Crowds are pushing Jesus along when he decides to stop suddenly.  He looks up. You look up. “There’s Zacchaeus” you mutter under your breath.  “What’s HE doing here?!” And then Jesus calls him down, declaring, “I must stay in your house today!” This really gets the crowd buzzing. “Does Jesus know who this guy is?”

Yes.

“Does Jesus know the corruption of this man’s house?”

Yes.

“Does Jesus know that this man has friends in low places?”

Absolutely. Jesus even pushes social protocol and invites himself for a meal and lodging at this wee man’s house!

The power of our Story is that it was a result of Jesus’ desire to have friendship with him that Zacchaeus found his conversion. It was only after Jesus noticed the unloved, isolated man that Zacchaeus responded with his personal commitments to giving to the poor or to any and all he had cheated. Unlike the rich young ruler who wanted eternal life but greedily held on to his money and would not share it, Zacchaeus went looking for Jesus and was willing to give it all away.

If we are not careful, we will fall for our story’s sleight of hand. You see, we think the Story is pointing towards Zacchaeus and his transformation. It does, indeed, do that but only after the Story first points to Jesus’ initiative to restore this lowly man to high places of the Kingdom. Jesus took the initiative in this relationship when he stopped, looked up, and demanded to be his houseguest!

Back in 1996 when my family and I first moved to Celebration, Florida, the Disney Company’s new urban town, I had to start a worshipping congregation within two weeks of our arrival. Celebration is a planned community designed by Imagineers to be an example of what communities should be like in the future.  Disney built the infrastructure and town, selected builders built the houses and amenities, and over 5,000 people entered a lottery to be one of the first 300 homeowners in the town.  So in November 1996, Disney opened the town and the first few hundred residents moved in roughly the same week. Central Florida Presbytery had the foresight to enter the lottery and build a house in town for a pastor, so Kelly and I didn’t have to go through the lottery silliness. Still, I had to start worshipping community within two weeks of our arrival which in new church development circles, simply had not been done. What was I to do?

In downtown Celebration, the businesses all opened up at the same time as well, and one place caught my eye: Barneys Coffee Shop. It was down near the lake. It had an expansive outdoor patio and it was always jammed as it was the only coffee shop in the area. So what I did was to station myself at a table immediately in front of the exit door of the coffee house in the courtyard thereby giving me the chance to greet everyone who walked out the door. I’d introduce myself as the new pastor in the community and that we were starting a church in the AMC theater in a few weeks. Over 150 people showed up that first service.

For the next twelve years, I sat at that table and invited people to sit and let’s visit. Someone who later became a dear friend from that experience gave both me and the table a name.  Gabriela was from Hamburg, Germany and in a very thick German accent, she would call me “Dr. Fetch” because I was always sitting at the “fetching table” getting to know people’s views of God. “Day would smell that awful cigar of yours and den they would be buying you coffee. You were a Fetcher!”

Today, beloved, we come to the Fetching Table of Christ.  Like with Zacchaeus, Jesus stands before us and demands that he come and stay and eat with us!  Jesus sits at the Table and says, “Come over here and let’s visit a while and share with me what is going on in your world!” You see, Jesus is taking the initiative to be with you and me and wants to spend time around the table with you and me.  We may be like Zacchaeus up a tree looking at Jesus from a distance but Jesus is looking up at you and me saying, “Get down here and let’s have supper together!”  Jesus is inviting us to the Fetching Table!  Come, beloved, come! Zacchaeus and the others are beckoning us, “What are you waiting for?” Amen.

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

© 2019 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] See http://bibleresources.americanbible.org/resource/from-jerusalem-to-jericho.

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All in! Come before winter!, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-22

Posted on October 31, 2019 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:       All in! Come Before Winter!
Scripture:     2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-22
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Date:             October 27, 2019

How many of you have a will? A will is a legal document that specifies how you want your remaining assets and estate to distribute to others after you die. But did you know there is such a thing called an ethical will?

An ethical will contains a person’s personal ethical, spiritual, and moral values to those they love. It’s not about leaving money or property; it’s about bequeathing your values to a future generation. Ethical wills can be written or they can be recorded. They can be presented in photographs, videos, or simply through basic storytelling. When you leave an ethical will, you are simply sharing the life-lessons you want to leave your family and friends about what you think is important and what you want them to remember.[1]

Today’s text picks up from where Nic left off last week in 2 Timothy. These pastoral epistles, as they are known, are letters from the Apostle Paul to his protégé, Timothy, who was living in Ephesus at the time. Paul is in a prison in Rome awaiting his second trial with Emperor Nero. Today, we have Paul’s ethical will as these are thought to be the very last words he wrote before he died.

