It’s Not Too Late
Free to Fly
On to Macedonia
Not So Stupid Sheep
Sermon Notes: HOLY TRINITY 101 Copies of these sermons are available upon request. Email Pastor Slater
SECOND
SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
Galatians 1:11-24 Luke 7:11-17 Grace, mercy, and peace be
unto you from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Amen. It’s Not Too Late
I’m
the kind of person who prefers to be on time.
In fact, it often drives my wife crazy that I actually prefer to
arrive at an appointment early. It
doesn’t matter if it’s a visit to someone’s home, or a regularly scheduled
meeting, or even just going to a movie; I like to get there before everything
starts. And then I get annoyed when we
have to wait for someone who is late. Studying
the lessons for today of how the prophet Elijah revived the widow’s son in
the Old Testament lesson and how Jesus raised the son of the widow of Nain in
the Gospel lesson, I immediately associated both of them with the story of
the raising of Lazarus in the Gospel of John.
If you remember, that story begins with Jesus deliberately delaying
his trip to visit Lazarus after hearing he was ill. After the delay came the news of the death
of Lazarus. Jesus had been too
late. When he finally arrives, Lazarus
has been dead four days. Both Mary and
Martha, the sisters of Lazarus challenge Jesus saying, “Lord, if you would
have been here, my brother would not have died.” Like Mary
and Martha, I too would have been disappointed in Jesus’ tardiness. Perhaps Jesus could have performed a
miracle; perhaps Jesus could have healed his disease. But Jesus dawdled, deliberately, and now
Lazarus was dead. An old song by Carly
Simon echoes in my mind, “Well, it’s too late, baby, now, it’s too late....” Jesus
arrived a little too late in the village of Nain as well in today’s Gospel
from Luke. The widow’s son is already
dead and lifeless body being carried out of town for burial. Elijah wasn’t physically late in arriving
but his miracle was. Having consumed
for himself the last of the oil and meal that would be used to make one final
supper for the widow and her son, Elijah is actually blamed for the boy’s
death. The woman exclaims, “What have
you against me, O man of God? You have
come to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son.” But for
the son of the widow of Zarephath and for the son
of the widow of Nain, and even for Lazarus, it was not too late. The power and the authority of God was to be demonstrated even over death. I’m often
asked to preside at funeral services for people I have never known and of
whom relatives have volunteered very little except that he or she was not
much of a believer. That doesn’t give
me a whole lot to base a funeral sermon upon, except for one thing: With God,
it is never too late. A person may have doubted or denied God all his or her
life, but finally God is able to resurrect new life in any and every
individual. That, I
think, is why the personal biography of Paul is included as a lesson for
today. It’s not a deathbed confession,
nor is it a miraculous resurrection.
But it is a lesson that tells us that even for Saul, the zealous
persecution of Christians, it was not too late. Saul had thrived in the role of enforcer of
the Sanhedrin. Carrying with him
letters from Jerusalem giving him full authority to shut down the spread of
the followers of the Way, Saul was armed for persecution and, if necessary,
destruction of anyone who followed Jesus.
What he had been doing was atrocious and downright despicable! But even for Saul, it was not too late. Blinded
by the light on the road to Damascus, Saul had seen a vision of Jesus. Now with a new identity as Paul, he would
be resurrected from the chief of all sinners to the most powerful witness for
the faith the Christian church has ever known. What
about us? To pride oneself on always
being on time is an illusion because we all fall short. We’re all at least just a little late when
it comes to living out our faith in Jesus, especially when it comes to
sharing our faith in Jesus – slow to respond in word and in
deed. St. Paul
put it this way, “We have all sinned and have all fallen short of the glory
of God.” Some of us spend a lifetime
trying to catch up and some just give up and never try at all. But Jesus
reaches out his hand to us in the midst of our always busy, always too late
lives to remind us that it is never too late in God’s eyes. He even reaches beyond death with the
promise and hope of everlasting life. The widow
from Zarephath and her son; the widow of Nain and
her son; Saul the persecutor of the church; even Lazarus; were all rescued
from the clutches of sin and death, not that they would never die (for
there’s no such thing as arriving too late for that!) but that they might
serve the Lord for at least one more day.
And that’s all that Jesus wants for us, for even right now, it’s not
too late to follow Jesus. Amen. May the peace of God which passes all understanding keep
our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen. Rev. James H. Slater, Pastor Emanuel Lutheran Church – Stuyvesant Falls St. Luke’s Lutheran Church – Valatie June 10, 2007 SEVENTH SUNDAY OF
EASTER Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 John 17:20-26 Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God,
our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Free to Fly
“Put
down your sword,” said Paul to the jail guard who was about to kill himself
for losing all his prisoners, “We’re still here.” What in the world was going on here? Paul and Silas had been thrown in jail for upsetting
the status quo. They had cast out a
spirit of divination from a slave-girl who was being taken advantage of by
her owners for their own financial gain.
While in chains they continued to pray and sing hymns. Then, as if by divine intervention, an
earthquake ripped through the foundation of the jail, breaking locks and
loosening chains. Paul and Silas were free to flee, but they chose to
stay. And by so doing they saved a
life. It is a mean time, this
in-between time: strange and
confusing, awful and wonderful. What I
mean by “in-between time” is that this particular Sunday of the church
calendar comes after the ascension of Jesus into heaven, but before
the promised gift of the Spirit at Pentecost.
