Nov. 27, 2011 Advent 1

Mark 13:24-37

(Jesus is speaking)

24 “But in those days, following that distress,

   “‘the sun will be darkened, 

   and the moon will not give its light; 

25 the stars will fall from the sky, 

   and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

   26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

   28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

    32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

   35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

“Watch - In Faith”

The word watch often goes with the word out.

“You better watch out, you better not pout...”

It carries more from the sense of a threat of something bad  happening rather then a promise of something good happening.

This produces more fear, guilt, apprehension which leads to up tight, unhappy living and believing.  Not able to let go and live.

How contrary to the spirit of Jesus, who came that we might have life abundantly!

So...lets put in a different preposition - in.

Watch in faith, in joy, in thankfulness, in anticipation of something good going to happen.  Watch in faith for the mystery of God to unfold before your very eyes. 

It will...it has...it does...it is happening now!

To stay awake means to stay faithful at each moment in our lives.  Living not in the idolatry of certainty, but in the ambiguity of faith which wrestles with mystery and dares go beyond reason. Christmas is not reasonable.  It is mystery opening before our eyes when we are open to seeing it.  This is what we watch for!

 “The Mystery Awaited”

Mystery means (5th meaning in Webster) “any truth unknowable except by divine revelation.”  That is, mystery can be something I discover and live with, embrace and experience through encounter.

We don’t solve the mystery of the end time.  We live ready lives, alive and alert to the mystery of God’s love as it has been, is, and shall be in our world.

These words are not a threat;  they are a promise.  A promise which creates hope in our lives.

To be watching for Jesus return is to be watching for the return of a lover, and you know how exciting and energizing that can be!

We are to live as those who know a great mystery, and live to experience that mystery in deeper and deeper ways in our lives.  As Albert Einstein has said:

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the source of all true art and science (and at the center of all true religion).  He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.”

 “And Yet O lord”  

“Such a text must be approached cautiously, lest we say too much and therefore be too much misunderstood.”  Walter Brueggemann, Proclamation 3, p. 13

It is tempting to try say too much about the second coming; and use it to try scare people

into being good and in believing in God, like we  do with children.

          “You better watch out, you better not pout,

you better not cry, I'm telling you why,

Jesus Christ is coming to town.” 

This is not what these words are about.  They are about hope and are meant to generate anticipation, excitement, expectation, and joy because the One we are waiting for is a friend, not an enemy.  We are to get ready for something big which is going to happen.

In this, which is not the easiest time of the year, we hear this word of hope which gives meaning and direction to all we do.  Our God, who has come to dwell with us is coming again, now and at the end of time - we need not fear, we can live in hope!  For with God there is always hope.  And with God’s coming we experience hope.  Nothing can happen to take this away from us, for no matter what happens God is present for us and will turn the worst into the best.  Christmas will be a joy, no matter what!

“There were many periods in our past when we had every right in the world to turn to God and say, ‘enough.  Since You seem to approve of all these persecutions, all these outrages, have it Your way: let Your world go on without Jews.  either You are our partner in history, or You are not.  If you are, do Your share; if You are not, we consider ourselves free of past commitments.   Since You choose to break the Covenant, so be it.’

And yet, and yet...We went on believing, hoping, invoking His name...We did not give up on Him....for this is the essence of being Jewish:  never to give up- never to yield to despair.”  A Jew Today, p.  164  Elie Wiesel

Nov. 20, 2011 Christ The King Sunday

Matthew 25:31-46

    31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

   34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

   37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

   40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

   41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

   44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

   45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

   46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

 “Come, You Blessed”

We all know that words can be cheap.

We all know that faith which is not lived is hollow, empty, meaningless; that without love faith is nothing.  I Cor. 13:1-3

We also know that we fall far short of being who we say we are. 

Jimmy and Tammy Baker are not the only hypocrites in the world.

So we come here again, not to gloat, but to be kept on course. 

Just as the rocket to the moon has to constantly be adjusted lest it miss the mark.

Today we come to the end of the Church year and we hear a word of hope from Ezekiel and Paul.( Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24; Ephesians 1:15-23)  The story is complete; we can live in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection and in the confidence that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Then the Gospel turns our eyes back to life in the here and now, with a strong reminder that what counts is not just dreaming about what will be, but loosing  ourselves in what is.  Not just star gazing, looking for the coming of the Glorious Kingdom, but seeing the places and people whom God has placed in our path, through whom we are given the opportunity to live out our words, and make our faith active in love.  Not because we are trying to gain heaven, but because we are being led by, and are open to the nudging of the Holy Spirit.  This makes us vulnerable to the real human needs which cross our paths and call for our compassion.

