Wesleyan Wisdom: Tradition Hebrews 1: 1-4, 2: 5-12

This past week a group of four pastors in our area gathered to discuss the upcoming year’s confirmation class. Because none of us were going to have enough confirmands to undertake a class ourselves, we decided to come together, in the spirit of cooperative ministry, and offer a joint class. During the course of our planning we started to ask ourselves what really matters, what really needs to be taught, in order to grow as Christian disciples. Everything we came up with fell into one of two areas - what we believe and how we live that out in our daily lives. When discussing how much of the class should focus on what we believe versus how we live it out, a colleague pointed out that when life starts to crumble and we don’t know where to turn, how to live out our faith is not going to be as meaningful for us as what we believe. 

That statement has stuck with me all week, especially as this week’s sermon is focusing on decision making in light of tradition. At first glance one would think that we learn the traditions and history of the church for the same reason we teach history in school, to keep from making the same mistakes because the past repeats itself. But really, that thought doesn’t line up with what we believe as Christians. So why do we need to learn tradition? So we know what we believe and can lean on it at all times. 

Most of what we believe comes directly from scripture, and other pieces come from teachings of important people throughout church history and creeds. Creeds are statements about what we believe. Throughout the course of the year we have read several different creeds in the context of our worship services, and there are even more found in the hymnal, but the two basic creeds are the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed which tell about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and why their relationship matters to the church. 

Today’s scripture passage from Hebrews also presents a creed of sorts, that specifically focuses on the saving act of Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews is writing to second generation Christians, people who were not there themselves to witness the acts of Jesus Christ first hand and who had already started to forget why Christ was so important. So the author sets out with a text, to remind people about God’s mysterious and gracious act towards humanity in Jesus Christ. 

What exactly was the author trying to convey about Christ? First that God had tried other ways to communicate to people through the prophets of old, but then God choose to send Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the source of all life in the world. He is of God’s very being and is a reflection of God’s glory, that we could actually see and witness as he walked among us, fully human and fully divine. He is all powerful, but humbled himself to suffering and death for the sins of humanity so that our salvation would be possible. Because of this ultimate sacrifice Christ is now crowned in all glory and we are able to be called God’s children and Christ’s brothers and sisters.

The author didn’t spend time mixing words. He knew exactly what needed to be convey, what needed to be reminded about Jesus Christ. Because if people didn’t have faith in Jesus Christ then how are they going to live their faith out. What we believe matters. 

People today continue to yearn for a faith founded in beliefs that matter. A faith that connects people to this powerful gift of salvation talked about in Hebrews and a God who would give everything just to be in relationship with us. Everything we do in the church is supposed to point us to this relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Tradition thus encompasses both what we believe AND how we live it out. Part of how we live out what we believe is in worship. Tradition tells us that the structure of worship should lead us into the presence of God through the Word, acts of response, and opportunities to pray to God out of both joy and contrition. But because we don’t know why we do what we do in worship, we often cut out pieces like creeds and prayers of confession, because we want to be filled in the way we want, not shaped into the disciples of Christ. In worship tradition is translated into rituals, but sometimes ritual exhausts us instead of excites us, because we forget that it is grounded in the foundation of the saving act of Jesus Christ. If worship isn’t helping us usher ourselves and others into the presence of this mighty God, then what is missing? What do we have in our service to remind us about the Christ that the author of Hebrews describes? 

We need tradition because it helps us to remember, but it can also be a roadblock to God because we forget that it is simply a metaphor for our relationship with God when it is lived out. None of us will fully understand the sacrifice of Christ in this life time or the fullness of the glory of God. Over the ages people have tried to capture this in different ways, ways that they personally found meaningful that were then transmitted down through the ages. One of the greatest symbols of our relationship with God we are going to celebrate this morning - the sacrament of Holy Communion. It is hard to explain exactly what communion means to each of us as individuals, because it can mean different things at different point in our life, but it is sacrament because it reminds Christians of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When I was in seminary we celebrated communion every Thursday in chapel. While we were a Methodist school we had many different traditions represented at the table, so we offered both wine and juice. Every Thursday I examined my soul and asked myself how I was feeling in relationship to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in that moment. Was I tasting the sweet victory of Christ over the grave and anticipating the heavenly banquet yet to come - I would dip my bread in the juice. Was I grieving over unconfessed sins - I would dip my bread in the bitter wine. What I found so powerful in this time of reflection each Thursday was the reminder that traditions were lived out in different ways by different people, and that I could even have a different relationship to the sacrament from one week to the next, but Christ was unchanging. I may change, but tradition remained the same. 

