Spiritual Double Talk
Luke 6: 17-26
Opening:
Church Blooper Announcements [Best read by a leader from the church in the manner of making genuine announcements in church.]
1. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
2. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church.
3. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery.
4. Tuesday at 4:00 PM there will be an ice cream social, featuring homemade ice-cream. All ladies giving milk will please come early.
5. With Easter Sunday approaching, we will be asking volunteers to come forward and lay eggs on the alter.
6. Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the carpet please do so on your way out.
7. The ladies of the church have given up their clothing for this year’s fund raiser. Members of the church may get a sneak peek at them on the Friday prior to the event.
8. Sandy is still in the hospital. She asked me to announce that she is having trouble sleeping and requests recordings of Pastor Rich’s sermons.
9. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
10. The stewardship committee unveiled the church's new giving campaign slogan: "I Upped My Pledge--Now Up Yours."
11. 8 new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
12. Please don't forget this year’s rummage sale. Ladies, It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.
13. The confirmation class will be presenting a dramatic Passion Play this year during Lent. The congregation is invited to come and see this tragedy.
Clearly by this list of church bulletin bloopers there is often a difference between what is said and what is heard. In fact much of what we say often has multiple meanings. Our English language is filled with idioms and expressions that mean different things in different contexts. Take the expression “getting ahead”. We use this expression often in our language, but its meaning is dependent upon context? In a conversation about financial matters, this means trying to pay off credit cards, or put more money in a savings account. In a conversation about professional success it has to do with advancing one’s self to a higher place within the company. But, when used by a person behind the wheel of a car it means to pass a slower moving vehicle. Often what we say has multiple meanings, and each different meaning is contingent upon the context. Within the context, we understand quite clearly the meaning behind what is being said, but from the outside looking/listening in, the meaning can be lost or confused.
The church often times struggles with this contextual confusion as well. Within the context of the church, couched in the language and the teaching, we have little problem understanding the message behind the words that are spoken in worship. But, to a person who is not part of the church, this may not be the case. Take for instance the words, “Take and eat, this is my body given for you.” Historically there is evidence to believe that in the early formation of the church, Roman unbelievers made claims that those Christians are cannibals.
So, as we continue to live into the mission of being a church for people who have no church, we need to be mindful in this day of how people hear what we insiders are saying.
But, this contextual understanding of things is not only for the language of worship. We might also want to be mindful of creating our own bulletin bloopers by assuming that newer members are aware of what is being announced. For instance; announcing an annual event with little explanation of what its for, or what’s expected from the volunteers leaves new people floundering to get involved because they do not have the needed insider information to translate the announcement.
Within the context, we understand quite clearly the message behind the words, but from outside the context we often can’t and this leads to confusion. This is true of God’s Word as well.
Gospel:
Jesus speaks God’s Word to a diverse crowd of people. Some came from Jerusalem [Jews], and some came from as far as Tyre and Sidon [Gentiles]. By Jesus’ message to them we can surmise that some were poor and hungry, while others were more affluent and well fed. Some were hated and excluded, while others were loved and received social praise. Some were grieving, while others were joyful. People of various different backgrounds, different religions, different stations in life. Of this motley crowd of different people, they all had one thing in common. Verse 18 says they all came to hear him and to be healed. And so, he spoke to them words of healing.
To the poor, the hungry, the broken-hearted, the outcast his words were like salve on their wounded souls.
Blessed are you .
But to the affluent and well fed, the socially acceptable, and those
currently experiencing joy, Jesus’ words would have sounded more like a bitter pill.
Woe to you.
So that there is no confusion, even though Jesus delivers his message in two parts (blessings and woes) the Word of God remains the same.
Beneath the surface of the list of blessings and woes is the same
Message—God’s love is for all.
It has been said that God’s Word, when properly proclaimed, will do two things. It will comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. Those who heard God’s Word on that day as comfort probably remained as Jesus’ disciples. But, I wonder, what of the people who heard it as affliction? Did they hear it all? Or, did they ignore Jesus call to change their ways? Did they change their ways and follow him onward? The text doesn’t tell us.
Connection:
How do we hear God’s word? When we are in need, when we are threatened, when we are crying, when we are rejected, we hear God’s Word loud and clear. It comforts us, and we join the church, and we continue coming to church just as those who were in the crowd came to Jesus because they wanted to hear him and be healed. And we learn to believe and trust that whenever we are afflicted we can count on God to comfort us by His Word. In bad times, God’s Word is clear and we listen and we follow.
But, what about when times are good, when we are comfortable? Do we hear God challenging us to grow in discipleship, to remain faithful, to change our ways so that others less fortunate may be blessed?
Closing:
Fortunately, God’s Word comes to us in the life promised through the love of Jesus. Such that all of us who believe and are baptized are given freely this promise of God’s eternity.
Its important for us to remember then, that no matter if it challenges us or comforts us, God’s Word for us is always one of God’s love and care for His chosen people.
Therefore, no matter if we are comforted or afflicted by God’s Word we want to be listening and following.
I remember the person I once was. But, because of God’s love—both tough and tender— today I am thankful that I no longer recognize the person in those memories.
My guess is that you might be able to say the same thing about your relationship with God.
Words may mean different things to those who listen in from outside the context of the message, but to those of us within the context, the meaning of the words is most often very clear.
Remain then in relationship to God through Jesus, and when God’s Word is spoken to you, there will be no confusion.
God’s Word is not a blooper.
Let us pray…
Lord God, by your mercy keep us in relationship with you, that your Word would always be our guidance and comfort.
Amen
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The One For All
The One For All
[Begin with a puzzle ball. Demonstrate how one piece holds it together.]
I have been asked to offer teaching and preaching on the question of whether or not the ELCA believes in universal salvation. The quick answer is yes. But, so that there is no confusion this belief in universal salvation is not the same as universalism. Universalism holds that all people will eventually be saved. Put another way; that all paths lead to God. This we do not hold to be true. There is only one path which leads to God, it is the path of Christ. There may be many twists and turns in this path, and we may encounter people who appear to be walking in the opposite direction as we are. Still, there is only one path. What we hold to be true is that God will judge us all. But, because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we believe that his judgment will be with grace and mercy, which is more powerful than his wrath. In the end, like the puzzle ball, we believe that this one single piece—the Good News of Jesus Christ—is what has the power to hold us all together in this world and in the next.
In today’s Gospel lesson, did you catch that one little moment in the text when God’s grace comes out? It’s very subtle, but its there. The disciples look at Jesus with Moses and Elijah, and they quickly want to build something. Then, God addresses them. “This is my Son. Listen to him!”
Since its beginning, based on New Testament texts, Christianity has made an exclusive claim: Jesus Christ is God’s only Son, sent to redeem the world. This claim has fueled, throughout history, innumerable mission endeavors aimed at proclaiming the Gospel message in order to "save" human beings who have not heard the story of salvation. In turn, these efforts have raised questions such as, "What about those who never heard, did not believe, weren’t reached, had no opportunity to hear the Gospel?" and "Will only Christians be saved?"
The traditional medieval Roman Catholic response was, "There is no salvation outside the Church." Protestants later rejected that claim and substituted their revised version of exclusiveness. Which was, "Apart from faith there is no salvation." Of course, this faith would come only from being baptized into the Christian faith upon hearing the claims of the preached Gospel. However, both Roman Catholics and Protestants provided various "loophole" theologies. There were second chances for those of "invincible ignorance" (Roman Catholic), or those "not accountable," e.g. infants, mentally retarded, etc. (Protestants). Others would assert that Jesus – the valid avenue for Christians – is only one of many ways that lead to the God of the universe, and that other religions possess equally valid paths to God.
Today, Lutheran theology asserts that all of these views are based on a defective understanding of the New Testament. Today, limiting God’s redemption by exclusivity or loopholes, or placing Christ in a pantheon of world saviors, demonstrates that, "Our thinking about Christ is too small." The ELCA acknowledges that, "In answer to John the Baptist’s question, 'Are you the one who is to come?' the Good News answer is 'yes, and we need not look for another.'" Nothing is more certain in the New Testament than its intention to picture Jesus in an utterly exclusive way, making this claim the heart of the Gospel, itself.
However, we understand the exclusivity of this claim in the way ELCA Lutherans approach all theological questions – by understanding God’s grace, God’s action in Christ.
The Christian hope for salvation, whether for the believing few or the unbelieving many, is grounded in the person and meaning of Christ alone, not in the potential of the world’s religions to save, nor in the moral seriousness of people of good will, not even in the good works of pious Christians and church people. ... There is a universalist thrust in the New Testament, particularly in Paul’s theology. How else can we read passages such as 'for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ'.
ELCA Lutherans hold that, Salvation in the New Testament is what God has done to death in the resurrection of Jesus. Salvation is what God has in store for you and me and the whole world in spite of death, solely on account of the living risen Christ. ... The universal scope of salvation in Christ includes the destiny of our bodies together with the whole earth and the whole of creation. This cosmic hope is based on the promise of eternal life sealed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Through raising Jesus from the dead, God put death to death, overcoming the deadliest enemy of life at loose in the world. This hope for the final salvation of humanity and the eternal universal redemption of all things in heaven and on earth ... is drawn from the unlimited promise of the Gospel and the magnitude of God’s grace made known to the world through Christ."
But what of faith? Isn’t faith necessary for salvation? ELCA Lutherans proclaim, "To say we are saved by faith alone means we let God-in-Christ do all the saving that needs to be done, apart from any works we can perform. ... If I confess that God has saved me, a lost and condemned sinner, whom else can he not save? Faith is precisely awareness that God’s accepting love reaches out to all sinners, even to me. Faith is the opening of heart and mind to the universal grace and goodness of God." Therefore, to answer the frequestly asked question, "Are you saved?" The Lutheran can faithfuly proclaim with boldness, "Yes! Because Jesus died for me!"
For ELCA Lutherans, The special quality of Jesus’ uniqueness is best grasped in terms of his universal meaning. This concrete person, Jesus of Nazareth, is unique because of his unequaled universal significance. The point of his uniqueness underlines his universality. If Jesus is the Lord and Savior, he is the universal Lord and Savior, not merely my personal Lord and Savior. Because Jesus is the unique and universal Savior, there is a large hope for salvation, not only for me and others with the proper credentials of believing and belonging to the church, but for all people whenever or wherever they might have lived and no matter how religious or irreligious they may have proved to be themselves. This grace of God, given freely is offered to all.
The New Testament is full of warnings about substituting right words and doctrines as religious screens against the living word and will of God. Still, these warnings are not God’s last word. The final word is that God came to the world in Christ in order to redeem the world, and that nothing can come between God’s creation and God’s all-encompassing love. That is precisely how ELCA Lutherans understand Jesus' claim that, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." (John 14:6) What God has done in Christ is done for all; God’s act in Christ is the way that all come to God. This Good News we are compelled to joyously share with all people: "God has acted in Christ, and you are the recipient of this loving act."
To those who often passionately argue that "while God offers grace and salvation to all, humans must accept it with deep repentance and a change of life," the ELCA cautions against making salvation into a work that we accomplish by our response to God’s offer. Rather, in our telling the Good News we pray that those who hear "will present" themselves "to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present their lives to God as instruments of righteousness".
Will, then, all people be saved in the end? We must say quite honestly, "We do not know the answer. That is stored up in the mystery of God’s own future. All God has let us know in advance is that he will judge the world according to the measure of his grace and love made known in Jesus Christ. What I can tell you with the assurance given to one of faith and trust in what God has done in Christ is that I am saved. My friends, you can claim this in faith as well. Furthermore, this invitation of the heart is given to all people because of what Christ has done. None of can know what God has in store for the other. But, we can and do know what God has in store for us.
Like the puzzle, there is One who was given for all. This One has the power to hold us all together. One who came to make known to all that God’s judgment is not of wrath and vengeance, but of grace, mercy and love. Therefore we can trust in him, and follow the path of his son, Jesus.
This message challenges us to live likewise in this pluralistic world; to judge not with wrath or vengeance, but with the same grace, mercy and love that God has already shown us by the death and resurrection of the One who is for all.
Amen
[Begin with a puzzle ball. Demonstrate how one piece holds it together.]
I have been asked to offer teaching and preaching on the question of whether or not the ELCA believes in universal salvation. The quick answer is yes. But, so that there is no confusion this belief in universal salvation is not the same as universalism. Universalism holds that all people will eventually be saved. Put another way; that all paths lead to God. This we do not hold to be true. There is only one path which leads to God, it is the path of Christ. There may be many twists and turns in this path, and we may encounter people who appear to be walking in the opposite direction as we are. Still, there is only one path. What we hold to be true is that God will judge us all. But, because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we believe that his judgment will be with grace and mercy, which is more powerful than his wrath. In the end, like the puzzle ball, we believe that this one single piece—the Good News of Jesus Christ—is what has the power to hold us all together in this world and in the next.
In today’s Gospel lesson, did you catch that one little moment in the text when God’s grace comes out? It’s very subtle, but its there. The disciples look at Jesus with Moses and Elijah, and they quickly want to build something. Then, God addresses them. “This is my Son. Listen to him!”
Since its beginning, based on New Testament texts, Christianity has made an exclusive claim: Jesus Christ is God’s only Son, sent to redeem the world. This claim has fueled, throughout history, innumerable mission endeavors aimed at proclaiming the Gospel message in order to "save" human beings who have not heard the story of salvation. In turn, these efforts have raised questions such as, "What about those who never heard, did not believe, weren’t reached, had no opportunity to hear the Gospel?" and "Will only Christians be saved?"
The traditional medieval Roman Catholic response was, "There is no salvation outside the Church." Protestants later rejected that claim and substituted their revised version of exclusiveness. Which was, "Apart from faith there is no salvation." Of course, this faith would come only from being baptized into the Christian faith upon hearing the claims of the preached Gospel. However, both Roman Catholics and Protestants provided various "loophole" theologies. There were second chances for those of "invincible ignorance" (Roman Catholic), or those "not accountable," e.g. infants, mentally retarded, etc. (Protestants). Others would assert that Jesus – the valid avenue for Christians – is only one of many ways that lead to the God of the universe, and that other religions possess equally valid paths to God.
Today, Lutheran theology asserts that all of these views are based on a defective understanding of the New Testament. Today, limiting God’s redemption by exclusivity or loopholes, or placing Christ in a pantheon of world saviors, demonstrates that, "Our thinking about Christ is too small." The ELCA acknowledges that, "In answer to John the Baptist’s question, 'Are you the one who is to come?' the Good News answer is 'yes, and we need not look for another.'" Nothing is more certain in the New Testament than its intention to picture Jesus in an utterly exclusive way, making this claim the heart of the Gospel, itself.
However, we understand the exclusivity of this claim in the way ELCA Lutherans approach all theological questions – by understanding God’s grace, God’s action in Christ.
The Christian hope for salvation, whether for the believing few or the unbelieving many, is grounded in the person and meaning of Christ alone, not in the potential of the world’s religions to save, nor in the moral seriousness of people of good will, not even in the good works of pious Christians and church people. ... There is a universalist thrust in the New Testament, particularly in Paul’s theology. How else can we read passages such as 'for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ'.
ELCA Lutherans hold that, Salvation in the New Testament is what God has done to death in the resurrection of Jesus. Salvation is what God has in store for you and me and the whole world in spite of death, solely on account of the living risen Christ. ... The universal scope of salvation in Christ includes the destiny of our bodies together with the whole earth and the whole of creation. This cosmic hope is based on the promise of eternal life sealed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Through raising Jesus from the dead, God put death to death, overcoming the deadliest enemy of life at loose in the world. This hope for the final salvation of humanity and the eternal universal redemption of all things in heaven and on earth ... is drawn from the unlimited promise of the Gospel and the magnitude of God’s grace made known to the world through Christ."
But what of faith? Isn’t faith necessary for salvation? ELCA Lutherans proclaim, "To say we are saved by faith alone means we let God-in-Christ do all the saving that needs to be done, apart from any works we can perform. ... If I confess that God has saved me, a lost and condemned sinner, whom else can he not save? Faith is precisely awareness that God’s accepting love reaches out to all sinners, even to me. Faith is the opening of heart and mind to the universal grace and goodness of God." Therefore, to answer the frequestly asked question, "Are you saved?" The Lutheran can faithfuly proclaim with boldness, "Yes! Because Jesus died for me!"
For ELCA Lutherans, The special quality of Jesus’ uniqueness is best grasped in terms of his universal meaning. This concrete person, Jesus of Nazareth, is unique because of his unequaled universal significance. The point of his uniqueness underlines his universality. If Jesus is the Lord and Savior, he is the universal Lord and Savior, not merely my personal Lord and Savior. Because Jesus is the unique and universal Savior, there is a large hope for salvation, not only for me and others with the proper credentials of believing and belonging to the church, but for all people whenever or wherever they might have lived and no matter how religious or irreligious they may have proved to be themselves. This grace of God, given freely is offered to all.
