Doing Good as God is Good

Doing Good as God is Good
Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2
Rev. Dr. Wilfredo Baez
8/4/15

We’re more than a year from the Presidential elections and already we’re hearing the criticisms of Presidential hopefuls, Democratic and Republican.  Do you know, if my children were to speak about each other the way some potential candidates are speaking about each other, I’d ground them for the rest of the summer.  So much for us being a Christian country!  Christian is what Christian does and sometimes I don’t see a lot of Christian in politicians and commentators who proclaim themselves to be Christian.

Put away falsehood.  Speak the truth to one another and about each other!  We may be Republican, Democratic, Liberal, Conservative, Green or Independent, but we are first of all Americans.  We may be Black, White, Hispanic, Native American or you name the place of origin, but we are first human beings.  We may be Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcopalian, Presbyterian or Reformed (the list goes on) but we are first of all Christians.  And whatever religion we belong to, as Christians, we realize that all people, male and female are children of God, made in God’s image.  We are all are members of one another.  And that being the case, we should treat one another with love and respect.

Be angry if you’re offended or even if you disagree, but let the anger go.  Don’t act on your anger in a way that causes harm to another.  The Christian enterprise is a peacemaking mission. “Blessed are the peacemakers” says Jesus.  “Turn your arms into plowshares” says Isaiah.  “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me” says the hymnist.   How quick we are to retaliate or go to war without diplomatic efforts, even without evidence of wrong doing!  If we are truly members of one another, then we’re angry and at war with ourselves! 

Don’t steal, but work and share what you’ve earned with the needy.  Christians are called not to take from others but to give to others, particularly the needy.  All this corporate greed!  As members of one another, when we steal, we are stealing from ourselves.  When we give to others we are investing in ourselves.  Giving to the needs is not squandering but investing.  It’s a good personal and business practice and excellent public policy.  I’m all for people making a good living but not at the expense of others.

Speak well of and to yourselves and others rather than evil.  You know the saying, “Hold your tongue.”  Or like some of our parents taught us, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.”  Say only what is useful to build up the other.  Bless rather than curse.  And let grace flow through your words into the heart of those who listen to you.  It may change them and it definitely will change you for the good. 

This applies to your internal self talk about or to yourself.  What we say and how we say it matters in the outcome.  That’s why it is so important to feed ourselves on the Word of God in whatever form that takes for you.   What we take in from media, books, movies, the news and conversations with others directly influences what we think, feel and do.

When we speak or act on the basis of evil we are doing harm.  We are outside of the flow of the Holy Spirit.  This grieves the Holy Spirit.  Harm ends up being done to the other, but harm is done to ourselves in the process.  This is so because we are members of one another. 

In John’s gospel we read that in the beginning was the Word and the Word became flesh.   Remember what Word we are talking about; the Word of God.  Jesus manifests it  so fully that he was it.  Bitterness, wrath, anger, arguing, slander and malice or bad faith, do not originate in God who is all good.  They begin in a word of falsehood where we forget our true nature as children of God and deny our connection or membership in one another. 
What originates in God, as God’s Word, is kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness.   This Word intends creation and bolstering or building up of self and others towards true, inclusive and positive community. 

The Church is intended to be a witness or a model of beloved-community where prejudices are suspended to allow true acceptance and inclusion of all the different people we encounter.  It’s good to be aware of our judgments and prejudices so we are not run by them.  We have to recognize that they are just habitual and conditioned thoughts.

Really every person, including you is sacred.  God is in you, in one another and in all our neighbors, Christian and other.   We can deny it all we want, but God is even in our enemies and in the person we mistrust or mistreats us. 

It’s a wonderful thing we have in this Church and in this community (Wilmington, Jay, Ausable Forks, Upper Jay, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake) this effort and opportunity  to do good by each other, our neighbors and our community.

Grow Up

Grow Up
Ephesians 4:1-16
Wilfredo J. Baez
8/2/15

Sometimes I get bitter and I complain about my life. Have any of you ever done that? It’s easy to do, is it not? Life does not always go the way we want it to go. But you know what? I don’t like it when I get bitter and complain? Does anyone here really like to be bitter and complain? I don’t think so. I would much rather be better than bitter. How about you?

Well, Paul is telling us to grow up, and instead of being bitter and complaining, to be better and do our part in making our church, our community, our nation, our world and our lives better. I am tired of all the criticism and all the mean spiritedness and fighting that exists in our churches, our nation and world. You’ve seen it, and even if you’ve participated in it, it makes you sick.

