CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY ON TRIAL___ TRINITY 14 Aug 2016 Micah 6__1-8
Prayer
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, give unto us the increase of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, make us to love that which thou dost command; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Epistle Galatians v. 16.
I SAY then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Gospel St. Luke xvii. 11.
AND it came to pass, as Jesus went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: and they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
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A THEME FOUND THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURES IS THAT GOD IS THE SUPRME JUDGE OF THE EARTH.
The prophetic teacher, Micah, recounted for us a vision in which he saw God as pleading a case against Israel – God is both prosecutor and Judge in this vision.
Immediately, the scene changes – and it is no longer the nation that must answer – but the individual – Micah. He asks, "What must I bring – what can I offer God to avert his wrath?"
Old Testament Lesson Micah 6
The LORD’s Case Against Israel
1 Listen to what the LORD says:
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 “Hear, you mountains, the LORD’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case aLgainst his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.
5 My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”
HOW SHALL WE RESPOND?
6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
In the reading from Galatians 5:16 we hear Paul say “Walk in the Spirit.”
The imagination of some Christians run wild when they think about that saying, “Walk in the Spirit.” They imagine that being spiritual means one must be in communication with a world we cannot see, and hear words that others cannot hear being spoken by beings from another dimension. Now I do believe that God does give us insight into his will when we pray. I do believe that the Spirit assists us in solving problems of all sorts – I do believe that God is behind our best “aha” moments when we suddenly see a better way of building things, or arranging our lives.
So I am not denying that God assists us, but I am saying that Paul and other writers of Scripture warn us that there are pretenders who claim special spiritual gifts as well as people who are deluded, thinking they are inspired of God when it is altogether a different sort of spirit that directs their imaginations and their doings.
For the most part – the guess work is taken out of “discerning the spirits’ by a simple test: the fruit test.
“By their fruits you shall know them” said Jesus.
Matthew 7:15-27
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
True and False Disciples
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Luke 6:43-45
43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
The reading from Galatians which begins with the words “walk in the spirit” were not a mystic babbling by Paul with no relationship to reality – he wasn’t carrying on some conversation with the spirit world after the fashion of the fortune-tellers of early last century. Paul had the words of Jesus in mind when he wrote “Walk in the spirit.” How do I know that – not by some spirit whispering in my ear, but by simply heeding what Paul wrote and comparing it with Jesus words. Paul finishes his admonition to “walk in the spirit” and shows us how; he shows us what it means by quoting the words of Jesus.
“The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” (Galatians 5:__)
Today’s Old Testament reading would have fit better with last week’s Gospel from Luke 10:25.
The Pharisee – the lawyer tempted – tested Jesus asking “what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Jesus answered with a question – well, how do you read the law? The expert in the law of Moses gave an excellent answer, “You shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Then, Jesus gave an example of self-giving love. The man from a despised race, a Samaritan, had mercy on a Jewish person who had been wounded by robbers and left for dead – he nursed him and sheltered him. This is an example of a person serving God unselfishly; the Samaritan was bearing fruit, and as Jesus said “Luke 6: 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart.”
The last verses in our Old Testament lesson reminds us of two characters in the Bible who had to deal with serious misbehavior, with inhuman treatment of others. When we say inhuman, a Christian person might instead say , “ungodly” for it is the image of God in us that is violated when we treat others inhumanly.
Micah asks, as the rich young ruler asked, “What must I do?”
6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Micah 6:6.
Abraham had sexually misused a servant girl, and Sarah, who was party to the situation, sent her away with nothing. The girl was dying in the desert. Abraham, at one point in his life was wondering what he should do to please God, and considered sacrificing Isaac – but God sent an angel to intervene. God does not want us dead – he wants us alive to serve and renew his creation. King David abused his powerful position, he had stolen the wife of one of his captains and arranged for the captain to be killed in battle. What could he do? He lost one of his sons who had turned against him and was leading a rebellion. What could he offer? Not his son, for he was already lost in battle.
What does the Lord require?
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly[a] with your God. Micah 6:8
Christian Spirituality begins in an unseen place; our heart, our mind and our soul.
Paul Tillich, a leading theologian of the 20th century understood Spirituality as being the means by which the human spirit finds the Kingdom of God, eternal life and the Spirit of God. He saw Christian communities as leading the way to discovering ultimate reality through the Christian spirit.
To be spiritual one must Love God with all our heart, with all strength of mind, with our
Soul.” These fruits of the spirit are to be manifest in our life, love, joy, peace patience, and kindness.”
These fruits are the sign of a mature Christian and they are manifest to the world.
In being kind to others, St. Paul says that at times we are entertaining (being kind to ) angels and don’t even know it. An angel is a messenger from God. Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Both the Old Testament prophets, and Christ and his apostles talked about a day of visitation by God in the same context as they talked of spiritual behavior.
How does one walk in the spirit?
By being patient with others, kindly while at the same time walking humbly with God, mindful that He visits us.
Hebrews 13:2
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
We are not showing kindness, a fruit of the spirit if we fail to warn those around us who are not walking in the spirit that judgment, a day of visitation is coming.
The emerging Church doesn’t talk about sin, righteousness or judgment to come. The emerging church is focused on making everyone feel good about themselves and being an accepting people. It is not kind to allow people to be self-destructive, to fail to warn.
