Going Back to Camp: Week Two: Cartwright, Asbury and the Camp Meeting by Rev. Kevin Anderson

Our Scripture this morning is from 1^st Peter chapter 1 verses 13-25

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;  For it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy. “since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.  

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God,

Who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.  Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.  For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” and this is the word that was preached to you.

This is the Word of God for the People of God:  Thanks be to God.

This Scripture reminds me of the early camp meetings and revivals

That happened in this Country, taking place in the frontier-lands
On farms, in fields, “All people are like grass, and all their glory
Is like the flowers of the field.”

The scripture also speaks to a call for people to be Holy,

To be born again not of the perishable seed but the imperishable seed.
Not to conform to evil desires, but to be Holy,
To live a life that is Holy because Jesus is Holy.

                             This Morning as we continue our series on the early camp meetings and revivals in our country, I would like to paint a picture for you of that era, and time, from the words and deeds and actions of two of the earliest Methodist Circuit Riders and Camp Meetings leaders, Francis Asbury and Peter Cartwright.

For the Early Christians in our Country, going to Camp Meetings, being part of the Revival movement challenged them to be intentional about their spiritual lives, to “live lives that were Holy”, and there were so many people that would come, there where thousands of people that came with their family and tents to hear the words of the preachers that they were like grass and their glory like the flowers of the field. 
          And as farmers of the Word, working the fields, the circuit riding preachers came hundreds of miles to plant the Word of God into the good seed.  Into the people that came to hear the Message of Grace and hope.
Francis Asbury and Peter Cartwright were some of these
“Farmers of the Word” that came from the grass of the field.
A Real Grass Roots Movement!

For Francis Asbury his ministry started as his mother claimed before his birth, as she had a dream that he would one day become a great preacher and leader of the Christian faith.  So at the age of 18 Francis Asbury became a local lay preacher, and at twenty two he was appointed to be a circuit rider by John Wesley.  During his ministry he became one of the first Methodist bishops along with Thomas Coke and started several schools in the American Frontier. His heart for ministry lead him to preach in jails, Churches, at Camp Meetings, at all times of the day both morning and at night.  He had a passion for visiting people getting ready for exicution and trial, giving words of peace to those at the end of the line.  Sometimes he would preach to four people, sometimes thousands; and this is what he said about the Camp Meetings, after arriving into a new town from a hard day on the road.

 “I Walked down to Gloucester-point, and then rode to brother Chew's; and though very weak, weary, wet, and low, while it rained very hard, I preached with some power to many people from these words: "As the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and re­turneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it."

        In all conditions, in all weather, Wind, Rain or Snow, the Circuit rider rode on, miles at a time, to make it to the camp meeting, and whatever the condition laid out for them the camp meeting went on!  Sometimes the Minister as well as the people were soaked to the bone, yet preaching occurred, and the Spirit of the Lord was felt, as it nourished the good seed, bringing new people to Christ, with the warmth of the Holy Spirit. People were brought into new ways of Holy Living.

 Another farmer of the Word and a leader at Camp Meetings was Peter Cartwright, Cartwright has been known as one of the great preachers of his time.  For over fifty years,

“he rode the wilderness circuits from the Appalachians to the mighty Mississippi.”  Peter Cartwright was born in Amherst Country Virginia but his family moved to Logan County Kentucky soon after.  And Logan County Kentucky just happened to be the birthplace of the Great Western Revival, which was a religious awakening during the late 17,00’s.  And it is where Peter Cartwright came to his faith in Jesus Christ at the age of 15.  When he came to faith in Christ, he became an active witness to it, he shared his faith testamony at Camp Meetings and became well known.  When he was 17 the Cartwright family moved again further into the wilderness of early Kentucky.  That’s when he sent a letter

to change his Church membership, but when he got the reply it was not one that he was expecting at all.  The letter he received back was a letter commissioning him to “start a new Church circuit in the un-churched wilderness to which his family was moving.” From then on Peter Cartwright‘s Career as the most famous Methodist circuit rider began.  He spent over 50 years of preaching at Camp Meetings and churches riding through the wilderness

through the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois.  He served as a preacher as well as one of the early District Superintendents for all the newer Circuit riders in the area.  He even became a politician running against President Abraham Lincoln for Congress before he became president.  Peter Cartwright after this defeat had so much respect for Abe that he called him “America’s Great Hope”

