DESERT PALMS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Sun City West, Arizona

Habitat For Divinity

The Rev. Dr. David S. Hodgson

The Rev. Stanford L. Burtless, Jr.

Linda Bailey, Interim Associate Pastor

Ellen Van Arsdale R.N., Congregational Nurse

APRIL 18, 2010

Psalm 127

 Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.

2 It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved. 3 Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth.

5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Luke 7:18-23

The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples 19 and sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

20 When the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ ” 21 Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. 23 And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

            Well, we are your pastoral team, made up of one emeritus, two interns and a parish nurse. We pray together, study together, do pastoral care together, share your concerns with each other. We plan programs together, we enjoy working together and so, we thought it might be fun if we preached a sermon together. At least I had this great idea … that we could preach a sermon together to honor the work you have all done with Habitat for Humanity. We have called our sermon “Habitat for Divinity”. We have taken a text and we are going to share it and let you see what a team can do when it looks at a text from different points of view. I have no idea what they are going to say. That’s what makes it fun. In the second service we are going to scramble the order, so it will be different. (They just found that out.) 

From Psalm 127, Verse 1 in the Revised Standard Version: “Unless the Lord builds the house those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” I love that verse. Let us pray for inspiration. Loving God, we thank you for the way you have called us together in this season of life to be a church, to gather around your word to celebrate your spirit, to rejoice in life and to thank you every Sunday for the awesome journey that has been ours. We ask you to be with us as we reflect upon your holy word. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

            It occurred to me that we spend a lot of time in life wondering about life ever after. I don’t know how much of life we spend thinking about it or wondering about it or worrying about it, but I do know that it is a common theme among the churches I have served to wonder about life after death. It is real, it is beautiful, it is everything you have imagined it to be, and I am confident that one day we will be there and look back on all of this with gratitude. Oddly enough, that’s not one of the central themes of the Bible, preparing for life ever after. The central theme of the Bible is God’s longing to live here, with us, now. That runs from Genesis to Revelation: God coming into the garden and wanting to be a part of the human experiment in the cool of the day; prophets proclaiming the name of Emmanuel, God with us, in the cities and nations of the earth; Jesus coming in the flesh and showing what it’s like for God to come and be at home here with all of us; the Holy Spirit building habitats for divinity; congregations all over the world. The central theme of the Bible is God’s desire to come and share all of this with us. It doesn’t mean the other isn’t going to happen. It just means this is pretty awesome as it is.

            So we’ve taken the theme “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” and so on. We thought it might be fun for each of the team to speak to what that theme means to each of us in our perspectives on ministry. At this service we’ll start with our parish nurse, Ellen.

            Ellen Van Arsdale. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians there is not just one but two references to God’s temple and God’s spirit that dwells in us. I Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit dwells in you?” And in case Paul hasn’t made the point, he goes on in I Corinthians 6:19: “ … or, do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?” These are pretty powerful words. Paul wants to make sure that we have gotten the message that our bodies are also to be considered holy and are to be treated with that respect and care we might apply to dwelling places such as this church. Just what does that mean and how does it apply to us?

            I actually believe that Jesus gave us a pretty good example in his life and his living. Even in those too few thirty-three years of life Jesus demonstrated some ways of caring for his temple, the body, the dwelling place of the spirit. We know for example that he lived in the Middle East, which implied a diet that is today called the Mediterranean Diet. How many of you have not heard of that diet? He ate fish, probably sardines. He lived in a country rich in olive groves and therefore olive oil. Fruits, such as figs and dates were plentiful and given his economic status he probably ate little other meat. He also probably did not know what refined flour and sugar were. If you go home today and have pancakes and syrup, you might feel a little guilty. 

            We also know that Jesus got plenty of exercise. What would be the favorite form of exercise for Jesus? [Response: walking.] Absolutely. He went from village to village on foot and sometimes walked long distances. We also know that he spent time with friends and family even before he called the twelve disciples to follow him.  We know he knew the importance of some time alone. Even in the busy-ness of his calling, he sought out that ‘alone’ time. We know he spent time in prayer, meditation and most likely a tradition called fasting. All of these were actually ways to kind of cleanse the body, the mind and the spirit. 

