Audio Sermon March 8, 2015

 

Looking Towards the Future: Where There is No Vision…

Texts: Proverbs 29:18-20; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

March 8, 2015

A Complex Allegiance

 

Recently Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the incredible journalism that no longer exists within the United States completely failed to address something.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and his speech brought about the expected results. Had God come down from on high and anointed him the new Moses, the left would still have hated the speech. He had spoken about the value of flatulence crowded elevators the right would have decreed his words to be a divine wind. People often accuse American politicians to change like the weather----untrue. The weather can be unpredictable. American politicians are not. It has been said that if brain eating zombies invaded our nation’s capital they would starve to death. It’s that bad.

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke to Congress, warned of Iran as a nuclear threat, and said that any agreements with them would be bad. We knew he was going to say it and he came and said it. He has said similar things to Congress before, namely about Iraq and that turned out to not be true. I don’t know if he’s right or wrong about Iran.

Some factors of importance are these:

First, the United States, and both of the major political parties, would agree that Iran having nuclear weapons would be a bad thing. It may be at question as to how to prevent this from happening, but I know, for certain that both the White House and Congress would agree on this.

Secondly, Israel does not want Iran to have nuclear weapons and both nations are in total agreement on this. President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu might not like each other or agree on many things, but this is a fact.

Thirdly, Israel is our ally and is one of our closest allies. It does not matter who the President or the Prime Minister is, the two nations are close allies. That has not changed and I do not see this changing. Prime Minister Netanyahu that if Israel is attacked tomorrow he will find an ally in President Obama. Personalities aren’t that important in national allegiances if you read history.

This is where the issue gets sticky and it has been completely ignored.

Historically allies support one another in war. In 1990 when Iraq unilaterally invaded Kuwait, they did so knowing that Kuwait was a strong ally of the United States. They invaded Kuwait anyway in one of the most classic and amazing blunders in history. Saddam Hussein was then warned, “Get out or you’ll be sorry.” Hussein did not get out and he was sorry. The United States with a strong coalition of other nations, swept Iraq out of Kuwait and put huge restraints on Iraq to ever be a Middle Eastern power again. President George H. W. Bush, love him or loathe him, was brilliant in how he executed this. He used military force judiciously and effectively.

In 1982 Argentina invaded the British Falkland Islands. Great Britain went to war and regained them in a brilliant and decisive military action. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her nation planned this and it was a judicious use of the military. She also knew that if Britain ran into problems, the United States was up the road, ready to help. Great Britain is a great ally and allies stick together.

But allegiances get sticky. In 1941 Germany and Italy were allied with their great friend Japan. Japan had grown increasingly bellicose and was at war with China and wanted more. In another one of the most amazingly blunders in world history, they decided to attack the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. It was tactically a brilliant assault but strategically beyond stupid. The United States, of course, declared war on Japan.

This put Adolf Hitler in an amazingly awkward position. He was ethically bound to declare war on the United States-----yes, I know using ‘ethically bound’ and Hitler in the same sentence is beyond strange. Strategically, however, Hitler declaring war on the United States would have been even more bovinous than bombing their fleet. Hitler was in a stalemate with Britain and had already attacked the Soviet Union----which was like a python swallowing an elephant. The absolute last thing Hitler needed was to have the critical mass of men and materials the United States could provide. In 1941 the United States was the world’s leading industrial powerhouse and could out manufacture anyone and everyone. The judicious move for Hitler was to condemn Japan and not declare war on the United States.

Alas, no one ever accused Adolf Hitler of being judicious and on December 11, 1941 he decided that the 1000 Year Reich was a pipedream and he declared war on the United States. He decided to assist his good friend and ally, Japan and support their blunder. By the end of 1945 both Germany and Japan were gigantic dustbins….

All of which brings me back to Prime Minister Netanyahu who can be rather bellicose himself.

If Israel gets attacked or invaded I believe the United States has a moral obligation to support them to the max. This, in fact, may mean going to war with someone. If Israel is in mortal danger, we have to help them and we should help them. We have an ethical obligation to do so.

But, what happens if Israel decides to attack someone and ends up in a perilous war? What is our obligation then? Do we have one? If Prime Minister Netanyahu proves not to be judicious, do we have to go to war to save his nation? Where are our boundaries?

These questions have not been asked. I think they should be. Allegiances are complicated and our allegiance with Israel is very complicated and our own leaders are too busy trying to one up each other that they are not asking the right questions, and neither is the news media.

Midweek News from St. Marks

Sermon for March 1st.

If God Does Not Build a House

Texts: Psalm 127:1-2; Luke 12:27-30

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

March 1, 2015

 

March Newsletter from St. Marks United Church of Christ

Midweek News from St. Marks

Random Musings for a Monday

 

 

I only saw part of the Oscars but checked out some things this morning. The great part about the Internet is that cool things you missed can be seen again.

I really like Neil Patrick Harris and anticipated he’d be a great host. He wasn’t bad but he really wasn’t very good either. My thought was that, in hindsight, the greatest host in the universe would have been Robin Williams. His loss leaves a deep hole in so many people’s hearts and minds.

Say what you will about Lady Gaga. She is strange. Her idea of fashion is strange. When she finished cleaning the commodes and lost her gloves and sang the songs from the “Sound of Music,” one thing is painfully obvious. The woman can sing. Brilliantly. No one sang those songs as well as Julie Andrews or came close----until last night. Lady Gaga came close. She’s that good.

I sought of feel bad for Rudy Giuliani. He was a great major of New York City. Seriously great mayor. He cleaned up the city---no small feat. His work on and after 9/11 was heroic and brilliant. He had been a fearless Federal Prosecutor before that and did a great job going after organized crime. He ran for President but didn’t really have enough national experience to make a good run. So be it. The problem is, for him, he was once a really important guy and now he’s really not. That’s not a criticism----he’s older and he can retire after a great career. The problem for so many of us is that our egos get wrapped up in what we do and being important is difficult to let go of. We see this a lot---a person later in life says something outrageously stupid and gets into the limelight. Rudy is not letting go of the moment and, sadly, he’s building legacy as yet another old guy who put his foot in his mouth and kept it there. To me, this is tragic. He had such a great legacy and I hate seeing him go down in flames.

Tim McGraw singing in a tribute to Glen Campbell who can no longer sing or know who most people are is heartbreaking. I really like Glen Campbell and always enjoyed his music.

It seems that a number of people are going after Bill O’Reilly suggesting that he, like Brian Williams, has exaggerated about his career. It’s not really a fair comparison. Brian Williams was a network news anchor and like ABC and CBS his show is about hard news. He is not a political commentator or an entertainer. Both Fox and MSNBC are networks that run on political commentary instead of hard news. I’m not saying that to laud or criticize either network as they are both niche stations that seek to reach specific audiences. Bill O’Reilly is a prime time commentator and that role puts him in the realm of commentator/entertainer. In short, his role is entirely different from Brian Williams and he ought not to be held to the same standards. When hard news anchors exaggerate the news, it’s a far, far bigger deal.

Say what you will about this winter, but the photos of the ice at Niagara Falls are breath-taking.