We don’t  always know we are doing it.  It is not trying to be religious; it is being open to what comes our way and responding with something which has in it the love of God.  Did you notice, both those who were affirmed and those who were rejected, didn’t know why!  The depth of our goodness and badness can often best be seen when we think no one is looking.

 Sometimes we are being evil and don’t know it.

i.e.  Scott Peck story of the father who gave his second son the gun his older brother used to committed suicide, as a Christmas present.

Is it possible that whenever I evade my responsibility to stand up for my brother or sister in need, turn my back, pretend I don’t hear, can’t see, become indifferent, it is a sign of the evil within me, which keeps God from  loving through me?

Likewise, when ever I stop to help, to care, to live in some small way, the love of God is there to do its powerful thing. As Mother Teresa says, 

“All gestures of love, however small they be,

in favor of the poor and the unwanted.

are important to Jesus.”

This makes God glad, for God’s Kingdom is still coming on earth as it is in heaven.  Then God can say what God wants to say: 

“Come ye blessed (of my Father),

inherit the Kingdom prepared for you,

from the foundation of the world.”

“The Least of These”

Two things stand out in these words of Jesus.

1.  The Kingdom of God has a lot to do with the nobodies of this world.  It always has and it always will.

Life in the Kingdom is forsaking greatness for smallness,

      property for people,

      one’s own religiosity for others needs,

      the protection of respectability for the vulnerability of compassion.

“It is (our) care and love and service of ‘the very least’ of the human race , the helpless, the presumed ‘godforsaken’ the lawbreakers, the ‘little ones’ which are the marks of the righteousness expected of the authentic children of God.  “  

This is where God looks to see what it is we really believe!

2.  We do this best when we don’t know we are doing it.  We do this best when

we lose ourselves in being kind and doing good, not because this is

the way to get to heaven, but because this is what naturally flows out

of a life touched by the love, grace, and mercy of God.

When he was a wise old man Aldous Huxley wrote: “It is a bit embarrassing to have been concerned with human problems all one’s life and find at the end that one has no more to offer by way of advice than try to be a little kinder.”

It is as a Western Mystic who said, ”Do you want to be a saint?  Be kind, be kind, be kind.”

And it was Mother Teresa who said: 

“At the end of life we will not be judged by

                  how many diplomas we have received

      how much money we have made

      how many great things we have done,

We will be judged by

        ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat

        I was naked and you clothed me

        I was homeless and you took me in.”

“Hungry not only for bread - but hungry for love.

Naked not only for clothing - but naked for human dignity and respect.

Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks - but homeless because of rejection. 

This is Christ in distressing disguise.   What we do to them we do to him! “

Nov. 13, 2011 22nd Sunday of Pentecost

Matthew 25:14-30

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

   19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

   21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

   22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

   23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

   24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

   26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

   28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“Afraid To Risk”  

What we do not use we waste.  Money is no good unless it is used.  God’s gifts of

grace, love, forgiveness are of little good if they are only kept to ourselves.  In fact, they create self-righteousness in us which leads to no good.

“In this one sense, we human beings are akin to the battery in a flashlight; unused, it corrodes.  What we do not use is wasted; what we do not share we cannot keep.”

Earl A. Loomis, “The Self In Pilgrimage” p. 7

What we fear to risk we loose.

“A child who fears he won’t be liked never finds out how likable he could be.  A young girl who believes she’s so unattractive she’ll never have a date actually contributes, by worry , to the poor appearance that fulfills her fears.” Dr.  Loomis p. 6

When we are so afraid of making a mistake that we do nothing, we loose more than if we risked, and made a mistake.  God has a cure for mistakes.  It’s called forgiveness.  

Dare to risk making a mistake and discover what God can do with what little you might have to make a big difference in someone's life, a difference which makes a big difference to God!

Therein lies the abundant life Jesus promised.

 “Doing Something With Our Talents” 

The emphasis of this parable is on the servant who did nothing - who was afraid to fail so didn’t try.

The parable warns us against doing nothing with the Gospel...our talents...our uniqueness...our creativity...our ideas and skills...our unique self.

When we don’t use it we lose it!  

It is okay to fail; make a mistake, have a flop.

It is not okay to do nothing.

What ever God has created in us, that is our talents.

What ever we do with it, that is the measure of success in life.

As Paul Simpson Duke suggests: 

“Jesus’ point seems to be that the worst we can do is nothing.”  