            We also know that he stayed connected with his family. Even on the cross, who was it that Jesus expressed concern for? His mother. Although thirty-three years is not a long life, Jesus lived it fully and honored his Father’s wishes. The New Testament talks a great deal about Jesus and his reference to “fear not”. In fact in the Bible, we are told, there are three hundred and sixty-five references to the words “fear not”. I haven’t gone back to do that research; you’re welcome to do that and let me know if that’s the case, but how many days are there in a year? Okay, we may have one for every day of the year. Are we willing to wake up each morning and utter those words: “Today, I will fear not.”

            One of my favorite songs and actually one I have shared with you here at Desert Palms, is, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow”. I want to share those words again with you from one of the verses:

"Let not your heart be troubled,"
His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness,
I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth
But one step I may see:
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know God cares for me.

Let that be our assurance as we shelter God’s spirit.

Pastor David. How cool was that? Jesus walks for exercise. I never would have come up with that, but you knew it anyway, right? “Unless the Lord builds the house we labor in vain to build it.” Brother Stan.

Stan Burtless. Ellen, thank you for your perspectives on what it means to the body to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, and that we are to continually glorify God in our bodies as we go through life as part of God’s people. 

There is a verse that has particular significance as we move toward our thirtieth anniversary here at Desert Palms. That wonderful verse is from the great faith chapter in the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse 1, which tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. As I thought about that verse I could not help but think about how God began to envision building his house here in Sun City West on this particular site at 135^th and Stardust. He began with the conviction of one hundred and nineteen faithful servants who were willing to catch God’s vision, not knowing where God was going to lead them, but who had the assurance that God was going to shape this church in a great way through their participation. 

So, on November 23, 1980, these one hundred and nineteen started their faith journey. They trusted God; they took God at his word, and they resolved to live their lives accordingly. There are only thirteen of our original one hundred and nineteen still with us today. I would like to share their names with you now:

Charles Ainsworth, Marty Belikow, Ruth Bond, Jenna Berkey

Helene Gilcrist, Larry and Bob Ingersol, Edward Malmstrom,

Jerry Sachs, Lois Shook, and Bill and Mary Silvas, who are

currently living out of state.

With the original one hundred and nineteen and all of those who have come after, up to the present, God has continued to build his house by utilizing the gifts and talents of all of these and all of us, as we go forward together to continue to build God’s house of truth and love. Time does not permit us to recount all the inspirational events, worship services and everything else that has transpired here at Desert Palms in the years past, but the beautiful thing is that in all these years, up to the present, God has continued to build his house and his people have not labored in vain. 

            In the eleven years that I had the privilege of serving this church on staff before I retired, there were many memorable events. Fortunately, our church historian is recalling all of those now and preparing them for us in a form we will be able to enjoy for our celebration in November. There are many inspirational, joyous moments that many of us have experienced in this church, but for me, personally, I was never more moved nor found more joy and inspiration, than from the Good Friday service, leading in to the worship services on Easter Sunday morning, two Sundays ago. I got to thinking as we worshiped during those services, how alive the spirit of God is here. If we are not aware of that, then we’re not paying attention.

            It’s incumbent upon us, all of us who are still here, to be guided by God’s spirit as we trust his word, as we are guided by his word. As we move forward into the future that our Lord is continually preparing for us, we take the message of Easter, the joy, the enthusiasm and the inspiration from that service on Easter Sunday, and carry it forward. We continue to be the people of God, committed to building his house, because we know we definitely are not laboring in vain.

            Pastor David. Thank you, Stan.  You know, one of the great gifts in the history of this church is that Stan has been willing and able to take his eleven year history with all of you and reinvest it now, in the rebuilding that we are doing now. I thank you. And now, Linda.

