For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:38-39 God’s story of salvation teaches us that the cosmos was created out of overflowing love, and this world we are given is very, VERY good! In an act of supreme generosity, each one of us was crafted with a spark of the divine within us. Even though we have strayed, God remains steadfast, assuring us that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Read below for the story of salvation in Ten Words in the Bible. Creation: Out of love, God created the universe and made humankind in the divine image. When God finished, God rested and declared it very good! Original Sin (time unknown): Humanity rebelled and was expelled from paradise, and creation suffered from the disconnection. Our perfect relationship with God and with one another was severed. [Genesis] Patriarchs and Matriarchs (about 2000): Despite our pride and neglect, God remained faithful and continued a loving relationship with humankind. God did this through a certain couple, Abraham and Sarah, their child (Isaac), and grandchild (Jacob). Through Jacob's twelve children rose the nation of Israel, and through them, God will restore and reconcile all of creation. God chose them out of abundant grace, and Abraham's trust in God. [Genesis] Exodus (1600-1200): God's people, the Israelites, because of a famine, were forced to go to Egypt. At first, they were welcomed, but then the Pharaohs turned evil and enslaved God's people for 400 years. God heard the cry of the Israelites and freed them to the promised land. The land [called Palestine, Canaan, and Israel] is a sign of their good standing with God and is intimately connected with their identity as a people. [Exodus] Judges (1200-1000): When the nation of Israel arrived at the promised land, it was inhabited. Through various battles, Israel possessed Canaan. The nation of Israel was a loosely knit group of 12 tribes (named after the sons of Jacob) that shared the belief in God but had no leader. The nation as a whole constantly disobeyed God at this time and went through a cycle of success, apostasy, defeat, repentance, and reinstatement. Certain Hebrews emerged from the tribes, called judges (Gideon, Samson, and Deborah), who helped them through these crises. [Joshua and Judges] Kings (1000-587): The Hebrew people, because of constant wars and fear of neighboring countries, wanted a king to unify their nation and make it less vulnerable to outside attack. God had been their king up to this point, but reluctantly, God agreed to give them a king (God was reluctant because God knew that human kings would abuse the power given to them). At first, despite the kings' deficiencies, it seemed the nation was stronger, but soon there was an argument about who the successor would be, and the nation split into two countries called Israel and Judah. [I, II Samuel; I, II Kings; and I, II Chronicles] Prophets (1000-500): Many of the kings were extremely wicked and led the people away from God. Because of this, the prophets arose to tell the people to return to faithfulness in God or else their nation would be destroyed. [Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Hosea] Exile (585-540): The prophets were right, and the Hebrews were taken away from their promised land given to them by God and exiled to Babylon. They were now a people without a home. [Ezekiel and Lamentations] After about 50 years, they were returned but were no longer in control of their own land. [Ezra, Nehemiah and Daniel] Messiah (0-30 A.D.): The entire history of God's people is a continual story of humankind's disobedience, disaffection from God, repentance, and reinstatement. The prophets and others realized that this would always continue unless something or someone could stop this cycle. They recognized that only a change in the nature of a person could effect a more permanent change, which could avoid continual separation. Thus, they prophesied that one would come who could permanently fix humankind's sin and separation from God. This Messiah who came was God's very Son. He died that we might be permanently restored to a right relationship with God. Apostles (30-70 A.D.): Before Jesus ascended back into heaven, he charged a group of people, the apostles, to spread the good news not only to Israel but to everyone. Thus, through Israel, all of the world was restored into a right relationship with God if they say "YES!" to the person and the work of Jesus. It was through the work of the apostles that Jesus' name was spread throughout the Earth, particularly the work of Paul. [Romans, Galatians, and Corinthians] Prayer of Confession Lord, You have loved us immeasurably through Your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. He has blessed us with salvation but we have sought other paths to find meaning and hope. We have allowed our fears to erode our trust in You and the path to life that You have given us. Give us strength to live as people of Your way, filled with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Confirmation is a year-long opportunity for 8th graders to spend time with their peers, discuss the Christian faith, and get more involved in the Brick Church community. At the end of the year, students may choose to join The Brick Church as an active member. Confirmation Class meets Sundays at 9:00 AM starting October 1st.

