When Justice Becomes the Gospel: A Call to Clarity

[00:02:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:02:57] Welcome to worship here at North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church. It's good to be together.
[00:03:03] And it's good to be inside because it is pretty cold out there.
[00:03:07] For all of our students, I'm so sorry that you had to go back to school for like an hour or something on Friday.
[00:03:17] But it'll get you warmed up and ready to go next week. It should be a nice week this week.
[00:03:23] Several announcements for everyone.
[00:03:25] First and foremost, today is the big game. The big, big game.
[00:03:31] Not talking about the Super Bowl, but teddy bear football.
[00:03:36] Right following our worship service today, you all are invited to come and join us for lunch in the Fellowship Hall and stick around to cheer on the teams as they play the annual teddy bear football game.
[00:03:47] We hope that you'll stick around and join us.
[00:03:49] This afternoon, 3 p.m., down in the North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church Library, down over there. We hope that you'll join our Peace and Justice Book Club as they read Carla Cornejo Villavicencio's The Undocumented Americans. You are welcome to join the conversation
[00:04:08] whether or not you've read the book. Simply come and engage in the issues at hand. We hope that you'll join us 3 p.m. down in our library. Our church nominating committee is currently accepting nominations for ruling elder class of 2028. You may have received a letter with a paper
[00:04:31] ballot or you'll be getting that shortly. There was an email version. There's a version in our weekly newsletter. We hope that you'll prayerfully consider who it is you'd like to invite to serve as our church nominating committee discerns and puts forward their
[00:04:49] slate here in the next couple of months. So nominate ruling elders that you see fit. Available in the church life or in the church office now is our Lenten devotional. We will be using a book
[00:05:03] called Pause, a look at the Psalms as they usher our way into the in the season of Lent. There are some copies available and more are to come. So pick yours pick your copy up today and join in
[00:05:19] the devotion this Lenten season. And you may have noticed if you came in, particularly if you came in off of our E Street entrance, there's some heavy lifting equipment out there. And that is because Steeplejack is working on fixing up our steeple, the louvers up there, making them nice
[00:05:40] and new, but also making them so that water doesn't get into our building. So we look forward did the completion of their work, and we thank them for their service. For all the rest of the
[00:05:51] announcements, I'll direct your attention to that QR code in your bulletin. You can scan that with any smart device to get some information about our service of worship, some devotional readings, and there's also several links there. A link to our monthly calendar, a link to our online giving
[00:06:09] page, if that's how you prefer to give, and there's a link to our weekly newsletter as well.
[00:06:15] that's where you'll find the most up-to-date information about the ins and outs of the life of the church so we hope that you'll peruse it each week and get involved as you feel led there is a lot going on not only in the life of the church but in our community in our country
[00:06:30] around the world and so we take time each week to remember who we are to remember that we have been called and claimed by God that we've been gifted with the spirit and that we are meant to
[00:06:43] shine light in a world that needs a little bit of light these days. So let us remember why we're here and let us join our hearts and minds and voices as we worship together. Let us call one
[00:06:56] another to praise. People of God, praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Happy are those who fear the Lord, those who greatly delight in his commandments. Their descendants will be mighty in the land.
[00:07:12] The generation of the upright will be blessed.
[00:07:17] Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.
[00:07:23] We who gather are broken, yet holy.
[00:07:28] Sinners at heart, yet fully redeemed.
[00:07:31] We are God's very own, called together here this day.
[00:07:37] Let us sing, let us pray, let us join together in worship.
[00:07:43] Praise the Lord.

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:07:47] God's holiness, the more we can sense our distance from our creator,