Listen to Paul: “Lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Who do you think Paul is talking to? He is talking to the Church in Ephesus. Why would he be saying this? The church is not working as one. It is conflicted and at odds with each other. They aren’t acting like Christ would act. They aren’t valuing each other. Everyone isn’t doing their part. Not everyone is being appreciated for the gifts they bring.

It reminds of Cartman in South Park. I can hear him say when a game isn’t going his way. “It’s my ball, I’m taking it and going home” or It’s my ball. You can’t play.” Well, with all respect to poor Cartman, when it comes to the church, the ball doesn’t belong to anyone but Christ!
Listen again to what Paul is saying: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.”

Paul is calling the Church of Ephesus and is calling us to unity. He is saying, “Stop finding excuses to stop working together for the common goal Christ has called you to. Value one another and each other’s gifts; gifts that are meant to be used to help each other realize our common goal. Realize that God is in you and in one another, in your neighbor and even in your foe.”

Jesus asks: “Who is my mother, my brother my sister?” He answers “They who do the will of the Father, who do the will of God; they are my mother, my brother and my sister; they whose God’s will is manifest in.” Paul doesn’t want anyone to be excluded from the body, from the church, by themselves or by others. Everyone matters.

Are you, are we doing the will of God? Or are we doing what we feel like doing? That’s an important question of us to have, as individuals and as a Church. Who is our master? Who is directing our life?
I have a few gifts that I have been given to use on your behalf. My gifts are of that of apostle (Elder), pastor and teacher; “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.” Wow - to believe in and know Jesus, to realize perfection in love - to realize ourselves as fully grown children of God – our identity with Christ! Anyone here want that? I mean, if you believe it is possible, do you want that?

Who are the saints that Paul is talking about? Paul is talking about the members of the Church of Ephesus and he is talking about you and me; members of every church. Paul could not do the Church of Ephesus’s work for them; nor can I do your work for you. And your ministry, whatever it is, is essential to the body. You and I, every one of us have equally important parts of fulfilling God’s plan in this place. The question is what is that plan and how shall we fulfill it when we fulfill it?

Grow up! Paul says, “We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.” We’re not called to win theological or doctrinal arguments and come up with the correct biblical interpretation. We’re not here to win on an issue in our next general conference. That’ll only divide and destroy us. We are deceived if we think that there can be a winner, if we do not find a way for all parties to win. Grow up! Be mature! Put love above all other things! If you seek solutions you’ll find them! If you seek problems you’ll find them!

What a perfect or mature faith Paul is telling the Church of Ephesus, and us, Christ is calling us to: “But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.”

We are called to unity; to speak not ideas, opinions and interpretations, but truth in love, truth being a spiritual reality and state of being. And rather than “win a debate”, we are called to grow in Christ, our head, our leader and example; to become like him together, working together as the body of Christ, supporting one another – this faith community, this Church, the Methodist Church, the Christian Church and all people – bridging gaps of conflict - promoting growth from the inside out, as we build ourselves and each other up in love.”

Christ is calling us, you and me, the church and the whole people of God to stop being bitter and complaining to be better and cooperating.

You Can Be Forgiven and Loved

You Can Be Forgiven and Loved                                                                                                                                                             (Message for Youth and Children)                                                                                                            2 Samuel 6:12-15
 & Mark:6:14                                                                                                                                        Rev. Dr. W. Baez                                                                                                  
 7/13/15

I want you to know that that you are forgiven and loved by God.  You might not know why you would need forgiveness or what it means that God loves you, but I hope today’s message makes it clearer to you.

Let me tell you a story.  There’s a boy I used to know.  He felt really bad.  He was rejected by his family.  He felt that no one accepted and loved him.  He felt so bad he would even hurt himself.  We used to try to show him that we accepted him and loved him and didn’t want to see him hurt himself.   He was treated so badly when he was young that it was hard for him to stop hurting himself.

Do you ever really feel bad, like nobody accepts you or loves you?  Lots of people feel that way.  If you don’t feel that way, and I hope that you don’t, you know somebody who does.