The Youth Ministry plays a vital role in fulfilling The Brick Church's mission. In our youth programs, The Brick Church empowers students to live out their Christian faith in a complex world, to build relationships with one another and with caring adults, and to offer service to a world in need. We invite all youth to join our Tuesday Night Dinner Program, Super Bowl party, Ice Skating party, Ski Trip, and mission opportunities throughout the year.

Parents with children aged 0-2 years are invited to register for our Sunday childcare services at The Brick Church. Our top priority in the childcare program is to provide exceptional care, ensuring that each child receives dedicated attention and support. The nursery is staffed by highly skilled professionals from The Baby Sitters' Guild, guaranteeing a safe and nurturing environment for your little ones.

The Brick Church Children's Ministry offers engaging Sunday programming designed for children from ages 3 through 7th grade. Our dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer staff will guide your children through inspiring Bible stories, nurturing their spiritual curiosity along the way. Our inclusive programs feature a variety of activities, including family dinners and worship, Sacraments Class, Advent Crafts, the joyous Christmas Pageant, as well as special services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for families to celebrate together.

Daniel Jacky will serve as the Wilson Family Sacred Music Intern for the 2023-2024 church year as he begins his studies at the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University. In the past year, Daniel was awarded as the inaugural AGO Organ Scholar at Duke Chapel where he had experience both conducting and playing the organ for a variety of liturgies and concerts throughout the academic year. Originally from Ohio, Daniel graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory in 2022 receiving degrees in Organ Performance and Mathematics. Daniel has extensive training and experience and in continuo accompaniment and is particularly interested in the sacred cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. A message from Dr. Raymond Nagem: I'm delighted to welcome Daniel Jacky to the music team at Brick Church as Wilson Family Sacred Music Intern. Daniel comes to us following a year as organ scholar at Duke University Chapel, where he played and conducted for services and accompanied the chapel choirs. He will begin a master's degree at Yale University in September. Please join me in giving Daniel a warm welcome from our church community here at Brick!

Registration is now open for the 2023-24 Youth Choir season! Led by Julianna Grabowski, the Youth Choirs offer advanced musical training and extraordinary leadership opportunities for children. They sing in worship on Sundays as well as signature Brick events such as the Park Avenue Tree Lighting. Rehearsals are on Wednesday afternoons starting September 13th.

The 19th century short-story writer and Civil War veteran, Ambrose Bierce, in The Devil’s Dictionary wrote a humorous, somewhat scathing social critique, disguised as a resource book. Listen to these entrances: “Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage.” The book is also quite cynical! “Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.” Clearly math has never been humanity’s strong point! “Cabbage, n. A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head.” Apparently, men were just as obtuse in his day! But it is his definition of hospitality that concerns us this morning. “Hospitality, “The virtue which induces us to feed and lodge certain persons who are not in need of food and lodging.” In Bierce’s time, as perhaps in ours, what passed for hospitality was exchanging social favors amongst the well-to-do. This is the opposite of what Jesus had in mind when He spoke of welcoming others, indeed in His ministry and the way He lived His life. Far from exchanging social niceties with His peers, He spent time with tax collectors, lepers, sinners. Essentially the people others refused to. He entered their homes, ate and drank with them, despite the naysayers. He enjoyed life with them. This welcome Jesus calls us to is not as simple as saying hello to a passerby. It is not a generic reception. It is tailored to the person on your doorstop; welcoming “a prophet as a prophet” He says, “a righteous person as a righteous person”. Specifically, Jesus means that each encounter you have is a chance to experience God’s plan for your life. For to welcome them for who they are means exploring the intention of God. In the Middle East, welcoming the stranger is an obligation that has been embedded in their culture, since even before the time of Jesus. I remember on a trip to Jordan in the midst of floating on the Dead Sea, looking at the river Jordan, peering over Mt. Nebo, where Moses first saw the Promised Land, the most memorable aspect was the reception we had in every town, market, and hotel. The stranger is treated as an honored guest because you never know who they might be. Perhaps this practice stems from the ancient encounter that Sarah and Abraham had with three strangers at the Oaks of Mamre as told in Genesis 18. Abraham spies three strangers from the comfort of his tent. He runs to greet them and offers them, not his leftovers, but the very best (i.e., most expensive) cakes