“The parable proclaims joyous freedom under great grace.”

Nov. 6, 2011 All Saints Sunday

Matthew 5:1-12

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

    He said:

   3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, 

   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

4 Blessed are those who mourn, 

   for they will be comforted. 

5 Blessed are the meek, 

   for they will inherit the earth. 

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 

   for they will be filled. 

7 Blessed are the merciful, 

   for they will be shown mercy. 

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, 

   for they will see God. 

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, 

   for they will be called children of God. 

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, 

   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

   11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 “Rejoice And Be Glad”

“I’m no Saint!

I’ve made some mistakes.

I’d do some things differently.

I’d not do some things I did, and do some things I didn’t do.

I’m no Saint!”  Gerald Ford as he was being considered for appointment to V. Pres.

Most of us do not consider ourselves to be saints.  In fact, it is almost an insult to be called a saint.  It means you are not in touch with real life.  As the agnostic Robert Ingersoll describes, you are someone who is “...not quite sick enough to die nor healthy enough to be wicked.”

This is a gross contradiction!  A saint is someone who is very human. 

 A saint is someone who wants much out of life but refuses to crush life to get it.  Who is passionate enough to not hurt others as he/she drinks deeply of life. 

A saint is someone who dares to live as a human with an eye towards heaven.  Who can be “poor in spirit” because he/she doesn’t have to pretend.  Who can be “meek” because he/she doesn’t have to always be right.  Who can be” merciful” because he/she doesn’t have to judge others.  Who can “hunger and thirst after righteousness” because he/she doesn’t have to have all the answers all the time.  

A saint is a very human person who can “rejoice and be glad” amidst persecution, suffering, grief or pain because he/she lives on earth with an eye on heaven; and the love of God which comes from above.

“Enjoy The Luxury Of Doing Good”

We usually think of a saint as someone extraordinary.  A St. Francis of Assisi, a Maximillian Kolbe - the catholic priest who took the place of a condemned polish Jew at Auschwitz and was canonized a saint in l971, or a Mother Teresa.  A Raoul Wallenberg, Martin Luther King, or Dietrick Boenhoffer.

We don’t often think of ourselves as saints.  Yet this is what we are - all of us!

Or at least it can be said we are called to be saints!  We are called to live out our faith in the places where it makes a difference in our lives and in the lives of others.  Even as we are called saints numerous times in Scripture.  See Ps 31:23; Ps 31:4;Rom 1:7

This is what we are - saints!  Sinners who have not yet given up and thrown in the towel.

Real alive, vibrant, passionate, gutsy human beings who struggle to make faith “ a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life” (P. T. Forsythe) and not just a little frosting on the cake.

The Beatitudes are our marching orders.

“poor in spirit” - humble enough to laugh at our own foolishness and not claim to have all the answers.

“mourn” - feel the sadness of life and grieve deeply.

“meek” - Not weak, but strong in a gentle way.

“hunger and thirst for righteousness” - who desire something more than the easy life.

“merciful” - compassionate; walking with those who suffer; the luxury of doing good.

“pure in heart” - living from the inside out;  genuine; trustworthy; real.

“peacemakers” - something every one wants and seems to evade us all.

“persecuted” - to be a saint is no easy calling; it will mean conflict;  dangerous calling!

God calls us to be saints and God is with us, empowering us in this calling.  Nothing can keep us from being happy; Nothing can keep us from enjoying the luxury of doing good, loving justice, and walking humbly with our God!

Oct. 30, 2011 Reformation Sunday

John 8:31-36

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

   33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

   34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

“The Three Principles Of The Reformation”

Faith alone - by grace through faith we are saved,

Word alone - The freedom we have to believe according to the dictates of our conscience, bound only by the Word and guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Priesthood of all believers - we are all priest called to serve God in our living.

“FREE INDEED” 

Reformation Sunday is a powerful Sunday which reminds us of how great our God is, and how good it is to be loved by God!

Our reformation is to discover the truth that Jesus is hidden everywhere, even where we expect him least. It is also to recognize change as the driving force of God’s Word.

God’s Word is an instrument of change and will, if we let it, change the way we look at things. It “is the source of all that is creative in the life of the Church.”  (Luther)

It sets us free to be new and different people.  People who put love at the center of life and let nothing keep it from doing its thing.

There is a place for good works.  (In spite of what Luther said and experienced in his day.)  Deeds done because of faith.  James is a good book.  (In spite of what Luther said.)  Faith must be active in love.  