Sometimes people treat people badly; they reject them and hate them.  They pick on people, say bad things about them or bully them. And sometimes people treat themselves badly.  It happens in homes.  It happens in schools.  It happens in neighborhoods.  It happens in churches.   But if we repent, if we change our attitude and behavior, if we let God know that we’re sorry, God will forgive us.  And the only thing that God wants in return is for us to treat others well, and not only others, ourselves.  What I want you to know is that you are accepted and loved by God and Jesus exactly as you are and that God and Jesus will help you be the best person you can if you let them.  If we haven’t accepted people or loved them or treated them badly, we can ask God’s forgiveness and God will forgive you.  Or if you’ve treated yourself badly or hurt yourself, you can be forgiven for that and God and Jesus can help you love and accept yourself and help you become an even better person, more that you believe yet.
Let’s pray together.  Repeat after me: God, I know you love me. I’ve done some bad things, but you forgive me and love me anyways.  You expect me to be even better than I am and because you believe in me, I know I can be an even better me.  Forgive me for the wrong I’ve done and help me to treat everyone the way I want to be treated.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Guilt, Shame and Fear, Oh My!: Breaking Free From Guilt, Shame and Fear Through Accepting God’s Forgiveness, Love and Empowermen

Breaking Free

From Guilt, Shame and Fear

Through Accepting God’s

Forgiveness, Love and Empowerment

Guilt, Shame and Fear, Oh My!

2 Samuel 6:12-15 & Mark 6:14-29

Rev. Dr. Will Baez

7/13/15

Has anyone here ever done something that you’ve felt guilty about?   Just about anything I’ve done wrong I’ve felt guilty about.  What’s the best way to not feel guilty?  Don’t do something wrong. 

When I feel guilty it’s because of my conscience.  Our conscience is our measure of what is right and what is wrong.  Sometimes when I’ve done something wrong and haven’t come clean about it, I look back over my shoulder hoping nobody is on to me; that I’m not going to be caught.

I remember when I was in Junior High.  I went shoplifting with my Cousin Charlie.  It was the first time I shoplifted and the last because I got caught.  How embarrassing!  The police came and they took all our information.  They must have been pretty busy because they didn’t call my parents until months later.  I had forgotten about it and hoped they did too!  One day I was coming home from school. My mother intercepted me on the way home and told me that she had gotten a call from the police and my father was coming home early from work.  Not only did I feel guilty, I felt ashamed and was afraid of facing my father when he came home.

King Herod in this story felt guilty.  He had John the Baptist killed to satisfy his wife and daughter and he knew he was wrong for beheading John.  I’m sure it’s something that ate at King Herod because the things we do wrong eat at us.  Our consciences bother us when we do wrong unless we’re sociopaths or are in strong denial.  We hope our wrong doings don’t catch up with us, but often they do or if they don’t, they leave us feeling anxious.   Herod knew his crime had caught up with him.   In Jesus, John was raised from the dead.

Now, this wasn’t literal.  Jesus wasn’t John.  It meant that the bill had come due for Herod to pay the penalty for what he had done to John.  The head that Herod had cut off had come back to bite him in the form of Jesus.  The bill comes due for the bad we do.  There’s a price we have to pay. 

I want you to reflect on those wrongs that you’ve done and feel guilt for.  Just for a moment.  We’re not going to dwell on them.  If you’ve been caught feel your shame for what you’ve done and if you haven’t been caught I want you to feel your guilt and fear of being caught.  These feelings are alive in you and me.  They may be conscious or unconscious, subtle or strong but we need to face them, seek forgiveness and make amends.  Otherwise there may be hell to pay; that is we have the face the music.  There’s no escape.

The tragic thing for Herod is that he did everything he could to evade capture.  Jesus was a threat to him.  It was people like Herod, who misused their power at the expense of others that were threatened by Jesus.  But the wonderful thing for us is that Jesus isn’t a threat to us.  He is, instead. a help to us.  Rather than throw punishment in our face, Jesus holds out promise.  The promise Jesus holds out to us is a gift from God.  God has chosen us to receive this gift; a gift of forgiveness and redemption.  It’s a get out of jail or hell card; a get out of guilt, shame and fear card.  We receive this promise of redemption and forgiveness through Jesus who gave his life for us and poured out his love for us.  This is less a bloody mess as it is an act of love.

When I went home to face my dad by the time I got home I didn’t need punishment.  My conscience handled that for me.  My entire walk home from school that day was my punishment.   Your conscience handles it for you, too.  We’ve done bad things, but we’re not bad people.   And overtime we no longer feel guilty because we mature and don’t do bad things. If we were bad people we wouldn’t feel guilty when we did wrong things. I’m glad my dad knew that although he still took the belt out.  I wasn’t ever shoplifting again the moment I got caught, but I was not redeemed until I faced my father.  And the belt was not needed!  

