January 8, 2012: Epiphany of Our Lord (Children's Christmas Play/No Sermon)
Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah
took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to
Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child
from the Holy Spirit.
Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.
But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared
to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy
Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’
All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,
but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Luke 2:1-20 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the
city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house
and family of David.
He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of
cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in
the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this
thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Matthew 2:1-2,9b-12 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’
When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they
knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests,
they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
January 1, 2012: First Sunday of Christmas/ the Name of Jesus
Numbers 6:22-27 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.
Psalm 8 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Philippians 2:5-11 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Luke 2:15-21 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds
said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that
has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
After eight days had
passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus,
the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Sermon:
“They Shall
Put My Name on the Israelites, and I
Will Bless Them”
“Therefore
God also highly exalted him and
gave him the namethat
is above every name." —Philippians
2:9
The morning after a storm blew
past, a young child was wandering the beach, feeling the heat of the day
already coursing the sand. The child
noticed that there were many things that washed up on the shoreline, including
several dozen starfish littering the beach, who were all slowly dying of
dehydration. Exhaling loudly and eyes
wide, the child scooped down and picked up the first starfish, examined it,
named it, and then tossed it into the ocean.
Each starfish was then released in the same way: “Go free,
Charlie.” “Peace, Alice.” “Be well, Miguel.” “Don’t come back, Jack.” “Swim in the sea, Amy.” Over and over again, each starfish was picked
up, named, and then tossed. The child
was at this activity for over half-an-hour when a wise man approached. “What are you doing?” the wise man
asked. “Picking up starfish, giving them
a name, and then returning them to their home,” the child responded. The wise man gave a puzzled look. “But you are so small, and there are so many
starfish. Look, you’ve been out here a
long time and you’ve only saved a handful of starfish. But there are so many more starfish to go;
the storm must have washed starfish up and down this shoreline for miles and
miles. Are you going to save them
all?” The child paused a moment to
think. “Probably not,” was the
response. “Then,” the wise man asked,
“why do it at all?” Again, the child
thought, this time for a little longer.
And then, stooping down and picking up another starfish, the child looked
down at the starfish, as if replying to the held creature. “Because,” started the response, “to this
starfish, it matters a whole lot. It’s a
matter of life and death. “Be with your
family, Gracie.” The wise man took a
moment to consider what the child had said, and then, arching his weary back,
he too picked up a starfish, named it, and flung it into the ocean.
A name is very sacred in
today’s world, although it sometimes doesn’t seem that way. But names evoke memories, both powerful and
haunting at times, and at other times, filled with grace and happiness. Think of these partial names: Osama _____;
Adolf ______; Barak ______; Rosa ______; Abraham ______; Lady ______. Each of these forenames has strong emotive
ties, and yet, there are thousands of people named Osama, or Adolf, or Barak,
or Rosa, or Abraham, or Lady that may create the emotional opposite of our
initial reactions. So too, some of us
have nicknames that help define who we are: names like Billy or Ginny or Kay or
Bob. All names also hold power, giving
that power to either the person bearing the title, like chief or boss or
president, or giving power to others and belittling the person, with nicknames
like “loser” or even words like “gay” or “girl” that are used in derogatory ways.
For God, names are given to empower people. In baptism, we are given God’s holy name to
empower us. In our reading of the
creation story, we also hear how God’s image (which is sacred) is imprinted in
each person’s soul. Thus, to use a name
that would demean or lower a person’s status would be to go against the very
part of God that is in each and every person.
Putting someone down would be to ignore the fact that we are all marked
by God and thus all equal to each other.
Back in Jesus’ time, it
was common to wait eight days before naming the child, which would also be the
day that the child would be initiated into society; for males, this ritual was
called circumcision. Thus when Jesus was
born on December 25 up until yesterday, Jesus never had a name! But on this day, the church celebrates the
name Jesus was given, just as Paul puts it in his letter to the Philippians, giving
him the “name that is above every name.”
His name is so powerful that his name has to exalted, or lifted up, to
be praised. In doing so, that does not
mean our names are lowered. By Jesus’
name being lifted up, our names are not diminished. The text does not say that. Our names still have worth. And indeed, our names give us our distinctive
characteristics that make us who we are as children of God, for that is God’s
plan. We are to understand that Jesus’
name has greater power but we too have powerful names.
This power in our name
came from the waters of baptism, when God called you into God’s great
family. This power came in the form of
being saved from ultimate death, being called a child of God and then given the
inheritance to eternal life. This power
came to us through the saving actions of God through Jesus, who upon a cross
saved us from our wayward selves. This
is the power of a name, and not just any name, but Christ’s name! This is the power God has instilled in you when
you were given your name. It wasn’t
about diminishing your name to nothing, or showing how empty in life you are;
instead, receiving your name was/is about ensuring you the power of God
within—the power to continue on through all obstacles in life because God has
claimed you and given you your honor.
On this day, we rejoice
in Jesus’ name and the power of that name; we also rejoice in each of your
names and the power behind them. You
were the starfish that were stranded on the beach after the storm, but because
of Jesus, who was that little child who picked you up, named you, and tossed
you back into the sea, you can weather all storms through the power of your
name. In this new year, on this new day,
hold fast to the power of your name, and the power of others’ names. Keep in mind the dignity that God commands us
to have for all people, shown through the saving actions of Jesus in our own
lives. And may this new year be a
blessing for you as God has blessed you.
Thanks be to God.
December 25, 2011: Christmas Day
Isaiah 62:6-12 Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted sentinels; all day and all night they shall never be silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest,
and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it renowned throughout the earth.
The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies, and foreigners shall not drink the wine for which you have laboured;
but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather it shall drink it in my holy courts.
Go through, go through the gates, prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway, clear it of stones, lift up an ensign over the peoples.
The Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to daughter Zion, ‘See, your salvation comes; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.’
They shall be called, ‘The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord’; and you shall be called, ‘Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.’
Psalm 97 The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coastlands be glad!
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him, and consumes his adversaries on every side.
His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness; and all the peoples behold his glory.
All worshippers of images are put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols; all gods bow down before him.
Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements, O God.
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.
The Lord loves those who hate evil; he guards the lives of his faithful; he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.
Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!
Titus 3:4-7 But when the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Saviour appeared,
he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
This Spirit he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour,
so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Luke 2:1-20 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the
city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house
and family of David.
He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of
cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in
the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this
thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Sermon:
“He Saved
Us” “Glory to
God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!—Luke
2:14
It was known as the “Billboard Wars”—two groups of people put up two
contradictory messages with only the Lincoln Tunnel separating the
messages. The first billboard, put up by
the American Atheist organization, had a picture of the three wisemen traveling
to Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in the manger scene. It’s caption read: “You KNOW it’s a
Myth. This Season, Celebrate REASON!”
So the Catholics responded in kind: with Mary and Joseph hovering over a
newborn baby, their caption read: “You Know it’s Real. This Season, Celebrate Jesus.” Unfortunately, the Catholic billboard didn’t
have the same ring to it. And the funny
thing is, both billboards are
probably correct. That’s right, both billboards are correct.
Marcus Borg, a Lutheran
progressive pastor who is firm in faith, counters a conservative Anglican, N.T.
Wright, who happens to be his good friend, in a book entitled: “The Meaning of
Jesus.” While I can’t be positive, I
would think that Borg would side with the general idea that the Atheists
promote, if by “myth” one means that Jesus was born from a white family or was
visited by shepherds or wisemen. For
Borg, it was a myth that Jesus was born on December 25; he is also unsure of
the virgin birth. None of this matters
much for Borg; he talks about the importance of the shepherds or wisemen to
show the classes that came to Jesus (notice that the shepherds come from the
Gospel of Luke who focuses on equality of all people while Matthew holds to the
tradition of the wisemen and a hierarchy of the human race). Borg also acknowledges the fact that since the
wisemen and shepherds journeyed so far, it shows the extent to which the news
of Christ travels. Jesus’ birth on
December 25, one of the darkest nights of the year, displays more of Jesus
being the light to the world (as a sign of hope) than to the actual day. Christ being “born” in the midst of a growing
daylight is a symbol of God’s growing light in the world. Christmas, for Borg, is more a symbolic day
than an actual historical day. Now, Borg
doesn’t contest Jesus’ life or him being the savior of the world; Borg just
argues that this holiday is more a metaphor for something greater and was
always meant to be this way.
