NBC Madonna Confessions Tour Concert Pt 4

A thoughtful multimedia presentation about human suffering.

Ideas: Anticipating Christmas

Ideas for a meaningful Christmas season

Make this your best Christmas ever. Let me share some things we do in our family.

Don’t spend more money than you have.

I have heard that it takes four months for an average American household to pay off its Christmas credit card debt. Don’t let this happen to you.

Make the most of your Nativity Scene. Put the Baby Jesus in a small gift box addressed to “(Your family), Love, God.” Open the box on Christmas Eve, place the baby in the manger scene and read the story from Luke 2. Place the wise men at the other end of the house and move them through the house until they arrive at the manger Jan. 6 (Epiphany). Read the story of the wise men in Matthew 2.

Come back to church. God loves you and would like to see you, so come on back. Go back to the place of your roots. Maybe you’ve never had a good church experience. Take a chance. Stop in at one of the many friendly churches in East County.

Help people in need. Make it a practice to put a little something in the Salvation Army kettle every time you pass by. Surprise the bell-ringer with a $20 or $100 contribution. Bake an extra pie for an elderly neighbor.

Take in a concert or a play. The arts are good for your soul. Our favorite Christmas activity is The Grotto Festival of Lights. (www.thegrotto.org).

Party after Christmas. The 12 days of Christmas go from Dec. 25 to January 6. Invite friends, especially someone who is alone, to a potluck "After-glow Party." Everyone can bring leftover food items.

Observe Boxing Day. The day after Christmas, box up unwanted clothes, extra Christmas decorations and items for the needy, and take them to the Salvation Army or your favorite charity.

Choose a special cause to support in the coming year, such as delivering Meals on Wheels once a month. Make a commitment to become personally involved in making a difference.

Sermon: His Love Endures Forever

Psalm 136

His Love Endures Forever

Rev. Cynthia O'Brien

November 17, 2006

Psalm 136

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords:

His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

who by his understanding made the heavens,

His love endures forever.

⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters,

His love endures forever.

who made the great lights--

His love endures forever.

the sun to govern the day,

His love endures forever.

the moon and stars to govern the night;

His love endures forever.

to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt

His love endures forever.

and brought Israel out from among them

His love endures forever.

with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;

His love endures forever.

to him who divided the Red Sea asunder

His love endures forever.

and brought Israel through the midst of it,

His love endures forever.

but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;

His love endures forever.

to him who led his people through the desert,

His love endures forever.

who struck down great kings,

His love endures forever.

and killed mighty kings--

His love endures forever.

Sihon king of the Amorites

His love endures forever.

and Og king of Bashan--

His love endures forever.

and gave their land as an inheritance,

His love endures forever.

an inheritance to his servant Israel;

His love endures forever.

to the One who remembered us in our low estate

His love endures forever.

and freed us from our enemies,

His love endures forever.

and who gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven.

His love endures forever.

When was the last time you composed a prayer of thanks? Not just saying a spontaneous thanks to God, but actually thought it through and wrote it down?

We receive blessings easily; we are slower to give thanks. William Arthur Ward said, "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present

and not giving it." Today, we are giving thanks.

Here’s advanced notice: there will be homework today. I am going to invite each of you to compose a short prayer of thanks, not during the sermon because I want everyone to pay attention, but later when you go home. This morning I will give you the tools to write your own Psalm like Psalm 136. Once you see the format, you’ll realize it’s not hard to do. Then I want you to write one and show it to me. You can either e-mail it to me or bring me a copy at the concert tonight.

In today’s message I will also invite a few of you to tell something God has done for you, and if you raise your hand I’ll call on you. That will be later in the sermon.

First, let’s understand the psalm before us. It comes right after those Songs of Ascent that we read last week.

In the first three verses, we begin speaking about God, encouraging each other to give thanks, not once, but three times. Each time, there is a different way to address God, and these are arguably God’s three most important names: Jehovah, the creator of all; God of gods, who is the judge of all, and Lord of Lords, the ruler of all.

The most noticeable thing about Psalm 136 is the refrain: His love endures forever. If you have heard this psalm a lot, you might find this repetitious. But of all the phrases you could repeat, this may be the best. Teenagers, think about the music you listen to on the radio, and what some of the phrases are that are repeated over and over. I’m going to argue that “his love endures forever” is one of the most worthwhile.

And it’s deep, too. The word “love” here is the same word we encountered a few weeks ago, hesed, which means steadfast love. It is the word most used to describe God’s attitude towards humankind.

But it’s more than just God’s love for people. God has steadfast love towards the whole cosmos, including the earth and all its creatures. This is the most amazing good news.. that God’s attitude towards the world, and God’s motive for action can be summarized as “steadfast love.”

This is one of the biggest, widest, most all inclusive statements of God’s love in the Bible. Now look where the song goes. The history of God’s deliverance of the people. How he struck down the first born of Egypt, remember, because Pharoah would not obey God’s word, and that was the last plague which finally made Pharoah relent.

Then God led those thousands of people out of slavery, and with his outstretched arm, parted the Red Sea for them. When you stretch out your arm to do something, you are applying extra effort. The freeing of the people from Egypt, and the miracles, constitute an extraordinary effort on God’s part.

