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The Message for Aug 18, 2019Turn, Turn, Turn – The ByrdsLuke 12:49-56Rob Miller, PastorThis is week 4 of our 5-week worship series on Changing the World through songs.We’ve considered the songs, Waiting On The World to Change, Live Like You Were Dying, and When the Sand Runs Out. You can check out those messages on our webpage or our facebook page. Today our song is Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds.A little background…Turn, Turn, Turn reached number one in the U.S. in December 1965. That year, American ground troops arrived in Vietnam, men on college campuses burned their draft cards, black civil rights activists withstood fire hoses and police dogs, and President Lyndon Johnson promoted his “great society” reforms. A group of young shaggy-haired men introduced the nation to “turn, turn, turn” and pushed the country to accept that fact that change is inevitable, history is a cycle, strife is temporary, and to everything there is a season. The song carries the musical imprints of the times but the lyrics date back to the Old Testament times.Pete Seeger composed this song in 1959 in response to a letter from his publisher. “Pete,” the letter read, “can’t you write another song like ‘Goodnight, Irene'? I can’t sell or promote these protest songs.” The response from the rabble-rouser was predictably defiant. “You better find another songwriter,” Seeger wrote. “This is the only kind of song I know how to write.”He turned to his pocket notebook, where he had jotted down various thoughts, quotes, and texts from time to time. He found a few Bible verses he had copied. In his notebook he had written the words, “verses by a bearded fellow with sandals, a tough-minded fellow called Ecclesiastes.” Seeger had written the words from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, from one of the “wisdom books” of the Old Testament, collections of truths and sayings. The words “a season” he saw as a series of opposing actions: “A time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, a time to reap; a time to kill, a time to heal,” etc. Seeger took the text almost verbatim. He added the “turn, turn, turn” to build a chorus and tacked on his own hopeful concluding line for cold war audiences: “A time of peace; I swear it’s not too late.”To Seeger, it was another protest song, a call for transition, a call for making a turn. His publisher didn’t get that from the song. “Wonderful,” his publisher wrote back, “just what I’d hoped for.”Our song for today, Turn, Turn, Turn was written in protest of what was happening in America in the 1960’s. To turn away from the destructive direction America was going. It still speaks a powerful message for us today. Have a listen… Video Song: was intended to be a song of protest, a song with opposing actions. The word protest means, Protest: a statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something.Truth is there was a lot to protest in the 1960’s, a lot of things to disapprove of or object to. They were called movements, including: the civil rights movement the student movement the anti-Vietnam War movement the women's movement, the gay and lesbian rights movement the environmental movement(as well as) dealing with political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap"Historians say that here in the United States the?1960s were?one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. No wonder the Byrds sang this song in protest to the things that were happening at that time. Sadly, many of those protests I just shared with you are still going on today, some 50+ years later. Progress takes time. Protests are intended to make progress. They are designed to make some kind of movement.Any protest reveals two sides of an issue, two groups of people, those who are for it and those who are against it. Whatever it is.Our Lutheran denomination is the result of a protest. That’s where the name Protestant comes from. The one and only Catholic Church in the 1500’s was not being faithful to Jesus and his ways. The Church had developed some bad theology and unhealthy practices. Among other things they were selling God’s grace and forgiveness. God’s grace and forgiveness are not for sale. So Martin Luther and few other reformers wanted to address this issue of unfaithfulness happening in and through the Church. As a result Luther and the reformers were kicked out of the Catholic Church and that opened the door for the religious freedom we are blessed with and enjoy today. Opposition can lead to some wonderful things. We find a similar thing happening in our reading for today. Jesus came to address the unfaithfulness that was going on in the lives of the people. He encountered opposition. And it killed him. If we are for Jesus and his way of life in and through the church then we will encounter opposition too. We will encounter others who are not for Jesus and his way of life. And they will hate us for it. If we are truly doing the Lord’s work we will encounter opposition. This saying is so true, where two or there are gathered in Jesus’ name, there is bound to be a conflict. But that’s not always a bad thing. Opposition is not a bad thing. Opposition can lead to some wonderful things. How we respond to the opposition can be a bad thing. What we say and what we do matters. What we say and what we do should reveal our faithfulness to Jesus no matter what. That’s the message in our reading for today. Have a listen… Luke 12:49-56 Jesus, the long awaited Savior, had arrived. He brought God’s kingdom to earth. He brought God’s love for everyone no matter what. But the people couldn’t see it. They were clueless. They wanted everything to be smooth sailing and easy going when the Savior arrived. But that was not to be.Jesus tells us to expect opposition when we are committed to doing his work in the world. Doing the Lord’s work will upset some of the people some of the time in the church, in our homes, and in our communities. That’s what Jesus is telling us in our reading this morning.One of the issues we are facing right now in this country is immigration. At our churchwide assembly last week we took a bold step to say that we are a sanctuary denomination. We’ve already encountered much opposition and misunderstanding as to what that means. So let’s clarify what that means. Our national leaders put together a statement to clarify what it means to be a sanctuary denomination. There is a handout for you at the welcome table. I invite you to pick up a copy after worship and read it. Here are the bullet points:In its simplest form, becoming a sanctuary denomination means that the ELCA is publicly declaring that walking alongside immigrants and refugees is a matter of faith.Being a sanctuary denomination does not call for any person, congregation or synod to engage in any illegal actions.We have a broken system regarding immigration, refugees and asylum-seekers.Being a sanctuary denomination is about loving our neighbors.Being a sanctuary denomination will look different in different contexts.While we don’t yet know the full scope of the work that this declaration will open for the church, we do know that our faith communities are already doing sanctuary work.Except for our members whose ancestors were here before European settlement or others who were forced to come to the U.S. against their will, the ELCA is an immigrant church.At our last churchwide assembly, we also committed to walking alongside Central American children and families fleeing their communities by passing the AMMPARO strategy (Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation, and Opportunities).Through the AMMPARO strategy, we are also working through our global partners in Central America to alleviate the conditions that cause people to migrate.In baptism, we are brought into a covenantal relationship with Jesus Christ that commits us to strive for justice and peace in all the earth. We believe that advocacy is a crucial expression of our baptismal identity. Being a sanctuary denomination means that we, as church together, want to be public and vocal about this work.I invite you to pick up a handout after worship and read it. Let the words speak to you. Then find a way to discuss it with your family members or other church members. Talk about it in your small group. Meet with me for coffee or lunch and let’s talk. I’ll buy. Listen to one another. You might be surprised by what you learn. As we go about having these conversations, please keep this in mind, Welcoming people is not a political issue for us in the church, it is a matter of faith.Often we say, Whoever you are and wherever you are on your journey of faith, you are welcome here. And we mean it. So let’s live it. And remember, what we say and what we do matters. As we heard in the song Turn, Turn, Turn – it’s not too late. Amen. ................
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