Sermon Matthew 25:31-46 Secret Shopper

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Matthew 25:31-46 Secret Shopper

November 23, 2014

Today I will conclude my series of sermons drawn from Jesus' teaching during Holy Week. Our setting is on the Mount of Olives with the Jerusalem Temple rising across the Kidron Valley. The sun has set and Wednesday has begun. The Passover is tomorrow and Jesus and his disciples with gather for one last meal together. This is the last time Jesus will have to sit with his disciples and teach them about the Kingdom of God. And what Jesus says is surprising. When he comes again he will come in a disguise. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

Almighty God, reveal to me the greatness of your power, that I may see your presence among the lowly and the lost and know the authority and sovereignty of your love in Jesus Christ, our Lord, who is also our humble brother. Amen.”¹

In the 1980s I owed retail stores. When you own more than one store it is impossible watch what is happening in the all the stores. You can only be in one place at one time. So what you must do is find a way to find out what is happening in the stores while you are away. You do this by getting a “secret shopper”. A secret shopper will go into a store in disguise. They pretend to be an ordinary shopper. But they are not. They look around and see how the store looks and what the employees are doing. The buy something and observe how the employees treat customers. Then they report all of this to the owner who then takes whatever corrective measures are need. And according to Jesus, secret shopper is one of the disguises he will be using when he returns. Let's hear what he says.

Matthew 25: 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

According Jesus, when he returns, he will be wearing four disguises. The first disguise will be as a superhero. Like Superman, Jesus will fly through the air as he comes from heaven to earth. In doing so, he will be fulfilling a vision of Daniel.

Daniel 7:13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

We will see Jesus as the superhero, the Son of Man, riding the clouds from heaven to earth. When this happens all believers will assemble, including those who have died who will be resurrected from the dead. It will be a glorious day for all who believe in Jesus Christ.

Jesus will come disguised as the superhero, Son of Man, but then he will also wear a second disguise. He will become a shepherd. A shepherd, in the first century, would allow his goats and sheep to graze in the field together during the day. But at night the shepherd would gather the goats into his cave because they could not tolerate the cold as well as the sheep. The shepherd did this because he loves both the sheep and the goats. And so to with us. Jesus loves us and will shepherd us, both goats and sheep, all believers, into the warmth of his presence. And we will sing with the psalmist:

Psalm 23 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,[a] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So Jesus will come disguised as a superhero and a shepherd. But thats not all. Jesus will also come disguised as a person living in a homeless shelter. He is hungry. He is thirsty. He is looking for a job. He is trying to learn English. He is trying to support his family. When we meet this person we won't know that it is Jesus. Jesus is coming like a secret shopper to see how we respond. Will we give him something to eat and drink? Will we help him find a place to stay? Will we help him find a job? Will we invite him to our church? Will we obey God's command:

Leviticus 19:10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

So we have seen that Jesus will come disguised as a superhero, a shepherd and a homeless person. But there is one more disguise he will wear. He will look like a king. And as king he will assemble the believers together and separate them into the sheep and goats. The sheep are those who will be useful in the Kingdom of God because they care for the widow and orphan and poor and the alien, and the old, and the sick, and injured. The goats are those who choose not to care for others and therefore are useless in God's kingdom. The goats will be cast out into darkness. But for all who obey God's commands to love God and love your neighbor as yourself you will inherit the kingdom.

We don't know when Jesus will return. He might be here already. He might even be living in Samaritan Shelter. Jesus might be a single mother trying to support her family on minimum wage and food stamps who hopes to receive a basket on Christmas. Jesus might even be a inmate at Eastern Correctional Institute. We don't know what disguise Jesus might be wearing right now. So let's be thankful that Jesus is returning to establish the kingdom of God. And let's be church, caring for those who need our help while we wait for Jesus to return. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus we thank you for blessing us with life and health and families and homes and church. Help us to remember to share our blessing with those less fortunate. Soften our hearts so that we may love the poor as much as you do. This we pray. Amen.

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p265.