It’s important to note that this part about God’s freeing Israel is great news for Jews, but it’s scandalous for others who read the Bible. God obviously shows preferential treatment to Israel. Think of how a non-Jew would respond to these words. Is God only partial to one group of people? He delivered them from Pharoah and gave them someone else’s land. God killed other famous kings. For many people, this doesn’t seem particularly loving.

But this psalm is realistic. God’s love is not just sentimental. God has a plan, and people like Pharoah cannot stand in the way. God rules the whole world.

The last few verses talk about how God remembered us in our low estate and freed us from our enemies. The words “low estate” always remind me of Mary, the mother of Jesus, sang in her Magnificat, about how God looked upon her in her low estate, how God would take care of the poor. God loves an underdog. God cares about the disenfranchised. The old blues song says, “Nobody knows you when you’re down and out. When you get back on your feet again, everybody wants to be your long lost friend. But nobody knows you when you’re down and out.” That is, nobody but God. He is the one who remembered you when you were low. He is the one who gives us our daily bread.

Theologian Walter Bruggeman suggested that psalms like this, which tell the history of what God has done, should be read with “abiding astonishment.” Its focus isn’t really on the past. We read this story, and we don’t allow ourselves to simply skip over the words because they are so familiar. Rather, we let ourselves be astonished by the greatness of God. God has a claim on the world. It calls for us to respond.

This psalm has one command to us. It occurs in verses 1-3 and in the last verse. Give thanks to the Lord.

William Arthur Ward said, "God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say 'thank you'?"

I’ve been telling you quite a few stories from the Gresham Chamber of Commerce. I have to tell you what happened last Friday. Bess Willis was hosting us at her car dealership, and she asked everyone to say what they were thankful for. Out of about 90 people there, I lost count of the number of people who gave thanks to God, or thanks for their Lord Jesus Christ, or thanks for what God had given them or allowed them to do. Now I was one of the first ones to give thanks, and I tapped into an earlier joke about the USC / Oregon State game by giving thanks for my excellent undergraduate education at USC. But after me, I was surprised and pleased at how many of these business owners and community leaders gave thanks to God. From the carpet cleaner to the hairstylist to the realtor to the investment broker, God received a great deal of thanks that morning in the showroom of a car dealership.

Can we do any less? Do you have a time each day when you thank God for these wonders?

Many of us say grace before a meal. We do in our family. Most of the time we say or sing one of the prayers we know. In fact, if it would help you to have a written prayer for thanksgiving, I’ve printed some ideas in the insert in the bulletin.

But oftentimes one of us will lead out in a spontaneous prayer of thanks that covers things you wouldn’t normally say in a table grace. One of our girls will just spill out a whole list of things she is thankful for. They haven’t yet reached the age of self-editing for appropriateness. The thanks just tumble out.

Psalm 136 is the story of God’s people, starting with creation, going through their trials up through thanks for the meal they had that morning. I believe anyone could write a psalm like this. You could write one about your life and use it to praise God. Make a note to try writing one this afternoon. Here’s what I came up with. You do it with me, the part that says, “His love endures forever.”

Give thanks to the God of Gods (His love endures forever)

Who made the sun to shine continually over Southern California, (His love…)

Who placed me there in a home with parents and a little brother.

Who brought me to a church for Vacation Bible School

and made me first his child, then his minister

Who by the Spirit overcame Michael O’Brien’s reservations

So that he would consent to marry me

Who gave us two delightful daughers

And led us to Oregon to an exceptional church family

Who sustains us each day

Whose love is immeasurable

who does good to all who trust in him.

There are so many things our congregation has to be thankful for, both as a church family and as individuals. I know that…

Janet and Laszlo have two new baby granddaughters. Elizabeth has been accepted to Whitworth College. Tara was the head stage manager for Les Miserables and also played four different characters on stage.

I know people in our congregation who have overcome addictions to drugs or alcohol, who have repaired broken marriages, who have taken over the spiritual nurture of their grandchildren. I know a husband who is going to surprise his wife with an extravagant gift. I know a child who draws elaborate pictures for her parents reflecting how much she feels her parents’ love. I know a woman who is succeeding in her new job after the last job was a nightmare. I know a woman who had a close call in the emergency room last week and survived.

Why not write your own version of Psalm 136 for your Thanksgiving prayer? Make a note to do so this afternoon. Email it to me, or bring it to the concert tonight and show me. I’d love to see what you do with this.

God is the God of gods and the Lord of Lords. God’s love for you endures forever.

Sermon: Unless the Lord Builds the House

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord Builds the House

Rev. Cynthia O’Brien

November 12, 2006

Before we read Psalm 127, let me give you some background.

Psalm 127 is a “song of ascent.” There are 15 consecutive psalms, from Psalm 120 to 134, that bear the title “A Song of Ascents.” So let me explain a little about them as a group. The word we translate “ascent” means “going up” as in going up to Jerusalem and going up the steps of the Temple and the steps to the city of David. This is the songbook for people on the road, making their pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The well known Psalm 121 is a good example, seeing mountains in the distance “I lift up my eyes to the hills” and being concerned with safety and the need for protection.

