John 1:1-18
1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. 1:3 All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made. 1:4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 1:5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it. 1:6 There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. 1:7 The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might believe through him. 1:8 He was not the light, but was sent that he might testify about the light. 1:9 The true light that enlightens everyone was coming into the world.
1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. 1:11 He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. 1:12 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name: 1:13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. 1:14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. 1:15 John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’” 1:16 From his fullness we all received grace upon grace. 1:17 For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.
John puts the Christmas story in theological language. Deep, powerful, penetrating language which grapples with the mystery of it all in words which grasp that mystery and holds it before us that we might penetrate it with our minds and embrace it with our hearts,
Here is what he tells us: We are a people of the Word, not just any word, not just a word, but THE WORD! The word which makes God known and creates faith in human hearts.
This Word is our life blood - the source of all we believe and the reason why we love.
It is a living Word living in us and living through us. It makes us a people of faith - it becomes “a power and passion in authority among the powers and passions of our lives.”
(P. T. Forsythe)
It also makes us a people of grace - a people who partake of grace at the Lord’s Table; and who practice grace in our living. Who believe in the real presence in the bread and wine and who practice the real presence in our daily living.
All because of the Word which became flesh and lived among us - full of grace and truth.
We are a people who trust in “God’s love which never ends and God’s dazzling grace which always is.” William Sloane Coffin
“The Word Became Flesh”
Christmas is here; and will soon be past. The celebration of Christmas, which begins earlier each year, will soon be over. Yet Christmas is never over. It never ends. It is hidden in every day, every word, every deed of our lives.
As we celebrate the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us, we also celebrate the Word becoming flesh - our flesh - and dwelling still in our midst.
Henri Nouwen: “The most important question for me is not, ‘How do I touch people?’ but, ‘How do I live the word I am speaking?”
Indeed, Christmas is not just once a year. It is yesterday, today, and forever, as the Word becomes flesh in us and dwells among us.
Indeed, Christmas is every day!
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Dec. 28, 2014 Christmas 1
Luke 2:22-40
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
“A Sign Spoken Against”
Jesus came as a sign; a sign of God’s love; a sign to be spoken for or against.
Many spoke against Jesus in his days - those who loved their religious ritual and formalism more then a living faith. They didn’t want to lose their importance as religious leaders to one who would make it so easy to be a child of God. The Rich Young Ruler spoke against Jesus; he wanted to buy his way in; not enter through the grace of God. The Pharisee’s spoke against Jesus - they were too proud to live by grace.
The question we all have to struggle with is “Do I speak against the sign God has given us?” With Christmas over - do I live as one who has celebrated it’s mystery and experienced its joy?
“To Be Or Not To Be”
What we believe is basic to who we become in life.
To surrender to Christ is to become a child of grace; it is come alive and discover real self identity and self worth. I am not a no body, no matter how insignificant I feel; I am a child of God and that makes me somebody - somebody unique, precious, and loved.
Out of surrender to Christ comes new birth in Christ. A life of becoming, including a life of good works. We become what we believe. When I believe I am a child of God -- I can fail and not be destroyed; I can have worth even when I don’t feel worthy... even when I have preached the worlds worst sermon.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
36 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.
“A Sign Spoken Against”
Jesus came as a sign; a sign of God’s love; a sign to be spoken for or against.
Many spoke against Jesus in his days - those who loved their religious ritual and formalism more then a living faith. They didn’t want to lose their importance as religious leaders to one who would make it so easy to be a child of God. The Rich Young Ruler spoke against Jesus; he wanted to buy his way in; not enter through the grace of God. The Pharisee’s spoke against Jesus - they were too proud to live by grace.
The question we all have to struggle with is “Do I speak against the sign God has given us?” With Christmas over - do I live as one who has celebrated it’s mystery and experienced its joy?
“To Be Or Not To Be”
What we believe is basic to who we become in life.
To surrender to Christ is to become a child of grace; it is come alive and discover real self identity and self worth. I am not a no body, no matter how insignificant I feel; I am a child of God and that makes me somebody - somebody unique, precious, and loved.
Out of surrender to Christ comes new birth in Christ. A life of becoming, including a life of good works. We become what we believe. When I believe I am a child of God -- I can fail and not be destroyed; I can have worth even when I don’t feel worthy... even when I have preached the worlds worst sermon.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Dec21, 2014 Advent 4
Luke 1:26--38
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Smuggling God Into The World
The extraordinary occurs in the ordinary, the uncommon in the common, the divine in the human. This is the mystery we celebrate in Christmas. Where ever love is in human form, something of God is there too, in divine form. Our task is to “keep our eyes skinned“, open for the miracle which is hidden in the common.