Peter Cartwright was also known for his passionate preaching, his teaching of strong Methodist theology, fighting with robbers and drunks that became disorderly at camp meetings or on the road, One of the stories about Peter Cartwright involved President Andrew Jackson when he was a General. Where it was written that, “Once Cartwright warned General Andrew Jackson, that he would be damned to Hell just as quickly as any other man if he did not repent. A timid preacher apologized to Jackson for Cartwright's bluntness. The general retorted that Christ's ministers ought to love everybody and fear no mortal man, adding that he wished he had a few thousand officers like Peter Cartwright”.

another story of Peter Cartwright's time on the road, was when he was traveling on night, a very dark night, through the woods, and was confronted by a group of theives.  In fear for his life, he began to yell at some "imaginary forces", saying, "Here! here! Officers and men, take them!" The thugs retreated and bolted in panic.
Such events gave him a name. Yet regardless of the number of adventures, stories and even tall tales about the man, such as a wrestling match with the famous Mike Fink;  for Cartwright, the highlights of his ministry could be found at the Camp Meetings. In his autobiography, Cartwright described in great deal the rise of the camp meeting movement, he paints a picture for Christians of the excitement, and happenings of them as he wrote,

“times rolled on, population increased fast around us, the country improved, horse-thieves and murderers were driven away, and civilization advanced considerably.  Ministers of different denominations came in, and preached through the country; but the Methodists preachers were the pioneer messengers of salvation in these ends of the earth. Somewhere between 1800 and 1801, in the upper part of Kentucky, at a memorable place called, “Cane Ridge”, there was appointed a sacramental meeting.. at which meeting, seemingly unexpected by ministers or people, the mighty power of God was displayed in a very extraordinary manner; many were moved to tears, and bitter and loud crying for mercy.  The meeting was protracted for weeks.  Ministers of almost every denomination flocked in from far and near.  The meeting was kept up by night and day.  Thousands heard of the mighty work, and came on foot, on horseback, in carriages and wagons.  It was supposed that there were in attendance at times during the meeting from twelve to twenty-five thousand people….

              Stands were erected in the woods from which preachers of different churches proclaimed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and it was supposed, by eye and ear witnesses, that between one and two thousands souls were happily and powerfully converted to God during the meeting. The heavenly fire spread in almost every direction. From this camp-meeting, for so it ought to be called, the news spread through all the Churches, and through all the land, and it excited great wonder and surprise; but it kindled a religious flame that spread all over Kentucky and through many other states.  And I may here be permitted to say, that this was the first camp-meeting ever held in the United States, and here our camp-meetings took their rise

Both Peter Cartwright and Francis Asbury, were driven men, driven to an active faith a faith and a way of living, as 1st Peter 1 tells us, “to have minds that are sober and alert, to have hope in Grace which is in Jesus Christ and to live lives that are Holy and true”. I love the imagery that Cartwright has set up for us of the Camp Meeting.  You can almost see the thousands of people present, you can almost hear the sounds of the ministers and the people gathered to worship, converted to Christianity, living Holy lives, all the people like 1^st Peter tells us were like grass or flowers on the field, thousands of them, from different backgrounds, economic status, ethnicities, and Christian denominations.  Most all of them coming together

for the same reasons, planting themselves in good soil, soaking in the Word of the Lord.

