All Together Now

Tryouts

This has been a week for try outs!

It started on Thursday evening, the boys both tried out for their new age group dek hockey team.

It was a massive turn out!

Which, is great for the game of hockey!

But a little unnerving when you’re now the younger kids trying to make it on an older kids team.

And the way you make that team is to be good, or to at least show promise.

The coaches put them through all kinds of drills so they can see who can run the fastest, who makes the best passes, who is showing the most ability to improve.

To make that team, it’s all about what you bring to the table.

Then yesterday, the boys and I got to sneak up to Cranberry to take in a little bit of the Penguins training camp.

We got to see Sidney Crosby up close, which even at his age is still quite a sight to see!

And I told the boys, it was very much the same thing!

There are more players at camp than the team is going to need.

So there are scouts up in the bleachers watching these guys to see who can skate the fastest, who makes the best passes, who might have the most room for growth.

And, I let the kids know, even though Sid’s probably got a spot on this roster, to my eye he was trying every bit as hard as he could to make the team.

Skating hard, passing harder, good shots. Lots of effort.

At the end of both, somebody is going to be told they didn’t make the team.

They’re going to be told they weren’t good enough.

They’re going to be told to try again next year.

They’re going to be told that they aren’t wanted.

In the midst of my fatherly wisdom speech, one of the boys piped up and said

“Can you imagine if someone showed up here in Flyers gear?”

In tight quarters with a lot of hopeful Penguins fans crammed in to a tight place?

It wouldn’t end well.

Imagine that scinerio:

The person wearing Flyers gear, we don’t know anything about them, do we?

We don’t know how well they skate.

We don’t know if they can make a good pass.

We don’t know if they have good hustle to them.

And yet…we would all have collectively decided that they’re not on the team.

As I’ve been dabbling in the news of late…I realize that we’re doing that a lot in our nation these days, aren’t we?

We’re deciding who’s on the team and who’s not, before we even have a second to get to know them.

A quick glance at the jersey they’re wearing and that’s enough for us to exclude, or demonize, or cancel someone.

It shouldn’t surprise you to learn…our Scripture has something to say about that.

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Where We’ve Been: Quick Recap

Nations can lose their way…but God can work with that.

There are our individual sins, and then there are the sins that we do collectively.

No matter whether its an individual level of sin, or a nation that has lost its way, God says that God can work with that.

With Grace and Mercy as tools, God can work us back to where God has called us to be.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory, but God redeems.

Perhaps you remember, I made a joke about it last week:

Romans 3:23 “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;”

I have studied the Greek over and over and over again.

That word for “all” in Greek is the word Pas, and do you know what it means?

All!

It is as the prophets spoke…everybody!

All inclusive.

Everyone.

No exceptions.

No carve outs.

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and that includes you, and that includes me.

But in the same way, Christ offers grace for all as well.

God is the one who can create in us a clean heart.

And it is God’s good pleasure to do so.

Pas- All

1 Timothy 2:1 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,”

Wouldn’t you know it?

That word “everyone” in this passage, anyone want to guess what word that is in Greek?

Pas.

In the same way that Paul tells us that ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Paul tells us here

That when we’re praying, making supplications, intercessions, and GIVING THANKS for people, that list ought to be Pas. All. Everyone. No exceptions. No Carve Outs. No one left out.

And then, almost to prove his point, Paul gives us the line that might have given us a bit of trouble as we were listening this morning:

Kings and Queens

1 Timothy 2:2 “for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.”

We might have had a partisan shiver when we read that.

Our culture has doe such a masterful job of diving us along political lines, of judging who’s on the team just by the jersey they’re wearing, that maybe this passage strikes you as difficult.

I can’t pray for that President!

I can’t pray for that Congressman!

I will not be thankful for that TV personality!

I cannot hope for the salvation of anyone from that party!

Yeah, to us it might be a challenge.

But I’d encourage you to put yourself in the sandals of the guy who wrote this:

You have to remember that at the time this was written, every King and Queen out there was actively trying to kill Christians.

Christians had come up with this beautiful saying, something we say to each other quite often:

Jesus is Lord.

Except, they didn’t come up with that saying.

They stole it.

The Romans used to say that “Caesar is Lord.”

In fact, they even thought that Caesar was the son of God, that Caesar was some kind of divine representative on earth.

And so here come the Christians…

They’re saying Jesus is Lord, meaning that Caesar is not.

They’re saying that Jesus is the Son of God, which meant that Caesar was not.

They’re saying that Jesus was God on earth…and worse yet, they kept talking about the Kingdom of God.

All of this might sound trite to us now, but…

Rome became what it was by way of military might.

Anyone who wasn’t on Rome’s side was killed instantly.

Anyone who wasn’t for Caesar was obviously against him.

Anyone who said something that displeased the ruler was immediately put to death by way of crucifixion.

(Because that’s what empires do…)

So Paul is one of many of a group of folks who have actively fallen astray of this way of thinking.

Caesar didn’t tolerate Christians.

Caesar killed them.

Nero in particular used to use the lights of burning Christians at the stake to light his pathways at the palace, such was his hatred of Christians.

And what did Paul say?

Fight back?

Mean tweets?

Marches and picket signs?

Go get em?

We should pray for them.

Not a tongue in cheek prayer either, where we tell people we’re praying for those Emperors, and we really mean that we’re praying that they stub their toes or something far worse…

Paul very specifically says

Supplications- Pray for what they need.

Intercessions- Pray that God would interviene for them.

