Sunday, September 20, 2020

ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER

ONE GENERATION TO ANOTHER

A Sermon by The Rev. Dr. John A. Dalles

Shadyside Presbyterian Church

September 20, 2020

Psalm 145:1-8; Matthew 20:1-16

 

Those who give titles to passages of scripture call this the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard.  I find that it would be equally correct to call it the Parable of the Generous Landowner. The landowner goes looking for people. When he finds them he gives them something worthwhile to do. It doesn’t matter if they are found early or late in the day, or sometime in-between. In every case, he shares with them a day’s fair wage 

 

Jesus wants people to think of God in this way. God goes looking for people.  We find it so throughout the Bible. When Adam and Eve hid, God went looking for them.  In the dusty streets of Galilee, God went looking.  In the person of Christ, and when he found them, he gave them something important to do.

 

Christ’s followers are “called” people. Called out of idleness and indirection. Called into an eternal purpose. Whenever Jesus finds people…he puts people to work. Anyone who has ever been out of a job will tell you about the person who called them and put them to work.  They will speak of them highly, no matter what else may have transpired thereafter.  Because they were called to do something, to make something, to share something of their albites and energies.  And to get paid for doing it. Farewell to that gnawing question, what will I do with my day, my life. And hello to good work, and good recompense.

 

       The landowner sent them into his vineyard. If you have been to a vineyard, you know it is a beautiful place.  With the grape plants staked up row upon row, ambling over the gently rolling hills.  There will be work to do there. And while there are demands, they are not impossible.  And the surroundings are so much better than many other places where one might end up working.  No doubt in the long day of attending to the vineyard, the workers would have a chance to look up, and see the beauty around them.  To breathe in the air, and catch the scent of the ripening fruit.  To enjoy the camaraderie of those alongside whom they work.  To look out, at the end of the day, on a very romantic, traditional scene, and be able to see all they had accomplished. Yes, toil and the heat of the day are realities.  One’s muscles ache at the end of the day.  But then, a hand extends and in that hand is a thank you for the work that has been done.  A tangible thank you, the day’s wage.

 

       Christians might not usually think of their life in Jesus Christ in these terms.  And the reality is, some parables strike home for some people while they glance off others, and we all have our set of favorites.  So we may have missed this one, or its meaning.  We may have limited ourselves to a “that was then and this is now” way of looking at.  We may say, I cannot identify because I have never been in a vineyard let alone worked in one.  But all of those are subtext.  The main message is, the landowner cares enough to seek and find you, to put your to work doing good things, and to reward you generously when you are done.

 

 

They went at different hours. They all worked as they were called to work. The reality is, their duty and ours duty in the vineyard is to go to work as soon as the Lord calls us, and to do what the Lord tells us.

 

Jesus' parable highlights the generosity of God. As the ultimate "landowner," God will use what has always belonged to the Creator for the good of all.  Even if humans fail to view the world through God's eyes. How do you measure generosity? By definition, generosity is not measurable, accountable, or calculable. However we choose to read the parable, the word we hear in this passage is that in the kingdom of heaven, the landowner is generous.

 

       And there is another way to look at those workers who arrive early in the day, and the workers who arrive later.

It has happened to you.  You have worked a long time on a particular project, goal.  And as the time goes on, the initial energy you had may have waned.  And then, someone shows us, just at the right moment, who is there to help.  For you, personally, it is a joy.

 

I suspect that that is how it is, generation after generation, among Christians.  We arrive on the scene later in the “day” of Christian witness.  Others have come before us.  We can look out over the fields and see their accomplishments.  And rather than just look and appreciate, we are asked pick up the task, so that one generation to annoyer, we may engage in the call of Christ. 

       I know you are grateful for those who came before you.  Some are members of your family.  Some were your teachers.  Some may have been the ministers of your church.  And the line of faithful workers stretches back all the way to the people who first heard Jesus tell this parable.  And it stretches forward, as you engage in the work.  And do your share.