[00:11:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:11:41] the more we seek justice and faithful living, the more we understand that we also play a part in the world's oppression.
[00:11:53] With humble hearts, then, let us confess our brokenness and our sin, trusting that God is ready to forgive and to lead us in a way forward.
[00:12:04] Let's pray together, first using the words printed in our bulletin, followed by a silent time of prayer.
[00:12:12] Gracious God, we confess that it is harder to do than we expected this life of faith.
[00:12:20] You call us to be salt of the earth and to live lives of justice and righteousness and love.
[00:12:28] but our lives become busy. Following what others do is just easier, and sometimes the cost of doing what is right seems too high. One day, perhaps, we will commit more poorly, but the status quo
[00:12:47] works better for us right now. Forgive us, we pray. Startle our senses and disrupt our routines.
[00:12:56] renew in us the passion for doing what is right in your eyes and inspire us to be sources of your light in the world.
[00:13:07] May we, like the prophets and the saints, act by faith no matter how high the cost.
[00:13:58] The Lord is gracious and merciful and righteous.
[00:14:04] When we stray, God calls us back, calls us to let our light shine so let's remind one another what that looks like using the words from isaiah is this is not this the fast that i choose to loose the bonds of
[00:14:28] injustice to undo the straps of the yoke to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homes of the poor into your house
[00:14:45] when you see the naked to cover them and to not hide yourself from your own kin then your light shall break forth like the dawn and your healing shall spring up quickly your vindicator shall go before you
[00:15:03] The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
[00:15:08] Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer.
[00:15:12] You shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
[00:15:17] We are blessed to know that very light that breaks forth.
[00:15:23] We know God's love and grace through Jesus Christ.
[00:15:27] through Christ our sins are forgiven and we know new life thanks be to God amen indeed we know new life and part of living into that is sharing the peace that we have found near and far and so let's
[00:15:46] take a moment now to turn to one another with a sign of Christ's peace in whatever way seems right and sensible for you today. You can shake hands or hug. You could fist bump or give a peace sign.
[00:15:59] Simply share a kind word. If you'd like to pass the peace without physical touch, you can place your hands in front of you and share a sign in this way. May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ
[00:16:09] be with you all. May be seated. Now let us join our hearts and our voices together as we sing our prayer of illumination. Amen. Our first lesson for this morning comes from Isaiah chapter 58 verses 1 through 12. So let's listen for what the Holy Spirit is telling God's people.
[00:19:28] Shout out, do not hold back. Lift up your voice like a trumpet. Announce to my people their rebellion to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my
[00:19:45] ways, as if they were a nation who practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinances of their God. They ask of me righteous judgments. They want God on their side.
[00:20:06] Why do we fast, but you do not see?
[00:20:11] Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?
[00:20:16] Look, you serve your own interests on your fast day and oppress all your workers.
[00:20:23] You fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist.
[00:20:31] Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.
[00:20:38] Is such the fast that I choose a day to humble yourself?
[00:20:44] Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
[00:20:52] Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
[00:20:57] Is not this the fast that I choose?
[00:21:01] to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke?
[00:21:13] Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house, when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
[00:21:27] Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly.
[00:21:35] Your vindicator shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
[00:21:42] Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer.
[00:21:46] You shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
[00:21:50] If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
[00:22:10] The Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your needs in parched places and make your bones strong, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt. You shall raise up the foundations
[00:22:36] of many generations. You shall be called the repairers of the breach, the restorer

[00:22:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:22:43] of streets to live in holy wisdom holy word thanks be to god i am surprised when this happens like