Everyone here has done something bad, but none of you are bad.  But you have to humble yourself and face God and admit to yourself what you’ve done.  It might help to confess what you’ve done to another human being; someone you trust; perhaps a pastor, but someone.  None of us are redeemed until we face God.  Then we find out that God isn’t holding a belt, but open arms of embrace to welcome us back out of our guilt, shame and fear into our identity as children of God, beloved by God, heirs of salvation and of everything that is God; every quality and every power.  And if you admit, right now, that you aren’t perfect, you’ve sinned, you’ve fallen short of your values, you’ll feel yourself included in and saturated by the pure and perfect acceptance and love of God in Christ.  You are loved, you are forgiven, you are accepted, you are appreciated, you belong right here, right now in this place, in God’s presence, in this body of believers, none of whom are perfect, all of whom are forgiven and loved, all of whom belong together in Christ, all of whom will ultimately realize their full potential and identity with Christ as all grown up men and women of God.

This may be the 1^st or 2^nd time you’ve been here; this may be the thousandth, but the truth is that in hearing this message of truth and gospel of salvation today, that the Holy Spirit is upon you, marking you, guaranteeing that what you feel today you will experience completely in God’s good time, when all have been offered this opportunity for a life of grace and unity of God, where we experience our full capacity for love, peace, growth and full capacity human being.

Soon, we like David, will dance in joy, unashamed of our faith and full devotion to our God who loves us and makes us God’s own, as was the plan from the very beginning of life on earth.

You Can Be Forgiven and Loved                                                                                                      (Message for Youth and Children)                                                                                                      2 Samuel 6:12-15 & Mark 6:14                                                                                                             Rev. Dr. Will Baez                                                                                                                                7/13/15

I want you to know that that you are forgiven and loved by God.  You might not know why you would need forgiveness or what it means that God loves you, but I hope today’s message makes it clearer to you.

Let me tell you a story.  There’s a boy I used to know.  He felt really bad.  He was rejected by his family.  He felt that no one accepted and loved him.  He felt so bad he would even hurt himself.  We used to try to show him that we accepted him and loved him and didn’t want to see him hurt himself.   He was treated so badly when he was young that it was hard for him to stop hurting himself.

Do you ever really feel bad, like nobody accepts you or loves you?  Lots of people feel that way.  If you don’t feel that way, and I hope that you don’t, you know somebody who does.

Sometimes people treat people badly; they reject them and hate them.  They pick on people, say bad things about them or bully them. And sometimes people treat themselves badly.  It happens in homes.  It happens in schools.  It happens in neighborhoods.  It happens in churches.   But if we repent, if we change our attitude and behavior, if we let God know that we’re sorry, God will forgive us.  And the only thing that God wants in return is for us to treat others well, and not only others, ourselves.  What I want you to know is that you are accepted and loved by God and Jesus exactly as you are and that God and Jesus will help you be the best person you can if you let them.  If we haven’t accepted people or loved them or treated them badly, we can ask God’s forgiveness and God will forgive you.  Or if you’ve treated yourself badly or hurt yourself, you can be forgiven for that and God and Jesus can help you love and accept yourself and help you become an even better person, more that you believe yet.

Let’s pray together.  Repeat after me: God, I know you love me. I’ve done some bad things, but you forgive me and love me anyways.  You expect me to be even better than I am and because you believe in me, I know I can be an even better me.  Forgive me for the wrong I’ve done and help me to treat everyone the way I want to be treated.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Hungry

Hungry

(Youth & Children)

Mark 6:30-44

Rev. Dr. Will Baez

7/19/15

People are hungry for a lot of things.  What are some things people are hungry for?  _____________ “Gold.”  Yes, people are hungry for good.  What else?  Yes, people are hungry for food.  People are hungry for attention.  People are hungry for love.  People are hungry for truth.  People are hungry for justice.  They want to be treated right and see others treated right.  People are hungry for mercy.  They want to be forgiven and to forgive others.  They want to be treated with kindness and understanding. People are hungry for God.

When you believe in Jesus, Jesus feeds you, first with God’s word.  He feeds you with wisdom and knowledge of God and God’s ways.  He feeds you with an experience of God’s unconditional and unrelenting forgiveness and love.  And he fills you so much with these gifts that they overflow from you to others.  All of a sudden people no longer have to look outside of themselves for God or truth or anything because God’s word is written on their hearts, abides in them and flows through them as naturally as water from a spring.  And now you are a channel of God’s love, God’s grace, God’s peace, God’s justice and God’s spirit to everyone.  That’s what we do as Christians.

