Kairos Blog

Along for the Journey, on God's Time...

  • Home
  • About Kairosblog
  • Links
  • Sermons
  • About Chad
You are here: Home / Archives for presbyterian church (usa)

Sermon: I Choose You

May 21, 2017 by Chad Herring Leave a Comment

May 21, 2017 – “I Choose You” from John Knox Kirk on Vimeo.

I Choose You.

A sermon preached at The Kirk of Kansas City, Missouri, on May 21, 2017.

Scripture readings (which you may wish to read prior):
Acts 10:34-48
and John 15:9-17

I saw a puppy the other day.

Not just a young dog. A puppy.
Soft. Eager eyed. Maybe a week or two old.
Fur still had that brand new dog smell.

Such an adorable puppy.

It was a lot of fun to play with, even if it did want to gnaw on my fingers a bit.
She’ll make her forever family a great companion.

As I was playing with her, I remembered this story
That one of my favorite storytelling preacher types, Barbara Bundick
Used to tell. A story about puppies.[i]

Once upon a time,
a farmer in Wisconsin had some puppies he needed to sell.

So he painted a simple sign, advertising the pups
 and set about nailing the sign to a post on the edge of his yard.
It wasn’t way way outside of town.
It was a good spot with people passing by.
He hoped it would get noticed quickly.

And as he was driving the LAST nail into that post,
Wouldn’t you know it
 he felt a tug on his overalls.

He looked down, straight into the eyes of a little boy.

“Mister,” the boy said, matter-of-factly
“I want to buy one of your puppies.”

“Well,” said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck,
“These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”

The boy dropped his head for a moment.
But just for a moment,
Then he started reaching deep into his pocket,
And pulled out a handful of change.

He held it up to the farmer with a big hopeful smile.
“Hey, I’ve got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?”

“Sure” said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle,
“Here, Dolly!” he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly,
 followed by four little balls of fur.
They scampered close, kinda jumping on top of each other.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence.
His eyes danced with delight.

As the dogs made their way to the fence,
the little boy noticed something else, though
 stirring, back there inside the doghouse.

Slowly, another little ball appeared;
 this one was noticeably…well, SMALLER.

Down the ramp it slid.
Then in a somewhat awkward manner,
the little pup began hobbling toward the others,
doing its best to catch up.

“I want that one! I want that one!” the little boy squealed, pointing to the runt.

The farmer sighed,
And kindly kneeled down to the boy’s side and said,
“Son, you don’t want that puppy.
He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.
Take a look at the others…”

There was a brief pause.
And then the little boy stepped back from the fence.
He reached down,
and began rolling up one leg of his trousers,
 revealing to the farmer a steel brace
  running down both sides of his leg
  attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at him, the boy said,
  “You see, sir, I don’t run too well myself,
   and he will need someone who understands….
   I think he’ll be perfect…”

///
A bit sappy, I grant you,
But this story brings into clear relief the best aspects of
the two scripture passages before us this morning.

This Season of Easter,
The period between Easter Sunday and Pentecost
Which comes up in two weeks
Is designed to walk us through how everything has changed
Now that Christ is ALIVE and Death no longer reigns.

One way to do that is to look carefully at the story in the Acts of the Apostles.

After the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,
these earliest disciples are TRANSFORMED
from FEAR to COURAGE
from DOUBT to HOPE
from CLOSED MINDS to OPEN HEARTS…
and ALL because of the work of the holy spirit in their midst.

The ACTS itself is a narrative of the early church wrestling with
the wild, unpredictable, unsettling movement of God in their midst.
[Read more…]

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Jesus, presbyterian church (usa), relationships, sermon, theology

God’s Politics vs Partisanship: Being Church Together

May 11, 2017 by Chad Herring Leave a Comment

 

The Rev. Aaron Roberts, The Rev. Kate McGee, and me, at the Kansas Statehouse in 2014, protesting a so-called “Religious Freedom” bill that would have permitted discrimination against LGBTQI people based on “sincerely held religious beliefs.”

 

If there’s one thing I bet you enjoy, it is reading church newsletter columns by a pastor.

I don’t usually share these here, but I thought the subject of my May reflection might be of broader interest. There might have been more to say about this if there had been the space. I might have discussed how the Theological Declaration of Barmen guides Presbyterians to affirm that, no matter who is in charge of our government or what is the status of the Johnson Amendment, we in the church turn to a higher authority in our reflection and our action. I could have explored how our Presbyterian Book of Order expands on what I referenced about not seeking preferential status from the government: “Therefore we consider the rights of private judgment, in all matters that respect religion, as universal and unalienable: We do not even wish to see any religious constitution aided by the civil power, further than may be necessary for protection and security, and at the same time, be equal and common to all others. (F-3.0101b).” I may have elaborated on the distinction between political speech and moral advocacy on the one hand (“God’s heart is broken when there aren’t places in our inner cities to buy fresh vegetables and healthy foods”), and partisan speech on the other (“Vote for Suzie because only she is God’s chosen candidate to bring food to hungry people.”)