Sermon Matthew 25:14–30 Bags of Gold

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Matthew 25:14–30 Bags of Gold

November 16, 2014

Jesus and his disciples are on the Mount of Olives. It is Wednesday of Holy Week. Tomorrow evening they will share in a Last Supper. But tonight is a night for storytelling. And Jesus is telling stories about waiting for the Kingdom of God. Last week we heard Jesus' story about a man with 11 daughters waiting for the Kingdom of Heaven by living his ordinary life. Today we will hear Jesus' story about a man with 15 bags of gold. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

I give thanks this day for the gift of Christ and the privilege to follow in his way. This is the greatest life-giving treasure that I am called to steward; may I share this as freely as I have received it from the One who gave himself for the life of the world. May I be continually awakened to your love this day. Amen.”¹

When I was 16 my family moved to McLean VA. We moved because my father owned the Baskin Robbins 31 Flavors franchise in McLean, and because he worked for the government in Maryland, just across the river. We began attending the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church and enrolled in the New Members Class.

I can remember that the adults in the class were having discussions about wine. One of the new members was in the wine importing business. He was looking for investors for a new project. Several members of the church invested in this business. And then the guy disappeared with all their money. There was no wine. The man was a con man preying on church members. We found out that he had scammed members of other churches as well. I have no idea what happened to him.

This may have been part of a wider wine scam in the 1980s. Con men would take inferior Austrian wine and make it sweeter, and far more valuable, by adding diethylene glycol. Diethylene glycol is an ingredient in antifreeze and causes kidney damage if drunk. They added this dangerous substance to make the wine more valuable. It won a gold medal at a European wine festival. Thankfully the scam was uncovered and stopped before anyone was seriously hurt by drinking the bad wine.²

Jesus also told a story about a dishonest con man. Let's listen.

Matthew 25:14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

There was a con man in Jesus' day. Let's call him Mr. Rich. Mr. Rich had arrived in Jerusalem with two trusted assistants and a new guy he wasn't sure of. Mr. Rich had already setup the con targeting a couple of wealthy merchants. The plan was that Mr. Rich would leave town for a while. His assistants would launch the plan while he was away. When Mr. Rich returned he could claim no knowledge of the assistants or what they had done. He would then leave town, after doubling his money, and look for suckers in the next town.

We don't know what scam they used. But the wine scam has been around for thousands of years. In the first century con men took inferior wine and made it sweeter by adding lead. The wine would be put in new containers and sold to unsuspecting people who would pay a premium price thinking it to be a premium wine. This may be what the con men in Jesus' story did.

Mr. Rich gave five bags of gold to his top assistant who used it to make five more. He gave two bags of gold to another assistant who also ran the scam and came back with two more. Mr. Rich had started with eight bags of gold and now has 14 – a pretty good take. But what about the third assistant, the new guy Mr. Rich had given a bag of gold, what did he do?

Two of Mr. Rich's assistants ran the scam, but the third assistant did not. He realized that what they were doing was wrong, and he wanted no part of it. Maybe he was a follower of God. So he buried the gold and waited for Mr. Rich to return. That's when he returned the gold and called Mr. Rich a liar and a thief. Mr. Rich responded with anger: “28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

According to Jesus this is what waiting for the Kingdom of God is like.

As follower of Jesus we must avoid unethical business practices. Do not expect that you can be a liar and thief during the week and then worship Jesus on Sunday. It doesn't work that way. To be a disciple of Jesus you must be honest and trustworthy in all your dealings if you hope to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Mr. Rich was wrong. The outer darkness and gnashing of teeth was where he and his two unethical assistants were headed with all who deal dishonestly in business. The honest assistant will join Jesus when he returns.

Finally, let me tell you about a scam going on in our churches today. There might be con men con women right here at Beaver Dam (Pitts Creek). All people receive wonderful blessings from God. They are blessed with life, and families, and businesses, and jobs, and farms, and retirement. They are blessed with rain, and sunshine and soil and all the food and wine they consume. All God wants in return is a portion of their time and treasure. God asks for one day a week to be holy and set aside for worship. And God asks for a tithe, ten percent of their first fruits, income. Believe it or not there are some who take all that God offers them and give little or nothing in return. This is a con. They are trying to con God. Don't do it. Respond to everything God has done for you by giving back of your time and treasure for the Kingdom of God.

So according to Jesus we must always deal ethically with one another and with God. Never lie, cheat or do thing you shouldn't do in business. And always honor God with your presence in worship and tithe for his kingdom. Let us pray.

Father in heaven we thank you for all the blessings you have given us. Protect us from the con men and woman who would harm us. And forgive us for withholding from you our worship and tithes. We pray in your son's name. Amen.

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p256.

