Rant of Sorrow

Pastors advocating concentration camps, liberals spewing hatred at conservatives, and at the heart of it all there are millions everyday folks suffering. Who are we? This is not Christianity! If we Christians can’t figure out how to be together, then we have no witness for the world. When people who serve the same Christ can’t stomach sitting at the same table together, there is a bigger problem than our theology. Our souls are at risk. God have mercy on us.

Have we stopped to take account of how much money, donated by everyday faithful people, gets sucked up in Christians trying to fight one another on flashpoint issues like homosexuality? I’m not saying that it shouldn’t be addressed. I’m just saying that if we took that money and tried to work together then the fight might dissolve into appreciation for one another’s faith.

Living Among Us

Advent 3B – Living Among Us – sermon based upon Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 & John 1:1-14

Good morning.  We’re halfway through Advent which brings us nearer and nearer to Christmas.  As we’ve been journeying to Bethlehem, we’ve been exploring the themes of our Advent devotional.  So far we’ve looked at the extraordinary faith that it took to journey under such conditions and the unexpected peace that was found in an unlikely place.  This week, we’re going to focus on new life.

New life is a phrase that can mean lots of different things to us depending upon where we are in our own lives.  It can be the very literal experience of having a child.  It can also be an equally momentous occasion of a radical transformation where we find new life through the healing of an old wound.  For example, think of helping someone else through their grief with the power of our own experience or the use of a painful encounters like bullying to help support others.  New life can also be in finding new worth for something that was previously cast away.  An example of this might be the renovating of an old building to usefulness or tapping into an old hobby for new pleasure.  We’ve even used our God given skills to bring new life through organ donation.  And each day we wake up and move forward in hope, we are claiming the promise of new life.

We could make long lists of our experience with new life and we should be able to do this.  Why should we?  Because as our gospel lesson says, “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”  See, by our faith and I would suggest by our very God given nature, we are seekers of life.  We find darkness and destruction unpleasant, even unbearable.  But life… now that’s something we really crave.

We crave it and God provides it.  God’s love poured out on us and the glimpses of joy we receive when basking in that love are amazing experiences of life.  Those feelings like our Psalm talks about of being held, understood, loved, known, supported, and special invigorate in us a sense of life and liveliness.  To be fearfully and wonderfully made is to know life while at the same time having a sense of just how fragile and precious it all is.  It’s diving into the wonder and experience no matter what the journey may bring.

So, let’s think back to Jesus’ birth for a moment.  The past few weeks, we’ve talked about the uncertainty of this time and journey for Mary and Joseph.  They moved forward in faith and hope but it was still an anxiety filled and treacherous time.  In the time of the Roman Empire, over 30% of all babies born would die before they were a year old.  Compared to today, far less than 1% of babies die in this country.  I think the number is something like 0.6% infant mortality rate.

I believe the courage to bring a baby into a world where you know that 1/3 of your children will die young is pretty remarkable.  And even if the baby lives, lots of other dangerous things awaited.  The average life expectancy in that time was only 28.  If you were lucky enough to avoid being in the army and you made it to adulthood, you might live to be 52 but that was a very hopeful expectation.  So when ask what new life means in Bethlehem, I think we need to stop and realize that it means far more than what we might see at first glance here in the modern era.

You see, I think we don’t realize that when Angels foretold of this special baby becoming a special man, that was nearly unheard of in that time.  Birthrights, future prospects, and such were not things that were typically discussed until a child neared adulthood because there were too many things that could go wrong.  So when we read of God’s promise to this family that a child would be king, we are reading of something that is not only miraculous from a spiritual standpoint but also a miracle in a very practical way as well. 

But assuming that we can wrap our minds around how amazing this story is, we are still left trying to figure out how to take this remarkable narrative and combine it with our God given desire for new life and do something useful with it.  We know the true meaning of Advent and Christmas isn’t in shopping and gift giving or in decorations or holiday treats.  There’s nothing wrong with those things but it’s not what that precious birth or the Word becoming flesh is all about.  So what is it that ties all this together for us in our daily lives?

Well, in our gospel lessons the previous two weeks, we read Christ’s birth stories.  They tell us of a special child who was coming to be a special leader, Emmanuel… God with us.  This week’s gospel lesson reminds us that Christ lived and lives among us even still as the true light of God in our lives.  As much as we love the birth stories in Matthew and Luke, I have to be honest and say that I find the true meaning of Christmas in this passage from John.

Let’s re-read part of this passage from John chapter 1: It goes,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

What we’re really talking about here is creation.  God brought all this forth.  And why?  Was it to prove God’s powerfulness?  No.  At its very core, all of God’s actions are born out of love.  This light that brings things into being is a rich and full metaphor for love.  The act of bringing a child into the world is an act of love.  God’s reaching out to Mary and Joseph and all creation to become flesh and live among us is an act of love.  Our craving for life is an act of love.  The shedding the commercial elements of Christmas to get to the real root of God’s gift is an act of love. 

Everywhere we look in this story, our lives, and God’s promises, we see that God is constantly reaching to us in love and the gift we receive in that is new life.  This birth is “not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.”  New life is always about love and hope and promise in God.  And new life is our gift to claim each and every day with the enthusiasm of a child opening the biggest Christmas present under the tree.

See, much like the way Scrooge in A Christmas Carol comes to live with Christmas in his heart every day of the year; we too can do that by embracing the love and new life that God offers us each day.  Love that heals, hope that builds vision, peace that comforts, and faith that guides are ours when we open ourselves to what Christ has for us and God provides to us.  This Word that became flesh, Emmanuel, God with us, is truly full of grace and truth.

But just like Mary and Joseph found it hard to claim God’s promise and new life in the face of so much danger, we too often find it difficult to claim new life in the midst of grief, worry, doubt, financial struggles, and other hardships.  We may not face the same trials as Mary and Joseph but life is still fragile and complicated by adversity.  Yet, our hope always lies in God and the promise of new life that is offered to us just as it was to Mary and Joseph.

Sisters and brothers, Advent, Christmas, and the journey to Bethlehem are times to recognize how remarkable God’s love is and the new life that can be found in Christ.  The opportunity to embrace new life, renewal, and hope are rooted in the gifts God implants within us.  God leads us through all that happens in our lives showing us ways to remember who and who’s we are.  Life in Christ can be new life each and every day, redeemed and renewed.  May we receive the love that God is pouring out and let it breathe new life into this holiday and all days.  Amen.

Onward In Faith

Advent 1B - Sermon based upon Psalm 42 & Matthew 1:18-2:12

Good morning and welcome to Advent.  This is a season of expectancy and preparation. A season of joy, hope, and promise.  And given the themes of our advent devotional and sermon series, it is also a season of faith, peace, new life, and love.

You’re going to notice a pattern in the coming weeks that lead us all the way through Christmas.  Each week’s theme that goes with the devotional is going to be lifted up in worship in multiple ways.  The devotional theme is The True Gifts of Christmas: The Journey to Bethlehem. The music, prayers, liturgy, and even scriptures will go along with the weekly theme.  Each week we'll have a Psalm that captures the emotional experience of the theme and a Gospel passage that tells the story.

But for now, we’re here on the first week of Advent.  We enter with the theme of faith and the story told in Matthew about Jesus's conception and birth.  If ever there was a story of faith in God, this is it.

Here we have a young unmarried woman who finds out she's going to have a very special baby.  The scripture tells us that her fience doesn't want to disgrace her but he's still going to “quietly dismiss her.”  After transformative encounters, they both believe in God’s will for this child move forward to have the baby. 

From the Luke story of Jesus’ birth we also know that they had to make a journey to Bethlehem for census and taxation.  That must have been horrible.  Can you imagine setting out on a donkey, a man and a 9 month pregnant woman, in a time when life was so much more treacherous than it is now?

And even after Jesus is born, King Herod sends spies so that he can plot against the young Messiah, Emmanuel, God with us.  But they too had a transformative experience rooted in joy and did the right thing to protect this child.