Let us too, live and plant ourselves in the good soil, let us too today feel the presence of the Holy Spirit with us, with the thousands that have gathered before us, and be “like the grass and whose glory is like the flowers of the field.” And let us pledge to live lives that are Holy, not conforming to evil desires, but to the hope and assurance of faith found in our Lord Jesus Christ.

May we be in prayer and worship every day individually as well as together and as a world, one great revival movement of the Holy Spirit, one great Camp meeting, now and forever-more Amen.

Sermon Series: Going Back to Camp “Meetings and Revival” Week One: Paul and Wesley Circuit Riders By Rev. Kevin Anderson

Our Scripture this Morning is from Galatians 1:11-24

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas[a] and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.

This is the Word of God for the People of God……Thanks Be to God!

This morning during these next three weeks we will be looking at the early Christian communities, the early Camp meetings,

And some of the early circuit riders who held them and traveled between many Churches, communities both cities and countryside’s preaching the Word of God, singing old hymns,

and growing in the Christian faith,

A great fellowship of believers, who like Acts 2 tells us, “Devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching (the Word of God) and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

This morning we will be taking a closer look at one of the earliest

Circuit riders, the Apostle Paul, as well as the founder of Methodism John Wesley. 
We will hear and be reminded of their histories
And a calling to ministry that they both shared,

Both of them traveling from church to church and country to country.

From our Scripture reading in Galatians Paul reminds

One of his Churches about his past and about his ministry

As a circuit rider.  Riding between Churches, all over many countries. 

We hear that Paul was a missionary as well as a Preacher,

And felt a strong call in his ministry, with strong purpose given to him by God.  While Peter some of the other Apostles were busy Preaching to the Jewish-Christian community,

Paul felt called by God to spreading of the Gospel Through early Christian communities across the Roman Empire.

Paul’s name before his conversion was Saul and he was born in the city of Tarsus in Turkey but was raised in Jerusalem.  Paul was a Roman Citizen who also claimed to be the son of a Pharisee and a Roman. When Paul was a young adult he cooperated in the killing of Stephen one of the later appointed apostles by the original disciples.  Paul confesses to standing watch over the taking of Stephen’s clothing and allowing the stoning which lead to Stephen’s death.

Thankfully out of the death of one Apostle was born another!

During the book of Acts 9 we hear about Paul coming into faith

On the road to Damascus, it reads,

“He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.  He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.

“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told

What you must do.”

At this point Paul fell off of his horse and when he tried to open his eyes and found himself blind.  The men who were traveling with him

Get him get to Damascus, and it was there that he meet a disciple named Ananias, who was called by God to meet Paul and help him To see. Scripture tell us that Ananias, placing his hands on Paul, said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—Has sent me so that you may see again And be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.”

It is here at this point of Baptism, of seeing the Light of Christ being blind but now can see,
that our Scripture reading this morning Shines light on Paul’s call to ministry.
“When God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might Preach him among the Gentiles”

At this entry point reflected through Galatians, begins Paul’s journey

As a Circuit rider, as a missionary, as a writer, and as an evangelist.
Over the course of his ministry Paul wrote 14 Epistles, written by him

To the Churches which he ministered on his own “circuit” as an Itinerate Preacher.  Also written of him were the many accounts in the book of Acts about what Paul experienced on the road of ministry.

 

**This brings us to the founder of Methodism John Wesley

Who was born in 1703 in Epworth.  John was the fifteenth child Of his parents Samuel Wesley and Susanna Wesley. 

His father Samuel was a Pastor a Church of England.

When Wesley was growing up, at the age of five, the parsonage which the family was living was set on fire. John was saved and pulled out of the burning home to safety and ever since that time, Wesley knew he was called to ministry. 

He tied his calling into that of Joshua’s calling in Zechariah 3:2 Where God says, “Is not this man a burning stick snatched From the fire?”

