Sermons And Speeches |
And a few articles
Sermons And Speeches |
Nicole M. Garcia, M.Div., M.A. LPC
Sermon for Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, Louisville CO September 20 & 23, 2018 Reading: Genesis 39:1-23 Some of you may know who I am and some of you wonder who I am. Christ the Servant is my home congregation which means this is the congregation where, according to the Rocky Mountain Synod, I am a voting member. I must admit; however, I do not attend Sunday service at Christ the Servant very often as I work Sunday mornings for I am on staff at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Boulder as the Director of Congregational Care. For those of you who don’t know me, the congregation of Christ the Servant helped me obtain my position at Mount Calvary by supporting me emotionally and financially through seminary. I am happy to report on the 20th of May, I earned a master of divinity through Luther Seminary. I am currently working on my final project for the candidacy committee and may, with the help of God, be approved for ordination on November 29th. All of you have played a part in my journey toward ordination and I am eternally grateful. Now, let’s get to why we are here. Let’s talk about gospel. We are utilizing the Narrative Lectionary at Mount Calvary, just as we are at Christ the Servant, so you may recall two weeks ago we heard about Noah and the flood and last week, God sent Abram on a journey. This week, we learn about Joseph, a prosperous young man who stands by his principles and pays the price; he goes to prison, for not wanting to sin against God. Standing up for what is right is one possible focus of this sermon, but I am compelled to point out the fact that the whole story about Joseph is just bizarre. Joseph is the youngest son of Jacob and Joseph is the most favored of his father’s sons. In chapter 37, you can read about Jacob giving Joseph a unique garment. In different translations, this garment is described as a “long robe with sleeves,” or a “coat of many colors,” or on Broadway, an “amazing, Technicolor dream coat.” Anyway, Joseph also has prophetic dreams and he likes to tell everyone about his dreams, which only serves to annoy his brothers. One day, Jacob tells Joseph to find his brothers, so Joseph goes prancing off in his fancy coat and the brothers decide to take his coat and throw Joseph into a pit. They change their minds and then decide to sell him into slavery. They rip up his coat and soak the pieces in the blood of a goat and tell Jacob his dear Joseph was eaten by wild animals. That’s just the beginning of the exploits of an incredibly dysfunctional family. Our story today begins with Joseph, who has been sold to Potiphar, has become the overseer in Potiphar’s household. We really have no idea how he obtained his position other than the statement in verse 2: “The Lord was with Joseph and he became a successful man.” So, Joseph is doing well and the Lord is with him and the Lord is also with the house of Potiphar, but there is the wife of Potiphar who decides she wants this very good-looking young man for herself. Joseph is loyal to his master and obeys God by not getting involved with a married woman (always good advice) and rebuffs the advances, but Potiphar’s wife dislikes rejection, so she takes her anger out on Joseph and he thrown into prison. Here is another possible focus for a sermon: being unjustly accused and sent to prison. But in verse 21, just as in verse 2, are the words, “But the Lord was with Joseph.” This phrase kept jumping out to me each time I read Genesis chapter 39: “The Lord was with Joseph.” What does that mean? To answer this question, I reached back to my days in high school; way back when phones were attached to the wall. I remembered what was implied when someone asked if you were “going with” somebody. They were asking if you were in a relationship with another person. That thought changed how I read chapter 39…The Lord was with Joseph became The Lord was in relationship with Joseph. Being in relationship with God is where I found gospel in this reading. Jesus stressed two commandments: Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. The two most important commandments are all about being in relationship. Joseph relied on his relationship with the Lord when he was in the bottom of the pit. Joseph relied on his relationship with the Lord when he was sold into slavery. Joseph relied on the gifts and talents given to him by God which allowed him to create relationships with those around him and he prospered no matter where he ended up. What does it mean be in relationship with the Lord? This summer has been a blur. In May, I traveled to the Lutheran Holy Land, St. Paul Minnesota, graduated from seminary and then completed my pastoral internship on May 27th. On June 1st, I started a quarter-time position as the Director of Congregational Care at Mount Calvary and re-opened my private counseling practice using my office at Mount Calvary as my counseling office. Soon thereafter, I wrote and had an article published for the Lutheran Seminary in Chicago and was the keynote speaker at for an interfaith service at the Episcopal Cathedral in San Diego. And then, a member of the staff at Mount Calvary decided to resign and I was asked to go to half-time at Mount Calvary and then I decided to join an established counseling practice so I could take insurance. Life seemed to be going in the right direction, but I didn’t have a handle on any of it. I felt like I was standing in the middle of a tornado and I had no idea what was going on. In the middle of August, I realized I hadn’t spoken with my spiritual director all summer. Both of our summer schedules had precluded any contact, but in the middle of August, I sent him a note and we met on the last Friday in August. My spiritual director is a Russian Catholic priest and professor at Regis University. We have worked together for about five years now. Sometime ago we decided we work well together because I believe I am an orthodox Lutheran and he believes I am an evangelical Catholic, so we walk together in the tension, so to speak; a very Lutheran relationship. We had lunch and talked about our busy summers and then walked back to his office. I explained to him about my feeling of not being in control of my life. I managed to show up where I needed to be and I fulfilled my obligations, but I felt like my life was running me. He asked me about my relationship with God. Please, I work for God; everything I do is related to my work for God. He asked me again, how is your relationship with God? I stared at him. What could he possibly mean—my relationship with God? I realized in that moment I hadn’t actually stopped and talked with God in a while. I prayed a lot, but usually with other people and asking for guidance in their lives. I prayed for people impacted by flood and fire. But I realized I had neglected my own relationship with God. I realized my life felt out of control because I was the center of my life. God was a part of my life, but God wasn’t the center of my life. I was told about a daily prayer app and I downloaded it on my phone. Twice a day, I use that app to recite a litany of prayers and read scripture. There is time for silence and meditation so I can talk with God and ask for guidance, strength, and courage. My calendar is still as full as it can be, but everything gets done in God’s time. I don’t have to be the center of the tornado, God is the center. The Lord is with me. I have no doubt everyone in this sanctuary has been thrown into a deep dark pit at one time or another; the pit of despair, grief, and loneliness where no light seems to penetrate. I have no doubt everyone in this sanctuary has endured the pain of being betrayed by a friend; someone who you thought you could trust. The pain of betrayal or being punished for doing what you think is right—that pain is excruciating. And everyone knows what it is like to live in the center of a tornado; our lives are full and there is never enough time, but there is time for God. Sometimes God is a phone call from a friend who has no idea what to say, but they want to let you know you are loved. Sometimes it is Pastor Steph or a member of the care team who stops by to say a prayer and maybe have communion and they let you know God loves you even when you think God has abandoned you. But being in relationship with God isn’t treating God like an ATM. Doing things to make you look good so that when things go bad you just turn to God and say, I earned some help here. No, being in relationship with God is talking to God every day. Maybe it is opening an app and reciting a litany of prayers and scripture. Maybe it is walking and enjoying the sunrise or sunset and talking with God aloud or in your heart. No matter how or when, God wants to be in relationship with you every day. When you are with God, everything else seems a little bit easier for God will share your burdens by sending angels into your life. Joseph knew—for the Lord was with Joseph.
0 Comments
|