And our Psalm this morning is also a true story of faith.  It is about the fear and anxiety we experience when we can’t quite feel God’s closeness to us.  We want to lash out as the Psalmist does with “Why have you forgotten me?  Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?”  But just as with Mary and Joseph, the Psalmist remembers “hope in God.”
These are some pretty powerful scriptures if we pause to let them capture our feelings and imagination.  So, what do they have to tell us on this first Sunday of Advent?

Well, I think one of the messages is that just because we’re journeying faithfully doesn’t mean that it’s smooth sailing.  It’s often an anxiety and fear filled path.  Even Joseph was going to leave Mary because he couldn’t understand how God’s plan for Mary included him and I imagine he felt a lot of social pressure as well.

How often are our lives like that?  Maybe it’s that we know what the right thing is to do but we feel the pressure and embarrassment of what others are saying around us.  Or sometimes it’s that we are not sure how we fit into God’s plan.  Or sometimes it’s more a feeling like the Psalmist had of wondering where God is in all this and how to remain faithful while it feels so dark.  When faced with loss, uncertainty, and other things that raise our fear level, our lives, just like Mary and Joseph’s are filled with moments that make our faithful walk forward feel more like a burdensome trudge. 

Whether it’s the journey of the PNC in search of a pastor or the daily work it takes to make relationships last, we are ALL journeying… and sometimes it’s a tough one.  But here’s where the story turns. 

God reassures Joseph of his part in all this.  Then God protects Jesus from Herod.  God even touches the wise men and they go on a different path.  Hope and joy healed them from their worries, doubt, and uncertainty.  In the case of the wise men, quite literally, the story tells us that they were overwhelmed by joy. 

I think this is the real heart of our scripture lesson for today.  We worry and struggle in uncertainty quite often. And it becomes a cycle that just gets worse if left to our own devices.  The more we worry, the more we drag ourselves down.  The more we drag ourselves down, the more we fret about digging back out of the hole of fear, grief, and depression.  The more we fret about those things, the more ashamed we feel.  And the more ashamed we feel… well, that’s just a terrible spiral downward. 

But God’s support and love for us is never wrapped up in fear or shame or overly burdensome toil.  God reaches out to us with hope and joy offering us help to put one foot in front of the other and continue our faithful journey.  That support comes in all kinds of forms.  In the case of Joseph, it came in the form of messenger from God and I imagine it also came in the form of support from people around him and most especially from Mary.  For the wise men, they found support from God to do the right thing through an intense sense of joy at the witness of a phenomenon in nature right before meeting Jesus.  And while most of us don’t have an experience of meeting and angel, I know that all of us have met messengers from God or had experiences that coincided with special event that invigorated our faith. 

See, this is what faith is about, whether it’s during the season of Advent or any other time.  We are on a journey and each and every day is another opportunity to keep moving forward toward the hope and promise of God while being open to the nurturing support God gives us.

Now, I’m not trying to make this sound easy.  I’ll give you a deeply personal example.  All my life, even as a little child, I’ve struggled with depression.  It seems to be genetic because most of my family struggles with it.  Depression has gripped me in ways that I’ve often felt forgotten by God.  The way depression chokes off the light is painful.  And after feeling the emptiness and darkness months on end, I’ve even thought that it wasn’t that God had forgotten me.  I’ve felt that God must be punishing or cursing me.  Now logically, I know that isn’t the case.  But depression is an illness that tells us lies about ourselves, others, and God.

Having struggled with this illness for most of my 37 years, I can tell you quite a few things about finding God in the darkness and what faith looks like when you barely have the energy to get out of bed.  But I can also tell you that faith cannot be stifled or destroyed by darkness, fear, worry, doubt, and uncertainty. 

Just like Mary and Joseph, I have found God’s support every step of the way.  Just when I thought I couldn’t bear the isolation any longer, God has sent messengers that reminded me who and who’s I am.  God has placed people in my life to help me when I couldn’t help myself.  When I needed a jolt to point me in the right direction, God has shown me great joy through phenomenon in nature.  God has called me forward in love all along the way. 

God’s nurturing love and my faith in that love have helped me journey forward every step of the way.  In fact, you’ve even been part of God’s work in my life.  As you know, I’m a chaplain and I work night shift at Children’s Memorial Hospital.  Working night shift is more than a choice.  It’s a metaphor for my experience with God.  Because I’ve had to work so hard to find God in the long nights of depression, I want to be part of God’s light to others in the night.  I never thought I’d work in a church because I thought my place was in the darkness.

But being here with you has shown me that God calls me into the light as well.  The way you’ve encouraged me and the relationships I’ve built here have shown me new paths in my own faith journey.  My faithful journey is not only that of holding people in the night but also that of proclaiming God’s radiance in the light and you’ve been the ones who’ve helped cultivate that in me and show me God’s way for which I’ll always be grateful.

Now I didn’t tell you all that to spew out my own story.  I told you about my journey because I believe it speaks to the struggles we’ve all had.  Advent, holidays, faith, journeys, family, church… all of these things are precious but they also stir in us anxiety and fear about the unknown.  But God is with us, each and every one of us.  God is speaking and leading and calling us every step of the way.

Sisters and brothers, as we move forward in Advent, may we have faith that God is alive and well in all areas of our lives.  Even when it feels scary or burdensome, God is with us, offering us support wrapped in love rather than fear.  Our job is to keep putting one foot in front of the other on this journey taking the next step in faith and being open to all the ways God is supporting us.  Emmanuel, God with us… We welcome you!  Amen

A Community Of…

Off lectionary sermon series on the body of Christ based upon Colossians 1:15-23a, 1 Corinthians 12:27-28, & F-1.0301

Good morning.  Today starts a three part sermon series on being the Church Alive.  You may or may not have noticed that for this sermon series, we’re going to be off the lectionary path.  And what you’re also about to find out is that I’m going to be weaving in pieces from the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s constitution.  But the hope is that all of this, the sermon, our worship time, and the weavings of the Holy Spirit, bring us to a place of looking with fresh eyes and renewed hope at how we can be the body of Christ and the church alive in the world.

So, today is just the beginning.  We’re going to focus on Christ as the head of the church.  But come back the next 2 weeks and we’ll be considering our various callings within the body and how we can be open to and participate in what God is calling us to right now… or if we’re already open to it, how we might make it even better.

Well, I said I’d be drawing from the constitution and I am.  I don’t know if you’ve ever taken the time to read some of this book but you should.  Sadly, what most Presbyterians know of this book is how to spew an alphabet soup of rules that work for or against an idea.  But there is some truly beautiful and amazing theology in here.  Given the history of this document, it makes it even more impressive just how clearly the love of Christ flows through its pages. 

So, hold our scripture readings from Colossians and 1 Corinthians together in your mind and let’s see what the foundations section has to say about how to understand it.  Section F-1.0301 “The Church Is the Body of Christ”:

The Church is the body of Christ. Christ gives to the Church all the gifts necessary to be his body. The Church strives to demonstrate these gifts in its life as a community in the world (1 Cor. 12:27–28):

·         The Church is to be a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life.

·         The Church is to be a community of hope, rejoicing in the sure and certain knowledge that, in Christ, God is making a new creation. This new creation is a new beginning for human life and for all things. The Church lives in the present on the strength of that promised new creation.

·         The Church is to be a community of love, where sin is forgiven, reconciliation is accomplished, and the dividing walls of hostility are torn down.

·         The Church is to be a community of witness, pointing beyond itself through word and work to the good news of God’s transforming grace in Christ Jesus its Lord.

This brief passage is really quite amazing.  I couldn’t preach a better sermon or hold out a better vision than that.  It’s a whole statement of faith… no really a statement of calling… no more like a statement of having been called and truly heard the word of God. 