N.T. Wright, however, is
in line more with the Catholic billboard, “You Know it’s Real. This Season, Celebrate Jesus.” Wright argues that since there is no
definitive proof that the actual birth of Jesus didn’t happen exactly as stated
in the Bible, that one must accept as proof exactly what is stated as it is stated. He argues that historical evidence, which
Borg clings to a little too much, is hardly conclusive and often relies on
guess-work. For Wright, the whole story
must be right (no pun intended) or else that calls into question some deeper
major theological tenants of the faith.
For example, if one starts questioning the wisemen or shepherds, why not
also question the virgin birth, the manger scene, or even the prominence of
God’s divine activity. While Wright
doesn’t hold the whole Bible to be the infallible Word of God, he sees the
importance of every detail in the birth narrative. For him, the gospel narratives are the
historical versions of Jesus’ birth.
The truth is that it doesn’t
really matter what side of the fence anyone finds themselves on: both Borg, as
speaking from the progressive wing, and Wright, from the conservative side,
agree that Jesus needs to be kept central to the day, for Jesus’ birth points
to God’s saving action in the world.
Through Jesus’ life, from birth to death to resurrection, we can be
assured that our sins have been forgiven since Jesus was God’s son (whether he
recognized it or not). This should be
our message on Christmas day.
Paul’s writing this
morning doesn’t have the theological conundrum that Borg and Wright give
us. It wasn’t part of a billboard war or
even get close to being as vengeful as any war can be. Instead, it is full of grace, saying that
when God came into the person of Jesus, we all were saved through this
act. We couldn’t force God to act or
save ourselves through anything we could do; rather it was only because of God
that our salvation came. On this day, we
remember that Christ came to us to save all humanity by giving them eternal
life. Today, then, is the first day of
the rest of your life, a life that leads to the cross and to the glorious
resurrection afterwards.
In a world so broken by
a “winner-take-all” mentality, it is time to focus on how we are all winners
when it comes to Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection. Whether we find ourselves to be theologically
progressive or conservative (or maybe not theological at all), Christ came for
each one of us on this day to save us and the world. A new day has come and God is in charge. O come, let us adore him!
December 24, 2011: Christmas Eve--10:30 pm Service
Isaiah 9:2-7 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and for evermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Psalm 96 O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.
Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvellous works among all the peoples.
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.
Worship the Lord in holy splendour; tremble before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, ‘The Lord is king! The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved. He will judge the peoples with equity.’
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the Lord; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.
Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all,
training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present
age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly,
while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all
iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for
good deeds.
Luke 2:1-20 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the
city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house
and family of David.
He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of
cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in
the inn.
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this
thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Sermon: “Do Not Be Afraid” “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors! —Luke 2:14
The Christmas feeling was in the air as shoppers tried to get a head start on fulfilling their relatives’ lists. The lunch hour was upon them and, taking a break from the hustle and bustle to head towards the food court at this one particular mall, they sat down, tray in hand, and began to munch away. There was an extra bonus during their lunch time as a live pianist played random assortments of classical music. Suddenly there was a loll in the music, but to many of the shoppers, they talked right past it. An organ began to play, and within seconds, a young woman who was apparently on the phone, stood up and began to sing the Hallelujah Chorus. By the second line in the music, she was joined by a young man. Within seconds, professional singers were coming from all sides: from surrounding lunch tables, passerby shoppers, and even the custodial staff. By the time the verse “For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth”, shoppers from all over the food court stood up and joined in the song and little girls and boys stared wide-eyed at the spectacle. For these early Christmas shoppers, the true meaning of Christmas rang out, if for but five minutes. Within this brief amount of time, all thoughts of consumerism, worldly affairs, and personal grievances were forgotten by the pull of something so exciting and enticing enough to be united in song.
Since one year ago, on this very day, we, as citizens of this community have faced a lot. Who can forget the blizzard that hit the day after Christmas last year? Or the earthquake that struck over the summer? Or the hurricane and tornado that hit in late August? But weather wasn’t the only concern this year. We have seen corrupt government officials text lewd pictures, uncover their deepest darkest secrets that they held for longer than our children or grandchildren have been on the planet, and use money to get whatever they want, no matter who’s best interest is at heart. We’ve seen young adults come to power and then, when change truly comes about, get removed from all negotiations. We’ve seen dictators fall, but the most cynic among us believe that another dictator waits in the midst. We’ve seen the increase in terrorism, despite the United States ending its mission in Iraq. We’ve also seen the bad side of revenge, where all that matters is mission accomplished but where the value of being created in God’s image is ignored. We’ve heard of ordinary people who finally had enough and who decide to take matters into their own hands: one tried to kill a congresswoman. We’ve watched in horror as foreign countries’ economies crumbled and prayed to God that we would be largely unaffected. We were glued to the television and computer screens as Japan faced the triple threat: a devastating earthquake, a catastrophic tsunami, and a deadly nuclear meltdown, which is still leaking radiation today. We’ve also watched our own families change and take a different shape—some of them growing, but many of them diminishing in size. And in the midst of all of this, we lay witness to a strange and frightening, but natural, birth of a child, who is said to bring deliverance to this world. Fear is a natural reaction in today’s world.
There are three passages in the Bible that addresses fear of the Lord (two in Proverbs and one in the Psalms): the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom/knowledge; and the knowledge of God is insight. A third proverb builds upon this: the beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever else you get, get insight. So the formula we hear from the proverbs and psalmist is that fear of the Lord leads to wisdom/knowledge which leads to insight. Fear is best understood as reverence to God; if one has fear, one respects God and God’s commands in our life. God speaks to God’s people time-and-again, though, relieving them of the fear whenthey exhibit it. God says “Do not be afraid” to people like Jacob when he was called to Egypt, Moses and Joshua when they wandered in the desert, Isaiah and several other prophets as Israel and Judah fell, Paul during his conversion, and even through Jesus in parables and personal events. Each and every time those words “Do not be afraid” were uttered, God built upon what the people knew of God, giving them instruction to better understand God’s desire. And when this wisdom or knowledge is gained and carried out, insight is given.
This can be understood in the story of the shepherds. They were watching their flocks in the dark of night, which is a scary time for shepherds to be out. Wolves and bandits could come from any side, which is what the shepherds must have anticipated. But when something descends from the sky, there is no defending against that in times before airplanes! Probably (although it’s not stated), the shepherds dropped to one knee as a natural reaction to back away, and they may have even muttered a short prayer to God, asking for deliverance. And this was exactly what the angels were there to deliver, as they told them not to be afraid but rather to hear the tale about the birth of the savior of the world. The shepherds are then commanded to visit the infant, and in so doing, they gain insight as experience and knowledge meet. It is in that moment that the shepherds share everything they were told (out of their insight). Fear in God leads to wisdom/ knowledge which leads to insight.
This is the night where we are reminded to fear the Lord, which means that we take God with the most reverence and the most seriousness; and yet, it is also the night where we celebrate the fact that we are delivered this night (notice how Easter and Christmas go hand-in-hand?). Like a flash mob appearing suddenly in a busy, Christmas-time mall, singing the Hallelujah Chorus and reminding all the true reason for the season, God reminds us that Christmas is not something to be taken lightly, but is rather the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. May the fear of God lead you this night to hear the angels sing “Glory to the newborn king” and may that then lead you into the insight that Jesus was born to be the savior of the world, redeeming you from your sins. O come, let us adore him!
December 24, 2011: Nativity of Our Lord (Lessons And Carols)--6 pm Service
The World Waits: Isaiah 11:1-9 A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Message Sometimes things can be scary, like a
wild forest fire. Forest fires destroy
animals’ homes, burns down trees, and can even be a danger to people. Every year, hundreds of thousands of acres
are destroyed by forest fires. Forest
fires can be started by people who do something wrong or they can be started in
thunderstorms. And once started, it’s
hard to control how fast they move. Yet,
despite the fact that everything looks burned up on the surface, some seeds
need the heat of a fire to help them to grow into big trees. Without a fire, those seeds would never
become trees.