Senator Lindsey Graham, someone I rarely agree with, is right about something. Congress needs to fund Homeland Security and allow the immigration issue they are debating to be worked out in the courts.

I’m not questioning the logic of the Oscars with this and the right person probably won, but I really was pulling for Rosamund Pike to win best actress for her role in Gone Girl. The first time I saw her was as Miranda Frost in a James Bond movie and she was great in the film Jack Reacher. Her character or characters in Gone Girl was a brilliant performance.

I saw a video shot from behind me and I saw a bald spot on the back of my head. It reminds me that I shouldn’t look at videos shot from the back of my head. Ugh.

Audio Sermon 2/22/15

ISIS

 

I’ve been pondering ISIS and my ponderings are troubling.

At some point most people have come to the conclusion that this is a group of mindless violence out to kill and destroy as many people in the most horrible ways possible. They do, obviously commit acts of mind-numbing violence and their cruelty seems to have no boundaries. I am not sure, however, that ISIS is mindless.

It seems that way. They have managed to turn most of the world against them. Their Arab neighbors are angry at them and are bombing them as well. Fellow Muslims have turned against them with ferocity. The western world is fiercely involved as well. Acts of vile murder and killings are taking place worldwide and ISIS does not seem to lack recruits.

Part of their murderous success on battlefields has been to fill trucks with explosives and suicide bombers go forward to bash their way into compounds. This is terrifying for defenders because they must destroy and stop these trucks short of the compounds. This is what made Kamikaze pilots so successful in World War II because they had to be destroyed without crashing into their targets. This is easier said than done.

ISIS recruits are willing to kill and willing to die. The value of life has no meaning for them whatsoever. That lack of value is about others and even themselves.

It might not be mindless, however, and that’s the scary part.

ISIS, people are beginning to understand, has an apocalyptic mission. They are seeking end times and doing their best (or worst) to bring this about. They want the world to burst into flames and destroy itself. In order for this to happen they need to draw everyone into the battle. This will kill large numbers if ISIS members but they do not care.

Some years ago, in Waco, Texas, the Branch Davidians made the news and they all died in the end. They were a cult based on the Book of Revelation which is, of course, apocalyptic. Anyone who knew any theology at all knew how that story would end. Apocalyptic groups are about death and destruction.

In the United States, where we debate sunshine, we really do not have a cohesive way to deal with ISIS.

ISIS has great likeness to the Nazi Party. People have compared Presidents Obama and Bush to the Nazis and we love to refer to political ideas we don’t agree with as Naziesque. Our lack of historical knowledge and context allows people to do this, largely unchecked.

ISIS, however, well, they are the real deal. They really ARE like the Nazis and the Nazis were so committed to what they were doing they believed it was better to be leveled and die than it was to tolerate people who differed from them to live.

ISIS is dangerous to all of us and our prayers need to be that the rest of the world come together and deal with them. Worldwide inaction and political paralysis are a dream combination to ISIS and we had better get over it. Quickly.

Sunday Sermon for 2/15/15

 

The Greatest Prophet

Text: 2 Kings 2:1-12

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

February 15, 2015

 

Brian Williams and a Free Press

 

Brian Williams messed up. Badly. He apologized by his apology had a credibility issue. It was fine that he wanted to assure brave people were acknowledged, but he indicated that his memory was faulty. The problem with that is that there are things we never forget. He, of course, remembered that he was in the helicopter and that a previous helicopter had been hit, but his wasn’t. He was in danger, to be sure, but never in the danger that he stated. Now, the man who was touted as the most trusted name in news isn’t very trusted.

I find this sad. I actually find this very sad as I really do like Brian Williams. I think he does a great job on the news and has an excellent sense of humor and always felt a transparent spirit in him. Williams was, to me, one of the really good guys. I don’t know what is going to happen and if he’ll be back on NBC News any time soon. Or any time. I want to overlook this and I probably can, truth be told. The reality is, however, I like Brian Williams and I’m not sure I’d be so generous with my charity if this was someone I didn’t like very much. I really do not know what the wrong thing to do is.

Brian Williams has exposed a major flaw in our national news media. Investigative journalism is largely a lost art and network news programs have regressed into a regurgitation of talking points given to them. Political parties and corporations have hired brilliant communication people who write the talking points and their information, be in accurate or inaccurate, is disseminated and we hear it reported. The networks largely just share the information whereas networks like MSNBC spin it left and Fox News spins it right. By the time we watch the news it has been spun into a weave of cotton candy.

News people have bought into it. When war enters the picture all sort of opportunities come about. Staid and proper journalists go into danger areas and, frankly, they do so because there is excitement to it. They are human.

Who can forget David Bloom? He was put into an Army unit and rode in the armor. The constant sitting in the armor vehicle helped cause a deep vein thrombosis that became a pulmonary embolism and it killed him. Bob Woodruff, of ABC News was critically wounded and suffered a brain injury in Iraq from a roadside bomb. There were some great heroics of the news media in Iraq but none of them questioned very much as to why we were there. They also didn’t question what was found. I suspect WMDs were found. We know Saddam Hussein used WMDs against the Kurds; nerve gas we had sold him in his war against Iran. Did we find the stash? Who asked? No one.

Bengazi? Will we ever know what happened there? There is great speculation on this but most of the inquiring minds had an agenda. Investigative journalism, seeking and reporting the truth, no matter where the truth leads, is no longer in vogue.

Much has been made of the Koch brothers and their spreading financial influence. Some stories tell of us this but the reality is that the average person knows very little about these men. Investigative journalism in the national networks is dead.

Much of what passes for the network news now is entertainment. Do the talking points on some ‘hard news’ and then get to the fluff. The bad news is that even the hard news has turned into fluff. The news anchors have morphed from being serious journalists into being entertainers and they need to remain one step ahead of their competition. As a result we have this.

The founders of our nation built a free press into the system. In France, the killing at Charlie Hebdo was an assault on free press. Charlie Hebdo was satirical in nature, however, and not about investigative journalism. In the United States we have this built into our system, largely, to keep those in power, be it in government or business, honest by keeping people informed. This is no longer happening.

I’m hoping that the whole incident with Brian Williams serves as a wake up call to move from entertainment and reading carefully crafted talking points and challenging networks to become what they are supposed to be. Find the truth and report the truth and allow the truth to speak for itself.

Audio Sermon February 8, 2015

 

Prayer

Texts: Isaiah 40:21-32; Mark 1:29-39

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

February 8, 2015

 

February Newsletter

Audio Sermon February 1st.