Today we are going to join with Christians around the world in celebrating World Communion Sunday. Some will use juice others wine. Some with kneel at the alter, some with dance up to the shared table, and others will be served in pews. Some will be fed by the priest, others will feed each other. Some believe that the elements represent the actual body and blood of Christ. Others that it is a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice. The particulars in and of themselves don’t matter, its what they point us to. Point us to the tradition of gathering around the table to be fed by Christ in order to serve the world. The tradition of remembering what Christ has done for us.

Brothers and sisters, that is what tradition really exists for. Because we, like the audience of the book of Hebrews, have forgotten about why Christ matters to our faith. Have forgotten the story of our faith. And once we forgot, living out our faith was no longer possible. John Wesley believed that tradition could be used in decision making when it agrees with the Biblical text in pointing us to the cross and leading us to praise God. Tradition does not mean that we continue to do something because we have always done it that way. Rather tradition gives us the freedom to experience Christ’s story afresh each and every day as we seek to grow in our relationship with God. May the traditions of this Church, point people to the saving story of Jesus Christ and may we be reminded anew this day of God’s grace that is extended towards us in love, especially as we celebrate together the tradition of the sacrament of Holy Communion. Amen. 

Wesleyan Wisdom: Reason - Esther 7 and 9

You listen to your gut. You listen to your brain. You listen to your heart. You listen to other people. Just what are you supposed to rely on when making decisions? Today we continue our discussion on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, or John Wesley’s understanding of religious authority. Because what we believe influences how we make decisions and act, this four week sermon series is focusing on this theological tool in light of our personal decision making. While scripture is the primary authority to make decisions with, Wesley understood that scripture had to be lived out and understood in light of our own lives in order for it to make sense and be of the most use. Therefore, he also looked to tradition, reason, and experience as tools to be used in conjunction with scripture to make decisions.

The story of Esther is not among the most well known from the Hebrew Scriptures by Christians. Before we look at today’s scripture passage, which focuses on the end of her tale, lets look back on what has been happening in her story so far. Esther was an orphan who was raised by her cousin, Mordecai. She was also a Jew in a time when the Jewish people were in exile. At one point in her life she is selected because of her beauty to be in the harem of the King. She eventually becomes the King’s favorite and he makes her Queen. However, that does not give her as many rights as one would think. She still could not approach the King directly unless he summoned her. When she heard that her people were going to be killed under the orders of Haman, the King’s right hand man, because Mordecai had refused to bow to him, she plotted to catch the King’s eye in order to discuss the matter with him, at the prompting of Mordecai. However, Esther was both savvy and courageous. She did not talk to the King about the matter right away. Instead she planned and asked him and Haman to dinner, and then asked him to dinner again before presenting her plea. She is crafty, appealing to the King with her charm first instead of blatantly attacking him.

For most people the word crafty isn’t one with good connotations, but at the time of the Hebrew Scriptures it was inextricably link with reason and using wisdom to survive. Esther knew that the King could not put a face on the human tragedy about to take place for the Jews, so she did a courageous thing and included herself with the group, so the King would selfishly protect her. Then she went on to say that such an act would be damaging to him and his reputation, once again appealing to his self-centeredness. Esther used her common sense to know who she was dealing with and address him accordingly. Some would classify Esther’s actions as manipulative, but she was not acting on her own behalf, but preventing the genocide of an entire group of people. Crafty is not quite as clear cut as we make it. Her ability to live out the use of her reasoning skills brought hope back into the narrative. How are you using your reasoning skills to bring hope back into people’s lives? For far too long we have been living in a world that tells us that faith and reason are exclusive from one another - you cannot be a reasonable person if you have faith and if you rely on faith then you cannot look to reason, but I don’t think thats the case at all. Every time someone plans a mission project for the community, they start with both faith and reason - looking at the details and acting on faith that they are moving forward in the direction God has given them. Things may not turn out the way they anticipated but they put their best foot forward anyway. 