and meat from his larder. Jonathon Sacks, the once Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, observed that the Hebrew Bible contains only one command to love the neighbor, but no less than 36 to love the alien. And because of our fragmented world, that person may be someone across the globe, across town, or even at the end of your pew. And a gracious welcome has the power to change the world. After extending his hospitality, suddenly these three strangers seem to be more. Somehow, they know his wife’s name and declare, “In due time your wife will have a son.” In fact, it has ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women, so she laughs saying, “After I grow old shall I have pleasure?” She could not believe in a future filled with the promise of a child. She could not conceive of a world full of joy. Especially not one that came about from being nice to a stranger. Out of the blue in this story, suddenly the voice of God speaks, “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?!” Apparently not, for soon Isaac is born and the history of salvation begins. But serving the “aliens” of this world brings us pause. We hesitate to help a person on the subway because we’re not sure if they are faking it. Not too far down the street from one of my old houses there was a driveway with a sign that read, “No pulling in the driveway. Especially stalled cars. This means you!” But Abraham shows us how to open ourselves up to the stranger. He bowed down to them. If three strange men appeared on your lawn, what might your reaction be? A) Run inside, close the blinds and hope they didn’t see you B) Turn on the sprinkler system to teach them a lesson, or C) As Abraham did, run to meet them, bow down while saying “If I find favor with you let me serve you.” Somehow, rather than fear them, Abraham considered it a privilege to welcome the stranger. Karen Armstrong, world-renowned expert in religious studies, explains how Abraham did not simply exhibit the age-old aphorism, “be kind to strangers”. Rather, he acted on one of the deepest truths folded into the very fabric of the universe. [Abraham’s encounter of God at Mamre] expresses a truth which is central to monotheism, the sacred does not manifest itself only in holy places. We can also encounter the divine in other human beings. It is essential therefore that we treat the men and women with whom we come into contact, even complete strangers, with absolute honor and respect because they too enshrine the divine mystery. This is what Abraham discovered when he ran out joyfully to meet these three travelers and insisted on giving them all the refreshment and comfort he could. [Jerusalem: Once City Three Faiths] Dignity. Respect. In some ways in our world today there is a vast chasm that has opened between cultures, religions, races, economics and more. But this passage suggests that dignity and respect may be the key to crossing this chasm. One German philosopher, Gadamer, went even further explaining there is a fundamental distance between all people because you can never truly get inside someone’s head, walk in their shoes, you can never truly understand their perspective. But as people of faith we believe there is a power that can bridge the divide, that can cross the existential gap between us all; the power of the Holy Spirit. And as you can see in Abraham and Sarah’s encounter, and Jesus’ way of life, the Holy Spirit’s binding power comes through, extending hospitality, actively welcoming. It is not sitting on our metaphorical front porches waiting for someone to knock. It means chasing down the encounter as Abraham did and bowing down to the divine within them. I never knew the power of welcome until we moved to Magnolia, Arkansas to pastor First Presbyterian Church. At first, I thought they were being fake, I was not used to people being that nice! Sterling Lacy, an Elder there, was a shining example. Every person he met he vigorously shook their hand while looking them in the eye with an inviting smile and enthusiastic hello. He sang in the choir, and (despite his propensity to fall asleep and snore during the sermon!) he would spy a visitor any the congregation and make a beeline to the back of the church to catch them before they left. In 1994, he stood up and challenged the session to ensure that where all the other churches pushed them away we would welcome those with AIDS, as we would have welcomed the Lord Himself. My goal is to become 1/10th as gracious as Sterling Lacy and I will be able to meet my Lord with a head held high. Brick has this spark. People come to the Tree Lighting and are hooked for decades. And people from many walks come to our campus. In fact, on Easter, we had agnostics, Sikhs, Jews, and atheists. Several of them came to me and remarked how much joy the entire service gave them and how welcome they felt. That warms my heart to know that they know we love and respect them, whatever their path in life and that we do so because this is precisely what our Lord taught us to do. A few weeks ago, people raved about the Strawberry Festival, especially those from the neighborhood. As I was passing out hotdogs one woman came to me, “I am Jewish, but If I were a Christian this would be my church!” May we welcome all as we would welcome the Lord Himself, and we too will discover the healing power of God to bring all people into the divine fold of love. Amen.

