Thursday, January 22, 2015

Feb. 1, 2015 4th Sunday of Epiphany

Mark 1:21-28

 21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
   25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
   27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

 “The Word Among Words”

There is a “glut of words in our day” - little of which are pure, as God’s Word is.  A word of life, hope, forgiveness, love, peace.

A word powerful enough to do what it says; which is, “ living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”  Heb. 4:12

A word which “shall not return empty”; a word of truth, of love, a living word which became flesh and dwelt among us.   A word with power and authority which can be trusted.

But how can we know it is the word of God being spoken?  No preacher is perfect.  God’s Word is and it will do it’s thing, even through imperfect words.

No word which is not valid on the street or in the kitchen, office, or on the job is worth listening to in church.  If it cannot be lived it is just a noisy gong and a clanging cymbal.
For the word is to be lived, with power and passion among all the words of our lives.

We do not live by knowledge alone, but by the word of love which empowers us and awakens us to be sensitive to the needs of others.

Actions put words to work and make them live.  Christian morality and conduct is measured by what it does to others - indifference or concern.

God’s Word is a living word which calls us to live our words.  It is a word we can trust and need to return to  often so it can become flesh and dwell among us - and do what it says - even in and through us!

“Where do we stand?”

Two places to stand in text:  With the people who were amazed or with the man possessed by an evil spirit, who experienced the power of Jesus Words.

We probably see ourselves with the first choice - for we are not demon possessed!  Yet it is the demonic who goes home with something.  So what might it mean if we stood with him?

It would mean we have our own demons which need to be recognized and confessed.  Obvious ones: alcohol, drugs, tobacco, caffeine, money,; less obvious: greed, pride, selfishness, dishonesty, lust for power and prestige.  We need to be exorcised, cleansed, changed if we are to “put on the new nature”, that is, if we are to put on “compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, for bearing one another, and forgiving each other, ...putting on love...”
Eph. 3:12-14

With knowledge of God comes the responsibility to love for God.
Woman in NYC: “If your God doesn’t care about the rats in my apartment; I don’t care about your God.”



Sunday, January 18, 2015

Jan 25, 2015 3rd Sunday of Epiphany

Mark 1:14-20

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel." 16 And passing along by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men." 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zeb'edee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them; and they left their father Zeb'edee in the boat with the hired servants, and followed him.

 “Repent and Believe”

To repent is seen to be negative.  It is a sign of how bad we have been.
To believe is seen to be positive.  It is a sign of how good we are.

We try to believe enough so we won’t have to repent.  We don’t see anything good about repentance.  Much religious effort is spent to keep us from having to repent.

Whereas, the truth is, repentance is a positive act whenever and however it happens, which enables something new and creative and beautiful to happen in our lives.

To repent is to open oneself up to change.  It is to open one’s heart, mind, and soul to new possibilities and to dare risk trying a new way of living.  It is a positive thing we
all need to do more often.

It is our beliefs which often get us in trouble, not our repenting, for repentance leads to life.   To believe the Gospel of Jesus is to be open to change in one’s life, including change in one’s beliefs.  For with Jesus all things are possible!



“Come, Follow Me”

For some reason beyond human understanding, through the course of history, God has chosen to use human beings - not angels, but mortals - to do what God wants done.

Simon, Andrew, James and John, said yes to Jesus’ call to follow him and then found out how big the catch was.  It asked more of them then they ever imagined possible.

To follow Jesus, as the one God sent, is not just to be saved.  It is to be thrust into a hostile world there to have to do what we don’t want to do - be merciful as our God is merciful!   Forgive as our God forgives!

This is where the action comes.

It means getting involved in life for God.  Or better yet, letting God get involved in life through us.  It means we are called to do what Jesus would have us do, not what we want to do.  Be compassionate as God is compassionate!





