DECISIONS
February 27, 2011
Rev. Barry W. Szymanski, J.D.
Minister of Pastoral Care
First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Matthew 6:24-34

‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first # for the kingdom of God # and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 [NRSV]

Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they should be found trustworthy. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.

SERMON

One of the keys of Congregationalism is freedom of conscience. Some people feel that they are free to do whatever they want. So the hard question today is: what is freedom? In a way, it is the question that Paul asked when he spoke of judging. If we really have freedom, then how do we exercise it? In other words, how do we make right decisions within our freedom? This is not an easy topic to discuss because of how people interpret freedom.

The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 2:16, said, “… do not use your liberty as a cloak of maliciousness, but be a servant of God.” Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, said that it mattered very little to Paul what others thought of him, or how they judged him. He said that he did not even judge himself. He said, “It is the Lord who judges me.”

So where can we look to help us make our decisions? Some might say, just look to the Bible. The answer is ‘Yes’ -- however we have seen radical groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, build their entire platform of hate upon singular biblical verses. The answer of others might be an emphatic ‘No,’ because they feel that the Bible is an ancient text, which does not address current issues. Yet we are assured by Paul, when he wrote his letter to Timothy, that: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the people of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished to all good works.” Timothy 3:16-17

Let us explore further. A living Congregationalist Minister, Rev. Arthur A. Rouner, Jr. writes that when the early Congregationalists formed our way of church, “ . . . they saw themselves as obligated to a real obedience: a much higher and harder obedience than that of a church that depends upon rules and orders. Freedom was their treasure because only in freedom could they be fully open to hear the Word that their Lord was speaking in their midst.” “ . . . our forefathers, did not claim freedom from God’s Word, but for that Word.” Arthur A. Rouner, Jr. P.8.

Jesus appeals to our Freedom for a personal commitment to follow Him when he calls to us: “Come, follow me.” Within freedom, how is our conscience formed? How do we make decisions within freedom? The earliest Congregationalists conceived of their freedom in this way: “It was freedom to obey the only One who deserved to be obeyed; freedom to be open as congregations to the invasion of his Holy Spirit; freedom to know and feel the power of that Spirit; and freedom to be guided, and governed, and humbled, and taught by that Spirit.” Arthur A. Rouner, Jr. P.62-63.

The early Congregationalists “ . . . wanted to be free to know this Christ in exactly the way the first Christians had known him. They coveted this New Testament faith. They wanted to know the same redeeming power of the Resurrected Lord that Peter, and John, . . . and Paul had known. They wanted to be free to obey him as those first fishermen had obeyed Him. Arthur A. Rouner, Jr. P.85-87.

They wanted to both realize, and to share in the life of Jesus. However we often see that the message of Christ is misunderstood and misinterpreted if not exploited! The real message of Jesus is quite plain, and cannot be manipulated. Paul brought the real message down to pure simplicity when he wrote to the Corinthians that: “ . . . we preach Christ crucified, /to [some] a stumbling-block, and to [others] foolishness.” 1 Corinthians 1:22-23

Jesus Christ gave his life for us. During his life, Jesus told us to be as open as children. One of Jesus prayers which was recorded in Matthew 11:25, is: “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hid these things from the wise and prudent, but have revealed them to babes.” How can we be babes, and yet wise and prudent and humble before God? How do we so often fall from what we should know the right act to do? Let me give you an example.

If, at night, you walk into a brightly lit room with a lot of furniture and then suddenly someone turns off all of the lights, temporarily you cannot see the furniture, and if you continue to walk, you will bump into furniture. But if you stand still, and allow your eyes to become accustomed to moonlight through the windows, after a minute or so, you will began to see the outlines of the furniture in the dim light we adjust to very low light. The same thing happens to us in life.

The more removed we are from Christ, who told us that he was “ . . . the light of the world . . .” the more we become accustomed to seeing in just the dim light of the world – in short, we become jaded to living without much good light. Life in the dimly lit room becomes normal to us. We become accustom to living without the true light. Some indications that we do not realize the light of Jesus are shown in today’s Gospel reading: What master do we serve? Which do we love? Which are we devoted to? And which do we ignore? Jesus was pretty clear that a person cannot worship both God and Money. Note the key word is worship!

I find one of Jesus’ questions intriguing: ‘ . . . can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?’ Another way of asking that question is to realize that even if you agonize in front of a mirror, you cannot make yourself taller! What Jesus was saying is to relax, and not be so unduly preoccupied with getting stuff, and hoarding, and overly primping, but rather see what God has given us, and then respond in gratitude.

What Jesus wants us to realize is that we should give our entire attention to God, and to what God is accomplishing now; Do not get anxious about what might happen. We can easily work ourselves up to a frenzy about what could occur, or what we might miss out on. Jesus is telling us not to lose the present moment.

Jesus had words of real comfort for us when he said that, our heavenly Father knows that we need all these things. God knows we need food and clothing. He created us to eat and we need clothing! But Jesus was emphasizing that we strive first for the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Jesus accentuated that we should not worry about tomorrow. Why? Because tomorrow will have its own worries. Deal with today’s trouble; that is enough for one day.

Jesus tells us that God will help us deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Which takes us back to decisions. What is important and what is not? When the people, over 3,000 years ago, began to realize God’s disclosures to them, they wrote one of the great Biblical truths recorded in Proverbs 1:7: “ . . . the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

There are two ways to approach a moral life. The first is to understand that we have the freedom to do what are obligations. Examples of some obligations are the Ten Commandments. We have the freedom to avoid vices, such as anger, lust, arrogance, disloyalty, injustice, impatience, greed, laziness, and so forth. We are free to follow the inspirations and teachings of others. Examples of these are the Beatitudes or Paul’s list of the fruits of the Spirit, four of which are joy, peace, gentleness, and self-control. Obligations lead us away from moral wrongs. Inspirations lead us to personal happiness and excellence.

Somehow, within us from birth, we have a tendency, a natural inclination, toward truth and goodness. An inclination toward the divine. This is how we are created – with a conscience, and a yearning for God. Deep down we understand that when Jesus says we are to rely on Him and on His Father, we understand what He means.

Human freedom does not limit us; it grounds us. It gives us a basis from which to grow. The more we are open to God, the less we worry. In our lives we have to make so many decisions. There exists within us a vital urge to do what is right. Nevertheless, we know of people who know of people who know people who know how to turn back speedometers on leased cars. have stolen cable boxes. feel that cheating on an exam is ok. while married get into a wild email relationship with another person. return clothing worn once to a party to a store for a refund. gamble beyond their family’s income. receive the wrong change amount from a cashier and keep it.

The popular advertising phrase, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” may be great as a come on to visit a city. However, we know that every moral decision we make has an effect on another person. Nothing really stays in ‘Vegas.’ Major moral decisions are often difficult, complicated, and ambiguous. Yet, we can take guidance from Paul, for if we live as Paul lived, we will say with Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” Galatians 2:20

Then, with Christ in our hearts and minds, we might ask ourselves these questions: what are the possible outcomes of our decision? What are the consequences of not doing what we intended? How does it affect each person involved? Are there unknown people who are also involved? How can our decision be best accomplished? Is there another way to achieve our goal? Is it a better way for all involved? Who can assist us in making our decision? Sometimes we fail to realize what is in front of us. Common sense helps! Common sense is the ability to look beyond one’s actions to see as many of the effects of our actions – and our omissions – as possible.

Jesus' very simple statement, in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 7, verse 12, in the Pew Bibles at page 883, should help each of us make wise decisions: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.” Jesus told us how to prioritize our lives. Paul told us that God would judge us. Do unto others, as you would have them do to you. Amen.