So, tipping my hat to the years of history, tradition, and faithfulness that goes into this (F-1.0301), I’d like to use it as the outline for our thinking today.  See, this statement reminds us of just how deeply relational God and creation are.  God doesn’t stand in the distance like a puppet master and we are not islands unto ourselves.  The church is a community of:

·         faith - entrusting itself to God

·         hope - rejoicing in the prospect that God is making a new creation

·         love - forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration

·         witness - pointing beyond itself to the transforming work of God

So let’s start with the first marker of the church.  We are “a community of faith, entrusting itself to God alone, even at the risk of losing its life.”  That’s a pretty powerful statement.  Does it mean that we’re called to go out and be martyrs for the faith?  No, this statement is about the church as an institution verses the church as the body of Christ.  We, meaning all believers, are called to live as the body of Christ, no matter where that leads us, even if it means losing the institution we call the Presbyterian Church (USA) or it’s buildings or it’s holdings. 

We, the body of Christ, are not the stored up treasures of an institution and we should not be bound by them either.  So long as the organization of the PC(USA) is a wonderful and beneficial thing, it can support us, help us join together our resources in more useful ways, and be a true conduit for making Christ’s reign known in the world.  But the faithful wisdom built in these pages (The Book of Order), is that we are to live as if the institution doesn’t matter.

We do this because we are not only a community of faith but we are “a community of hope, rejoicing in the sure and certain knowledge that, in Christ, God is making a new creation.”  Our hope is not in our own ingenuity or cleverness.  It is not in politicians or even religious leaders.  No, our hope is in the way God works around and through us to transform life after life after life.

It is God who pours out gifts on us and then calls us to organize as a body so that they will be used in even more amazing ways.  We “strive to demonstrate these gifts” in the way we are together and in our workings in the world.  But it is because Christ is the only true head of the church, calling, guiding, proclaiming, that we have seen and felt the vision of something bigger when we join together in service. 

Now, take a look here at the statement “The Church lives in the present on the strength of that promised new creation.”  This is a pretty power packed sentence.  It does not say the church only lives in the present because we know that it has been, is, and ever will be alive.  Rather this is about how we can find our way to stay living in the present.  It is in the strength that hope provides us.  We can keep our work focused here because we are emboldened by our hope in the way Christ is timelessly working to make creation new.

And with experiences like that, we know that we are also “a community of love, where sin is forgiven, reconciliation is accomplished, and the dividing walls of hostility are torn down.”  Our lives individually, as families, as congregants, as coworkers, as sisters and brothers are bound in the quality of love we share… a love that we learned from the first lover of creation, God. 

When we are living as the true body of Christ, our work is that of building up each other, healing wounds, soothing anxieties, and even the big stuff of dismantling the walls that divide us from one another and the rest of creation.  The work of love in community is beautiful but it is demanding.  Yet, when we are living the love of God together, moments and lives and communities are forever made different… holy.

And that’s why we are “a community of witness, pointing beyond itself through word and work to the good news of God’s transforming grace in Christ Jesus its Lord.”  Our time together is for the cultivation of and fellowship in the love of God.  But our calling is not to come into the church walls and hang out.  Our lives together should be pointing to something bigger, to God, all along the way.  Our words and works should not be pointing to us to say, “look what I’ve done.”  They point to God to say, “look at the never ending, always faith inspiring works of God.”

See, the point of all of this is that we are living in a body of faith, hope, and love… and a body with a calling to share those and other gifts with the world.  We are all called to be nurtured by and serve in the body of Christ.  We don’t have to worry about the future of it or how it will sustain itself because Christ, as the head, is in charge of that.  But we are called to be the living body of Christ.

The reformed tradition has a way of talking about that called the Priesthood of Believers and Baptismal Calling.  See, we are called to honor all works in the body because they all serve as witness in different ways.  All believers are ministers, just of different callings.  The words “lay leader” or “clergy” and “teaching elder” or “ruling elder” are words of the institution for how it orders itself.  But our work transcends such language, no matter our title or calling.

The person who unlocks the doors and scrubs the toilets is as deeply honored in the body of Christ as the person who leads worship.  Does that offend me?  That I compared the work of a sexton with the work of a pastor?  No, and it shouldn’t offend you either.  Membership and witness in the body of Christ is about commitment in covenant, not status.  And ministry and ministering is about service, not privilege.  My ordination is about my function, not my rank or prestige. 

The things that should offend us are when we stand in the way of that witness and become stumbling blocks to one another’s callings.  The things we should feel anxious about are when we stop loving and working together or become indifferent to the needs around us.  Our real work is to hear and respond to the cries of those in need of the body of Christ.  Our focus need not be on solving every problem but it should be on the call of Christ in each one of us and living that each and every day.  Everything else is in God’s hands.  And thanks be to God for that.  Amen.

Peace for What?

Peace for What? <–- audio file of sermon. A sermon based upon John 20:19-31

Good morning. First off, let me go ahead and acknowledge that you might have noticed something different about me today. Is it new glasses? No. Perhaps a new outfit? No. The answer is I shaved my head 2 days ago at a charity event raising money for and awareness of childhood cancers. Some of you know that I do this every year and it’s always a wonderful event. Actually, the child we honored at the event was in the hospital and unable to attend. But like I said, it was still a wonderful occasion and such a great cause.

And just so you know, it is okay to ask me questions about it. It is okay to stare. And if you ask, I’ll even let you rub my head. But when you look at my head, please remember all those who struggle with cancer and need our support and then say a prayer for them.

Okay, now back to the task at hand. What do we make of these disciples and of good ole doubting Thomas? This is a story that a week and a half ago, I was going to preach pretty much the same thing we usually do. I thought we were going to look at the struggle between intuition and fact and of the different ways of knowing. I thought we might focus on how Christ comes to us no matter what our needs are so we need not vilify Thomas for being slow to believe.

But then Sunday night our televisions, radios, Facebook pages, and text messages starting buzzing with news that the President would speak. Soon the word came out that Osama Bin Laden was dead. And from that point forward broke a frenzy of praise, sorrow, questions, debate, and doubt. And somewhere in all this, a few people paused to ask, “what should the Christian response be?”

What should the Christian response be to the death of a man who apparently has masterminded the deaths of thousands of innocent lives? What should the Christian response be to the death of a man who struck fear in the hearts of so many? What should the Christian response be to the death of a man who was also a husband, father, grandfather, brother, and someone’s child? What should the Christian response be to the death of a man who had become so consumed by hate and fear that he could not see the humanity in others?

Sisters and brothers, I’m not going down a road toward telling you what you should believe politically or think about Osama Bin Laden. But I am going down a road that points to what happens when we live behind locked doors.

Let’s take another look at this passage. The passage begins, “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’”

See, when we think about this passage in time, Jesus had just been crucified and died. That very morning Mary and Mary had discovered the empty tomb. Jesus had appeared to some of them on the road and they were sharing the news. But the general feeling amongst all of them was fear. They were afraid for their lives and afraid for their futures. They closed themselves off and locked the door. But Christ comes through the barriers and says, “Peace be with you.”

Later in the passage, we have the same disciples only this time Thomas is also there and he has not believed that Jesus was truly resurrected. The passage reads, “A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”

Here again we have the closed doors that are presumably locked. Even a week later, the disciples are hiding out rather than being out and about. And Jesus comes through the barriers to once again pronounce, “Peace be with you.”

So, what do we make of this? It would be easy to speed on past these verses and get to the story of Thomas’ disbelief. But I don’t think these verses are here by accident and I don’t think John went to the trouble of noting the closed doors if it weren’t an issue for us to learn from.

First of all I think we need to have grace and compassion in our hearts just as Christ did when we look at this story otherwise we get caught up in judgment. These people were scared. Jesus had been their companion and champion. They believed he was going to restore justice in the land. They hadn’t yet realized his justice would be of a more far reaching kind. So in their fear, they retreated to a home and hid out.

