Sermons for the Month
DATE: January 24, 1999
SERVICE: Epiphany III
TEXT: I Corinthians 1:10-18
Sermons for the Month
"Top of the Charts "
DATE: January 24, 1999
SERVICE: Epiphany III
TEXT: I Corinthians 1:10-18"To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN We like to think that with nets, webs, WebTV, 500 channels, CDs and VCRs we know what's happening. We're current. Right? Well, lets see. What do Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Natalie Imbruglia, The Smashing Pumpkins, Dave Matthews Band, Sonic Youth and Master P have in common? Not much, it seems, unless you want to apply the word "music" to these groups. A quick look at Rolling Stone magazine today leaves the impression that music is spinning wildly in a multitude of directions. A generation ago, most teenagers listened to the same type of music, and everyone knew which hits were in the Top 40. Now the music market is split into rap, heavy metal, classic rock, grunge, contemporary Christian, modern rock, country, alternative rock, hip-hop and others - and everyone is listening to something different. There is no one "at the top of the charts" because there are so many charts. The Internet lists over 50 singles charts worldwide, ranging from the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 to the Billboard Hot Rap Singles Top 20. Of course, there has always been variety in popular music. 35 years ago few people would have made the case that Jan and Dean, Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye and "Little" Stevie Wonder were all playing the same kind of music and were adored equally by everyone. But most fans would have known their names and their songs and seen them as part of the same musical community. In our text for today, Paul criticizes the church for splitting into fan clubs for Paul, Apollos, Cephas and Christ. He calls members of the Christian community to unite in the same mind and purpose, and to follow an undivided Christ. The same challenge lies before us: to focus not on denominational labels, uniformity of practice or doctrinal perfection, but to look only to Jesus, the head of the church universal and Savior of all humankind. He should be number one on any Christian's Top 40 list. Jesus Christ, Superstar. If he is at the top of our charts, we will find that a number of truths emerge. Like different parts of a contemporary hit, different instruments in a modern band, different staffs on a sheet of music, these core convictions, or rhythms, work together to make music we can all appreciate. There's the rhythm that suggests, for example, that being a Christian is where it's at. This is the beat that should undergird and drive the spiritual song that forms a soundtrack for our lives. But problems arise when we let our own preferences get in the way, when we march to the beat of whatever drummer seems most pleasing to us, when we fall for the sound of a Methodist bass or a Baptist cymbal, a theologically correct Lutheran trumpet, a Presbyterian bagpipe, or a fundamentalist conga. With all these different tempos and beats all around us all the time, we can lose touch with the steady, saving drumbeat of Jesus the Christ. Our call is to respond to Christ, not to a human agenda. "To close the gap between what I am and what God wants of me," wrote Cardinal Joseph Bernardin in his book, The Gift of Peace, "I must empty myself and let Jesus come in and take over. I have prayed to understand his agenda for me .... It is unsettling to pray to be emptied of self; it seems a challenge almost beyond our reach as humans. But if we try, I have learned, God does most of the work. I must simply let myself go in love and trust of the Lord" (as cited in Christianity Today, June 15, 1998). It is truly unsettling to let go of our personal agendas and allow Jesus to come in and take over. What will he ask of us? we wonder. A higher level of sexual morality? Greater generosity? More willingness to forgive? This is hard, no doubt about it. But if being Christian is our primary identity, we will find a way to allow Jesus to lay down the drumbeat for our lives. There is a rhythm which suggests that being faithful is critical to authentic discipleship. The melody strummed through the pages of Scripture is one of faithfulness to his call to win disciples for Jesus, not perfection, and we should be thankful for this. Unfortunately, we sometimes forget that we are imperfect creatures instead of perfect Creators, petty people instead of loving Lords, selfish sinners instead of selfless Saviors - and we come down rather hard on ourselves and others. Part of us knows that we are called to trust Christ, to lean on him, and to walk with him into an uncertain future, but another part acts as though our job is to achieve moral, spiritual and doctrinal perfection. One of the best exercises in faithfulness - as opposed to perfection - is worship. Now worship "is hard to justify in this day and age" writes Barbara Brown Taylor, "but those of us who do it over and over again begin to count on it. This is how we learn where we fit. This is how we locate ourselves between the past and the future, between our hopes and our fears, between the earth and the stars. This is how we learn who we are and what we are supposed to be doing: by coming together to sing and to pray, to be silent and to be still, by peering into the darkness together and telling each other what we see when we do" (Barbara Brown Taylor, "The Day We Were Left Behind," Christianity Today, May 18, 1998, 46). In worship, we rediscover that we are of Christ, not of a denomination label or even esteemed spiritual mentors. In the confession, forgiveness, proclamation, praise, thanksgiving and fellowship of worship, we rediscover that our mission in life is to be faithful in our calling to the God who creates us, redeems us, sustains us, and loves us in spite of our imperfections. And when we see ourselves as redeemed and loved by God, we can see others in that light as well. Within the body of Christ, acceptance of each other is required; agreement on fine points of doctrine is optional. There's yet another rhythm supporting the tune we sing; it's the pounding insistence that being a witness is vital to acknowledging Christ's pre-eminent place in our lives. We are all familiar with the story of the priests in St. Nicolas Church, Obendorf, Austria, who panicked Christmas Eve, 1818, when the church organ malfunctioned. The assistant pastor quickly penned a six-stanza poem, beginning with the words "Stille nacht, heilige nacht." He took the verses to Franz Gruber, the church organist, who arranged a melody for two solo voices, a chorus, and guitar. That might have been the end of it had not an organ repairman learned of the son and taken a copy home. Two traveling singing families took it with them on their tours, singing in before the King of Prussia and in New York City. In 1834 the classic was heard in English: "Silent Night, Holy Night." It is the most popular Christmas carol in the world. Perhaps it's the simplicity of the song that endears this carol above all others. More probably it is the message of the love that brought God down to us and of a grace that lifts us up to Him. Seeing God's activity and singing about it to others is our special responsibility; it will be one of the factors on which we will someday be judged. My friends, don't put all your energy into human achievements. There is certainly a lot of good work to be done in the world, but a great deal of it can be accomplished by computers and automation these days. It takes a human soul, however, to speak of God's goodness and to bear witness to divine wonders to neighbors who wonder what it's all about. Who is at the top of the charts for you? If it's Jesus the Christ, you'll be singing a song that the whole world wants and needs to hear.
AMEN