It wasn’t as easy as it looks, believing this promise and living with the mystery.
Consider Mary as Barbara Brown Taylor seeks to capture the moment the angel comes to her.
“If you decide to say No you simply drop your eyes and refuse to look up until you know the angel has left the room and you are alone again.
Then you smooth your hair and go back to your spinning or your reading or whatever it is that is most familiar to you and pretend that nothing has happened...Or you can set your book down and listen to a strange creature’s strange idea. You can decide to take part in a plan you did not choose, doing things you do not know how to do for reasons you con not entirely understand. You can take part in a thrilling and dangerous scheme with no script and no guarantees. You can agree to smuggled God into the world inside your own body.” (Mothers of God, pp. 150-53)
We stand with Mary and Joseph this morning in pure amazement at the wonder of Christmas and how God did it and continues to do it, in loving in human form.
“Blessed Is She Who Believed”
It is incredible - that Dr. Luke would report that a young woman would conceive without a man in her life; that Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph would believe what they were told, by angles.
It is incredible -not that God could do it. But that they believed it would be done through them!
The miracle of Christmas you see, is not that God was born of a virgin, but that a virgin believed God was to be born through her. Not that the Holy Spirit caused Mary to conceive, but that Joseph believed it was the Holy Spirit who did it.
As Luther says, “The miracle of Christ as Virgin-born, is a trifle for the mighty God. That God becomes a man is an even greater miracle. But the most amazing of them all is that the maiden finds the angle’s message credible and that the Child he promised would be hers.”
God chose her.
God chooses us, to also be God’s instruments. To be a human vessel through whom something of God’s love and grace becomes human and lives among us.
Blessed indeed are those who believe that there can be a fulfillment of God’s purposes through them, for they shall see God. And know the true meaning of Christmas.
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Smuggling God Into The World
The extraordinary occurs in the ordinary, the uncommon in the common, the divine in the human. This is the mystery we celebrate in Christmas. Where ever love is in human form, something of God is there too, in divine form. Our task is to “keep our eyes skinned“, open for the miracle which is hidden in the common.
It wasn’t as easy as it looks, believing this promise and living with the mystery.
Consider Mary as Barbara Brown Taylor seeks to capture the moment the angel comes to her.
“If you decide to say No you simply drop your eyes and refuse to look up until you know the angel has left the room and you are alone again.
Then you smooth your hair and go back to your spinning or your reading or whatever it is that is most familiar to you and pretend that nothing has happened...Or you can set your book down and listen to a strange creature’s strange idea. You can decide to take part in a plan you did not choose, doing things you do not know how to do for reasons you con not entirely understand. You can take part in a thrilling and dangerous scheme with no script and no guarantees. You can agree to smuggled God into the world inside your own body.” (Mothers of God, pp. 150-53)
We stand with Mary and Joseph this morning in pure amazement at the wonder of Christmas and how God did it and continues to do it, in loving in human form.
“Blessed Is She Who Believed”
It is incredible - that Dr. Luke would report that a young woman would conceive without a man in her life; that Elizabeth, Mary, and Joseph would believe what they were told, by angles.
It is incredible -not that God could do it. But that they believed it would be done through them!
The miracle of Christmas you see, is not that God was born of a virgin, but that a virgin believed God was to be born through her. Not that the Holy Spirit caused Mary to conceive, but that Joseph believed it was the Holy Spirit who did it.
As Luther says, “The miracle of Christ as Virgin-born, is a trifle for the mighty God. That God becomes a man is an even greater miracle. But the most amazing of them all is that the maiden finds the angle’s message credible and that the Child he promised would be hers.”
God chose her.
God chooses us, to also be God’s instruments. To be a human vessel through whom something of God’s love and grace becomes human and lives among us.
Blessed indeed are those who believe that there can be a fulfillment of God’s purposes through them, for they shall see God. And know the true meaning of Christmas.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Dec 14, 2014 Advent 3
John 1:6-8, 19-28
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
“One Whom We do Not Know”
“Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas,
star and angles gave the sign.”
And the world did not know him...
And his own people did not accept him.
And as strange as it sounds. even among us, more often then we would like to think, He stands as “One whom we do not know.”
He is among us in places we least expect, in people we find it difficult to be civil toward let alone love and in ways we are far from wanting to take as our way on this earth. For His way is the way of love and that is the hardest thing for us to come to in this world. We say we know what love is yet we reject it as the way to run our world.