But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. - Matthew 11:16–19 This passage discloses a fundamental tension in faith, a tug of war between… …the call to self-denial and the call to feast. …our sinful nature and our divine spark. …the stern demands of God and the infinite grace we receive. …a God who demands everything and a God who gives us all. …God who punishes our iniquities and a God who forgives our evil deeds. Throughout history the church waxed and waned between these extremes, most notably in the Middle Ages. There was an order of monks, the flagellants, who whipped themselves to suppress pleasure, physical joy, and wrong thoughts, while ecstatic mystic women prayed themselves into moments of ecstasy in God’s presence. This tension is manifest in the dynamic lives of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth. John famously emerges from the wilderness, eating locus and wild honey, not to mention wearing a scratchy hairshirt! His first words are scathing, “Repent...You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Because of John’s austerity and wrath-oriented message they accused him of being possessed! But Jesus fared no better in the rumor mill of his time, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” We need to hold the tension between these extremes because without, both our faith becomes problematic. This is not a milquetoast middle. Think of a high-tension wire that you need to walk across. Simply holding it in the middle will mean the ends are limp and dangling. But if you pull it taut on both sides, suddenly it can be crossed. This is the path of faith which means a strong understanding and experience of sorrow and joy. A faith only of sweetness and light can become just as shallow as a life only lived for personal pleasure. A faith so immersed in guilt and shame becomes necrotic and ultimately denies the goodness of God. A faith which demands nothing of you turns God into the vending machine. A faith which leaves no room for our personal pleasure becomes an act of self-loathing. Throughout the Bible, God, like a good parent, reprimands and comforts. Sometimes like I feared my grandma Rian, who would not hesitate to put me on the Deacon’s bench as a child, we should fear God. For that fear helps us to be faithful and honest. And yet, despite this dual witness in scripture, there is a decided bias. God’s “yes” is louder than God’s “no”. The final word is not judgement but grace, and the final description of you is not “sinner” but “beloved child of God”. Not only is the final word of God “yes”, but the primary word for you and me now, today, even in this world as it is, is not sorrow but joy! And we can see this in the life of Jesus. Most of the depictions and even the scriptures convey Jesus as a very serious, somewhat moody – filled with compassion, yes – but scary, or often just plain dull. We have the impression from centuries of interpretation that Jesus was a solemn man who only went about preaching and doing miracles and speaking profoundly but in fact our passage shows us that this was not the case; the gospel writers clearly recorded another side. The criticism that He was a drunkard, and a glutton conveyed His ability to enjoy the simple things in life and to do so with a sense of camraderie with whoever is willing to sit at table with Him. In this text we see quite SURPRISINGLY that JESUS represents the joyous side of the religious movement at the time within Judaism and John the more ascetic. Jesus had of course deep respect for John, but He chose a different path. He chose the sinners and tax collectors; because let’s face it; they are more fun! And life is meant to be filled with joy! Christianity’s central message, after all, is known as “the good news of the gospel” Good news! “I’ve got good news good news / good news good news” as the song goes. Of course, the irony is for everyone to have true access to this good news requires in the end the most horrific events of bad news. But this is key. Jesus did not suffer this terrible fate on the cross to say we all must live lives of bad news, but of good news. And in this mystery, Jesus transforms the very nature of suffering and pain so that it becomes the primary path to freedom and joy. Thus, the duality, the tension of the faith is God’s plan to redeem and restore us all. So, Paul rejoices in the Lord always. He rejoices in his physical infirmity. In the feuds with fellows Christians. In his tragic shipwrecks. In the beatings from the Romans. And while in prison he sings; he sings songs of praise. I have seen this same joy in prisons in men’s eyes, bodies, hearts, and souls. It was the music on Sunday worship at Trenton State Prison, and they had given their lives to Christ, and, yes, that