2 http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/wine-scams-a-counterfeiter-confesses

Sermon Matthew 25:1-13 Ordinary Times

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Matthew 25:1-13 Ordinary Times

November 9, 2014

We are continuing to listen to Jesus on Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week. On Tuesday, the day after Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers in the Jerusalem Temple, he spoke with religious leaders and then addressed a crowd. But now the sun has set and a new day has begun. It's Wednesday. Jesus and his closest followers have gathered on the Mount of Olives across the Kidron valley from Jerusalem. The massive temple rises from the adjoining hill. And Jesus tells his disciples about the coming Kingdom of God. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

I give thanks for the gift of life this day and for the privilege of loving you by serving others. Give me an opportunity to grow in right relationship with you by promoting justice in the world today though my life, my choices, and my witness. Amen.”¹

When I was young my parents took my brother, sister and me to visit our grandmothers. Both grandmas lived in Uniontown, a small city in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania. It took about four hours for my Dad to drive there. Mom and Dad sat in the front seat of our big station wagon. We kids climbed in the back with games and books we brought to keep us occupied during the journey. We could amuse ourselves for about a half hour. Then the drive became really boring. At that time one of us would ask the question my parents dreaded the most. “Are we there yet?”

Mom always had a couple of ways of dealing with our boredom on the trip. She would have us watch the cars speeding by and find out how many different license plates we could identify. There were plenty from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. There were a few more from Indiana or New York or someplace else. Or she would divide us into teams to count the number of cows we could see on each side of the road. Whichever team counted the most cows would win a prize. These activities usually got us to grandma's house in good spirits. Jesus also told a story about traveling with kids.

Matthew 25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

There once was a man with 11 children, all girls. Let's call him Pop. Pop had eleven daughters. The oldest is just about to get married, today. When that happens Pop will only have to find husbands for the other ten.

The oldest of 11 daughters, the one getting married today, is with her mother. They are working on the hair and the dress so everything will be perfect for the wedding. Pop is responsible for other 10 female teenagers. He got them all together and told them to get ready. “Get dressed. Comb your hair. Get your torches ready. And don't forget to fill a bottle of olive oil to keep the torches lit for the procession”, he told them. As the sun began to set Pop yelled for the girls to get ready. Mom and bride were waiting anxiously. The girls were fidgeting. And Pop was wondering why the groom was late.

The wedding plan was simple. At sunset the groom was to go to the bride's fathers house. The bride, groom and her family would then process through the streets to the groom's house. The bride's ten younger sisters would light the way with torches. When they arrive, the groom's parents will greet the bride and her family. There will be a wedding ceremony followed by a banquet for both families. The bride's family would then go home leaving the oldest daughter behind. And then Pop will have only ten more daughters to worry about.

But the groom was late. One hour passed. Two hour's passed. The girls got restless. “Where is he? What is he so late? When can we eat? I'm tired.” Pop told them to go bed. He promised to wake them when the groom arrived. But Pop wondered, “Where is this guy?

Finally, the groom showed up, six hours late. It's midnight. Mom and bride are overjoyed. Pop goes to wake up the 10 girls. “Get up. Comb your hair. Get dressed. And bring your torches and olive oil. Let's go!” It was then that five of the girls discovered that they had not filled their jars of olive oil. They won't be able to light their lamps. So they went to their sisters' and asked, “can we borrow some?” But the sisters replied, “We don't have enough go find your own oil.”

Pop found the girls arguing with each other when he went to get them. “Let's go” he said. But five of his daughters were crying. “They're so mean. They won't share their olive oil.” The other daughters yelled, “You're so foolish. Why didn't you get the olive oil when Pop told you to? Now we will all be late!”

Pop, with a strong voice, told them all to be quiet. He told the five girls with their torches ready to join their oldest sister and mother. He told the other five to start looking for olive oil. Pop then walked with his wife, his oldest daughter, her soon to be husband, and his five wise daughters through the city streets. They arrived at the groom's house and were greeted by his parents. They entered the house and the door was closed. With both families present the couple was married and they sat down for a great feast.

The five foolish daughters eventually found some olive oil. They lit their torches and made their way to the groom's house. But the door was shut. They banged on the door and shouted, “Let us in. Let us in.” But the servant, not expecting anyone to visit at this late hour, came to door and saw five young girls with torches. “Who are you?”, he asked.

According to Jesus this is what waiting for the kingdom of heaven is like. We don't know when Jesus will return. So we carry on with our ordinary lives. We love our families. We support our church with our time and tithes. We pray daily, attend Bible studies, and regularly attend worship. We do all the ordinary things of life while we wait for big day when Jesus returns.