But Jesus came in and didn’t speak harsh words or judgment. He wanted them to be at ease and to release their fear. He greeted them with a wish and hope for peace in their lives. Christ wants them to not fear or to feel worse for their struggle. He wanted them to heal. His words were about understanding their experience and knowing that more than anything, they needed to let go of the fear and receive peace and the hope that springs from it.

This is truly an amazing model for our lives. It is an orientation toward people that begins with saying, “I want to know and understand you and your needs.” To have a starting place of grace and compassion in our hearts is a starting point of love rather than assessing, judging, categorizing, or any of the other countless ways we sum people up without first seeking to understand them and their experience.

When we are scared and either literally or metaphorically close ourselves off, what would it be like if someone who loves us came on in and spoke love and peace into our hearts, minds, and spirits? How would we react if that person looked at us with eyes of compassion that told us that our experiences and feelings are safe with them?

And looking outside of ourselves, what if we were the person who could be that voice of peace, love, and healing for the one who has walled themselves off? When we’re dealing with the person who lashes out at us, what if our starting place was that of looking into how someone got so overrun by fear rather than lashing back at them? What if our priority was to truly know and understand people and their experiences instead of quickly assessing what category they fit into?

Now coming back to where I started with the death of Bin Laden, I’m not saying that there isn’t a time to make people stand accountable for their crimes or that understanding why someone is fearful is an excuse for the way they may have hurt others. There is a time for that accountable justice. There is even a time and a place for those categories like liar, cheater, greedy, selfish, terrorist, and murderer. Those classifications can help us as a society understand who has been hurt and how to exact justice. But those categories should never be a substitute for seeking to know and understand one another. That’s just not what the Christian life is about.

The Christian life is found in our second point today. Christ’s peace and calling are to fling open the doors and live out in the world as agents of love and healing. Jesus said, “Peace be with you” not only as a way to still their anxious spirits but to clear the path to move beyond the fear and anxiety. Next, he breathed the Holy Spirit upon them and told them to go out and spread the Good News and extend the gift of the forgiveness of sins to all. Their job, their calling was to be out in the world. They had received the Spirit and the Spirit should not and cannot be contained behind closed doors.

So what does this mean to us? Well, more often than not, our fears come out in more subtle ways that are not directly damaging to others but cause harm we will never see. We wall ourselves off from certain “kinds” of people or places thereby cutting of relationship after relationship after relationship. We convince ourselves that our fears are actually wise judgments or well thought out beliefs so we don’t need to bother with this person or that group. We tell ourselves that “they” are sinners or liars or too uneducated to understand or too far beyond help. We convince ourselves that we need not worry about them because they don’t want our help anyway. We use words terms like “crazy liberal” and “snooty” to feel better about not looking at them as a whole person.

But maybe that’s just the problem. The message of Christ doesn’t start with figuring out what category someone fits in to or how to fix them. It starts with understanding. Instead of seeing “they” and “them” we need to see a person struggling or striving or searching and look more deeply into how that journey has shaped their life. When our starting point is that of trying to understand someone, the issue of helping will then naturally into place. And you know what else? We often find that we were helped in some way too.

Now, I’m not saying living the Christian life means to blindly walk up to a person who’s fear may have built to the point of violence. But I am saying that it means unlocking the doors of fear we’ve constructed for ourselves. It means gently challenging the fears of others by seeking to understand them and being open so that they can understand us. It means challenging our own fears by trusting in the peace of Christ to overcome all.

Does all this sound too big? Well, it starts here. The church is the proving grounds for how we’ll live in the world. We start with the people around us and let go of seeing the labels and the judgments and the walls that keep us from seeing the whole person.

With Christ’s peace, we can let go of seeing the person who snubbed us when we needed a friend or the person who complains instead of helping or the person who boasts instead of listening. And when we let go of the categories of judgment we might understand that we weren’t actually snubbed because the other person was deeply depressed at the time. And those complaints are just a mask for loneliness. And the boasting was just a mask for fear. If we can let the walls we have between us down long enough to understand one another, we’ll cultivate such a deep community we’ll have the strength to go out into the world and do this with others.

And we already do. Look at the Kairos ministry. That’s an amazing example of understanding that leads to healing. And I could stand here and name ministries and individual actions in this congrigation that over and over reflect the triumph of Christ’s peace and the healing of understanding. But today’s passage reminds us that there’s always more to be done.

The Christian response to Bid Laden’s death is not as simple as cheering or grieving. We must seek to be thoughtful and compassionate, appreciating justice yet seeking greater reconciliation. Christ’s call in the world always begins with peace that breaks down fear. That peace leads to understanding. And understanding leads to healing.

Sisters and brothers, whatever fears we are hiding behind or keep locked away, Christ breaks in past them and says, “Peace be with you.” As we leave here today, let us be bold to hear and receive that peace. Let us be brave to understand and be understood. Let us be trusting in Christ’s calling and be agents of healing and reconciliation in the world. Amen.

Risen and Still Rising

Easter Sunday - Risen and Still Rising <–- Audio file link - A sermon based upon Matthew 28:1-10

Good morning and welcome to the resurrection! I’ve you’ve not been with us all week, you’ve missed the celebration of a remarkable life in Jesus on Palm Sunday. On Maundy Thursday we heard the call of Jesus to be servants to one another and make deeper relationships with one another even in the midst of difficulty. Good Friday, watched in horror as those in religious and political power used their authority to have him brutalized and killed. And Yesterday, we sat vigil in prayer grieving and still reeling from the horror. And this morning at sunrise, we greeted the empty tomb where we saw that Christ seeks to involve us in his resurrection and does so with grace and compassion.

But now, we are in the thick of it all. Jesus is risen. Mary and Mary have the task of telling others. And Jesus even comes to them personally to tell them that he will come to them in Galilee. In each of the Gospels, this story unfolds slightly differently but they all have certain things in common. Christ promises to reveal himself again and does.

So, what do we make of all this? I think the first thing that must be said is that we have a hard time making sense of resurrection. It’s no wonder people both inside and outside of the church fight over whether it’s a myth or real event or even a hoax. But not understanding isn’t the real problem here.

What I think what bears scrutiny is why is it we have such a hard time wrapping our minds around resurrection? If we could understand, we wouldn’t have such difficulty figuring out what it means to our faith. And I’m not talking about skeptics. I’m talking about people of earnest faith who believe that the resurrection is a gift from God to all people. And I am willing to bet that most of us in this room have a hard time with it in some way or we have at some point.

We have a hard time with it because it’s so often beyond our common experience. I mean we struggle to conquer the little habits and “lesser sins” in our lives so how can we truly connect to a story of a risen Christ who crushed sin and suffering? We try. We try a lot and we work hard to make sense of it but at the end of the day, we find ourselves struggling with the same old flaws and sorrows. So, if Jesus was raised as a triumph over death and suffering, why do we struggle so much to experience it ourselves?

And that’s where we’ll start today. This morning in the sunrise service, we looked at how Christ approaches us in resurrection. We said that even when we don’t understand or can’t recognize Christ in our midst, Christ is faithful and reaches to us, and calls us forward with grace and compassion. But it’s just still so hard to see him and internalize what he has to offer.

Maybe that’s just it. Maybe we don’t understand what he’s offering for us to receive it. Maybe we need to expand our understanding of what resurrection is if we’re going to experience it more fully and with less doubt and despair.

So what is resurrection? Well, it is a raising of a body from the dead. The bible offers many stories of such events. But it’s more than just that. In Jesus’ case, it’s the raising and being made whole after being violated and brutalized by those in power. Jesus’ death and resurrection is an event of triumph and says that those who would try to squash the truth and life cannot succeed! The truth and life found in God’s love are so abundant that they live on and on and on.

So another thing we need to hear about resurrection in Christ is that it’s ongoing. Now, ongoing can mean different things. It can mean that something changed and that change still holds or it could also mean that something started changing and the process of change is still happening. I raise this distinction because I think it has bearing on why we have such a hard time internalizing Christ’s resurrection and what that ongoing resurrection means in our own lives.