John Wesley continued his call to ministry when he was accepted

To College in Oxford where he received his degrees and was Ordained.
During that time at Oxford John and his brother Charles
Formed what was known as “the Holy Club”

The holy club decided to meet weekly met weekly where they discussed Scripture and experience, as well as practicing the ways of discipleship and holy living. 

The Holy Club is where the name Methodist came from.  Students started calling the members of the club “Methodists” 
During this time Wesley began preaching outside, and would gather great crowds of people, he also traveled to the American Colonies.

Wesley traveled to the American Colonies as a missionary

But it wasn’t until after his first return trip to England
Where he started preaching outside in the traditions
Of the camp meeting.

Returning to England John took up a friend’s invitation

To preach outdoors near Bristol in 1739 this marked the beginning
Of the Methodist early camp meeting, and revival movement. 
While Wesley was not a fan of preaching outside at first

He did realize how important they were and how successful

These camp meetings were in reaching the un-churched in the community. 
Wesley began to preach anywhere were there was
An assembly of people whether inside or out. 

John Wesley preached for over fifty years, he preached at churches, in fields, in cottages and chapels and great halls. Wesley once said that, 

“I look on all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty, to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.”

When Wesley returned to America, Methodism began to grow at a very fast rate, because he used the idea of Circuit riding and camp meetings, he appointed preachers to travel in an

“Itinerate process”, traveling from one church to the next; evangelizing, baptizing, doing weddings and funerals, worship services, Communion, while creating bible study groups called classes and bands

And while the preacher was not able to attend to the congregation, when they were “riding their circuit”, lay preachers from the community would lead the duties of preaching
And Pastoral care.

John Wesley and Paul’s ministries collide while on the road.
They both traveled on the road, through wind and rain, storms
And heat, both on horseback or on ship. Preaching from town to town,
Church to Church and country to country bringing with them
The good news of Christ to Christian communities

Challenging them on issues of spiritual practice, Christian living, doctrines and theology of the Church as well as Discipleship.  They both preached to the un-churched.  John Wesley preached

To minors, farmers, herders, the wealthy as well as the poor, to assembly halls and fields full of people and the same could be said for Paul.  Both Paul and John preached for revival of the Spirit, and on Grace. And finally both Paul and John wrote down their stories, adventures and encounters on the road going from Church to Church.

For John Wesley,  some of these adventures along the way included,

Being run out of Savannah with an order of arrest
Because of a disagreement between him and the Governor,
Being pelted by mud and stones by angry mobs both at him
And others.

Getting lost in the woods without food or drink

Traveling through terrible weather of storms, snow and wind

Casting out demons from multiple people who were possessed.

And Talk about having interruptions during your sermon, John Wesley had an Ox let lose in a crowd on one occasion and an angry bull on another.

For Paul some of his adventures along the way included winning a fight against a false prophet and a self-proclaimed sorcerer for the conversion of a Roman Governor, healing a man that could not walk, and preforming many other miracles through the power of the Holy Spirit. Being led by the Holy Spirit from one city to the next or told by the Holy Spirit or in visions not to enter a city.

Getting arrested multiple times and even converting his Jailer. Casting a demon out of a fortune-teller in a marketplace, and after being shipwrecked and making it to shore only to be bitten being bitten by a poisonous viper, and while he should have died,

He does not get ill and in a result converts others.

These are only a few of the stories of Paul’s travels as a Circuit rider.

For Paul and John Wesley, these are but a few of the hundreds

Of stories and encounters on the road, traveling from one place

To the next preaching to the assemblies, both outdoors and inside. 

And experiencing  the bad and the good of the life

Of a traveling minister.

What sustained both Paul and John during their travels

Was their faith in God, and the assurance of Grace. 

It was in listening to the Holy Spirit leading and guiding them on. 

We too are called to listen for the Holy Spirit leading us and guiding us on our own paths and journey’s.  We might not all be “called

Into the ministry of Pastoring and Preaching but we are all called

Into a lifetime of discipleship and if we allow ourselves to follow

The visions that God has for us and the Circuit path which is marked

For us, we too will have many exciting adventures along the road.