The church calendar reminds us of the importance of ordinary time. You will see at the top of your bulletin that we are in the 32^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. A Sunday in Ordinary Time is not set aside to remember the events of Jesus' life. During Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter we celebrate the extraordinary time of Jesus' birth, death and resurrection. But on the other Sundays we look at the more ordinary aspects of the faith. For the last month or so of Ordinary Time we have been looking at Jesus' teaching in the temple. But in a few weeks our colors will change from Ordinary green to Advent purple and the Sundays of Ordinary Time will have come to and end. We will once again get ready for the birth of a savior.

So as you wait for Jesus to return just live ordinary lives. Nurture your relationship with God. Raise you family. Go to work. And enjoy your leisure time and retirement. Don't worry about when Jesus will return. Just remember that he will return and you have to be ready. Let's pray.

Lord Jesus we wait for your coming. Bless us as we live our ordinary lives until you return and make all things new. This we pray in our love for you. Amen.

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p247.

Sermon Matthew 23:1-12 False Teachers

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Matthew 23:1-12 False Teachers

November 2, 2014

Today we continue our study of the Gospel of Matthew. The setting for today's story is the Jerusalem temple the day after Jesus overturned the tables of money changers. We have heard his conversations with the Jewish leaders. Now we will hear Jesus' teaching to a crowd of people who have assembled to listen to him. He will be talking about the Jewish leaders. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

You have made the day, O God, to be a sign of your light, showering Earth with clarity and gladness. I thank you for this day, asking only that in all that I do and say, your joy in this world will shine through; in Jesus’ name. Amen.”¹

Matthew 23:1-12 1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. 5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. 8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant.12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Jesus has essentially called the Jewish leaders hypocrites for teaching one thing while doing another. The focus of his criticism is on the Pharisees. The Pharisees were one of four Jewish sects in the first century. The other were the Sadducees, the Zealots and the Essenes. To understand what the Pharisees were up to we have to look briefly at the other three.

The main issue facing the Jews in the first century was the Roman Occupation. Each of the sects advocated different ways of dealing with this problem. We don't know anything about the Essenes from the Bible, but we do know that they withdrew from society and hid in caves near the Dead Sea in a place called Qumran. They advocated separatism. They told the Jews to live apart from the Roman occupiers and carry on their faith separately. The Zealots, on the other hand, advocated violence. They argued that only violence and terror would raise the cost of the occupation to the Romans and encourage them to leave. The Sadducees went a different direction. They were the officials at the Temple in Jerusalem and called for cooperation with the Romans as the best policy. So should they be separate, violent or cooperative? Or maybe something else. Let's look at the Pharisees.

The Pharisees had yet another way of dealing with the occupation. They looked into the Old Testament and saw over and over again that the people of God were oppressed because they had failed to obey God's commands. Therefore the people of God should be diligent in obeying God's commands, and then God would deliver them from oppression. The Pharisees identified hundreds of commandments and laws in the Old Testament. And they came up with detailed regulations for how someone could obey the law in first century society. For example someone might ask if building a fire to keep your house warm on the Sabbath was permissible or not. A teacher might reply that you should make the fire before sundown and have plenty of wood so it would burn throughout the day. A whole system of laws and regulations was developed all in an effort to make God happy so He would send a savior who would deliver them from the Romans.

So why would Jesus be angry with Pharisees? I agree with them. I don't think we should separate, use violence or cooperate with evil today. I do think we should obey God and let him deliver us from evil. I guess I would be Pharisee. But Jesus is angry at the Pharisees. So let's take a closer look.

According to Jesus the Pharisees love to wear beautiful clothing. They love sitting in seats of honor at banquets. They love to be noticed on the streets with the title of “teacher”. They love all these things. What's wrong with this? I love these things too. So what's the problem? To understand what Jesus is upset about we have to go back one chapter in Matthew when Jesus said this.

Matthew 22:34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

So the problem is that the Pharisees are not keeping the most important laws. They are to love God with all their hearts, souls and minds, and they are to love their neighbors. But the Pharisees love not God and neighbor, but they love what they wear, where they sit, and how people address them. And so their teaching about God's commands is not out of their love for God and love for their students. This make Jesus angry. Whenever we tell someone that they must repent from their sins we must first be absolutely sure that we are motivated by our love of God and love for that person and not out of love of something else.

Matthew 23 and 24 are a perfect examples of scripture that have been misinterpreted by the church because of our failure to love God and our neighbor. Let me explain. In these chapters Jesus criticizes Jewish leaders. Many Christian pastors, over they centuries, have used this scripture to whip up hated of the Jews. This had led to the death of millions of Jews. In what sense are we loving our Jewish neighbors when we use the Bible to get people to hate them? It make no sense.