[00:26:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:26:25] when when an anthem fits so nicely with the text because we plan these things out ahead of time but when i prepare the bulletin and then i see it in the morning i'm like this makes so much sense
[00:26:36] thank you thank you our second lesson for today comes from the gospel according to matthew chapter 5 verses 13 through 20. So listen once more for the word of God.
[00:26:56] You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?
[00:27:06] It is no longer good for anything but is thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. People do not light a lamp, put it under a
[00:27:24] bushel basket. Rather, they put it up on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
[00:27:32] In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the
[00:27:48] prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter will pass from the law until all is
[00:28:06] accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds
[00:28:30] that of the scribes and the Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven holy wisdom holy word thanks be to God you may you may or may not know this about me I am a super creature of routine and habit I like things orderly
[00:28:56] and I like to do the same sorts of things the same sorts of times on the same sorts of days. And I begin every Tuesday in exactly the same way, almost every Tuesday.
[00:29:12] Pastor Amanda, similar as well. My Tuesday mornings begin with coffee, a cup of coffee.
[00:29:21] Not just any coffee, though. It begins with a cup of coffee with a group of local pastors.
[00:29:28] Not all local pastors, for there are far too many for us to gather for coffee.
[00:29:33] And to be honest, I would not be welcome at the table of many of these folks.
[00:29:41] Just in all honesty.
[00:29:43] So my coffee time is not with all local pastors, but with a few close and trusted colleagues with whom we can share the struggles we are facing.
[00:29:54] the struggles of being a forward-thinking pastoral presence in a community where forward-thinking pastoral presences aren't always welcome. And at those coffee meetings, we talk about all sorts of stuff. We run the gamut of what we talk about. We talk about faith. We talk about
[00:30:16] politics. We talk about justice. We talk about life in general, how things are going in our personal lives, how things are going in our family lives, how things are going in the life of our
[00:30:29] congregations. All of the good, the bad, and the ugly. We talk about all of it. It's just, it's kind of our opportunity to share the ups and downs of life with one another. But all too often,
[00:30:45] all too often, we just find ourselves commiserating with each other, commiserating over the state of the world and the challenges of pastoring congregations in a world that just seems to be on fire everywhere these days. In fact, during the COVID pandemic of 2020, there were
[00:31:09] several young families in the community that gathered on Zoom each and every week for a weekly trivia game was our way to kind of connect with one another and to see human faces even though we were isolated from one another. And I don't know if you remember, I see the steals over
[00:31:29] here. Christmas that year, Mr. Blaine Johnston, one of our own, made each of the families a decorative Christmas ornament. It said 2020 and it was an ornament of a dumpster fire because 2020 had that
[00:31:45] sort of feel to it. We still hang ours proudly and fondly, thinking back to those times when we put that on our Christmas tree every year. Unfortunately, it seems like dumpster fires are not just a thing from 2020, that they are all over the place now, anywhere and everywhere we look these
[00:32:06] days. And so inevitably at these coffee talks with these pastors, we find ourselves venting about all this stuff venting about the state of our world venting about the state of our country venting about the state of our community here we lament decisions that are made that that put people in
[00:32:27] harm's way that that take away much needed assistance and support for the most most vulnerable people among us decisions that that dehumanize people and deny them their their basic dignity and rights their god-given dignity and worth we we decry the many ways that injustice
[00:32:50] just seems to imbound all over the place so so for us it's nice to have this this safe space the safe coffee time space to be able to vent and lament and decry the problems of our times
[00:33:05] to have this place and this trusted people in whom we can confide and find some mutual support and encouragement among all these issues.
[00:33:17] And if I'm honest with you, if I'm honest with myself, it's all a bit overwhelming, isn't it?
[00:33:24] There's so much going on in the world, so many problems in so many places.
[00:33:30] And it weighs.
[00:33:32] it weighs on me and I imagine it weighs on you too or maybe you're like maybe you're like some of those people out there who who just try to turn it all off and they try to ignore it try to flip the news off and not read too much