These are some of the most tender words in scripture. Written by an old man who has spent the last thirty years doing ministry traipsing back and forth from Palestine to Italy and all parts in between, these are words written by a man who is facing imminent death and fully realizes that his time is about through.  As you listen to the text, listen to what is important to Paul and what he values. Listen to what consists of his earthly estate. Listen for his urgency. Hear the Word of the Lord.

2 Timothy 4:6-22

6As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. 7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

9Do your best to come to me soon, 10for Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. 11Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful in my ministry. 12I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14Alexander the coppersmith did me great harm; the Lord will pay him back for his deeds. 15You also must beware of him, for he strongly opposed our message.

16At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! 17But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

19Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus remained in Corinth; Trophimus I left ill in Miletus. 21Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers and sisters. 22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.[2]

Did you note what was important to Paul? Relationships! Relationships with friends, colleagues, members of the church family, and most of all, his relationship with Jesus. We can hear the sadness in his voice as he recounts this long list of people, most of them friends, who totally deserted him when the going got tough.  Demas, a longtime ministry colleague with Paul seems to have not been able to muster the challenges of ministry and chose the easy path of the world and went back to Thessalonica. Crescens and Titus are too wrapped up in their own work to get there to Rome and support him. Only Luke is with him.

Relationships are important to Paul. He even asks Timothy to find Mark and bring him along as well. If you’ll remember, this is John Mark, Barnabas’ cousin, that Paul got angry with because earlier in his life, Mark did not show the fortitude or maturity to be a minister of the Lord; he literally abandoned his post and went home. Paul and Barnabas had a horrible falling out that sent them both on their separate ways.[3] But Paul has matured. Mark has matured. Paul is showing us that even old enmities need to be dealt with and healed. Over the course of years, Paul forgave Mark and wants this one-time deserter to be by his deathbed when the time comes knocking on the door. Relationships matter. Paul is lonely.

Beloved, who are the people that matter most to you? Have you told them so? Do they know it? Are there people in your life that you, like Paul, need to forgive and move on in your relationship with them? It may simply mean letting go of the anger or hate that paralyzes you in that relationship; let that person go, let their actions go, and make peace within yourself.

Did you hear how Paul relates to earthly needs and goods? Quite unlike people today, Paul had a personal stewardship that relied totally on the Lord. Throughout his ministry, he beheld how in every town, in every circumstance, the Lord provided for him whether it was through the generosity of the churches he served or through the gifts of his working as a tentmaker. Paul’s possessions, Paul’s estate, were the experiences of grace and strength of God’s presence in Christ. When he was stoned, he possessed the presence of Christ. When the ship was being battered and torn asunder by the reef, he possessed the presence of Christ. When he was knocked off his horse at his conversion and was blind, his only possession was the presence of Christ.

Paul traveled light. If he possessed the presence of Christ, it was enough, and it was the presence of the Lord in his life that determined what he owned. In other words, friends, Paul lived simply. As he awaited his trial and death, he only wanted his friends to bring him his books, some parchments, and his robe to ward off the cold of the Italian winters. What these books and parchments were are left to speculation. Some think they were scrolls of the Torah. Others believe that perhaps the parchments were Paul’s personal notes on the various churches he founded. Some even speculate that Paul wanted John Mark, who spent a lot of time with Simon Peter, to join both he and Luke in Rome so he could edit their written accounts of the gospels!  We just don’t know. What we do know is that what Paul owned could be carried in a suitcase. Books, loose writings, and a coat. He traveled light. He did not need much because what he lacked he was confident the Lord would provide through the relationships and network he had developed.

The question confronts you and me: What are those things we possess? Or better yet, do our things possess us? Paul possessed experiences with Christ through the relationships and experiences in his life. His possessions, the books, and parchments were used to help sharpen that relationship with God and with others. What do our possessions say about us?  Do they sharpen and enhance our relationship with God and our neighbor?  If we had to pack a suitcase of all that is vital for us, what would be in it?

Finally, did you hear the words of urgency? “Come before winter.” His life was being poured out, death was coming down the street. He was longing to have those relationships, experiences with those he loved, his scripture and notes, and his cloak to stay warm. Paul’s words to Timothy would have cost Timothy something. It would require him to drop everything he was doing in Ephesus, travel one hundred miles north to get Paul’s cloak in Troas, and then make his way over the sea to Rome. “Come before winter” Paul urges. Why? One, he didn’t want to be a shivering old man! But he also knew that boats quit sailing in late autumn because the seas grew too rough to sail. It would take Timothy some four or more months to get to Paul depending on conditions and Paul wanted him to get on with it.