Sometimes,
our world is a scary place too. Even
though we get scared, God is here to comfort us. God brought us Jesus
to make us happy. Jesus is like the plant who grows after the
forest has burned down from a fire. He
lets us know that everything will be good in the end and that out of bad
things, something good can grow. God must
love us very much to give us the gift of Jesus.
The World Waits: Micah 5:2-4 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labour has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.
Message Knowing
that God sent Jesus to us brings us comfort; yet, this just the beginning of the
story. Tonight, we remember Jesus’ birth
and celebrate his birthday, for over 2000 years ago, Jesus was born to and for
us. He wasn’t born in a castle, as some
would have expected. He didn’t have a
great birthday party, as some expected.
He didn’t even get many presents.
Because of this, Jesus doesn’t sound like he was that important. But when Jesus was born, God decided to give
a gift to the whole world instead of the world giving a gift to God. So, I invite you into the story of Jesus’
birth, of a worried mother and father over the news God brought them. I invite you to relive each moment of his
birth here on earth. I invite you to
picture the angels floating in the sky, watching over the world and being happy
over this birth. I invite you to watch the
shepherds make their long journey to this baby, sharing the story of Jesus’
birth wherever they went. I invite you
into this story now, for God must love us very much to give us the gift of
Jesus.
Getting Ready: Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the
Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’
Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’
The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be
born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a
son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.’
Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me
according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
Message
God sent an angel to visit Mary, and
that angel’s name was Gabriel. Gabriel
told Mary about the gift that God would give her. It was the very first present given for
Christmas Day! But Mary was confused;
she didn’t understand exactly what the present was. She couldn’t unwrap it yet. She had to wait nine months before she could
look at it! It must have been hard to
wait. But there is a saying: Good things
come to those who wait. So Mary waited for
Jesus to come, just like we’re waiting right now. But even as we wait, we know: God must love
us very much to give us the gift of Jesus.
Getting Ready: Luke 2:1-5 In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.
This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
All went to their own towns to be registered.
Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the
city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house
and family of David.
He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.
Message Mary
and Joseph took a long walk to the closest town from where they lived, because
the king at the time wanted to know how many people lived in his land. So, Mary and Joseph went to the town called
Bethlehem to be given a number. However,
because everyone in the area wanted to be counted, there wasn’t enough room for
everyone to stay in hotels or with friends and family, so Mary and Joseph found
a place in a barn. This was where Mary
and Joseph stayed all night. When
someone in the United States is born, they are given a number; it’s called
their social security number. But when
we were born, we were given another number too! And everyone here has the same number:
“1”. It’s because you are God’s and God
marked you with that number, saying: “You’re number one in my book.” Everything God does, God does it for
you! And this all happened since Jesus
came to earth! God must love us very
much to give us the gift of Jesus!
The Big Night: Luke 2:6-7 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of
cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in
the inn.
Message During
the night, Mary gave birth to Jesus and Joseph was there to help her take care
of the new baby. To be someone so
important, maybe you thought that Jesus would be born in a castle with princes
and princesses, or a huge house with many rooms and a pool in the
backyard. Maybe you thought that
everyone back then would have wanted to come to see Jesus right away or that
many people would understand who Jesus was.
But not many people came to see him.
Nor was he born in a big house or castle. He was born in a stable, where animals were
kept when the owners were away, like a kennel where cats and dogs are
kept. It must have been noisy and
smelly! It’s an unusual story; still,
God must love us very much to give us the gift of Jesus!
The Big Night: Luke 2:8-16 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:
to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.
This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the
shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this
thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’
So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.
Message The
shepherds were watching over their sheep in the dark. Sometimes, when we’re going through bad or
tough times, we are said “to be in the dark”.
“To be in the dark” means that we might feel afraid, alone, scared,
angry, or upset, just like we would if we were actually sitting in a dark
building right now! But Jesus is said to
be the light of the world and to have light is have hope and to be happy! When you have light, you can see things that
the darkness would hide from you. Light
makes things not so scary anymore. The
shepherds left to find that light, which was Jesus, just as we look towards the
light also! Even when times are scary,
God shows us that God must love us very much to give us the gift of Jesus!
The Big Night: Luke 2:17-20 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Message The
hymn “Go Tell it on the Mountain” tells us that we can’t hide the great news
that Jesus was born for us and that this wonderful gift came from God. No, instead, we have to go out and proclaim
this message to others, especially those sitting in dark and upsetting
times. Once we have seen the light of
Christ, that light lives in us and we need to share it. This is the best story we’ve ever heard and
we need to tell it and hear over and over again since it is a great story! So, go out and spread this story, for God
must love us very much to give us the gift of Jesus!
December 21, 2011: Interfaith Recovery Service
Jewish
Prophecy: Isaiah 60:1-7 Arise, shine; for
your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall
cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come
to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes
and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see
and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.
A multitude of
camels shall cover you,
the young camels of Midian and Ephah;
all those from Sheba shall come.
They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.
All the flocks of
Kedar shall be gathered to you,
the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;
they shall be acceptable on my altar,
and I will glorify my glorious house.
Psalmist
Reply: Psalm 27:7-14 Hear, O Lord, when I cry
aloud,
be gracious to me and answer me!
‘Come,’ my heart
says, ‘seek his face!’
Your face, Lord, do I seek. Do
not hide your face from me.
Do not turn your servant away
in anger,
you who have been my help.
Do not cast me off, do not
forsake me,
O God of my salvation!
If my father and
mother forsake me,
the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way,
O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Do not give me up to
the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
I believe that I
shall see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Christian
Prophecy: Romans 7:7-20 What
then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been
for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to
covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, seizing an opportunity
in the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the
law sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the
law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died, and the very
commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity
in the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the
commandment is holy and just and good.
Did
what is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, working death
in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and
through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.
For
we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery
under sin. I do not understand my own
actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want,
I agree that the law is good. But
in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good
dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot
do it. For I do not do the good I want,
but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want,
it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
Muslim
Prophecy: Sûrah 5:15-16 O
people of the Scripture! Now hath Our
messenger come unto you, expounding unto you much of that which ye used to hide
in Scripture, and forgiving much. Now
hath come unto you light from Allah and a plain Scripture.
Whereby Allah guideth him who seeketh His good pleasure unto paths of
peace. He bringeth them out of darkness
unto light by His decree, and guideth them unto a straight path.
Secular
Prophecy: Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers (DVD edition)
Frodo:
I can’t do this, Sam.
Sam: I
know; it’s all wrong. By rights, we
shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo,
the ones that really matter. Full of
darkness and danger they were. And
sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was
when so much bad had happened? But in
the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come; and when the sun shines,
it will shine out the clearer. Those are
the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too
small to understand why. I think, Mr.
Frodo, I do understand, I know now.
Folks in those stories had lots of chances to turn back, but they
didn’t. They kept going because they
were holding onto somethinng.
Frodo:
What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam:
That’s there’s some good in this world and its worth fighting for.
Message: A Light in the Darkness
We’re all gathered here tonight for the same reason: we’ve
all given ourselves over to a higher being and acknowledged our own
shortcomings. This is what it means to
be truly human. None of us can make it
on our own. And so we cling to what is
pure and beautiful, what is worth more than gold to us, what is our light. For without this understanding, we would be
lost to our own ways, dealing with our problems only as we would understand
best—as we all have done in the past and which has failed to provide us with
the correct insight, the correct understanding, of how to live our lives
correctly.
The
musical group the Fray sings a song about loss and taking matters into one’s
own hands. Their song, “How to Save a
Life”, reflects the very essence of regret when one is lost in one’s own
thoughts and is closed off to receiving help from the outside world. The refrain goes: “Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend somewhere along the
bitterness. And I would have stayed up
with you all night; then I’d know how to save a life.” While it is unclear where the Fray got the
background to such a song, they clearly understand the regret one feels when
all paths to hope are ignored or forgotten and statements like “I wish I…” or
“If only I…” became too real. It is this
regret that we all experience at times.
It is something that, on this longest night of the year, can become a
matter of remembering the past, with friends and family members, and how their
addictions were covered up or ignored, their help too far out of arm’s reach,
their pain hidden behind their actions.
I know of too many people who have died from an addiction at too young
an age. We lost Amy Winehouse earlier
this year—a prime example to a hurting world.