And Not As The…

Texts: Mark 1:21-28

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

February 1, 2015

 

Audio Sermon January 25, 2015

God’s Way

Texts: Jonah 3:1-10; 1 Corinthians 7:29-31

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

January 25, 2015

Audio Sermon January 11th

 

Flooded with Grace

Texts: Genesis 1:1-5; Mark 1:4-11

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

January 11, 2015

 

Audio Sermon for January 4, 2015

 

Shine On

Text: Isaiah 60:1-6

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

January 4, 2015

 

Sermon for December 28th. (Audio)

 

Characters in the Christmas Drama—Simeon
Text: Luke 2:22-40
Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo
December 28, 2014

Christmas Eve Meditation (Audio)

 

 

Audio Sermon December 21, 2014

 

Texts: Exodus 2:1-10; Luke 1:26-38

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

December 21, 2014

 

Audio Sermon December 7th

Characters in a Christmas Drama: A Desperate World

Text: Isaiah 41:8-13

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

December 7, 2014

Audio Sermon, November 30th

Characters in a Christmas Drama: The Prophets---The Conscience of Israel

Texts: Isaiah 40:1-9; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

November 30, 2014

 

Midweek News

The Visitor (Newsletter from St. Marks)

 

Audio Sermon November 23, 2014

I Don’t Wanna Be a Goat

Texts: Psalm 100; Matthew 25:31-46

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

November 23, 2014

 

Audio Sermon 11/16/14

 

Blessed to be a Blessing

Texts: Psalm 123:1-4; Genesis 12:1-3

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

November 16, 2014

 

Audio Sermon October 26th

Blessed to Be a Blessing: How we are Changing the World

Texts: Psalm 46; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

October 26, 2014

 

Why Liberals Lie About Jesus’s Statements about Homosexuality----A Bait and Switch Article

 

The way we can change the focus of a discussion or a debate is to state that the other person is lying.

If, for example, I say that all blue-eyed people lie about being respectful, the conversation moves away from my audacity in saying such a thing, it moves away from talking about respectfulness, and puts the onus of burden on blue-eyed people and their honesty. It’s classic bait and switch maneuver in discussions; you bait people with one thing and switch the topic to something else.

I just saw this in an article with two slightly different titles, appear on two different website. It is written by a man named Gary LeMar, the President of American Vision, an organization that is looking to assure God’s will is lived out in all of life.

I’ve included a link to Mr. LeMar’s article. Simply click the graphic.

On the website called “Eagle Rising,” it is entitled, Why do Liberals Lie and Say "Jesus Never Spoke Against Homosexuality"?

The article is only partially on there and it refers you to a website called “Godfather Politics,” where the title is The Jesus Didn’t Say Anything About Homosexuality Lie.

The premise of the author is that the statement, “Jesus didn’t say anything about homosexuality,” is a flat out lie. If one reads the title of the article one determines that Jesus, in fact, DID talk about homosexuality and condemned it and those dastardly liberals are covering this up and downright lying about this.

Then one reads the article. Ordinarily if someone says that someone else has lied in a document and they refer you to the document than you would presume, of course, that in the document they will point out the passages. If you read this article you just have to see where Jesus spoke about homosexuality----only to find no references where Jesus spoke about homosexuality. Mr. LeMar did not forget to put passages in where Jesus spoke about homosexuality because, alas, Jesus didn’t talk about homosexuality.

His arguments are interesting, to say the least. He takes issue with the pastor of Hillsong Church, Carl Lentz who said:

“Jesus was in the thick of an era where homosexuality, just like it is today, was widely prevalent, and I'm still waiting for someone to show me the quote where Jesus addressed it on the record in front of people. You won't find it because He never did."

Actually, Jesus wasn’t in the thick of homosexuality in a way we were understand sexual orientation. The concept of sexual orientation and the terminology of homosexuality are relatively modern concepts. When the word ‘homosexual’ is used in the Bible it’s a poor translation as there was no word for that in ancient Greek or Hebrew. There was same gender sexual activity, however.

Although we view our modern world to be very sexual charged, the ancient world was significantly more sexual than our world is today. We know little about female sexuality from that era as no one at that time was interested in it. We do know that men were sexual with their spouses, concubines, and prostitutes. They were also sexual with one another. In most of the ancient cultures same gender sexual acts had little to do with sexual orientation and more to do with availability. Sex was often seen as entertainment and was not viewed church differently than having dinner or going to the ballgame with a friend.

I say this recognizing that Pastor Lentz was someone with whom Mr. LeMar disagreed, but it helps set my perspectives.

At Hillsong they said that they don’t judge behavior and Mr. LeMar does on to say that Jesus very often did challenge people’s behavior. He uses two instances, one of the adulterous woman and one of the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus’ teaching of ‘Go and sin no more,” is quite valid. One woman was guilty of adultery and condemned whereas the other woman had been with many men. Of course, Mr. LeMar didn’t point out that in the story of the adulterous woman, who had been judged harshly by the mob, was the only one of the two people being punished. Under Jewish Law, and how it was practiced, if this woman was unmarried but the man she was with WAS married, she was guilty of adultery but he was not. Convoluted logic? Yes. Mr. LeMar didn’t say anything about this.

He goes on to intimate that Jesus was, in fact, speaking about homosexuality as he was teaching Jewish morality as found in the Hebrew Scripture. He uses a couple of examples….but….

Jesus used Old Testament examples and some of his teaching was the same as found in the Hebrew Scriptures. Some of his teachings, however, were different. The story of the adulterous woman being one instance. His view of the Sabbath was often different from many others at the time. His usage of the word ABBA in reference to God. Jesus’ teachings were often different from other people within Judaism and to say he bought Leviticus word for word would, in fact, be incorrect.

Mr. LeMar goes on to note that whereas rape, incest, and arson, etc., are condemned in the Old Testament, Jesus didn’t say anything about them and we don’t presume that he accepted those things. Of course, comparing rape, incest, and arson to a loving, committed relationship two people may have is intellectually dishonest and would be another bait and switch scenario.

If people want to discuss gay rights and gay marriage and use the Bible there actually are portions where this is somewhat discussed. In reading such books as Jennifer Wright Knust’s, Unprotected Texts, many of the passages often presumed to condemn homosexuality are questionable. (This is a fine book written by a Scripture scholar----it is not an easy read, however.)

There is also Matthew Vines’ book, God and the Gay Christian, that also addresses many of these texts. This is a good read that is very interesting and much easier to comprehend than Dr. Knust’s book.

In fairness there are books written to the contrary and they are often worth considering and observing.

One thing both sets of books have in common is that they don’t reference Jesus’ statements on same sex relationships and both perspectives acknowledge the same thing. Jesus didn’t speak about same sex relationships.

Mr. LeMar is welcome to his own opinions but he is not welcome to his own facts. When he calls people liars who say that Jesus didn’t speak about same se behavior, he is flat out wrong and owes people an apology. His effort is a classic bait and switch and it is, in my opinion, a very poor way to discuss difficult subjects.

Heart Breaking Story

One of the most heart-breaking stories in the news is the story about Brittany Maynard, a young woman with an inoperable brain tumor. She and her husband moved to Oregon where she can avail herself with the state’s ‘Death with Dignity’ law and her plan is to take a lethal dose of medication on November 1^st. She has only months to live and her plan is to end her life in this world before she and her family have to endure the final stages of the disease.

Her choice and the publicity around the choices have resulted in significant conversation and controversy. Many applaud her courage and many are horrified at her decision. She is only 29 years old and has been married for a year.