Years ago, Dr. Clarence McCartney who pastored the First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, preached a sermon called, “Come Before Winter.”  As he reflects on our text, he wonders what would have happened if Timothy hesitated before leaving. What if Timothy waited until springtime to go see Paul? Dr. McCartney puts it this way:

 Suppose that Timothy, when he received that letter from Paul asking him to come before winter, had said to himself: “Yes, I shall start for Rome; but first of all I must clear up some matters here at Ephesus, and then go down to Miletus to ordain elders there, and thence over to Colossae to celebrate the Communion there.” When he has attended to these matters, he starts for Troas, and there inquires when he can get a ship which will carry him across to Macedonia, and thence to Italy, or one that is sailing around Greece into the Mediterranean. He is told that the season for navigation is over and that no vessels will sail till springtime. “No ships for Italy till April!

All through that anxious winter, we can imagine Timothy reproaching himself that he did not go at once when he received Paul’s letter, and wondering how it fares with the Apostle. When the first vessel sails in the springtime, Timothy…hurries to Rome. There he seeks out Paul’s prison, only to be cursed and repulsed by the guard. Then he goes to the house of Claudia, or Pudens, or Narcissus, or Mary, or Ampliatus, and asks where he can find Paul. I can hear them say: “And are you Timothy? Don’t you know that Paul was beheaded last December? Every time the jailer put the key in the door of his cell, Paul thought you were coming. His last message was for you, ‘Give my love to Timothy, my beloved son in the faith when he comes.’” How Timothy then must have wished that he had come before winter![4]

Beloved, Paul’s words are words of urgency. What do you and I need to do before winter comes? Life has a and python populations with temps in the 90’s at the end of October. Winter? Who needs to plan for winter? I’ve got plenty of time!

But do we? Come before winter. There is urgency in Paul’s words. Is there something you need to do in your life to tie up loose ends? Are there personal letters that need to be written to share what you really feel towards another?  Are there phone calls to be made to people who matter in your life? Are there commitments you need to make to the church as you start putting Christ in the center of your life like Paul did? Are you all in or are you going to wait until spring?  Let’s come before Winter!

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

© 2019 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] Please see Ethical Wills at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethical_will.
[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] See Acts 15:36 ff.
[4] Clarence Macartney (1879–1957), Come Before Winter, accessed 10/25/2019 at
https://www.preceptaustin.org/come_before_winter.  My former colleague, the late W. Frank Harrington, Pastor of the Peachtree Presbyterian Church in Atlanta took up McCartney’s mantel and preached a “Come Before Winter” every Labor Day weekend.

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All in! Two out of three is not too bad, or is it?, Luke 17:11-19

Posted on October 14, 2019 by patrick h wrisley

Sermon:        All in! Two out of three is not bad, or is it?
Scripture:     Luke 17:11-19
Preacher:      Patrick H. Wrisley, D.Min.
Location:      First Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Date:             October 13, 2019

Leviticus 13:45-46

 45 The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.

Luke 17:11-19

 11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”[1]

My momma was a bit of an eccentric at times and would teach my brothers and sister life lessons with living hyperbole. One Father’s Day comes to mind. The six of us heard the call to supper following church and we came running.  My mom had busted her tail getting everything all prepped before we went to church that morning and by the time we got home, the house smelled delicious.  We swooped in and tore into dinner. We all got done with desert and all of us got up to leave the table, including dad and headed for the den to watch football. A few minutes later we heard mom back in the kitchen. Actually, we heard crying and breaking plates on the floor of the kitchen. All of us ran into to see what was going on there she was, all five feet one of her, scrapping food onto the floor and dropping the plates on top of it. When the full audience of my dad, two brothers, sister and I all got there, she stopped and looked at us.

“I’ve been killing myself to help make this a special Father’s Day meal for you.  I was up and cooking before any of you got out of bed and got this meal prepared and ready so by the time we got back from church, we could enjoy nice family time.  But you know what, each of you came home grumpy, ate your dinner, got up from your seats and left the room without as much as a ‘thank you’ for dinner; furthermore, none of you cleaned off your own dishes from the table and just assumed I would clean up after you! Well, you need to know, that train has stopped!”

With that, momma washed her hands off and dried her eyes. She gave each of us a stern look and walked out of the house. In utter silence, each of us began cleaning off the table, washing the dishes and pots, swept and mopped the floor and took the trash out. Looking back, I realize there was something much deeper going on between my mom and dad that I was not aware nor mature enough to understand. All me and my siblings knew is that we failed someone we loved through our dynamic ingratitude. We failed to say thank you. We took what my mom did for granted and the result is that it deeply hurt her.

So, if I am ever at your home for a meal or for coffee, I will always carry my dishes to the kitchen and clean up after myself. I will always say thank you as well.  My momma taught me that lesson.

She taught me to say thank you.  She taught me to show appreciation for what others do for me. She taught me what it means to feel taken for granted and unappreciated. She taught what it means to show gratitude.

