May 18, 2008

Growing in God’s Way

The Rev. A. Thomas Carlson

Scriptures: Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18

Romans 5:1-11

Mark 12:28-34a

Around 30+ years ago, I was invited by two elderly parishioners to attend a camp meeting at Conconully, Washington. The church I was serving at the time, Okanogan, had a group within it who belonged to the Holiness Association of Okanogan County. Some years later, I actually got to preach in that old tabernacle with the sawdust floor!

What happened that evening 30 years ago is what stays with me. I was sitting in an old pew near the back and my two parishioners walked in and admonished me to move forward. (I was sitting in the “sinner’s pew,” they said.) Being the stubborn Scandinavian I am, of course I didn’t move an inch!

That incident has stayed with me because it challenged my thinking on a big part of our heritage as Methodist Christians, holiness. What is it all about and why should it matter to us post-moderns? We are inclined to think that holiness is not only a part of our great heritage, but it really is history! Yet, deep in my heart I know differently.

In an attempt to be faithful to scripture and tradition as well as experience, I reasoned that there must be a better way to get the message of holiness out to those I serve. Then, I was reminded that all of us get the message if the message is put in language geared to children. Simple, plain talk works. From the pages of Christian Education material, I picked up the phrase, “growing in God’s Way.” And it’s here. I didn’t have to use threatening words like “holiness” or obscure words like “sanctification” to get across a concept and truth we all can benefit from.

When I reflect on the life of John Wesley, the spiritual father of Methodism, I see two distinct periods in his religious journey. Prior to Aldersgate, John Wesley experienced great intellectual growth which served him well throughout his ministry. Following his heart-warming experience, his focus shifted to matters of the heart and a passion to share God’s love and grace with all who would listen. Those pre-Aldersgate years also ranged from personal frustration to life-threatening disaster. His post-Aldersgate years were filled with overwhelming challenges met head on because Wesley knew God’s Holy Spirit would sustain him. His dying words were “Best of all, God is with us.”

For us post-modern Methodists, living in the Pacific Northwest, a region of our country labeled “The None Zone,” experiencing a Wesleyan approach to life could make a huge difference. While most of us were baptized as infants and small children, we also needed an “awakening” to keep us in God’s Way. That “awakening” can be described for many in the second reading for today (Romans 5). Verse 8 tells us that God’s love can win out over our sins (my personal stubbornness). When recognized and received, we find ourselves living in God’s Way! Overwhelmed by the grace of God, a new course is set. And, it is never too early or too late to consciously follow Christ, and when we do, we see the difference between the before and the after. That is the way of Wesley.

It is not that we have arrived at a state of perfection or that we are 100% in harmony with the will of God, 24-7. It is the direction our lives are heading that really matters. As humans, we continue to sin, but we also are open about it with God, as Jesus taught in the Lord’s Prayer (forgive us our sins or trespasses as we forgive those who have sinned against us). As this process works in our lives, we experience God’s grace. We are freed up to continue our journey to grow in God’s Way.

Our reading from Leviticus puts this issue of being holy front and center. In fact, those early Methodists caught up in the “holiness movement” quoted in Leviticus 19:1-2 religiously. I’m not so sure they quoted Verses 9-18 with the same vigor. Those later verses tie holiness to a high ethical standard—genuine social concern. They tell us the poor and needy matter because they matter to God. They call us to impartiality and fairness in dealing with friend and foe alike, not to start false rumors, etc. The list goes on. All of this is based on the recognition that we are in a relationship with God, who embodies ultimate fairness and the highest level of concern. At the same time, we know that this holiness, this growing in God’s Way, happens with the help of Jesus Christ. We need Jesus to really make it work. In our heritage as Methodists, both personal and social holiness are stressed. Growing in God’s Way has an ethical dimension we cannot ignore.

What, then, is at the heart of God’s Way? Both passages make reference to love. Simply stated, Leviticus 19:18b reads “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Paul reminds us in Romans 5:5 that “the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” And, in Verse 8 we are reminded that Christ died out of love for us. In his own teaching and preaching, John Wesley would ultimately state that love is at the core of his movement. His personal seal was inscribed with the words, “God Is Love.” Is it any wonder that the early Methodists were known for loving God, had love feasts, and passed the loving cup!

The ultimate expression, then, for our growing in God’s Way is to give of ourselves so that others may live. It might be, but doesn’t have to be, high risk or high profile. There are many little ways we can love and care for others, which leads to healing and wholeness in another’s life.

Over the years, I have sat in many pews all around this globe: Crystal Cathedral, Notre Dame, and Wesley’s Chapel to name a few. Their location in the sanctuary really didn’t matter. But I cannot forget the “sinner’s pew “at camp meeting. For it challenged me to look at what it means to “be holy, for the Lord God is holy.” I realize now that the only way I’ll even come close, is with the help of Christ. What really matters, then, is that I continue my faith journey; that I deeply desire to grow in God’s Way.

That is why, over the past 14 years, you have been challenged by my preaching “to grow in God’s Way.” Amen.