But
there was and continues to be hope for us.
We’ve been given this second chance to succeed where others have fallen
short. We have been encouraged and
supported where others have not felt the same way. And for that, there should be a lot of
thanks. But the battle is not over just
because the troops are in line. Every
day is a battle. Every day is a choice. Every action holds an equal and powerful
reaction. There will be days that test
us, as there have been days that have tested us. There will be moments when the wall between
our limitations will seem all too thin and other days when we live comfortably
behind a thick wall that will protect us.
We must continue to rely on a power who is greater than us, who has
given us our peers and friends as support, and who has called us to something
greater than we could ever understand.
This is what God wants from us.
Whitney
Houston, in the prime of her career, turned to drugs as a solution to her
problems. If someone so successful could
be so easily influenced with drugs, then what about people who don’t have the
money, fame, and prestige? And yet, in
the moment of her darkest nights, she still had the ability to perform such
beautiful music, like the song “I Look to You”, which was her testament to giving
her life over to God. To everything that
she clung to, she allowed them all to fall to the side and clung to the one
thing that would give her worth—God; to the one thing that would give her
peace—God; to the one thing that would give her security in life—God. In her song, she reflects: “I look to you;
and when all my strength is gone, in you I can be strong. I look to you; and when melodies are gone, in
you I hear a song. I look to you."
God is
that light to which we all must cling to find value outside of our own
self-image, that when the world seems to be falling down, God is that constant
presence that assures us that everything can be rebuilt. It doesn’t mean that there won’t be tough
days ahead. It doesn’t mean that the
darkness won’t be a powerful enemy to fight with. But what it does mean is that God, whatever
you imagine as God, can help you safely get through the night and into a
glorious dawn. The night is far over;
the dawn is at our doorstep!
December 18, 2011: Fourth Sunday in Advent
2 Samuel 7:1-11,16 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him,
the king said to the prophet Nathan, ‘See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent.’
Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that you have in mind; for the Lord is with you.’
But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan:
Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?
I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of
Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent
and a tabernacle.
Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’
Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel;
and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your
enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the
name of the great ones of the earth.
And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so
that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and
evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.
Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.
Luke 1:46b-55 And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants for ever.’
Romans 16:25-27 Now to God
who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the
proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery
that was kept secret for long ages
but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known
to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to
bring about the obedience of faith—
to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever! Amen.
Luke 1:26-38 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’
But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the
Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.
He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’
Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’
The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be
born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.
And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a
son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.’
Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me
according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.
Sermon: "For Nothing Will Be Impossible With God" “My soul
magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked
with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”—Luke
1:46b-48a
I
t’s called
“Tunnel Vision”, the strange phenomenon that happens when one can only see the
distant light at the end of the tunnel, despite the miles to go before one
reaches that very light. It blocks out
all distractions and it gives hope to those in darkness. It’s called “Tunnel Vision” and that’s
exactly what we need for today.
In the movie, the Sound of Music, Julie Andrews sings a song about her favorite
things in life. The lyrics, as you may
have heard repeatedly over the past several weeks, go like this: “Raindrops on
roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite
things. Cream colored ponies and crisp
apple strudels, door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles. Wild geese that fly with the moon on their
wings; these are a few of my favorite things.
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, snowflakes that stay on
my nose and eyelashes, silver white winters that melt into springs, these are a
few of my favorite things. When the dog
bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite
things, and then I don’t feel so bad.”
This song goes perfectly with the feel of Christmas today for its focus
is on the material side of Christmas. And
at this point in the church calendar, the fourth Sunday of Advent, the expectancy
of Christmas is so great that people will go to great extremes to make the
Christmas season perfect.
In the next few days, the news
reports will probably come out with the sales figures of how much the people of
the United States have bolstered the economy through this season; there will
probably be Youtube videos of shoppers gone wild in an attempt to provide their
child with exactly what they wanted out of the waning inventory, and how much
snow is expected to fall in which parts of the country for Christmas day. It’s time for “Tunnel Vision”—that’s exactly
what we need for today.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was by
all accounts a young girl. Traditionally
engaged to be married at the age of 12 (although some scholars suggest that
Mary was closer to 14), Mary was visited by an angel who brought her Good News
about her future. In a discourse, the
angel told Mary that she would bear a son named Jesus who would be God’s very
own son; this Jesus would be the ruler of the nation, not just for a few years
but for eternity! What great and
puzzling news for Mary, who didn’t understand the implications of this
miraculous event. She had tunnel vision.
Mary didn’t understand that she much
at the age of twelve—as we can also look back on our young teenage years and
reflect: “What was I thinking back then?!”
She didn’t know that she would almost lose her future husband because
she bore the scarlet letter of infidelity, proven through the sign of being
pregnant. She didn’t realize that she
would be constantly be chasing her son, losing him in the Temple and other
places, always seeming to be two steps behind Jesus, physically and
mentally. She never guessed that later
in life, she would be scorned by Jesus, who denied his mother’s call and made
his followers his mother and brothers and sisters. And through it all, she would be Jesus silent
follower, as many parents are, and because of that, she would also witness her
own son’s death, heart wrenching as it was.
The angel never told her that; all the angel said was that Mary would
give birth to a son who would rise in power.
To that, Mary sang her praise to God for lifting her up and making her
great among all women. Mary had tunnel
vision and it saved her in this time of many distractions.
Tunnel vision can save us today
too. In a time of great distractions,
like putting up the last minute decorations, writing those last minute greeting
cards, ordering those last minute gifts, and watching the umpteenth holiday
special on the television, tunnel vision can force out all of what’s going on
and propel us to Christmas day—the reason for the season. It can focus us on what’s really important
and keep us sane in the busiest of days.
It can do all of this and more.
This is the miracle of Christmas!
Because Christmas needs to do
more. It needs to remind us that there
isn’t a price for the salvation of the world.
It needs to direct us in why we have family and friends. It needs to call us to God and how we are
loved despite our lack of tunnel vision.
In a sermon I gave two weeks ago at the Ministry Among Guyanese Lessons
and Carols service, I mention that Christmas does more than just remind us
about a birth narrative. It reminds us
that when we are caught up in festivities, Christmas grounds us around the fact
that Jesus was born in a manger and not in the midst of great pomp and
circumstance. And yet, when we are down
during this season, Christmas can lift our spirits when we recall the shepherds
and wisemen traveling from afar to give homage to the newly born. Christmas reminds us that there will be times
when we travel with the wisemen in our minds to understand God’s purpose, but
Christmas presents a God so near as to be called Emmanuel, “God is with us.” Christmas is also a time that for those who
sit comfortably, great fear is enacted—like Herod who worried if his reign was
coming to an end. But for the shepherds,
who watched the flocks by night, when the angels appeared, the shepherds were
filled with so much fear already that the angels would speak words of peace to
comfort them. The Christmas message is
filled with paradox and that’s why we need tunnel vision—it points to God’s
saving grace during these dark times and times of transition.
This Christmas, let us try to avoid
focusing on all the distractions that these last days can cause but rather on
the fact that Christmas is around the corner and once again, God has chosen to
save us through the birth of a baby. For
that, we can say, “Thanks be to God.”
December 11, 2011: Third Sunday in Advent
Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my whole being shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its shoots, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.
Psalm 126 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’
The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, carrying their sheaves.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 Rejoice always,
pray without ceasing,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise the words of prophets,
but test everything; hold fast to what is good;
abstain from every form of evil.
May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. John 1:6-8, 19-28 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’
He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’
And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’
Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’
He said, ‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the Lord” ’, as the prophet Isaiah said.
Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.
They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’
John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know,
the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’
This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Sermon A:
“Who Are
You?”
“I will
faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”—Isaiah
61:8a
The biblical
history we find from the time of Moses onward can be recapped very briefly this
way: Moses, since his birth, was marked by God to lead the Israelites, God’s
chosen people, from the Pharaoh’s enslavement; he freed the Israelites by the
power of God, led them through the Red Sea and spent forty years in the
wilderness. In the wilderness, God gave
Moses 10 basic commandments and a lot of other “minor” commandments that the
Israelites had to follow according to God’s Word. The Israelites failed to live up to the laws
put down and God’s vengeance was enacted—the Israelites lost their homes and
families through a series of invading empires.