All but one of them are relatively short and easy to memorize. They are very practical. They deal with matters of daily life, like where you live, routine activities, the importance of spouse and children, family and friends. They are ordinary songs for ordinary people going to worship God.

Psalms 120-126 are mostly about the people’s need in a hostile environment. This psalm reaffirms that it’s important to trust in God, but it introduces a new concept: the possibility of happiness, in verse 5. After this psalm, the rest of the psalms of ascent are more upbeat. It’s a turning point in the songbook of ascents. It is also the only one of the group attributed to Solomon.

With that in mind, try reading the Psalms of Ascent as a group this afternoon or this week.

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

^{PS 127:1} Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

^{PS 127:2} In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat--

for he grants sleep to those he loves.

^{PS 127:3} Sons are a heritage from the LORD,

children a reward from him.

^{PS 127:4} Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are sons born in one's youth.

^{PS 127:5} Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Does anyone know the musical “Rent”? The opening song, “Seasons of Love” starts out like this:

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes –

how do you measure, measure a year?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

How do you measure a year in the life?

The song goes on to ask, “How do you measure the life of a woman or man?

In the truths that you learned, or in times that you cried,

in bridges you burned, or the way that you died?”

How will people measure your life?

For a long time, Bible scholars viewed this psalm as two different wisdom sayings, the first about “unless the Lord builds the house” and the second about “children are a reward.” Let’s look at verses 3-5 first.

^{PS 127:3} Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.

^{PS 127:4} Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.

How do you measure the life of a woman or man?

One way is through the children you raise.

I babysat a 2-year old yesterday and I was worried that it would negatively impact today’s sermon. (It almost did!) “Children are a reward..” This is one of the messages of the Bible that I never heard as a teenager and young adult. That children were a reward. I knew about children. Children screamed in restaurants and cried during church. They were expensive. And there was that whole thing about diapers. Who would want to have children?

But those of you who have been down that road know what a blessing children can be. They make mud pies for you, give you sloppy kisses, let you pay their car insurance and college tuition, and if you’re really lucky, they give you grandchidren and choose a nice nursing home for you.

Couple of weeks ago, Michael and I were in Nordstrom Rack downtown, scoring a suit for Michael at 99% off the lowest marked price, and I struck up a conversation with the salesman who was helping us, Tom. He told me that he was almost 80 years old, never could retire, loves his work, and so forth. At one point he mentioned his last name was Hallman.

“Hallman,” I said. “Tom Hallman? Are you related to…”

He broke into a huge smile and said, “He’s my son.”

Tom Hallman Jr. is the writer for the Oregonian who does large feature stories, and when I see his byline in the paper I always set aside some time to read what he wrote. He did that piece a few years ago on Sam, the young man with the huge inoperable growth on his face who just wanted to live a normal life. I remember that Sunday when I read the first installment. I was so impressed with his description and analysis of Sam that I wrote Tom a letter. In fact, over 10,000 readers wrote letters to the Oregonian about that story. Tom won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for that series and the story was published as a book in 2003.

Tom Sr is so proud of his son that we stood there in the men’s dressing room for another 20 minutes as he talked about Tom Jr’s character, accomplishments, and family. He said, “People used to ask him, Are you Tom and Beverly’s son? Now people ask me if I’m Tom Hallman’s dad.”

Tom Sr may love his job, but his legacy is his son’s character and accomplishments.

^{PS 127:3} Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.

How do you measure the life of a woman or a man? When it comes to the end, one of the measures of your life is the kind of people you raised. The funerals I appreciate the most are those where the deceased loved his or her family and was loved in return, where the brothers and sisters all got along or were willing to set aside their differences. The worst funerals involve family members who are alienated or fighting. Now I know that the matriarch or patriarch can’t control what their children and grandchildren do, but it’s a fact of life that part of how your life is judged is by the kind of people you raise.

How do you measure the life of a woman or man? Another way is how you ordered your priorities while you were alive.

^{PS 127:1} Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

^{PS 127:2} In vain you rise early and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat-- for he grants sleep to those he loves.

The psalm gives three activities that are described as “vain”:

in verse 1 building a house, standing guard, and in verse 2, working long hours

…“vain,” meaning ultimately worthless and without purpose, if God is not involved.

Building a house, or building a family, or working long hours are only successful if they are done according to righteous principles, and only if we acknowledge that all success comes from God.

How can you apply this scripture to your life? Here’s one idea. If you haven’t done so in a while, sit down and write down what’s most important to you for your life and your future. Make a simple list: Things that are most important in my life and for my future. Then check it against real life. Look at your typical weekly schedule of activities. Where are you putting your time? Look at your checkbook and your credit card statement. Where is your money going? If a person you respect were to evaluate your life based on what you spend your money on, what would they say?

The other day in the comic strip “Adam,” Adam’s wife said, “Money is tight this month, so can you limit yourself to one latte per day for a while?” And of course in the next frame you see him ordering an extra large, super vanilla caramel latte with extra shots and extra whip. It’s really hard to change. This is the push and pull we all experience between our available resources and our personal priorities.