 

Working in the landowners field seems to be an important part of the kingdom. Nowhere in the parable does Jesus say to the people who were lounging around in the Market Place, that’s great, just stand there on the street corner and look cool.  Take your ease, enjoy your day.  Don’t put forth any effort.  Chinaxin is the way to go. I looked.  There wasn’t any such an attitude expressed, whether to the people who were called early, or late, or somewhere in-between.  They were not called to sit in a hammock sipping on an Arnold Palmer.  They were called to go into the vineyard and work. What does that say about Christians down through the ages? It says God has a work for them to do.  

here is how the hymn says it.

 

Some work today is mine,
A work for God to do,
God be in the design,
God make it good and true!

Some word today is mine,
A word of God’s to share,
God, make my message fine,
Filled with Your grace and care!

Some prayer today is mine,
A prayer for those in need,
I know God will incline
And offer help, indeed!

Some song today is mine,
A song that I may sing,
To cast the clouds away,
God’s hope and peace to bring!

A word and work, maybe;
Perhaps a song, a prayer;
Some gift that God gave me;
A gift I am to share!

 

(Hymn by John Dalles)

Out in Indiana Township, where we live, we have occasion to drive from Dorseyville to Route 8 along 910.  Affectionally known as the Yellow Belt.  As we do, we have the joy of driving past one of the prettiest settings in all of the area.  And you guessed it, it is a vineyard. 

 

As we enjoy how beautiful it is, do you know, I never once thought to myself, a lot of work went into making it beautiful.  Not until I read this parable anew.  And then it struck me that every hand that goes into the work makes possible what you see today. And so it is with the church of Jesus Christ our lord.  When you answer the landowners call to come and share in the work. Amen.

 

 

 

The Lord Forgives, Redeems, Satisfies

The Lord Forgives, Redeems, Satisfies

A Sermon by The Rev. Dr. John A. Dalles

Shadyside Presbyterian Church

Sunday September 13, 2020

Psalm 114; Matthew 18:21-35

 

Any number of years ago, I officiated at a wedding, and the reception happened thereafter.  As was often the case, Judy and I were invited to attend the reception.  We are always glad to do that, to share in the joy of the newly married couple, and to celebrate with them.  It just so happened that the reception venue was one of the area clubs.  Of which Pittsburgh has any number; and they are all lovely.  This one has a quaintly spelled name.  Longue Vue.  If I had spelled the word Long L-O-N-G-U-E in school, or the word View V-U-E, I would have been marked wrong. The main thing about that was the long view. There at our table, we could see rolling hills, and the Allegheny River and off in the distance the Allegheny mountains themselves.  It was a clear day.  We could see nearly forever. The setting lived up to its name.

 

This lectionary passage is not going to make anyone’s top ten favorite parables list. The topic is a bit obscure and archaic for us. We are no accustomed to kings.  We are long past slaves.  So is there anything that this story can tell a 21st century Christian. Like someone who reads the last chapter of a mystery in order to find out who done it, I take the long view.  I go to the last portion of the passage, to the summing up verse, and what do I find there?

35 So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

That is clear as day. Which means that the parable is a cautionary tale. It forewarns us about how we treat others.  And says there are consequences to our attitudes and our behavior.

I am suspecting that most of us know this already.  That is why, for instance, we do not hesitate to wear masks during this time of Covid-19.  We may not like wearing masks.  They may be uncomfortable, even if they were hand made for our face.  Our daughter Anne sewed some for us, and we wear them.  Judy also made one foe me out of a material that looks like a checkered flag at the end of a race.  It is my not so subtle way of saying that when we wear these masks we have a good possibly of getting to the finish line of what has become a long-distance endurance test for us and for the whole world.  Also, I don’t like wearing masks because they tickle my nose.  Maybe if I had been born wearing a mask, and had worn one all of my live long days, they wouldn’t make my nose itch.  But they do.  And what is it that we are not supposed to do right now?  Touch our face.  You know how it is when you have an itch and you cannot scratch it.  It is a kind of torment.  