The New Testament is full of warnings about substituting right words and doctrines as religious screens against the living word and will of God. Still, these warnings are not God’s last word. The final word is that God came to the world in Christ in order to redeem the world, and that nothing can come between God’s creation and God’s all-encompassing love. That is precisely how ELCA Lutherans understand Jesus' claim that, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." (John 14:6) What God has done in Christ is done for all; God’s act in Christ is the way that all come to God. This Good News we are compelled to joyously share with all people: "God has acted in Christ, and you are the recipient of this loving act."
To those who often passionately argue that "while God offers grace and salvation to all, humans must accept it with deep repentance and a change of life," the ELCA cautions against making salvation into a work that we accomplish by our response to God’s offer. Rather, in our telling the Good News we pray that those who hear "will present" themselves "to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present their lives to God as instruments of righteousness".
Will, then, all people be saved in the end? We must say quite honestly, "We do not know the answer. That is stored up in the mystery of God’s own future. All God has let us know in advance is that he will judge the world according to the measure of his grace and love made known in Jesus Christ. What I can tell you with the assurance given to one of faith and trust in what God has done in Christ is that I am saved. My friends, you can claim this in faith as well. Furthermore, this invitation of the heart is given to all people because of what Christ has done. None of can know what God has in store for the other. But, we can and do know what God has in store for us.
Like the puzzle, there is One who was given for all. This One has the power to hold us all together. One who came to make known to all that God’s judgment is not of wrath and vengeance, but of grace, mercy and love. Therefore we can trust in him, and follow the path of his son, Jesus.
This message challenges us to live likewise in this pluralistic world; to judge not with wrath or vengeance, but with the same grace, mercy and love that God has already shown us by the death and resurrection of the One who is for all.
Amen
Christmas Eve 2007
This Holy Moment
Christmas Eve: Luke 2:1-20
I think I was 6 years old when I first participated in a Christmas Pageant at church. I was a shepherd. I remember my part as if it were yesterday. When the angel appeared I was to act terrified. When the angel finished speaking I was to act joyful, then go and kneel next to Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. It was a simple little pageant that my church put on. My costume wasn’t much more than a bathrobe. But, what an impression that particular Christmas made on one little person’s faith.
I was very excited to be a part of this pageant. So much so that the manger scene caught my imagination, possibly for the first time that Christmas. Among the many traditions that were part of the Christmas season in our home was this little nativity scene that my grandmother brought out each year. It was a little wooden barn filled with ceramic figurines of shepherds and sheep, Wise Men and camels, parents and Child. And, my grandmother would place it prominently under the Christmas Tree. This little manger scene captured my child-like imagination for the first time that year. I remember lying on my belly on the floor in front of the tree moving the figurines around to reenact the story. I still vividly remember climbing clear under the tree to position my face right behind each of the wise men and each of the shepherds in order to imagine what they must have seen that night. Since then my child-like imagination has changed, and I have seen many more depictions of that nativity scene. Each time, the scene is basically the same: the manger in the middle, Joseph and Mary nearby, and the shepherds, magi, angels, and animals flanking the scene.
We've all seen it, probably thousands of times on Christmas cards, in churches, on front yards, in pageants, and in plays. And every time, the scene is essentially the same: the manger in the middle, surrounded by the parents and all the familiar visitors. But, I have yet to see a pageant, or a play, that really and truly depicts the whole Christmas story. Actually, I have never yet seen a card, a painting, or a even a stage that is big enough to depict the whole Christmas story. It would require a stage the size of, well, Honey Brook. And then, the nativity scene would actually be this tiny little non-event happening off in the woods somewhere unnoticed by the normal activity of life in Honey Brook. In other words, to truly pull off a depiction of the whole nativity story, the stage would need to be enormous, so that the proportions would be correct. For, you see, to tell the whole story, the nativity scene itself would have to be made tiny. Very tiny. Unnoticeably tiny.
Luke tells us the whole Christmas story, and he sets for us the stage -- the whole stage of that very first pageant. He begins with the headline of the day: "In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered." If there had been newspapers in the ancient world, this would have been the front page headline on every one of them. It would have been the lead story on every news broadcast and the hot topic of every contemporary discussion. This decree meant higher taxes. Higher taxes meant more hardship, more poverty. This decree meant an increase Roman domination through war and oppression. This decree forced people into motion all over the Empire, including a certain newly married couple from Nazareth. Luke begins to set the stage for the Christmas story by telling us that Rome, not a manger in Bethlehem, is at the center of the stage. The Roman Emperor, not a baby, is the character with the top billing of the show. And the prospect of an Empire-wide tax, not some anonymous birth, is the headline. Luke goes on to tell how the decree from Caesar Augustus prompted Joseph to travel from Nazareth, where he lived, to Bethlehem, which was his ancestral home. A traditional nativity scene puts the Bethlehem manger in the center, under the spotlight. But, Luke's account reminds us, that Bethlehem was not only far from the center of the world's stage, it was not even at the center of Joseph's stage. Joseph’s home was Nazareth, and going to Bethlehem was a long way from home, not a journey one chooses to make with a pregnant wife on a donkey. Joseph went because he was forced to do so under the oppressive foot of the empirical decree. Next, Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem, only to find that there is no room for them in the inn. This couple and this birth were not even big news in the small village of Bethlehem. They were pushed off to the side of a town that was itself off to the side of a province that was off to the side of the empire.
We’ve never seen the whole Christmas story depicted because we’ve only ever seen the manger at center stage. But the birth of Jesus was not center stage. In reality, if we were to climb under the Christmas tree and peer over the shoulders of the real characters and see through the eyes of those who were actually there, this Holy moment, when God first broke through time and space to enter creation in a child, happened so far from the center of the stage that it was practically backstage. Yet, from backstage, with the center stage players completely unaware, God steals the show.
So let's reset the whole nativity scene in our imagination. At the center is not a manger but a throne. It's Caesar's throne -- the seat of the world's power -- and it's in Rome. Off to the far side of the stage is a bit of background scenery -- that represents the rather unimportant Roman province of Palestine. Painted on the edge of that scenery is a tiny village, barely even noticeable to the audience. The tiny village is Bethlehem. And somewhere behind the scenes, away from the main events even of that tiny town, is where we find the manger. It is not center stage at all. It’s actually barely noticeable, off in the margins of life and existence. Yet, miraculously, wondrously, perfectly, that is where God came into the world. God came in the margins of life; on the edges of things where the world least expected it. The truth of the Christmas story is that God came into the world backstage, behind the main scene. He came practically unnoticed by the entire world. No headlines. No politics. No Banners. No Guns. He came in the silence of a night, in a manger, in a barn. He came to an unknown and unimportant place, and he came to unknown and unimportant people. He snuck in! While the big news of the day was so many other seemingly important historical events, God was behind the scenes re-creating history itself.
It is mind boggling to consider how God could have made his entrance onto this world's stage: the awe-striking spectacle, the unmistakable glory, and the unfathomable power. Shock and Awe, that is likely how we might have expected the scene. But that is not how God came down from heaven and began a new life among us. The truth is that while the domination of the world’s powers seemed to be the drama on center stage, God came into the world backstage through the weak, the poor, and the ordinary. And, what a difference this backstage act has made.
Consider these tidbits of how God has stolen the show away from the Empire by working backstage. At that time in the world in which Jesus was born, dates were set according to the Roman Emperor -- what year of his particular reign it was. But now, most of the nations of the world set time according to this singular baby's birth -- December 24th, 2007 A.D., anno domini, the year of the Lord. At that time, Caesar Augustus, Quirinius, and Herod were big names, important men. Now they are just the supporting cast in the bigger story of what God was doing with Jesus’ birth. At that time, Rome was the most important city in the world, and Bethlehem was just a backwater village in a conquered country. Now, Bethlehem is one of the most famous, most visited places on earth. And Rome's greatest claim to fame today and through much of Western history is, arguably, the role it plays in Christ's church. This singular moment in time—This Holy Moment—changed all of history, even our understanding of time and place. And God did all this, from behind the stage. God didn't come with power or prominence, with influence or importance. God didn't come into the spotlight of center stage. God came into the world through the world’s back door. God snuck in through backstage, and then stole the show.
My friends, on this Christmas Eve and every Christmas, and even every moment, that continues to be God’s divine strategy for entering our lives. He continues to come into the world, into our lives, through moments and events that seem completely benign and unimportant. Think about it—-Stores, banks, and malls that would never play "Amazing Grace" or "A Mighty Fortress" over their sound systems during the rest of the year will, at Christmas time, routinely play songs that say, "Let earth receive her King," "God and sinner reconciled," "Let every heart prepare him room.". God sneaks into banks, stores and malls. We Christians often lament the commercialization of Christmas. I wonder, though, if we have underestimated God. For I suspect that the effect may actually be flowing in the other direction: it is not Christmas that is being commercialized, but rather it is our already over-commercialized culture that is annually, routinely, and unwittingly overrun by God’s good news for the world. Christmas was -- and continues to be -- God's Holy Moment—when God shows up in the most unsuspecting of times. And by God’s entering this tiny moment, it becomes a moment of holiness through which all moments thereafter are transformed by God’s presence within it.
Ever since, God has continued to come to us every December in tiny seemingly unnoticeable and fleeting moments through songs, traditions, and sentiment. He comes through even the tiniest measures of generosity, good will, and just the sheer festivity of the season. God comes through the excitement that children feel as Christmas approaches, and he comes through the longing, and even the hurt that adults feel at this time of the year. God brings joy, wonder, and magic into our lives in ways that none of us can produce—not even Disney World can produce the true magic of Christmas. But, God can, and he does every year and he does it out of what seems like nothing to us. God turns our mere moments into Holy Moments—giving us these tiny glimpses of the eternity with Him that He has promised to all who believe. It are these tiny moments, that fill us every December with a renewed sense of holiness that encourages us to respond to God with faith, hope and love. It is God sneaking in upon our hearts that turns us toward charity, forgiveness, and grace for all of our brothers and sisters on the earth, and instilling in our souls the hope of a world where peace reigns.
Christmas was nothing for history to write about, a mere moment in the ticking of all of time—But, it was a moment into which God came to this world—and through it the world has found that every moment in time offers the opportunity for holiness. Christmas gives us a glimpse of what God is like and what he continues to do. God didn't come marching in through the front door, flexing his muscles, and demanding the spotlight. He could have, but he didn’t. The king of the universe arrived in swaddling cloths, mostly ignored by the world he had created. And, still today, God does not barge into our lives. He waits for tiny fleeting moments, when we least expect it, and when our hearts are made vulnerable, to inspire within us just a moment’s worth of true faith, true joy, true hope, true love. And through that moment—and the memory of a host of others like it—God turns our tiny, unnoticeable lives into a sign of the eternal presence of his Son for others to see. God’s most precious gift for all the world—the child born in a manger—is now the child born again and again in and through us.
At that first Christmas, God came into the lives of insignificant, common people, and the angels announced to shepherds that this was good news of great joy. And it is! For we are assured that God willingly comes into our lives too. In that first Holy Moment, God came into a place that seemed small and unimportant. That’s good news of great joy for all of us, for our life and our homes seem so small and unimportant. Yet, God comes to be born in us. In that first Holy Moment, God came into a place that was messy and unworthy of him. And that's good news which brings great joy because our hearts, our lives, and our world are messy and unworthy. Yet God comes to be born in us.
I have yet to see the whole Christmas story depicted on a stage. But I have seen the whole Christmas story played out again and again in individual lives. It is the story of this God who could come bursting in, but does not. It is the story of this God who comes in gently and unassumingly, perhaps even unnoticed at first. And it is the story of this God who, bit by gracious bit, comes into your life and mine backstage, by his mercy, and becomes the star of our show in lived out moments of holiness.
I was 6 years old when the nativity scene first caught my imagination, I first got to play a part in a Christmas pageant, and that was my privilege. But it is today our greater privilege -- to live every day as if we are players in God’s continual nativity scene. Tonight, here into this tiny moment, God comes to you and me reminding us that:
just as he entered in and provided the grace for a young mother,
just as he entered in and encouraged a confused adopting father,
just as he entered in and brought hope to overworked and lonely shepherds,
just as he entered in and provided a sense of wonder and adventure to three wise old men—-God once again comes to us.
Best of all, he promises to come and be accessible to every moment of life—turning our lives of uneventful moments into lives filled with the same love, peace and joy found in the child born in that first Holy Moment.
Amen. Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve: Luke 2:1-20
I think I was 6 years old when I first participated in a Christmas Pageant at church. I was a shepherd. I remember my part as if it were yesterday. When the angel appeared I was to act terrified. When the angel finished speaking I was to act joyful, then go and kneel next to Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. It was a simple little pageant that my church put on. My costume wasn’t much more than a bathrobe. But, what an impression that particular Christmas made on one little person’s faith.
I was very excited to be a part of this pageant. So much so that the manger scene caught my imagination, possibly for the first time that Christmas. Among the many traditions that were part of the Christmas season in our home was this little nativity scene that my grandmother brought out each year. It was a little wooden barn filled with ceramic figurines of shepherds and sheep, Wise Men and camels, parents and Child. And, my grandmother would place it prominently under the Christmas Tree. This little manger scene captured my child-like imagination for the first time that year. I remember lying on my belly on the floor in front of the tree moving the figurines around to reenact the story. I still vividly remember climbing clear under the tree to position my face right behind each of the wise men and each of the shepherds in order to imagine what they must have seen that night. Since then my child-like imagination has changed, and I have seen many more depictions of that nativity scene. Each time, the scene is basically the same: the manger in the middle, Joseph and Mary nearby, and the shepherds, magi, angels, and animals flanking the scene.
We've all seen it, probably thousands of times on Christmas cards, in churches, on front yards, in pageants, and in plays. And every time, the scene is essentially the same: the manger in the middle, surrounded by the parents and all the familiar visitors. But, I have yet to see a pageant, or a play, that really and truly depicts the whole Christmas story. Actually, I have never yet seen a card, a painting, or a even a stage that is big enough to depict the whole Christmas story. It would require a stage the size of, well, Honey Brook. And then, the nativity scene would actually be this tiny little non-event happening off in the woods somewhere unnoticed by the normal activity of life in Honey Brook. In other words, to truly pull off a depiction of the whole nativity story, the stage would need to be enormous, so that the proportions would be correct. For, you see, to tell the whole story, the nativity scene itself would have to be made tiny. Very tiny. Unnoticeably tiny.
Luke tells us the whole Christmas story, and he sets for us the stage -- the whole stage of that very first pageant. He begins with the headline of the day: "In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered." If there had been newspapers in the ancient world, this would have been the front page headline on every one of them. It would have been the lead story on every news broadcast and the hot topic of every contemporary discussion. This decree meant higher taxes. Higher taxes meant more hardship, more poverty. This decree meant an increase Roman domination through war and oppression. This decree forced people into motion all over the Empire, including a certain newly married couple from Nazareth. Luke begins to set the stage for the Christmas story by telling us that Rome, not a manger in Bethlehem, is at the center of the stage. The Roman Emperor, not a baby, is the character with the top billing of the show. And the prospect of an Empire-wide tax, not some anonymous birth, is the headline. Luke goes on to tell how the decree from Caesar Augustus prompted Joseph to travel from Nazareth, where he lived, to Bethlehem, which was his ancestral home. A traditional nativity scene puts the Bethlehem manger in the center, under the spotlight. But, Luke's account reminds us, that Bethlehem was not only far from the center of the world's stage, it was not even at the center of Joseph's stage. Joseph’s home was Nazareth, and going to Bethlehem was a long way from home, not a journey one chooses to make with a pregnant wife on a donkey. Joseph went because he was forced to do so under the oppressive foot of the empirical decree. Next, Joseph and Mary arrive in Bethlehem, only to find that there is no room for them in the inn. This couple and this birth were not even big news in the small village of Bethlehem. They were pushed off to the side of a town that was itself off to the side of a province that was off to the side of the empire.
We’ve never seen the whole Christmas story depicted because we’ve only ever seen the manger at center stage. But the birth of Jesus was not center stage. In reality, if we were to climb under the Christmas tree and peer over the shoulders of the real characters and see through the eyes of those who were actually there, this Holy moment, when God first broke through time and space to enter creation in a child, happened so far from the center of the stage that it was practically backstage. Yet, from backstage, with the center stage players completely unaware, God steals the show.