One of the empires was the Roman government, during which time Jesus was
born and led those willing to follow him into a recognition that God still loved
the chosen people; this sign of ultimate love was carried out through the words
Jesus spoke, the miracles he performed, and the ultimate sacrifice of him
nailed to the cross for the forgiveness of all of our sins. Through Jesus’ act, we were and continue to
be forgiven from our failure to follow the laws founded in Moses’ time. But Paul has the audacity to state that there
are still laws that must be followed. He
says: (you must) rejoice always, (you must) pray without ceasing, (you must)
give thanks in all circumstances, (you must) not quench the Spirit moving about,
(you must) not despise the words of the prophets (words like Moses’), (you must) test everything you hear, (you
must) hold fast to what is good, and (you must) abstain from every form of
evil. As if it could be understood that
these are just suggestions during these last days, Paul then closes his thought
with: “May your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul
isn’t usually seen as one who would hold others strictly according to the laws,
though; he allowed Gentiles who were uncircumcised to only be circumcised in
their hearts and he preached on his own shortcomings and then on the reliance of
God’s forgiveness. But here, Paul’s
words are more forceful—the end of the world is coming and Jesus is on the
return trip; (you must) be found “sound” and “blameless” on the day this all
happens. But I have only known one
person who was found sound in praying unceasingly, and he was diagnosed with
obsessive-compulsive disorder.
For Cole[1],
to pray without ceasing was actually an obstruction to his busy schedule. He would pray constantly, but this wasn’t
only about prayer. It also involved
making sure that everything ended in sevens instead of sixes. For instance, a sentence like: “I really like
to walk dogs” might be troubling to Cole (because it only has six words) while
“I really like to walk the dog” would be acceptable (because the number six in
the Bible stands for incompleteness, while the number seven stands for
fullness). In his head, Cole would have
to figure out the difference between words like “meager” and “gluttony” (while
“meager” is often a more acceptable trait, “gluttony” had seven letters and
would be more acceptable to Cole). His
mind focused on what would keep him out of hell and everything he did would be
for that purpose. If we take Cole as an
example of praying unceasingly and an example of just one of the commands Paul
tells us to follow, then Paul must have been an extremist.
But if we take all of Paul’s
words into account and if we believe that Paul was speaking with the power of
God in him, then his words must be acknowledged as God’s command for us; we
must be found sound and blameless for Christ’s return. Paul’s words, though, aren’t just about
perfection but about what he calls “sanctification”. To sanctify something is to make it clean,
usually through a ritual act, which is where Jesus comes in. Paul acknowledges through his own failing
that the only person who could sanctify or make clean anyone is in fact Jesus
through his offering of himself on the cross—this is why Christ did this
action. It was only because of Jesus
that Paul could be sanctified. It is
only because of Jesus that we also can be sanctified. Paul’s message isn’t about being blameless
then, but rather about relation to God.
When Moses was given the
commandments from God to give to the chosen people, this wasn’t because God
could sit back and be distant. It was
for the exact opposite reason: God wanted to have a close, intimate relationship
with God’s very own people. God wouldn’t
have performed all of those miracles for the Israelites (including the parting
of the Red Sea, the appearance of the food and water, the pillar of fire and
the pillar of cloud) if God didn’t want to be close. And God wouldn’t have sent Jesus, who in
every way was both human and divine at the same time, to be among us, healing
those who were in pain—mentally, physically, and spiritually. Understanding perfection actually has to be
in light of our inability to be perfect—God can make us clean (or perfect) as
we have a relationship with God. This is
what Christmas is all about.
The other day, I watched as
three woman, as diverse as any three women could be, help a mother with a child
in a stroller and another child beside her move from one train cabin to another
one; two of the helping women took each of the two doors and the third one took
the hand of the one child so that the needing mother could quickly guide the
stroller through the gap between the two trains quickly and effectively. Even though the three helping women probably
didn’t see themselves as doing God’s work in that role, it was clear to me that
these women were in relationship with God and doing exactly what Paul commends
the Thessalonians to do: be “sound” and “blameless”. It didn’t mean that these woman lived fully
upright lives (because I have yet to meet a person who has—that is, besides
Jesus), but they had the relationship with God to know to help other people in
need and the call to be “blameless”, not turning away from need.
God is calling us all to be in
relationship—this is why Advent leads into Christmas; Advent’s a time of
preparation about how we interact with God.
We are living in the last days before Christ’s coming. Let us be in relationship so we can be
blameless and sound in these last days.
Let’s not get bogged down by what “must” happen but rather live as Paul
did, under the grace of God’s love. As
we are only two weeks away from Christmas, may the love of grace hold you until
that last day. Amen.
Sermon B: A Meditation on the Meaning of Christmas
Maybe you
have heard of the cliché:
“I wish
Christmas could be every day.”
Christmas
everyday would be a great concept
if it were
the true ideal of Christmas.
We have
heard the story of Jesus’ birth:
a child who
was born in the dark and smelly manger
because
there was no room in the inn;
a journey
taken by three scared shepherds
who were
approached by God’s messengers,
the angels,
speaking
words of peace and hope;
and a
pilgrimage that three wisemen took
in the face
of an upset king
who wanted
any messiah-figure to be killed
rather than
to lose his place among the Roman elite.
How
shocking this story is
in the face
of packed malls
and maxed
out credit cards.
To be sure,
I believe
that the Christmas message
is lived
out every year,
but not in
the retelling of the story of Santa Claus
or in the
way our houses sparkle with lights.
If God is
saying anything about the story of Jesus,
it’s that
Jesus is more likely to be found
in the
places where the decorations are absent
and the
carolers are away.
And if I
might be so bold to say,
it would be
where the wreaths and trees are found
in their
natural environment
—the
forest.
This,
to me,
is what God
is saying—
that
Christmas be celebrated as if it was a hidden festival,
one where
most people would
close up
their windows,
and like
the very first Passover,
eat a
hurried meal
and pray
for daylight.
If Jesus
was born in a dark and smelly manger,
I have to
ask:
what is
there to be happy about?
But
Christmas is a time of
celebration.
Christmas
proves to us that God is near—
that Jesus
is Emmanuel,
“God With
Us”,
and what a
mighty God we have
to be that
for such a wayward people.
Christmas
proves that God is working behind the scenes,
even when
the scenes point to everything
but the
joyous occasion of such a birth;
surely the
animals in the manger
must have
witnessed a great sight!
Not only
did worried shepherds come to visit
but wisemen
from afar
traveled to
present gifts of great worth.
Christmas
proves that peace on earth can be possible,
in the way
that shepherds were told not to fear,
in the
midst of something so scary
that it
could only be described as the heavens opening up
and the
angels descending upon them.
It is
proven in the way that the wisemen
came from
lands far away
in the hope
that this son will unite all people
from all
lands
in a time
of peace.
Christmas
proves to us
that no
matter what we as a people face—
whether it
be overspending on gifts
or negative
words with our neighbor
over the
gaudy decorations—
that no
matter what we face,
God has
still chosen us to come to us,
to love us,
to care for
us,
and
ultimately to say,
“I want you
to come into my joy.”
It seems to
me,
then,
that
Christmas comes under the surface
of fear and
anxiety.
It comes
under the surface
of economic
spending and personal showing-off.
It comes
under the surface
of dismal
times and very joyous times.
It is
something other
than
anything we have faced before:
for it is
the fact
that in the
midst of whatever is going on in our lives,
God comes
in and says,
“Do not
fear for I bring you tidings of great joy.”
But in
times of great joy,
God also
grounds us in the fact
that Jesus
was born
not in the
midst of a palace or hospital
but in the
very bowels of the earth—
in a stinky
and dark manger.
Christmas
is something that we can get close to,
like the
wisemen who traveled from afar off,
but it is
also something that is already so close to us
as to be
named “Emanuel”—
“God is with us”.
Christmas
is a day that is littered with paradoxes,
two
opposites coming together to create ultimate Truth,
and in that
way,
I give
thanks to God,
for I have
a lot to still learn about Christmas
and what
God has in store.
But I can
rest comfortably
knowing
that no matter how Christmas is celebrated,
whether in
the midst of grandiose festivity
or saddened
hearts,
God is
still working under the surface,
bringing
about God’s mission and message for all people,
especially
in the places
where one
doesn’t expect to find it.