sounds very evangelical, but it was also very true. And so, though they were in earthly bondage, their spirits, as was Paul’s, were free. And this is the truest of all good news we will ever know. It is good news when a college acceptance comes. When a promotion comes through. When a health scare is averted. But as wonderful as they are, they are fleeting, and they can all be lost. The college may not work out. The health problem return. And promotion becomes a firing. But this good news of the gospel cannot be lost. It can only be found. This means, oddly enough, the Bible also wants us to rejoice even about the trials, not just the ‘feel good’ stuff. For it all comprises God’s plan to bring us greater wholeness and peace. So, Paul wasn’t the only one. James wrote in his epistle, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” This fundamental tension of faith between joy and sorrow prevented C.S. Lewis for years from accepting the good news. He wrote, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust.” But over time through conversations with Tolkien and reading George MacDonald, he came to see, “The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.” Thus, he saw the central truth of Christianity and wrote Surprised by Joy, which describes his conversion. And like most of us, he had confused the extreme demands of Christianity as a life bereft of happiness. But instead as the title conveys, he was surprised by the joy! But the Christian does not suddenly become unfailingly happy. Happiness and joy are distinct. Joy comes precisely through the work of suffering, suffering out of love. Thus, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. As Lewis wrote: To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Thus, we come to know this joy is discovering that you are loved by the essence of love itself. Some years ago, our family experienced a loss. And the comfort of family and familiar pleasures could not release me from the sorrow. It was a sorrow like a cave in which I could not even see the way out. But Sunday rolled around like it did every week. I did not want to lead worship. I felt vulnerable, afraid, and did not want to draw attention to myself. So, I was surprised, that as soon as we sung the opening hymn, Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, a healing joy washed over me, cleansing tears flowed through me. The sorrow for the loss was still present but the love of God had transformed the pain. God wants us to enjoy life. But if that means only pleasure it will become hollow and empty. True joy only comes through true love which as we know can bring pain. But the final word from God is love. Amen.

Some Presbyterian churches in New York are named for their seniority: First and Second. Others for their location: Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. But only Brick Church is named for its building material. Why was a brick building so startling? In the years before the American Revolution, Presbyterians worshipped in a modest wooden building on Wall St. The congregation lived nearby and walked to church. As the city grew, the Wooden, or Wall Street, Church congregation outgrew its building. So the session decided to build a second church for those who had moved northward to the edge of the city. They chose a small lot on the corner of Beekman and Nassau and erected a glorious brick structure in 1767. The first service probably took place on New Year’s Day, 1768. Today a Pace University building sits on that land, just south of where the Brooklyn Bridge empties into Manhattan. It’s across the street from City Hall Park. Eventually the two congregations under a single session split up. The Wall St. Church was the antecedent of First Presbyterian Church and The Brick Church became the official name of the Beekman/Nassau St. congregation. So you could say that First is either our mother or sister church. Of course we didn’t stay in that location. When the neighborhood around City Hall Park changed, the leaders decided to remain a parish church that people could walk to. They built the next church on 5th Avenue and 37th St., then a residential area popular with the congregation. Once again the session chose bricks. This second building was completed just before the Civil War. Today Lord & Taylor occupies that site. But Presbyterians kept moving. In the 1930s, the corner of Park Ave. and 91st St. was an appealing location in an area where many members lived. The third brick building for The Brick Church – our present church – was completed in 1940. There have been two constants throughout this history that are likely to continue far into the future: dedication to serving the membership where they live, and doing so in fine brick buildings.

