The Harlem Renaissance poet, Langston Hughes, speaks to me. I trust he also speaks to you. In fact, that is the very title of his poem! “To You”
To sit and dream, to sit and read,
To sit and learn about the world
Outside our world of here and now – our problem world –
To dream of vast horizons of the soul
Through dreams made whole,
Unfettered free – help me!
All you who are dreamers, too,
Help me make our world anew
I reach out my hands to you.
“Help me make our world anew”. That’s a big job, isn’t it, to make our problem world, anew? But today I invite you to sit and dream and learn about what we as followers of Christ must do to make our world anew.
Let me offer you this morning a lesson in thermodynamics! Thermodynamics has to do with the physical laws concerning temperature. How do things react to temperature?
One of the laws of thermodynamics says that everything is moving toward the same temperature. That is, if you put several objects that have different temperatures in the same environment, they will all affect each other and will eventually go to the same temperature. So if you take a hot pressure cooker off the stove and plunge it into a sink of cold water, what happens? The pressure cooker cools down and the water heats up, and after only a little while they are both at the same temperature. Then let’s say you want it a little cooler, so you throw some ice cubes into the sink; what happens now? The ice will get warmer and melt, but it will also cool off the warm water, and, again, after a little while, the temperature of everything in that bath is the same. Thermodynamics in a nutshell.
That’s all very well if you don’t care that the pan is cooled and the ice is warmed to the point of melting. That’s all just fine if you don’t want that pan to be hot or that ice to be cold. But if you want to eat hot food or drink cold water, you have just created a problem!
Let’s try something. Let’s try the taste test. In front of you you see four cups. Two of the cups contain coffee, which is supposed to be hot, right? And two of the cups contain soda, which is supposed to be cold, isn’t it? I need taste testers right now. I need two people to taste the coffee; and I need two people to taste the soda. As you come, I would point out that there is also on this table an empty basin. I won’t tell you what to do with the basin; but you just may want to do what comes naturally!
[One tastes hot coffee, another lukewarm coffee; one tastes cold soda, another tepid soda]
What just happened here? One of the coffee cups was brewed and put out here at the beginning of the service; because it is in such a large room, it cooled off to room temperature. In a similar way, one of the cups of soda was iced down as we started worship; but, again, because of the size of this space, it warmed up to room temperature and became flat and tasteless.
So two of us this morning have experienced in a very direct way what the Scripture says about the church at Laodicea:
“You are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
You all were too polite actually to spit the stuff out, but you wanted to, didn’t you?
The law of thermodynamics says that things at different temperatures will exchange heat with one another and eventually everything will all be the same temperature. A little vessel in a big room will not affect the room very much, but the room will affect it greatly. The spiritual law of thermodynamics says that people at different spiritual temperatures, living in a big problem world, may not, on their own have much effect on that world. You may not be able to detect that they have made a difference. But watch out! Because that big world, that problem world, will affect them. It will bring them to its own spiritual temperature. The world that we are supposed to be changing is changing us, and we need to know that. But we need to be aware that the Lord can help us do something about that.
I would remind you that while two of these cups were lukewarm and ready to spit out, two of them had energy in them. One of them was nice and hot; the other was cool and refreshing. They had energy. And we too can have spiritual energy, so that we can be more than tepid coffee and lukewarm soda in a great big room. We can have spiritual energy, even in this problem world. We can help make our world anew.
I
First, let’s just talk about that problem world for a moment. The issue is that the world infects us with its values. The world invades us with its perspectives. After Christians have sat around in the world awhile, they become just like the world, and there isn’t any difference between them and us. After we’ve been in the world, at work or at school, doing business or just having fun, we do the same things the world does, and it’s hard to know there’s anything special about being a Christian. We are no longer either hot or cold, but we are just the same spiritual temperature as the world.
A
Does the world gather goodies and wealth, never mind integrity and honesty? Does the world produce a union leader whose closets are jammed with designer clothes and glitzy wigs, bought with stolen money? Well, the church has, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, people calling themselves “fur evangelists” to appeal to the selfishness of pastor’s and deacon’s wives, never mind the Scripture that says that these ladies must be “grave”. (My wife is still working on her gravity. And if I don’t shut up, the only grave around will be the one she digs for me!). But do you see? The stuff that the world does, the church gets into also, and you cannot tell the difference any more.
B
Does the world operate on a quietly racist basis? I say “quietly racist”, because all but the most blatant know you cannot be overtly racist. You cannot say the “N” word. You cannot hang out a sign that says, “Colored Restroom”. But everybody here knows that people just go underground slightly with their racism.
One of our members told me a story a couple of weeks ago about applying for a job. She has a last name that sounds Jewish. She’s not Jewish, she’s African-American, but the name looks Jewish. And so when she went in for the interview, the folks who had invited her looked surprised, and then they started to talk past her. Not at her, but past her, as if she were not even in the room! Now that’s what the world does. It operates on a quietly racist basis. But what about the church? When the church of Jesus Christ communicates by its language, by its worship style, by its music, that it is not open to all persons, regardless of race, then the world has gotten to us. We have become the temperature of the world.