We are to be little Christ's who go about doing good, not because this is the way to earn heaven but because this is the way to show that we are free from the fear of losing heaven and to show not only that we love God, but that God first loved us

Oct. 23, 2011 19th of Pentecost

Matthew 22:34-46

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

   37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”

   “The son of David,” they replied.

   43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

   44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord: 

   “Sit at my right hand 

until I put your enemies 

   under your feet.”’

   45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

 “Loving Others”

The righteousness Jesus is talking about is the righteousness of love, which is more than being right and doing what I have every right to do.  It is being redemptive so that something forgiving and creative and good has a chance to happen within me and between us, and even through us.

To love others begins with loving ourselves.  If we don’t little good can happen with us.

A black Methodist minister in Mitchell, SD in the early ‘60’s put it this way:  

“When I gets up in the morning and I looks in the mirror;

If I don’t like what I sees, you’re in trouble.”

We are to love others as we love ourselves.  That is, to want what is best for them even as we want what is best for ourselves.  This means tough love - not doing for them what they must do for themselves as well as tender love - being a helpful hand when they cannot do what needs to be done.

To love others is to act redemptively in their lives.  Sometimes it means to say no; sometimes it means to put our lives on the line and suffer, and always it means to love as we have been loved.

The Pharisees were not willing to be loved as God would love them, and live with love as the driving force of their lives.  Neither are we!

Martin Niemoeller, a German Pastor from the World War II days gets to the heart of what Jesus is saying about loving our neighbor.

  

“Love our neighbor in place of, instead of yourself.

In other words, change places with your neighbor...

letting the other one enter the space where our love is.”

This we can only do as we first let God love us!  

There is no greater task on the face of the earth then to get people to smile because God loves them.  There also is no greater goal then this!

Martin Luther King when asked how he wanted to be remembered: “Let them say, ‘He tried to love somebody.’”

Mother Teresa: ”All gestures of love, however small they be, in favor of the poor and unwanted, are important to Jesus.”

Oct. 16, 2011 18th Sunday of Pentecost

Matthew 22:15-22

15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle him (Jesus) in his talk.  16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Hero'di-ans, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men.  17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?  19 Show me the money for the tax." And they brought him a coin.  20 And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"  21 They said, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  22 When they heard it, they marveled; and they left him and went away. 

 “A Loaded Question”  

A loaded question is one that has more hidden then revealed.

A loaded question doesn’t deserve a straight answer.  In fact it can’t be answered straight.

The issue at stake in this text is not simply the payment of taxes;  it is the issue of the plurality and priority of the claims on one’s life and substance.

The issue at the heart of the text is how much are we willing to struggle with our faith as a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of life.  How much are we willing to struggle with putting our faith into action in love.

The answer Jesus gave left them with the struggle to be responsible for their own answer.  And to determine where the hypocrisy was in their lives.  

Each of us has the responsibility to determine as best we can where the hypocrisy is in our lives and then work at being more genuine, more truly human.  This is the struggle of faith.  To determine what is Caesar and what is Gods.  That is, what priorities are going to claim our life and all its substance.  How are we going to live?

If the image of Caesar is on the coin, then the counterpart to that which Jesus leaves unsaid, is that Gods image is on us!  All of life is to be lived in gratitude to God who created us and sustains us with His love.

 ‘No Pat Answers”

Life isn’t black or white.  It is made up of the shades of gray.  It is not just having the answers; it is living with questions, struggles, even dilemmas.  When ever we ask a question which begs a “yes” or “no” answer, we are either setting a trap or evading the struggle which is necessary to grow.

Jesus didn’t answer such questions.  When closed minded people asked him a closed question, he gave them a riddle or a parable which made them come up with the answer. 

It also showed their hypocrisy.

It is a dangerous thing to be closed minded.  It just might keep us from ever getting close to the Kingdom of God.

To be in step with Jesus Christ today is to struggle to be open with the issues which touch our lives...abortion, divorce, homosexuality, alcoholism and drug abuse.

It is to be open to the changes which are always a part of life.

It is to dare put people before principles, as Jesus did.

Healed on Sabbath

Ate with tax collectors and sinners

Talked to an adulterous woman in public

Went to the home of Zaccheus

To be in step with Jesus is to have a relationship with God which is real and alive and changing.  A relationship of faith which is a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of my life.  A relationship which has room for failure and is open to surprises.  To live with Jesus is to have the surprise of our lives, not just once, not just once in a while, but many times as Jesus opens us up to the joys of life in Gods Kingdom.