CLEANING HOUSE
JOSHUA 24: 1&2 & 14-18
JOHN 6: 56-69
AUGUST 25, 2024
Those of you who knew Megan can just imagine my reaction this week when I saw that 17-year-old boy’s face on TV filled with his love as tears were forming in his eyes and then slowly he stood up next to his sister named Hope and right by his mom to proudly shout out to no one in particular ‘That’s my dad!” I began to cry thinking about Megan whose birthday would have been this Tuesday but then I almost immediately thought about today’s reading from Joshua, and again I felt challenged in my faith. I felt disappointed in my leadership, and I wondered how many of us have self imposed roadblocks that are keeping us away from the freedom to shout out GOD’s my GOD!! I LOVE JESUS and perhaps most importantly in these times, GOD LOVES ALL OF US!
I think we have some personal housecleaning to do. We have to do some tossing out of our worldly and human-focused roadblocks that deny the Holy during our six days away from church … I know that it makes no sense that so many of us feel constrained in living as Jesus has taught especially in obeying Jesus’ last message to humanity before He ascended into heaven. Go into the world to make disciples not for the world but for God. Of course, loving ALL of our neighbors might be a challenge to us also.
You remember Jesus, right? Born in the manger … as a teenager He challenged the religious scholars … as a man He taught us how to live, He died on the cross and then on Easter some women yea women … discovered the new truth and shouted HE IS RISEN <<HE IS RISEN INDEED>> and then Jesus taught for 40 more days before ascending into heaven to be with God. You remember God, right? And, He said MAKE DISCIPLES.
Do you wonder why we aren’t comfortable in shouting out there in the world that Jesus Christ is alive? Or perhaps does it bother you that so many Christians are not engaged in showing love for all of their neighbors? Do you wonder why we don’t invite folks to church with us? We really have some personal house cleaning to take care of.
If Gus Walz whose daily life is impacted by his nonverbal learning disorder can pull the words together to celebrate his dad Tim … if my Megan never hesitated despite her developmental disability to show love for every person needing a hug or a smile and if Joshua when dealing with his people’s devotion to false gods could bravely and clearly state, “As for me and my family … we will serve the Lord God!! God forbid that we ever leave the Lord to serve other gods! The Lord is our God!” Then I have to wonder about us. My question for each of us is … do we have it within ourselves to prioritize God? To celebrate Christ? To go out from this church being totally comfortable in sharing our faith by being invitational while loving all of our neighbors!
How many of us are ready to stand out on Saturday September 21st at River Winds for West Deptford’s Family Fun Day at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church’s booth and risk our neighbors seeing that we go to church and that we also celebrate being part of this church? To go up to strangers and ask … “Do you have a church family? Are you interested in learning about our church? Would you like to come to a church with me where ALL people are ALWAYS welcome, and we worship with joy? A church that has amazing prayer warriors, active mission work, and a great music program too!
Wouldn’t it be impressive to those West Deptford folks to see 50 or 60 members of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church gathered on that Saturday afternoon around that booth smiling and laughing and talking about faith. Wouldn’t it be grand?
I also have been thinking about Vacation Bible School again. A few weeks ago, we had 75 children in this building throughout that VBS week. I have been wondering how many of their parents or their grandparents or perhaps their aunts and uncles will bring them back here just for Rally Day. They came for VBS … hopefully not just to give the adults a break from their children but instead I hope they came because they wanted to connect their children with God and faith, but will they come back on September 8th? Do you know any of them? Will you invite them?
Imagine … just go row by row … pew by pew … imagine if 75 children bring their moms and their dads here to church on September 8th making church a priority FOR at least ONE day telling the coaches and the sports leagues or the other time occupiers that for them and their family they want to celebrate the Lord God on SEPTEMBER 8th and that the sports teams will just have to change THEIR schedules or forgive that missed practice or game … because that Sunday morning belongs to God. Perhaps it would become a habit and ALL SUNDAY MORNINGS would be the ongoing developmental and life changing habitual experience the kids need with God in church as well being an experience that would benefit the kids’ parents and maybe GRANDMA too.
Imagine … those 75 kids … plus both their parents here in church for worship … my limited math skills tell me that alone would bring 225 individuals wanting to celebrate God or at least celebrate Vacation Bible School into this church on that Sunday morning at 930 and our Trustees would then have to start figuring out how to expand these walls.
