This morning I went to the YMCA and as I was getting ready to run I noticed a slight odor. It was from me, as I still smelled like chili from last night. It was good chili, though. When I started with the Parish it took me a little while to appreciate the annual fundraising events of small churches. I was used to big church ways of doing things. But fairly soon I saw that they are important to the survival of small churches, sometimes providing as much as 20% of the church’s income. It is also a reminder that yesterday’s event, like the church, could not take place without the participation of many people. Thanks go to those who planned it, called for volunteers, provided publicity, set up, cooked, served, sold tickets, provided items for sale upstairs, and cleaned up. Behind each of these events is much work, generously given.
But these events are also important for gathering. I think they go back to the days when there were no TVs or microwave ovens at home and so people got together both for the food and the company. Bonds were made and strengthened this way. I enjoy working in the kitchen. The key is a dark shirt. (The first year I did not know this and had to get a few red spots out of a white shirt.) I get to spend time with those working there and there are usually more than a few laughs to go around. Often the event is, in itself, a tradition. They remind us of days long ago. Sometimes this can be a bit of a distraction when we compare one year to the others or worry about whether it was exactly the same year to year. When we do that we forget why we are doing it. The better question is: Was it fun?

I use the Revised Common Lectionary when preaching. For each Sunday there are four previously assigned Bible passages to work with in a repeating three-year cycle. So the first part of preparation is understanding what the Bible is saying. Often this involves some study to find what those passages said to their first recipients long ago. The second part is finding what the passage has to say to this group of folks I am preaching to in their place and time and with their specific needs. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is from the branch of Protestant Reformation (which will be recognized in many churches this Sunday) called the Reformed Tradition. The Reformed Tradition takes the Bible seriously as God’s Word to us written down and as preached so that we hear God speaking to us again.
For yesterday (the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B), the passage from Hebrews grabbed me. Hebrews is a book that is hard to preach. It has much convoluted logic and argumentation and draws on numerous Old Testament references. It is not a book that we understand on a quick first reading. But the phrase that Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered” caught my attention. It led to my thinking about how and what we learn. To recap the sermon’s main points:
Life is better with learning than without.
Learning requires effort (the “suffering”) on our part.
The life the gospel calls us to is not an easy life.
Learning involves doing to make it real.
In the experience of life we can learn who we are.
The concern behind the sermon is that, as I look at the country’s religious landscape, education as a purpose of the church is being replaced by superficial fads and distractions and entertainment. The real goal is to respond to the gospel with our lives, and that involves growing spiritually. Robert Schnase pointed out that fruitful congregations make faith formation intentional. This means that we put forth that effort behind spiritual growth.

Have a good week, Tim