So let's reset the whole nativity scene in our imagination. At the center is not a manger but a throne. It's Caesar's throne -- the seat of the world's power -- and it's in Rome. Off to the far side of the stage is a bit of background scenery -- that represents the rather unimportant Roman province of Palestine. Painted on the edge of that scenery is a tiny village, barely even noticeable to the audience. The tiny village is Bethlehem. And somewhere behind the scenes, away from the main events even of that tiny town, is where we find the manger. It is not center stage at all. It’s actually barely noticeable, off in the margins of life and existence. Yet, miraculously, wondrously, perfectly, that is where God came into the world. God came in the margins of life; on the edges of things where the world least expected it. The truth of the Christmas story is that God came into the world backstage, behind the main scene. He came practically unnoticed by the entire world. No headlines. No politics. No Banners. No Guns. He came in the silence of a night, in a manger, in a barn. He came to an unknown and unimportant place, and he came to unknown and unimportant people. He snuck in! While the big news of the day was so many other seemingly important historical events, God was behind the scenes re-creating history itself.
It is mind boggling to consider how God could have made his entrance onto this world's stage: the awe-striking spectacle, the unmistakable glory, and the unfathomable power. Shock and Awe, that is likely how we might have expected the scene. But that is not how God came down from heaven and began a new life among us. The truth is that while the domination of the world’s powers seemed to be the drama on center stage, God came into the world backstage through the weak, the poor, and the ordinary. And, what a difference this backstage act has made.
Consider these tidbits of how God has stolen the show away from the Empire by working backstage. At that time in the world in which Jesus was born, dates were set according to the Roman Emperor -- what year of his particular reign it was. But now, most of the nations of the world set time according to this singular baby's birth -- December 24th, 2007 A.D., anno domini, the year of the Lord. At that time, Caesar Augustus, Quirinius, and Herod were big names, important men. Now they are just the supporting cast in the bigger story of what God was doing with Jesus’ birth. At that time, Rome was the most important city in the world, and Bethlehem was just a backwater village in a conquered country. Now, Bethlehem is one of the most famous, most visited places on earth. And Rome's greatest claim to fame today and through much of Western history is, arguably, the role it plays in Christ's church. This singular moment in time—This Holy Moment—changed all of history, even our understanding of time and place. And God did all this, from behind the stage. God didn't come with power or prominence, with influence or importance. God didn't come into the spotlight of center stage. God came into the world through the world’s back door. God snuck in through backstage, and then stole the show.
My friends, on this Christmas Eve and every Christmas, and even every moment, that continues to be God’s divine strategy for entering our lives. He continues to come into the world, into our lives, through moments and events that seem completely benign and unimportant. Think about it—-Stores, banks, and malls that would never play "Amazing Grace" or "A Mighty Fortress" over their sound systems during the rest of the year will, at Christmas time, routinely play songs that say, "Let earth receive her King," "God and sinner reconciled," "Let every heart prepare him room.". God sneaks into banks, stores and malls. We Christians often lament the commercialization of Christmas. I wonder, though, if we have underestimated God. For I suspect that the effect may actually be flowing in the other direction: it is not Christmas that is being commercialized, but rather it is our already over-commercialized culture that is annually, routinely, and unwittingly overrun by God’s good news for the world. Christmas was -- and continues to be -- God's Holy Moment—when God shows up in the most unsuspecting of times. And by God’s entering this tiny moment, it becomes a moment of holiness through which all moments thereafter are transformed by God’s presence within it.
Ever since, God has continued to come to us every December in tiny seemingly unnoticeable and fleeting moments through songs, traditions, and sentiment. He comes through even the tiniest measures of generosity, good will, and just the sheer festivity of the season. God comes through the excitement that children feel as Christmas approaches, and he comes through the longing, and even the hurt that adults feel at this time of the year. God brings joy, wonder, and magic into our lives in ways that none of us can produce—not even Disney World can produce the true magic of Christmas. But, God can, and he does every year and he does it out of what seems like nothing to us. God turns our mere moments into Holy Moments—giving us these tiny glimpses of the eternity with Him that He has promised to all who believe. It are these tiny moments, that fill us every December with a renewed sense of holiness that encourages us to respond to God with faith, hope and love. It is God sneaking in upon our hearts that turns us toward charity, forgiveness, and grace for all of our brothers and sisters on the earth, and instilling in our souls the hope of a world where peace reigns.
Christmas was nothing for history to write about, a mere moment in the ticking of all of time—But, it was a moment into which God came to this world—and through it the world has found that every moment in time offers the opportunity for holiness. Christmas gives us a glimpse of what God is like and what he continues to do. God didn't come marching in through the front door, flexing his muscles, and demanding the spotlight. He could have, but he didn’t. The king of the universe arrived in swaddling cloths, mostly ignored by the world he had created. And, still today, God does not barge into our lives. He waits for tiny fleeting moments, when we least expect it, and when our hearts are made vulnerable, to inspire within us just a moment’s worth of true faith, true joy, true hope, true love. And through that moment—and the memory of a host of others like it—God turns our tiny, unnoticeable lives into a sign of the eternal presence of his Son for others to see. God’s most precious gift for all the world—the child born in a manger—is now the child born again and again in and through us.
At that first Christmas, God came into the lives of insignificant, common people, and the angels announced to shepherds that this was good news of great joy. And it is! For we are assured that God willingly comes into our lives too. In that first Holy Moment, God came into a place that seemed small and unimportant. That’s good news of great joy for all of us, for our life and our homes seem so small and unimportant. Yet, God comes to be born in us. In that first Holy Moment, God came into a place that was messy and unworthy of him. And that's good news which brings great joy because our hearts, our lives, and our world are messy and unworthy. Yet God comes to be born in us.
I have yet to see the whole Christmas story depicted on a stage. But I have seen the whole Christmas story played out again and again in individual lives. It is the story of this God who could come bursting in, but does not. It is the story of this God who comes in gently and unassumingly, perhaps even unnoticed at first. And it is the story of this God who, bit by gracious bit, comes into your life and mine backstage, by his mercy, and becomes the star of our show in lived out moments of holiness.
I was 6 years old when the nativity scene first caught my imagination, I first got to play a part in a Christmas pageant, and that was my privilege. But it is today our greater privilege -- to live every day as if we are players in God’s continual nativity scene. Tonight, here into this tiny moment, God comes to you and me reminding us that:
just as he entered in and provided the grace for a young mother,
just as he entered in and encouraged a confused adopting father,
just as he entered in and brought hope to overworked and lonely shepherds,
just as he entered in and provided a sense of wonder and adventure to three wise old men—-God once again comes to us.
Best of all, he promises to come and be accessible to every moment of life—turning our lives of uneventful moments into lives filled with the same love, peace and joy found in the child born in that first Holy Moment.
Amen. Merry Christmas!
Holy Interruptions
Holy Interruptions
Matthew 3:1-12
Have you noticed that the forms you fill out for membership in things keeps getting longer? Email address, beeper number, cell phone, fax number, then they want to know all the same information about your spouse. A nice safe feeling isn’t it—to know that the organization you are signing up for feels so secure that they need to be able to contact you in multiple ways, as if there might just be some sort of emergency that would cause them to need all this information. But, we are people who are wired and available at all times. At any time, or in the middle of anything we can be contacted. How many of you have had this happen to you. You’re at home watching a movie with your family—sharing a rare quality moment—when the phone rings. OK, no problem—the answering machine will get it, right? Then, about 30 seconds after the phone stops ringing, your cell phone rings? I had this happen to me once, and when I did answer the cell phone the person wanted to know if I had gotten the email he sent just a few minutes ago.
One of the hottest techno-gadgets this Christmas is the new I-Phone. This thing allows you to have your phone, email, and any other form of contact with the outside world all rolled up into one neat package that fits ion your pocket. —-I’m enticed—I must admit.
There is much that is positive and exciting about all this access. Amy and I have been in contact with Elijah’s agency workers half way around the world. The latest pictures we received of him show him looking so much healthier than he did back a month or two ago. Email access to our son’s agency worker is great. These types of things are the blessings of having such access.
But there is a price for being so wired: sometimes our houses sounds like a hospital ICU, and the once relative impermeable walls of our home that offered space for sanctuary and protection from the worries of other places have now been made very much permeable.
In an article titled “The Age of Interruption,” author Michael Ventura observed:
Interruption is increasingly taken for granted—both the right to interrupt others and the expectation that one will be interrupted in turn. The individual’s time, already experienced as a cross between a labyrinth, a cage and a treadmill, is now vulnerable to fragmentation without warning from any direction. All of this makes for efficient communication and contact but it also allows the outside world of work into our homes at all hours.
During Sunday morning worship, we practice a kind of boundary support that is otherwise not available on any other kind of routine. We all have been taught to turn off our cell phones in the theatres or at certain other special events. But, for most of us I would assume, there really isn’t any other time in our weeks when we are given permission to not be contacted for at least a few hours on Sunday morning. If you are new to coming to church on a regular basis, you may have begun to realize that after a while your friends and associates accept that you don’t answer the phone on Sunday morning. Every once in a while they may try to test this though, just to see if maybe the boundary is down. Amy gets a call every once in a while on Sunday morning from her neurotic boss. She doesn’t answer it, and then later returns the call with a friendly reminder that she does not answer the phone on Sunday mornings. It’s like having holy permission to not be available for at least a few hours during each week. You’ll still be enslaved during the rest of your week, but at least for these hours the church provides a kind of sanctuary away from the world of complete access.
Without this, or possibly other self-imposed boundaries on interruptions we don’t have a chance to be nourished by God or to nourish the other members of our family, or someone else we care about.
Today’s gospel lesson confronts us with a bit of an interruption itself. Right in the middle of our Christmas busy-ness, just when we are all sort of breaking stride with the increased pace of our Christmas preparation sprint to the finish—-God sends us John the Baptist with a message that is like a holy interruption. It goes something lie this.
[Skit]
“You brood of vipers. Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
Bear fruit worthy of repentance? No I’m not listening—-I’m not answering his call—it will make me focus attention on my sinfulness. You know, all that selfishness that we get so wrapped up with during December. I want this —- I want that. So, like I said—-I am not answering the Baptist’s call. But, denial doesn't work—-I’ve already heard God’s Word. The ringing of those words are already in my head.
Bear fruit worthy of repentance!
Go away!
Bear fruit worthy of repentance!
Oh why must God torment me like this—-and just when I was starting to get into the Christmas Spirit.
Oh OK fine, maybe if I heed this for just a moment he’ll stop bugging me—Lord forgive me for my sinfulness. There, I repented. Now let me go back to my Christmas feeling.
(Pause)
Bear fruit worthy of repentance!
UUUGGGHH!
Lord, forgive me for my selfishness, forgive me for , forgive me, forgive me, forgive me……(silence)
[Now relieved]
Hey, that wasn’t so bad. No, as a matter fact. It was pretty good. Thank you Lord, for reminding me of what Christmas is truly about. —
Lord, you can interrupt me anytime.
I will..
John the Baptist is the one who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus. He did that by telling those first disciples that they needed to repent.
Still today, while we are busy preparing our homes, and our schedules for Christmas—God sends John the Baptist to prepare us—to prepare our hearts and souls for the coming of Jesus. God interrupts with an interruption that calls us to repent—it is a Holy interruption. When he heed it we encounter the true spirit of Christmas—-The gift of new life found in the forgiving grace of the crucified one, Jesus.
Meanwhile, as difficult as true repentance can be, we encounter a God who is not only accessible at all times, but he has given us the gift of prayer in the name of Jesus. That’s why we pray in the name of Jesus. In the cacophony of heavenly prayers going up to God. We have been promised that when we ask in the name of Jesus—we will not be put on hold.
God wants us to interrupt him. God wants to be accessible to us at all times.
In this world when we are trying, somewhat poorly, to be accessible to all at all times. Its good to know that God has made himself accessible to us at all times. And when we call upon him whether for repentance or in the joy of thanksgiving—we are given the permission for a holy interruption.
Amen .
Matthew 3:1-12
Have you noticed that the forms you fill out for membership in things keeps getting longer? Email address, beeper number, cell phone, fax number, then they want to know all the same information about your spouse. A nice safe feeling isn’t it—to know that the organization you are signing up for feels so secure that they need to be able to contact you in multiple ways, as if there might just be some sort of emergency that would cause them to need all this information. But, we are people who are wired and available at all times. At any time, or in the middle of anything we can be contacted. How many of you have had this happen to you. You’re at home watching a movie with your family—sharing a rare quality moment—when the phone rings. OK, no problem—the answering machine will get it, right? Then, about 30 seconds after the phone stops ringing, your cell phone rings? I had this happen to me once, and when I did answer the cell phone the person wanted to know if I had gotten the email he sent just a few minutes ago.
One of the hottest techno-gadgets this Christmas is the new I-Phone. This thing allows you to have your phone, email, and any other form of contact with the outside world all rolled up into one neat package that fits ion your pocket. —-I’m enticed—I must admit.
There is much that is positive and exciting about all this access. Amy and I have been in contact with Elijah’s agency workers half way around the world. The latest pictures we received of him show him looking so much healthier than he did back a month or two ago. Email access to our son’s agency worker is great. These types of things are the blessings of having such access.
But there is a price for being so wired: sometimes our houses sounds like a hospital ICU, and the once relative impermeable walls of our home that offered space for sanctuary and protection from the worries of other places have now been made very much permeable.
In an article titled “The Age of Interruption,” author Michael Ventura observed:
Interruption is increasingly taken for granted—both the right to interrupt others and the expectation that one will be interrupted in turn. The individual’s time, already experienced as a cross between a labyrinth, a cage and a treadmill, is now vulnerable to fragmentation without warning from any direction. All of this makes for efficient communication and contact but it also allows the outside world of work into our homes at all hours.
During Sunday morning worship, we practice a kind of boundary support that is otherwise not available on any other kind of routine. We all have been taught to turn off our cell phones in the theatres or at certain other special events. But, for most of us I would assume, there really isn’t any other time in our weeks when we are given permission to not be contacted for at least a few hours on Sunday morning. If you are new to coming to church on a regular basis, you may have begun to realize that after a while your friends and associates accept that you don’t answer the phone on Sunday morning. Every once in a while they may try to test this though, just to see if maybe the boundary is down. Amy gets a call every once in a while on Sunday morning from her neurotic boss. She doesn’t answer it, and then later returns the call with a friendly reminder that she does not answer the phone on Sunday mornings. It’s like having holy permission to not be available for at least a few hours during each week. You’ll still be enslaved during the rest of your week, but at least for these hours the church provides a kind of sanctuary away from the world of complete access.
Without this, or possibly other self-imposed boundaries on interruptions we don’t have a chance to be nourished by God or to nourish the other members of our family, or someone else we care about.
Today’s gospel lesson confronts us with a bit of an interruption itself. Right in the middle of our Christmas busy-ness, just when we are all sort of breaking stride with the increased pace of our Christmas preparation sprint to the finish—-God sends us John the Baptist with a message that is like a holy interruption. It goes something lie this.
[Skit]
“You brood of vipers. Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”
Bear fruit worthy of repentance? No I’m not listening—-I’m not answering his call—it will make me focus attention on my sinfulness. You know, all that selfishness that we get so wrapped up with during December. I want this —- I want that. So, like I said—-I am not answering the Baptist’s call. But, denial doesn't work—-I’ve already heard God’s Word. The ringing of those words are already in my head.
Bear fruit worthy of repentance!
Go away!
Bear fruit worthy of repentance!
Oh why must God torment me like this—-and just when I was starting to get into the Christmas Spirit.
Oh OK fine, maybe if I heed this for just a moment he’ll stop bugging me—Lord forgive me for my sinfulness. There, I repented. Now let me go back to my Christmas feeling.
(Pause)
Bear fruit worthy of repentance!
UUUGGGHH!
Lord, forgive me for my selfishness, forgive me for , forgive me, forgive me, forgive me……(silence)
[Now relieved]
Hey, that wasn’t so bad. No, as a matter fact. It was pretty good. Thank you Lord, for reminding me of what Christmas is truly about. —
Lord, you can interrupt me anytime.
I will..
John the Baptist is the one who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus. He did that by telling those first disciples that they needed to repent.
Still today, while we are busy preparing our homes, and our schedules for Christmas—God sends John the Baptist to prepare us—to prepare our hearts and souls for the coming of Jesus. God interrupts with an interruption that calls us to repent—it is a Holy interruption. When he heed it we encounter the true spirit of Christmas—-The gift of new life found in the forgiving grace of the crucified one, Jesus.
Meanwhile, as difficult as true repentance can be, we encounter a God who is not only accessible at all times, but he has given us the gift of prayer in the name of Jesus. That’s why we pray in the name of Jesus. In the cacophony of heavenly prayers going up to God. We have been promised that when we ask in the name of Jesus—we will not be put on hold.
God wants us to interrupt him. God wants to be accessible to us at all times.
In this world when we are trying, somewhat poorly, to be accessible to all at all times. Its good to know that God has made himself accessible to us at all times. And when we call upon him whether for repentance or in the joy of thanksgiving—we are given the permission for a holy interruption.
