Face to Face Rev. David Duquette February 3, 2013

Transcription

1 F Lov pays th pric Fac to Fac Fruary, 201 This wk s Intrnt snsation that st th social mdia alaz showd us Pastor s in a ad light: Earlir this wk, an Appl s waitrss postd a photo on Rddit of a rcipt from a pastor who, instad of laving th suggstd 18 prcnt tip, wrot I giv God 10%, why should you gt 18 Now, aftr th ill wnt viral, Appl's has fird th waitrss, according to Consumrist I thought th not was insulting, ut it was also comical," th waitrss, whos nam is Chlsa, told Consumrist "I postd it to Rddit caus I thought othr usrs would find it ntrtaining" Apparntly onc th rcipt hit th Intrnt, th pastor forgot th Goldn Rul of lov thy nighor and calld th Appl s whr Chlsa works to dmand that sh and all managmnt involvd fird 1 Sh was indd fird, and as of Friday, th Facook pag urging that sh r-hird had ovr 10,000 liks in 24 hours, and Appl s and th Rv Alois Bll had issud statmnts dfnding and apologizing (in th pastor s cas) for thir actions 1 Corinthians 1:4 8 (NIV84) 4 Lov is patint, lov is kind It dos not nvy, it dos not oast, it is not proud 5 It is not rud, it is not slf-sking, it is not asily angrd, it kps no rcord of wrongs 6 Lov dos not dlight in vil ut rjoics with th truth 7 It always protcts, always trusts, always hops, always prsvrs 8 Lov nvr fails Lov lavs a tip, not an insulting not And whil it is asy to focus on this pastor and what sh did, hr havior challngs this pastor to xamin himslf What ar th ways that I fail to show God s lov? How do I trat th popl who srv m? What dos this story invit m to do diffrntly so I might offr th last of ths a chanc to xprinc God s lov fac to fac? Rv Bll did not lov Chlsa, and hr story is not uniqu W ar witnssing th powr of two lov storis and how w go wrong Comparing and contrasting ths storis challngs us as to who w lov and how w lov Ar w giving our nighor, ar w giving on anothr a chanc to xprinc 1 January 1, utm_hp_rf=mostpopular 1 Corinthians 1:1-1; Psalm 71:1-6; Luk 4:21-0 2

2 God s lov F fac to fac? Y Ls Misrals starring Ray Lwis Y Fac to Fac Fruary, 201 Tonight is th Supr Bowl, and w Eagls and Stlrs fans, (vn th Cowoys and Giants fans in our midst) w can all unit tonight and say, Myh What did that pastor writ on th rcipt again? No, tonight marks th final gam in th Hall of Fam carr of th Ravns linackr and ladr, Ray Lwis His play on th fild has arnd him a plac with Dick Butkus and Lawrnc Taylor in th convrsation, Who is th gratst linackr of all tim? This wk should a coronation for Ray, and thr has n som of that, ut th spotlight has n mrcilss Did Ray us dr antlr spray (which contains a annd sustanc) to spd his rcovry from injury this yar? Ray s charactr and Christian witnss hav n harshly criticizd, ut th gratr lack of mrcy was rflctd in th immdiat rspons to th arly accolads Ray was rciving that rmindd us of a trril vnt arly in his carr In January 2000, Ray and his group wr laving a nightclu in Atlanta whn a fight rok out Two mn wr stad to dath Ray was initially chargd with murdr By th tim th dust sttld, h was convictd of a misdmanor charg of ostruction of justic, rcivd th largst fin in th history of th NFL at that tim ($250,000), and rachd an out-of-court sttlmnt with th victims familis Sinc that tragdy, Ray has com a grat ladr and mntor who has strd many trould athlts down a ttr path and is an outspokn Christian H is lovd y som and hatd y othrs Thr is a wsit that offrs a Hatrs Guid to Ray Lwis Ray s story offrs som intrsting comparisons with th story of Jan Valjan, th protagonist of th classic novl that inspird th classic musical which has com a classic movi Ls Misrals As a young man, Valjan stals a loaf of rad to fd his hungry daughtr H is sntncd to 5 yars hard laor and his attmpts to scap add to his trm such that Prisonr srvs 19 1 Corinthians 1:1-1; Psalm 71:1-6; Luk 4:21-0