But in spite of all of these, I wear a mask, and so do you.  Because you are caring and compassionate, and you want to treat others as you yourself wish to be treated.  I applaud you for that.  Keep it up.  If the parable of today had been written in our day, maybe the king would be the county health officer and the slave would be someone who lived in the county, and the fine leveed would be less harsh but still a reminder to do what you are supposed to do.  Maybe not.  But there are some parallels there that would not have occurred to me before March 18 of this year.  

You see, one of the clear messages of that last verse of the parable is that we are to be thoughtful, respectful, and forgiving of those around us.  Especially for those over whom we may have some kind of authority.  Especially those who are caught off guard by events.  Especially those who would – eventually – respond favorably to what God requires.  Even if they are prevented from doing so, just at this moment. Forgive.  Why?  Because the Lord forgives.  It is one of the chief messages of the Christian faith that sets our faith apart from all other of the religions of the world.  Forgive.

We know that Jesus came to pay the debt we could not.  So, we are freed from it. By his suffering.  By his death.  By his resurrection.  We are claimed by grace for righteousness.  And for everlasting joy. Our debt is forgiven.  So why in the world would we do anything but treat others with the same level of kindness, respect and yes, forgiveness.  In big things, like the one thousand talent department.  And in small things like the one hundred denarii debt.

You may have come across (I know I have) people who have to be right no matter what.  Oh dear.  Lord may their tribe decrease.  Kind of like the spouse who always corrects his or her spouses’ story, it is like when Maurice Chevalier and Herminie Gingold sing that song, “Ah yes, I remember it well”. And they have different memories of the same fond event of their youth:

We met at nine, we met at eight, I was on time, no, you were late

Ah, yes, I remember it well

We dined with friends, we dined alone, a tenor sang, a baritone

Ah, yes, I remember it well

///

(From “Gigi” by Lerner and Lowe)

 

         The Lord forgives.  Remember it well.  Don’t get nit-picky about whether it was this or whether it was that.  Let that go.  Remember that the king in the story, who forgave the first slave entirely.  It was not the prolonging of the loan, the issuing of a new IOU.  The slate was wiped clean.  

“Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”

 

If the Lord forgives – you forgive, too.

 

 

Then, the next thing that pops out of that last verse is this “So my heavenly father will also do to every one of you…”  If there were a cartoon caption bubble over the reader of this part of the verse, the word in it might be: “GULP!” Because as I mentioned, there are consequences to not forgiving another.  The consequences are not a warning, or slap on the wrist.  They are dire consequences. Now, we know that the Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, but this parable tells us that – slow as the Lord may be to anger – the Lord can lord can become angry. We don’t want to do anything to cause that.Do we?  One of the things that angers God is not treating others in a way that redeems their situation.  Makes it better.  Improves upon it. We find it in other places talking about eternal consequences, including the “as much as you have done it to the least of these” which is also from this same Gospel of Matthew.

Sometimes one comes across a person who thinks that God will save everyone and so, they can do what they darn well please.  I have come across this kind of thinking, and I am distressed whenever I do.  Because not only is it wrong.  It also indicates that the person who thinks this way has not been reading his or her bible.  So…here we have a somewhat harsh parable that is not one of our favorites, and yet, it has a message that is at the core of what Christ teaches.  Redemption happens when we live like Jesus.  And something else happens, when we do not.

It should be a matter then, for us to ponder:  Do I embody what I say I believe?  Am I working toward the well-being of God’s children?  Am I engaged in the active pursuit of truth?  Such soul searching should be continuous. Oh, it can be the kind of thing that we include in our devotions and prayers but there is no reason for us to stop there.  As we go about our daily lives, there can be this good spirit about it, as we ask ourselves: Am I living along the lines of Jesus Christ? Am I growing in the faith, as I do?  Am I producing good results, (what Jesus calls, good fruit)?  You know, the Lord can redeem: A day. A moment. A situation. A life. A community. An organization. If the Lord redeems – you redeem too.