So I urge you, whenever you call someone a sinner, to examine your heart and discern if you are acting out of your love of God and if you truly love this sinner.

I recently heard a Presbyterian pastor discuss a controversial matter on the floor of presbytery. He firmly believed that certain activity is a sin. And he was about to call some people in the presbytery sinners. But before he could do this he had to first consider his own heart to determine if he was motivated by love of God and love of neighbor. So he told a story about his own young daughter about to do something dangerous. He stopped her because he loves his daughter very much. He loves the people in presbytery too, and out of this love for them he wants them to turn away from sin.

So I urge you not to be hypocrites. Never call someone a sinner until you first examine your heart and determine that you are motivated by your love of God and love of one another. Let's pray.

Dear Lord, you have blessed us with law to govern our lives. And we want everyone to obey your law. But always remind us that the greatest of all laws is the command to love you and love our neighbors. Help us to always live in this love. Amen.

1Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 © 2014 Westminster John Knox Press p232.

Sermon John Knox

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon John Knox

October 26, 2014

Today is Reformation Sunday, the day we remember the 16th Century reformers who tried to pull the medieval church back to biblical practices and doctrines. We will be looking at the protestant reformation in Scotland and the founder of the Presbyterian church, John Knox. Let's begin with prayer.

"O Lord, infinite in mercy, if thou shalt punish, make not consummation, but cut away the proud and luxuriant branches which bear no fruit: and preserve the commonwealth of such as give succour and harbour to thy contemned messengers, which long have suffered exile in deserts. And let thy kingdom shortly come, that sin may be ended, death devoured, thy enemies confounded; that we thy people, by thy majesty delivered, may obtain everlasting joy and felicity, through Jesus Christ our Saviour, to whom be all honour and praise, for ever. Amen.”¹

On December 8, 1542 James V of Scotland had a daughter and named her Mary. Six days later James died and the baby girl became Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary's mother, Mary of Guise, became the ruler of Scotland. And Scotland effectively became a colony of France.

During the reign of Mary of Guise, the protestant reformation came to Scotland through a fiery preacher name George Wishart. Wishart preached throughout the county that the church should change. It had fallen into error and must repent. But Cardinal Beaton, leader of the Catholic church in Scotland, was angry at what Wishart was preaching. He ordered Wishart to come to St. Andrews Castle where Wishart was burned to death, martyred for his faith. This angered many of the Scottish noblemen. They stormed St. Andrews Castle and assassinated the cardinal.

Wishart had been accompanied on his missionary journeys by an assistant, a young man, a theology graduate from St. Andrews, and a tutor for young children. This assistant's name was John Knox. The noblemen in St. Andrews castle selected John Knox to lead the reformation in Scotland after the death of Wishart. But Knox's ministry at St. Andrews did not last very long. The French fleet soon arrived in the harbor and laid siege on the castle. Knox was captured and became a galley slave in one of the King's ships.

Knox was not a slave for very long. The protestant king of England, Edward VI, negotiated Knox's release and installed him as the pastor of a church in the northern part of England and named Knox as his personal chaplain.

It was there that Knox battled the Church of England. He was concerned that the Church of England had left the altars in their churches and continued the practice of kneeling during communion. The medieval church had taught that Jesus was sacrificed every time a priest broke the bread. The bread and wine on the altar were the sacrificed body and blood of Christ they said. People were told to kneel and worship Christ's body broken they placed on the altar. But the protestant reformers said that this was nonsense. Christ's sacrifice happened only once, on the cross. The bread and wine were symbols of his sacrifice, not Christ's actual body and blood. If there was no sacrifice then there was no need for an altar and kneeling. So Knox argued that the altars should be removed and replaced by ordinary tables, supper tables for the Lord's Supper. And he said, we should not kneel for communion, but gather around the table the way the disciples did for Jesus' last supper. So Knox argued that the Church of England should replace altars with tables and stop the practice of kneeling during communion.

Knox's conflict with the Church of England did not last very long. Edward VI died and was replaced by his Catholic half sister, Mary, who became Queen Mary I of England. Mary wanted to purge protestant influence from the Church of England. The protestants fled for their lives calling her Bloody Mary.