It is too soft, we say; too sentimental, too easy, too forgiving. It’s a good way to get yourself killed, And of course, that’s exactly what happened to this Baby who commands so must attention at this time of the year.
Without love, as Paul reminds us so emphatically in his hymn to love, no matter what we do or believe, we are nothing!
That’s what makes this season such a powerful time of the year. This is no casual thing we are celebrating. This is the cosmic event of all time!
For Jesus is pure love coming to dwell in a world where hate has its sway and such love is always on the cutting edge of life going where we do not want to go and asking us to follow in places we would never go alone.
Indeed,
“Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas,
star and angles gave the sign.”
To believe this is to also have to, want to, dare to, rejoice to sing:
“Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all people,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
“One Whom You Do Not Know”
God is always a surprise. There is always more mystery than knowledge with God.
God came in human form and God comes in human form. It is the challenge and task of faith to see God in places we expect Him not and in people we know not.
Jesus was a surprise to all who thought they knew what to expect from God. He was not the One they were looking for - they didn’t want a ‘word become flesh’ - that was too close for comfort.
God is always new even as God is forever of old. God is always close to us, even as God dwells in the far places of heaven. God is deeply intimate even as God is powerfully creative. God is among us as One who would change us into His likeness day by day as we walk with Jesus and dare to see him as the One God sent. This means that we become more human not less, more alive, more joyful, more loving, more real and that our religion becomes not something which keeps God in our control , but something which opens us up to the mystery and surprise which God always is!
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
19 Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. 20 He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”
He said, “I am not.”
“Are you the Prophet?”
He answered, “No.”
22 Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”
24 Now the Pharisees who had been sent 25 questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”
26 “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
“One Whom We do Not Know”
“Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas,
star and angles gave the sign.”
And the world did not know him...
And his own people did not accept him.
And as strange as it sounds. even among us, more often then we would like to think, He stands as “One whom we do not know.”
He is among us in places we least expect, in people we find it difficult to be civil toward let alone love and in ways we are far from wanting to take as our way on this earth. For His way is the way of love and that is the hardest thing for us to come to in this world. We say we know what love is yet we reject it as the way to run our world.
It is too soft, we say; too sentimental, too easy, too forgiving. It’s a good way to get yourself killed, And of course, that’s exactly what happened to this Baby who commands so must attention at this time of the year.
Without love, as Paul reminds us so emphatically in his hymn to love, no matter what we do or believe, we are nothing!
That’s what makes this season such a powerful time of the year. This is no casual thing we are celebrating. This is the cosmic event of all time!
For Jesus is pure love coming to dwell in a world where hate has its sway and such love is always on the cutting edge of life going where we do not want to go and asking us to follow in places we would never go alone.
Indeed,
“Love came down at Christmas,
love all lovely, love divine;
love was born at Christmas,
star and angles gave the sign.”
To believe this is to also have to, want to, dare to, rejoice to sing:
“Love shall be our token,
Love be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and all people,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
“One Whom You Do Not Know”
God is always a surprise. There is always more mystery than knowledge with God.
God came in human form and God comes in human form. It is the challenge and task of faith to see God in places we expect Him not and in people we know not.
Jesus was a surprise to all who thought they knew what to expect from God. He was not the One they were looking for - they didn’t want a ‘word become flesh’ - that was too close for comfort.
God is always new even as God is forever of old. God is always close to us, even as God dwells in the far places of heaven. God is deeply intimate even as God is powerfully creative. God is among us as One who would change us into His likeness day by day as we walk with Jesus and dare to see him as the One God sent. This means that we become more human not less, more alive, more joyful, more loving, more real and that our religion becomes not something which keeps God in our control , but something which opens us up to the mystery and surprise which God always is!
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Dec 7'14 Advent 2
ADVENT II ; IS. 40:1-11; 2 PETER 3:8-14; MK 1:1-8
Nov. 24, 1968 “But God Has Promised” 2 Peter 3:8-14 (Was Trinity-last)
For a child so much in life depends on the promises of Mom or Dad.
That is why they will turn even a hint of a promise - “We’ll see.”, “Maybe.” into a possible promise. So much depends on it.
For the child of God so much depends on God’s promises. Promises which turn us on, reassure us in our needs, and comfort us in our struggles. My faith does not make the promises real, but it does make them real for me.
To live with God is to live with promise; the promise of forgiveness, the promise of sustaining grace; the promise of compassion; the promise of eternal life.