Amen .
Fish Stick Jesus
Fish Stick Jesus
Psalm 98
Jesus in a fish stick. Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich.
Increasingly, God has been foregoing traditional theophanies, or conventional methods of communication, and has instead been revealing himself in kitchen mistakes. In November of 2004, Fred Whan, an Ontario man in Kingston, after burning a fish stick at dinner, found the face of Jesus on his fish stick. A year later he took it out of the freezer and put it up for auction on eBay.Earlier that year, Diana Duyser of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, declared she had found an image of the Virgin Mary on her burnt grilled cheese sandwich. She, too, auctioned it off, selling it for $28,000. In her eBay ad, she wrote: “I would like all people to know that I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary Mother of God. That is my solemn belief, but you are free to believe that she is whomever you like.”
What do we make of this? Has God abandoned his usual means of revelation and finally come to us in what we all really understand ... food? Or have our imaginations run away with us?
Reactions to the images have been mixed. Some have poked fun at the images found especially in the “miraculous” food items. Ken Schram of Seattle with some aluminum foil made a number of other images on grilled cheese sandwiches. These he hoped to sell, the proceeds to benefit Toys for Tots. Among his creations were a sandwich with his own image, one with Elvis, and another with the image of President Bush burned across its surface. Dan French of The Examiner, also commenting on the images, writes that it seems that “God has a plan for me, and that plan is to sell you his mug in my beer mug for four grand!”
No matter what you think about these “miraculous” images, these latter-day theophanies do point to a yearning in our culture to find Christ in everyday, ordinary things. We’re all looking for the same thing, some faith-worthy sign to give us at least a fleeting clue on how to live our best lives and be our best selves in a confused and disoriented world. The problem here is that these cheesy images also pose a real danger to our faith. How in the world do you lift up a God worthy of praise and thanksgiving when you’ve just found him on a fish stick? Where are my faith and my praise for a transcendent God when that God is not much more than a commodity on eBay? After all, a God we have to save from the garbage disposal or that emerged from a mistake in the kitchen does nothing worthy of praise. Thanking a God we can sell or own or that we can reproduce with cleverly wrapped tin foil is a waste of our time.
Psalm 98 calls us back to worship, thanksgiving and praise. In this Psalm there’s not even a hint that we should look for God any further than the songs of praise and thanksgiving that God has given us to sing. This Psalm tells us we should praise God because God does not forget his love and faithfulness. We are loved by God!
We as people love many things that do not love us back. We love our cars and our homes. We love food or entertainment. None of these things can return our love. We love a God who loved us first. Scripture tells us: “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). God’s steadfast love and faithfulness last through all generations. It is no accident that the psalmist ends the psalm, “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” We give God thanks and praise for the sole reason that God loves us so much. God went into death itself to claim us as his own. God loved us before we even began to love him and for this he deserves our thanks and praise. God is all around us!
Finally, we give God thanks and praise because Jesus Christ’s face is found, not on the burn marks of a baked piece of fish, but in the marks of life in the faces around us. “We are his people” and as his people, we discover Christ’s presence in the faces of the people with whom we live and work, and those with whom we don’t live and work — the needy, the marginalized, the less fortunate, those in prison, those on welfare, those who live in rich houses or cardboard shacks, those who are different from us, those who live in freedom and those who live in the shadow of tyranny. This is most significant. For in this the baked fish stick challenges us. We need not look for Christ in a piece of baked fish! It should not be easier to see Christ in a fish stick than it is to see him in the faces of our neighbors. If we long to see Christ, we need only to look around us. Christ is with us in the faces of our neighbors. In the people who do what Christ does for us as they care, provide, love and keep us safe. And in the people we are called to be Christ to, doing the same for them.
God asks for our song of thanks and praise. And God deserves it. Because God has defeated the sting of sin and death for us! Because God has not and will not forget his love and faithfulness to us. And God surrounds us with people who reflect his face and presence! So don’t be looking for God in these foolish places like fish sticks and grilled cheese. Find God in the faces of those around you. And, on this day when we celebrate our music ministry, listen for God in the song upon our hearts.
Amen!
Psalm 98
Jesus in a fish stick. Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich.
Increasingly, God has been foregoing traditional theophanies, or conventional methods of communication, and has instead been revealing himself in kitchen mistakes. In November of 2004, Fred Whan, an Ontario man in Kingston, after burning a fish stick at dinner, found the face of Jesus on his fish stick. A year later he took it out of the freezer and put it up for auction on eBay.Earlier that year, Diana Duyser of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, declared she had found an image of the Virgin Mary on her burnt grilled cheese sandwich. She, too, auctioned it off, selling it for $28,000. In her eBay ad, she wrote: “I would like all people to know that I do believe that this is the Virgin Mary Mother of God. That is my solemn belief, but you are free to believe that she is whomever you like.”
What do we make of this? Has God abandoned his usual means of revelation and finally come to us in what we all really understand ... food? Or have our imaginations run away with us?
Reactions to the images have been mixed. Some have poked fun at the images found especially in the “miraculous” food items. Ken Schram of Seattle with some aluminum foil made a number of other images on grilled cheese sandwiches. These he hoped to sell, the proceeds to benefit Toys for Tots. Among his creations were a sandwich with his own image, one with Elvis, and another with the image of President Bush burned across its surface. Dan French of The Examiner, also commenting on the images, writes that it seems that “God has a plan for me, and that plan is to sell you his mug in my beer mug for four grand!”
No matter what you think about these “miraculous” images, these latter-day theophanies do point to a yearning in our culture to find Christ in everyday, ordinary things. We’re all looking for the same thing, some faith-worthy sign to give us at least a fleeting clue on how to live our best lives and be our best selves in a confused and disoriented world. The problem here is that these cheesy images also pose a real danger to our faith. How in the world do you lift up a God worthy of praise and thanksgiving when you’ve just found him on a fish stick? Where are my faith and my praise for a transcendent God when that God is not much more than a commodity on eBay? After all, a God we have to save from the garbage disposal or that emerged from a mistake in the kitchen does nothing worthy of praise. Thanking a God we can sell or own or that we can reproduce with cleverly wrapped tin foil is a waste of our time.
Psalm 98 calls us back to worship, thanksgiving and praise. In this Psalm there’s not even a hint that we should look for God any further than the songs of praise and thanksgiving that God has given us to sing. This Psalm tells us we should praise God because God does not forget his love and faithfulness. We are loved by God!
We as people love many things that do not love us back. We love our cars and our homes. We love food or entertainment. None of these things can return our love. We love a God who loved us first. Scripture tells us: “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). God’s steadfast love and faithfulness last through all generations. It is no accident that the psalmist ends the psalm, “For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” We give God thanks and praise for the sole reason that God loves us so much. God went into death itself to claim us as his own. God loved us before we even began to love him and for this he deserves our thanks and praise. God is all around us!
Finally, we give God thanks and praise because Jesus Christ’s face is found, not on the burn marks of a baked piece of fish, but in the marks of life in the faces around us. “We are his people” and as his people, we discover Christ’s presence in the faces of the people with whom we live and work, and those with whom we don’t live and work — the needy, the marginalized, the less fortunate, those in prison, those on welfare, those who live in rich houses or cardboard shacks, those who are different from us, those who live in freedom and those who live in the shadow of tyranny. This is most significant. For in this the baked fish stick challenges us. We need not look for Christ in a piece of baked fish! It should not be easier to see Christ in a fish stick than it is to see him in the faces of our neighbors. If we long to see Christ, we need only to look around us. Christ is with us in the faces of our neighbors. In the people who do what Christ does for us as they care, provide, love and keep us safe. And in the people we are called to be Christ to, doing the same for them.
God asks for our song of thanks and praise. And God deserves it. Because God has defeated the sting of sin and death for us! Because God has not and will not forget his love and faithfulness to us. And God surrounds us with people who reflect his face and presence! So don’t be looking for God in these foolish places like fish sticks and grilled cheese. Find God in the faces of those around you. And, on this day when we celebrate our music ministry, listen for God in the song upon our hearts.
Amen!
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Weight With Jesus
Weight With Jesus
Luke 14:25-33
Good News: Cross carrying is a prerequisite for the Kingdom of God. Fortunately, God has provided Jesus. He shows us the cross carrying way of life by carrying the cross for us.
When we study the gospels, one particular characteristic about Jesus becomes noticeable. Throughout the three years of Jesus’ ministry he seems to have all the patience in the world with people, and even crowds. But.......
Luke 14:25-33
Good News: Cross carrying is a prerequisite for the Kingdom of God. Fortunately, God has provided Jesus. He shows us the cross carrying way of life by carrying the cross for us.
When we study the gospels, one particular characteristic about Jesus becomes noticeable. Throughout the three years of Jesus’ ministry he seems to have all the patience in the world with people, and even crowds. But.......
once he realizes what he must do for them...
once he makes the shift from minister, teacher, healer to savior of the world for them...
once he sets his sites on the cross he will bear in Jerusalem for them...
Then, his patience for them begins to wane. This tells us as much about the crowd as it does about Jesus.
It tells us that Jesus knew what he had to do. He knew from Herod's threat that he could end up beheaded just like John the Baptist if he went to Jerusalem. He knew from the Pharisees' treatment of blasphemers, prostitutes, and others that he could be stoned to death if he went to Jerusalem. And, he knew from Pilates' treatment of other troublesome Jews that he could be crucified if he went to Jerusalem. He knew, and yet he went...for them. He knew the heavy load he would have to bear once he got to Jeruslamem. But, he also knew that if he were to do it, if he were to bear it, then maybe...just maybe, the people would see the folly in their sinful ways. Just maybe, if one innocent, Kingdom seeking, son of God were to be killed beneath the weight of the world's sinful trappings, then maybe...just maybe, the world would begin to see the truth and change its ways. He loved his disciples so much, that he was willing to die so that they would see, and then spend their lives pursuing, the Kingdom of God.
It tells us that the crowd was not in favor of Jesus’ direction. It tells us that they couldn't see beyond the destructive, frightening forces that awaited Jesus in Jerusalem. It tells us that they didn't trust him, and thought they knew a better, safer, more comfortable way by avoiding Jerusalem. By avoiding Jerusalem, they were avoiding the mission. By avoiding Jerusalem they were avoiding the truth about the sin of the world. By avoiding the truth, they were perpetuating and advocating for sin. This was not going to help matters. This was not going to heal the world of its sinful ways. This was only going to make things worse.
The crowds were following with their feet, but they were not following with their lives. Jesu shad changed. His mission was now focussed and it was passionate for them. But, they were not willing to change. They wanted the easy road. So, Jesus turns around to the crowd and shares some rather matter-of-fact words with them. This isn’t your cuddly, warm, buddy Jesus who’s reminding you of grace. This is straight-shooting Jesus who’s telling you exactly how it is. Jesus could have been easy on the disciples and our us by saying, “It’s pretty painless being a disciple. Show up on Sundays. Love your wife. Love your kids. Make it to work on time. Be nice to your neighbors.” But he didn’t. He actually calls people out, reminding them that discipleship takes blood, sweat and tears. If it’s the Kingdom of God you seek, then the weight of carrying a cross is your prerequisite.
Wow! That's heavy. Jesus lays the cross upon their shoulders--makes them feel the weight, the pain of it. Why would he do such a thing? Where's the love?
The answers to those two questions is in believing the mission he was on. In this moment, he was hard on them, because he loved them.
My doctor, now don't hear me saying that my doctor loves me, cause I don't think so. But, I wouldn't go to this doctor--better, wouldn't trust my doctor if I didn't believe in him, and believe that he cared, at least, about what's best for me. Now, in order for my doctor to do his job, and to do it a way that is worthy of my trust is for him to tell me the truth about my condition. My doctor tells me that if I need to start preparing myself for the inevitable truth about all the cholesterol I add to my bloodstream. That's not good news. At least not at first. He told me the truth. And with that, I have an invitation to change my ways and be prepared for the inevitable.
My friends, spiritual preparation is no different. We need Jesus to tell us the truth, refuse to permit us to avoid it, and then command us to do something about it--PICK UP YOU CROSS!
So, what do we know about the crosses we carry?
Well, we can identify ours because we know about the one Jesus carried. From Jesus, we learn that crosses are the weight of sin. Either the weight of sin that we have committed, or they are the weight of sins that were committed to you. One is the weight of shame and guilt. The other is the weight of the inability to forgive. We also know from Jesus’ cross that crosses are the weight of fear, anxiety, despair. And finally we know from Jesus cross that crosses are the weight of compassion for the lonely, the broken, the unloved.
So, what crosses are you carrying?
Maybe Jesus was hard on the disciples that time because in truth, he knew very well the weight they had upon their shoulders. Maybe he knew, and even felt their weight. Maybe he saw in their attempts to avoid the mission as just their attempt to avoid the truth they ---and we--must all face--the inevitable truth that lays like a cross before us waiting for us to pick up and carry it. But, day in and ay out we try to avoid it.
Not with Jesus--He will not permit us to avoid the truth. PICK UP YOUR CROSS!
You see, Jesus knows that if we would only trust him, even just for a moment enough to pick up our cross--to face the truth of our sinfulness, our shame, our pain, that in that very same moment, the grace of the Lord would come rushing in--we would realize that the innocent one, the Son of God, is once again carrying the cross that is meant for us. If only we would pick up our cross, we would find that we can--and then we would find that our Lord takes it from us
And then---and only then---do we know the truth about what freedom is, what grace is, who Christ is. And we know because we are free! Free from all that shame. Free from all that guilt. Free from all that pain. Free from the weight of our cross!
And once we are free, truly free---why now we have a new purpose in life. Freed from the weight of our own cross, we can carry someone elses. And that's when we become the church. The church is nothing more, nor less, than a group of people who are free to carry crosses for others.
Jesus has already carried the cross of the world.
So, all we’re asked is to trust him, and pick up ours and follow. The moment we do, we find that Jesus is right there lifting with us.
When our weight is on Jesus’ shoulders, we walk beside him through life more joyfully.
This is the blessing of the church—the body of Christ.
Because Christ is the one who lifts the weight from off our shoulders, when someone else has the weight of their cross upon their backs—we are able to be Christ for them. We are able to carry a cross for others, because Christ is carrying ours.
Amen.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Mother Theresa is STILL a Saint
Luke 14:1, 7-14
There seems to be some confusion in the air lately about what a saint is. In a recent article from Time Magazine it seems that the exposure of Mother Theresa’s private faith, and the doubt therein, seems to have cast a pall upon the question of her upcoming canonization—otherwise known as sainthood.
[Read the following excerpt:]
[On Dec. 11, 1979, Mother Teresa, the "Saint of the Gutters," went to Oslo. Dressed in her signature blue-bordered sari and shod in sandals despite below-zero temperatures, the former Agnes Bojaxhiu received that ultimate worldly accolade, the Nobel Peace Prize. In her acceptance lecture, Teresa, whose Missionaries of Charity had grown from a one-woman folly in Calcutta in 1948 into a global beacon of self-abnegating care, delivered the kind of message the world had come to expect from her. "It is not enough for us to say, 'I love God, but I do not love my neighbor,'" she said, since in dying on the Cross, God had "[made] himself the hungry one — the naked one — the homeless one." Jesus' hunger, she said, is what "you and I must find" and alleviate. She condemned abortion and bemoaned youthful drug addiction in the West. Finally, she suggested that the upcoming Christmas holiday should remind the world "that radiating joy is real" because Christ is everywhere — "Christ in our hearts, Christ in the poor we meet, Christ in the smile we give and in the smile that we receive." Yet less than three months earlier, in a letter to a spiritual confidant, the Rev. Michael van der Peet, that is only now being made public, she wrote with weary familiarity of a different Christ, an absent one. "Jesus has a very special love for you," she assured Van der Peet. "[But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand." The two statements, 11 weeks apart, are extravagantly dissonant. The first is typical of the woman the world thought it knew. The second sounds as though it had wandered in from some 1950s existentialist drama. Together they suggest a startling portrait in self- contradiction — that one of the great human icons of the past 100 years, whose remarkable deeds seemed inextricably
connected to her closeness to God and who was routinely observed in silent and seemingly peaceful prayer by her associates as well as the television camera, was living out a very different spiritual reality privately, an arid landscape from which the deity had disappeared.]
Now, I must confess this is the kind of stuff that makes me cranky. :-)
Leave it to the US media to scandalize even Mother Theresa for the sake of increasing sales.
It seems that our world cannot handle the possibility that a saint could be, at the same time a sinner—-a human being—faced with the same human condition that the rest of us are faced with. This leaves my sermon for today begging to address the question: What is a saint?
So, what is a saint? What does one look like? What’s their story? Are they people born with halos? Are they people who continually make the right choices. As if in cartoon-like fashion they are the ones who are forever saying NO to the little devil on their shoulder and YES to the little angel? It seems that Time Magazine, as well as the general public thinks so.