[00:33:50] on their Facebook feeds but I suspect that even then if you're one of those people you eventually get frustrated too because there's just too much of it out there all of that news is gonna get to us one way or another there's just too
[00:34:05] much going on here and there and everywhere it all feels just a bit or a lot overwhelming and it feels a bit deflating too to me like nothing you do or I do like like nothing really makes a difference we do some things that we
[00:34:25] think are helpful, but take a step forward and it seems like we're taking five or ten steps back.
[00:34:32] Nothing's making like a real positive impact anywhere. Like the kingdom of darkness continues to overcome the kingdom of light. That's how I feel on many of the darkest days. And to make matters worse to make matters worse last week my lovely wife Gretchen had the audacity to convince
[00:34:57] Jude and Asher and Amos and I to watch a lecture on tv there's a lecture given at her alma mater Calvin College Calvin University now is a faith-based school up in Grand Rapids Michigan It's rooted in the Christian Reformed Church, and the school has one of those shortened January terms
[00:35:22] where, in addition to the classes, they invite a series of guest speakers to come and present, and those lectures are open to the public, and they're also strained for people to view.
[00:35:36] And in this case, this lecture that we were supposed to watch was Mr. David Brooks.
[00:35:45] kind of a famous commentator. He was the guest lecturer and he was invited to speak about what he sees as and what he calls the moral decay of America. And he laid out the same sorts of things, all the same sorts of things that we talk about in our little pastor's
[00:36:08] coffee time on Tuesday mornings. He talked about how we start and we're starting to view people who look differently and think differently from us as enemies he talked about how how we treat people who are from different places and have different perspectives as as less than human
[00:36:30] he talked about this the growing apathy around issues of injustice that just seems to allow injustice to flourish. But at the conclusion of this lecture, the host of the event turned to Mr. Brooks, and she asked him this question that he himself has become known for asking.
[00:36:56] She kind of turned the tables on him, and she asked him, David, what are you loving right now?
[00:37:06] what are you loving right now that's a wonderful question it's a wonderful question particularly amidst all the dumpster fires that are going on what are you loving right now it's the it's the type of question that i think the prophet isaiah would have would have really loved because that's
[00:37:33] what he was doing he was trying to inspire his people with this with this broader vision of what could be instead of miring in the many problems and perils of his own day? What are you loving
[00:37:47] right now? I think it's the type of type of question that maybe Jesus himself would have loved because that's what he was doing. He was trying to direct the imagination of his followers toward a future that was about the kingdom of heaven, a future in which the kingdom of heaven
[00:38:09] became more and more and more prevalent, more so than the world, the kingdoms of this world, where the kingdom of light persistently shone over and through the kingdom of darkness.
[00:38:23] What are you loving right now? It's a question that reorients our hearts and minds. It pulls our attention out of the challenges of this day and reminds us of why we're even concerned with those challenges to begin with. It's not that the challenges aren't important. It's that that's not
[00:38:45] the point. The point is that there's a bigger and brighter picture than all the stuff that we see around us. If only, if only we would remember why it is we're here. That we are here for a
[00:38:59] reason. We're here for a God-given purpose. We're here to shine. Why do we lose the bonds of injustice, as Isaiah says? Why do we undo the straps of the yoke? Why do we let the oppressed
[00:39:17] go free? Why do we share bread with the hungry and find housing for those who are unhoused and clothes for those who go without? Why do we do those things? Because we are the light
[00:39:33] of the world and in doing these things we shine breaking forth like the dawn so that the kingdom of heaven so that the kingdom of light might come so the kingdom of darkness the kingdoms of this
[00:39:50] world might wane and so that anyone and everyone might see a better way to live a better way to live life together, and that they might all, that we might all, give glory to God in heaven all the
[00:40:07] same. What are you loving right now? I beg you, find the answer to that question. I beg you to hold fast to your answer to that question, and then I ask you to let that question guide you. Let the
[00:40:28] answer to that question guide you as you encounter all of the many people and all of the many problems of our day, for we will all shine so much brighter if we remember what it is we're shining