I think the tension between Christ’s resurrection and our own difficulty understanding it is because Christ’s resurrection is one where something changed and it will always be that way for him. However, because we still live in the brokenness of the world, our experience of resurrection is one where a change starts to take hold in our lives but it’s a process that doesn’t come to completion until we’re fully in God’s loving arms.

So, what am I getting at? Well, I think it means that when we look upon the raised Christ, we really should be in awe because what has happened and is still happening in him is amazing and beyond our reach to fully comprehend in this time and place. We only catch glimpses of it through the body of Christ in the world. The reason the body of Christ functions with such mystery and wonder and beauty is because it’s purity is beyond our reach even though we participate in it as we are.

But this also means that we are a people both fully redeemed and still being refined. We are in the process of resurrection and it’s an ongoing venture that takes time and work. Our savior serves as a model while we’re fast at work trying to put the pieces together.

In the reformed tradition, we say that we are always both “being and becoming.” I always liked that phrase. It says that we are God’s beloved children as we are and more than adequate yet we have far more we could become here and now if we’ll be open to the pathway of resurrection.

But what does this really mean to us? Well, I suspect that we are our own barriers to experiencing resurrection more than anything else. Because we are not experiencing the one time miraculous event of Jesus but rather a process of resurrection, we don’t see the bigger picture of what is going on in our lives. We lose patience or faith or energy or hope. And, simply put I think we have to have grace and love for ourselves here and now just like God does. And if we have grace and love for ourselves and others, we’ll hear the calling to grow further in the body of Christ and continue becoming that fully resurrected spirit in Christ.

But what does it really mean? It means that we all have those places we struggle, those flaws that haunt us. We all have wounds from experiences that have not healed and continue to make us vulnerable to reacting out of pain and fear. Those are the things we must have grace and compassion for in ourselves. God already does. But do we?

When we struggle with depression or other ailments of the mind and spirit, how gentle are we with ourselves? When the pain and fear that illness bring takes hold on us, do we stay open to the love that the body of Christ offers? When our security is threatened, do we keep our hearts open? When lose someone, do we let ourselves be vulnerable? When we fall on our face over and over and over again with the same struggle whether it’s dishonoring our body or having a self-centered spirit, do we keep looking to God or do we condemn ourselves, denying our value and worth in God’s eyes. And when the unknown is in our midst, do we stop to see if it might be Christ or do we look away in fear?

Do you want to know what Christ’s ongoing resurrection looks like? Ongoing resurrection is the person who bears the pain of an abusive past or maybe even the present and still gets up with hope that healing can happen. Resurrection is the person with cancer who says I’ll not go through this alone because the healing I find in those who love me equals or exceeds the healing I get from these treatments. Resurrection is the family that keeps growing and changing and dealing with everything that comes up because being a family is hard and takes daily renewal. Resurrection is the person who loses a loved one and honors the love they shared by carrying that love forward and sharing it with others.

Do you want to see the face of resurrection? Look around this room. Look at the faces of people around you. Look at this group of people who have lost several pastors in 10 years and been betrayed and wounded yet you still come here with faith and hope in the living Christ. Hope that healing will be yours. And faith that it’s not the pastor that makes this church, but the people. That, my friends is resurrection lived. It’s lived in a process that has ups and downs but new life woven into every part of it.

Sisters and brothers, resurrection is loving and hoping and living in the face of the brokenness. It is knowing that the risen Christ will keep working through and around us. It is being both redeemed and still being refined, being and becoming. Each and every day, we are taking part in the process of resurrection and new life

As we go from here celebrating our risen Lord, may we also seek and take part in the ways Christ is healing our lives into resurrected glory. May we claim God’s love and healing so that we can experience it. And may we live the resurrection each and every day. Amen.

Easter Sunrise - Why Are You Weeping?

Easter A Sunrise - Why Are You Weeping? – A sermon based upon John 20:1-18

Good morning and welcome to Easter sunrise service. We’ve made it through Holy Week where we’ve seen Jesus triumphantly entering Jerusalem, him sharing in humble service and fellowship with his disciples, Christ being betrayed and brutally put to death. But now we’re here. We have made it to see our risen Christ! And not only is our Gospel passage one of that event, this Gospel account is one of the most moving accounts of the empty tomb. Reading this story always makes me aware of just how frightened and bewildered Mary Magdalene must have been that morning.

And it’s because of her experience that we congregate so early on this day. There’s something special about gathering at dawn that helps us take in what it must have been like for Mary Magdalene when she found an empty tomb on that sacred morning. So again, welcome! And welcome to the resurrection!


Sometime back when I started praying and thinking about what themes we needed to connect with during Holy Week, I never had any doubt that resurrection was where we needed to be today. Oh, I know there are lots of directions pastors can go with the Easter story and each year seems to call for something different. But this year, it felt like God kept whispering the word resurrection to my heart and mind.

So, even though it may seem obvious, that’s where we’re going this morning. In this sunrise service, we’re going briefly reflect on what this story is telling us about how we experience Christ and the resurrection. In the later services, the sermon will focus on what is resurrection and living the ongoing resurrection. So, I hope to see you there.

Well, let’s talk about what happened that morning. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb presumably to grieve or care for the body. But when she arrives, she finds no one. Jesus is gone. She was dumfounded by what was going on so she went to get the disciples. They didn’t know either. In Mary’s grief, she stayed at the tomb weeping. This is when Jesus spoke to her but she didn’t recognize him. Then he called her by name and she did. Jesus told her the truth of his resurrection and then she went to share it with the disciples.

This seems like a fantastic story in part because we have such a hard time wrapping our minds around what happened that morning. And they had a hard time too. What this resurrection meant would not become clear to them for some time to come. So all we have are the circumstances and the reactions. But I think those tell us something about resurrection too. And if we can deal with the jarring reality Mary encountered that morning, maybe we’ll be ready to deal with what the resurrection really means for us later.

So, I think the first thing we need to recognize about encountering resurrection is that when we’re in the throes of sorrow or some other overwhelming emotion, we have a hard time recognizing Christ in our midst. Mary Magdalene was there seeking someone she was close to and thought his body had been violated and stolen. She was absolutely grief stricken when Jesus first spoke to her so it’s no wonder she didn’t recognize him. But even though Mary didn’t recognize him, he still reached out with a question of caring and concern. “Why are you weeping?”

Let’s think of our own lives. When we’re at our lowest, how often do we not recognize the compassionate hand of the Body of Christ when it reaches out to us? I venture to say, more than we probably realize. Yet, that hand keeps reaching out to us even when we don’t see it. So, I think God’s message to us is the same as Jesus’ message to Mary. God is faithful even when we can’t see it and has abundant grace for us in those times.

The next thing I think we can learn about encountering resurrection is that we have to be open to what is being revealed to us. Mary suddenly recognized Jesus when he called her by name. Before she recognized him, she was so overwhelmed that Jesus could have continued to talk to her but she would not have really heard him. But by speaking her name, something so personal, he connected with her and she could take in what Jesus had to share.

I think our lives are the same way. Like I said before, the body of Christ reaches out to us and reaches out to us but sometimes we don’t or can’t recognize it. But God is intentional to speak to us. When God’s message isn’t getting through, God seeks to find what will connect with us personally so that we recognize and are able to hear. Take for example, struggling with illness. Pain and suffering can be overwhelming and even though there are people around us trying to help, we have a hard time receiving that help or recognizing that it’s there. But sooner or later, if we don’t completely succumb to the pain, that just right phrase or that just right moment comes to us that opens our eyes and then we can see God in our midst again.

The third thing I think we should recognize about encountering resurrection is that once we get our bearings and have recognized Christ in our midst, we must act. Resurrection is an action and one that we participate in. When Jesus finished talking with Mary, she went forward to tell others. And in the coming weeks, we’ll see that this going forward turns into a movement. It’s a movement that demonstrates the body of Christ alive in the world… resurrection in our midst.