I hate this story. I say that I hate this story not because I hate Brittany Maynard, I just hate the fact that a young woman is dying of a brain tumor at such a young age and has been faced with horrible choices. Choice one is to end her life quickly and painlessly and very soon, or to die in a horrible fashion pretty soon. Choice number one and choice number two are both terrible options.

The story, obviously, has raised many questions.

She has been applauded by many people. The idea of death with dignity is popular and it allows physicians to prescribe medication that will provide a lethal dose to a person should that person choose to take it or not. People have the ability to have a final day with loved ones, take the dose, and die effortlessly before the final months of agony. The argument, of course, is that we do this with beloved pets and it makes sense that we be able to provide this option for people we love.

On the other hand others will say that we cannot take on the role of playing God. We can only die, the argument says, when it is our time and God is the only one who can choose that time.

I, personally, wrestle with these ‘life’ issues. I wrestle with abortion. I wrestle with death with dignity. I think capital punishment is appalling. I was educated in a Roman Catholic seminary in the 1970’s and that was the era of the ‘seamless garment’ view of life issues. In that theory of Christian ethics, abortion, death with dignity, and capital punishment were all wrong. Many so-called ‘pro-life’ people now are against abortion and death with dignity, but are fine with capital punishment. I cannot call people pro-life unless they embrace the seamless garment premise. Being for some and not others and calling one’s self pro-life strikes me as hypocritical.

If someone says, to me, “Hey, but look at your, you WRESTLE with two of the issues but come down clearly on one, doesn’t that make YOU a hypocrite too?” The answer is yes, of course. I wrestle and no matter how hard I try, I’m stuck.

There is one thing that really disturbs me, however. Recently, wrote a column that ultimately condemned Brittany Maynard and her choice. Ms. Tada not only disagrees with Ms. Maynard, but says that God has been removed from the process and that Ms. Maynard is ultimately condemning herself to hell. Ms. Tada recently wrote:
“I believe Brittany is missing a critical factor in her formula for death: God. The journey Brittany — for that matter, all of us — will undertake on the other side of death is the most important venture on which we will ever embark… Unfortunately, three countries and five states have now determined that individuals can make these choices for themselves. This is what happens when God is removed: The moral consensus that has guided that society begins to unravel.”

My initial instinct is that Ms. Tada and I have a theological disagreement on the removal of God. I don’t believe God is ever really removed from situations. God is present. Period. How people listen to God is often different but to say God is removed is, to me, very presumptuous.

But worse than this, Ms. Tada seems to assert that Ms. Maynard is condemning herself to hell.

Joni Eareckson Tada is a person I have to respect on many levels. She broke her neck in a horrible diving accident when she was young and has spent her life in a wheelchair with no use of her arms and legs. She is a survivor of breast cancer. Her concern about death with dignity is genuine and she is not speaking from the perspective of a person who has not made difficult choices in her own life. She is not talking from the perspective of a person who, herself, has not suffered. While I disagree with many of her theological perspectives, she’s a person I do respect and admire.

There is a line, however, that she crossed that she has no right to cross. She determined that Ms. Maynard is condemning herself to hell. To avoid some suffering in this world, Ms. Tada believes that Ms. Maynard is assigning herself eternal suffering in the next. She sees herself as warning Ms. Maynard that this is something she ought not do. Her words, while harsh, are actually loving----but they are not words he has a right to use.

We people seem to have determined that we have a right to judge others and to state where people are heading when our lives in this world have come to an end. We seem to be missing a critical factor in our formula of judgment: God.

What strikes me is that when people like Brittany Maynard are forced with two horrible choices and makes one, God is present in her life. We may see God or we may not see God, but God is present.

We can debate anything we want but let’s take God’s judgment out of the equation. As for Brittany Maynard, my heart breaks. In my view of God, the first heart that broke was God’s heart and that when her journey in this world comes to an end, my faith is that her journey will continue with God.

And God, last I checked, doesn’t need our input as to who walks with God in Heaven.

Things People Think are Biblical, but Really Aren’t: The Real Message of the Bible is to be Nice

 

Ministers pretty much all have a common experience. We are at a wedding reception and are seated next to someone’s Great Uncle Waldo from Nebraska. Great Uncle Waldo is enjoying the fact that there is an open bar at the wedding reception and mildly freaked out that he’s stuck being seated next to the minister. The minister is looking at his or her watch, hoping that time passes quickly so he or she can leave before Great Uncle Waldo musters up the courage to talk. After four or five drinks, Great Uncle Waldo decides it’s time to have a conversation.

He puts his arm around the minister’s shoulder and exhales. The member of the clergy offers thanks that this particular clergy person had quit smoking and didn’t have an open flame in proximity to Great Uncle Waldo’s breath because the alcohol content near an open flame would immolate both of them.

Great Uncle Waldo then says, “I’m not really a church going person and I can’t say I know much about the Bible, but the whole secret is to be nice to one another.”

For most clergy this would be revelation.

Clergy in mainline Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church have pretty comparable educations. After four years of college 3-4 years of graduate level seminary are taken. The Master’s of Divinity degree required to become ordained is usually a 75-90 credit degree whereas many Master’s degree programs are usually between 30-40 credit hours. (Interesting side note is that most mega-churches do not have seminary educated clergy and do not require the M.Div. degree. Further comments shall be restrained.)

In any case, most clergy are well-educated individuals and have a working knowledge of the history of Christianity, systematic theology, Christian ethics, Scripture, as well as extensive field education. Most have listened to countless sermons preached by scholars and have read extensively. Most have libraries filled with resources and can articulate and explain often very difficult and obscure passages of Scripture. There is one thing clergy to not learn in this extensive education and one thing all the scholars who have taught us also seemed to have missed.

Never have any of us heard in all that education that the whole secret of Christianity is to be nice to one another. Either Great Uncle Waldo has been given divine revelation and should be put immediately on the preaching circuit or…

Here’s the bad news. Great Uncle Waldo is wrong. The central theme of the Bible isn’t about being nice. If you actually read the Bible, Jesus wasn’t always nice. He was loving, but loving isn’t always being nice. Sometimes confrontation is more loving than being nice. If you read the letters of St. Paul, St. Paul was not always nice. Again, sometimes confrontation is more loving than being nice.

Does this suggest that we ought to be mean to one another? No. Does this mean that we shouldn’t be nice to each other?

Actually, for the most part, being nice to one another is a good thing. I like to think that I am a pretty nice person and I like nice people. To be honest, the world would be a better place if people were nicer to one another. I say this, of course, in terms of that niceness being genuine and not phony.

Having said all of this, being nice is not a Biblical theme. The Biblical message is about truth and love and sometimes truth requires bitter medicine. It doesn’t require meanness, but it requires directness and sometimes the directness is painful.

Alas, Great Uncle Waldo is wrong. It may be nice when people are nice, but it’s not Biblical.

Things People Think are Biblical, but Really Aren’t: Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner

 

We’ve all heard it said, “Hate the sin, love the sinner.” It sounds like a good Christian thing to say doesn’t it? As Christians we are anti-sin and pro-love so this seems to make a lot of sense. We’ve probably all heard it said, “As it says in the Bible, ‘hate the sin but love the sinner…’ The problem is that it’s not in the Bible.