Do you have it within your imagination to see this church filled with people. With your neighbors especially with their children? Your co-workers or strangers who would then become friends. Discovering that here at St. Paul’s ALL of GOD’s people are ALWAYS welcome … ALWAYS LOVED … and we worship with joy … we worship the God of Creation with love.
So, friends on this last Sunday of August in the year 2024 … perhaps it is time for all of us to do some cleaning up of our faith lives or should I say OF OUR LIVES. Clean house and rid ourselves of the false gods we are choosing to worship or at the very least prioritize the God of Creation in our lives. Time to eliminate whoever’s way of life has pushed us away from following Jesus. To clean up our paths so that we can sense God’s Holy Spirit and be the change-makers for God rather than the enablers of anything that runs counter to the lessons on living life that God has provided to us with clarity.
I know … I know according to my friend Kevin over in Collingswood, “Homicide: Life on the Street” is now on the Peacock network and that means there are hundreds of episodes to stream of this television classic. Seven seasons with Munch, Giardello, Lewis and crew. That will take time and be a priority … all those episodes plus the feature length movie … I guess that has essential value, doesn’t it? Plus, I hear there are new programs on Prime and Netflix and Fubu, whatever that is. And, don’t forget Hulu!
And, Joshua shouted with clarity, “But, for me and my family … FOR ME and MY FAMILY … we will SERVE the LORD not merely say we are God-followers … we will SERVE the LORD! The LORD is OUR GOD! God FORBID … FORBID… that we ever leave the LORD to serve other gods.”
But friends, we understand the human condition, don’t we? WE live our lives as human beings amongst human beings, so we get the pressures and the desires and the challenges and if we have a ROKU or FIRE STICK we can stream ALL those programs … we are aware of the all so incredibly tempting gods out there to bow down to, to pull tight against our very souls, to take up our time, and our conversations. As human beings, we DO NOT feel any need to share “church stuff” on our social media even though today we have ten or twenty or more people worshiping with us online because someone invited them. During COVID we had hundreds worshiping with us online because someone invited them. But today we understand life’s priorities … even in Jesus’ time they understood priorities even though they could see and hear Jesus.
We heard in our Gospel reading that many unnamed disciples turned away and no longer accompanied Him. Perhaps they were watching Homicide on the Streets … perhaps they had priorities for their children with the exception … THE EXCEPTION of church, which allowed them to say they couldn’t walk with Jesus on a regular basis anymore and even worse and more likely … folks we know are afraid to live a life that prioritizes loving God above everything else because they might not fit in. And don’t even get me going about how many will slam a neighbor for who that neighbor is rather than loving them all just in hopes of fitting in with the crowd.
Jesus while teaching in Capernaum’s synagogue was striving to get God’s priority across to His followers and to strangers. He basically was saying, “Here I am … God wants each of you to change and live a life reflective of my teaching.” He was telling them to clean house for their sake … for their community’s sake … for their families … for their future.
And, we heard some of them say “this message is way too harsh for me!” They were grumbling and Jesus asked, “Does what I say God wants from you offend you? The words I have spoken to you are the spirit and life! Yet some of you do not believe.”
Some walked away … actually John reports that “many walked away” just like in today’s 21st century world but we are here. Rally Day is two weeks away and perhaps September does represent a reboot … a new start … a time to clean house and reflect on who we each want to be seen as in this life. A person of faith or a person of the world.
I continue to declare to myself and all of you that we need to find our still waters and green meadows to allow God to restore our souls. The words I shared at the beginning of today’s service that also hit home with me this week … “Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are!”
Yes, on an ongoing basis we do show the world who we are. Some of us are seen as followers of worldly groups and others as followers of Jesus. With Jesus it comes down to making a personal decision … God does not demand faith from us but expects it. God does not post on our social media when we fail to love our neighbors but God has made that a commandment and even more importantly God is clear about having other gods … and I think we each can identify potential other gods.
So cleaning house … begins with you and me. More prayer. Digging into God’s Word. Feeling like we can use our talents and gifts for God through church and doing it. Being invitational. I think you can probably make a list … we are each unique so I don’t have a specific list for you but I know that we need volunteers for FAMILY FUN DAY … I know that we had all those kids for VBS who can be invited back for September 8th … I know we could have a Men’s Bible Study reflective of our Women’s Bible Study … I know we can change our world beginning here in this community. This morning, are you ready to push the world back and declare “AS FOR ME and MY FAMILY I WILL SERVE THE LORD!”