So,
then,
I guess ,
Christmas
does happen every day,
in God’s
very own way.
Amen.
December 4, 2011: Second Sunday in Advent
Isaiah 40:1-11 Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
A voice cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
A voice says, ‘Cry out!’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, ‘Here is your God!’
See, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.
Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 Lord, you were favourable to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You forgave the iniquity of your people; you pardoned all their sin. Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky.
The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before him, and will make a path for his steps.
2 Peter 3:8-15a But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day
is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.
The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens
will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved
with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be
disclosed.
Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what
sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and
godliness,
waiting for and hastening
the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set
ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire?
But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.
Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish;
and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved
brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him,
Mark 1:1-8 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;
the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” ’,
John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of
Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins.
Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.
He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I
am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
No Sermon Available for this Week
November 27, 2011: First Sunday in Advent
Isaiah 64:1-9 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who works for those who wait for him. You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. But you were angry, and we sinned; because you hid yourself we transgressed. We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy cloth. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity for ever. Now consider, we are all your people.
Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved. O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in full measure. You make us the scorn of our neighbours; our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved. But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name. Restore us, O Lord God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Mark 13:24-37 ‘But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in clouds” with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
‘From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’
Sermon: Now Consider, We Are All Your People “He will also strengthen you to the end, so
that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 1:8
There is a
parody of the children’s story “Chicken Little” found in the book “The Stinky
Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales” that reminds me of today’s readings. A summarized version goes something like
this:
Chicken Licken was standing around
when a piece of something fell on her head.
She started running around in circles clucking, “The sky is
falling! The sky is falling! We must tell the President!” So she goes off to her friends Ducky Lucky,
Goosey Loosey, and Cocky Locky, and all of them go off, ignoring all other
dangers, to tell the President that the sky was falling. When they got to the airport to go to
Washington D.C., they yelled to Foxy Loxy that the sky was falling and that
they must tell the president, and Foxy Loxy, being that devilish fox, convinced
the four fowls to come with him on a shortcut to see the president, all the
while, leading them into his cave so he could eat them. However, right before he could open his
mouth, something did fall down—but it wasn’t the sky. It was the table of contents, because the narrator
started telling story only to realize he didn’t start his book with the table
of contents!
We hear
today, though, that the sky is
falling. That the sun and moon will no
longer shine, that stars will be falling from their places, and that the powers
in heaven will be shaken are just a brief glimpse of Mark’s gospel apocalypse. Isaiah paints a different but equally
disturbing picture; in the midst of a destroyed Jerusalem, Isaiah relates the
utter loss in his apocalyptic portrayal as a payment for the sin of the Chosen
People. Welcome to the new church year
and the season of Advent. We are living
in a time of hard paradox: we admit that Christ is always with us, but we are
confronted by the tension of a Christ not yet born—at times, Christ appears very
far away and these can be alienating times.
Many people have gone through these
times in life, times when God is more absent and the path less clear. It is a time where hope is the only thing
tangible to hold onto, and yet, even the slightest glimpse of hope is
overshadowed by the darkness that just pervades one’s life. This is a scary time, to say the least. It is a time when the world seems to be
falling all around and there seems to be no refuge. Whether this time happens during Advent or
during other periods in a person’s life, it is a challenge to face and a major
obstacle to overcome.
Isaiah’s and Mark’s world isn’t so
different than ours. From Mark’s
perspective, Jesus’ words of the sky falling down actually points to the
destruction of the Temple around 70 AD, as referenced when Jesus says that “this generation will not pass away until
all these things have taken place”. Our
world also holds symbols of the sky falling: economic instability, new reports
of alarming rates of food insecurity and hunger, a Middle East who is still
facing political upheaval while our own backyards lay siege to the clash
between those 1%ers who hold the worldly concern over financial responsibility
and the nearly 10%ers who hold individual concern over financial security. No wonder why anxiety and depression are on
the rise in today’s country! And the
only sign that the world is doing better is measured by the retail sales of
what is known as “Black Friday” which is quickly invading the country’s day of
giving thanks and becoming “Black Thursday”.
Don’t be fooled—the sky is falling.
But there is comfort in the times by
even greater signs. Isaiah sees God as
the creator of all things, and because God has made all things, all things
belong to God. Thus, Isaiah looks to
God’s loving nature to remove the anger and sense of abandonment that’s
blocking God’s people from fully embracing God.
Mark’s focus is not on the sky falling, actually, but rather on the
after effects: that the Son of Man would be coming with great power and glory,
and he would gather all his people together.
Notice that the passage seems to point to Christ, not to destruction. Mark’s remark to “keep awake” rests on
spiritual discipline—do whatever you can to stay open to God’s coming,
especially in times when doubt is prevalent (or one is asleep to faith), for in
this time of Advent, God is surely coming; this is God’s loving promise to
God’s creation. These two authors should
keep us constantly reminded that we are God’s and that God’s love proves that
God will not forget us.
We are loved by God the way the
Christmas season shows a parent how much they love their children—it is only
out of love that would drive a parent out to the stores during this time,
fighting not only for a parking spot but also the crowds, just to pick up the
child something the child really wants.
We are loved by God the way a best friend is there to hear about what is
going on in our lives, for both the good and the bad. We are loved by God the way a child purely
and innocently loves everyone, without any inhibitions.
Instead of focusing on the end of
the world in today’s world, which neither of these passages address, the focus
should rather be on God’s unending love, especially in times when God feels
more distant, as if one is waiting for a child to be born. While it is easy to focus on the end of the
world, especially with everything that is going on in the world today, God’s
Word and promise for us is love—the unending love the comes to us past all
danger and through all doubt. While we
wait for God to be revealed in these days, we can trust in the love of God to
guide us. May God’s love be known to you
in times of trouble. Amen!
November 23, 2011: Thanksgiving Eve
Deuteronomy 8:7-18 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. You shall eat your fill and bless the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you.
Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid waste-land with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.
Psalm 65 Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed, O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come. When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions. Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might. You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. As it is written, ‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever.’ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Luke 17:11-19 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean.Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’
Sermon: Remember the LORD Your God"
“You will
be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce
thanksgiving to God through us.” – 2 Corinthians 9:11
A
portion of
the litany spoken on the Jewish Passover goes: If God had brought us out of Egypt, it would have been enough. If God had executed justice upon the Egyptians, it would have
been enough. If God had given to us their health and wealth, it would have
been enough. If God had split the sea for us, it would have been enough. If God had led us through on dry land, it would have been
enough. If God had provided for
our needs in the wilderness for 40 years, it would have been enough. If God had fed us manna, it would have been enough. If God had given us the Sabbath, it would have been enough. If God had led us to Mount Sinai, it would have been enough. If God had brought us into the land of Israel, it would have
been enough. If God built the Temple for us, it would have been enough. The litany
itself covers the time from the oppression of the Israelites under the
Pharaoh’s reign in the time of Moses through to the exodus from Egypt, past the
wilderness journey, into the Promised Land, and ending at the times of King
David’s and his son’s, Solomon’s, reign.
The Jewish people recount how each individual act of salvation would
have been enough to prove God’s love, and yet God gave so much more, for which
the Jewish people are ever thankful for.
Ten lepers, all with nothing less
than the ability to live out each day and the sustenance needed to keep a body
going, call out to the one who they had heard could cure all sorts of
diseases. Jesus sends them out to do a
ritual cleaning, which would include nothing less than some sort of animal
sacrifice and a possible few days more of isolation to make sure that the
person was indeed clean. But, upon
seeing that one was made clean even before going to the priest, he came back to
Jesus to give him praise. This cleansed
leper is often the one highlighted as the best example of giving praise to God.
However, it is also important to ask
what happened to the other nine: after their ritual cleaning (which was the
Jewish custom—note that the one who returned was not considered Jewish and did
not have to take up the whole ritual), none of them would be returning to their
normal life. Though they were once
shunned, it is quite probable that they were returned back into the society and
began living new lives. Questions would
emerge on how they were made cleaned, especially since leprous people in those
times hardly got better. Their very
bodies would be a testament to others of God’s love, whether they wind up
praising God or not.