C
I could give you many more examples. I could speak about how there was a day when Christians did not use alcohol, because we knew it was damaging to our bodies, which are the temple of the Holy Spirit. But today alcohol flows freely in some of our homes, and even in events sponsored by Christian organizations. We have blurred into the world’s temperature.
Or I could speak about how in the early church men actually died for their faith because they refused to serve in Caesar’s army. They were so committed to Christ that they would not serve in an army that required them to worship the image of the Emperor, and they were so committed to the Prince of Peace that they would not serve the cause of imperial expansion. But today it seems we have plenty of folks in many of the churches, ready to go to war, prepared to take up arms. They say it stimulates the economy, it creates jobs. Yes, but at what price? On whose backs, and with the loss of whose blood?
That’s enough to make my point. The law of thermodynamics tells us that little things quickly take on the temperature of their surroundings. And the rule of spiritual thermodynamics warns us that we Christians, submerged in this big problem world, quickly take on its temperature. Neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm.
Now what does the Lord say about that? To the church at Laodicea, in sharp and uncompromising words, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Christians who stand for nothing are distasteful to God and are in danger of being spit out and thrown away.
II
So I want to suggest some things we need to be hot about and some things we need to be cold about. I want to point up some places where it is critical that we get involved, show our identity, and make a difference.
A
Let’s talk first about being “hot”. No, I am not suggesting anything like what ABC is showing in the current TV trash, “Who’s Hot in America.” I am suggesting that are some things we need to be passionate about. I am suggesting – no, I’m insisting that there are some things that ought to make our blood boil and get us warm under the collar. There are some things we need to stand for, clearly, right now. Not when the climate gets more comfortable, but right now.
1
We need to get hot about compassion. We need to warm up to the situation of people in need. We need to warm up our compassion. You see, when the Civil Rights laws were all passed, and when folks could go to school where they wanted to, and get jobs wherever they were qualified, and buy houses anywhere from Potomac to Rock Creek Park to Tantallon – when all of that was done, it became easy to sink into self-satisfaction. Look here, granddaddy was a sharecropper, daddy bought a little house in town, but look at me: I’ve got my own suburban acreage, and I can even afford to hire somebody to shovel my snow! So the battle is over, right? The issues people fought for in the fifties and sixties, they’re resolved, right? Wrong. The lingering effects of racism are still with us. The numbers of African-American men who are incarcerated are soaring. The situation of children who are not encouraged to learn is getting worse – just listen to some of our own members who are involved with the school systems. Minority children still struggle. Too many families are still unstable. Too many people are out of work. It is not enough to sit it out in stable suburbia, sipping sweet sodas and soaking in the sunshine! We need to get hot about helping people. We need to get hot about compassion.
2
More than that, we need to get hot about winning people to Christ. We need to warm up our evangelistic concern. The world wants us to cool off about that. The world says, “Don’t be a fanatic.” The prevailing opinion is, “You have your religion, I’ve got mine, let’s leave each other alone”. But I am just old-fashioned enough to believe that in Jesus Christ there is the only way to salvation. I am just rigid enough to proclaim that He is THE way, THE truth, THE life, and that no one comes to the Father but by Him. It’s all well and good to be diplomatic and to be gentle with people. Of course I am not talking about running around beating people over the head with Bibles. You know I am not advocating that you rattle your neighbor with threats of hellfire and damnation. But I will tell you that our bland indifference to the spiritual condition of others is something that is distasteful to God. If we cannot stand for this – if we cannot bear witness to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ – if we have no story to tell, no testimony to share, no urgency about this – then I hear His word saying that He is about to spit us out. We are useless and tasteless.
I went to another church once for a funeral; I saw members of the family engaged in a long discussion, on the platform, with the pastor. Finally the pastor got up and said, “Members of the family have insisted that we read something from the Bible. I’ve given them permission to do that, if that is what they want.” Wow! Just what is the message there? It’s good to be tolerant, but let’s warm up to proclaiming Christ. Let’s get hot about winning people to Christ.
B
That’s the hot side. There is also the cold side. The Lord says He wants us to be either cold or hot. So if you cannot or will not be hot, can you be cold? Can you freeze out some stuff that needs to go? Can you turn a cold shoulder to some things that have no place in the life of God’s people? Can you get frigid and rigid about these things?