[00:40:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:40:42] for. Thanks be to God. Amen. Friends, with God's word still ringing in our ear and echoing in our hearts let us say what the church believes together today our affirmation comes from the confession of 1967 so let's rise in body or in spirit and
[00:41:27] affirm our faith we believe the life death resurrection and promised coming of Jesus Christ has set the pattern for the church's mission is human life involves the church in every life of all people. His service to men and women
[00:41:51] commits the church to work for every form of human well-being. His suffering makes the church sensitive to all human suffering so that it sees the face of Christ in the faces of persons in every kind of need. His crucifixion discloses
[00:42:13] to the Church God's judgment on the inhumanity that marks human relations and the awful consequences of the Church's own complicity and injustice in the power of the risen Christ and the hope of his coming.
[00:42:32] The Church sees the promise of God's renewal of human life in society and of God's victory over all wrong.
[00:42:42] The church follows his pattern in the form of its life and in the method of its action.
[00:42:50] So to live and serve is to confess Christ as Lord. Amen.

[00:42:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:42:57] Let us go to God in prayer, asking God to shine God's light in the world and reminding ourselves that that's our job too.
[00:46:54] Let us pray. Almighty God, through the testimony of those who know your love, you have guided us to ask for what we need. Our Lord Jesus called his disciples to live as a city on a hill and a lamp on a stand so that all might see the glory of God. So we pray. We pray for the
[00:47:20] church, the community of disciples here and there and everywhere. Grant that we all who claim the name of Christ might shine as light in our darkened world. Use us, those gathered here, to do that here
[00:47:37] in our community so that there would be no one untouched by the goodness of your light and love.
[00:47:44] God, our brother Paul led the early church not by lofty words of human wisdom, but by the wisdom born of your Spirit.
[00:47:55] So we pray for those who serve you in the church.
[00:48:00] Let our pastors, our teachers, those who minister in the name of Christ, let us all forsake the worldly knowledge that perishes and be led by your truth, your truth alone.
[00:48:14] we pray especially for our session our ruling elders here and ask that you grant them your wisdom as they prayerfully consider who it is we are and where it is we are going as we try to be
[00:48:30] more fully and faithfully following you blessed are those who honor your commandments oh lord so we pray for our world for the governments and for their leaders may all those who rule honor justice and compassion and may they serve the common good that so that all people might
[00:48:56] flourish here in our local community in our state in our country and around the globe we pray for those who have been elected or those who have claimed power we ask that they might be
[00:49:09] infused with your ways, that they might care deeply about creating a world where anyone and everyone have access to what they need, and that all people might come to know of your goodness and grace because of it. You teach us, O God, to offer food to the hungry and to satisfy the needs
[00:49:31] of those who are afflicted. So we pray. We pray for those who are sick, for those who are hungry, for those who are poor for those are with who are without home for those who are oppressed
[00:49:46] in any way shape or form we pray especially oh god for those closest to us those who need your healing hand those who need to experience your healing touch those who need our comforting presence as well. We lift up to you Anna Jo, Karen, Chris, Susan, Martha, Kathy, Evelyn, Ward, Pat,
[00:50:17] Ed, Angela, Cade, Richard, Michael, William, Betty, Debbie, Joelle, Barbara, Cole, Leslie, and so many others, O God, who need your healing touch, those in our hearts and minds, and those who have no one to pray for them.
[00:50:44] We ask that you would make your presence known, that you bring about your healing and wholeness and for those who are experiencing loss who are mourning and grieving we pray especially this day for the family of Laura Bouchon
[00:51:00] for the family of Lucille Johnson sister of our own Gerald Langford and for the family of Mary Frances Galifianakis we ask oh God that you make your presence known to them that you surround them
[00:51:16] with your care and compassion, and that you would use us, your people, to surround them with care as well. Let your church, O God, minister to those in distress, and let us bear witness to your
[00:51:30] abiding compassion for all those who suffer. To you, O God, we pray, through Christ, with Christ, in Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit now and forevermore and to that end O God we join our voices with disciples all around the globe praying
[00:51:56] together the prayer that Jesus has taught us all to pray saying our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on on earth as it is in heaven.
[00:52:13] Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
[00:52:21] Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[00:52:26] For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever.
[00:52:32] Amen.

[00:52:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:52:33] We are called to let our light shine, not to hide it, but to let it shine far and wide. And so we share our gifts of our time, our talent, and our treasure so that God's
[00:53:05] love may be known throughout the world. And you may wish to give by placing something in the offering plate or by giving something in the Little White Church in the Narthex. You can give online or send something into the church office. But there are so many other ways that we can let
[00:53:25] our light shine in the world that has nothing to do with what is in our bank accounts or in our wallets. You can give by committing to serve at St. Paul's Crisis Assistance Ministry on the
[00:53:39] third Thursday of the month. That's where we share a meal for those folks who come seeking assistance. You can prepare a meal in advance or you can actually go and serve and share a meal
[00:53:51] with the folks who come there.
[00:53:52] You can sign up to make bagged lunches for Wilkes Ministry of Hope.
[00:53:58] That food goes to folks there who come to get food every month.
[00:54:04] And it just goes a little extra way of making sure that hungry bellies are fed.
[00:54:10] You can bring items into our free little pantry here.
[00:54:14] Or you can give by committing your time to joining one of our committees of the church.
[00:54:20] by doing that you can guide the faithful work that we do here so that we can collectively let our light shine into the world in this time of reflection and meditation let us each commit our
[00:54:34] own gifts to god and then we will offer them together in prayer friends let's let's offer the gifts of our lives to god accept these get these our gifts almighty god as a statement of
[00:56:58] our faith. May our offerings bring goodness and light wherever it is needed. May our communities of faith be bearers of your light, and may we be sources of that same light to the world

[00:57:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:57:15] in all that say and do. Amen. We go out into the world that God so dearly and deeply loves,

[01:00:35] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:00:35] and I beg you to ask the question, to answer the question, what are you loving right now?
[01:00:44] If you know the answer, you will shine. Go out and love the Lord your God. Go out and love God's people here and there and everywhere. Go out and shine the light and love of Christ wherever you
[01:00:59] go. I hope that you will go this way and join us for lunch in the fellowship hall. Good time of fellowship and friendship and food. But as you go, I pray you go with this blessing. May the grace of
[01:01:14] our Lord Jesus the Christ, the love of God our creator, and the partnership of the Holy Spirit, the Lord, giver of life. May that God go with you, me, and with us together this day and forevermore.
[01:01:31] Alleluia. Amen.