Westmoreland Sermon Archive

June 6, 2010
Philippians 1:3-11, 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Rev. Rich Smith

Well, friends, it’s finally come down to this, my last sermon here after nine years. On the one hand, nine years isn’t all that long. If I were a senator, I’d just be getting warmed up. Although if I were President, my time would have been up a year ago. Better to leave, I say, before Potomac Fever becomes an incurable condition. It’s been an exciting nine years, and I can see why people do like to stay. I have been amazed by many things here, in DC and in the church – not the least of which is that people actually come out on Sundays to hear to what I have to say. But whenever I get big-headed about that, I just think of Winston Churchill who once remarked, “I’m always astonished at how many people come to listen to my speeches, until I realize that, if I were being hanged, the crowd would be twice as large!”

So, maybe it’s time. The third or fourth Sunday I was here, a now-long-departed little old lady came through the door and shook my hand and said, “Each of your sermons is better than the next!” After 283 of them, I wonder what she’d say now! At least, so far an usher has not pushed the secret button that would send the preacher snuffer down upon me…. Read the rest of this entry »

May 30, 2010
Rev. Rich Smith
Romans 5:1-5, John 16:12-15

So here we come to my 282^nd and next-to-last sermon at Westmoreland. Like most of them, this one is based on one of the lectionary texts for the day, and as I read through them in preparation, I must say I was intrigued by the possibilities suggested in the Gospel reading. Here, Jesus is speaking to the disciples at the very end of his earthly ministry – a time that was far shorter than the time I’ve spent with you – and in the midst of his sermon he says, “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” I have wondered what he meant by that, and if there are any parallels to the present situation. What was it that Jesus really wanted to say to them, but chose not to, because they just weren’t ready to hear it, or perhaps was so momentous and challenging that they just couldn’t take it?

Now it could be that the disciples were simply worn out. After all, according to John, this statement comes in the midst of Jesus’ “Farewell Discourse,” the longest sustained quotation of Jesus anywhere in the Gospels. It’s interesting: whereas in Matthew, Mark, and Luke Jesus speaks in short memorable pithy sayings and tells short striking stories, in John he is given to these long and deep lecture-like discourses that go an page after page, chapter after chapter, requiring great endurance on the part of the congregation. It would be like me preaching for about five hours and then saying, I still have more things to say, but I can see you are getting tired, so I’ll shut up now. Actually, that point usually comes after about fifteen minutes – TV has accustomed us to hearing things in short sound bytes and most people will tune out after a short time. It wouldn’t do any good at all to wait until five hours in to say what I really wanted to say. So maybe the disciples were at that point and Jesus knew that to say anymore was useless.
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May 16, 2010
Psalm 42
Rev. Rich Smith

Forty-five years ago this week the Rolling Stones recorded what was soon to be their first number one hit record, a song that to this day quickens the pulse of baby boomers and still drives English teachers crazy! (You know what I’m talking about!) It just wouldn’t have worked if it had gone “I can’t get any satisfaction…” No, with its double negative, its counter-cultural critique of consumerism, and that fuzzy three note guitar riff, it is oddly satisfying! (It wasn’t at first, not for everyone – it made the network execs nervous. The song was heavily censored when they first performed it on the Ed Sullivan Show. But in 2006, they sang it at the Super Bowl, on live TV, exactly as they had first recorded it. Satisfaction, indeed!)

These days most businesses seem very concerned that we get our satisfaction, and you can hardly eat at a restaurant, or buy a product, or even talk to tech support without being given the opportunity to respond to a customer satisfaction survey. I often make restaurant reservations on line using a website called “Open Table” and the very next day I get an email, “How was your lunch at Chef Geoff’s?” The check comes after the meal, and at the bottom there is an invitation to go online, fill out a survey, and enter a sweepstakes. My bank called the other evening wanting me to rate services at the local branch. Unfortunately I had a few things to tell them! I called my internet service provider about a problem, and shortly thereafter received an online survey. I started to fill it out and when I began indicating some dissatisfaction with the service they provided, in that they completely failed to solve my problem, the screen mysteriously went blank!
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May 9, 2010
Acts 16:9-15
Rev. Rich Smith