1
We need to freeze out interpersonal hostilities. We need to turn a cold shoulder to anything that erodes positive relationships between people. The world out there is competitive, suspicious, dog-eat-dog. If you let that happen in the church, it will destroy everything. I have known of people who stopped attending worship, either because somebody attacked them or because they themselves had gone on the attack, and they so embarrassed themselves they didn’t dare come back. I have known people who stayed away from their church because they thought others were out to hurt them; but then I have known people who have stayed in the church just so they could put others down and create havoc. I tell you, it is time for us to freeze in its place the atmosphere of harm and hurt that some want to perpetuate! It is time for us to say, “no more” when it is clear that the whole intention is to embarrass another believer. I personally know of churches that have taken years and years to recover, just because somebody set out to create discord. It’s time to get cold, very cold, and freeze out hostility.
2
Again, we need to freeze out prejudice in all its forms. It’s time to turn a very cold shoulder to attitudes about others based on race, age, appearance, social standing, whatever. It’s time to become frigid and rigid about treating people as if they didn’t matter, just because they aren’t like we are. Are we aloof from somebody just because he is a newer member of this church and has not yet put in twenty years? Are we suspicious of the gifts of somebody just because she is freshly hatched, twenty-something, and has not been pressed into the mold? Oh, we need to learn how to affirm all the gifts of all of God’s people.
I have been so profoundly impressed in just the last few days about what the Lord wants to do in this place. We prayed about a Treasurer and a Financial Secretary, and people came forward for those positions. We prayed about a committee to help us with a transportation ministry, and the Lord came through with a full committee, plus a new volunteer to drive for us, plus a plan for involving youth in taking care of the van! The Lord has too good to us, but my fear is that some of us will get suspicious and cautious and will say we are scared of all these new people and who are they and can we trust them and on and on – do you see? It is time to turn a cold shoulder to the prejudices and suspicions with which the world operates, and open ourselves to all that the Lord wants to do in this place.
For if we are neither cold nor hot, we are useless and He is about to spit us out. But if we can find at least a few things about which to get heated up; if we can find at least a couple of things that we are going to freeze out of here – then the Lord can use us, and use us well. He can empower Kingdom growth.
III
But now wait. Before you rush out the door and get involved in some of these things … before you sign on for heavy-duty hot labor or cold-shoulder tasks, let me just remind you again of the laws of thermodynamics, both physical and spiritual. The rule is that everything moves toward the same temperature. The spiritual rule is that by yourself, on your own, out here in this problem world, you won’t do much. You won’t last long. This world will get to you. You might spend your energies for a little while, trying to lift up a cause or put down some evil. But after a while it will get to you. You cannot do it on your own. You’re going to have to have help.
Let’s go to our cups again. Let’s test them one more time.
Has the tepid coffee gotten any warmer? No. How about the hot coffee; is it still hot? Not as much. Let’s go to the cold soda; is the lukewarm soda any cooler than it was before? No, of course not. Is the really cold soda still cold? Oh, it’s warming up. The world is getting to it.
Do you know why even the energized cups are moving quickly toward room temperature? It’s because they are out here alone. It’s because they are not part of anything larger than themselves. Put them out here on their own, and soon this room will overwhelm them. But if I could put them together, in one large pool – if I had a baptistry full of coffee or soda – now there’s an idea! – it would last much longer. It would hold its temperature much better. Something in that about the importance of staying together as God’s people; what we are singly is never as powerful as what we are together.
And then there is something else that I can do. With this coffee I can plug in the source of energy, and put heat into it from outside. Or with this soda, I can drop in some ice cubes, made from energy somewhere else. I can put cold energy in from outside. And if I add more outside energy, I can keep the hot hot and can preserve the cold cold.
Isn’t that exactly what the Lord is saying to the church at Laodicea when He urges them,
“Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.”
Church, you need to get some things, and you need to get them from the Lord. You cannot keep your resources unless you receive more from the Lord. You cannot deal with your guilt unless you receive forgiveness from the Lord. You cannot even have a vision for what you might be unless the Lord gives it. The whole secret of making a difference in this world is to be connected to one another and to be connected with the Lord. Without God in your life, plugged in and providing you new energy, you will chill out, as many people have who have tried to fight the good fight, on their own, but they’ve just plain burned out. Without the Lord on your side and in your heart, you go into meltdown, as many good people have. Oh, do you remember the song, “if it had not been for the Lord on my side, now where would I be?”
And so today if you are at all challenged to make this world a better place; if you can at all hear Langston Hughes’ invitation to come and “help make our world anew”; if there are causes you really want to become hot and passionate about; if there are evils you truly would like to freeze out and turn a cold shoulder – then remember the laws of thermodynamics, physical and spiritual: this world, this problem world, is too big for us. It will bring us to its own temperature, sooner or later, unless we are together and unless we are connected to the Lord. The same Lord who warns us that if we are neither cold nor hot, He is about to spit us out, now invites us:
“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”
In other words, “I will come in to you and give you my energy. The things that matter to me will matter to you. The Kingdom causes you want to succeed I will empower. My life will be poured into your life.”
And the promise still holds, as it always has:
“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.”
Just remember, when you are tempted to go it alone: things spoil at room temperature.