"You Give Them Something to Eat. You Feed Them"

You Give Them Something

Mark 6:30-44

Rev. Dr. Will Baez

7/19/15

For Jesus, there was nothing more important than preaching and teaching the gospel message about the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven.  Where is this Kingdom of God or Heaven?  It is near.  It is here, right now, within our reach, within us and among us.  And what is this Kingdom of God or heaven? It is not a place.  It is the reign, the realm, the rule and the reality of God.  It is a way of living and of being human that is spawned by God.  It is the very consciousness of the mind of God; a way conceiving or and perceiving life as God does.  This Kingdom message was so important that Jesus sent his apostles out to preach it and teach it.  It was their primary task.  Everything else they did was secondary to this Kingdom proclamation.

And people couldn’t get enough of this teaching.  They wanted to understand the way, the truth and the life that lead directly to unity or oneness with God; the way, the truth and life that Jesus demonstrated for them to live.  They weren’t interested in correct belief; they were pursuing a way of living in concert with God, where they were in God and God was in them.  Jesus and his Apostles needed a break from their teaching, because their teaching took a lot out of them because they were giving of themselves and their knowledge or experience of God to others.  They got a way for a little while and got their rest and renewal but the people pursued them, even arriving ahead of where Jesus and the apostles were heading next.

Now, when Jesus saw the great crowd gathered, he didn’t complain about his workload.  Rather, Jesus had compassion for the crowd, because the members of the crowd were like lost sheep, lacking a shepherd to lead them, and in particular to teach them about this Kingdom of God way of being.  They were hungry for God’s word and he fed them by preaching and teaching what they needed to know to have a right relationship with God and other people.  But after a while the people would need to eat, return home and sleep.

Before we continue, I want to make something perfectly clear; learning the word of God and preaching and teaching it is the most important thing we do as Christians.  Everything else we do supports the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom of God and the transformation of people’s lives and world such that their ways are God’s ways.  Whether or not we know it or other people know it, it is what we hunger for and seek after more than anything else.  And when we realize it and others realize it; when the kingdom of God or Heaven becomes part and parcel of our lives we know it.  We are transformed.  We are new people.  Our worlds are transformed.  Our worlds are new worlds.  We discover the power of God in our lives to bring relief, redemption and renewal to others.

But at times we don’t realize the power we have in our experience of the Kingdom of God.  When the disciples saw that they were going to be faced with a problem of feeding 5000 men; really 5000 men plus their wives and children, they went to Jesus and told him to send them away so they got obtain food for their trip home.  But Jesus didn’t buy into their limited belief about what they were capable of doing.  He said to them, “You give them something to eat.  You feed them.”  

The apostles were incredulous.  “What!  Where are we going to get the food.  We can’t afford it.  It’ll bust our budget.”

Jesus knew that his apostles didn’t get it.  They didn’t know what they were capable of.  He had them check their inventory.  How many loaves of bread did they have?  They had five.  And how many fish did they have?  They had two.  What must those disciples been thinking!  What is he going to do with five loaves of bread and two fish?  He gave the apostles instructions to seat the disciples in groups of hundreds and fifties.  Then he took the bread, looked up to heaven, blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples to set before the people.  Then he did the same with the fish.  And everyone, not just the 5000 men, but their wives and children ate until they were full.  And when they were done they had left over twelve baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish.

Now, it was Jesus’ intention that his apostles feed the people, first spiritually and then physically.  But to do this the apostles had to believe they were capable of doing what Jesus had told them to do.  Jesus’ actions demonstrated for the disciples what they were capable of.

I have no doubt that if you believe what Jesus believes you are capable of that you can fill this church and need to build a bigger one.  By studying, learning and applying God’s word in your life and sharing with others what you discover about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and yourself you’ll make it so that I, and perhaps some of you. will be preaching and teaching and we’d have to, instead of send people way to get lunch after church, feed them before they go home, so not only are they fed spiritually (through God’s word), they are fed physically (through food) and socially (Through interacting with you).   Nobody will want to go home so much will the Holy Spirit be moving among us.

So, here’s the thing.   Repeat it after me.  Jesus has called me (repeat).  Jesus believes in me (repeat).  God will speak to me through scripture, prayer, visions and dreams (repeat).  The Holy Spirit will inspire me (repeat).  I am as capable as Jesus says I am (repeat).  If Jesus tells me to do something I can do it (repeat).  Will you say Halleluiah with me!  Halleluiah!  Let it be so!