Well, in today’s Gospel lesson Jesus gives us a very different description of a saint. Jesus actually gives us a definition of sainthood. Jesus says, “He who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Now, what does it mean to be exalted? To be exalted is to be lifted up to a higher regard among others. However, the point of clarity from Jesus' definition here is that exaltation is not something that we can do for ourselves. Jesus says, "He who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." We can not exalt ourselves, because to do that is to bring about humiliation—not true exaltation. Rather, true exaltation, is a gift given only by God to those who humble themselves for the sake of others. To be exalted is to be lifted up by God. To be lifted up by God is to be a saint. To be a saint, then, is to be a humble servant to others.
Contrary to public opinion, sainthood has nothing to do with personal doubt, faith, or piety. Sainthood is to do with humble service to others.
So, listen to this brief biography of Mother Theresa and you tell me if you hear a story of humble service to others. This is an excerpt from EWTN.COM
[Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, in the former Yugoslavia, she was the youngest of three children. In her teens, Agnes became a member of a youth group in her local pairsh called Sodality. Through her involvement with their activities guided by a Jesuit priest, Agnes became interested in missionaries. At age 17, she responded to her first call of a vocation as a Catholic missionary nun. She joined an Irish order, the Sisters of Loretto, a community known for their missionary work in India. When she took her vows as a Sister of Loretto, she chose the name Teresa after Saint Theresa of Lisieux.
In Calcutta, Sister Teresa taught geography and catechism at St. Mary's High School. In 1944, she became the principal of St. Mary's. Soon Sister Teresa contracted tuberculosis, was unable to continue teaching and was sent to Darjeeling for rest and recuperation. It was on the train to Darjeeling that she received her second call -- "the call within the call". Mother Teresa recalled later, "I was to leave the convent and work with the poor, living among them. It was an order. I knew where I belonged but I did not know how to get there."
In 1948, the Vatican granted Sister Teresa permission to leave the Sisters of Loretto and pursue her calling under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Calcutta. Mother Teresa started with a school in the slums to teach the children of the poor. She also learned basic medicine and went into the homes of the sick to treat them. In 1949, some of her former pupils joined her. They found men, women, and children dying on the streets who were rejected by local hospitals. The group rented a room so they could care for helpless people other wise condemned to die in the gutter. In 1950, the group was established by the Church as a Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese. It was known as the Missionaries of Charity.
In 1952 the first Home for the Dying was opened in space made available by the City of Calcutta. Over the years, Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity grew from 12 to thousands serving the "poorest of the poor" in 450 centers around the world. Mother Teresa created many homes for the dying and the unwanted from Calcutta to New York to Albania. She was one of the pioneers of establishing homes for AIDS victims. For more than 45 years, Mother Teresa comforted the poor, the dying, and the unwanted around the world.
In 1966, the Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded. Homes began to open in Rome, Tanzania, and Australia. In 1971, the first home in the United States was established in the South Bronx, New York. Mother Teresa gained worldwide acclaim with her tireless efforts on behalf of world peace. Her work brought her numerous humanitarian awards, including : the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In receiving this award, Mother Teresa revolutionized the award ceremony. She insisted on a departure from the ceremonial banquet and asked that the funds, $6,000 be donated to the poor in Calcutta. This money would permit her to feed hundreds for a year. She is stated to have said that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world’s needy.
Beginning in 1980, homes began to spring-up for drug addicts, prostitutes, battered women, and more orphanages and schools for poor children around the world. In 1985, Mother Teresa
established the first hospice for AIDS victims in New York. Later homes were added in San Francisco and Atlanta. Mother Teresa was awarded Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award.
In 1991, Mother Teresa returned for the first time to her native Albania (know known as Serbia) and opened a home in Tirana. By this year, there were 168 homes established in India.
On February 3, 1994 at a National Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, in Washington, DC, Mother Teresa challenged the audience on such topics as family life and abortion. She said, "Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Give the child to me." Mother Teresa traveled to help the hungry in Ethiopia, radiation victims at Chernobyl, and earthquake victims in Armenia. Her zeal and works of mercy knew no boundaries.
Based upon Jesus definition of sainthood, does that sound like a saint to you?
Here’s the true test of sainthood—-Jesus gives us a definition today that is very clear—the exalted are those who humble themselves to serve others. So, rather than asking the readers of Time Magazine, or even the high ranking officials of the church if they believe Mother Theresa is a saint, why not ask the poor in Calcutta? Ask the people she humbly served. Ask the children who died in her arms with AIDS if she was saint? Ask the poor who received care at the hospitals built upon her sweat and devotion if she is a saint? Don't ask the readers of Time magazine or church officials. Ask the people she humbly served. They will most surely tell you, She was and still is a saint to them.
Now then, to answer the question of what is a saint—-a more appropriate question is Who is a saint? For then the answer becomes plain. The saint is the one who by following the model of our Lord Jesus offered humble service.
My grandmother was and still is a saint. Time magazine wont be writing any articles about her, but I tell with all measure of truth my faith can muster that she was and still is a saint.
Who has been a saint for you?
More importantly--For whom have you been a saint?
A saint is someone who humbles himself in service to others. Today, you all have at least one opportunity that I know of to be saints. An invitation that is most obvious before us all today.
Today, you are given the opportunity to humble yourselves and offer the service of hospitality and welcome to our new friend and music director, Christian Tagoe.
In the end, there is one who models a living sainthood to all of us.
Jesus shows us the way. For by his death on the cross he humbled himself in obedience to God’s mission. And by doing so has opened the way of sainthood for all of us.
Mother Theresa’s memory lives on as an example of humble service for all.
For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, her example is that of what any mere human does when their life is modeled after Christ’s. With Christ’s love and passion for others in our hearts, any old sinner like you or even me can be a saint.
Amen
There seems to be some confusion in the air lately about what a saint is. In a recent article from Time Magazine it seems that the exposure of Mother Theresa’s private faith, and the doubt therein, seems to have cast a pall upon the question of her upcoming canonization—otherwise known as sainthood.
[Read the following excerpt:]
[On Dec. 11, 1979, Mother Teresa, the "Saint of the Gutters," went to Oslo. Dressed in her signature blue-bordered sari and shod in sandals despite below-zero temperatures, the former Agnes Bojaxhiu received that ultimate worldly accolade, the Nobel Peace Prize. In her acceptance lecture, Teresa, whose Missionaries of Charity had grown from a one-woman folly in Calcutta in 1948 into a global beacon of self-abnegating care, delivered the kind of message the world had come to expect from her. "It is not enough for us to say, 'I love God, but I do not love my neighbor,'" she said, since in dying on the Cross, God had "[made] himself the hungry one — the naked one — the homeless one." Jesus' hunger, she said, is what "you and I must find" and alleviate. She condemned abortion and bemoaned youthful drug addiction in the West. Finally, she suggested that the upcoming Christmas holiday should remind the world "that radiating joy is real" because Christ is everywhere — "Christ in our hearts, Christ in the poor we meet, Christ in the smile we give and in the smile that we receive." Yet less than three months earlier, in a letter to a spiritual confidant, the Rev. Michael van der Peet, that is only now being made public, she wrote with weary familiarity of a different Christ, an absent one. "Jesus has a very special love for you," she assured Van der Peet. "[But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand." The two statements, 11 weeks apart, are extravagantly dissonant. The first is typical of the woman the world thought it knew. The second sounds as though it had wandered in from some 1950s existentialist drama. Together they suggest a startling portrait in self- contradiction — that one of the great human icons of the past 100 years, whose remarkable deeds seemed inextricably
connected to her closeness to God and who was routinely observed in silent and seemingly peaceful prayer by her associates as well as the television camera, was living out a very different spiritual reality privately, an arid landscape from which the deity had disappeared.]
Now, I must confess this is the kind of stuff that makes me cranky. :-)
Leave it to the US media to scandalize even Mother Theresa for the sake of increasing sales.
It seems that our world cannot handle the possibility that a saint could be, at the same time a sinner—-a human being—faced with the same human condition that the rest of us are faced with. This leaves my sermon for today begging to address the question: What is a saint?
So, what is a saint? What does one look like? What’s their story? Are they people born with halos? Are they people who continually make the right choices. As if in cartoon-like fashion they are the ones who are forever saying NO to the little devil on their shoulder and YES to the little angel? It seems that Time Magazine, as well as the general public thinks so.
Well, in today’s Gospel lesson Jesus gives us a very different description of a saint. Jesus actually gives us a definition of sainthood. Jesus says, “He who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Now, what does it mean to be exalted? To be exalted is to be lifted up to a higher regard among others. However, the point of clarity from Jesus' definition here is that exaltation is not something that we can do for ourselves. Jesus says, "He who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." We can not exalt ourselves, because to do that is to bring about humiliation—not true exaltation. Rather, true exaltation, is a gift given only by God to those who humble themselves for the sake of others. To be exalted is to be lifted up by God. To be lifted up by God is to be a saint. To be a saint, then, is to be a humble servant to others.
Contrary to public opinion, sainthood has nothing to do with personal doubt, faith, or piety. Sainthood is to do with humble service to others.
So, listen to this brief biography of Mother Theresa and you tell me if you hear a story of humble service to others. This is an excerpt from EWTN.COM
[Born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia, in the former Yugoslavia, she was the youngest of three children. In her teens, Agnes became a member of a youth group in her local pairsh called Sodality. Through her involvement with their activities guided by a Jesuit priest, Agnes became interested in missionaries. At age 17, she responded to her first call of a vocation as a Catholic missionary nun. She joined an Irish order, the Sisters of Loretto, a community known for their missionary work in India. When she took her vows as a Sister of Loretto, she chose the name Teresa after Saint Theresa of Lisieux.
In Calcutta, Sister Teresa taught geography and catechism at St. Mary's High School. In 1944, she became the principal of St. Mary's. Soon Sister Teresa contracted tuberculosis, was unable to continue teaching and was sent to Darjeeling for rest and recuperation. It was on the train to Darjeeling that she received her second call -- "the call within the call". Mother Teresa recalled later, "I was to leave the convent and work with the poor, living among them. It was an order. I knew where I belonged but I did not know how to get there."
In 1948, the Vatican granted Sister Teresa permission to leave the Sisters of Loretto and pursue her calling under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Calcutta. Mother Teresa started with a school in the slums to teach the children of the poor. She also learned basic medicine and went into the homes of the sick to treat them. In 1949, some of her former pupils joined her. They found men, women, and children dying on the streets who were rejected by local hospitals. The group rented a room so they could care for helpless people other wise condemned to die in the gutter. In 1950, the group was established by the Church as a Diocesan Congregation of the Calcutta Diocese. It was known as the Missionaries of Charity.
In 1952 the first Home for the Dying was opened in space made available by the City of Calcutta. Over the years, Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity grew from 12 to thousands serving the "poorest of the poor" in 450 centers around the world. Mother Teresa created many homes for the dying and the unwanted from Calcutta to New York to Albania. She was one of the pioneers of establishing homes for AIDS victims. For more than 45 years, Mother Teresa comforted the poor, the dying, and the unwanted around the world.
In 1966, the Missionaries of Charity Brothers was founded. Homes began to open in Rome, Tanzania, and Australia. In 1971, the first home in the United States was established in the South Bronx, New York. Mother Teresa gained worldwide acclaim with her tireless efforts on behalf of world peace. Her work brought her numerous humanitarian awards, including : the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. In receiving this award, Mother Teresa revolutionized the award ceremony. She insisted on a departure from the ceremonial banquet and asked that the funds, $6,000 be donated to the poor in Calcutta. This money would permit her to feed hundreds for a year. She is stated to have said that earthly rewards were important only if they helped her help the world’s needy.
Beginning in 1980, homes began to spring-up for drug addicts, prostitutes, battered women, and more orphanages and schools for poor children around the world. In 1985, Mother Teresa
established the first hospice for AIDS victims in New York. Later homes were added in San Francisco and Atlanta. Mother Teresa was awarded Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award.
In 1991, Mother Teresa returned for the first time to her native Albania (know known as Serbia) and opened a home in Tirana. By this year, there were 168 homes established in India.
On February 3, 1994 at a National Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, in Washington, DC, Mother Teresa challenged the audience on such topics as family life and abortion. She said, "Please don’t kill the child. I want the child. Give the child to me." Mother Teresa traveled to help the hungry in Ethiopia, radiation victims at Chernobyl, and earthquake victims in Armenia. Her zeal and works of mercy knew no boundaries.
Based upon Jesus definition of sainthood, does that sound like a saint to you?
Here’s the true test of sainthood—-Jesus gives us a definition today that is very clear—the exalted are those who humble themselves to serve others. So, rather than asking the readers of Time Magazine, or even the high ranking officials of the church if they believe Mother Theresa is a saint, why not ask the poor in Calcutta? Ask the people she humbly served. Ask the children who died in her arms with AIDS if she was saint? Ask the poor who received care at the hospitals built upon her sweat and devotion if she is a saint? Don't ask the readers of Time magazine or church officials. Ask the people she humbly served. They will most surely tell you, She was and still is a saint to them.
Now then, to answer the question of what is a saint—-a more appropriate question is Who is a saint? For then the answer becomes plain. The saint is the one who by following the model of our Lord Jesus offered humble service.
My grandmother was and still is a saint. Time magazine wont be writing any articles about her, but I tell with all measure of truth my faith can muster that she was and still is a saint.
Who has been a saint for you?
More importantly--For whom have you been a saint?
A saint is someone who humbles himself in service to others. Today, you all have at least one opportunity that I know of to be saints. An invitation that is most obvious before us all today.
Today, you are given the opportunity to humble yourselves and offer the service of hospitality and welcome to our new friend and music director, Christian Tagoe.
In the end, there is one who models a living sainthood to all of us.
Jesus shows us the way. For by his death on the cross he humbled himself in obedience to God’s mission. And by doing so has opened the way of sainthood for all of us.
Mother Theresa’s memory lives on as an example of humble service for all.
For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, her example is that of what any mere human does when their life is modeled after Christ’s. With Christ’s love and passion for others in our hearts, any old sinner like you or even me can be a saint.
Amen
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Newsletter September 2007
Exodus 32—The Golden Calf
"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, 'Come, make us gods who will go before us.'"
“Are we there yet?!” the little boy beckoned to his mother from the back seat. “No, son, a little bit further yet”, she replied.
Patience! It is a mark and sign of faithfulness. St. Paul lists patience among the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians. And he exhorts his listeners in Colossians to clothe themselves with the characteristics of faith; naming patience among the defining traits of a Christian.
The Bible is filled with stories of God’s people losing their patience with God, and thereby losing their faith in God. The story of the Golden Calf is a good example. The Israelites lost patience and decided to do things their own way. They built an idol in the form of a golden calf. Then they worshipped this idol instead of the God who rescued them from Egypt. Losing their patience with God was a sign that they had lost faith in God.
In the journey of life, we often beckon from the back seat up to our Heavenly Father, “Are we there yet?!” And the response is always the same, “No, my child, a little bit further yet.”
I must confess. I am sooooo often the child in the backseat. I am always eager to see things come to be. I am always in a hurry to accomplish things and move on. Patience is God’s constant reminder to me.
This time of transition at our church leaves us, together, beckoning, “Are we there yet!?” Just as the trek from Egypt to the Promised Land tested the Israelite’s patience and faithfulness, our trek through these transitions is a test of ours.
In the difficult times, times when the Israelites lost patience with God and with each other, God would remind his chosen people of the larger relevance of the journey they were on. This would help to normalize the periods of discontent and in doing so discourage the discontented and impatient Israelites from returning to Egypt. Likewise, for us, it seems wise at this time to remind us of the transitions that we are facing together.
We are traversing through the wilderness of three very difficult transitions. First, you have changed pastors. Second, we are changing the ministry model from pastor-centered to program. Third, we are already talking about changes to the building and grounds. Any one of these three transitions would be a challenge to even the healthiest of congregations. But, God has invited us to be faithful through all three at the same time. This will require patience with God as well as patience with others. But, it may help to recognize that a swirl of discontent and impatience is very normal through such a difficult series of transitions as these.
Finally, it may also help to remember that in the Exodus story God did finally deliver the people to where He had promised. Likewise, God will do with us. As we are beckoning our cries of discontent and impatience from the back seat, remember it is God who is in the front seat. God is the driving. We are His children along for the ride.
Blessings,
+Rich
"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, 'Come, make us gods who will go before us.'"
“Are we there yet?!” the little boy beckoned to his mother from the back seat. “No, son, a little bit further yet”, she replied.
Patience! It is a mark and sign of faithfulness. St. Paul lists patience among the fruits of the Holy Spirit in Galatians. And he exhorts his listeners in Colossians to clothe themselves with the characteristics of faith; naming patience among the defining traits of a Christian.