In many ways, Christians are the
compilation of the ten lepers—we are shunned for our religious beliefs, gender,
economic class, orientation, ability, and a long list of other
discrimination. But as we cry out to
Jesus to save us, and as Jesus tells us to be made clean, we take different
paths in showing our praise. Some come
right back to Jesus to thank him; others show it through their works. But one thing is clear: all have been
transformed in some way from this saving love.
While it would be great to have more
in life—more security, more friends, more money, more time—what God has given
us, namely love, is enough for all of us.
We exist today because what we have is enough. This is a time to be grateful for all that
God has done for us: God has loved us through giving many gifts to us and shown
that love through the ultimate ritual sacrifice of giving up God’s only son, a
sacrifice that will make us clean forever.
However you wind up giving thanks this year, either by words or action,
be that example for others to know that you are glad Christ has made you
clean. “God is able to provide you with
every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you
may share abundantly in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)
November 20, 2011: Christ the King Sunday
Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-23 For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd.
Psalm 100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
Ephesians 1:15-23 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Matthew 25:31-46 ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Then he will say to those at his left hand, “You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.” Then they also will answer, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’
Sermon: God Shall Judge Between Sheep and Sheep “I pray
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a
spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes
of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called
you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints…” – Ephesians 1:17-18
There is no
denying the truth of this day—today is judgment day. There are many Christians out there who don’t
like talking about a judgmental God, but the evidence proving God is judgmental
is overwhelming—it is attested to in the Scriptures through this week’s
readings, the plight of the Israelites while wandering in the desert and then
later with the fall of Israel and Judea, and through other Biblical stories
like Job, Jonah, Paul, and of course Jesus.
But we also attest to God’s judgment in our creeds when we say, “[Jesus]
will come again to judge the living and the dead.” To deny God as judge is to ignore a basis
tenet of Christianity.
We hear today how God judges sheep
from sheep, goats from rams, and sheep from goats. Jesus, the shepherd to the human flock, seals
the analogy for Christians—we are the sheep, goats, and rams that are to be
judged in these last days. And it is by
our actions that we will rightly be judged.
Our actions of caring for our neighbor in times of imprisonment, scarcity,
and illness are all subject to be questioned.
And by this judgment, we all would find ourselves being harshly guilty,
for, to give ourselves up as unconditionally as Jesus gave himself, would mean
that we are well behind in God’s call to us.
If Jesus is the standard we are to be judged by, we have all fallen
short of the glory of God.
Jesus’ example does not blur any
lines. Jesus, the one who cared for
those who were outcasts from the local cities because they were classified as
unclean from the boils and leprous skin.
Jesus, the one who told tax collectors to stop stealing money from the
poor—and who’s message inspired one tax collector, Nichodemus, so much that
Nichodemus would end up giving so much more money back to those he took money
illegally from. Jesus, the one who
raised his dear friend Lazarus from the chains of death, visiting him when and
where no one else could. It was this
Jesus who would overturn tables in the Temple because the temple, the place
where god dwelled, was infested with people more obsessed with money than with
god’s divine judgment. It was this Jesus
who would condiment the upper class
elite in society—who were the Pharisees—because they were more obsessed with
laws and orders than the clear message of love to all of God’s people. It was this Jesus who would open up the eyes
of even those who lived with him day after day, trusting not in the material
wealth of the present age but in the service to others, which included washing
the disciples’ feet on the night of his own betrayal—something the followers of
jesus should have only been too happy to do.
It was this Jesus who would be sadden over a rich man walking away with
all of his possessions and yet still have nothing that could be held
spiritually, with Jesus’ remorseful reply: “It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to inherit the kingdom of
God.” All of these actions are God’s
judgments on us, harsh judgments for a wayward people.
But testifying to the fact that God
is judging often goes against our other basic tenets of Christianity, namely
that God is loving, forgiving, compassionate, and good. Living in the eyes of judgment, it is easy to
see where one falls short. But that doesn’t
matter to God. Living in the love of God
implies that to God, our fallen-ness doesn’t matter that much, that while our
sin holds us to death and harsh judgments, it is God’s love that provides life
and forgiveness. And ultimately, that is
why Jesus died on the cross—to remove
our sinful natures when it comes to the judgment on the last day. But when we have fallen short, it is
important to us to recognize our sin and to strive to do better—not
because it will ultimately earn us a
trip to heaven, but because God commands us to always strive to do better—if
not for our own sakes, then for the sake of our neighbors down the street.
We here at Redeemer have come to the
end of the three week stewardship campaign and we have all responded out of
what we could, pledging our time, talents, and treasures for this upcoming
year, anticipating what we could give knowing the state of the economy. To that, I thank you for your vision, your
forward thinking, your desire for Redeemer to keep trudging forward. Whether it be for one of the many groups that
use our facility, one of the already existing ministries of the church, or a
new emerging ministry, your commitment is so much more than a handwritten
amount of money. It is a sign that you
too believe in the power of the Spirit and that you care about how this church
conducts its business, leaning on the everlasting arms of the Lord. It is a sign that even though you might be
able to give more (and time will dictate if you need to give less), you want to
say yes to the Spirit of God moving about this place, which has been attested
to these past two weeks. This is what
your commitment means this day.
Today is Judgment Day, and the
verdict is in: God’s judgment is for you; it is a loving judgment that despite
your own sinful ways, God still is saying yes to you and to this church! Today is also the last day in the church
calendar. As such, new year’s eve is a
great time to start making resolutions for the upcoming year. Let’s resolve to continue to keep ourselves
open to the amazing way in which God is moving in this church and among this
community. Let’s resolve focus more than
ever on the poor and needy in the next year.
Let’s resolve to study God’s Word in-depth to learn that God does not
desire money and wealth but rather love to God and to neighbor. Let’s resolve to be a church that some in the
outside community have not seen in ages—one where we live out God’s command
both in church and everywhere else that we may go. This is the Word of the Lord; this is the
judgment of God.
November 13, 2011: Twenty-Second Sunday after Pentecost
Judges 4:1-7 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, after Ehud died. So the Lord sold them into the hand of King Jabin of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-ha-goiim. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and had oppressed the Israelites cruelly for twenty years.At that time Deborah, a prophetess, wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel. She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the Israelites came up to her for judgement. She sent and summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali, and said to him, ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, “Go, take position at Mount Tabor, bringing ten thousand from the tribe of Naphtali and the tribe of Zebulun. I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the Wadi Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.” ’
Psalm 123 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than its fill of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When they say, ‘There is peace and security’, then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then, let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
Matthew 25:14-30 ‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.”His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Sermon: Well Done, Good and Trustworthy Slave
“But since we
belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and
love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.” –
1 Thessalonians 5:8
For the
master, it was collection day. Or so he
thought. He was expecting nothing less
than the principle amount plus the interest of over two long years. The last thing he thought he would utter
would be: “You wicked and lazy slave!
You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I
did not scatter?” The accusation was
right there, which brought the blame on the lack of investment on the master,
not the slave who he entrusted his money to.
What good was a slave who didn’t at least do the bare minimum required
of the master?
We are asked to be set for when
the collection of our talents does happen, whether it is in a few days or in
many, many years, set like the young adult ministry initiative that is
happening currently in this church.
Under the direction of Paul Oldenburg, various discussions are happening
currently about what this amorphous group will look like, how they would prefer worshiping, when the best time to meet would be, and what activities the group
would like to do. This initiative is
getting set in a new ministry direction which may look vastly different than
any ministry opportunity we’ve ever done before.
The slave thought he had one
over on the master. “Master,” he argued,
“I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering
where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent
in the ground. Here you have what is
yours.” Of course, the slave might have
thought, he the master reaped where he should have, then it would be obvious
that the talent had been hidden in his ground all these years. But the master seemed oblivious to even that
fact, just proving that the slave had done right by his own protest. What good was a master who greedily sought
out areas of life that he had no right in claiming?
Arguably, this church does
ministry every day of the week. We do
ministry when we hold progressive dinners, have fall festivals, and arrange
church clean-up days. Ministry is our
choosing what to do with our gifts and passions. We
could hide our passions in the ground, but we would be investing in nothing
by the time collection comes around.
