Back to the Basics

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Well, hello! My name is Jeff Binder, and I’m your new Interim Pastor. You can call me Jeff or Pastor Jeff…but just don’t call me late to dinner! (Seriously though, I love to eat, so let’s share a meal sometime).

As you can see from the insert, these are the basics of who I am in relation to ministry. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to learn more about me; I’m a pretty open book. I like to share stories about my life as it relates to our sermon themes on Sundays, and I hope that I can sit down and share a little more about how God is moving in my life over coffee sometime.

The basics of who I am beyond ministry? I was born on April 16, 1981, in Cleveland, Ohio to my parents Frank and Debbie. I am the second of four siblings, all of us very different, and at the same time very similar. When I’m not working here at the church, I love to get outdoors hiking and running. And that’s about it. …Or is it?

How about you? If someone asked for you to write down the basics of who you are, what would you say? What would you write down on a half sheet of paper (like this)? Would you be able to share who you are in a few seconds or even minutes? And would that encapsulate all of who you are?

Are we more than just a few of the first sentences that come to mind when describing ourselves? Well, I wonder if the answer is both yes and no. Sure, we have years and years of memories, experiences, and relationships to speak of for days on end.

And at the same time, it might be a good challenge for us to see if we can describe ourselves in just a few words—just the basics.

Who is Old Stone Presbyterian Church? Would we start by talking about a wonderful history being organized in 1783, or the sanctuary being built in 1796? Do we talk about the ministers that have preached here in this space, or the members who have led this congregation and this community over the generations? What about the challenging times for Old Stone; is that part of who we are as well? And if we are to envision the years ahead, how would we describe this church? What are the basics of this faith community?

I had a professor in seminary who gave us aspiring pastors a challenge: “Write down the definition of the Gospel…and do it in 50 words or less.” You can imagine the stress in the room full of seminary students who always have something to say, and have studied and read book after book about such a topic…and now he wanted us to sum it up in 50 words?!

The reason for the assignment sticks with me even to this day, and I would like to share such an invitation with you as well: we as Christians need to know the basics of who God is, who we are, and what we are called to do together in this world. In a world that is ever changing and pulling at us for attention from every direction, it is so important for us to remember who we are, whose we are, and what we are called to do.

Our scripture readings today may seem very different from one another, but I think on some level they both reiterate our theme for the day: the basics of our lives of faith. Let’s get to these stories once again as we reflect on God’s word for us in our lives today.

The first story is that of Job; here we read from chapter 42, which is basically the punchline or the climax of the entire story from the book of Job. Now, let me tell you, I love this story. In fact, don’t be surprised if we hear from Job later in following sermons as well because the story is just too good to gloss over. For those of you unfamiliar with this epic, Job had a rough go of things. And so, for 42 chapters, we read of how things go from great to horrible for Job. For 42 chapters Job suffers, and for 42 chapters Job cries out to God wondering why all of these horrible things in life were happening to him. His friends were no help. And to make things even worse, even God did not say a thing. That is, until the previous few chapters beginning in chapter 38. Think about it: for 38 chapters the world is falling apart for Job, and God was silent. We can imagine how lost Job must have felt. And it was then, when God finally speaks, that Job accepts his reality. And it was then, when God speaks, that Job responds in repentance, getting back to the basics of faithfulness.

¹Then Job answered the LORD: ²“I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ³‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ⁴‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you declare to me.’ ⁵I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; ⁶therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

(Job 42:1-6)

In a similar vein, Mark’s Gospel shares a story of Jesus reminding his disciples and the crowds of what it means to get back to the basics of faithfulness as well, this time centered around a man named Bartimaeus.

⁴⁶They came to Jericho. As [Jesus] and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. 

(Mark 10:46)

Bartimaeus learned of Jesus passing through town, and Bartimaeus’s response was one of understandable desperation. He was in no place to control his response or to act as if everything was okay in his life. There he was, a blind beggar, and now perhaps the only person who could help him, Jesus, was walking through town.

⁴⁷When [Bartimaeus] heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” ⁴⁸Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 

(Mark 10:47-48)

Everyone in the crowd was trying to silence Bartimaeus, and yet Jesus heard him in the midst of all that was going on, and he summoned Bartimaeus to him. Jesus wanted everyone to understand that despite all that is going in the world, all of the noise and distractions, he was there to remind the people of the basics of faithfulness..

⁴⁹Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” ⁵⁰So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. ⁵¹Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” ⁵²Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

(Mark 10:49-52)

Today we are introduced to two different characters who couldn’t have been living further apart from one another in their stories, separated by hundreds of years of history, hundreds of miles of distance, and living on the top and the bottom of the societal ladder. And yet, these two stories share within them a message of good news for us today.

Both of these characters were experiencing hardship in life. Both Job and Bartimaeus had experienced great loss and grief and had every reason to abandon their faith. And yet, both continued to cry out to God in faithfulness. God responded to Job in the whirlwind. Jesus responded to Bartimaeus in healing. And in both instances, the basics of faith were proclaimed.

The good news today is that God calls us to get back to the basics of faithfulness as well: as a community, as Old Stone Presbyterian Church, and as individuals and families alike.

Yes, we have been experiencing quite a lot of loss and brokenness these past two years. We are still in the midst of a global pandemic now nearly two years on. We have not been able to gather as a faith community as we once had, and to be honest, we wonder if things will ever be the same. We have seen pastors come and go, relationships come and go, the list goes on and on…yes, we have reason to cry out to God just as Job and Bartimaeus had.

But here is the thing: even as we experience loss and struggle in our lives these days, God is faithful still. Yes, God was quiet, but God was present in Job’s suffering, and God was present in the restoration of Job’s life.

God was quiet, but God was present when Bartimaeus was blind, and God was present when Bartimaeus received sight once again. Even in our struggles, God has been present, will be present, and is continuously moving in and through us in ways that we have yet to even realize.

God calls us back to the basics of faithfulness. And what are those basics? In Jesus Christ, we experience God’s saving love for the world. For you, for me, for the person down the street we don’t know quite what to think of…God offers us peace and salvation in Jesus Christ, and we are invited to partake in this love for the world while serving as Christ’s hands and feet.

So today as we reopen the church sanctuary once again, as we have a new Interim Pastor in place, as we make that faithful step forward through the muck of life, let’s ask ourselves: where do we see God present in our lives? Where do we see God at work, perhaps even in the most subtle of ways these days? Where do you see God active in your own life, inviting you to get back to the basics of faithfulness once again?

Today we celebrate that God has been with us, is with us now, and calls us to a bright future ahead, calling us back to the basics of faithfulness. And for this, may all of God’s beloved children proclaim: Alleluia! Amen.