The Bible is filled with stories of God’s people losing their patience with God, and thereby losing their faith in God. The story of the Golden Calf is a good example. The Israelites lost patience and decided to do things their own way. They built an idol in the form of a golden calf. Then they worshipped this idol instead of the God who rescued them from Egypt. Losing their patience with God was a sign that they had lost faith in God.
In the journey of life, we often beckon from the back seat up to our Heavenly Father, “Are we there yet?!” And the response is always the same, “No, my child, a little bit further yet.”
I must confess. I am sooooo often the child in the backseat. I am always eager to see things come to be. I am always in a hurry to accomplish things and move on. Patience is God’s constant reminder to me.
This time of transition at our church leaves us, together, beckoning, “Are we there yet!?” Just as the trek from Egypt to the Promised Land tested the Israelite’s patience and faithfulness, our trek through these transitions is a test of ours.
In the difficult times, times when the Israelites lost patience with God and with each other, God would remind his chosen people of the larger relevance of the journey they were on. This would help to normalize the periods of discontent and in doing so discourage the discontented and impatient Israelites from returning to Egypt. Likewise, for us, it seems wise at this time to remind us of the transitions that we are facing together.
We are traversing through the wilderness of three very difficult transitions. First, you have changed pastors. Second, we are changing the ministry model from pastor-centered to program. Third, we are already talking about changes to the building and grounds. Any one of these three transitions would be a challenge to even the healthiest of congregations. But, God has invited us to be faithful through all three at the same time. This will require patience with God as well as patience with others. But, it may help to recognize that a swirl of discontent and impatience is very normal through such a difficult series of transitions as these.
Finally, it may also help to remember that in the Exodus story God did finally deliver the people to where He had promised. Likewise, God will do with us. As we are beckoning our cries of discontent and impatience from the back seat, remember it is God who is in the front seat. God is the driving. We are His children along for the ride.
Blessings,
+Rich
Liberation from the Lilliputians
Luke 13:10-17
This morning I would like to begin with a fable. This is a very famous fable from Jonathon Swift. I would like to take this fable and slightly alter it to meet the needs of our day.
Gulliver and the Lilliputians:
Gulliver needed to be set free from the thousands upon thousands of little ties and knots, strings and threads, that were holding him down, killing him and his freedom.
The meaning: It is the nature of human institutions, whether they be government, schools, churches, social conventions to put thousands of little regulations on people in order to hold them down, tie them down and control them.
Examples:
Apply for welfare or food stamps, or whatever you apply for to the
Federal government, and you will quickly find that there are Lilliputians involved in the system. The strings they use are miles of red tape, a myriad of rules and regulations.
Now, I know what some of you are probably thinking. You’re thinking, “Pastor, those rules and regulations are important. Without them, people would take advantage.
And you are correct. The point of this message is not to criticize government rules and regulations. Rules and regulations are indeed a necessity of any institution. God is keenly aware of this, hence the 10 commandments.
However, the point of this message is to make clear that sin has a way of convincing us that the rules and regulations within the institution are more important than the original purpose of institution itself. With tongue firmly in cheek, the point of this message is to give us someone to blame for this institutional sin. The Lilliputians did it! :-)
It is the nature of sin within our institutions, whether they are governments, schools, or even churches to start with rules and regulations that serve to support and make viable the very good purposes behind the institution, but then cause the institution to drift asleep to the original purpose allowing the Lilliputians to take over. When we wake up, we find that a very subtle shift has been made, where the original purpose of the institution was to serve people, but instead, the people are now forced to serve the institution. It happens again and again. When this happens serving the legal needs of the institution become more important than the real needs of the people. Sin turns the institution into a god and then holds the people hostage to the system.
This is what Lilliputians do.
Gospel:
It is precisely the attitude of Gulliver awaking to find that he has been strapped down by the Lilliputians with thousands of little strings (regulations) that the Gospel lesson speaks to us about today. In the Judaism of that time in history, their religion had become an institution of a thousand rules and regulations. The original purpose was to help people praise God and compassionately serve one another. But instead, the Lilliputians snuck in somewhere along the course of history and took over. They convinced the Jewish people that all the traditions, the rules and regulations, were more important than a genuine faith in God or compassionate service to the neighbor. The Lilliputians made the people become preoccupied with rules and traditions and they began to serve the institution as if it were god. Like Gulliver, the people were held down like prisoners; powerless and dying beneath the constraints of an institution that God had intended for the purpose of freeing people for worship and compassion.
Believe it or not, on of those Jewish regulations in Jesus’ day was that a person could not be healed on the Sabbath day of rest. Can you imagine such thoughts today? All hospitals will care for patients six days a week but not care for them on Sunday? Fortunately, such thoughts would not fly in our society. Fortunately, our society has come to realize that Sabbath Rest has little to do with a list of prohibitive blue laws.
The Church:
Now, I know that many of you, like myself, miss the days when Sunday was set aside for church. We long for the day when the church might return to its place within our society of dominion over the activities of Sunday. But, in truth, we must confess that this period of blue laws was not genuinely about praising God and serving our neighbor. It was actually about placing societal rules and regulations in place that would maintain a certain level of power and control over people. These regulations benefitted our institution, but they did not encourage faith in God. They did not allow for the freedom to Worship, and serve our neighbor.
Far too often, the primary purpose of the church becomes misguided by Lilliputians. Sometimes, it begins to feel like the purpose of the church is to preserve our religious customs, rules, regulations and rituals, more so than doing the compassion of God. The rules, regulations and rituals take on a life of their own, and preserving them becomes more important than doing and being the compassion of God.
Jesus offers liberation
By healing a woman on the Sabbath, Jesus reveals to us a new vision for what Sabbath truly means. Sabbath Rest is not found through a list of prohibitions placed upon us one day of the week. Sabbath Rest is to be set free from the labors of sin. When Jesus broke from tradition in order to heal the woman on the Sabbath, he offered liberation for all of us. Jesus liberated us from the Lilliputians– freedom from those religious customs that we think are somehow God-given but are not.
I would like to give you a couple of examples. These are based on true stories, but are easily applicable to just about any church institution from around 1975.
Examples #1
I grew up on Appalachian WV Lutheran legalism. I have come to learn that this is very much like the Midwest. Garrison Keillor describes this most succinctly on the side of a coffee mug I have at home: "I’m a Lutheran. We are modest people and we don’t make a fuss. And it sure would be a better world if they were all as modest as us. We do not go for whooping it up, or a lot of yikkety-yak. When we say hello, we avert our eyes and we always sit in the back. We sit in the pew where we always sit, and we do not shout Amen. And if anyone yells or waves their hands, they’re not invited back again."
One day, Susan, the musician and choir director at my church caused quite a stir. She even provoked the pastor to pay a special visit to straighten things out. Everyone came home from church that day talking about it. For the anthem on this one dreadful morning, Susan, had given a choir member permission to play a tambourine.
Example #2
In my church it was deemed that certain people were more religious than others by the depth of their knowledge of the bible and their ability to recite passages from memory. This obviously meant that some people were more Christian than other people. The more Christian people were those who especially loved their church traditions. They were given positions of authority and influence. They came to worship more often, and were the first to tell you if you were behaving somewhat less Christian than them. Those who didn’t come to church, or those who came visiting had to prove themselves to the authorities that they were worthy before those with influence would truly accept them and invite them into the active ministry.
I remember the year that Sally was elected to church council. She was a relatively new member. She had moved to the area about five years prior and had quickly gotten involved in the church. But, what’s five years of membership compared to those who spent their lifetime in that congregation. Sally wanted to run for church council. But, there were three strikes immediately against her. First, she was a woman. The people of my church said, “Women were not to be leading the church. This was simply unheard of. Women were meant to be taking care of the children. There must be something wrong with a woman who wants to do such a thing.” Second, she was “too new” some said. She had been a member only five years. Third, others didn’t like her because she was divorced. They said, “Divorced people shouldn't be allowed to serve on the church council because they won’t be good role models for our children.” Sally was not elected and left the church soon after that. We never heard from her again. But, I don’t think many people went looking for her either.
Example #3
I also remember the time when a black man and white woman came visiting my church together. They were married and it seemed like everybody in the congregation had a problem with that. There was something unnatural about it they said. It violated God’s laws of nature they said. Needless to say, this couple didn’t stay too long at my church either.
All of these rules and a myriad of others are traditional interpretations of the Bible and ever so subtly, those religious interpretations and traditions became more important than living out the compassion of Christ. This subtle shift in the rules, from people serving the institution rather than the institution serving people, is the work of those sinful Lilliputians.
Jesus is our liberator from the Lilliputians.
Jesus liberates Christianity from our biblical interpretations, traditions and from what we think Christianity ought to be. Liberated from this institutional sinfulness we are set free. Free to truly worship God. Prohibitive Blue laws are not the way to Sabbath freedom. Think about it. You all had a variety of options that you could have done on this beautiful Sunday morning. You were free this morning to Worship God, and you listened to call of the one you pray to, the one you call Lord, and you came to church. That’s Sabbath freedom! We are free for genuine compassion to our neighbor. There are no laws demanding that you volunteer in ministries—no prohibitive guilt forcing you to do this or that or you’re going to Hell. NO! Jesus has saved you by his death and resurrection. Those who believe this ""Good News" are liberated from guilt and despair—the labors of sin. This means you have the freedom to serve your neighbor. Therefore, you have heard the call of the one who has freed you and you have come here, made yourselves a part of this church, committed yourselves to the work of this church. This is the freedom given to you by Christ. We are liberated from all the societal rules and regulations that hold us back from worshiping freely and serving our neighbor freely.
Jesus liberated us all when he broke the rules to heal that woman on the Sabbath. Now, as Paul says, there is nothing that separates you from the love of God. NOTHING! Therefore, come one come all. Let every mixed up, sinful wretch of a person come. Let everyone who the Lilliputians have put down, held down, or imprisoned come to meet this Jesus and be set free. Let all of us "holier than thou Christians" come seeking forgiveness and be set free as well. Let this place be for all a place of welcome — and let that welcome be the healing touch of Jesus — just as his touch healed a woman on one Sabbath long ago.
Amen
This morning I would like to begin with a fable. This is a very famous fable from Jonathon Swift. I would like to take this fable and slightly alter it to meet the needs of our day.
Gulliver and the Lilliputians:
Gulliver needed to be set free from the thousands upon thousands of little ties and knots, strings and threads, that were holding him down, killing him and his freedom.
The meaning: It is the nature of human institutions, whether they be government, schools, churches, social conventions to put thousands of little regulations on people in order to hold them down, tie them down and control them.
Examples:
Apply for welfare or food stamps, or whatever you apply for to the
Federal government, and you will quickly find that there are Lilliputians involved in the system. The strings they use are miles of red tape, a myriad of rules and regulations.
Now, I know what some of you are probably thinking. You’re thinking, “Pastor, those rules and regulations are important. Without them, people would take advantage.
And you are correct. The point of this message is not to criticize government rules and regulations. Rules and regulations are indeed a necessity of any institution. God is keenly aware of this, hence the 10 commandments.
However, the point of this message is to make clear that sin has a way of convincing us that the rules and regulations within the institution are more important than the original purpose of institution itself. With tongue firmly in cheek, the point of this message is to give us someone to blame for this institutional sin. The Lilliputians did it! :-)
It is the nature of sin within our institutions, whether they are governments, schools, or even churches to start with rules and regulations that serve to support and make viable the very good purposes behind the institution, but then cause the institution to drift asleep to the original purpose allowing the Lilliputians to take over. When we wake up, we find that a very subtle shift has been made, where the original purpose of the institution was to serve people, but instead, the people are now forced to serve the institution. It happens again and again. When this happens serving the legal needs of the institution become more important than the real needs of the people. Sin turns the institution into a god and then holds the people hostage to the system.
This is what Lilliputians do.
Gospel:
It is precisely the attitude of Gulliver awaking to find that he has been strapped down by the Lilliputians with thousands of little strings (regulations) that the Gospel lesson speaks to us about today. In the Judaism of that time in history, their religion had become an institution of a thousand rules and regulations. The original purpose was to help people praise God and compassionately serve one another. But instead, the Lilliputians snuck in somewhere along the course of history and took over. They convinced the Jewish people that all the traditions, the rules and regulations, were more important than a genuine faith in God or compassionate service to the neighbor. The Lilliputians made the people become preoccupied with rules and traditions and they began to serve the institution as if it were god. Like Gulliver, the people were held down like prisoners; powerless and dying beneath the constraints of an institution that God had intended for the purpose of freeing people for worship and compassion.
Believe it or not, on of those Jewish regulations in Jesus’ day was that a person could not be healed on the Sabbath day of rest. Can you imagine such thoughts today? All hospitals will care for patients six days a week but not care for them on Sunday? Fortunately, such thoughts would not fly in our society. Fortunately, our society has come to realize that Sabbath Rest has little to do with a list of prohibitive blue laws.
The Church:
Now, I know that many of you, like myself, miss the days when Sunday was set aside for church. We long for the day when the church might return to its place within our society of dominion over the activities of Sunday. But, in truth, we must confess that this period of blue laws was not genuinely about praising God and serving our neighbor. It was actually about placing societal rules and regulations in place that would maintain a certain level of power and control over people. These regulations benefitted our institution, but they did not encourage faith in God. They did not allow for the freedom to Worship, and serve our neighbor.
Far too often, the primary purpose of the church becomes misguided by Lilliputians. Sometimes, it begins to feel like the purpose of the church is to preserve our religious customs, rules, regulations and rituals, more so than doing the compassion of God. The rules, regulations and rituals take on a life of their own, and preserving them becomes more important than doing and being the compassion of God.
Jesus offers liberation
By healing a woman on the Sabbath, Jesus reveals to us a new vision for what Sabbath truly means. Sabbath Rest is not found through a list of prohibitions placed upon us one day of the week. Sabbath Rest is to be set free from the labors of sin. When Jesus broke from tradition in order to heal the woman on the Sabbath, he offered liberation for all of us. Jesus liberated us from the Lilliputians– freedom from those religious customs that we think are somehow God-given but are not.
I would like to give you a couple of examples. These are based on true stories, but are easily applicable to just about any church institution from around 1975.
Examples #1
I grew up on Appalachian WV Lutheran legalism. I have come to learn that this is very much like the Midwest. Garrison Keillor describes this most succinctly on the side of a coffee mug I have at home: "I’m a Lutheran. We are modest people and we don’t make a fuss. And it sure would be a better world if they were all as modest as us. We do not go for whooping it up, or a lot of yikkety-yak. When we say hello, we avert our eyes and we always sit in the back. We sit in the pew where we always sit, and we do not shout Amen. And if anyone yells or waves their hands, they’re not invited back again."
One day, Susan, the musician and choir director at my church caused quite a stir. She even provoked the pastor to pay a special visit to straighten things out. Everyone came home from church that day talking about it. For the anthem on this one dreadful morning, Susan, had given a choir member permission to play a tambourine.
Example #2
In my church it was deemed that certain people were more religious than others by the depth of their knowledge of the bible and their ability to recite passages from memory. This obviously meant that some people were more Christian than other people. The more Christian people were those who especially loved their church traditions. They were given positions of authority and influence. They came to worship more often, and were the first to tell you if you were behaving somewhat less Christian than them. Those who didn’t come to church, or those who came visiting had to prove themselves to the authorities that they were worthy before those with influence would truly accept them and invite them into the active ministry.
I remember the year that Sally was elected to church council. She was a relatively new member. She had moved to the area about five years prior and had quickly gotten involved in the church. But, what’s five years of membership compared to those who spent their lifetime in that congregation. Sally wanted to run for church council. But, there were three strikes immediately against her. First, she was a woman. The people of my church said, “Women were not to be leading the church. This was simply unheard of. Women were meant to be taking care of the children. There must be something wrong with a woman who wants to do such a thing.” Second, she was “too new” some said. She had been a member only five years. Third, others didn’t like her because she was divorced. They said, “Divorced people shouldn't be allowed to serve on the church council because they won’t be good role models for our children.” Sally was not elected and left the church soon after that. We never heard from her again. But, I don’t think many people went looking for her either.
Example #3
I also remember the time when a black man and white woman came visiting my church together. They were married and it seemed like everybody in the congregation had a problem with that. There was something unnatural about it they said. It violated God’s laws of nature they said. Needless to say, this couple didn’t stay too long at my church either.
All of these rules and a myriad of others are traditional interpretations of the Bible and ever so subtly, those religious interpretations and traditions became more important than living out the compassion of Christ. This subtle shift in the rules, from people serving the institution rather than the institution serving people, is the work of those sinful Lilliputians.
Jesus is our liberator from the Lilliputians.