Abraham had no good reason to believe God. At least not from what he knew. Sarah was famously decades past childbearing years and journeying to some unknown place that would become his descendant’s legacy seems desperate at best. Thus, Paul’s powerful phrase, “hoping against hope.” This is the hope that borders on the irrational, except this call was coming from God. Abraham’s hope was uniquely insightful. Remember at the outset Abraham did not truly know what kind of God the Lord was. He lacked the benefit of the Bible. He hoped in a new type of God. Not the gods so many others believed in. Most of the people believed in gods that were vengeful, despots, licentious, petty, not a god that would go out of the way to bless a relative nobody. Perhaps Abraham was one of the first to truly hope in God who would bless humanity, a Lord that was merciful and was steadfast, trustworthy, and true. In other words, a god of love. And though Abraham was relatively well-off compared to others of his time, we should not think he lived an easy life. As social theorist, and clergyman Thomas Hobbes quipped in the 17th century, “Life is nasty brutish and short.” And for Abraham that also meant the end of his line – no rational basis for thinking he would have an heir. But he wasn’t a fool. One theologian wrote, “It is a great mistake to confuse hope with optimism. The optimist looks on the bright side, expects a happy ending. Hope, on the other hand, simply refuses the foreclosure of despair, resists the absoluteness of impossibility.” He hoped against all the evidence to the contrary. Abraham was old. It ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. But for twenty years he continued to believe in this ridiculous, indeed impossibly ludicrous future that kept him focused on the Promise Land. He hoped against hope that God would indeed fulfill, “The unquenched yearning of the human heart for nothing less than everything.” The titanic theologian of the 13th century Thomas Aquinas explains, “[Imagine] the intrepidity required of [Abraham] as, taking a deep breath, he weighed up what was at issue in leaving home and the familiar world behind and setting out into the unknown, trusting God's obscure promise that the apparently impossible was, indeed, his destiny. And off he goes, seventy-five years old and childless, hoping against hope that 'all the families of the earth' will find blessing through his progeny.” (Hoping Against Hope: Abraham’s Dilemma, Nicholas Lash) In other words, hope is the belief in the impossible. Indeed, we hope against hope in the impossible love of Jesus Christ. Paul’s words from Romans are indeed the summation of all Christian hope. The impossible love of God. A God of galaxies, a God of goodness. A God of all knowing, a God who knows us all. A God of infinite power, a God of intimate tenderness. A God who demands everything, a God who gives us all.​ Even a destiny, an eternal home, a heaven, a place of perfect peace. When our daughter, Liz, was two years old, she had this habit of trying to leap head first out of our arms when she wanted to get down. And the only reason she did this brave and foolish act is because she had perfect confidence in our care. We would not let any ultimate harm come to her. This is the hope we have, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." (Julian of Norwich) And trusting in God’s ultimate care gave Abraham the moxie to go from his country and his kindred to the land. And it is the same bold hope we need. But notice Abraham didn’t remain on his proverbial front porch hoping the future would change. He had to live into; he had to act!!!! But I want to tell you two stories. It is one of impossible hope and deliverance by God. A journey in some ways more treacherous than Sarah and Abraham’s with a hope no less absurd. Now I don’t know about you but just watching the evening news is enough for me to lose hope. I want to turn it off, never to turn it on again. But a few decades ago, a man was watching the terrible news about the Hmong people who were being slaughtered in the war in Laos. He went to his session and told them “People are dying!” And they took action. Fast forward almost thirty years. I met a young man named Huau, a pharmacist, who at five years old made a treacherous journey. He told me how his rural farming family had to flee Laos for Thailand. For five years the fate of his family was in his hands, to learn both English and French to give them the best chances to be resettled in a desirable location. I asked him, “How did you not give up hope!?” “I never thought I would fail. I never gave up hope. How could I with people like those of your Church making sure I wouldn’t… I am here because a member of your church, was watching the news, hearing about how terrible things were in Laos and he decided to do something about it. You know why I am here? Because there are people in this world who do things they don’t have to do.” Here in New York someone acted with the same hope. Like the news, the prison systems seem to be a place where hope goes to die. But hoping against hope, several of you committed to