So, I’ve pointed to three things from this passage about encountering resurrection. 1) Christ is faithful to us even when we don’t recognize him in our midst. 2) Christ reaches out to us in ways that connect personally so that we can recognize him. And 3) recognizing and hearing Christ calls us and connects us to the workings of Christ. So, why did I point these out?

I did so because this morning, we’re looking at an empty tomb and don’t always know what to make of it. Sometimes we’re doubtful. Sometimes, we don’t understand. Sometimes, we can’t see. But that’s okay because Christ will be faithful and reach to us and call us forward anyway with grace and compassion.

I shared this because we each need resurrection in our own lives yet often become trapped by sorrow and pain. But that’s okay because Christ will be faithful and reach to us and call us forward anyway.

I pointed to these things because resurrection is not just a one-time event. Christ comes to us each day with compassion, just as he did Mary, and says, “Why are you weeping?” There are moments and moments and moments that Christ takes what is dead and fills it with new life. Yet we struggle to see where it came from or how we can participate in it. And that’s okay because Christ will be faithful and reaches to us and call us forward anyway.

Sisters and Brothers, He is risen! We don’t say he has risen or did rise as if it was an event of the past. We say he IS risen because it is timeless. We may not know what to make of it yet, but something amazing has happened and will keep happening if we but hear his voice in those resurrection moments.

I hope you’ll stay around for a later service where we’ll look at what this resurrection is and how we can proclaim it each and every day. Amen.

What Kind of Love is This?

Maundy Thursday - Sermon based upon John 13:1-17, 31b-35

Good evening. We are half way through Holy Week and everything is about to start changing rapidly. But we need not get ahead of ourselves. The story of Holy Week plays out bit at a time. Jesus’ life, just like ours, isn’t just a matter of the big moments. His life is about the whole story of it and the way it fits together. We can’t understand the excitement of Palm Sunday if we don’t first know why Jesus is exciting to be around. We can’t appreciate the intimacy of Maundy Thursday if we don’t take the time to examine the quality of Jesus’ relationships. The horror of Good Friday might make for a Hollywood film but it’s real importance is in knowing why the people close to Jesus are still there. And the story of Easter only reaches its full glory if we pull together the context of why Jesus was raised and what it would mean.

So for right now, here we are in one of the most intimate times Jesus shares and it’s a story worth spending time in because we get to see the quality of love Jesus shares with those close to him. What kind of love is this that Jesus shares? What kind of love is it that he wants others to cultivate and live?

Well, this passage starts with Jesus sharing a meal with his friends. This doesn’t seem odd to us because Jesus eats with people throughout his ministry. But just because it’s common, doesn’t mean that it isn’t deeply special. It is incredibly special.

Meals like Jesus shared were served family style… you know, the kind were we dip from the same bowls and have to be conscientious of how much we take because there are those at the end of the table yet to be served. They’re the kind of meals that if we’re in tune with those around us, we save that last roll for Jim because he loves them or we make sure Karen gets seconds because she had to skip lunch today to take her child to the doctor. Table fellowship is a truly intimate thing.

You know, I was blessed to be raised by my grandmother where we had meals at the table with no TV or other distractions. It was not just about sharing of food. It was about sharing of time. We talked about what was important to us and were blessed to know about one another’s lives. Most families today don’t share that time and I worry that we’re missing out on something special. But I don’t think that’s the only way to share and be in touch with each other. For example, if you want to get most teenagers to talk with you, drive somewhere 45 minutes away. That seems to be just the right amount of time to get into what needs to be said.

Anyway, the point I want to get to is that Jesus valued the people around him so he shared meals with them so that they could have truly meaningful time away from the hustle and bustle of their outward lives. What kind of love is this? It’s one that values the people around him.

The next thing we see is Jesus washing the feet of his disciples and friends. Now, let’s pause for a moment here to look at the context of what’s going on since foot washing isn’t a common practice in our culture.

We’re talking about a culture where clean water was scarce so bathing was a rare occurrence because it was more healthy to save the clean water for drinking than use it up bathing. But because this was a dusty, arid land, where the feet and legs would get caked on sand and dirt which carried sand fleas, foot washing was customary when you entered someone’s house or retired for the evening meal and bedtime. If a family had servants, the servants washed the feet of the family because it was considered a humble job. If the family did not, the person with least standing such as daughters washed the feet of others as they entered.

So from a modern perspective, the job of foot washing is something we would regard as below most any role or job. Really, in our culture, I can’t think of such a servant position. But what we need to know is that for Jesus to get on his hands and knees to do such a thing is an act of true humility and servant hood. So, what kind of love is this? It’s one that values service to others over being served.

Next, we have an exchange between Peter and Jesus about why Jesus is doing this. Jesus confirms what we’ve already recognized about service. But let’s reread part of this passage:

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean, though not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him.

I always find 2 things remarkable about this exchange. First, when Peter wants more than his share, Jesus responds with an understanding reply rather than a shaming comment. The second thing is that Jesus already knew someone would betray him yet stayed in relationship with Judas rather than kicking him to the curb.

In our culture we are quick to judge, condemn, and belittle others for their faults. But Jesus knew that the only way to grow through our faults and mistakes is in the safety of relationship, not the cutting off of relationship. What kind of love is this? One that embraces people for where they are rather than condemning them for what they haven’t yet become.

Next we hear the sum of the Christian life. The passage reads:

After he had washed their feet, had put on his robe, and had returned to the table, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Any good teacher knows that if you want someone to learn something, you have to present it in multiple ways. Jesus teaches by example in his deeds but he goes a step further and shares explicitly what the teaching is. He wants them to truly internalize what the message is and live it out, a life of service, connection, and a living body of Christ. What kind of love is this? One that wants others to grow, thrive, and become who God created them to be.

Sisters and brothers, we encounter Jesus tonight at his most intimate. He has shared with his disciples and us what he thinks is important. He knows he’ll soon be betrayed and will die but rather than retreat, he stays with those he loves. What kind of love is this? It’s one that values the people around him. It’s one that values service to others over being served. One that embraces people for where they are rather than condemning them for what they haven’t yet become. One that wants others to grow, thrive, and become who God created them to be.

As we move from this time and soon enter the garden where Jesus will be arrested, my prayer is that we never forget what kind of love this is and our calling to live it out. As Jesus said, “If [we] know these things, [we] are blessed if [we] do them. Amen.

Left Behind or Called Ahead?

Sermon based upon Matthew 24:36-44 <-- Audio file of sermon

Good morning. It’s great to be back with you and I’m going to be here for the next few weeks. Given that we’re going into Epiphany, which means “divine manifestation,” I thought I’d do a sermon series on apocalyptic literature in the bible and see what “divine manifestation” we could unearth. This week we’re looking at a text from Matthew, next week is from Revelation, and the following week is from Daniel. All three texts represent different eras and forms of apocalyptic literature.

This from of writing has been used for thousands of years and many people believe it is telling about a literal time and place to come. Personally, I’m not sure that’s true. The word apocalypse comes from a Greek word that means “revelation” and what God has repeatedly shown is that we don’t have to play guessing games about how to live because God reveals what we need to know. The point of the writers of apocalyptic texts was not to speak to a generation sometime down the line in a code that no one would understand until that time had passed. The biblical writers were speaking to their people in that time in a way that was supposed to make a difference to them in their daily lives. Often times, I feel that the real miracle of the bible is that it still speaks to us across all this time and continues to offer relevant revelation to us here and now.

But before we go further, let me tell you that I’m a very humble person when it comes to the bible and all the ways God reveals God’s self in the world. I assure you that anything I share with you is #1 faithful and #2 represents an earnest effort of study and reflection. But are there more or different things that can be said that what I share? Most definitely, YES!