In a letter written from Stalingrad, a man wrote to his wife and said, “The Fuerer has promised...” to get us out. It wasn’t enough. It was an empty promise.
In the face of much which would defeat us, we can say, like a child, “But God has promised!”
It is enough! For God can do what God promises!
Dec. 6, 1981 “The Mystery Hoped For”
There is a lot of mystery in our religion. Today we look the end in the eye and are not afraid, for we wait for what God has promised, a new heaven and a new earth.
There is a lot of mystery when we get close to God. Perhaps the greatest mystery is grace - that God will never give up on us. He waits patiently, lovingly, eternally, for our turning to Him and then as a Shepherd gathers and carries us in his Bosom. This is the mystery we hope for - and live in!
Dec. 9, 1984 “The Mystery Foretold”
What if the mystery of mysteries which is being foretold in our texts for today and is hidden in the simplicity of the Christmas story is that the final act of God is grace!
I believe it is! Listen!
Is. 40:1-11
II Peter 3:9
Rom 8:31
Even God’s judgment, which is never God’s last word, is a part of God’s grace.
The mystery that grace is the final act of God!
“Come To Repentance””
Today we are reminded not to rush headlong into our celebration of Christmas. To not start the celebrating until we have had time to be still and discover again how deep is God’s love.
We are reminded that we may well need to clean up our own act first, to come to repentance and open ourselves to change, before we can really celebrate Christmas.
Repentance - sounds like cold water on a happy time, but it isn’t. It is the way to make a happy time happier. For it opens us to the joy of forgiveness and the joy of Christmas. God waits for us to come to repentance, so God can love us in a way which make a real difference in our lives. So God can soften our hard hearts and make us more loving, as God is loving.
There is something of Scrooge in all of us. We are reminded today to confess this so we can truly celebrate Christmas.
Story: A Christmas Ballad for the Captain” (in my Christmas story file.)
“A Happy Book of Happy Stories”, pp. 17-26
Nov. 24, 1968 “But God Has Promised” 2 Peter 3:8-14 (Was Trinity-last)
For a child so much in life depends on the promises of Mom or Dad.
That is why they will turn even a hint of a promise - “We’ll see.”, “Maybe.” into a possible promise. So much depends on it.
For the child of God so much depends on God’s promises. Promises which turn us on, reassure us in our needs, and comfort us in our struggles. My faith does not make the promises real, but it does make them real for me.
To live with God is to live with promise; the promise of forgiveness, the promise of sustaining grace; the promise of compassion; the promise of eternal life.
In a letter written from Stalingrad, a man wrote to his wife and said, “The Fuerer has promised...” to get us out. It wasn’t enough. It was an empty promise.
In the face of much which would defeat us, we can say, like a child, “But God has promised!”
It is enough! For God can do what God promises!
Dec. 6, 1981 “The Mystery Hoped For”
There is a lot of mystery in our religion. Today we look the end in the eye and are not afraid, for we wait for what God has promised, a new heaven and a new earth.
There is a lot of mystery when we get close to God. Perhaps the greatest mystery is grace - that God will never give up on us. He waits patiently, lovingly, eternally, for our turning to Him and then as a Shepherd gathers and carries us in his Bosom. This is the mystery we hope for - and live in!
Dec. 9, 1984 “The Mystery Foretold”
What if the mystery of mysteries which is being foretold in our texts for today and is hidden in the simplicity of the Christmas story is that the final act of God is grace!
I believe it is! Listen!
Is. 40:1-11
II Peter 3:9
Rom 8:31
Even God’s judgment, which is never God’s last word, is a part of God’s grace.
The mystery that grace is the final act of God!
“Come To Repentance””
Today we are reminded not to rush headlong into our celebration of Christmas. To not start the celebrating until we have had time to be still and discover again how deep is God’s love.
We are reminded that we may well need to clean up our own act first, to come to repentance and open ourselves to change, before we can really celebrate Christmas.
Repentance - sounds like cold water on a happy time, but it isn’t. It is the way to make a happy time happier. For it opens us to the joy of forgiveness and the joy of Christmas. God waits for us to come to repentance, so God can love us in a way which make a real difference in our lives. So God can soften our hard hearts and make us more loving, as God is loving.
There is something of Scrooge in all of us. We are reminded today to confess this so we can truly celebrate Christmas.
Story: A Christmas Ballad for the Captain” (in my Christmas story file.)
“A Happy Book of Happy Stories”, pp. 17-26
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Nov. 30, 2014 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
(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
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Nov. 23, 2014 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! “
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