 

It’s actually something that Gandhi wrote in 1929 when he wrote, “Hate the sin and not the sinner.” St. Augustine expressed a similar thought back in AD 424: “With love for mankind and hatred of sins.” The thoughts were close but not Biblical and not, exact.

Some have used Jude 1:22-23, ²² And have mercy on some who are wavering; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; and have mercy on still others with fear, hating even the tunic defiled by their bodies, as something of a proof text for this, but, alas, it’s not even close.

There are a bunch of problems with this statement and good reason why it’s not in the Bible.

For one, when we begin to entertain the thought of ‘hate’ it blurs the line between love and hate. Hating the sin allows us to judge people by their sins. Hate is something we are called, specifically NOT to do. God is love and we who abide in love abide in God. When we venture into the world of ‘hate’ we are moving in the wrong direction.

Secondly, it gives us permission to judge one another. Have I ever judged another person? Yes. Did I have any right to judge another person? No. Have I ever looked at the speck in another person’s eye and missed the plank in my own eye? Far too many times. When we begin to think we have the right to ‘hate the sin,’ we go down the path of judgment and judging others, from a Biblical perspective, is most definitely a sin.

Thirdly, it puts us into a position of determining sins. Sin is classically seen as moving away from God or living outside of God’s will or God’s way. The difficulty in determining ‘sins’ comes from the fact that we have to determine what God’s will or God’s way happens to be. It means what my conscience determines is sinful or not supersedes your conscience. That ultimately leads to judging one another and, again, that is most definitely a sin.

So, how do we treat sinners?

Love everyone. That covers it.

Sermon Audio 10/5/14

 

The Pursuit of the Prize

Text: Philippians 3:4-14

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

October 5, 2014

 

Audio Sermon September 28, 2014

 

Doing the Right Thing

Text: Philippians 1:1-4; Matthew 21:23-32

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

September 28, 2014

 

Audio Sermon for September 21, 2014

One in Christ
Text: Ephesians 4:1-6
Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo
September 21, 2014

 

Things that are Not Biblical That People Think are Biblical: God Helps Those…

 

 

Many people have said, over the years, “As it says in the Bible, “God helps those who help themselves.” To find this verse in the Bible, I suggest you look at Matthew 29:10. I’ll wait while you look.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Looking at my watch.

Waiting.

Waiting.

Okay, by now you may have looked in the Bible and searched for Matthew 29:10 and found, to your amazement that I have either misquoted, or do not know my Bible, or was pulling your leg. I do know my Bible pretty well and I didn’t misquote.

The phrase is not Biblical. It mostly dates back to ancient Greece, the philosophers, and Aesop’s Fables. Shakespeare used it. Ben Franklin used it and published it. The phrase has been around a long time; it even pre-dates much of the Bible.

It is also not without wisdom. Actually, it’s a pretty wise statement. It’s reminiscent of the words of St. Augustine that I try to live by, “Work like it all depends on you and pray like it all depends on God.” The statement, though not Biblical, is a good one.

What I like about “God helps those who help themselves,” is that it’s a reminder that we are not called to be slackers. The Bible is full of statements in the Wisdom books about loafers, idlers, and slackers. St. Paul makes a point that people should work for their food. Stating that phrase, “God helps those who help themselves,” is not Biblical does not indicate that people believe no one should work or do anything productive. Far from it. Productivity in life is a good and vital thing. We need people to show up and put in effort. The world spins and things take place because people work hard and help themselves.

Good words? Yes.

Wise words? Yes.

God’s words? No.

Yet, people believe it is Biblical; even a central teaching of the Bible.

In Wikipedia it says:

The beliefs of Americans regarding this phrase and the Bible has been studied by Christian demographer and pollster George Barna of The Barna Group. To the statement "The Bible teaches that God helps those who help themselves"; 53% of Americans agree strongly, 22% agree somewhat, 7% disagree somewhat, 14% disagree strongly, and 5% stated they don't know. Of "born-again" Christians 68% agreed, and 81% of non "born-again" Christians agreed with the statement. In a February 2000 poll, 53% strongly agreed and 22% agreed somewhat that the Bible teaches the phrase. Of the 14 questions asked, this was the least biblical response, according to Barna. A poll in the late 1990s showed the majority (81%) believe the concept is taught by the Bible, another stating 82%.

Despite being of non-Biblical origin, the phrase topped a poll of the most widely known Bible verses. Seventy-five percent of American teenagers said they believed that it was the central message of the Bible.

While I like the wisdom of the statement, it concerns me that so many people think it’s a part of our faith heritage. It’s not. The reality is that if one reads the Bible and one reads the first priority of Jesus, the Bible would more likely say (and mean) “God helps those who help others.” Jesus tells us, constantly, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. We are called, repeatedly, as Christians, to help others. There is no distinction on who we help either. There are no ‘worthy’ poor or ‘unworthy’ poor in the Bible. There is no distinction between the people who have hit hard times or the slackers. There is only the word ‘poor’ that hounds us constantly. “God helps those who help others,” is actually a consistent Biblical theme.

The phrase, “God helps those who help themselves,” while filled with wisdom is not Biblical.

So, the next time someone tells you, As the Bible says, “God helps those who help themselves,” refer them to Matthew 29:10 and tell them what, exactly, that reference means.

Things that People Think Are Biblical, but Really Aren’t: Lex Talionis.

 

I’ve heard many people say, “Well, you know what the Bible says, ‘an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Does the Bible actually say this? Yes, but before you cite it, there are some facts to learn about it.

It is stated in Exodus 21:

²³ If any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, ²⁴ eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵ burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

 

This is part of unofficial Jewish Law, after the giving of the 10 Commandments. A long list of things were being given out to the people of Israel, giving them a sense of depth and breadth of the Mosaic Law. This particular statement is based on the principle is sometimes referred using the Latin term lex talionis or the law of talion, means a retaliation authorized by law, in which the punishment corresponds in kind and degree to the injury. It comes from the Code of Hammurabi which was a Babylonian law code of ancient Mesopotamia, dating back to about 400 years before Moses.

The lex talionis is based on retributive justice, which means that people can retaliate in a restrained way. An eye for an eye means that if someone attacks you and destroys your eye, you can destroy their eye; you cannot kill them. It is based on a premise of justice as opposed to revenge. It was, for the time, a very enlightened and progressive perspective. In Exodus, Moses is saying that this old law of a different culture, should still be a part of Israel’s existence. It’s in the Bible, but it’s not necessarily a Biblical principle. It comes from ancient Mesopotamia.

Alas, that’s not my point, so before you say, “Thank you for the proof text, thank you for this verse,” and go on your merry way extracting eyes from people who have harmed you, please recognize something. Jesus disagrees with the Code of Hammurabi.

In Matthew 5 he says:

³⁸ "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' ³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; ⁴⁰ and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; ⁴¹ and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. ⁴² Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. ⁴³ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶

To summarize this quickly, Jesus was not a fan of the Lex Talionis. He is replacing the old law with the new law and the new law is complex.