helping forge an educational ministry which results not in a GED, or a college degree, but a master’s degree! And such a program helped educate an inmate, Mr. Absalom, and he obtained a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree while in prison. He helped bring young people into the prison to talk to them about the impact of gun violence. He spoke candidly about the poor choices he made, the regret for his crime and the continued suffering it caused. “Because of a choice I made 20 years ago, I was not there to be a father to my children, and unfortunately, my children fell into the same cycle. My 17-year-old child, my son, lost his life.” Colin was granted parole after 25 years of serving time for his crime. But there was a wrinkle. He was Jamaican-born and came to the states when he was 11 years old. And though the New York prison system believed he was reformed and worthy of being returned to society, the Federal system was going to deport him. That is when the next level of hope – of hoping against hope – went into high gear. One of your members with countless phone calls, emails, visits meetings and more would not be daunted by trying to do something that had never been done before – convincing the governor to pardon someone currently incarcerated. And she succeeded and changed his life and his family’s life forever, because she hoped that God would work. She hoped in a world in which people, and systems, can change. “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.” (Emily Dickinson) Let hope in God perch in your soul; so that you may act. Do it with childlike boldness, with the wisdom of the aged, with bright-eyed belief, and steely-eyed determination. Do so because we have the sure and certain confidence that through God in Jesus Christ, the impossible is certain, that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed to us all. Amen.

The Bible is the most amazing book in the history of the world. Without question it is the most read, studied, and translated book in all of history. But there is a problem with it. No instruction manual on how to use it. II Timothy claims that all of it is useful. But with stories about talking donkeys, children taunting bald men and being attacked by a bear, and claims that the sky is held up by pillars makes Paul’s claim in Timothy spurious at best. It seems unfortunate that God does not use the latest modern technology which I experienced to great blessing a few months ago. I was driving familiar territory on the way to Princeton, but construction had blocked the normal route. I fired up Google Maps and thank goodness it had been updated! Right away I was back on the best path to finish my trip! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if God sent updates to scripture? These updates could answer directly some of the more thorny problems of the modern age. When is war appropriate in today’s world given our supreme destructive capabilities but without letting innocents to be massacred? Should we use genetic modifications to cure diseases in-utero? How much should I pledge to the church? How should we balance compassion for desperate families with the need for enforcement of laws? What is the right degree of separation between church and state? Did Jesus truly mean it when he told us to forgive others 77 times 7! A few years ago, was 29-year-old Brittany Maynard of Oregon justified in taking her own life so that she was in control of her fate rather than the cancer ravaging her brain? These are not simple questions. It would relieve us of a great deal of anxiety and grave mistakes If God would only send us the Bible 2.0. And yet, somehow the Bible is meant to be our unique and authoritative guide. I know many of you struggle embracing this concept with the clear problematic view of women amongst other things, the seeming wanton violence that God’s very self commits and the outdated science it includes. Thomas Jefferson’s solution was to mark out those passages he didn’t like! …by cutting and pasting with a razor and glue numerous sections from the New Testament as extractions of the doctrine of Jesus. Jefferson's condensed composition excludes all miracles by Jesus and most mentions of the supernatural, including sections of the four gospels that contain the Resurrection and most other miracles, and passages that portray Jesus as divine. (Wikipedia). Jefferson tells us his motivation: In extracting the pure principles which he taught, we should have to strip off the artificial vestments in which they have been muffled by priests, who have travestied them into various forms, as instruments of riches and power to them. …shall I say at once, of nonsense. Although God has not given us a user manual, nor those constant annoying updates, of course God in His wisdom has given us something much better – the Holy Spirit. On this day of Pentecost in which the Spirit poured power into the hearts of the disciples and more, this same Spirit gives us the means by which to understand the Truth of scripture, Truth with a capital “T”! It is through reliance on the Holy Spirit that we are able to discern