A sermon based on Amos 6:1a, 4-7;
and Luke 16:19-31
On the 120th Anniversary of the Church
In the name of Jesus; amen.
They might seem like a terrible choice in texts to have as we celebrate our 120 years in ministry at Salem, but these readings from the prophet Amos, 1st Timothy, and Luke have been given to us today and so here they are…fraught with warnings of hell and the evils of loving money. They’ve been read here before, in this sanctuary, by pastors and people who served this church.
They are the words of Moses, and the prophets, and the one who does rise from the dead – Jesus Christ.
And the question is: Are we listening? Are we listening to these words as we remember and celebrate the past 120 years and look to the future of the next 120 years?
If we are listening then these stories are less damning than they might seem. If we are listening then we see underneath the message of hell and see the message of salvation and rest in Abraham’s bosom. If we are listening then these words of the prophets and Jesus points us not toward damnation, but to blessing.
One thing is for certain in our gospel, Jesus clearly loves the poor. In all of his parables, he doesn’t name not one other character except this poor man, covered in sores that only dogs take pity upon. The name Lazarus even means, “God helps.”
But this doesn’t mean that Jesus did not also love the rich. The sin of this rich man was not that he had money, but that he loved it and in loving it he forgot about the one who did not have, who remained sitting at his gate, hoping for scraps from his table.
Over the last 120 years Salem has been blessed. Yes, we have had our fair share of troubles, but we are blessed! We have been blessed by God and the blessings we have received from God have had purpose. We have been blessed in order to do ministry in this community and in the world; to see the financially and spiritually poor at our door and to minister to them.
Jurgen Moltmann, a well-known theologian said this: “The opposite of poverty is not property. Rather, the opposite of both is community.”
This story of the rich man and Lazarus might not seem to be a story of community, but it is. The fact is that they lived at the same address, they shared a house number. The rich man even knew Lazarus by name, but their community was broken by the fine linens and sumptuous foods that the rich man had and loved but didn’t share.
The rich man had blessings upon blessings, but he missed out on the greatest blessing any of us can receive and that is the blessing of sharing what we have with others.
Right now, downstairs in our fellowship hall is a rich feast. There are lace covers on all the tables on top of which is the good china. It is waiting down there for us all to share and enjoy. What a blessing!
And right here, in this very room, filled with beautiful flowers and our finest things, is a feast that Jesus himself prepared for us. What a blessing!
But out those doors is a community of which we are blessed to be a part. God has put the very world at our door, poor, covered in sores, longing to be satisfied by the gifts that we have in this place. We share an address with Lazarus.
We can celebrate all that God has given us over the last 120 years, but our true blessing is in what God wants from us today and tomorrow.
We have been blessed so that we might be a blessing, a perpetual and continuous blessing to those who do not have. And not because we fear the hell we might inherit if we don’t; Jesus created a new inheritance for us in the cross. He laid down his very life so that the divide between heaven and hell could be crossed and was raised from the dead so that we might rest in the assurance of grace and God’s deepest love.
Are we listening?
Are we listening to the Law of Moses, to the prophecies of the prophets, and to the life-giving, hell defeating Word of God, Jesus Christ?
Listen, because God is still speaking that same law, that same prophetic word, and that same grace-filled gospel in this place and God is doing it for a purpose. The law and the prophets and the word of Jesus has been professed, proclaimed, and enacted in this place for 120 years to the glory of God. For 120 years this congregation has been entrusted with the blessings of God so that we might be a blessing to others. And God will continue to bless us as we do the work of ministry to the world.
This anniversary is not a small thing; it is a reminder that God has been with us all these years and it is a reminder that God will continue to be with us in all that we do.
Are we listening? God is with us! And that is why we celebrate today. We celebrate because God has called us into this blessing of church and community and that God continues to call us in the blessing of church and community.
We celebrate because God has blessed us with the work of church and community. This holy, sacred work of caring for our neighbor at our door is a rich and wonderful blessing, finer than the linens on our tables downstairs, more sumptuous than the food we will eat.
We have been blessed with a church to cherish and a community to care for. We have been blessed by the Word of God proclaimed and preached in this place for over a century. We have been blessed by the meal that has been served at this table and at the tables downstairs. We have been blessed by the visitors at our doors, by the needy who have sought our help, by the sinner who has begged repentance at this altar, by the waters of this font that have drowned us and brought us into new life.
We have been blessed by the offerings we have received and the offerings we have passed on to others. We have been blessed by the cans of food we have collected and the children who have laughed in our classrooms. We have been blessed by the lights that have been lit here and by the tears that have been shed here.
We have been blessed by the friends that we have made in this place and the loved ones we have buried here.
We have been blessed and with God’s grace we will continue to be a blessing.