I know my week is not going well when I wander through a store just because I want to buy something, or when I watch three hours of crime dramas in one night. I know my priorities are off when I look back on a day and I’m unhappy with how I spent my time. It helps me to remember that my daily work is only meaningful when I allow God to prioritize.

How do you measure the life of a woman or man? You can apply this more broadly to a congregation.

Look at our church’s schedule. What are our priorities? You will see an increase in neighborhood outreach over the last year, partly because the Session read an inspiring book together called “The Present Future” and we are catching a vision for being more outwardly focused. If you were to look at my daily calendar, you would a greater percentage of my time spent out in the community, making connections for our church with government officials and local businesses. I expect to see more of you spending more of your volunteer time outside the walls of this church, as we streamline the efforts needed to run the church and empower you to spend more time pursuing the mission of Jesus Christ in the world.

I heard a song years ago on KBVM, 88.3 by a country singer named Buddy Greene which has stuck with me. I’ve ordered a copy of it so we can play it for you sometime, but let me quote a few of the lyrics. It’s called, Jesus has left the building.

Jesus has left the building
He's back out on the street
He's busy dealing His mercy
To every hurting soul He meets.


He's out helping the homeless find shelter
He's out helping the jobless find work
He's donating His time to the feeble of mind
And for this some people think He's berserk
But He's just helping the helpless find justice
And mercy in a cold, cruel world
You see, His heart aches for all kinds of people
For every man, woman, boy, and girl

And that's why...
Jesus has left the building
He's back out on the street
He's busy dealing His mercy
To every hurting soul He meets.

Back inside some people just keep on waiting
And prayin' that He would come down
But Jesus has left the building
He's out spreading His love all around.

So, How will God measure your life?

One person suggested the kinds of questions God will and won’t ask you at the end of your life.

God won't ask what kind of car you drove.
He'll ask how many people you drove who didn't have transportation.

God won't ask the square footage of your house.
He'll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.

God won't ask about the clothes you had in your closet.
He'll ask how many you helped to clothe.

God won't ask what your highest salary was.
He'll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

God won't ask what your job title was.
He'll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

God won't ask how many friends you had.
He'll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

How do you measure the life of a woman or a man?

How will people measure your life?

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee.

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

Let us pray.

Gracious God, we hear that our work is in vain unless you are involved, unless we have your priorities. That’s fine to hear but hard to follow. Give us wisdom to see how your words apply to each of our lives, and to the raising of our children and grandchildren. Amen.

Sermon: Legacy

Psalm 104

“Legacy”

Rev. Cynthia O’Brien

Nov 5, 2006

104:24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. 25 There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-- living things both large and small. 26 There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 29 When you hide your face, they are terrified; when you take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. 30 When you send your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. 31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works--32 he who looks at the earth, and it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 34 May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. 35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD.

We had a great time last Friday. Our church hosted the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting. It’s a lively group of business and community leaders who get together every Friday morning for coffee at one of the different businesses. Our church joined the chamber at the beginning of this year and last Friday was my day to host the breakfast. Thanks again to all our church members who came out early to help.

As people were coming in, there was such a spirit of comraderie, and giving, as people brought in baby food. You can see the pile of baby food and formula that they brought in the fellowship hall after church.

75 years ago, when the chamber was first organized, it was the early years of the Depression. The Methodist Church in Fairview, with whom our church was very close, they couldn’t stay open and they closed their doors. We probably would have closed too if it hadn’t been for our new minister who came in 1929, Rev Charles Fleming. He was optimistic

It is not a stretch of the imagination to think of the church as hopeful and optimistic, but how about our community?

It’s our calling to show our neighbors and our community leaders in whom they should trust, in whom they should hope, whom they should thank for the blessings they have received.

That’s how I see my call as a member of the chamber – to be a friend in the community and to invite each person to place their hope in God.

There are three guidelines I draw out of Psalm 104, and I’ll give you all three before I talk about them. They are:

To trust God for today,

To praise and thank God all my life,

And to hope in God for all eternity.

1. I WILL TRUST GOD FOR TODAY

v. 27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. The King James version sticks in my mind because it is a traditional mealtime prayer and it was set to music by the French composer Jean Berger: The eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season.

Such confidence in God. God meets the tangible needs of every living thing, every day. From insects to animals to sea monsters, God can and does sustain all life on a daily basis.

We pray in the Lord’s prayer, Give us this day, our daily bread. The psalmist may never have prayed the Lord’s prayer, but he believes that God is intimately involved in providing for him and for creation.

There are lots of stories of people who trusted in God for their daily bread, and who miraculously received what they needed at just the right time. Ron Mehl, a pastor from Beaverton, used to scoff at the “miraculous provision” stories, until it happened to him. He and his new bride were marginally-paid youth pastors and had run out of money for the month. They hadn’t told anyone of their situation, but the refrigerator really was empty and they were down to one can of Spam for their last meal when a knock came at the door and a couple from the church brought in 15 bags of groceries. You can bet that they were more genuinely thankful for the Lord’s provision than they had been when their cupboards were full of food.

That’s one view of God’s provision. Here’s another way to look at it.