3 Fac to Fac Fruary, 201 yars At Fhis parol, Inspctor Javrt tlls him that h will always Prisonr and givs him paprs that dclar him to a dangrous man Ths paprs prvnt Valjan from uilding a nw lif No on will hir him No on will hous him Starving and cold, h finds his way to a church whr th Bishop wlcoms him, givs him a mal, and a warm plac for th night But Valjan has sn th silvr, and during th night, h stals as much silvr as h can carry H is quickly apprhndd, and whn th polic tak him to th Bishop, th Bishop says that thr has n a misundrstanding You forgot to tak th silvr candlsticks and lft th st hind Aftr th polic lav, th Bishop tlls Valjan, Rmmr this my rothr, s in this a highr plan, you must us this prcious silvr to com an honst man Valjan dos, ut to Inspctor Javrt, h is always Prisonr 24601, a dangrous man who rok parol Javrt hounds Valjan to th nd of oth of thir livs, caus for him, th law must oyd Thr can no mrcy Whn my pilgrim group watchd th movi last wk, th qustion w wr givn (and I giv to you) was, What charactr do you rlat to, and why? Rading th ractions to th pastor who stiffd th waitrss and to th ris and fall and ris of Ray Lwis rought Inspctor Javrt to mind and thos citizns who turnd Jan Valjan away; thos who in th nam of law and ordr and what is right kpt a rcord of wrongs, faild to protct, faild to trust, faild to hop, faild to prsvr Thy faild to lov And whn I rad aout thm and ruk thm for thir lack of lov, whn I s th contrast twn what thy did and what a Christian is calld to do, I am looking into a mirror and sing myslf fac to fac Y Fac to Fac Th grat Jsuit thologian Tilard d Chardin wrot, Somday, aftr mastring th winds, th wavs, th tids and gravity, w shall harnss for God th nrgis of lov, and thn, for a scond tim in th history of th world, man will hav discovrd fir Corinthians 1:1-1; Psalm 71:1-6; Luk 4:21-0 4

4 Fac to Fac Fruary, 201 Lov alon F is capal of uniting living ings in such a way as to complt and fulfill thm, for it alon taks thm and joins thm y what is dpst in thmslvs W confin 1 Corinthians 1 to th wdding day Th rid walks down th aisl Th groom taks hr hand Do you? I do And thn w r don; thn w put ths words away until th nxt tim a marriag covnant is to mad But 1 Corinthians 1:4 5 (NRSV) Lov is patint; lov is kind; lov is not nvious or oastful or arrogant or rud ar not words for th day; lov is a way of lif Lov is th way of Jsus Christ Prhaps th purpos of our arthly livs, th calling to a church, is simply to larn to lov Ray Lwis grw up in th church H was a junior dacon and could quot Scriptur at ag 4 and in th aftrmath of thir victory ovr th Broncos, h immdiatly quotd th Bil His pastor Dr Jamal Bryant of th Empowrmnt Tmpl AME Church in Baltimor, Md 4 spok of Ray s involvmnt in th lif of th church Whil Lwis has n a mmr of Empowrmnt Tmpl and a frind of Bryant's for aout svn yars, th linackr has partnrd with th church in community outrach fforts, and has n vry activ in charital work throughout his carr Ray has lovd and n lovd y his church Throughout Ls Mis, whnvr Valjan s lif falls apart, h rturns to th church for rfug and rspit In th nd, h dis thr aftr dclaring, To lov anothr prson is to s th fac of God And whn h dis, it is Fantin, whom h trid to sav and whos daughtr Costt h raisd and that Bishop whos lov savd him who grt him; Fantin and th Bishop ar th fac of God That s what w want That s what vryon wants; to s th fac of God I suspct this is part of th rason why thr has n such a powrful raction to th Pastor s commnts on th rcipt W com to church looking for mor, and whn instad w s lss, lss patinc, lss kindnss, mor nvy and oasting and arroganc and rudnss, w fl trayd W know thr s mor than this W know th church is ttr than this And whn w s Ls Mis, and w s th Bishop lov and th church sav and a man s lif chang; and, w s th chang a Jan Valjan and a Ray Lwis can accomplish caus of th lov of God thy found in th church, w s what w want W s what w can W s what w, th Iid 4 #Dw7oCQmS4BmDXjiB Corinthians 1:1-1; Psalm 71:1-6; Luk 4:21-0

5 Fac to Fac Fruary, 201 Church, FPnnsid Prsytrian Church, w s what w wr cratd to To lov anothr prson is to s th fac of God Lov on anothr Lov th othr Lov th last of ths Now, w s in a mirror dimly, ut whn w lov, w s God, and God is sn in us, fac to fac Amn 5 1 Corinthians 1:1-1; Psalm 71:1-6; Luk 4:21-0