When I was in college I took two mission trips to Russia. The purpose of both of these times was to be involved in relational missions - to come along side Christians in Vladimir and encourage them and seize opportunities to speak publicly about our faith in Jesus Christ. But in order to do that we had to spend months preparing. We learned key Russian phrases and words so we could express ourselves, to the best of our ability. We learned Russian history and about the culture, as an expression of our interest in the people we were ministering with. We spent more time preparing then we would actually be in the country. But we did this because we reasonably knew that it was our best chance at connecting with our brothers and sisters. And you know what, all of that time we spent learning because we thought it was the best way to put our foot forward paid off. Maybe not in the same way that Esther’s reasoning and preparation paid off, but we formed lasting relationships and were showered with opportunities to share about the gospel. All because we combined faith and reason. 

Part of reason is having good timing. One of my favorite lines from the story of Esther is not in today’s scripture lesson. It speaks of Esther being chosen for “such a time as this” according to Mordecai. Esther was in the right place at the right time to save her people. She had shrewd wisdom that enabled her to reach out to the King in the right way, the way that would guarantee results. Jewish tradition celebrates the story of Esther each year at the Purim, a time to remember how her actions saved the Jewish people from destruction. While the day commemorates the actions of Esther it also is a celebration of the divine action that allowed her to be in a position of power for such a time as this. 

Esther is a prime example of using God given reason for the purposes of God. Using wisdom to make decisions that are beneficial not only for ourselves, but also for others. Have you ever been in the right place at the right time? What made it such an experience? Is it because you were able to use one of your gifts to help other people? A God given gift for a God given purpose? I was blessed this week to be part of two conversations where I was simply at the right place at the right time. Conversations where I was able to share my love for people and God in a way that connected deeply with people and spoke to their need, needs that I was not even aware of at the time, but guided the conversation because I was aware and was able to ask God to guide what followed with reason and wisdom. What are the opportunities you have had this week where your ability to reason helped communicate God’s love? 

However, we have to note that reason can only take us so far. The peace that Esther brought for the Jews while they were in captivity did not last. Their captors, the Persians, came to fear the Jews and not the God of the Jewish people. Reason can only take us so far if it is not built upon the foundation of scripture or lived out in a way that brings scripture to life for ourselves and others. 

So what can we learn this day from Esther? First, we need to thank God for the reasoning skills that we have been given as a gift. Reason is something different then simply being smart. We have talked in Bible study a couple of different times about the difference between memorizing facts and figures and making decisions based on reason and common sense. Some people can be very smart, but not very good at reasoning, or vice versa. Secondly, if we feel that we are not using our reasoning skills in a way that honors them as a gift from God, we need to pray to God for wisdom and the ability to live out our reasoning skills in a Godly way, especially during times that call for endurance or are in the face of trial. Thirdly, Esther leads us to ask, why we are here in this place at this time. What are we called to do in such a time as this? How can we use our reason to touch people in this day and age? How can wisdom and missional opportunities go hand in hand? 

Brothers and sisters, God gave us the ability to think for ourselves and make decisions. And each decision we make impacts ourselves and others. Are we using our reason to guide us or are we simply acting first and then thinking later. Esther thought about her strategy and words before entering into the situation before her. Do we do the same? I pray that we pray for  our ability to use our reason so that others may see and experience the glory of God! The world has enough people who do not think before speaking and acting. What we need is a few more good people who are intentional and wise in how they interact with others. May we be those people! Amen.