Jesus liberates Christianity from our biblical interpretations, traditions and from what we think Christianity ought to be. Liberated from this institutional sinfulness we are set free. Free to truly worship God. Prohibitive Blue laws are not the way to Sabbath freedom. Think about it. You all had a variety of options that you could have done on this beautiful Sunday morning. You were free this morning to Worship God, and you listened to call of the one you pray to, the one you call Lord, and you came to church. That’s Sabbath freedom! We are free for genuine compassion to our neighbor. There are no laws demanding that you volunteer in ministries—no prohibitive guilt forcing you to do this or that or you’re going to Hell. NO! Jesus has saved you by his death and resurrection. Those who believe this ""Good News" are liberated from guilt and despair—the labors of sin. This means you have the freedom to serve your neighbor. Therefore, you have heard the call of the one who has freed you and you have come here, made yourselves a part of this church, committed yourselves to the work of this church. This is the freedom given to you by Christ. We are liberated from all the societal rules and regulations that hold us back from worshiping freely and serving our neighbor freely.
Jesus liberated us all when he broke the rules to heal that woman on the Sabbath. Now, as Paul says, there is nothing that separates you from the love of God. NOTHING! Therefore, come one come all. Let every mixed up, sinful wretch of a person come. Let everyone who the Lilliputians have put down, held down, or imprisoned come to meet this Jesus and be set free. Let all of us "holier than thou Christians" come seeking forgiveness and be set free as well. Let this place be for all a place of welcome — and let that welcome be the healing touch of Jesus — just as his touch healed a woman on one Sabbath long ago.
Amen
The Faithless Impala
Hebrews 11:29--12:2
In unsure times, God gives us the assurance of faith.
Jesus is on a holy tear in today’s gospel reading. He is setting the earth on fire, bringing division. This is not the pastoral, good shepherd Jesus. This is a glimpse of a more firm Jesus. This is Jesus on a mission. And he will not be deterred by any of the false securities of this world. He is pursuing the assurance of eternal security for all, and nothing, not even the relationships of family are going to stop him. In the end, this is the Jesus the world desperately needs. This is the Jesus that sacrifices all, goes to the cross, with faith that God will say Yes to him and redeem all of us.
Jesus’ fire is against all those things that we put our trust and faith in ahead of him.
Likewise, the author of Hebrews exhorts his listeners to have faith, persevere and continue to move forward. Do not let the false securities of this world hold you back from accomplishing what God has put before you. Listing all the biblical stories of people who moved forward in faith, Hebrews calls us then to move forward in the presence of this great cloud of witnesses—pursuing not our own goals but God’s.
There’s a bit of animal trivia I want to share with you. How many of you know what an Impala is? It’s a deer-like creature that roams the grassy Serengeti of Africa. It is said that this creature is capable of leaping 10-feet in the air, and bounding 30-feet in distance. It’s amazing what this creature can do. And it needs to do this in order to have any chance of escape from predators like Lions and Tigers.
Well, upon studying this creature it was observed that when being chased by a predator it would be running and bounding through the grass, but when it came to a thick bush or tree, that it could easily have leaped over, it would instead halt its running and try to find a way around it—often to its own demise. Why would this creature, capable of easily bounding over the obstacle before it, choose to go around it and run the risk of being caught by its predator?
With this curious information, a theory surface, and was tested. They built a pen for the Impala that was nothing more than a 3-foot wall. Just high enough that the Impala could not see over it as it approached it. And sure enough, no matter how provoked, the Impala would not leap over this 3-foot wall to freedom. This study revealed something interesting. The Impala, with its great leaping capability, will only leap if it can first see where its feet are going to land.
If the Impala had just a little bit of faith that when it leaped beyond where it could see, it would avoid the predators that devour it so much more often.
How often do we behave like the Impala? How often are we caught; wanting to be sure of the outcome of our actions before we act?
The writer of Hebrews gives us a list of stories that involve tremendous obstacles that were overcome by faith in God. We are not like the Impala, even though we often behave as if we are. No! We have been given the gift of faith. This gift, when used, seperates us from all other creatures and enables us to respond to difficulty, threats, and fear in ways that reveal God's image in place of our own.
With Jesus in the lead of our lives, we are empowered by his faith to remain faithful ourselves. Rather becoming like trapped animals, we are set free. Free to worship God! Free to serve our neighbor joyfully.
In the end, even the giant obstacle of death itself is overcome. Just as Jesus leaped over it on the cross and landed on his feet on the other side. So, we too, are asked to follow. When we face our final obstacle, with faith in Jesus, we will leap right over that wall and land on our feet with Jesus in heaven.
Amen
In unsure times, God gives us the assurance of faith.
Jesus is on a holy tear in today’s gospel reading. He is setting the earth on fire, bringing division. This is not the pastoral, good shepherd Jesus. This is a glimpse of a more firm Jesus. This is Jesus on a mission. And he will not be deterred by any of the false securities of this world. He is pursuing the assurance of eternal security for all, and nothing, not even the relationships of family are going to stop him. In the end, this is the Jesus the world desperately needs. This is the Jesus that sacrifices all, goes to the cross, with faith that God will say Yes to him and redeem all of us.
Jesus’ fire is against all those things that we put our trust and faith in ahead of him.
Likewise, the author of Hebrews exhorts his listeners to have faith, persevere and continue to move forward. Do not let the false securities of this world hold you back from accomplishing what God has put before you. Listing all the biblical stories of people who moved forward in faith, Hebrews calls us then to move forward in the presence of this great cloud of witnesses—pursuing not our own goals but God’s.
There’s a bit of animal trivia I want to share with you. How many of you know what an Impala is? It’s a deer-like creature that roams the grassy Serengeti of Africa. It is said that this creature is capable of leaping 10-feet in the air, and bounding 30-feet in distance. It’s amazing what this creature can do. And it needs to do this in order to have any chance of escape from predators like Lions and Tigers.
Well, upon studying this creature it was observed that when being chased by a predator it would be running and bounding through the grass, but when it came to a thick bush or tree, that it could easily have leaped over, it would instead halt its running and try to find a way around it—often to its own demise. Why would this creature, capable of easily bounding over the obstacle before it, choose to go around it and run the risk of being caught by its predator?
With this curious information, a theory surface, and was tested. They built a pen for the Impala that was nothing more than a 3-foot wall. Just high enough that the Impala could not see over it as it approached it. And sure enough, no matter how provoked, the Impala would not leap over this 3-foot wall to freedom. This study revealed something interesting. The Impala, with its great leaping capability, will only leap if it can first see where its feet are going to land.
If the Impala had just a little bit of faith that when it leaped beyond where it could see, it would avoid the predators that devour it so much more often.
How often do we behave like the Impala? How often are we caught; wanting to be sure of the outcome of our actions before we act?
The writer of Hebrews gives us a list of stories that involve tremendous obstacles that were overcome by faith in God. We are not like the Impala, even though we often behave as if we are. No! We have been given the gift of faith. This gift, when used, seperates us from all other creatures and enables us to respond to difficulty, threats, and fear in ways that reveal God's image in place of our own.
With Jesus in the lead of our lives, we are empowered by his faith to remain faithful ourselves. Rather becoming like trapped animals, we are set free. Free to worship God! Free to serve our neighbor joyfully.
In the end, even the giant obstacle of death itself is overcome. Just as Jesus leaped over it on the cross and landed on his feet on the other side. So, we too, are asked to follow. When we face our final obstacle, with faith in Jesus, we will leap right over that wall and land on our feet with Jesus in heaven.
Amen
Making Peace with Boredom
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
A certain amount of boredom is simply a fact of life, but involving ourselves in helping others is one way to make peace with it.
So there’s this guy — we’ll call him Barry. Barry has an important position as a manager at a major corporation, and lately, he’s been going full steam on a major project. He’s even devoted weekends and evenings to it, but finally it’s finished and it’s a great success. Barry receives all kinds of praise and his boss insists that Barry take some time off. Make up for all that time you spent away from your wife, his boss says, so Barry books a vacation for two. The first few days they take in some terrific shows, eat some great meals, even drive out to see the extended family. Barry’s wife enjoys every moment, and so does Barry, at first. By the fourth day, while his wife is doing a little shopping, Barry sits by the pool at the hotel and wonders what else there is to do. With nothing immediately on the agenda, Barry cracks open his laptop computer and logs on to the Internet. He browses a few news and business sites but finds nothing to capture his interest. He logs off, and begins to look forward to returning back to work the following Monday. Barry is bored. The guy’s more bored than a lumber mill. Somewhere else there’s this woman we’ll call Annie. She has always loved to cook, and had long dreamed of opening a catering business, and finally her dream came true. She’s been in business now for five years, and all things considered, it’s gone very well. She’s making money, catering interesting events and loving being her own boss. But for the last several months, the excitement she felt at the start has evaporated, and she moves mechanically through her days, doing her work, but without any joy. Her American Dream has come true. She works everyday at it and all of a sudden she wakes up one morning, looks into the mirror and she’s bored with it. There is no more personal thrill of achievement. She has already reached her goals. Then, at that moment, the despair, and the worry begin.
Barry and Annie are both suffering from boredom, but in different forms. Barry has “everyday boredom.” It’s the grown-up version of what a kid is feeling when he comes up to his parents and moans, “I’m bored! There’s nothing to doooo.” Parents sometimes respond by saying, “Well, why don’t you play with ...” and then reel off a list of all the toys and games the kid has in his room. Of course, that seldom works, because at that moment, he’s looking for new stimulation. We adults too, have our toys and games. We can go to the movies, the theater, the mall, the gym, the stadium or the entertainment complex set up in our own family room. But like Barry, some days, none of that is enough. Annie’s boredom, however, is not from lack of momentary stimulation. Hers is “existential boredom,” where meaning and purpose seem to have been drained out of her life. She does her work each day, and does it well, but inside, it all feels futile. The fact is, whether we are talking about everyday boredom or the existential variety, it’s a fact of life. Boredom is part of life.
The writer of Ecclesiastes has come to realize this as well. “Vanity of vanities!” he says. “All is vanity.” Those are the sentiments of a man suffering the boredom of existence. “I ... applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.” Those are the words of a troubled man. He’s disturbed by the inability to find meaning in his daily life. He feels that nothing he has done or achieved makes any real difference, and he fears that he’ll go to his grave without discovering specific meaning and purpose to his existence. If life were simple and tidy, the author of Ecclesiastes would have gone on in his book to tell us how he discovered the key to overcoming boredom, and this sermon on his book would be titled something like “Three Easy Steps to an Exciting Life.” At the very least, he would tell us that by trusting God, all boredom would dissolve. But life isn’t simple and tidy, and if you read Ecclesiastes all the way through, you discover that the author doesn’t “conquer” boredom. Rather, he accommodates it as a part of his existence. Before he gets there, though, he tries several remedies, including self-indulgence, lavish spending and sensual pleasures. While he does find some immediate gratification, he also concludes that such is all the reward there is. But in the end, he makes peace his boredeom. And he comes to a few conclusions: Go your way, appreciate your family and passing pleasures, value wisdom and learning, and then this: “Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’”. In other words, start with God, because God provides a baseline of meaning and purpose in life. Here’s a story that illustrates this point. A woman drove an armored vehicle that picked up and delivered money. Driving and stopping at stores and banks and waiting for the pickup or drop-off is what she did 10 hours a day, always covering the same route day after day. Talk about boredom! She struggled with her desire to quit and find another job but held on because of the medical insurance benefit and her fear of not finding a job that paid what she was currently making. She grew more and more bored, and before long, bitterness at her life circumstances began to set in. A life-changing turning point for her was the day she decided to give God her day and ask that it be used to accomplish God’s purposes. Instead of mindless existence, she began to use her time while she was waiting to pray — at first for her family and friends, then for concerns raised at church, and eventually she began to pray for the people she met and/or saw from the armored truck. Giving her boredom to God allowed God to transform it into meaning and purpose.”
There’s one more thing we can glean from boredom, but it’s something the author of Ecclesiastes never seemed to grasp. For all his experiments, he never tried helping others. It’s counterintuitive, but time and again, those who find an outlet for their lives that involves caring for others discover that whatever else life is, it isn’t boring. A certain amount of boredom is simply a fact of life, but involving ourselves in helping others is one way to make peace with it.
Of course, whatever our circumstances, God never promised us freedom from boredom. God promised to be with us through all things. And as we trust God and go faithfully about our daily tasks, God goes with us, giving us the opportunity to be at peace even when we’re bored.
Amen
A certain amount of boredom is simply a fact of life, but involving ourselves in helping others is one way to make peace with it.
So there’s this guy — we’ll call him Barry. Barry has an important position as a manager at a major corporation, and lately, he’s been going full steam on a major project. He’s even devoted weekends and evenings to it, but finally it’s finished and it’s a great success. Barry receives all kinds of praise and his boss insists that Barry take some time off. Make up for all that time you spent away from your wife, his boss says, so Barry books a vacation for two. The first few days they take in some terrific shows, eat some great meals, even drive out to see the extended family. Barry’s wife enjoys every moment, and so does Barry, at first. By the fourth day, while his wife is doing a little shopping, Barry sits by the pool at the hotel and wonders what else there is to do. With nothing immediately on the agenda, Barry cracks open his laptop computer and logs on to the Internet. He browses a few news and business sites but finds nothing to capture his interest. He logs off, and begins to look forward to returning back to work the following Monday. Barry is bored. The guy’s more bored than a lumber mill. Somewhere else there’s this woman we’ll call Annie. She has always loved to cook, and had long dreamed of opening a catering business, and finally her dream came true. She’s been in business now for five years, and all things considered, it’s gone very well. She’s making money, catering interesting events and loving being her own boss. But for the last several months, the excitement she felt at the start has evaporated, and she moves mechanically through her days, doing her work, but without any joy. Her American Dream has come true. She works everyday at it and all of a sudden she wakes up one morning, looks into the mirror and she’s bored with it. There is no more personal thrill of achievement. She has already reached her goals. Then, at that moment, the despair, and the worry begin.
Barry and Annie are both suffering from boredom, but in different forms. Barry has “everyday boredom.” It’s the grown-up version of what a kid is feeling when he comes up to his parents and moans, “I’m bored! There’s nothing to doooo.” Parents sometimes respond by saying, “Well, why don’t you play with ...” and then reel off a list of all the toys and games the kid has in his room. Of course, that seldom works, because at that moment, he’s looking for new stimulation. We adults too, have our toys and games. We can go to the movies, the theater, the mall, the gym, the stadium or the entertainment complex set up in our own family room. But like Barry, some days, none of that is enough. Annie’s boredom, however, is not from lack of momentary stimulation. Hers is “existential boredom,” where meaning and purpose seem to have been drained out of her life. She does her work each day, and does it well, but inside, it all feels futile. The fact is, whether we are talking about everyday boredom or the existential variety, it’s a fact of life. Boredom is part of life.
The writer of Ecclesiastes has come to realize this as well. “Vanity of vanities!” he says. “All is vanity.” Those are the sentiments of a man suffering the boredom of existence. “I ... applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with. I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing after wind.” Those are the words of a troubled man. He’s disturbed by the inability to find meaning in his daily life. He feels that nothing he has done or achieved makes any real difference, and he fears that he’ll go to his grave without discovering specific meaning and purpose to his existence. If life were simple and tidy, the author of Ecclesiastes would have gone on in his book to tell us how he discovered the key to overcoming boredom, and this sermon on his book would be titled something like “Three Easy Steps to an Exciting Life.” At the very least, he would tell us that by trusting God, all boredom would dissolve. But life isn’t simple and tidy, and if you read Ecclesiastes all the way through, you discover that the author doesn’t “conquer” boredom. Rather, he accommodates it as a part of his existence. Before he gets there, though, he tries several remedies, including self-indulgence, lavish spending and sensual pleasures. While he does find some immediate gratification, he also concludes that such is all the reward there is. But in the end, he makes peace his boredeom. And he comes to a few conclusions: Go your way, appreciate your family and passing pleasures, value wisdom and learning, and then this: “Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, ‘I have no pleasure in them’”. In other words, start with God, because God provides a baseline of meaning and purpose in life. Here’s a story that illustrates this point. A woman drove an armored vehicle that picked up and delivered money. Driving and stopping at stores and banks and waiting for the pickup or drop-off is what she did 10 hours a day, always covering the same route day after day. Talk about boredom! She struggled with her desire to quit and find another job but held on because of the medical insurance benefit and her fear of not finding a job that paid what she was currently making. She grew more and more bored, and before long, bitterness at her life circumstances began to set in. A life-changing turning point for her was the day she decided to give God her day and ask that it be used to accomplish God’s purposes. Instead of mindless existence, she began to use her time while she was waiting to pray — at first for her family and friends, then for concerns raised at church, and eventually she began to pray for the people she met and/or saw from the armored truck. Giving her boredom to God allowed God to transform it into meaning and purpose.”