I met Dr. Bill Null through my grandpa Glen in Arkansas. Bill used to be the director of a church-sponsored Christian school back east. The school had been having some financial problems, but they had recommitted themselves to trust God and to follow God’s leading. At the end of the year, the school had received $70,000 more than they needed. The board of directors asked Bill, what shall we do with the money? Shall we bank it for next year?” Bill prayed about it, then told them, “Give it to the teachers. They need it.” So they distributed it among the teachers.

There would certainly be many godly, responsible ways to handle that budget surplus. But God had a plan to meet the daily needs of those teachers. I would have loved to hear the miraculous provision stories from the teachers. Whether we are down to our last can of Spam or figuring out how to spend our tax return, we can trust God to provide for us and even make us a blessing to others.

So we trust God to give us our meat in due season – to give us our daily bread.

2. I WIL PRAISE GOD ALL MY LIFE

v. 33 I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

God is the reason we have what we need for each day. So instead of being uncertain about our life, instead of being anxious for the future, we can praise God. Your job may be in jeopardy, your stocks may be losing value, but you knows that God holds your life… your whole life. God promised in Isaiah 46,

"Listen to me, … you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.

Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

This and many other scriptures give us confidence in God’s care, as long as we live, so we praise God. Praise is the response of a thankful heart. And it spills over into the rest of our life.

At our house, we try to do a lot of praising. We praise Laurel for being our best girl and Rachel for being our best friend. Michael and I praise each other in front of the girls, in our 1-on-1 conversations, and wherever else we can. As long as I live, I will speak well of my husband and tell him I love him.

But praising is more than just words. If I want this marriage to thrive, I have to back it up by the way I live. So it is with God. I intend to love God all my life, to sing to the Lord as long as I live. He sustains me, I praise him, seeking to follow him and honor him in all that I do.

When we trust God to meet our daily neds and praise him for what he has given, something very fine happens to us. We become people who hope in God for all eternity.

3. I WILL HOPE IN GOD FOR ALL ETERNITY

v. 31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever.

My husband and I are forward-looking people. I’m always looking forward, so much that sometimes I forget to enjoy the moment I’m in. When I’m dancing salsa with a partner who knows a lot more moves than I do, I’m thinking, “Am I going to remember all this next week?” when I should be enjoying the moment. When Michael and I go for a walk on the beach, we usually spend that precious time planning for the future.

The church plans for the future, too. We want things to go on. We carefully maintain our historic church building so that it is safe and useful. We have installed security measures at our doors and in our nursery. We are carefully moving forward for our necessary upgrades and expansion. We want our congregation to go on after we are gone, for many more years of fruitful ministry.

I’m working out a plan so that at the end of my life, Smith Memorial will receive part of my estate. I won’t tell you how much it will be because I don’t want anyone to get any ideas around budget time. But I have felt for a long time that if I serve a God whose faithfulness goes on from generation to generation, then it’s a privilege for me to leave a charitable legacy in addition to what I do for my children. I hope you have remembered the church in your will, and it would be helpful if you would let us know that you have done that. We can put you in touch with experts who can help you make the most of that gift. It can be your legacy in the church you loved so much while you were on earth.

An old woman was planting a fruit tree. A young person came along and said, “Old woman, why are you planting a fruit tree? You’re never going to eat that fruit.” And she replied, “No, but others will come after me who will be hungry, and they will be glad that I did.”

An old man was building a bridge across a river. A young person came along and said, “Old man, why are you building a bridge? You’ll never use it.” And he replied, “No, but others will come after me who will wish there was a bridge, and they will be glad that I did.”

Who doesn’t leave a legacy? People who have no hope don’t leave legacies. People who are too worried about today don’t leave legacies. People who only think about themselves and their friends, and not about those who will come after, don’t leave legacies.

But I want to be a person who leaves a legacy.

So I will trust God each day

I will Praise the Lord all of my life.

I will hope in God for all eternity. Amen.

Sermon: Great Riches

Psalm 49

Great Riches

Rev. Cynthia O’Brien

October 29, 2006

Why should I fear when evil days come,

when wicked deceivers surround me—

those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? Psalm 49:5-6

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich

when the splendor of his house increases;

for he will take nothing with him when he dies,

his splendor will not descend with him. Psalm 49:16-17

A man who has riches without understanding

is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49:20

Ever wondered if you were rich or poor? I mean, in the great scheme of things, did you ever wonder where you rank?

I remember as a little kid hearing the phrase “middle class families” and asking my mother if we were middle class. She said, “No, honey, we are better than that.” “So,” I said, “are we rich?” She said, “Not exactly. Maybe upper middle class.”

That changed when we became a single parent family. Then I had no idea where I stood.

I was taught that it was impolite to ask other people how much they earned and what they paid for things. I never understood why it was such a big secret. Maybe that’s why people are so interested in Parade Magazine’s annual story, “What People Earn.” Because we won’t find out any other way.

Where do you rank? Are you rich or poor?

We tend to admire people who are rich, celebrities, athletes, successful businesspeople. But in our culture we also seem to enjoy criticizing them. What is Paul Allen doing with the Blazers? What’s Paris Hilton doing with a $10,000 handbag?

In Psalm 49, the psalmist is playing his harp and reflecting on those who are wealthy. He cautions us against admiring the rich.