One of the great challenges Jesus gives us is something most of us would prefer to not deal with. Jesus was a pacifist. Passages like this reveal it. His behavior in the garden revealed it. His comments to Peter, who was willing to defend Jesus, reveals it. Jesus was a pacifist.

In early Christianity, before Constantine, all Christians were pacifists. It was forbidden to join the Roman Army and it was forbidden to take up arms. It was seen as acceptable to die for one’s faith, but never to kill for one’s faith. When Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire this changed. Now Christians could and did, fight for Rome. Since that time most Christians are not pacifists. There are exceptions. The Religious Society of Friends are pacifists. Churches from the Anabaptist tradition are pacifists. Most Christians are not.

I’m not going to make an argument for pacifism. I’m not a pacifist. I say that reluctantly as I wish I could be, but the world around us does not really allow for this. I say that knowing this is my opinion, nothing more or nothing less.

Jesus was opposed to the Lex Talionis because he could not or would not physically harm another person. He strove for mercy in everything he did. In our society we recoil when we hear of other cultures cutting the hands off thieves; yet we lament when we determine that prison conditions are too good. (The reality is that most people in prison live in deplorable conditions.) The simple reality is that most of us have little to no objection to having pain inflicted on wrong doers----as long as we are not the wrong doer or we are not related to them, of course.

There are tons of questions we can wrestle with. Jesus does not make this very easy for us. But there is one thing very clear. Jesus was opposed to the Lex Talionis. Next time you decree it to be Biblical, you may need to contrast the views from Exodus and Matthew. For Christians, we really do not believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. For Christians, that is not a Biblical principle.

Audio Sermon September 14, 2014

Because God….

Texts: Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

September 14, 2014

 

Things that are Not Biblical That People Think are Biblical: Sodom was about Homosexuality

 

A minister was preaching to her congregation one Sunday and she told them that next week’s sermon was going to be based on Matthew 29 and she asked everyone to read Matthew 29.

The following Sunday she began her sermon with the question, “How many people read Matthew 29? Most of the people in the congregation raised their hands. She said, “Today’s sermon is about honesty; Matthew has only 28 chapters….”

I decided to do a blog serious on things that people think are

---

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biblical, but really aren’t. I’m beginning with the Sodom and Gomorrah story. The story is, in and of itself, biblical. The narrative begins like this in Chapter 19.

¹ The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed down with his face to the ground. ² He said, "Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you can rise early and go on your way." They said, "No; we will spend the night in the square." ³ But he urged them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴ But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house; ⁵ and they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them."

While the narrative refers to them later as ‘men,’ presuming these are male angels, the very start of the story begins by telling us who these characters are. They are of heavenly, not earthly origin according to the writer of Genesis.

Lot had extended the two of them hospitality and the men in town called them out with the intention of gang raping them. Lot’s family escapes because of a miracle by the angels, casting the town folks temporarily blind.

So, the gang rape of angels has turned into a proof text against homosexuality. A story about hospitality (and lack thereof) in a book filled with stories about hospitality is turned into a proof text against homosexuality. A story leading into another book, about God’s retribution on a nation (Egypt) that turned hospitality into slave-keeping is made into a proof text about homosexuality.

Jesus referred to Sodom and Gomorrah in the Gospel of Matthew:

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' ⁸ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. ⁹ Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰ no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹ Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹² As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³ If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Take note of something. Jesus, in his reference to Sodom and Gomorrah was speaking in terms of the lack of hospitality and lack of welcoming apostles as being sinful.

Ah, but the word sodomy…

The word sodomy and the accompanying word sodomite (used in many translations of the Bible) do not show up until 395AD in a letter from St. Jerome to people. Jerome began using a ‘new’ Latin word at the time. The difficulty is that he did not articulate exactly what he meant. What is obvious, however, is that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was not about homosexuality. John Calvin, in his commentary on Genesis, does not define the Sodomites' sin as homosexual acts. Instead he prefers the social meaning of sodomy, reminding his readers that the Sodomites were "in the habit of vexing strangers," whereas Lot had offered them shelter and a meal.

We may use the word ‘sodomy’ all we want and while we may see it in the Bible or see the word ‘sodomite’ in the Bible, these are words that did not exist when the Bible was actually written. One would be hard pressed to say that the original texts said, on this subject, what many people state they say.

Not long ago I was listening to the pastor of a megachurch. He was preaching on the evils of same sex relationships. He made two points that were, frankly absurd.

The first one could be used on Saturday Night Live. It was that funny. Seriously, I don’t mean to mock, but I understood why I was required to major in Philosophy for seminary and how logic comes into play. He said that one of the leading causes of same sex relationships was experimentation. He even said it with a straight face. What he seemed to be missing, however, is that gay people experiment sexually and usually begin their experimentation in heterosexual relationships. The percentage of gay people who have engaged in opposite sex behavior is way higher than the percentage of straight people who have engaged in same sex behavior. His ‘experimentation’ theory was absurd.

What got me really rankled, however, was that he said, “Let’s face it, Sodom and Gomorrah was about homosexuality.”

I do not find this particular statement even remotely amusing.

The ‘men’ in the story, we are told, are of angelic origin.

The narrative is about a looming gang rape. Gang rape is an act of violence, it is not even remotely related to sexual love.

The gang rape of angels, in the context of Genesis, and in the interpretation of those who wrote it and read it, was a story telling us what happens to those who are welcoming of God’s people. Jesus very much saw it this way and we should as well. If we are going to read the Bible with any sort of faithfulness, we need to learn what it really says

Sodom and Gomorrah as a proof text is not about homosexuality. It never was and it shouldn’t be used in that manner.

Audio Sermon, September 7, 2014

 

Spiritual Narcissism

When Being Right Trumps Being Righteous

Text: Romans 13:8-14

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

September 7, 2014

 

Audio Sermon August 31st

 

Oy Vey

Texts: Psalm 26:1-8; Matthew 16:21-28

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

August 31, 2014

Audio Sermon August 24th

Ah, I’ve Always Wondered What the Church’s Job Was

Texts: Isaiah 51:1-6, Matthew 16:13-20

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

August 24, 2014

 

Audio Sermon August 10, 2014

 

The Language of God

Text: 1 Kings 19:9-18

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

August 10, 2014

 

 

3 Clergy who Need to Be Ignored

 

This week I read news stories about three clergy in the country and the amazing work they are doing to turn people away from God.

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle was removed from Acts 29, a church planting network he helped to found. Mars Hill is really not only one church, but is now in five states with fifteen locations. He is an incredibly polarizing figure. He purchased his own books to get on best seller lists, and has been accused of plagiarism. Additionally, his misogyny is almost legendary in all bad ways.

There is one thing that stands out about Mark Driscoll, however. He’s mean.

John Hagee is the pastor of the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas. Like Driscoll, a mega-church pastor. In a sermon recently he talked about how horrible poor people were and he distorted a Scripture passage to proof-text his point. He regularly speaks about how people who disagree with his opinions are counterfeit Christians and speaks regularly of the end times and delights in telling his listeners about the torment the ungodly people are going to experience.