It’s a Sunday of theological limbo.
It’s probably the most real and honest Sunday we have to compare to
our human existence of “already/not yet”; of already being recipients of
God’s promise of salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection, but not yet
having that promise fulfilled. And so
we live in the mean time, in the in-between time. That is what makes this an appropriate Sunday for our
regular spring healing services. This
mean time still includes for us disease, destruction and death. How are we to live in faith with such
turmoil and confusion all around us?
By the end of the first century after Jesus, the church was already
begging, “come, Lord Jesus, come quickly.” But Jesus was there, too. He could have loosed the chains and popped the nails that bound him to a tree of crucifixion. He was free to flee. Yet he chose to stay that our lives might be spared from sin and the power of death. Instead, he prayed. In personal turmoil and anguish, he prayed that the entire kosmos, all of God’s creation, would live in faith, live in love, live in God. And Jesus not only prayed for us, but he fulfilled his
promise to send the power and the guidance of his Holy Spirit to be his
instruments of faith and love in a messed up world. He wasn’t free to fly to heaven until we
were free to fly on our own, like birds leaving the nest for the first time. So we live in faith and love, even in the midst of
persecution; even in the midst of sickness and disease; even in the midst of
disappointment and confusion; even in the midst of death and destruction. So how do you hold up when you have to endure the
earthquakes and the eye of the hurricanes in your life? Are you fleeing and screaming; are you
staying and praying; are you working and serving, loving and forgiving? Are you prepared to fly away and join Jesus
in promised peace? Today’s healing testimony comes from a book Christa
ordered that we just received in the mail:
911 From an Inside Line.
It’s a book of personal reflections and meditations by Denise
Stephenson, an eye-witness survivor of Hurricane Katrina and my daughter,
Becky’s, mother-in-law. Pg. 78: Rising
up to Rebuild Look
above the devastation Amidst
all the hurt and pain Along
with all our losses What
could we have possibly gained? A
deeper understanding A
greater love and respect For
all that came before us For
all that hasn’t come yet. As
we rise up from the ruins While
we rebuild our future land Let’s
keep generations to come in mind Give
them reasons to cherish and understand There
is a need to nurture And
rebuild some memories from our past To
look into their futures And
give them the best of what we had Our
visions for today Will
far outlast us all Make
sure we are thinking of others When
we make that final call Pg. 82 Nostalgia A
lifetime of treasures are gone with the wind The
memories remain nurtured deep within. I
browse the shelves of new items, each one shiny and bright I
long for the old, familiar ... those things that seemed to fit me just right. Open
my heart Lord, so that I might truly see All
that YOU have in store for me. I
will cherish the memories as I start all new Watching
and waiting for direction from you. When
I pass the old and familiar I will smile softly and whisper Thank You For
I know that with time and nurturing, all these new things will Become
old and familiar too. Pg. 83 Blessings My daughter and I were blessed with the support of
prayers and financial gifts from two church groups in upstate New York, as
well as many family members and friends.
Their concern and generosity helped us to be able to purchase the
basic necessities for setting up household again. I still to this day have not met many of
those who reached out to us personally, but I know them all in my heart. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ
and were my neighbors in our time of need.
They shared God’s love in the most tangible ways that helped to
restore my stability and my dignity.
To be so in need, and yet to have nothing to give in return for their
gifts, surely taught me the true meaning of loving one another. They loved us enough to share in our time
of need, and I was taught how to love others enough to simply be willing and
grateful in accepting what God had called them to do. The joy they expressed in their giving
caused my own heart to overflow with their kindness and love. God will provide in our lives whatever we need if we
are just humble enough to receive it.
Hurricane Katrina tore down my fortress of independence and humbled
me. I thank God for the lesson from
the blessings in the midst of the storm. Pg. 91 Everything
we need A
Nomad ....A Gypsy A
Roustabout....A Rolling Stone Wherever
I wander I
will always be home Carrying
no baggage And
free to drift around Discovering
and uncovering Treasures
to be found When
I long for the comforts Of
home and hearth I
will be still and be quiet And
I will find it all in my heart Everything
we need Is
buried deep inside For
it’s only when you lose it all That
you are truly free to fly ************ When waves of destruction approach like a 20’ storm
surge, we are free to flee for safety.
Even Jesus escaped the crowds for a quiet place to pray. When enormous responsibility shakes the foundations
beneath us we are free to stay like Paul and Silas and serve the greater
good. We might even save someone’s
life in the process. Jesus endured
suffering and death that we would be raised with him to new life. And when disease and death have their mortal way, we
are free to fly with Jesus to the right hand of God the Father Almighty. When I die, Hallelujah! by
and by, I’ll fly away. AMEN. May the peace of God which
passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen. Rev.
James H. Slater, Pastor Emanuel
Lutheran Church – Stuyvesant Falls St.
Luke’s Lutheran Church – Valatie May
20, 2007 SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Acts 16:9-15 Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5 John 14:23-29 Grace, mercy, and peace be unto
you from God, our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. On to Macedonia
Alison DuBois is a psychic who works for the Phoenix District Attorney’s office and helps solve murders through her visions and dreams in the television series, “Medium.” The show is based upon a real life situation and person who really is used for that purpose. How |