All this buildup leads into today’s biblical passage. I don’t know about you but when I read this text I immediately thought of the Left Behind book series. Now, I’ve not actually read those books but I felt compelled to find out a bit more about them because I suspect that I’m not the only one who thought of the connection. So, I started with an editorial synopsis of the first book in the series entitled Left Behind. Let me share with you what I read:

Piloting his 747, Rayford Steele is musing about his wife Irene’s irritating religiosity and contemplating the charms of his “drop-dead gorgeous” flight attendant, Hattie. First Irene was into Amway, then Tupperware, and now it’s the Rapture of the Saints. Steele believes he’ll put the plane on autopilot and go visit Hattie. But Hattie’s in a panic: some of the passengers have disappeared! The Rapture has happened, abruptly driverless cars are crashing all over, and the slick, sinister Romanian Nicolae Carpathia plans to use the UN to establish one world government and religion. Meanwhile, Steele teams up with Buck Williams, a buck-the-system newshound, to form the Tribulation Force, an underground of left-behind penitents battling the Antichrist.

Now, when I finished this reading, I couldn’t figure out what the deal was with these books. Is this the same book that a decade ago was causing people to change their lives and get “right” with God? To me, it sounds much more like a dark comedy than a call to Christ.

So, what’s up with this thing we call “the rapture?” Where did we get this idea and is this what the scripture is telling us? Well, most biblical scholars say that this passage is not about a rapturing of the saints. The idea of rapture is a fairly young one in the history of Christianity. It only dates back to the 1800’s and even scholars who believe in it admit there’s no biblical evidence for their belief.

And if we are talking about biblical evidence, why would Jesus go from consistently talking to people in a way that was about their present lives to suddenly talking about something that would not happen or make sense for thousands of years? Well, he didn’t. This passage is part of a larger text where Jesus is talking about recognizing the Messiah, something which he said to them would happen in their generation and would be ongoing. In the 2 verses prior, he says, “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.”

Most biblical scholars say this passage is about eschatology and eschatology is nothing more than a fancy word that means the God’s ultimate destiny of humanity. So what is the ultimate destiny of humanity? Some people do think rapture is a part of God’s ultimate vision for the world but there are many other beliefs as well. Let me offer up a couple of other visions for you to consider.

A famous theologian named Paul Tillich says that our destiny is to finally see and understand our incredible brokenness and disconnect from God and one another fully. And that when we see this, we’re then open to truly living in the presence of God. Jürgen Moltmann says that faith is found in hope. He feels that our ultimate destiny is not about the last days but rather the Christian hope and living fully into God’s vision for us here and now. Even Jesus shared an eschatological perspective during his ministry by talking about things that were of final and supreme importance. He spoke about the coming of the Kingdom of God in present and ongoing tenses and demanded a new and higher righteousness here and now.

As you can tell, there are more visions for the ultimate destiny of humanity than just the Left Behind books. So, what is this text about? Well, it is about Jesus coming into our lives. And quite clearly something significant happens when Jesus comes into our lives. Let’s reread part of this text thinking that Jesus wants us to know something about our destiny.

36“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

When read it that way, it seems much more like the “when and where” of Christ’s revelation will be a part of our everyday life and everyday function. We won’t know it or know what it looks like until it happens.

Now don’t get hung up on the fact that this passage mentions the flood story. It’s not saying anything about sinfulness or judgment. Jesus was just using a familiar story that people would know to say that people were going about their business unaware of what would happen next.

And it’s the same today. This passage is telling us that we simply do not know when experiencing the presence of Jesus is going to happen. Much like the time of Noah, we’ll be going about our daily business when Jesus’ presence is revealed to us. But here comes the key to all of this. When that happens, when we really see and understand what Jesus Christ and the Gospel are truly about, we’re transformed and rather than being left behind… we might even be called ahead.

So, again, we need to ask, what is this ultimate destiny in Christ’s presence that we need to be watching for? Simply put, it is the salvation we find in Christ. To really find Jesus and get the Gospel is to finally see and understand the freedom, grace, and deliverance we experience in Christ. Christ shows us a way of understanding ourselves, of connecting with the other, and of knowing our place in the universe. Knowing the presence of Christ shows us the way to a meaningful life and connects us to our purpose in the world today.

You know what that’s like don’t you? You know, it’s the sensation of recognizing and embracing the reality that we each have value. It’s realizing that there are purposes larger than ourselves and that we’re supposed to be a part of them. It’s waking up to see the needs around us and of claiming the power to make a difference in the world. It’s encountering deliverance and being called ahead to lay foundations for others rather than being left behind.

Christmas has come and gone and part of my holiday always includes watching the classic movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. You know, this movie is a great example of finally recognizing the presence of the Gospel in our lives. The main character George Bailey, is going about his daily life unaware of what his real purpose is. He’s focused on a vision of the future that will in fact never come. It’ll never come because he’ll soon be transformed when a series of events break through to George and he at last understands his purpose. In finding this, he experiences deliverance from his old ways of living. He then leaves behind his old notions of fumbling through life and then lives into new meaning with those around him. He realized that all along he was called ahead to pave the way for sustainable housing and to be an integral part of his community.

This brings me to the final point of the what I think the scripture is telling us, which is that when you get the Gospel, when you really experience the presence of Christ, you’re called out and called ahead, leaving behind your previous ways and focus. We’re told that: 40… two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left.

This is the story of what it’s like when someone has awareness of purpose. They then have direction, a pull toward something else and then leave behind where they were to go out and live into their true purpose… a call if you will.

Call stories where one is called ahead and something is left behind are throughout the entire Bible. You don’t have to look very far to find these stories. Consider the story of Zacchaeus. When he encounters Jesus, he drops everything to go out and fulfill a new purpose. There’s also the story of Simon and his brother Andrew in the book of Mark. Jesus tells them follow me and you will become fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed him. Even a Donkey found new purpose and left behind its village when Jesus told his disciples to go into a certain village to find a specific donkey that he had use of. They did that and the donkey then bore Jesus into Jerusalem. So if even a donkey can find new purpose through Christ and leave behind an old life, then where does that leave us?

Well, it leaves us looking for what we are supposed to do with this purpose and meaning that’s been revealed to us. Trust me, I know that most of us don’t feel like we’ve been connected with our ultimate purpose or destiny in the world and many don’t have the privilege to follow inner desires. But we all have something in us… some cause or purpose that’s larger than ourselves that calls to us, pulling us toward it. And if we live into that purpose fully, there’s a feeling of being called ahead that leads us to go do the work of Christ in the world.

Look around you. We’re living examples of what it means to live out that call. I left behind a home, friends, and a career to go to seminary and become a minister. Also, many of us belong to ministries where we feel called out to share the Gospel with those around us. Look at the different ministries of this church. What about Soup and Serenity, the resale shop, the deacon’s food pantry, and countless other causes First Pres works with? Or outside the church, many are involved in scouting, the Bridges program, and much much more. These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the ways we’ve encountered Christ’s call and were called ahead to make a way for others.

I suspect we leave behind lots of things as well. We sacrifice an afternoon of leisure to be with one another and help someone move or cope with tragedy or celebrate births. We let go of grudges because the hold us back from our work in the present. We leave behind old behaviors because we are called ahead to live into something bigger than what we have always known.

This is the real heart of the matter. Jesus’ presence shows us the way to live into something far more fulfilling and rewarding than anything we could have conjured on our own. What we’re talking about here is not just a J. O. B. We’re talking about vocation. So when this scripture passage tells us that we need to be vigilant and watch for Christ’s presence in our lives, it’s because this is of supreme importance. Embracing Jesus’ revelation says more about ultimate vision than the notion of rapture could ever express.

Sisters and Brothers, we truly are called ahead… but not so that others will be left behind. We are called ahead to pave the way for others to experience the revelation of Christ in their lives. So, when we ache for deliverance from meaninglessness, look for Christ. When we need direction, look for Christ. When we hunger for purpose, look for Christ. I assure you that we won’t know exactly when but we’ll find him in everyday places, showing us a new and more excellent way. This is our charge, to be watchful, open to seeing, and ready to embrace Christ’s revelation in the world. Amen.