Thanksgiving- Actually be grateful for them, and that they’re in the world.

Be thankful for the people who are trying to kill you?

I can’t imagine this went over well.

That’s not how the Empire works, is it?

You don’t just roll over!

You don’t just let them get away with it!

You don’t show any kind of love or loyalty!

They’re not on the team!

They haven’t earned our love or respect!

They’re terrible!

Praying for the people we have labeled our enemies isn’t the way the empire works.

And they’d be right to say that…

But it is the way the Kingdom works.

If we really subscribe to the in-breaking Kingdom of God, then yeah…it ought to be a little bit different than the Empire we find ourselves in.

How does Paul come to this vision of praying for everyone? For Pas? For all?

Because it’s what God wants.

1 Timothy 2:3–4 “This is right and acceptable before God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but do you know what that word is in Greek for the “everyone” that God desires be saved?

Pas.

All.

Everyone.

No exceptions.

No exclusions.

No one left out.

All.

That’s what God wants.

And in fact, Paul points out that God has a unique way of getting what he wants.

In an Empire, you fight back.

In an Empire, your strength lies in who you curse.

In an Empire, you are judged by who you can hurt before they hurt you.

In the Kingdom though,

Jesus Christ “gave himself a ransom for all.”

In the Kingdom you don’t fight people, you sacrifice for them.

In the Kingdom you don’t silence people, you listen to them.

In the Kingdom it’s not about who you can hurt, but who you can heal.

We shouldn’t have dividing walls, because God doesn’t want them.

Ephesians 2:14 “For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us,”

We can try our level best to keep up the diving walls, but Christ won’t have anything to do with them.

Pas means pas.

God desires that we pray for everybody.

God desires that we give thanks for everybody.

God desires that everybody be saved.

Our Dividing Walls

A matter of heart

Maybe you need to focus up on how you react when you see people in the other team’s jersey.

Maybe Flyers orange really does make your skin boil…but I’m guessing that’s a silly example.

Maybe for you it’s the person on late night TV that makes the jokes you can’t stand…maybe you need to check your reaction toward them.

Maybe for you it’s the person in the red hat, the one that you can’t fathom how they view the world…maybe you need to check your reaction toward them.

Maybe its someone of a different faith, because their religion rubs you the wrong way.

Maybe it’s that family member whose appearance at the Thanksgiving dinner table already has you shaking in your boots.

Maybe for you it’s the person you want to exclude because they’re not inclusive enough!

Paul tells us here what to do with people like that, the kind that we have absolutely no desire to let on the team:

Pray for them.

Pray for their well being.

Pray that they get what they need.

Pray prayers of thanksgiving over them.

Rest assured, if you are mentally composing an email to the pastor right now, two thoughts:

1) I promise I’ll get emails from all sides of the aisle on this one, so maybe we should contemplate that.

2) This isn’t what I desire!

There are people from teams that I’d rather not welcome in to my heart too.

But it is what God desires, isn’t it?

1 Timothy 2:4 “who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

I’m thinking maybe at least for my pastoral part, I need another tattoo on this one.

So often what I desire isn’t what God desires.

Guess who it is that needs to change in those moments?

All Together Now…

I may, or may not, already be forming the set list for Finding God in the Music in the summertime.

So maybe just a quick teaser:

All together now.

(I thought about playing it, but then it’ll be in your heads all day and I can’t do that to you.)

We’re all in this together.

Pas means pas.

Yes, all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God

You.

Me.

The pope.

Democrats.

Republicans.

Gay.

Straight.

The people you love.

The people you hate.

But at the same time, God desires that ALL be saved.

You.

Me.

The pope.

Democrats.

Republicans.

Gay.

Straight.

The people you love.

The people you hate.

And so God calls us to pray for EVERYBODY.

You.

Me.

The pope.

Democrats.

Republicans.

Gay.

Straight.

The people you love.

The people you hate.

What can you do to start breaking down the dividing walls?

There is a movement going around through Christian circles.

They say that we shouldn’t be offering up “thoughts and prayers” when we need to meet people with actions.

And I actually very much agree with that!

Prayer should never be something that is devoid of action steps.

But…

I also think along the way we forgot to pray.

Maybe I’m just speaking about me, if so feel free to tune me out.

But I think actually the first step to tearing down those dividing walls we’ve put up in this world is to start praying for the people on the other side of whatever wall we feel strongest about.

If someone posts something on social media that absolutely makes your blood boil, stop.

First say a prayer of supplication for them, and see where God calls you to act.

If the news keeps throwing that politician in your face and you can’t stand them, stop.

First say a prayer of intercession for them, and see where God calls you to act.

If you find yourself so offended by someone’s position than you think they ought to be cancelled and never heard from again, stop.

First say a prayer of intercession for them, and see where God calls you to act.

And oh by the way…

Don’t forget that sometimes the biggest enemy we fight is the enemy that lives between our chests.

Sometimes we’re so offended, so angry, and so repulsed by the thoughts in our heads and the actions of our hearts that we carry that same kind of rage for ourselves, and maybe it’s spilling out on to other people.

Maybe we don’t want to admit it, but we’re part of that “all” that has fallen short of the glory of God.

If that’s you…

Stop.

Say a prayer of thanksgiving over yourself.

For who you are in the sight of God.

For who God has called you to be.

For the salvation that God has freely offered you.

Because God desires that everybody have a taste of that forgiveness and freedom.

Pas means pas.

And that includes you.