There is one thing that stands out about John Hagee, however. He’s mean.

There is also Archbishop John Myers of Newark, New Jersey. In his time he has admonished priests who give Holy Communion to pro-choice parishioners and divorced Catholics who remarry without getting an annulment. Refused to let diocesan teachers attend a national meeting for Catholic educators because one of the speakers was known to favor ordination of women and fired a parochial school teacher for permitting a debate on ordination of women.

Supported the Cardinal Newman Society. Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Neb. (since retired), one of its stalwarts, has threatened to excommunicate Catholics who belong to liberal church organizations such as Call to Action. He is currently adding on to an already huge retirement home and charging it to the Archdiocese of Newark. Despite the controversy surrounding this, he has not relented in this.

I know a good many people who know Myers and there is one thing that stands out about him. He’s mean. No one I know who actually has dealt with Myers has ever accused him of having a heart.

I know. Someone’s going to say I’m picking on ‘conservative’ clergy. These people may call themselves whatever they want, they’re just mean guys who have used Jesus and ideology to say and do mean things to people. There are people just as conservative as them who are good people, great people in fact. These guys are just plain mean.

When we are mean and say we are merely professing the truth in love or preaching the true Gospel, we are missing the point. Being mean and hateful and doing it in the name of Jesus is merely behaving badly and blaming it on God and that is shameful. What they are doing, and have done, is turn people AWAY from God. God is a God of love and love brings people together. Love is patient and kind. These guys are neither. It’s time we remind people that these are folks who may have had some good moments, but in their lust for power and glory have lost sight of the God who calls them to love. I hope their hearts can be melted. Meanwhile, they deserve to be ignored.

Audio Sermon August 3rd

 

Through Heaven’s Eyes

Text: Matthew 14:13-21

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

August 3, 2014

 

Praying

 

Praying

I find, especially as I get older, I like to pray. Actually, that’s sort of understating it. I pray because I need to pray. I crave prayer time.

That may sound weird or nerdy or something like that, but it’s become a part of my day and a part of my life. I tend to pray, at least once or twice a day the Liturgy of the Hours which primarily use Psalms.

I pray not because I have all the answers; I have very few answers.

I don’t pray to find out the answers; I pray to allow God’s way to intervene.

I don’t pray for people to get them to see it my way; I pray that I may have an open mind and heart in their presence.

I don’t pray because I am strong; I pray because I am weak.

I don’t pray because I’m so good; I pray because I grapple with my own humanity and weaknesses.

I don’t pray because God needs me to pray; I pray because I need to pray to God.

I don’t pray to come into God’s presence; I pray that I may be aware of God’s presence around me.

I don’t pray for a certain ideology to prevail or one to fail; I pray that people may actually grow up and listen to one another and work together.

I pray an awful lot for peace and for people I love and a lot of people I don’t know. I figure God knows them and that’s enough.

I don’t pray the Psalms because they are all good and uplifting; I pray because they are real and they capture the joy and sorrow, the bliss and pain of life. They are real.

I don’t pray with a lot of certainty; I pray with a lot of seeking and praying the Psalms forces me to seek and wonder. I often wonder about Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. (Don’t ask, it’s a Psalm thing….)

I pray not because I have an abundance of time; I take the time to pray because I have an abundance of need.

Which reminds me…..time to pray.

Audio Sermon for July 27th

(Note:  This was not recorded live during the Worship Service)

NOTHING

Texts: Romans 8:31-39; Matthew 13:31-33

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

July 27, 2014

One Small Reason I Need to Have Faith

 

The most recent Gallup Poll has the Congressional approval rating at 15%, approve, 80% disapprove, and 5% have no opinion. President Obama’s approval rating is just about 43%, which is pretty low for a President. Ironically, even though 80% of the people in the country disapprove of Congress right now, the vast majority of those running for re-election, will, in fact, be re-elected. People are not happy with their elected officials.

As a person who lives in a market with all Kentucky television stations we are being bombarded with ads from Alison Lundergan Grimes and Mitch McConnell, both of whom are running for Senator McConnell’s current seat. Fact checkers are having a field day with the television ads as virtually nothing that has appeared on television has thus far been even remotely true. The election will be won or lost on advertising and falsehoods. It makes me understand the 15% approval rating a little more. God bless us with our freedom of speech. I wish people would concentrate more on responsibility with their speech!

But these are the least of the issues facing the world right now. In Israel there is endless carnage in Gaza. In the Ukraine there is still carnage and the specter of a civilian plane shot down. Thousands of children are fleeing violence in Central America, coming to the United States and no one has a clue as to how to deal with this.

Then, of course, I go on Facebook and see all sorts of mean comments and articles. Sigh.

The world does not seem like a happy place any longer. I also recently read that people are 40% less empathetic than they were in the 1980’s. I’m not sure how one measures that, but that didn’t sound good to me.

It’s all rather depressing.

This is why I have faith in God and why I pray. Hope in the things of this world is, in a word, hopeless. When the Great Depression came about Herbert Hoover, who was an expert in disasters and was an incredibly good person, believed the goodness and compassion of people would rise up and people would help one another. People would share food and companies would hire as many people as they could even if profits had to go down for a while. He had great faith in human beings and his faith was crushed. He was often called heartless and blamed for people’s suffering and that was unfair. He cared deeply but found himself completely disillusioned with humanity.

The reason I love the Psalms is they remind us that the world is always a troubled place and cruelty exists; they also remind us that God hears us and listens to us and loves us through this. That’s why I have faith in God.

Audio Sermon, July 20, 2014

The Lord is here.

True Love

Text: 1 Corinthians 13

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

July 20, 2014

 

Audio Sermon July 6, 2014

 

The Yoke’s On Us

Text: Matthew 11:25-30

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

July 6, 2014

 

 

Audio Sermon for June 29, 2014

Why Grace is so Difficult

Texts: Romans 6:12-23; Matthew 10:40-42

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

June 29, 2014

 

Audio Sermon, June 22, 2014

 

We Are Known and Loved

Texts: Psalm 139:1-17; Micah 6:7-8

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

June 22, 2014

Father’s Day Sermon June 15, 2014

 

The Greatest Job. Ever.

Texts: Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

June 15, 2014

Audio Sermon June 8, 2014

 

They Are Filled with New Wine!

Acts 2:1-8, 12-13

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

June 8, 2014

 

Sermon Title: June 1, 2014

 

That They May All Be One

Text: John 17:1-11

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

June 1, 2014

 

 

Audio Sermon May 25, 2014

 

In Him We Live and Move and Have Our Very Being

Text: Acts 17:22-32

Rev. Dr. John E. Manzo

May 25, 2014

Rugged Individualism in Church?

 

President Herbert Hoover coined the phrase, “rugged individualism.” Poor Herbert Hoover was the President when the Great Depression began. Try as he would, and he really did try, he attempted to pull the nation out of the abyss. He was actually a very capable and compassionate man, but nothing he did was able to lift the country. He saw the great hope in the rugged individualism of the people in the nation and credited that imagery for building the nation.