Let us pray:

God, we thank you for remembering and discovering our

Shared history this morning both Biblical and that of our Spiritual roots. 

We thank you for those evangelists of Grace,  John Wesley

And your Servant Paul.   Revive in us today a faith that is everlasting

And ever strong.  We celebrate this fellowship of believers

And we celebrate your mighty promise to us today. 

Be with us this week in our Spiritual practices,

Through the prayers we pray, and the Scripture we read,

Guide us to better ways of living.  It is in your name we pray…AMEN.

Spiritual Olympics Week 4: Closing Ceremonies, By Rev. Kevin Anderson

Our Scripture Lesson this morning is from Colossians 3:23-25,

Let us meditate on these words of Scripture.

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
This is the Word of God for the People of God, thanks be to God.

In the Letter of Colossians Paul is addressing a Crowd, a Congregation which has had controversy.  There are those in the Congregation who asserted that when we accept Christ we still do not have direct access to God until our Resurrection.  Paul counters this controversy brining to light a couple of very important theological understandings,

One being that if we are believers in Christ, then we share in the Resurrection of Christ, the assurance and rewards of life eternal begin when we accept Jesus into our lives.  We can live as Resurrection people while we are still living!

 

We hear that Christ is the Head of the Church, making us the Body of Christ here on earth.  And being part of the Body of Christ on earth is not a responsibility to take lightly, while there is great Joy in this knowledge there is even greater responsibility given to us.  And in Chapter 3 verses 23-25 which we just heard here this morning, we are called to Work for God, to Work with our FULL hearts, everything that we have, because we have that assurance, we are part of God’s mighty  inheritance and mighty promises, being God’s people it is our Lord Jesus Christ who we are called to serve. Finally the letter to the Colossians highlights the experience of NEW LIFE in Christ, being born again, being SAVED, and as new creations in Christ we are called as the letter explains to a life of endurance, steadfastness, and Discipline. 

 

                    Throughout the years we as the Church have committed ourselves to these practices of faith, both individually and as Congregations throughout the world, all Christians at all times in all places, come together in a Spiritual Ceremony as we Honor God and remember God’s mighty acts.
DURING this sermon series on the Spiritual Olympics From the first week we talked about what it means to carry the Torch of Christ, to BE torch bearers for the Kingdom of God.  During the second week we looked at what it means to run the Race of our lives with Perseverance fixing our eyes upon Jesus, and remembering that we do not run the race alone we as we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses those who have departed still encouraging us in heaven and those on earth who are also running the same race of life.  During the third week we looked at what it means to be part of a “spiritual gymnastics” finding the balance for Spiritual disciplines, time for God for Family for work.

 

 

                             Now we have come to our Closing Ceremony,

                            as we come to Honor God, and continue our Spiritual training

                            in all places at all times. 

 
My favorite quote by our Methodist Founder John Wesley, reminds me on a daily basis to be about the business of Spiritual training and what that means, Wesley once said, that we are to

“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can”

As Christians we are a people of deep standing traditions, traditions calling us to service, and Spiritual practice, so I was very interested in just what the traditions were of the Olympic Games Closing Ceremonies this year.  I have seen many of them, and many of us had the opportunity to watch the closing event this past Thursday, but breaking down the traditions gave me more insight to just what the real meaning was about breaking through the smokescreen of lights, Cameras, fireworks and spectacle.  At the Olympic Games closing Ceremony has always held multiple traditions,  Starting with a “Parade of Flags”, this is where athlete’s from each country Chosen, come into the Olympic stadium carrying the Flags of their Countries.  The First flag to process in is the Greek Flag and the Last Flag to process into the Stadium is the Flag of the Host Country.