A group of protestant pilgrims arrived in Geneva where John Calvin was teaching. Knox arrived and established an English language church. Worship in this church was very simple. It would start with a prayer of confession. Then scripture would be read, both the Old and New Testaments. Then the pastor would explain the meaning of the scripture passages and how it could be applied in their lives. The congregation would then respond with a confession of faith, prayers and tithes. They would sing Psalms together. The worship service would end with the pastor giving a benediction. With minor changes this is how we worship today in Presbyterian churches. Today's worship service is drawn from the Directory of Worship Knox developed for the Geneva church.

While in Geneva, Knox wrote a book highly critical of Mary of Guise in Scotland and Mary I of England. It was called The first blast of the trumpet against the monstruous regiment of women. Unfortunately for Knox, Mary I of England died as the book was being published. Her half sister, the protestant Elizabeth I, was very angry with him about the book.

In 1559 John Knox return to Edinburgh, Scotland. He was declared an outlaw by Mary of Guise and ordered to appear in Stirling Castle. The protestants gathered in the walled city of Perth with Knox as their leader. Reinforcements came from neighboring countries. Mary of Guise was removed from power in October 1559. She died in July 1560 paving the way for a treaty between England and France that removed all French influence over Scotland. Scotland had won it's independence and was free to become a protestant nation.

In August of 1560 the Scottish Parliament met to design a new nation. John Knox wanted them to adopt a reformed statement of faith that would unify the nation and it's church. Knox and five other protestants began work on a Confession of Faith for their approval. They finished their work in just four days and Knox presented it to the assembly. The Scots Confession became the founding document for the new Church of Scotland.

In the Scots Confession they affirmed their beliefs. They believed in our triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They believed that men and women are stained by original sin and thus in need of a mediator. They believed that Jesus is that mediator for all who were chosen by God before he laid the foundations of the world. They believed that the church has existed since Adam and is characterized by the preaching of the Word of God, the proper administration of the sacraments of Baptism and The Lord's Supper, and the enforcement of ecclesiastical discipline. And they believed that men and women should respond to the blessings they receive from God with good works of their own.

With the adoption of The Scots Confession, the Church of Scotland was formed with a Presbyterian form of government. The church would be governed not by a Pope or King. Rather it would be governed by elders or presbyters meeting in councils. To prevent error inherent in all human councils, the councils of the church would be led by Jesus Christ, governed by the Word of God and disciplined by higher councils.

This is the structure of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. We have no bishops or Pope or king. Rather we are governed by councils. At this church we are governed by a council called the Session, which consists of elders elected by God and the congregation. Our session elects elders as commissioners to a higher council, the presbytery. Above the presbytery is the synod. And above the synod is the General Assembly. At each level the councils are governed by the Word of God, and they discipline the councils beneath.

In 1561 Mary, Queen of Scots, returned to Scotland from France. She declared that nothing would change. Even though she still practiced her Roman Catholicism the Presbyterians could continue to worship as they chose. Many Scottish nobles accepted her offer. But John Knox was not convinced. He continued to preach against the monarchy.

So Queen Mary invited Knox to several meetings. They discussed whether Christians could live under a queen or not. They decided that Christians could live under a monarch, like Paul lived under Nero, provided that the monarch not exceed the law of God. They agreed that if Knox and the Queen had a disagreement that would discuss it privately not in public. And Mary agreed with Knox that catholic priests should be prosecuted when they violated the law. Their most dramatic meeting came after Knox had preached against the Queen's upcoming marriage. Not even her tears could convince Knox that this marriage was good for Scotland. The Queen was reported to have said, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies of Europe.” ²

By the middle of the 1560s Scotland had descended into civil war. Knox fled and completed a book called “The History of the Reformation in Scotland”. Knox returned to Edinburgh in 1572. He continued to preach but had become quite feeble. On November 24, 1572 Knox asked his wife to read the Bible out loud for him. She was reading from First Corinthians as John Knox went to be with his Lord.

And so we celebrate the life of John Knox, a Protestant reformer and founder of the Presbyterian church born 500 years ago. Let us pray.

“O LORD, strengthen our faith; kindle it more in ferventness and love towards thee, and our neighbours, for thy sake. Suffer us not, most dear Father, to receive thy word any more in vain; but grant us always the assistance of thy grace and Holy Spirit, that in heart, word, and deed, we may sanctify and do worship to thy name. Amen.” ³

1http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/prayertr.htm

2http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/give-me-scotland-or-i-die/

3http://creedorchaos.wordpress.com/2008/08/22/a-godly-prayer-to-be-said-at-all-times-from-john-knox-1556/