Politically this is a great debate. One could say with some sense that the Republican Party is based, in part, on the premise of “rugged individualism.” Some could say that the Democratic Party is built on the premise of “It takes a village.” We could make political arguments for both and there is merit and virtue in both of these perspectives. I’m not writing about politics, however.

In recent years the phrase rugged individualism has shown up more in churches. I hear often about people and their personal salvation and their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I am not going to downplay the role of salvation or relationships with Jesus Christ. I will not and cannot diminish that in the least. I worry, however, about the increasing use of the word ‘personal’ in terms of Christianity.

The word only shows up four times in the Bible with three of the times being used in Judith as an adjective. Here are the three verses where it appears:

Judith 12
¹⁰ On the fourth day Holofernes held a banquet for his personal attendants only, and did not invite any of his officers.

¹¹ He said to Bagoas, the eunuch who had charge of his personal affairs, "Go and persuade the Hebrew woman who is in your care to join us and to eat and drink with us.

Judith 14:13

¹³ They came to Holofernes' tent and said to the steward in charge of all his personal affairs, "Wake up our lord, for the slaves have been so bold as to come down against us to give battle, to their utter destruction."

The only other time it appears and is used in something other than this particular kind of direct adjective is on Proverbs:

Proverbs 18:2
² A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion.

One word can be used to describe this passage from Proverbs: Ouch.

So, in expressing my personal opinion I may not be taking pleasure in understanding and may, in fact, be a fool. Okay, I get that.

There is a reason ‘personal’ and ‘individualism’ is not dwelled on in the Bible. It’s not a concept or a part of Judaism or Christianity. Judaism and Christianity are built around the concept of community. Within Judaism there is virtually no sense of personal relationships with God or personal thoughts about Worship. None. Zero. Judaism is a communal religion.

The reality is that while there is a little sense of individualism in Christianity, it’s a LITTLE sense. Christianity is very much built on its Jewish heritage and follows in the same path of community.

Jesus called apostles and disciples together into a community.

The concept of ‘church’ was built on a community of believers. Baptism was not done in a secret place, but in front of others. The breaking of the bread was not done solitude but with a community of believers. The words ‘Communion’ and “Community” derive from the same root for a very particular meaning.

Monasteries are often the quietest places that Christianity is practiced and lived out and most of the monasteries follow the Rule of St. Benedict. Benedict placed great emphasis, in his rule, on the value and virtue of community. Monks may spend a lot of time being quiet but they also spend a great deal of time together. They pray alone but they mostly pray together. Together. If you join the Marines they teach you the importance and the virtue of the Corps. Marines are brothers and sisters to each other to the max. Monks have no sense of individualism or sense of personal because they are part of a monastic family. It is ‘trained’ out of them, much in the same way it’s trained out of Marines. (Marines and monks might find it odd that I’m linking them but this is actually an accurate linkage; what they do, however, is vastly different.)
Which brings me back to Herbert Hoover. The phrase, to me, has some merit in society as does the whole concept of village. To me, it takes both great individualists and villages to build a nation and I think over the years we have done that. It takes both and requires both.

In God’s church, however, while I would promote personal prayer and study, I am a great advocate for community. To me, Christianity is, by definition, a communal endeavor. We simply do not live lives of faith as well as we can when we try and do so as rugged individualists on a personal endeavor. From a theological perspective, the Bible advocates community over personal in a big way.

We are called into a community of believers for a reason and that reason is that it is God who has called us together.

Rotten Fruit and Good Fruit

I’ve been thinking about rotten fruit.

As much as I like Facebook the more time I venture into this world of social media, the more I find that appalls me. It actually is beginning to offend me to the core of my being. It’s becoming more and more like a pile of rotten fruit.

There is a meanness in the air that just looms over everything and that meanness tends to lead us in the direction of that which is rotten.

I read about Michelle Obama speaking at a high school graduation. What an incredible thing! The First Lady of the United States was going to a high school to speak. Of course, this whole thing was bashed. Who did she think she was? The tirade went on and on with very little respect to the fact that she’s the First Lady.

Condoleezza Rice was scheduled to speak at Rutgers University. She is currently a professor at Stanford University and was the Secretary of State under President George W. Bush. Controversial? Sure. Brilliant? Yes. Was it an honor for Rutgers that such a high profile person was going to address them? Absolutely! She pulled out because of the backlash she was receiving. There was a tremendous lack of respect.

One of the major news stories has been kidnapped and missing girls from Nigeria. Rush Limbaugh decided to mock this. Jon Stewart, in turn, mocked Rush Limbaugh. Ann Coulter mocked the story and was, in turn, mocked by others. All of this great hilarity took place over missing and kidnapped girls. Did any one of these people give one iota of thought to the indecency of being, ahem, funny, about this? Are the hearts and souls of our society so incredibly cold and empty that we find this remotely entertaining?

 

Donald Sterling, the owner of the Clippers obviously made truly awful comments. He decided to go on Anderson Cooper and ‘apologize,’ but he really never got around to that claiming he was set up and furthering his vile toward Magic Johnson. A few weeks ago very few people knew who this man was and, frankly, most of us wish we didn’t. Columnist Kathleen Parker wrote an insightful article on the subject and broached the subject of privacy. Bill Maher, who himself loves to plunge into being indecent toward others, skewered her column in a vicious fashion. He also distorted her intent but he got laughs and ratings so…….

At this years White House Correspondents Dinner Joel McHale must’ve read from some sort of “tips for lazy comedians” manual. His premise seemed to be to make fat jokes, mostly at the expense of Chris Christie. So funny and cruel was he.

And now Karl Rove is going on television and telling the world that Hillary Clinton has brain damage. Of course, pundits are picking this up and are just filled with hilarity and cruelty about this as well. Of course, people are now mocking Karl Rove. It’s all funny and cruel.

This is not an exhaustive list. These are just some things I’ve been observing of late and, frankly, it is very distressing. It’s actually beyond distressing, it has become repulsive.

This is a problem because we tolerate it. We even embrace it. People on the left love Bill Maher because he mocks people on the right; people on the right love Rush Limbaugh because he mocks people on the left. We are very tolerant, even joyous, when people mock those we may not agree with or even dislike. The joy of hating others has become the new American sport.

The problem is, embracing it and even tolerating it is part of the problem. When we use Facebook and Twitter to pass on the cruelty, and we’ve all been guilty of this, myself very much included, we also share the guilt.

Jesus says something incredibly inconvenient in the Sermon on the Mount:

¹³ "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. ¹⁵ "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Matthew 7:13-18

The whole ‘good fruit’ and ‘bad fruit’ imagery has hit me between the eyes. Sharing rotten fruit is sharing rotten fruit. Being a false prophet is not just what we say, but the spirit of what we say. If our hearts are cold and cruel we are false prophets. We cannot help ourselves. It is only when we choose that which is noble and good that we become truly prophetic and truly bear good fruit.

As for me, I’m going to try and be light in the darkness. For me, it’s time to pass on good fruit and express that which is noble and good. I know I won’t be perfect at it, but I’m certainly going to try.