               The second tradition in the Closing ceremony is a “Parade of Athletes”, it is here that all athletes who participated in the Olympics games come through the stadium together as teams, as athletes and friends, some wearing their medals already presented to them yet all medaled athletes and those that did not win are one in unity highlighting equality as well as athletic achievement.

               Another tradition which has a long history in the Olympics closing ceremonies has been the “Final Medal Ceremony”.   The older tradition was to award all athletes at the closing ceremony, but in modern times this has changed due to time restraints so it has become typical for medals to be awarded during the games and it has become the modern tradition to have the International Olympic Committee to choose a sport and event from the entire Olympic games to give medals to during the closing ceremony.
                Nearing the closing of the ceremony come the tradition of “passing the Flag”, where the Olympic flag is passed from the Current host Country to next Country hosting the games.  This year we had the opportunity to see the Olympic Flag handed off from London to Rio de Janeiro which will be hosting the 2016 Olympic Games;   The final part of the Olympic Games Closing Ceremony has always been a “declaration of the end of the games as well as the extinguishing of the Olympic torch.

This year’s London Olympic Games Closing Ceremony stayed true to these traditions with added spectacle which included 4,100 performers and 380 schoolchildren from the six east London Host Boroughs.  Much like the Super bowl’s halftime show many musical acts were present this year scattered throughout the closing Ceremony.  One of the moments that stood out for me more than others was when John Lennon’s song Imagine was played out to the massive Stadium with thousands of people wearing shirts with the one word “imagine” written on them.  It was a powerful reminder of importance of these Olympic Games as they give us a sense of unity and peace throughout many parts of the world as we have come together again for this EVENT.

I cannot help but be reminded in all of the parades and medals and spectators gathered of another individual; our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who traveled from Bethany, from the Mount of Olives into the city of Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.  Because riding on a Donkey symbolized his coming in PEACE rather than entering a city on the back of a horse representing the triumph of war.   

While the spectators in Jesus’ time did not have fancy fireworks exploding above or supermodels and superstars strutting up and down the city streets, the crowds laid out everything they did have, the crowds of people took off their cloaks, form Jesus’ to travel over, and spectators waved palm branches which stood as a symbol of triumph and victory!  The Romans waved palm branches to honor champions of the games and celebrated military successes.

 

And as Jesus entered the city the crowds waving palm branches cheered and shouted with Joy, they were praising God,  shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “The King of Israel” “Peace in heaven” and, “Hosanna in the Highest heaven” to which Jesus Replies, honoring God before all else, “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion.  Look your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt”

The entrance into Jerusalem for us Christians yearly marks our deep rooted traditions of the closing Ceremony of Jesus’ human life on earth known as Holy week.  Palm Sunday being the opening act in the larger ceremony.  While the grand finale falls on Easter Sunday with a Resurrection of our Lord.

Hosanna in the highest; God is with us. 

Palm Sunday is a clear example of the early community Honoring God. 

Yet it also stands as a stark reminder that we are not to just honor God once a week but every day, staying true to the Word of God, staying fit in our Spiritual disciplines

As Paul has reminded us in his letters to the Colossians this morning, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Paul reminds us that Honoring God should be our number one priority, honoring God at all times, in all ways, in all we do,

And Honoring God is stressed to the greatest importance throughout the Bible it is Law.  As it stands as the number one Commandment in the Ten which Moses brought down from Mountain.  Stating,

“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

 And when we do not Honor God in our living, when we fall into sin and temptation, we become like the crowds on Palm Sunday who Honored God with words and deeds yet who five days later fell into sin shouting in the crowd at Jesus’ trial, “Crucify,…. Crucify him”.

How easy it is for us to fall into the sin that so easily leads us away from the God whom we are called to love and serve, the God who brings Grace, restores what is broken and forgives all transgressions.