Sunday, January 11, 2015

Jan 18 2015 2nd Sunday of Epiphany

John 1:43-51

43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
   44 Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
   46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
   “Come and see,” said Philip.
   47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
   48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
   Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”
   49 Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”
   50 Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You will see greater things than that.” 51 He then added, “Very truly I tell you, you will see ‘heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

“Faith - A Voyage Of Discovery”

Andrew says more then he knows.  He is excited because of his discovery and gets carried away, which leads him to discover how right he is.
The questions which begin this text lead to the discovery as to who Jesus is.

It is a voyage of discovery, and there is a lot to be discovered about God, ourselves, and others.

There is a new school of theology (or an old school made new) -  process theology.  It is living with uncertainty yet daring to trust a promise given and live out that promise.  It is finding our answers by ‘living into them’.  This is not religious certainty which has no room for surprises.  This is faith which lives with uncertainty in many things, yet certain of one thing.  God is with me and God loves me.

As Anyita Bryan puts it, “I am looking for a voyage of discovery which continually opens up new possibilities to me; new joys, new discoveries of the meaning of being loved and of loving both humanly and with my God.”

“The quest for certainty is self-defeating, and that is true whether the certainty we seek is an assurance about God or about some person we love very much or about the significance of our own selves.  In each case, I think, the more we seek certainty or assurance, the more uncertain we become. ... But the quest for understanding, as I see it, requires that we give up the search for certainty and go on a voyage of discovery.  And there is a lot to discover  about God, about other people and about ourselves.”  John Dunne, Psychology Today, Jan 1978

Nathanael was too sure too soon.  Jesus chides him a bit for his ease of believing, and reminds him that he hasn’t seen anything yet.  He is going to see more than his certainty can be sure of!  He is going to discover that faith is more than being sure: more than little miracles.

 Faith is a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life and is always on a quest for understanding; a voyage of discovery.
And there is always more to be discovered than has been discovered.
This is the growing edge of faith and life.

The quest for certainty is self-defeating.  It is sure to close up rather then open up the discovery of God,  self, and  others.

For me, the greatest expression of faith in the New Testament is the unknown man who said, “Lord I believe, help mine unbelief.”
Faith is a quest for understanding that which is too great to be understood.

The only certainty we need for this voyage of discovery, the only thing we need to be sure of, is that which Paul speaks of when he says, “I am sure that...nothing can separate me from the love of God in Christ Jesus, my Lord!”  Romans 8:38

I need to be sure someone loves me.  That is all!  Then I can be unsure of everything else.  Then I can be open to discovery, to understanding, to changing my mind and my beliefs, to facing my prejudices, to seeing God where I least expect to see God, and to anything else which happens to me, around me, with me, in me, which helps me better understand and accept myself, others and Christ, in the voyage through life together.



Sunday, January 4, 2015

Jan 11, 2015 The Baptism Of Our Lord Sunday

Mark 1:4-11

 4 And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”


“His Baptism and Ours”

It all begins with Baptism, this thing called mission and ministry.
It began with Baptism for Jesus, and it begins there for us.

As one theologian put it, baptism is:  “Not only a Rite of Initiation, not only a signal moment in (our) relation to God as a child of God, but it is also a time of becoming a character in the on going story of God’s work in (our) world.”

It is a commissioning more then a christening; a setting aside for special purpose.  An ordination if you please into ministry.  Baptism is for what we can give to life and to others because we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the Cross of Christ forever.  It is not meant to separate us from others; it is meant to make us more open to being the presence of Christ for others.

For God shows no partiality!  Not even to the Baptized!  God loves all!  Period!

“Baptism - Sacrament of Belonging”

To be baptized is more than a free ticket to heaven.  It is a means of identification with the family of believers.

To be baptized is to belong to a body of people who care and share together.  Who come together in worship, for worship is not a solo event.

Who come together to work and witness.  Belonging and coming together is important in our lives of faith.

We are baptized; we do belong.  To Christ and to one another in his body, the Church.