If we take the long view of history and of life, then we will look far beyond where we find ourselves at the present moment. We will see down into the future, as well as to the far horizon. As far as the eye can see, and beyond. So that what stretches out before us is beautiful, and good, and right.  Even as the Lord sustains us, through it all. I hope that when you take the long view of your life, you find that you like what you see. That it gives you encouragement. That you anticipate what will unfold will be well.  The main thing for every Christian is to take the long view. From where you are right now.  As if you are at a table that the Lord has spread for you.  There at your table, what can you see out of the windows of your life? Can you look outward, and see the rolling years, green and growing? Can you behold the living waters spreading out in abundance? And look beyond that, to those greater mountains of challenge and accomplishment. Remember that with the Lord, forgiveness, redemption, and sustaining grace are yours.  It is clear.  You can see forever.

 

 

 

A MANUAL FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING

A MANUAL FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING

A Sermon by The Rev. Dr. John A. Dalles

Shadyside Presbyterian Church

Sunday, August 30, 2020

Psalm 261-8, Romans 12:9-21

 

Maybe it has happened to you.  You decide to order a piece of furniture.  That can be delivered right to your doorstep. The only problem is: You have to put it together – yourself. So, you unbox it. And you look it over. And you dive into this project.  Remember, you have never put this piece of furniture together before. You have not seen a YouTube video on how it is done.  You are brand new at this task.  But you plunge in, because you know that you are good at such things.  You can figure it out.  And all goes well.  Up to a point.  When you stand back and look at what you have done. And what is left over.  It is then, you see that the two do not add up to the end result that is pictured on the box.  What do you do? Ah. Why didn’t you think of it before? Yes. You look at the instructions.

That is the situation of the believers in Rome Paul wrote to. They were good, smart, spirited, enthusiastic, and willing new Christians. The operative word being new. They had never done this before. In fact, practically no one had done this before. There were a smattering of similar congregations all around the Mediterranean basin, who were in the same boat they were. All of the novice followers of Jesus Christ.  They were making it up as they went along.  Sometimes, all of the pieces came together like the picture on the box.  While at other times, they did not.  Paul wanted them to have what no one had ever had before.  A set of instructions.  A “How To“ guide. That is why we have this passage from Romans to look at this morning. It is A MANUAL FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING. And is chock full of helpful; information. Vital information.

It is no wonder, when we read it, that much of it seems self-evident to us. Because Christians have been following this manual for 2000 years, give or take a few.

 

This manual is for you.  Although there are many fine elements of it, if you were to boil it down to a watchword for dally living, you would probably select the opening phrases: “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; 10 love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”  No Christian can go far wrong, living in this way

It must have sounded idealistic, to people living in Rome, that great capital of the Empire, with all of the wonders and problems that such cities poses.  Maybe even our city.  How do you live with people who have different values than yours?  You model a way of living that is true to the Christ whom you follow.  So even if others live in ways that are opposed to your own, you will still determine, no matter what others may do, I will let love be genuine.  I will ate what is evil.  I will hold fast to what is good.  I will love with mutual affection.  I will outdo others, in showing honor. 

In the maze of modern living, it may sound like you are climbing a hill as steep as Mount Washington, to make it happen.  The fact is, you are. But maybe in doing so, you will touch just one other person in such a way that they decided to do as you are doing, and for the same reasons, because Christ is Lord of your life.  So, your foremost goal is to live in ways that honor Christ.

In those ancient days, the highest alternate way of living was to honor the emperor.  Now I am not an expert on the Roman Empire but I do know there were more unsavory emperors than exemplary ones.  So let’s rule out the unsavory ones. And focus on the exemplary ones. What did people do, to honor the emperor? They took the emperor’s word as law. They did as the emperor commanded. They did so without hesitation or complained or question. And they worshipped the emperor.