There’s one more thing we can glean from boredom, but it’s something the author of Ecclesiastes never seemed to grasp. For all his experiments, he never tried helping others. It’s counterintuitive, but time and again, those who find an outlet for their lives that involves caring for others discover that whatever else life is, it isn’t boring. A certain amount of boredom is simply a fact of life, but involving ourselves in helping others is one way to make peace with it.
Of course, whatever our circumstances, God never promised us freedom from boredom. God promised to be with us through all things. And as we trust God and go faithfully about our daily tasks, God goes with us, giving us the opportunity to be at peace even when we’re bored.
Amen
Sermon: Spiritual Double Talk
Opening:
Church Blooper Announcements [Best read by a leader from the church in the manner of making genuine announcements.]
1. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
2. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church.
3. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery.
4. Tuesday at 4:00 PM there will be an ice cream social, featuring homemade ice-cream. All ladies giving milk will please come early.
5. With Easter Sunday approaching, we will be asking volunteers to come forward and lay eggs on the alter.
6. Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the carpet please do so on your way out.
7. The ladies of the church have given up their clothing for this year’s fund raiser. Members of the church may get a sneak peek at them on the Friday prior to the event.
8. Sandy is still in the hospital. She asked me to announce that she is having trouble sleeping and requests recordings of Pastor Rich’s sermons.
9. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
10. The stewardship committee unveiled the church's new giving campaign slogan: "I Upped My Pledge--Now Up Yours."
11. 8 new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
12. Please don't forget this year’s rummage sale. Ladies, It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.
13. The confirmation class will be presenting a dramatic Passion Play this year during Lent. The congregation is invited to come and see this tragedy.
Clearly by this list of church bulletin bloopers there is often a difference between what is said and what is heard. In fact much of what we say often has multiple meanings. Our English language is filled with idioms and expressions that mean different things in different contexts. Take the expression “getting ahead”. We use this expression often in our language, but its meaning is dependent upon context? In a conversation about financial matters, this means trying to pay off credit cards, or put more money in a savings account. In a conversation about professional success it has to do with advancing one’s self to a higher place within the company. But, when used by a person behind the wheel of a car it means to pass a slower moving vehicle. Often what we say has multiple meanings, and each different meaning is contingent upon the context. Within the context, we understand quite clearly the meaning behind what is being said, but from the outside looking/listening in, the meaning can be lost or confused.
The church often times struggles with this contextual confusion as well. Within the context of the church, couched in the language and the teaching, we have little problem understanding the message behind the words that are spoken in worship. But, to a person who is not part of the church, this may not be the case. Take for instance the words, “Take and eat, this is my body given for you.” Historically there is evidence to believe that in the early formation of the church, Roman unbelievers made claims that those Christians are cannibals.
So, as we continue to live into the mission of being a church for people who have no church, we need to be mindful in this day of how people hear what we insiders are saying.
But, this contextual understanding of things is not only for the language of worship. We might also want to be mindful of creating our own bulletin bloopers by assuming that newer members are aware of what is being announced. For instance; announcing an annual event with little explanation of what its for, or what’s expected from the volunteers leaves new people floundering to get involved because they do not have the needed insider information to translate the announcement.
Within the context, we understand quite clearly the message behind the words, but from outside the context we often can’t and this leads to confusion. This is true of God’s Word as well.
Gospel:
Jesus speaks God’s Word to a diverse crowd of people. Some came from Jerusalem [Jews], and some came from as far as Tyre and Sidon [Gentiles]. By Jesus’ message to them we can surmise that some were poor and hungry, while others were more affluent and well fed. Some were hated and excluded, while others were loved and received social praise. Some were grieving, while others were joyful. People of various different backgrounds, different religions, different stations in life. Of this motley crowd of different people, they all had one thing in common. Verse 18 says they all came to hear him and to be healed. And so, he spoke to them words of healing.
To the poor, the hungry, the broken-hearted, the outcast his words were like salve on their wounded souls.
Blessed are you .
But to the affluent and well fed, the socially acceptable, and those
currently experiencing joy, Jesus’ words would have sounded more like a bitter pill.
Woe to you.
So that there is no confusion, even though Jesus delivers his message in two parts (blessings and woes) the Word of God remains the same.
Beneath the surface of the list of blessings and woes is the same
Message—God’s love is for all.
It has been said that God’s Word, when properly proclaimed, will do two things. It will comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. Those who heard God’s Word on that day as comfort probably remained as Jesus’ disciples. But, I wonder, what of the people who heard it as affliction? Did they hear it all? Or, did they ignore Jesus call to change their ways? Did they change their ways and follow him onward? The text doesn’t tell us.
Connection:
How do we hear God’s word? When we are in need, when we are threatened, when we are crying, when we are rejected, we hear God’s Word loud and clear. It comforts us, and we join the church, and we continue coming to church just as those who were in the crowd came to Jesus because they wanted to hear him and be healed. And we learn to believe and trust that whenever we are afflicted we can count on God to comfort us by His Word. In bad times, God’s Word is clear and we listen and we follow.
But, what about when times are good, when we are comfortable? Do we hear God challenging us to grow in discipleship, to remain faithful, to change our ways so that others less fortunate may be blessed?
Closing:
Fortunately, God’s Word comes to us in the life promised through the love of Jesus. Such that all of us who believe and are baptized are given freely this promise of God’s eternity.
Its important for us to remember then, that no matter if it challenges us or comforts us, God’s Word for us is always one of God’s love and care for His chosen people.
Therefore, no matter if we are comforted or afflicted by God’s Word we want to be listening and following.
I remember the person I once was. But, because of God’s love—both tough and tender— today I am thankful that I no longer recognize the person in those memories.
My guess is that you might be able to say the same thing about your relationship with God.
Words may mean different things to those who listen in from outside the context of the message, but to those of us within the context, the meaning of the words is most often very clear.
Remain then in relationship to God through Jesus, and when God’s Word is spoken to you, there will be no confusion.
God’s Word is not a blooper.
Let us pray…
Lord God, by your mercy keep us in relationship with you, that your Word would always be our guidance and comfort. Amen
Church Blooper Announcements [Best read by a leader from the church in the manner of making genuine announcements.]
1. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
2. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our church.
3. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery.
4. Tuesday at 4:00 PM there will be an ice cream social, featuring homemade ice-cream. All ladies giving milk will please come early.
5. With Easter Sunday approaching, we will be asking volunteers to come forward and lay eggs on the alter.
6. Next Sunday a special collection will be taken to defray the cost of new carpet. All those wishing to do something on the carpet please do so on your way out.
7. The ladies of the church have given up their clothing for this year’s fund raiser. Members of the church may get a sneak peek at them on the Friday prior to the event.
8. Sandy is still in the hospital. She asked me to announce that she is having trouble sleeping and requests recordings of Pastor Rich’s sermons.
9. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
10. The stewardship committee unveiled the church's new giving campaign slogan: "I Upped My Pledge--Now Up Yours."
11. 8 new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
12. Please don't forget this year’s rummage sale. Ladies, It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.
13. The confirmation class will be presenting a dramatic Passion Play this year during Lent. The congregation is invited to come and see this tragedy.
Clearly by this list of church bulletin bloopers there is often a difference between what is said and what is heard. In fact much of what we say often has multiple meanings. Our English language is filled with idioms and expressions that mean different things in different contexts. Take the expression “getting ahead”. We use this expression often in our language, but its meaning is dependent upon context? In a conversation about financial matters, this means trying to pay off credit cards, or put more money in a savings account. In a conversation about professional success it has to do with advancing one’s self to a higher place within the company. But, when used by a person behind the wheel of a car it means to pass a slower moving vehicle. Often what we say has multiple meanings, and each different meaning is contingent upon the context. Within the context, we understand quite clearly the meaning behind what is being said, but from the outside looking/listening in, the meaning can be lost or confused.
The church often times struggles with this contextual confusion as well. Within the context of the church, couched in the language and the teaching, we have little problem understanding the message behind the words that are spoken in worship. But, to a person who is not part of the church, this may not be the case. Take for instance the words, “Take and eat, this is my body given for you.” Historically there is evidence to believe that in the early formation of the church, Roman unbelievers made claims that those Christians are cannibals.
So, as we continue to live into the mission of being a church for people who have no church, we need to be mindful in this day of how people hear what we insiders are saying.
But, this contextual understanding of things is not only for the language of worship. We might also want to be mindful of creating our own bulletin bloopers by assuming that newer members are aware of what is being announced. For instance; announcing an annual event with little explanation of what its for, or what’s expected from the volunteers leaves new people floundering to get involved because they do not have the needed insider information to translate the announcement.
Within the context, we understand quite clearly the message behind the words, but from outside the context we often can’t and this leads to confusion. This is true of God’s Word as well.
Gospel:
Jesus speaks God’s Word to a diverse crowd of people. Some came from Jerusalem [Jews], and some came from as far as Tyre and Sidon [Gentiles]. By Jesus’ message to them we can surmise that some were poor and hungry, while others were more affluent and well fed. Some were hated and excluded, while others were loved and received social praise. Some were grieving, while others were joyful. People of various different backgrounds, different religions, different stations in life. Of this motley crowd of different people, they all had one thing in common. Verse 18 says they all came to hear him and to be healed. And so, he spoke to them words of healing.
To the poor, the hungry, the broken-hearted, the outcast his words were like salve on their wounded souls.
Blessed are you .
But to the affluent and well fed, the socially acceptable, and those
currently experiencing joy, Jesus’ words would have sounded more like a bitter pill.
Woe to you.
So that there is no confusion, even though Jesus delivers his message in two parts (blessings and woes) the Word of God remains the same.
Beneath the surface of the list of blessings and woes is the same
Message—God’s love is for all.
It has been said that God’s Word, when properly proclaimed, will do two things. It will comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. Those who heard God’s Word on that day as comfort probably remained as Jesus’ disciples. But, I wonder, what of the people who heard it as affliction? Did they hear it all? Or, did they ignore Jesus call to change their ways? Did they change their ways and follow him onward? The text doesn’t tell us.
Connection:
How do we hear God’s word? When we are in need, when we are threatened, when we are crying, when we are rejected, we hear God’s Word loud and clear. It comforts us, and we join the church, and we continue coming to church just as those who were in the crowd came to Jesus because they wanted to hear him and be healed. And we learn to believe and trust that whenever we are afflicted we can count on God to comfort us by His Word. In bad times, God’s Word is clear and we listen and we follow.
But, what about when times are good, when we are comfortable? Do we hear God challenging us to grow in discipleship, to remain faithful, to change our ways so that others less fortunate may be blessed?
Closing:
Fortunately, God’s Word comes to us in the life promised through the love of Jesus. Such that all of us who believe and are baptized are given freely this promise of God’s eternity.
Its important for us to remember then, that no matter if it challenges us or comforts us, God’s Word for us is always one of God’s love and care for His chosen people.
Therefore, no matter if we are comforted or afflicted by God’s Word we want to be listening and following.
I remember the person I once was. But, because of God’s love—both tough and tender— today I am thankful that I no longer recognize the person in those memories.
My guess is that you might be able to say the same thing about your relationship with God.
Words may mean different things to those who listen in from outside the context of the message, but to those of us within the context, the meaning of the words is most often very clear.
Remain then in relationship to God through Jesus, and when God’s Word is spoken to you, there will be no confusion.
God’s Word is not a blooper.
Let us pray…
Lord God, by your mercy keep us in relationship with you, that your Word would always be our guidance and comfort. Amen
Newsletter June
Did you know that Pennsylvania made recycling the law in July of 1988? My guess is that most people don’t know that. But, it’s true. With Act 101, the Municipal Waste Planning, Recycling and Waste Reduction Act, Pennsylvania became the largest state in the nation to require recycling.
However, if you ask the folks in Caernarvon Township, where Amy and I live, if they recycle do you know what they’ll tell you? Here’s what they’ll tell you. We don’t recycle! However, they probably won't tell you this in such a blunt way as this. They will say that the residents are welcome to recycle on their own. Yea sure, who wants to load up recyclables in the trunk of their car and drive them yourself to the local dump every week? Not I. And, my guess is, not you either. In other words the answer to the question remains. We don't recycle!
I have learned that in Honey Brook Township the circumstance isn’t much different. Everyone is welcome to recycle, even encouraged to recycle—if they want to. Well, who WANTS to sort their garbage into differentiating containers? Who WANTS to wash out bottles, jars and cans? Who WANTS to stack up, and possibly even bundle up their paper? Who WANTS to recycle? Most don’t. Therefore, even though our state boasts about becoming the largest state in the nation to REQUIRE recycling, in the end the state is doing very little to enforce their recycling law. As a result most people in the state of Pennsylvania, as is the case here in our area, choose to not recycle.
But, we are believers in God. Because our faith is that which guides us, we are asked by God to live according to God’s law first and civil laws second. This means God asks us to try to live according to His law in all aspects of life. God calls us to be good stewards of creation. We all know that recycling saves resources, saves energy, and saves the environment. We all know that recycling is one way to be a good steward of creation. The stewardship of God's creation is an issue important enough to prompt us to find a way to recycle. "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." You may have heard that before. It's in the bible, in the book of Joshua. In other words, as it pertains to this message, "For me and my house, we will recycle." This means that for you and me, contrary to the township, RECYCLING IS NOT AN OPTION. This is why I was so pleased to see large recycling receptacles placed all around the church property during the Spring Fling in May.
The question for us is not IF we will recycle, but HOW. The recycling options are dependent upon the area in which you live. For Amy and me, we can load up our recyclables in the car once a week and take them to Lanchester ourselves, or we can pay $25/month for a local trash hauler to make a special stop at our house each week. Given those two options, I gladly pay the $25/month to not have to "truck" them myself in the trunk of my car.
Our township does not enforce the state’s requirement for recycling. But this law is in consort with God’s law of good stewardship. So, even though the civil authorities do not enforce this we ought to do so anyway. If your home is already a recycling home, GREAT! For the rest of us, maybe this summer is a good time to start taking recycling more seriously. After all, God has given us the beauty of the earth to appreciate and protect, not consume and throw away. So, let’s offer to God our best effort at keeping it beautiful and rich with natural resources.
A Blessed Summer to all of you,
+Rich
However, if you ask the folks in Caernarvon Township, where Amy and I live, if they recycle do you know what they’ll tell you? Here’s what they’ll tell you. We don’t recycle! However, they probably won't tell you this in such a blunt way as this. They will say that the residents are welcome to recycle on their own. Yea sure, who wants to load up recyclables in the trunk of their car and drive them yourself to the local dump every week? Not I. And, my guess is, not you either. In other words the answer to the question remains. We don't recycle!
I have learned that in Honey Brook Township the circumstance isn’t much different. Everyone is welcome to recycle, even encouraged to recycle—if they want to. Well, who WANTS to sort their garbage into differentiating containers? Who WANTS to wash out bottles, jars and cans? Who WANTS to stack up, and possibly even bundle up their paper? Who WANTS to recycle? Most don’t. Therefore, even though our state boasts about becoming the largest state in the nation to REQUIRE recycling, in the end the state is doing very little to enforce their recycling law. As a result most people in the state of Pennsylvania, as is the case here in our area, choose to not recycle.
But, we are believers in God. Because our faith is that which guides us, we are asked by God to live according to God’s law first and civil laws second. This means God asks us to try to live according to His law in all aspects of life. God calls us to be good stewards of creation. We all know that recycling saves resources, saves energy, and saves the environment. We all know that recycling is one way to be a good steward of creation. The stewardship of God's creation is an issue important enough to prompt us to find a way to recycle. "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord." You may have heard that before. It's in the bible, in the book of Joshua. In other words, as it pertains to this message, "For me and my house, we will recycle." This means that for you and me, contrary to the township, RECYCLING IS NOT AN OPTION. This is why I was so pleased to see large recycling receptacles placed all around the church property during the Spring Fling in May.
The question for us is not IF we will recycle, but HOW. The recycling options are dependent upon the area in which you live. For Amy and me, we can load up our recyclables in the car once a week and take them to Lanchester ourselves, or we can pay $25/month for a local trash hauler to make a special stop at our house each week. Given those two options, I gladly pay the $25/month to not have to "truck" them myself in the trunk of my car.
Our township does not enforce the state’s requirement for recycling. But this law is in consort with God’s law of good stewardship. So, even though the civil authorities do not enforce this we ought to do so anyway. If your home is already a recycling home, GREAT! For the rest of us, maybe this summer is a good time to start taking recycling more seriously. After all, God has given us the beauty of the earth to appreciate and protect, not consume and throw away. So, let’s offer to God our best effort at keeping it beautiful and rich with natural resources.
A Blessed Summer to all of you,
+Rich
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Pastor Rich