Amen and thanks be to God!
They might seem like a terrible choice in texts to have as we celebrate our 120 years in ministry at Salem, but these readings from the prophet Amos, 1st Timothy, and Luke have been given to us today and so here they are…fraught with warnings of hell and the evils of loving money. They’ve been read here before, in this sanctuary, by pastors and people who served this church.
They are the words of Moses, and the prophets, and the one who does rise from the dead – Jesus Christ.
And the question is: Are we listening? Are we listening to these words as we remember and celebrate the past 120 years and look to the future of the next 120 years?
If we are listening then these stories are less damning than they might seem. If we are listening then we see underneath the message of hell and see the message of salvation and rest in Abraham’s bosom. If we are listening then these words of the prophets and Jesus points us not toward damnation, but to blessing.
One thing is for certain in our gospel, Jesus clearly loves the poor. In all of his parables, he doesn’t name not one other character except this poor man, covered in sores that only dogs take pity upon. The name Lazarus even means, “God helps.”
But this doesn’t mean that Jesus did not also love the rich. The sin of this rich man was not that he had money, but that he loved it and in loving it he forgot about the one who did not have, who remained sitting at his gate, hoping for scraps from his table.
Over the last 120 years Salem has been blessed. Yes, we have had our fair share of troubles, but we are blessed! We have been blessed by God and the blessings we have received from God have had purpose. We have been blessed in order to do ministry in this community and in the world; to see the financially and spiritually poor at our door and to minister to them.
Jurgen Moltmann, a well-known theologian said this: “The opposite of poverty is not property. Rather, the opposite of both is community.”
This story of the rich man and Lazarus might not seem to be a story of community, but it is. The fact is that they lived at the same address, they shared a house number. The rich man even knew Lazarus by name, but their community was broken by the fine linens and sumptuous foods that the rich man had and loved but didn’t share.
The rich man had blessings upon blessings, but he missed out on the greatest blessing any of us can receive and that is the blessing of sharing what we have with others.
Right now, downstairs in our fellowship hall is a rich feast. There are lace covers on all the tables on top of which is the good china. It is waiting down there for us all to share and enjoy. What a blessing!
And right here, in this very room, filled with beautiful flowers and our finest things, is a feast that Jesus himself prepared for us. What a blessing!
But out those doors is a community of which we are blessed to be a part. God has put the very world at our door, poor, covered in sores, longing to be satisfied by the gifts that we have in this place. We share an address with Lazarus.
We can celebrate all that God has given us over the last 120 years, but our true blessing is in what God wants from us today and tomorrow.
We have been blessed so that we might be a blessing, a perpetual and continuous blessing to those who do not have. And not because we fear the hell we might inherit if we don’t; Jesus created a new inheritance for us in the cross. He laid down his very life so that the divide between heaven and hell could be crossed and was raised from the dead so that we might rest in the assurance of grace and God’s deepest love.
Are we listening?
Are we listening to the Law of Moses, to the prophecies of the prophets, and to the life-giving, hell defeating Word of God, Jesus Christ?
Listen, because God is still speaking that same law, that same prophetic word, and that same grace-filled gospel in this place and God is doing it for a purpose. The law and the prophets and the word of Jesus has been professed, proclaimed, and enacted in this place for 120 years to the glory of God. For 120 years this congregation has been entrusted with the blessings of God so that we might be a blessing to others. And God will continue to bless us as we do the work of ministry to the world.
This anniversary is not a small thing; it is a reminder that God has been with us all these years and it is a reminder that God will continue to be with us in all that we do.
Are we listening? God is with us! And that is why we celebrate today. We celebrate because God has called us into this blessing of church and community and that God continues to call us in the blessing of church and community.
We celebrate because God has blessed us with the work of church and community. This holy, sacred work of caring for our neighbor at our door is a rich and wonderful blessing, finer than the linens on our tables downstairs, more sumptuous than the food we will eat.
We have been blessed with a church to cherish and a community to care for. We have been blessed by the Word of God proclaimed and preached in this place for over a century. We have been blessed by the meal that has been served at this table and at the tables downstairs. We have been blessed by the visitors at our doors, by the needy who have sought our help, by the sinner who has begged repentance at this altar, by the waters of this font that have drowned us and brought us into new life.
We have been blessed by the offerings we have received and the offerings we have passed on to others. We have been blessed by the cans of food we have collected and the children who have laughed in our classrooms. We have been blessed by the lights that have been lit here and by the tears that have been shed here.
We have been blessed by the friends that we have made in this place and the loved ones we have buried here.
We have been blessed and with God’s grace we will continue to be a blessing.
Amen and thanks be to God!
1 comment:
AMEN!
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