Yet there is Hope in the midst of sin, as Jesus took our sin to the cross he has freed us from the bonds of that sin, there is a way out through Christ.  And through spiritual training, through running the race with Perseverance fixing our eyes upon Christ, through balancing all things that are good, by working with all our hearts to serve our God and in all things to HONOR GOD,

We will experience that Grace,

We will experience that love,
We will experience forgiveness
We will experience NEW LIFE in Christ,
At that point we will join together with all our brothers and sisters in Christ

From around the world,

From all times, a great cloud of witness, from all nations, carrying all flags
We will wear our Faith and Religion as a medal of pride in all seasons,
We will receive God’s eternal reward

And we will be called to continue on,

To continue the training,
To be torchbearers for God’s word
and in our closing ceremony, in our closing worship here this morning

we will be called to Honor God by following the light of Christ out of the Church and into the community into the world, all of us

representing the light of Christ for others,

for ourselves and for the World,

It is time to decide, are you ready for the Spiritual training?

For the Spiritual gymnastics of life, for the Spiritual Olympics of our lives

Are you ready to continue in the Spiritual race of Life?

And when we fall down, when we feel we cannot train any longer,

that we are Spiritually exhausted,

that we are Spiritually Tired,

When we feel all of this, we are called to go to God in prayer,

Honoring our God before all else, and in doing so,

 We will find strength from God, who stands at the finish line, ready to say,

“Well done, good and faithful servant!”

Rest in Me, and “Come and share your master's happiness!'”

AMEN

Spiritual Olympics Week 3: Spiritual Gymnastics, by Rev. Kevin Anderson

 

Our Scripture Reading this morning comes to us from Hebrews 12:13-17

13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. 14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done. This is the word of God for the People of God, Thanks be to God.

The press have been calling them the Fierce five, and for good reason, the Women’s 2012 Olympic Gymnastics team composed of Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Kyla Ross, Jordyn Wieber and McKayla Maroney have been balancing medals, a lot of them.

 

 

 

The many events that make up the Gymnastics portion of the Olympic games has four phases: qualification, Team final, Individual All-Around final and individual apparatus finals.  So not only do each of the Olympic team athletes have a chance to win a medal for themselves but they also have a chance to win one for the TEAM

I believe that this way of competition leads to more humbleness, more friendship, more teamwork and better balance. And while these athletes may look like they achieve great feats almost effortlessly as they went through the different gymnastic events, such as the balance beam, floor exercise, pummel horse and vaulting, the training off camera has been constant.  there are not many breaks, there is hard work, which the joys and pains of training can bring. 

 

In Hebrews 12:11, Paul talks of the seriousness of Spiritual training, as he says,

“11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.”

One of the earliest Spiritual gymnists is  St. Symeon Stylites.  Symeon was known for very hard spiritual training.  Symeon was born about the year 390 in the mountain village of Sis, having first been a shepherd, he entered the monastic discipline at a young age.  After trying various kinds of ascetical practices, both in the monastery and then in the wilderness, he began standing on pillars of progressively greater height, and heroically persevered in this for more than forty years; and to the height of fifty feet in the air and the greater part of this time on the pillers he spent standing upright,…..

People from all over the world came to see him and hear words of holiness and spiritual practice and guidance from this monk.  The Church historian Theodoret of Cyrrhus, an eyewitness of his exploits who wrote of him while Symeon was yet alive, called him "the great wonder of the world." God gave him the grace to persevere in such an astonishing form of asceticism that multitudes came to see him from Persia, Armenia, South Arabia, Georgia, Thrace, Spain, Italy, Gaul, and the British Isles. Symeon lived to be at least 80, the first one to learn of the death of the saint was his close disciple Anthony. Concerned that his teacher had not appeared to the people for three days, he went up on the pillar and found the dead body stooped over at prayer.