We think it sounds strange for anyone to worship a human being.  And it is.  But that is what they did.  It formed a life framework for them.  They were working out of a completely different manual from The Manual for Christian Living.  However, we can translate what they did to the Christian ideal, by saying: I take Jesus’ word as law. I will do what Jesus commands. I will do so without hesitation or complained or question. I will worship Christ, and Christ alone. It is a matter of loyalty.  On a higher plane that anything that was reserved for the emperor.  Not because Jesus needs it.  But because you need it. So, as I say, this manual is for you.

This manual is also for our congregation. If you want to know about Shadyside Presbyterian Church, you can go about it in many ways. There are a number of fine histories of the church, several of them by our own dear Tim Engelman. Well worth reading. And rereading from time to time.

If you want to know about Shadyside Presbyterian Church, you can ask long time members. They can tell you some fascinating stories. Of what the church was like in the 1950’s, and before. and since. Their stories are a part of our stories, and we do well to hear them, and make them part of our experience.

If you want to know about Shadyside Presbyterian Church, you can listen to the scuttlebutt in the neighborhood. That tells us how our church is perceived by others. It can be very enlightening. What stands out? What are the features that make this congregation an essential part of this part of Pittsburgh? What may need some attention or adjustment?

. And then, if you want to know about Shadyside Presbyterian Church, you can go to the Manual. Yes. The one in Romans Chapter twelve. As you read it – you recognize this church.  Your church.  You can think of people who fit this description.  As if they have read the manual and when they put it together – it all fit.  There weren’t spare parts left over.  The thing wasn’t put together in a way that is shoddy or askew.  It is as God, the maker, intended it to be.  Along the lines of the Holy Spirit. It is as if there is a black leather cover on this manual, and inscribed on the center, in gold letters, it says:

 

A Manual for Christian Living

Property of Shadyside Presbyterian Church

 

Without any doubt, this manual is for our congregation. Back then, Paul was saying something new.  Then as ow, what you read is true.  A truth that is eternal.  “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Amen.

Conformed or Transformed

Conformed or Transformed

A Sermon by The Rev. Dr. John A. Dalles

Sunday, August 23, 2020

Psalm 138; Romans 12:1-8

 

I can recall from childhood days, how exciting it was to be taken to see the dinosaurs at the museum. My recollection of the museum itself is a part of that.  What stood out, more than the impressive arches and the statues and inscriptions, more than the fact that it was a stone building.  Or that is was a big building.  Is this: It was a BLACK building. Children notice such things.  They don’t necessarily question them. They see the simple fact of the matter.  The museum is a big stone BLACK building. Fast forward to today. The building is still stone.  It is still big.  But it is no longer black. It is the pale grey color of natural stone.  Something happened in the intervening years to turn the dark stone into light stone.  That something is akin to the new life in Christ that we read about in Romans Chapter Eight.

When Paul asks the Christians in Rome to present their bodies as living sacrifices, he is speaking spiritually and metaphorically.  The would have understood the idea of sacrifice as connected to worship, whether their background was Jewish or gentile.  One goes to the temple, one takes some item or other to be sacrificed there, to appease or please the deity. Why? Because one knew that something needed adjusting or correcting in their lives in order to be in good standing with the deity. Habit... Routine…  Expectation…  …Was that you would sacrifice something in order to make the gods or the one true God happy.  It wasn’t something that God needed. It was something that the worshiper needed.

In fact, one could say that faithful worship centered upon sacrifice.  “What shall I TAKE, what shall I GIVE, in order to make things right?” It would be fine to take some grain offerings, or some little birds, or some other first-born farm animals.  So, the practice went.  But Paul takes us to a whole other realm.  He says: Take your bodies, the who-you-are, and make that your sacrifice.  Put your whole self “in”.  Into the hands of a God who will receive your gift of yourself, and will transform that gift into something good and right and acceptable for God’s purpose. Take a BIG BLACK STONE BULIDING and let it become clean and sparkling and new again. Take a life that has become encrusted with the accumulated soot of life, and let it become fresh and new. Take a heart and mind and body and soul and spirit, and give these aspects of who you are a newness.  A new life.  In Chris

Notice, that Paul is not writing to ONE person in Rome.  Paul is writing to all of the Christians in Rome.  So, he sees this as an act of faith that will benefit all.  It is personal in as much as each person has this chance to be transformed.  It is also corporate, so that all of them, together, can be what God intends them to be. What was true then, is true now.  The changed Christian can change the community.  The changed Christian can change the world.