^{PS 49:16} Do not be overawed when a man grows rich when the splendor of his house increases;⁷ for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him.

Sometimes when I think about people who are richer than I am, I can become frustrated.

Especially when I think about my unfulfilled financial desires. So as I read this psalm, I try to put myself on the side of the person speaking, the person who is being oppressed by the rich. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that I am not the poor wise man in this psalm. I’m the rich. I am the one who should be challenged here.

We may not think we are living the high life, but in fact we are among the privileged few. Our standard of living is among the highest in the world. I have never been without food or clothing or shelter. I have never been oppressed or constantly threatened. The cost of health care may be going up, but all of us have access to the emergency room. We are very, very rich.

So if we are among the richest people in the world, and we want to receive Psalm 49 as God’s word to us, how can we interpret it?

A rich young man, a very devout religious man, once asked Jesus what more he should do to be saved. Jesus said, “You’re too attached to your riches. Give them to the poor, and follow me.” And the young man wouldn’t do it, because he was too attached to his riches.

The psalmist makes the same charge against the wealthy in his psalm. He called them

those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches and those who trust in themselves. Now we are starting to understand what the problem was. The wealthy were putting their trust in their wealth and in themselves, rather than acknowledging God from whom their riches came. And in the last verse of the psalm, verse 20, we see the problem:

^{PS 49:20} A man who has riches without understanding

is like the beasts that perish.

We must hold our riches with understanding. We must be the rich who care about the poor. Let me give you two examples of how this can be done, first about our local charities and then about Bangladesh.

Years ago, our church designated the first Sunday of the month as SnowCap Sunday, and everybody brought food for SnowCap on that day. We used to have a member whose name was Holly Fitzgerald. How many of you remember Holly? I never saw her do this, but I have heard that Holly used to stand out in the parking lot on SnowCap Sundays and as people came in, she would say, “Did you bring something for SnowCap?” One woman told me this week that she never came to a first Sunday without a grocery bag in hand, because she was afraid of what Holly would say.

No one would describe Holly as polite, but she was effective. Holly died last year, and now that she’s gone, it’s up to us to remember the needs of those in our very own neighborhood who are struggling to make ends meet. That’s why the Session has asked us to bring baby food this week and stack it here by the pulpit – to remind us of our responsibility for the poor.

But, you know, one small act of kindness can turn into something larger than you could imagine.

I was at a meeting of the Gresham Area Chamber of Commerce when Becky Coleman, the director of My Sister’s House, told me that she was in a cash flow crisis. I mentioned it to the members, and a businessman said, “We need to pass the hat for Becky. I’m going to put $100 in this basket and pass it around.” About a thousand dollars was collected that day in about 20 minutes. Seeing that kind of generosity and community support was what gave me the courage to ask the Chamber to bring baby food for SnowCap to our meeting here this Friday. It starts small, and it grows.

Let me tell you about what happened in Bangladesh.

A young man named Muhammad Yunus studied economics in the United States and returned to Bangladesh to work at the university. Yunus would sit in his office, writing economic treatises, and look out at the poor village that was right next to the university. One day he realized that what he was writing would not help the poor women outside his window who could not make a living.

In 1974, when he was barely 30 years old, Yunus loaned out $27 from his own pocket to some women so that they could buy supplies to make things to sell. Two years later, he founded the Grameen Bank, (Grameen means “rural” in Bengali), which was designed to make low-interest loans to the poorest people in order to help them work their way out of poverty.

Two weeks ago, Yunus and his bank were awarded the 2 006Nobel Peace Prize for their pioneering use of microcredit -- tiny loans -- to spur development among the poor. Grameen Bank was the first lender to hand out microcredit, giving very small loans to poor Bangladeshis who did not qualify for loans from conventional banks. No collateral is needed and repayment is based on an honor system.

Anyone can qualify for a loan - the average is about $200 - but recipients are put in groups of five. Once two members of the group have borrowed money, the other three must wait for the funds to be repaid before they get a loan.

Yunus says the method encourages social responsibility. The results are hard to argue with - the bank says it has a 99 percent repayment rate. Today the Grameen bank serves more than six million poor families in 71,000 villages by making loans and providing other services. Over the last 30 years, the Grameen Bank has loaned out $ 5.72 billion. Out of this, 5.07 billion has been repaid.

Recently Yunus started a program for beggars, the people who are the very poorest of society who have to resort to begging. He makes no-interest loans so that a beggar can buy a quilt or a mosquito net, and they can pay it back at the equivalent of only 3 cents a month. He has 81,000 beggars registered for the program.

In choosing Mohammed Yunus for the Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee said, “"Lasting peace cannot be achieved unless large population groups find ways in which to break out of poverty. Microcredit is one such means. (It is) development from below." When they interviewed Yunus, he said, “I would hope that this award will make this message heard many times, and in a kind of forceful way, so that people start believing that we can create a poverty-free world.”

So whether you’re giving a jar of baby food to SnowCap or making a loan to a poor woman, who knows what may come of it. We don’t know how far our care goes. It would be easy to measure ourselves against Mohammad Yunus and say, “He’s running a 5 billion dollar bank and he won the Nobel prize, I’m nothing like that.” But he started just like us. He had no idea he would start something that would grow this big, he just thought it was a good thing to give away $27.