Instead, we are set for collection by living out our faith in words and deeds. Just because “Redeemer Lutheran Church and
Nursery School” isn’t on the title of the project doesn’t mean that you aren’t
the church’s representative to the community in various fields!
There were two good slaves who
had done what was asked; two slaves who had doubled the investment on the
principle amount handed to them. “Well
done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I
will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” Each of these slaves were exemplar in their
devotion to their master. How could
anything take away from the joy that the master had, especially since he had
been missing his talents for two full years?
The Evangelism Committee has
been doing some great setting up of the next year. In talking about program initiatives, they
have allotted time to bring together their resources to local businesses in
addressing the needs of the community, such as designing new coffee mugs and
putting together holiday baskets. In
this time of planning, they are open to new ideas and voices and are encouraged
by working alongside committees.
Evangelism is set for next year!
Three slaves were handed three
different amounts of money, but the principle amounts didn’t matter. What mattered was what the slaves decided to
do with the money. “The one who had
received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five
more talents. In the same way, the one
who had the two talents made two more talents.
But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in
the ground and hid his master’s money.”
The slave who only had that one talent knew already what he was going to
do when he was handed the talent; he had believed in the accusations and denied
the true evidence. Why invest in
something that will only bring more harm?
Through our dedicated church
council, tough decisions of what to carry out or further and what to cut are
made on a monthly basis. Sometimes, due
to limited resources, the church has to adapt a program or terminate a program
completely. But, thank goodness we are
Christians, because with every death, we are reassured of a resurrection like
none before. But because of this, we may
not even see the resurrected new life, as the disciples on the road to Emmaus
didn’t recognize that their visitor with them was none other than their savior,
Jesus. The point still remains,
though—we are assured a resurrected life.
We, as a congregation, must be set for resurrection in areas of our
lives that change as often as the seasons, even as we, as a congregation,
prepare for a new church council in two months.
So while the slave thought that
he was doing justice while also saving himself from being accused a thief, his
master expected a base minimum of the return plus interest, even in the face of accusations, that ultimately
were not true. “As for this worthless
slave,” the master calls, “throw him into the outer darkness, where there will
be a weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The
outer darkness, where there is no God if the slave believes the rumors that the
master does not own all. But we know the
truth; we know that in this world, God owns all and that there is a price that
needs to be met. This price is personal;
it affects our bank accounts, time management, and our gifts. But it also communal; it affects how this
church carries out God’s call for us to care for all people in the world. As we enter the final week of our stewardship
campaign, I urge you all to consider what areas in the church and community God
is calling you to—into the deaths and resurrections of new life. What are some areas that God has given you
the principle and looking for a little investment in the future?
November 6, 2011: All Saints Sunday
Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac;
‘Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.’
Then the people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.’
But Joshua said to the people, ‘You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.’And the people said to Joshua, ‘No, we will serve the Lord!’ Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.’ And they said, ‘We are witnesses.’ He said, ‘Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.’ The people said to Joshua, ‘The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.’ So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
Psalm 78:1-7 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a decree in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children; that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and rise up and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Matthew 25:1-13 ‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Sermon: We Are Witnesses "Now therefore revere the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD."--Joshua 24:15
In the midst
of the fear of war and a weak economy, President John F. Kennedy delivered his
inaugural address, which would lock him in as the 35th president of
the United States. Concluding his
remarks on the changing world demographics, he boldly pronounced: “Ask not what
your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Those inspirational words would send young
men to be enlisted, help young women to head off to work, and embrace a sense
of patriotism through the country.
That was a good for the 1960’s,
but I don’t think that these same words would have the same effect today. For starters, we live in a more
individualistic society; it’s all about you
and what you can get from
something. If you don’t believe me, just
watch the commercials on television right now, especially the ones about the
toy stores. Many of these commercials
picture a broadly smiling child gripping a new toy, and if it’s not explicitly
stated, then it is implicitly implied—the child loves that toy and Christmas would be incomplete without it! If one puts something out there, there is a
need for a return; bankers know this all too well right now. It’s not “Ask what you can do for your
country” but rather “What’s in it for me?”
A minimal view of this
individuality is not a bad thing. Often,
countries that subscribe to this individuality view are labeled as selfish and
corrupt. But countries with the exact
opposite problem, countries that subscribe to a unified body, can be viewed as
naïve and communistic. At least, that’s
what the going attitude says.
We can see both sides, that of
the individualistic and of the united theories, in today’s readings. Joshua stands before the Israelites, asking
them to announce, on an individual level, whether they will worship God or
idols. But the people don’t want to
answer without being united; they will worship the only true God. On the other hand, the ten bridesmaids all
waited for the bridegroom to come. We
are told that five were wise and had plenty of oil to wait out the delay; but
for the other five, they were foolish in not bringing enough oil in preparation
for anything other than what was expected.
So, when the bridegroom did not come when he was expected, the five
foolish bridesmaids wanted to act in union with the five wise bridesmaids—so
they would either all have oil or not.
But the five wise bridesmaids’ answer was that they were not responsible
for the foolish ones’ lack of understanding; they were not in cohesion.
Understanding that our immediate
culture is looking for what can be reaped from what has been sown, the church
is no different. There needs to be some
appreciation that the church needs to exhibit for people to invest in it, financially,
emotionally, and physically. So here are
just a few things that keeps the church operating every day. First off, there is a full time pastor, who,
in an emergency situation, is available round the clock to walk with individual
members of the church but also the family.
One person noted that a pastor’s job is to walk people through many
different stages of a person’s life—of which no other profession could say the
same. We have a dedicated staff who
keeps the church running smoothly and effectively. In particular, Jean Harris is my backbone in
the office, making sure that mailings are sent out, messages get delivered,
photocopying for the nursery school happens, and of course, the weekly
bulletins are complete and full.
Speaking of the nursery school, we have a dedicated staff under the
supervision and expertise of Annette Valerio who represents our church to the
nursery school parents. One bridge that
will start this week between the church and school is the program entitled
“Bible Kids”, a thirty minute program for nursery school children which will
cover important stories in the Bible freely offered after school. Redeemer Lutheran Church is a safe haven for
those who face addiction from alcohol, sheltering individuals four days a week;
our sanctuary is offered for a safe space where they can connect to God, both
personally and corporately. Cub and Boy
Scouts invest their time at this church, paving the way for young children to
grow up into responsible adults; the church rejoices this week as they raise
another Eagle Scout and honor him this Saturday. And of course, we share our space every
Sunday with two other churches, living out fellowship not just with what goes
on in Vesper Hall but also in how we share our space. This list does not include the group of
devoted women who meet every Thursday to connect and socialize; it doesn’t
include the many committees who meet monthly to figure out the direction of the
church; it doesn’t include those who work around the church on a daily basis, keeping this church
operating with light, water, and gas; it doesn’t include those who promote
Redeemer’s work at food kitchens or thrift stores; and it doesn’t include all
of you who are shaped from the liturgy here and go forth, bringing hope and
comfort to those in need. What’s in it
for you or me? I’d say, there’s a lot
this church has to offer, both individually but also corporately.
Today marks the first day of our
three-week stewardship campaign. Like
the ten bridesmaids who started their journey with the same feeling—we’re in a
good place right now. We are God’s hands
in a world so in need of God’s grace.
But our response today can go one of two ways: if we believe that we are
giving of our time, treasure, and talents to the base minimum, thinking that
there will be no surprises down the road, that the bridegroom will come on
time, we can be like the five foolish bridesmaids who weren’t prepared for
anything. But, if we go into this time
like the wise bridesmaids, who took time to think about all avenues of the time
in front of them, then we will find that we have oil enough to continue to keep
our lights lit so that others can see our light and be affected in good ways by
it. Going into this time ahead of us, we
need to be prayerful and deliberate at what we do, using our time, talents, and
treasures to the fullest that God has asked of us. We need to be ready to respond to what God is
calling us to do.
Over the next three weeks, you
will be invited to pray with God, both privately and corporately. You will be encouraged to share your stories
over coffee in Vesper Hall. You’ll hear
stories of how people are impacted by this church on a continual basis, and you
may be reflect on the stories of those who have passed before us but who were
active members—their stories still live on.
And of course, the pastor is always available for conversation and
deliberation. With your help and
partnership, we can continue and expand our ministry to the greater community
and continue and expand our ministry to those in this community. Amen.
