Haydenville Congregational Church The Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian Philippians 4:4-9 November 24, 2013

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1 Haydenville Congregational Church The Rev. Dr. Andrea Ayvazian Philippians 4:4-9 November 24, 2013 Risk and Sacrifice May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen. The message appeared on my at home I have no idea how I got on that listserve, but there it was. The subject line read: Will you fast for climate justice? Before I opened the message, I paused for a moment and thought about fasting. The Bible gives us three practices that are at the root of Christian life: fasting, alms-giving, and praying the big three from the early church. When I saw the message I thought: this is consistent with the practices I am supposed to follow (I give alms and I pray but I never fast), I should pay attention to this. I opened the and found a message from Tyler Edgar, of Creation Justice Ministries. This is his message, in part: A few of our faith partners are in Warsaw, Poland for the UN Climate Conference and our friends from the United Methodist Church have shared these thoughts with us: We are here as part of an interfaith witness to ensure the global community hears the cries of creation and responds to the urgent realities of a changing climate. The tone of conversations at this gathering was set on day one when Commissioner Yeb Sano of the Philippines made an impassioned plea on behalf of his people our Filipino brothers and sisters devastated by the recent typhoon. Mr. Sano announced that he was beginning a voluntary fast until such time as the global community made significant progress in responding to the global climate crisis. We have begun a fasting chain and are inviting you to join us as additional links. The point for us is one of sacrifice and solidarity. 1

2 Mindful that two delegations the United States and the European Union remain impediments to progress on many critical issues we felt it important to join in this global witness. In solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Warsaw, the Philippines, and around the world, Creation Justice Ministries will be fasting and we ask that you join us. The message ends with these words To fast in solidarity with our neighbors is to begin to feel their pain and suffering. Please join us as we pray for the people of the Philippines and for Creation. Today is the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Pastors usually preach a message about being thankful. I start with a story about fasting in solidarity with people who are suffering, and in support of God s Creation. What is going on here? Actually, I am feeling extremely thankful. And this IS a sermon about giving thanks. When I read the message about the fast that has begun, I felt deeply thankful thankful that leaders in the wider Christian community had the wisdom and the courage to decide to fast and to invite others to join them; thankful that in our tradition some people care so deeply for God s creation and all of God s people that they are willing to make sacrifices for what they believe in; thankful that Christians around the globe continue to feel called to do what is right even when doing what is right does not mean doing what is easy. On this Thanksgiving Sunday, I am feeling grateful to be a person of faith, to be a Christian. I know that many, many awful things have been done in the name of Christianity. I know. But I also know that our tradition is full of stories of people who because of their faith have taken risks, gone out on a limb, made sacrifices for what they believed in, and been stronger, more dedicated, more generous, more positive and more powerful people due to their beliefs and their actions. I don t know if I can fast this week. I am not good at fasting. I certainly cannot fast on Thursday I am going out with my family to a Thanksgiving buffet. But will I, can I, fast the day before and the day after Thanksgiving? Will I join the prayer chain, the witness started in Warsaw and now circulating around the globe? I might. I am thinking about joining on. Would I even have considered engaging in this kind of witness before reading the message about Mr. Sano and the fast he began? No. 2

3 But Mr. Sano s provocative witness as inspired me to do something I had not previously considered. Something important, something good. And I am grateful. On this Thanksgiving Sunday, I am aware that I am part of a religious tradition in which making bold decisions, taking risks, stepping out on faith, and sacrificing for the greater good is commonplace. For that I lift prayers of thanksgiving. Think of our foremothers and forefathers in the Christian tradition Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah, Jesus and the disciples, Mary Magdalene, St. Stephen, Zacchaeus, Silas, Onesimus. Think of Paul and his friends and followers, Priscilla, Phoebe, Silvanus, Timothy, Aquila, Claudia and Philemon. Our tradition is full of people who took huge risks and acted on their deepest believes to be faithful to their calling. Our tradition is full of people who made huge sacrifices to claim and live out their Christian faith. They were followers of The Way.and The Way was a difficult road, a difficult path to follow. Today I am grateful for our Christian tradition the stories of people who have shaped and inspired me. I am grateful for my faith for my faith has made me stretch and be brave and do things that were hard because I believed they were right. Other than my family, no other influence has shaped my life more profoundly than my faith. Today s reading from the Book of Philippians is from a letter our dear Paul wrote from prison. Although many people, especially women, have some trouble with intense and preachy Paul and his teachings, we cannot deny that once converted on the Road to Damascus, Paul was brave, took risks and made sacrifices. This little man, and history says he was a tiny guy, with his wild eyes and strong Semitic features, was intoxicated with faith. He was on fire. For Paul, no city was too far to reach, no crowd was too small or too large to evangelize, no hardship was too great to bear, no prison was too lonely to endure, and no suffering too much to tolerate. And he faced them all. Challenge after challenge, sacrifice after sacrifice. Paul wrote today s letter from prison.which in those days meant he was literally chained to a prison guard--literally attached to a guard. So his fate was in the hands of someone who could be kind or brutal to him. And from prison, chained to a guard, probably half starving, Paul wrote these words 3