Maybe you could reflect on those points too, but for now, here’s what I wrote to my friends at The Kirk:

///
Issues of church and state have been in the news, and perhaps it would be helpful for some reflection about it. For instance, the Wall Street Journal article “Trump Signs Religious Freedoms Executive Order” of May 4, 2017, outlined the intention of the federal government to ease up its enforcement of the so-called Johnson Amendment, the 1954 law that forbids non-profit charitable groups (like churches) from engaging in partisan activity, endorsing specific candidates for public office. While lawyers and scholars doubt this directive will have much practical effect (since there aren’t many prosecutions under this provision anyway), we might ask whether churches being involved in this sort of activity would be a good thing, even if permitted.

It might help to be clear about what is being discussed and what is not. Our tradition strongly values the separation of church and state enshrined in our constitution. We think that the government shouldn’t tell us what to do, and that public matters should not be debated on religious grounds nor bias any particular religious point of view (including our own).

This doesn’t mean, however, we think that people of faith should refrain from political action. Since the early formation of our republic, Presbyterians have participated in shaping our public life. Since our first church in America (founded in 1640), Presbyterians have been involved in political action. Presbyterians signed our founding documents and the Constitution, and were instrumental in the drafting of our system of government. We created public schools and universities, built hospitals, sent elders and pastors to elected positions, and marched for justice and equality in the civil rights movement. In the Church’s best moments, these efforts are inspired by God’s call to support the common good while seeking to help the hungry, the hurting, the poor, and those on the margins. We might call that God’s Politics, as its Greek root is polis, or the “city-state” that is the foundation of democracy.

Politics and partisanship are two different things. People of faith are concerned about matters of public import, and we expect that people of good will are going to see them differently. This may lead some of us to engage in partisan activity, focusing our energies with other like-minded people towards platforms within formal political parties. In our country, this is often how we engage in decision making about matters of public concern, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with this. Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, and Independents, all may call The Kirk their church home. The church, and its politics, must not ever confuse the teachings of the Gospel with any party or candidate. All parties fall short; no candidate is above critique. Instead, the church must invite people of all partisan perspectives to work together to advance God’s politics. When it is faithful, the church should critique parties when they fall short, and encourage people of good will to see beyond party to a larger and greater good. It must respect that people of true and honest faith may disagree on means or process, while agreeing on the broader political aims that characterize Jesus’ teachings and the discernment that follows from them.

All of this is to say: as a pastor, I am grateful for the caution that the Johnson Amendment gives us. The church is called to be political, but not partisan. We should be careful to make this distinction, and to provide a space for different perspectives to be welcomed and discussed. I, like you, have my own partisan perspectives on the issues of the day, but they too are critiqued by the Gospel, which inspires me to look beyond them for a greater good. On my own time, I might work toward partisan goals, as you might. When I serve as your pastor, however, I am called and committed to serve everyone equally. I don’t expect anyone to uncritically agree with a sermon, and when I preach, I will never endorse a specific candidate or party. It would be wrong for me to tell you how you should vote. Instead, sermons should feed your spiritual life, encouraging you to ask questions, whether we agree or not, trusting you to engage the world through the faith God gives you. That may lead to different partisan outcomes, even if we share a commitment to pursue what God is doing in the world through the inclusive love of Jesus. As we move forward together, let’s pursue God’s Politics, and give thanks whenever any of us are inspired by a greater concern for the public good to get involved, as they prayerfully are being led, to solve our common problems. I’m grateful for a chance to be doing ministry with faithful people of good will, different as we are, as we seek to pursue God’s vision for the world together.

  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Current Affairs, politics, presbyterian church (usa), Religion

Next Page »

Chad Andrew Herring

Chad Herring

kairos :: creature of dust :: child of God :: husband of 20 years :: father of 2 :: teaching elder/minister of word and sacrament in the presbyterian church (u.s.a.) :: exploring a progressive-reformed – emergent-christianity :: more

The Dream Team

While kairosblog has an extensive blogroll, the following are particularly meaningful to me, and are commended for your edification:

landonwhitsitt, Landon, SOMA Synod Exec
yorocko, the inimitable Rocky Supinger
a church for starving artists, Jan Edmiston's blog
glass overflowing, Marci Glass's incredible writing, fellow pastor and friend
Bruce Reyes-Chow, former pcusa moderator
Carol Howard Merritt, tribal church
Adam Walker Cleaveland, pomomusings

Kairos Tags

Add new tag advent america Andrew Sullivan bible blogging blogs church church life CSArtists Current Affairs Driscoll ECUSA emergent ethics evangelical evangelism faith fundamentalism global affairs grace health homosexuality humanity lent marriage media ministry Music NPHamlet PCUSA personal politics prayer Religion RLP Rob Bell Science scripture silliness/humor social justice theology Torture voting war and peace

Subscribe to Kairosblog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Archives

Miscellany

© 2019 Chad Andrew Herring

Site banner includes the image "Time"
by Maria Teresa Ambrosi, modification by permission under creative commons license.
Background picture "Chronos" by Brayan Zapata,
used by permission under creative commons license.

Responsibility for content is my own, and not attributable to The Kirk I am fortunate enough to serve or the Presbytery that maintains my ordination, though each keeps me accountable.

Powered by Wordpress, Caffeine, and Luck.
Get the Genesis Framework for wordpress, it rocks!

Copyright © 2019 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.