Symeon dedicated his life to spiritual training, and spiritual gymnastics and while we might not all feel inclined to spend our lives standing on top of a pillar fifty feet in the air, we are still called to spiritual training and Spiritual gymnastics, and as we train and as we prepare God will do amazing feats within us  this is the point of the letter that Paul writes to the Hebrew people it is a letter of encouragement, of not giving up, of training hard and of the greatness of God’s mercy grace and love, to reinforce the need to Spiritual training in the ways of Discipleship, but also for us to understand that we are not to train alone.  That there is a balance to be had, a sort of Spiritual Olympics to be held within us as we strive to train to life  of holiness, of peace with one another and love for God, we are called to a life of devotion and a life of teamwork, building the Kingdom of God, for the transformation of the world. 

And any gymnastic training starts with finding a balance between mind and body, your brain has to tell your feet where to go.  Paul says, “Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

When we feel that we are spiritually lame, or dry, there might even be some periods where we feel unable to walk, you know the feeling of having your leg fall asleep on you?  There are times where it is hard to tell your feet where to go or how to walk when your body is asleep and your mind awake.   When your leg falls asleep on you, it feels numb and tingles, when you try to stand on it, it gives way to the weight it has forgotten how to carry, your feet become temporarily disabled until you have to shake it out to regain its feeling again. Sometimes this is how we can be spiritually.  Yet we are called to “make level paths for our feet to continue walking to LEVEL out those paths so that we will not be disabled, so that we will not fall out of our Spiritual practices.”  To Level out any path you need to have constant movement on it.  In Hebrews 12 Paul continues the conversation by telling the people to “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy;

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Part of our spiritual training is to find peace with each-other, that in some way when we find ways to live in peace with one another we become closer to God and closer to living lives that are holy.

            For Olympian athletes, while there is a sense of competitiveness between nations as well as teammates, it is vital that the athletes make an effort to be at peace with each other no matter the results the triumphs or disappointments.  And as for the team whether it is the men’s or woman’s swim team, the Gymnastics team, track, cycling or basketball teams, the team does better when they support each other.  while it is ok to have hopes and dreams of the gold, it is of equally and greater importance to lift up the entire team and not just the oneself.  We are to lift each-other up, rather than bring others down around us for our own personal glory. As Paul says we are to “see to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Paul explains to us that we are not to hinder another’s path to Grace, this is one of the reasons that we have an open table at Communion, it is another reason why we allow any and all people to come forward and receive communion, because it is about God’s actions of Grace and Communion is a means of accepting that Grace which God extends out to us.  Paul tells us that it is our responsibility to make sure that others if they have the chance to not miss out in having a heartwarming experience of God, to be filled with the Spirit and to feel the redemptive waters that pour our forgiveness, love, grace and redemption. The stumbling blocks of these redemptive waters can come from ourselves when we do not prone out the roots of bitterness which separate us from the love of God, sharing in peace with one another and as a result cannot just defile ourselves and our relationship to God but also others around us.

            To win an achievement or medal can be honorable, yet when we win an achievement at the expense of others there is no glory to be had.  There always has been talk of cheating that can spring up during the Olympic games whether there are extra weights in a toboggan, steroid use, hurting another teammate to make a play for fame.  There are always temptations to forfeit part of the hardship of training to find an easier way, a way around the system and the same can be said for our very souls, yet with preference comes reward, with patience comes celebration with disappointment comes new sprouts of possibility.  The stories that stand out and have the longest staying power post-Olympic games, are not those of the negative, or those of cheating, but for those stories of athletes, that have overcome.  Overcome obstacles to help support their team and country with honor and respect achieving what many might have though unachievable, there is more joy then despair that comes from training.  And the same is true for us.

As we are called to the life of Spiritual gymnastics, sometimes that means that we need to learn how to balance our life, our work, our faith, our family, every part of our life, when it might seem impossible to day, we are called to a balance, even if it is finding a balance within chaos, we are called to a spiritual gymnastics training balancing, stretching, moving, bending yet NOT Breaking, As Paul calls us today to, “strengthen our feeble arms and weak knees.” Level the path, continue on, it is not easy, but the rewards are heavenly,

Thanks be to God

AMEN