This is what our Story is about today in our text. Jesus has been north doing his teaching and healing ministry around the Galilee and was now heading towards Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover. He was going through a region that skirted Samaria, which for the Jew, was an unclean place. You see, for the Jews, the Samaritans were posers.  They were not the real deal. These feelings went centuries back to the times of the Jewish kings after David when the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms.  To the north was Israel. To the south, Judah, whose capital was Jerusalem. All of this is described in the books of 1 and 2 Kings. Those in Samaria had their own temple to God while the people of Judah had the real Temple in Jerusalem. The people in Judah felt the people of the north sold out. Their worship was inferior. They were unreconciled to God.  They did not follow the edicts of the law. They were seen as “those people” who live a less than holy life and who failed to follow good Jewish tradition. So this is where Jesus was at the time of our Story. He’s in a country his Jewish neighbors taught him to hate from the time he was little.

But Jesus did not listen to his neighbors. He enters a village when from a distance he is assailed by ten men who are described as lepers. Technically, they could have had any type of skin disease and they would be treated with the same scorn. They were dirty. They were unclean. They were separated from their community and social structure and had to go it alone and fend for themselves without any support or sympathy from anyone. If they were indeed suffering from leprosy, or Hanson’s Disease as it’s known today, they suffered from an illness that destroyed the nerve endings in your body’s extremities. It robbed the person from feeling any pain. You could step on a nail and not even know it. Your foot becomes infected, diseased, and deteriorates usually causing the loss of skin tissue or even a limb. Their illness became their identity.  No longer did people see a person as a child of God but as a defiled and diseased human being that must have deserved God’s scorn. These are the ten men who hollered at Jesus for mercy.

It’s interesting that there is no explicit request for healing on the part of these guys but they do ask for mercy. They want to be noticed, cared for, and longed for love and the acceptance of their community and family. Jesus knows all too well what these men need and simply tells them to go and show themselves to the priests as Moses commanded and they would be fine. They turn to leave and all of them are made well again.  They are whole. They are clean and embraceable again. They’re thrilled! They’ve been shown mercy! But none of them stopped to say ‘thank you.’

Except one. A Samaritan at that.  The one who is considered to be an alien, a non-Jew, is the only one who came running back to Jesus to show gratitude, and because he did, he received a gift the other nine missed out receiving: Salvation. You see, there are two different words to describe the healings in our Story. One word used is to describe being made clean and healthy again. The other word is used to describe restoration to having one’s relationship with God restored and healthy again and this is the word used when Jesus talks with the returned Samaritan.

There is a direct relationship with one’s faith and with the expression of thankfulness and gratitude. It’s one thing to be made clean; it’s entirely something else to be made truly whole and one with God again. “Were not ten made clean? Where are the other nine? Well, brother, get up and go on home. Your faith has made you whole, well, clean, but most importantly, restored to God! Begin your new life right this minute!”

Professor at Columbia Seminary, Kimberly Bracken Long, writes, “To practice gratitude intentionally changes an individual life, to be sure. It also changes the character of a congregation. When Christians practice gratitude, they come to worship not just to “get something out of it,” but to give thanks and praise to God. Stewardship is transformed from fundraising to the glad gratitude of joyful givers. The mission of the church changes from an ethical duty to the work of grateful hands and hearts.”[2] Furthermore, she says, the Samaritan demonstrates a mature faith because it is a faith that is wrapped up in gratitude.

There is an old saying that two out to three is not bad, or as in the case of today, one out of then. It’s not bad but it’s not too good either. All of the lepers had the opportunity to express gratitude to God but only one out ten did. That’s rather sad, isn’t it?  “Surely I would be like the one who came back!” we protest. But do we?  In 2017, we had 18 estimate of giving cards on file for 1,100 members. Last year we upped that to a few hundred.  I guess two out of three is not bad, or a few hundred out of 1,100…yes, my friends, it is bad. It’s not good at all.

Friends, our giving back to God with what God has blessed us with is a spiritual issue that measures the depth of one’s faith. It’s a way we show the Lord our gratitude for coming alongside us and showing us the Way.  How deep or how shallow is your faith and mine?  Are we all in or do we simply expect God to bless us because that’s what God does?  I realize now that telling my momma “thank you” for a great dinner and helping her clean up after myself was the best way to show my love and appreciation to her.  The Samaritan leper showed his appreciation and love to God by saying, “I’m all in, Jesus!  Thank you!”  How shall we show ours?

The Holy Spirit enlighten our hearts.  Amen.

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

© 2019 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] Kimberly Bracken Long, Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 4: Season after Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-Reign of Christ) (Kindle Locations 6343-6344). Presbyterian Publishing Corporation. Kindle Edition.

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