In the early years of our marriage, we frequently went camping. It was practically free, and sleeping on the ground wasn’t too uncomfortable. As we’ve aged, we been able to afford better accommodations, and the ground gets harder and harder, in spite of more natural padding. After a few years, we generally stayed at cheap motels while traveling. And then, after a few more years, we began staying at a nicer places. But now, we have found that our preference while traveling is to seek out quaint little Bed and Breakfasts. They are not as impersonal as a hotel or motel, usually no more expensive, and the hospitality is almost always much better. Some better than others – breakfast can be anything from “help yourself to a sweet roll” to 4 course candlelight, made to order; some hosts smother you with attention, others ignore you. But in general, we have come to appreciate the kind of hospitality offered at B&B’s. It can be like staying with friends or family or maybe better — they make us feel welcome!

Our scripture lesson for today tells of the time the Apostle Paul and his companions were invited into a sort of Bed and Breakfast in the Greek town of Phillipi. They were out on a missionary journey, spreading the Gospel, when they had a change of plans. They responded to a vision, to go to Macedonia. After several days in Philippi, it was the Sabbath and so they went “down to the river to pray,” and there they encountered a group of mostly Jewish women, also praying. Among them was a Gentile named Lydia, who was on a spiritual quest and who, apparently, was a very successful business woman. She traded in a specific kind of dyed purple goods, a luxury item, and was quite affluent. Never one to pass up the possibilities presented by a good congregation, Paul preached to these women who had gathered by the river and as a result Lydia became a Christian. She was baptized, and not only her, but all the members of her household. She invited Paul and company to accept her hospitality, saying, “If you really accept me as a true believer, come and stay with us in our house.” And, as one contemporary translation puts it, “she would not take no for an answer.” Later, she became one of the founders and pillars of the Philippian church, which presumably didn’t have to meet by the river anymore.
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May 2, 2010 – Jazz Sunday –
Acts 11:1-18
Rev. Rich Smith

We’ve just done a very dangerous thing! In that hymn we just sang, imploring the Spirit of the Living God to fall afresh on us, we have done a dangerous thing. Because when the Spirit does fall, and fills us, molds us, uses us, it can be dangerous! Are we sure we want that to happen? After all, the Spirit led Jesus, after his baptism, into the wilderness, and set the course for his life. Led by the Spirit he went to his home town and preached his first sermon. That went over so well he was almost thrown over a cliff! The Spirit then led him to call disciples, and touch the untouchable, and teach a subversive message, and eventually to go to Jerusalem and the cross. The Spirit fell upon Paul, and sent him in a new direction, more than once, which led to all kinds of personal hardships, including shipwreck, imprisonment, and probably execution. In today’s lesson, the Spirit falls upon Peter, and the immediate result is that he gets in trouble with the church authorities. He asked forgiveness, not permission. It’s too late to take back the singing of the hymn, but do we really want the Spirit to fall fresh on us?

Here’s the story. Read the rest of this entry »

April 25, 2010  
Rev. Rich Smith  
1 Corinthians 1:20-31

I begin this morning with a timely but cautionary tale. It’s about a Congregational Church whose minister left, and after a suitable interim period, they put together a search committee to look for a new one. It turned out to be a very time-consuming and painful process, as the committee rejected candidate after candidate for some fault, alleged or otherwise. Finally, one member became impatient, and deciding that it was time for a bit of soul-searching on the part of the committee, stood up and read a letter purporting to be from one more applicant.

“Dear Friends: Understanding that your pulpit is vacant, I should like to apply for the position. I have many qualifications. I’ve been a preacher with much success, and also some success as a writer. Some say I’m a good organizer. I’ve been a leader in most places I’ve been.

“I am over fifty years of age. I have never preached in one place for more than three years. In some places I have left town after my work has caused riots and disturbances. I must admit I have been in jail three or four times, but not because of any real wrong doing. My health is not too good, though I still get a great deal done. My churches have all been small, though located in several large cities. I’ve not gotten along well with the other religious leaders in the towns where I’ve preached. In fact, some have threatened me and even attacked me physically. I am not too good at keeping records. I have been known to forget whom I have baptized.