 

If we look at the world, there are some things that we take as granted.  It is just like that.  Are people forgotten, neglected, disrespected?  Well that is just how it is, some might say.  Just as some might say that a big black building is just that way. Are some of them seeking fairness, and safety, and hope but finding none of these?  Well that is just how it is, some might say. Just as someone might say that the accretions of soot and grim on limestone are inevitable and unchangeable. We know that would be incorrect.  Because we can drive over to Oakland any old day and see that the Museum is no longer black. And we have this same calling to be transformative people.  Each of us and all of us.

So, if, for instance, some practices of some police are uncalled for in their severity and their bias, that can and should be changed. And for instance, if a person out jogging does so in fear of his life, that can be changed. And if there is inequity based on ignorance and hate that have been institutionalized and accepted or shrugged off or explained away, these things, also, can be changed.

The question becomes what kind of a world do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a world where things are conformed to grime and greed?  Or do we want to live in a world where things have been transformed by the renewing of our minds?

 

It takes intentionality doesn’t it?  We have to resolve to make things more along the lines of our Lord Jesus Christ.  They don’t just happen.  

Smoke filled skies do not become clear and sunny without effort.  I think they called is Smoke Abatement back in the first phase of Pittsburgh’s renaissance.  Words chosen to communicate the intentional effort. Abatement means a reduction, a decrease.  An interesting word. There are things that have to be decreased and reduced in order for good to prevail.  We would do well to ask what those things are.  And to work to reduce them. And renaissance.  Renaissance means renaissance—recovery and rebirth and regeneration.  We would benefit from finding as many ways as we can to help our community recover. And empierce a new birth.

Abatement.  And renaissance.  Don’t you find it fascinating that those terms were part of an intentional movement to make sooty buildings clean, and make polluted skies clear, back in the 1950’s?  We are the beneficiaries of those efforts.  It didn’t happen overnight.  In fact, it may have stared when the first Smoke Inspector of Pittsburgh was named, back in 1906.  Back then, it was a far-reaching vision.  Maybe even a dream.  It took work to bring it about.  And it took sacrifice. The reality is, people back then did it.  Some of them were your parents and grandparents.  They made it happen, so you could enjoy it.

Wouldn’t it be grand if that was all it took?  Relying on the past. Being thankful for how far we have come?  Feeling as if we didn’t have to do anything more? 

But you see, it takes each generation doing what needs doing.  Just as they did.  So shall we.  The issue at hand may be different.  But the goals are the same.  That your children and grandchildren might live in a world that is better than the world you were born into.  Because you presented yourselves as living sacrifices.  “Well that is fine for the activists among us”, someone will say.  “But that is not who I am.”  Do we need to look again at what Paul wrote to the Romans? Oh.  Here it is:

 

4 For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6 We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7 ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8 the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.”

 

Paul is pointing out the gifts that differ.  He is aware of that difference.  But notice, that even with those differences, all are called to work, together, for the well-being of all.

 

If we had the luxury and the joy of conversing at the church door after worship today, I believe at least one of you, and perhaps many more, would tell me that the museum wasn’t the only black building in Pittsburgh, back in the day.  Yes.  I know that.  There were plenty of others.  Even some churches.  I remember….  Even this church.

 

The meaning of faithfulness had not changed. Worship – true worship – is still centered upon sacrifice.  “What shall I TAKE, what shall I GIVE, in order to make things right?” I hope you will put a plan into action, each of you, and all of you, to be at work for Christ in these days.  to be a voice for justice.  to be a force for goodness.  to be a person of influence.  to be a people of grace.  So that today and each day you may live the New Life in Christ.