• Jeremiah 51:18 They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
• Hosea 9:7 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.
Micah 7:4 4 The best of them is like a brier, the most upright worse than a thorn hedge.
The day God visits you has come, the day your watchmen sound the alarm.
Now is the time of your confusion
Luke 19:44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
1 Peter 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Christian spirituality is more than prayer and meditation, it is living a holy life, by that I mean a life dedicated to God’s service where the fruit of the spirit is shown by “kindly words and virtuous life.” That is the “faith of our fathers living still.”
Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship
Ten years ago, our nation was rocked by incredible terrorists attacks. We thought that it could never happen here, but it did. Thousands of people died and thousands were wounded.
One of the amazing things that came out of 9/11/01 was stories of courage, sacrifice and servant hood demonstrated to people by complete strangers. I want to read you a news paper article that came out the Sunday after the attacks. It tells one such story.
Story of Todd Beamer
The phone line from Flight 93 was still open when a GTE operator heard Todd Beamer say: “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll”
Sunday, September 16, 2001 By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Staff Writer
That’s how Todd Beamer lived. And that’s how he died, helping to lead a takeover by passengers on United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed Tuesday in Somerset County. It was the fourth plane to go down in the 911 terrorist attacks.
Beamer, an Oracle Inc. executive from Hightstown, N.J., and others are being credited with foiling hijackers bent on crashing the Boeing 757 into what authorities say might have been a second target in Washington, D.C., possibly the Capitol or the White House.
Flight 93 had left Newark, N.J., at 8 a.m. Tuesday, bound for San Francisco.
"That’s Todd," his wife, Lisa, said yesterday of the "Let’s roll!" command, which he made over the plane’s in-flight telephone. A GTE supervisor talked with him for about 13 minutes before the plane crashed. "My boys even say that. When we’re getting ready to go somewhere, we say, C’mon guys, let’s roll.’ My little one says, C’mon, Mom, let’s roll. That’s something they picked up from Todd."
Beamer, 32, told the GTE supervisor, Lisa D. Jefferson that he and others on the plane had decided they would not be pawns in the hijackers’ suicidal plot. Jefferson told him about the other hijackings and Beamer made her promise to call his wife and their two boys, David, 3, and Andrew, 1.
Beamer’s call connected at 9:45 a.m. He told Jefferson there were three hijackers, armed with knives. He did not know their nationalities or their intentions. One of the men had what appeared to be a bomb tied to his midsection with a red belt.
Beamer said he could account for 37 of the plane’s 38 passengers. The hijackers had forced 27 of them into the first-class compartment near the front.
Beamer, nine other passengers and five flight attendants were ordered to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane. He did not know the whereabouts of the pilot, copilot and the remaining passenger. He said a flight attendant had told him the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded. Two of the hijackers were in the cockpit with the door locked behind them. The man with the bomb stayed in the back of the plane, near Beamer’s group.
conversation with Jefferson, Beamer said the plane appeared to have changed directions a few times. Later, it would be determined that it had flown west from Newark to near Cleveland, then turned back to the southeast toward Pittsburgh.
Beamer became anxious.
"Oh! We’re going down!" he shouted at one point.
He paused, then said in a calmer voice, "No, we’re OK. I think we’re turning around."
Beamer then told Jefferson that he and the others had decided to "jump on" the hijacker wearing the bomb. Jefferson could hear shouts and commotion and then Beamer asked her to pray with him. They recited the 23rd Psalm.
He got Jefferson to promise that she would call his family, then dropped the phone, leaving the line open. That’s when Jefferson heard what Lisa Beamer believes were her husband’s last words: "Let’s roll." Then there was silence. Jefferson hung up at 10 a.m. EST, realizing that the plane had gone down. Officials said it crashed at 9:58 a.m.
Although it’s not yet clear what Beamer, Glick and the others were able to do, they are being hailed as heroes for forcing the plane down in a remote strip mine area in Stoneycreek, Somerset County, about 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
"When the plane started to fly erratically, he said he knew he wouldn’t make it out of there," said Lisa Beamer, who is expecting their third child in January.
Lisa Beamer said reports of her husband’s heroic role had "made my life worth living again." Jefferson kept her promise and called Lisa Beamer at 8 p.m. Friday.
"It was the best thing that I could’ve gotten [Friday]. It totally changed the mood around here," Lisa Beamer said.
Lisa Beamer said the call she received from Jefferson had lifted her family’s spirits.
"We all knew what kind of person Todd was. We know he’s in heaven. He was saved," Lisa Beamer said.
"Just knowing that when the crisis came up he maintained the same character we all knew, it’s a testament to what real faith means.
"It’s been a real uplift. It’s put a spring in my step that I didn’t have since Monday."
"He’s a great guy in a crisis. He would have had his family in the forefront of his thoughts. And he would not let other people overpower him," Lisa Beamer said.
Todd Beamer was a follower of Christ. A college friend who knew him and his wife and knew of his walk with Christ. Todd understood what it means to be a servant.
There are people who serve others every day, perhaps not heroically as Todd Beamer, but they serve never the less and that is what Christian Spirituality really is.
Now is the time for each one of us to remember that everyday is Judgment Day and it is our responsibility to live in the Spirit and call everyone in our community to share in the Spirit and find their way to the Eternal Kingdom.