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. Paul is in prison, chained to a prison guard and yet he writes about rejoicing, about letting your gentleness be known, about not worrying about anything, about God s peace. Why is he saying all this? Because Paul is writing to an early Christian community in Philippi that is living counter-culturally they are a constantly being harassed because of their faith, they are a persecuted, suffering minority. They are under siege as the early Christians often were. Their joy was born out of God, not societal affirmation or reward. To this persecuted minority, Paul writes: whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What we know is that Paul did not just think about these things, he acted on these things. He made himself ACT on things that were honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable and excellent. Paul s life was a model of acting on the very things he tells the early church in Philippi to ponder. When I read this passage from Philippians and Paul, in prison, writes, Do not worry about anything I think of another Christian leader who was persecuted, jailed, harassed and yet remained hopeful and filled with the Spirit. Martin Luther King, a man of faith like Paul, faced enormous stress, hardship, criticism, suffering, fear and exhaustion. And yet, the night before he died he said, I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. 4

5 On this Thanksgiving Sunday, I am grateful for a faith that strong, leaders that brave, and words that inspiring that have enlarged my life and given me strength. On this Thanksgiving Sunday I am grateful for the countless Christians who have taken risks and made sacrifices and thereby deepened our faith and made visible a commitment to God s promised Shalom. On this Thanksgiving Sunday, I am grateful for the countless Christians from ancient to modern times who have said YES to the call to be a Jesus follower and have made their faith visible because of their ACTIONS. I am grateful for their witness and their courage people like the Grimke Sisters, George Fox, Sojourner Truth, Lydia Marie Child, John Woolman, Lucretia Mott, Martin Luther King, Jr., Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Day, Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu Lump all these folks in with the list I mentioned earlier with Jesus, his family and the disciples, Paul and the early Christians and ask yourself.were these people just born visionary and brave? I don t think so. I think the ability to take risks, make sacrifices, show courage and stand up for what is right not what is popular are all characteristics that are nurtured by many things in many ways. But the disciples and early Christians, the Grimke Sisters, Sojourner Truth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the others all have one thing in common: a profound, abiding, motivating and enduring FAITH. I think their faith gave them courage, propelled them to take risks, and fortified them to endure countless challenges with equanimity and peace. I think their faith gave them an inner well of stamina, resilience and resolve to confront enormous odds and go on. And go on rejoicing. This Thanksgiving Sunday I am grateful for the foremothers and forefathers in our faith ancient brothers and sisters as well as contemporary comrades in the struggle who have walked a tough road and left their footprints on the path. They look to us to follow in their footsteps, lift high their banners, and carry on. They inspire and empower us to live the Gospel with courage and conviction. It has been said that religion is meant to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I am one of the comfortable who needs to be afflicted. 5

6 I need to be shaken awaken, reminded to take risks and live my faith deeply, completely. I need to feel inspired to join with those who suffer, prodded to be generous and give from my abundance, nudged to follow Jesus more closely, and empowered to speak truth to power without fear. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful that there are people who will respond to the call to fast that is now encircling the globe, people in this country who will probably fast even on Thanksgiving as a spiritual practice, a Christian discipline. I am grateful for their sacrifice and witness. This Thanksgiving, I am saying thank you for the radical work of Jesus of Nazareth, and all those he has inspired for millennia. All those good Christians moved by Jesus to step out on faith, hold fast to the common good, speak out for justice and peace, care for God s creation, and love their neighbor as themselves. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for the inspiration that has echoed through generations of Christian visionaries and risk-takers who have made our faith deeper, our love bolder, our dreams nobler, our witness stronger, and our hearts braver. Thanks be to God. Amen. 6