            Linda Bailey. As I reflected on the scripture and the many facets we would be covering today, another scripture, a passage, stayed in my mind, and it’s from Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” 

            I keep thinking about relationships, our relationship with Christ and our relationships with each other. The power of Christ comes to us sometimes in the moment of peace or prayer. We feel its presence in the bond of friendship and love, and in the promise that love does not come to an end. Christ knows we need encouragement and support, and we find encouragement, support and inspiration whenever we gather in worship, and when we carry forward the mission of Jesus to serve others.

            This past week, David, Jan Ettele and myself have all been at the Stephen Ministry Training in St. Louis. I know there are many ways in which this congregation reaches out in Christian love and compassion to each other and to the community, but Stephen Ministry has been on my mind a great deal. I am deeply touched by the many ways people who come alongside each other in need and share their love in listening and supporting, in providing encouragement, in finding new beginnings and new possibilities. Stephen Ministry is Christ caring for people through people. It is a caring community actively involved in serving one another in Christian love. Ministry caregivers provide a caring relationship with someone and faithfully listen, empathize with, pray with and for, and encourage with Christ’s love and care. 

            While we were at the Ministry Training this congregation was recognized as one that has had a Stephen Ministry for over twenty years. That’s a wonderful commitment and witness. If you think about it, all of the ways we reach out to each other, you can think of it as reaching out to one another in Christ. 

            Pastor David. While we were there, the 60,000^th Stephen Ministry leader was being trained. 

What I would do with this text is focus on the second half of it, but a word first about Hebrew poetry. Hebrew as a language doesn’t have all the adjectives and adverbs that we do. In their poetry they often say the same thing twice—you’ve noticed that in the Psalms—but the second time they say it, they say a little something different as a way of adding to the other verse. What this text is really saying is that the Lord not only needs to build the house, but the Lord also needs to build the public houses and institutions of civilization that we create, where the builders build them in vain.

            I would tie this verse back to the eighth chapter of Deuteronomy, where Moses speaks for God and sends the Hebrews into the Promised Land: “Go forth into this land flowing with milk and honey,” and the one caution, “You shall remember the Lord thy God.” Then, along about Verse 19, “ … and you shall remember the Lord thy God and worship him, for in the day that you forget the Lord and run after other gods and worship them, you shall surely perish.” I just believe that. 

Because of my love of politics and religion, faith and public policy, I am absolutely convinced that when we build our public institutions and systems around the faith of a people in God, they work. When we don’t, they eventually fail. The Hebrews got some things right and some things wrong in the Bible, and what makes the Bible unique is that both the successes and failures are all spelled out. Among the things they got right was that for almost two thousand years they logged their relationship in history to their success as a people, and as a nation, to the faith of the people. They were able to show that when the people lost faith in God, then their community started to crumble and their nation began to slide. They did that, not because they were special, but because their job was to demonstrate that fact to all the nations of the world—that God has a passion for nation building, for how the people of this planet live together and share their common life. Where God is a part of that, then the structures and systems we build will last. Where God is not a part, they will surely fail, if not destroy us.

I’m not sure where America is in that, right now. I’m not sure where the world is. There is a great theological contest going on now around the world. I suspect the emphasis—we’ll find out on Thursday when you come with your insight—the perspective of all the nations, is more globally focused than it ever used to be. I don’t how that will pan out, but I do know that if we want our efforts to survive for the ages, the reality of God’s presence on this planet needs to be taken seriously. If we do not include God and the divine presence and purpose in that planning, all of our efforts will be in vain.

We start out with a comment about looking to the Father’s house with many mansions in glory, and I truly believe one day we will be there. I also have the suspicion that when we get there and look back on this planet and the life span that we had, we will also come to realize that one of our main tasks was to help build that house of many mansions here, so that God would have a dwelling place among us, so that this planet might be both a Habitat for Humanity and a Habitat for Divinity.

Let us pray that it may yet be so. This is one of those silent prayers, Lord. You get to listen to the thoughts of everyone, all at the same time. You get to move around in the heart, see where we’re coming from, and where we’re headed. We thank you for the chance to affirm our faith in your dynamic presence in the life of our planet and of this church, and in our individual bodies. To you be the glory and the praise, Amen.