“Darning Socks”

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place,
Pulpit Series Volume 17 Issue 29 07/15/2007

This will definitely show my age - but there is a Beatle’s song that has haunted me for years, 33 years to be exact. Many times even to this day as I walk in amongst a crowd, or sit and people watch - I think of these words…...
Ah, look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been Lives in a dream Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door Who is it for?
All the lonely people, Where do they all come from? All the lonely people, Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear No one comes near. Look at him working. Darning his socks in the night when there's nobody there What does he care?
All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?
Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name Nobody came Father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave No one was saved
All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?

Sadly this song does not just describe the unsaved! Many of God’s dear children are walking under a heavy load of condemnation.

Question; Who Has the Authority to Condemn Us?

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Psalms 31:1-6 In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me; deliver me quickly: be my strong rock, for an house of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore for Your name's sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me: for You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit: You have redeemed me, O LORD God of truth.

Luke 12:4-12 I say to you my friends, do not be afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you should fear: Fear him, which after he has killed has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, Fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

What you are afraid of? What can wake you up in the middle of the night, your heart pounding and your stomach tied in knots?
What are the hot buttons in your soul that can turn a sunny day cloudy or a warm day cold?
We all have switches like that.
What flips your switch?

What threatens to undermine your confidence, to unravel your professional demeanor?
I know you’ve got a few answers to questions like these, we all do.
All of us, all these people gathered here today, every single one of them.
We do a good job, at keeping these things hidden, so I'm not going to ask you to answer out loud.
Just think for a moment, what can tie your guts in a knot?
And while the pit of your stomach thinks about an answer to that question, I'll tell you two things that tie me up - first and foremost it would be relationship conflicts…
I don’t sleep, I lose my appetite, I get tremors and my stomach goes crampy… and in severe cases I get the “runs”. Just being transparent.
The second thing that completely terrifies me, and produces the same results as the first is ...I'm terrified of getting up in front of people.
I say this because admitting that you are afraid does not mean that your fears will necessarily cripple you. They don't.
I get up and talk in front of people, not only in church, but in the fire services as well.
All fears extract a certain cost.
Most of us have no idea what the people around us are paying, day after day after day, to face their fears and get on with life.
This is what Jesus is getting at when he berates the Pharisees and the lawyers in the scene immediately preceding today's scripture reference in Luke
He bitterly criticizes them for making a hard life harder, for adding to life's burdens rather than sharing them. You must know, there are people out there who will try to push your buttons.
Those are the people Jesus cautions us about. Look out for people who think they have the authority to condemn you.
What most of us are afraid of is one another. Human beings are social creatures. Our survival depends upon the people around us. We need community.
We need to know that we are safe here, that we are wanted here, that we belong here. We need to know that we will not be shamed, humiliated, excluded, or ridiculed.
We worry, perhaps secretly, about what other people think of us. We worry about where we stand in the group, and we worry that someone might realize we are worrying.
Fear is lonely stuff. Fear is very, very lonely.

Osoyoos can be a lonely place. A lonely place full of remarkably lovely people.
I wish you could more clearly see what kind and creative and interesting people you are, all of you--how deeply all of you yearn to live as Jesus taught us we should live.
Look around: all these lonely people. Where do you all come from?
Why don't you feel that you belong?
Who are the Pharisees that laid this burden on you? Who is that condemns you?
James 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yes be yes; and your no, no; lest you fall into condemnation.

John 8:11 And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more.

Be watchful, everyone, Christian or non has a little bit of Pharisee in them.
Do not let people get you to be fearful…
Understand that God is for you. You may not know how kind God is but God has to be at least as kind as the kindest person you know. You may not know how generous God is but He is at least as generous as the most generous person you have ever known. Because that which is created cannot exceed its Creator.

Jesus says. God keeps track of sparrows for heaven's sake! God counts every hair on your head--which is to say God knows how many are going grey and how many have disappeared altogether and how many truly bad hair days you have had in the last month.
Do not be anxious: God is with you, God understands what you can't say clearly on your own, and God will put the right words in your mouth. The Holy Spirit never stammers.
God is with us. The loneliness and the fear that keeps us apart can be overcome by the cosmic reality that is God with us! Let’s be healed of our secret fears and allow freedom to reign!