You and I are so rich. Will we hold our riches with understanding?

God's Trombones: Go Down Death

Go Down Death
a funeral sermon
from "God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse"
by James Weldon Johnson
preached by Cynthia O'Brien August 28, 2006
at Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church

(This book is available from your favorite bookseller. Get an audio recording if you can.)

GO DOWN DEATH -- A FUNERAL SERMON

Weep not, weep not,

She is not dead;

She’s resting in the bosom of Jesus

Heart-broken husband – weep no more;

Grief-stricken son – weep no more;

Left-lonesome daughter – weep no more;

She’s only just gone home.

Day before yesterday morning,

God was looking down from his great, high heaven,

Looking down on all his children,

And his eye fell on Sister Caroline,

Tossing on her bed of pain.

And God’s big heart was touched with pity,

With the everlasting pity.

And God sat back on his throne,

And he commanded that tall, bright angel standing at

His right hand:

Call me Death!

And that tall, bright angel cried in a voice

That broke like a clap of thunder:

Call Death! – Call Death!

And the echo sounded down the streets of heaven

Till it reached away back to the shadowy place,

Where Death waits with his pale, white horses.

And Death heard the summons.

And he leaped on his fastest horse,

Pale as a sheet in the moonlight.

Up the golden street Death galloped,

And the hoofs of his horse struck fire from the gold,

But they didn’t make no sound.

Up Death rode to the Great White Throne,

And waited for God’s command.

And God said: Go down, Death, go down,

Go down to Savannah, Georgia,

Down in Yamacraw,

And find Sister Caroline.

She’s borne the burden and heat of the day,

She’s labored long in my vineyard,

And she’s tired –

She’s weary –

God down, Death, and bring her to me.

And Death didn’t say a word,

But he loosed the reins on his pale, white horse,

And he clamped the spurs to his bloodless sides,

And out and down he rode,

Through heaven’s pearly gates,

Past suns and moons and stars;

On Death rode,

And the foam from his horse was like a comet in the sky;

On Death rode,

Leaving the lightning’s flash behind;

Straight on down he came.

While we were watching round her bed,

She turned her eyes and looked away,

She saw what we couldn’t see;

She saw Old Death. She saw Old Death

Coming like a falling star.

But Death didn’t frighten Sister Caroline;

He looked to her like a welcome friend.

And she whispered to us: I’m going home,

And she smiled and closed her eyes.

And Death took her up like a baby,

And she lay in his icy arms,

But she didn’t feel no chill.

And Death began to ride again –

Up beyond the evening star,

Out beyond the morning star,

Into the glittering light of glory,

On to the Great White Throne.

And there he laid Sister Caroline

On the loving breast of Jesus.

And Jesus took his own hand and wiped away her tears,

Ane he smoothed the furrows from her face,

And the angels sang a little song,

And Jesus rocked her in his arms,

And kept a-saying: Take your rest,

Take your rest, take your rest.

Weep not – weep not,

She is not dead;

She’s resting in the bosom of Jesus.

God's Trombones: The Creation

The Creation
from "God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse"
by James Weldon Johnson (1927)
preached by Cynthia O'Brien August 28, 2006
at Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church

(This book is available from your favorite bookseller. Get an audio recording if you can!)

THE CREATION

And God stepped out on space,

And He looked around and said:

I’m lonely –

I’ll make me a world.

And far as the eye of God could see

Darkness covered everything,

Blacker than a hundred midnights

Down in a cypress swamp.

Then God smiled,

And the light broke,

And the darkness rolled up on one side,

And the light stood shining on the other,

And God said: That’s good!

Then God reached out and took the light in his hands

And God rolled the light around in his hands

Until he made the sun;

And he set that sun a-blazing in the heavens.

And the light that was left from making the sun

God gathered it up in a shining ball

And flung it against the darkness,

Spangling the night with the moon and stars.

Then down between

The darkness and the light

He hurled the world;

And God said: That’s good!

Then God himself stepped down –

And the sun was on his right hand,

And the moon was on his left;

The stars were clustered about his head,

And the earth was under his feet.

And God walked, and where he trod

His footsteps hollowed the valleys out

And bulged the mountains up.

Then he stopped and looked and saw

That the earth was hot and barren.

So God stepped over to the edge of the world

And he spat out the seven seas –

He batted his eyes, and the lightnings flashed –

He clapped his hands, and the thunders rolled –

And the waters above the earth came down,

The cooling waters came down.

Then the green grass sprouted,

And the little red flowers blossomed,

The pine tree pointed his finger to the sky,

And the oak spread out his arms,

The lakes cuddled down I the hollows of the ground,

And the rivers ran down to the sea;

And God smiled again,

And the rainbow appeared,

And curled itself around his shoulder.

Then God raised his arm and he waved his hand

Over the sea and over the land,

And he said: Bring forth! Bring forth!

And quicker than God could drop his hand,

Fishes and fowls

And beasts and birds

Swam the rivers and the seas,

Roamed the forests and the woods,

And split the air with their wings.

And God said: That’s good!