Power Failure

Sermon part of Advent series where "The Stars Tell The Story." This one is from the "Fallen Star" of Lucifer with the guiding scriptures Isaiah 14:12-15 & Revelation 12:7-9. <-- Audio file of sermon

Pastor:
Good morning. Last Sunday we heard from the star Polaris about God’s faithfulness and light in creation. Other than some of you wondering why the North Star had a southern accent, it was a wonderful visitor for the first Sunday of Advent. This Sunday we have a more peculiar guest. This guest is known to all of us but not usually in the form of a guest speaker. Today the “fallen star” of Lucifer is going to talk to us. So, I present to you, Lucifer.

Lucifer:
Well, I don’t know about all this “fallen star” business. I really see myself as one who chose a different path rather than cast out. I am more of a capitalist meeting the demands of ever growing needs. Can you blame me for trying to provide what you want? Of course not. I’m no fallen star. I’m a business man, a purveyor of pathways to meet your desires. I am no idiot in a red outfit with horns and I am certainly not here to steal your soul. Souls are your own. You choose what shape it takes.

But, where are my manners? Here I am a guest in your home. I should really be finding out what it is I can provide for you.

I hear you are looking for a pastor. Those are one of my specialties. Now let me see… I know a man who has all the right skills for the job. He has a great personality. He loves to stand up in front of people. And best of all, he has a real way with words. I can send him your way.

Pastor:
Wait, wait, wait… I know where this is going. I’ve met some of your “pastors” and trust me, they are not welcome here.

Lucifer:
What ever do you mean?

Pastor:
I mean that these people are not looking for someone with the right image on the outside but an ego driven control freak on the inside.

Lucifer:
Granted, he has a robust ego but such a person will attract new members through his charisma. New members means more money. More money means security.

Pastor:
Charisma is no substitute for a relationship with someone who loves the people of this church and wants to be loved by them. Charisma can be a good gift but it has to be rooted in love. As for members and security, those come from genuine love too.

Lucifer:
Pastor Lavender, love is overrated and always lets people down. I offer power to people right at their fingertips. I offer pathways to get what they want, what they desire. You talk about love but that takes time and has no guarantees attached. I fulfill the emptiness and the void right away. No waiting period.

Pastor:
No waiting period but also no true fulfillment either. The next day, your pathway leaves us empty again looking for that next fix of whatever drug you just fed us… greed, lust, pride, wrath. You give the quick fix but God gives the true fix.

Lucifer:
Oh yes, God… I should have known that God would come up since this is a church and all. It is God who filled you with the nonsense that I did something wrong or fell from heaven. So what would you say if I told you that God doesn’t love you? What would you say if I said that God could care less about what happens to you? He doesn’t love you or care.

Truly… consider this: You believe God set all this in motion, right? Well then why doesn’t God intervene when you feel hurt? When your loved one died, why didn’t God fix it? When your heart was broken why did God let you suffer? Some of you are parents, right? When your child hurts, do you help? Of course you do! God does not love you or God would intervene.

Pastor:
Lucifer, I’m a patient women but I’m not going to stand here and let you tell these people lies. Your whole logic is filled with manipulation rather than truth. First of all, why are these hearts broken and feelings hurt? I’m guessing it all happened when someone chose to lash out instead of work it out. They chose your path of vengeance instead of God’s path of relationship.

Secondly, you say God doesn’t love us or care because we’re left on our own. Well, I’ll grant you that no booming voice comes down from the sky. God doesn’t send emails reminding us to get our regular health screenings to prevent cancer. As far as I know, no God shaped hand has swooped down from the sky to prevent a car wreck. But God provides intervening support and love every day.

Lucifer:
Blah blah blah

Pastor:
Who do you think surrounds that person when their heart is broken? Their family and friends! Those are among the most pure gifts from God on this earth. And do you give gifts like that? No, you give acquaintances that are around long enough to get their needs met. And how about that death? I’m betting that again, God never left their side whether it was in the form of loved ones, medical support, or God’s gentle spirit of peace.

God acts through us, not over us. God’s interventions are about empowering creation rather than manipulating it. What has God done for us lately? More than I can count. What have you done for us lately? You broke our hearts. You left us there hurting. You made the hole in us bigger.

Lucifer:
Hmph… If that is true, why do I have more power than God? You demand an outlet for greed, I give you the opportunity to make money in your businesses if you make the choices I show you. But more than that, I go a step further and provide a pathway for you to influence politicians and regulators to make all that happen legally. I didn’t create greed or money or businesses. I only showed you a way to use them. They were your desires. I only showed you how to fulfill them.

Pastor:
Oh, and those “choices” that you show us, what do they entail? They mean standing on the backs of those that can’t fight for themselves. They mean building up wealth while ignoring those who are without. And what if I’m one of those who suffer because I can’t get a job to even take care of my basic needs? Your “choices” only make me feel worse about how hard I’ve tried and have nothing to show for it!

Lucifer:
My choices are just fine. You are the broken ones. You lust for violence and revenge. You crave retribution. And me, well I simply provide you with ways to cut others down. War, gossiping, viewing and creating violent images… they are all just tools you choose to deal with your brokenness. I didn’t break it. I simply showed you how to deal with it.

I don’t make families act out violently. But since so many of you want to do that, I help make it easy to do by showing you how to make laws that revictimize victims and how to use greed to hold down funding for programs to help support families rebuild. I’m not the cause. I just help you get what you want.

Sexism, racism, classism… those are all tools of oppression that you made by your desire to cling tightly to your fears and cut others off.

Pastor:
Lucifer, I actually agree with you on this part. You didn’t cause any of it. We made choices. But we made choices that hurt others and ourselves because we were overrun by fear or pride. And what did you do? Instead of trying to nurture us so we could shed our fears or let down the guard of pride, you took advantage of us in our weak places. You made it even harder to see hope. And worst of all, you made us doubt ourselves. Your actions manipulate us into thinking that we aren’t worthy of grace and couldn’t be loved. You may not have started it but you definitely made it worse!

Lucifer:
Perhaps I have overstated myself here. I am your friend. I am here to make your lives better. You have fears and I show you how to make them not overwhelm you. You have a deep and genuine need to feel good about yourselves and I show you pathways to use your pride to feel better. I am truly here for you. Otherwise why would I bother?

Pastor:
You bother because you are the truly warped one. You find pleasure from using your power to manipulate. Meanwhile God’s heart breaks as we grow farther apart from each other. What do you do? You fill us with more emptiness. What does God do? Keep loving us and sending more guiding lights to help us find our way home.

Lucifer, I think we’ve been gracious guests but your time here is done! You have come into our sacred space and lied to us, made us question God’s love, and tried to undermine God’s gifts of love. Leave now!

Lucifer:
I may leave this place right now, but mark my words, you’ll choose what I can give you over some false hope of love. I don’t have to come to you. You’ll come to me. (rumble)

Pastor:
Folks, I’m sorry about that. When we invited him, I had hoped that he would at least be honest about who he is. Love is not a false hope. God’s power is true and manifests itself as love… love that transforms our lives into something more than we could have imagined. You wonder how God responds to our needs? Look to Christ. Look to the body of Christ that surrounds us and holds us. Look to God’s guiding lights that surround us. Look to God’s light that burns bright inside of us.

When fear grips us, don’t listen to Lucifer’s message of taking advantage of people, cutting them down, or cutting them off. When pride wells up in us, Lucifer will only guide us to put down others, stand on their backs, and feel false superiority. Sisters and brothers, hear the call of God. Receive the gifts of love and relationship with the giver of life and all creation. And most of all, live as the children of God, knowing that grace abounds, faith sustains, and love always prevails. Amen.