“However, if you can use me, I shall to my best for you.”
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Earth Sunday Sermon – April 18, 2010, by Rev. Rich Smith

Acts 9:1-20

You may notice something different about me today – new glasses! I was thirty years old when I got my first pair. I had probably needed them for about five years before that, but the change in my distance vision was so slow, I didn’t really notice. And for some reason I just didn’t like the idea of having to wear glasses. Inconvenience; not wanting to mess up my good looks… But I finally relented and I remember thinking on the way home from the optometrist, which was a 20 mile ride through the desert, how littered the ground had become with rocks, and how many leaves there seemed to be on the trees.

I know this experience pales in comparison to those of you who have had cataract surgery, who report much more dramatic changes, and could even identify with Paul in our scripture lesson, of whom it is reported that “something like scales” fell from his eyes when he regained his sight after being blinded on the road to Damascus.
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Easter, April 4, 2010
Rev. Rich Smith
Luke 24:1-12

Before he was displaced by Michael Jackson as the world’s most popular dead recording artist, Elvis Presley appeared in an Easter ad, right next to a picture of Jesus. The caption read, “There seems to be some confusion as to which one actually rose from the dead.” It went on to say something like, “Come to our church this Easter and we’ll set the record straight…”

Now, when you think about it, some confusion may be understandable! After all, here we have two men who were born in out-of-the-way backwater places. Both had complex relationships with their mothers and virtually non-existent relationships with their fathers. Both enjoyed woodwork. (Woodshop was Elvis’ favorite class.) Both came out of obscurity to gain a popular following, saying and doing things that upset and threatened the establishment, although both eventually came to be accepted and embraced by the powers that be. Both had strange eating habits — what else would you call forty days of fasting or five banana splits for breakfast? One was called the lamb of God; the other wore mutton-chop sideburns. One lived in a state of grace in a near-eastern land; the other lived in Graceland in a nearly eastern state. Each one died while relatively young, under peculiar circumstances, and gained a tremendous cult following after death, as a result of which each came to be known as “the King.” And finally, both Jesus and Elvis are said to have immortality.

I’m not making this up! And I even once came across a tabloid on a supermarket newsstand with the curious and stunning headline, “ELVIS’ TOMB IS EMPTY!”
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Palm Sunday, March 28, 2010
Rev. Rich Smith
Luke 23:44-56

Palm Sunday is a paradox, and it’s always a little hard to know what to do with it. It’s often celebrated as a kind of little Easter, or Pre-Easter, with its moment of triumph, as Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem, hailed as a conquering hero. It’s a victory parade, a sneak previews of the much grander victory of next week’s Easter parade. And yet, it is but a temporary victory, a momentary triumph, because the same crowds that shout “Hosanna!” on Sunday are shouting “Crucify!” on Friday. There are great depths that must be plumbed, immense agony that must be suffered, deep darkness that must be endured before the dawn of that Easter day, some seven days, and yet an eternity, away.

It’s not to hard to know what to do with Easter. We expect trumpets and Hallelujahs, lilies and tulips and bright colors, and of course “the Mother of all sermons.” It’s easy to celebrate victory. But Palm Sunday — it appears to be a victory, but really isn’t, not yet. But if all we do is go from the “Hosanna!” of Palm Sunday to the “Hallelujah!” of Easter, without experiencing the bittersweet of Maundy Thursday and the horror of Good Friday and the silence of Holy Saturday, then we have missed something very crucial; we’ve missed the crux of the matter. We can’t have the palms without the passion. And we can’t fully celebrate Easter.
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February 28, 2010
Rev. Rich Smith
Luke 13:31-35

A stranger showed up in a village in the Middle East, claiming to be God. He was apprehended and taken before the elders of the town council, who admonished him: “A man came here last year, claiming to be a prophet, and we had him stoned!”

“Serves him right,” replied the stranger. “I didn’t send him!”

It was Dostoyevsky who pointed out that we consistently reject prophets and slay them, and then honor them as martyrs, and make them saints after they die.

It is something Jesus knew as well, as in our scripture lesson today, he weeps over Jerusalem, the “city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it.” He knew that this would be his fate as well, even as his mission enjoyed a measure of success. He had been warned by some friendly Pharisees (not all the Pharisees opposed him): “Beware – Herod is out to get you! He wants to kill you. So you don’t want to go to Jerusalem – at least not until you have raised a large army. If you want your ministry to continue, Jesus, you’d better go in the other direction; hide-out in the mountains for awhile; wait for a more opportune environment.”
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