Then God walked around,

And God looked around

On all that he had made.

He looked at his sun,

And he looked at his moon,

And he looked at his little star;

He looked on his world

With all its living things,

And God said: I’m lonely still.

Then God sat down –

On the side of a hill where he could think;

By a deep, wide river he sat down;

With his head in his hands,

God thought and thought,

Till he thought: I’ll make me a man!

Up from the bed of the river

God scooped the clay;

And by the bank of the river

He kneeled him down;

And there the great God Almighty

Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky,

Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night,

Who rounded the earth I the middle of his hand;

This Great God,

Like a mammy bending over her baby,

Kneeled down in the dust

Toiling over a lump of clay

Till he shaped it in his own image;

Then into it he blew the breath of life,

And man became a living soul.

Amen. Amen.

God's Trombones: The Prodigal Son

The Prodigal Son
from "God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse"
by James Weldon Johnson
preached by Cynthia O'Brien at Smith Memorial Presbyterian Church
August 13, 2006

(This book is available from your favorite bookseller, published by Penguin, and if you can get an audio recording, so much the better.)

THE PRODIGAL SON

Young man –

Young man – Your arm’s too short to box with God.

But Jesus spake in a parable, and he said:

A certain man had two sons.

Jesus didn’t give this man a name,

But his name is God Almighty.

And Jesus didn’t call these sons by name,

But ev’ry young man,

Ev’rywhere,

Is one of these two sons.

And the younger son said to his father,

He said: Father, divide up the property,

And give me my portion now.

And the father with tears in his eyes said: Son,

Don’t leave your father’s house.

But the boy was stubborn in his head,

And haughty in his heart,

And he took his share of his father’s goods,

And went into a far-off country.

There comes a time,

There comes a time

When ev’ry young man looks out from his father’s house,

Longing for that far-off country.

And the young man journeyed on his way,

And he said to himself as he traveled along:

This sure is an easy road,

Nothing like the rough furrows behind my father’s plow.

Young man –

Young man –

Smooth and easy is the road

That leads to hell and destruction.

Down grade all the way,

The further you travel, the faster you go.

No need to trudge and sweat and toil,

Just slip and slide and slip and slide

Till you bang up against hell’s iron gate.

And the younger son kept traveling along,

Till at night-time he came to a city.

And the city was bright in the night-time like day,

The streets all crowded with people,

Brass bands and string bands a-playing,

And ev’rywhere the young man turned

There was singing and laughing and dancing.

And he stopped a passer-by and he said:

Tell me what city is this?

And the passer-by laughed and said: Don’t you know?

This is Babylon, Babylon,

That great city of Babylon.

Come on, my friend, and go along with me.

And the young man joined the crowd.

Young man –

Young man –

You’re never lonesome in Babylon.

You can always join a crowd in Babylon.

Young man –

Young man –

You can never be alone in Babylon,

Alone with your Jesus in Babylon.

You can never find a place, a lonesome place,

A lonesome place to go down on your knees,

And talk with your God, in Babylon.

You’re always in a crowd in Babylon.

And the young man went with his new-found friend,

And bought himself some brand new clothes,

And he spent his days in the drinking dens,

Swallowing the fires of hell.

And he spent his nights in the gambling dens,

Throwing dice with the devil for his soul.

And he met up with the women of Babylon.

Oh, the women of Babylon!

Dressed in yellow and purple and scarlet,

Loaded with rings and earrings and bracelets,

Their lips like a honeycomb dripping with honey,

Perfumed and sweet-smelling like a jasmine flower;

And the jasmine smell of the Babylon women

Got in his nostrils and went to his head,

And he wasted his substance in riotous living,

In the evening, in the black and dark of night,

With the sweet-sinning women of Babylon.

And they stripped him of his money,

And they stripped him of his clothes,

And they left him broke and ragged

In the streets of Babylon.

Then the young man joined another crowd –

The beggars and lepers of Babylon.

And he went to feeding swine,

And he was hungrier than the hogs;

He got down on his belly in the mire and mud

And ate the husks with the hogs.

And not a hog was too low to turn up his nose

At the man in the mire of Babylon.

Then the young man came to himself –

He cam to himself and said:

In my father’s house are many mansions,

Ev’ry servant in his house has bread to eat,

Ev’ry servant in his house has a place to sleep;

I will arise and go to my father.

And his father saw him afar off,

And he ran up the road to meet him.

He put clean clothes upon his back

And a golden chain around his neck,

He made a feast and killed the fatted calf,

And invited the neighbors in.

Oh-o-oh, sinner,

When you’re mingling with the crowd in Babylon –

Drinking the wind of Babylon –

Running with the women of Babylon –

You forget about God, and you laugh at Death.

Today you’ve got the strength of a bull in your neck

And the strength of a bear in your arms,

But some o’ these days, some o’ these days,

You’ll have a hand-to-hand struggle with bony Death,

And Death is bound to win.

Young man, come away from Babylon,

That hell-border city of Babylon.

Leave the dancing and gambling of Babylon,

The wine and whiskey of Babylon,

The hot-mouthed women of Babylon;

Fall down on your knees,

And say in your heart:

I will arise and go to my Father.