how the Bible’s instruction from one age translates into guidance for our life today. John Calvin writes, “the Word will not find acceptance in men's hearts before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Spirit.” And the Westminster catechism observes, “Only the witness of the Holy Spirit in the human heart can finally persuade a person that scripture is the word of God.” We must rely on the Spirit in reading scripture because words on a page without the infusion of God’s presence are nothing more than wasted ink. Unfortunately, we can see this truth through the history of errors and evil committed through abuse of God’s Word. According to legend, Origen, an ancient theologian, castrated himself based on Jesus words, “If you’re right eye causes you to sin tear it out.” Jesus was speaking metaphorically not literally! In the medieval ages kings quoted Romans 12, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.” in order to justify complete authoritarian control over their subjects. Obviously, God did not intend these words to give dictatorial control to kings. Knowing God’s will for us today is not as simple as reading words on a page. God seems to have made it doubly difficult. Not only does the Bible not update itself but it also comes to us through the culture of its day and the eccentricities of its authors. But of course,God has a reason, a plan, which will do something more wonderful and more challenging than we could ever receive in a Bible that was updated or one that was dictated. The key comes from a word that Paul invented for this passage – Theopneustos. It is a conjunction of the word “God” and “breathed”. “All scripture has been breathed into being by God.” God breathed into the hearts of humans. God inspired them and then they wrote it. God did not dictate the Bible. Timothy does not read, “All scripture was written by God.” This is how Muslims understand their sacred texts. Muslims believe that the Angel Gabriel dictated the Koran to Mohammed. Reading scripture as a disciple is a process of getting back to that same moment, that same experience that inspired the text to begin with. In order to know God’s meaning, we too must be breathed into by God. Knowing the Truth comes from being connected to the source of Truth. Every Saturday morning as a teenager when I went to the fridge for some breakfast, I would find a Post-It Note with chores and instructions for the day (my mother was no dummy, she knew a teenage boy sooner rather than later would be in the kitchen!). I didn't exactly rejoice upon seeing the list but after I had finished it, I knew I was square with the house and the day was mine. But God demands more than this. We are purposely not given a list to follow but something deeper. In Jeremiah, God declares, “I will put my law within you. I will write it upon your hearts.” Ultimately, Truth is not a list of propositions about God that the Bible teaches us. Truth is something that comes alive within us. It is a seed God plants within us. It is like the student who sits at the piano for years with her incredible teacher. She takes in all the instruction she can, she practices endlessly, and then one day her instructor is absent, and she plays, something new, something born from all she was taught but from not rote memorization, the music is a part of her, and it comes to life through her both in a unique way, but one born from her mentor. Paul writes that we are to be transformed. God wants us our obedience to come from within. Scripture is meant to shape us, not to dictate to us. Certainly, God wants us to obey the Word because these are divine commands, but more than that God wants us as Paul writes, “To grow up into the full stature of Christ.” Which comes from the indwelling of the Spirit. This is why we can’t update scripture. In the same way that Google updates its map software, God leaves us room for us to grow. By leaving a gap between the age in which scripture was written and our day we are forced to seek out the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are forced to consider the implications of these difficult questions that face us today. This dialogue, this wrestling between the text and today’s world engages the depth of our heart leading us into a prayerful seeking disposition. That is the crucible in which we become obedient from the heart, in which we grow up into the full stature of Christ. Second Corinthians 3:3 explains, “and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” This leads to God’s ultimate intention. We are not to believe something because it is in the Bible but because we have been convicted of its truth from within. The Holy Spirit’s quickening presence in our reading of scripture should guide us. Each time we open its pages we should come with the words of that hymn on our heart: Open my eyes, that I may see Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me; Place in my hands the wonderful key That shall unclasp and set me free. Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready my God, Thy will to see, Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine! Amen.