Luke 2:13-20 & 41-52
1st Sunday of Christmas
Elizabeth M. Deibert
A sleeping child in his mother’s arms is beautiful to behold. Ask any parent of young children. Sleeping children are the best. That’s when we treasure them most – when they are sound asleep. We go into their bedrooms and say, “Oh, aren’t they so precious.” We see sleeping babies in strollers and in their parents arms and we say, “Ah, sleeping like a baby.” And in their first months they sleep a good part of the day and the night.
We have this notion, propagated by the Christmas carols that Jesus always slept in heavenly peace, yet perhaps those words from Silent Night are as much about us as they are about the infant, Jesus. “Sleep in heavenly peace” We speak of sleeping like a baby, but isn’t that strange, because babies wake up in the night, sometimes multiple times. Yet somehow sleeping like a baby carries with the it the connotation that we have no worries to keep us awake or fearful. We have someone on whom to utterly depend. And that is what this infant of Christmas teaches us – we have someone on whom we can depend. We can sleep in heavenly peace knowing we have this treasure, this gift of the incarnation. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels – in clay jars.” John’s Gospel opens with “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
The treasure is this life – that God became flesh, became one of us. The treasure is that God and humanity are now united in a way that they were not before this happened.
The two scriptures we are reading today – one a lectionary passage for Christmas Day and the other, the text for this first Sunday of Christmas, end with Mary treasuring these things in her heart. In the first text she treasures and ponders the visit and the story of the shepherds and in the second, she and Joseph are upset at having temporarily lost their son, but then after finding Jesus in the temple, where he says they should have known he would be, Mary then treasures these things in her heart.
Hear now the word of the Lord from two passages in chapter 2 of Luke’s Gospel.
Treasures of Christmas. Perhaps your greatest treasure at Christmas is not something under the Christmas tree, but some thoughts, some feelings, some collection of emories that you treasure. Maybe it is a faith that you treasure, despite the pain of your memories. The older, the more mature we become the more we know that it is not particular gifts that give us joy, but seeing other people happy on Christmas, bringing joy to others. Then we begin to glimpse the miracle of Christmas – God’s gift of a son, God’s very own presence with us in the person of Jesus.
Christ, lamb of God. Christ, visited by lowly shepherds, the first to arrive at the manger. They tell Mary and Joseph about their visit from the angels, and Mary is thinking, “Wow, that’s three visitations – an angel came to me, one came to Joseph, and now a multitude heavenly host to these unsuspecting shepherds.” Mary ponders what child is this? She treasures this gift of life, having no idea where his life is going, unless she truly comprehends the riches of all these messages from angels. Mary doesn’t yet know the end of the story of Jesus’ life, but we know.
Then there’s story about Jesus being brought to the temple as a baby for the rite of purification, and Simeon sings an amazing song, essentially saying that he can die now because he has seen the salvation of God for all the people. And Mary and Joseph are amazed. Then Anna comes and speaks about the child being the redeemer. And we learn that Jesus grows in strength, wisdom, and grace. That’s all we know of his childhood, until he is a tweenager, at the age of bar-mitzvah, at the age of self-differentiation.
Hear now the story of Jesus getting left behind in the temple.
In this lesson we experience Jesus as a burgeoning adolescent, growing in his understanding of whom he is. When his parents question him, he fires back, “Why were you searching. You should have known I would be in the temple, handling my father’s business.” There he establishes that he is Son of God, more than Son of Joseph.
Let's look a little closer. They, the family of Jesus, including other relatives were in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. It seemed to be a family custom. It is also what very pious people did in that day, if they lived close enough to attend he Passover. The family came, celebrated the feast and then they headed home.
The first question that comes to mind is why would Mary and Joseph leave home without knowing that Jesus was with them? It seems like a strange situation for us. But for them in their day and time, it wasn't. Women traveled more slowly than the men, so the women left Jerusalem first. The men followed later. They would catch up with each other at the place where they spent the night. So Joseph assumed Jesus was with Mary. Mary assumed Jesus was with Joseph. Neither suspected any problem until Joseph arrived and found out that Jesus was not with Mary.
I can only imagine how they must have felt when they realized that Jesus missing. Most parents’ anxiety would be high. They rushed back to Jerusalem to search for Jesus. They found Jesus after three days of searching, an allusion to his coming crucifixion and disappearance for three days. Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the temple learning and asking questions from the teachers. Evidently, Jesus was pretty good; Luke recorded that the teachers (the Rabbis) were amazed at his understanding and answers.
But the heart of this story comes during the dialogue that Jesus had with his mother, Mary. Mary and Joseph found Jesus and she said, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress." Mary clearly felt what any parent would feel: first, great anxiety and fear, relief -when Jesus was found, then some anger - for what he had put them through.
Jesus answered, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's House (…I must be about my Father's business)?
These words are significant words that Jesus spoke. First of all, these are the first ords that Jesus spoke in Luke's Gospel. He is already beginning to feel his mission to obey God. Jesus experienced a growing and compelling sense of call to go and do the will of God, the Father. Also, Jesus had a sense that he was the Son of God even before his baptism.
Perhaps this seems to be no big deal, but understand that in the other Gospels, there is absolutely nothing to indicate that Jesus had a sense of being the Messiah before he was baptized by John the Baptist. Our passage today is the only passage that gives us that idea. (Gratitude to The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min., 2nd Presbyterian, Petersburg, VA, for many of the ideas in the last several paragraphs.)
Finally, note how Jesus does this by discretely and carefully reframes what his mother said to him. Mary said, "your father and I," and she meant Joseph. Jesus' reply puts "father" into a divine context. "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's House?" Jesus was at home.
And the story ends with Mary treasuring these things in her heart. We would do well to be like Mary and treasure these things in our hearts. As we move toward a new year, treasure the gifts of God, especially this gift of the incarnation, which changed the world.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Receive the Fullness
Luke 1:26-38
4th Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Today we read the story of Mary, the one who received the gift of God in all fullness. We talk about receiving gifts, but all hail to Mary. She received the best gift of all. She caught in her very own womb, God’s miraculous fullness to transform all of creation. She was chosen to be the mother of God with us, Immanuel. Let us pray: Ave Maria.... Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
For some of us that prayer is as deeply inbedded in our souls as the Lord’s prayer. For others of us, who were taught to define ourselves in reaction to the Roman Catholic Church, it is not be a comfortable prayer, though the music of Ave Maria is part of our repertoire. I want to begin today by telling you why this prayer is meaningful to me. To me Mary is the greatest example of human faithfulness. She represents the person I could become, were I to be as receptive to God’s will as she was. Jesus was fully human, fully divine. I cannot relate to being fully divine, even though through the power of the Spirit I grow in Christ-likeness. But I find it easier to relate to Mary, who fulfilled her calling by being receptive to God in her body, mind, and soul. Receptive to God in body, mind, and soul.
Protestants often resist praying the Hail Mary prayer because we have been taught not to worship or pray to Mary. But I think Protestants might grow in respect for Mary by attending to this prayer, as it relates to our scripture today. The first part of the prayer is the greeting of the angel. “Greetings, favored one is the same as Hail, Mary, full of grace, or graced one.” Then the second part of the prayer is Elizabeth’s greeting, mother of John the Baptist, who says, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” That visit of Mary and Elizabeth is not part of our scripture today. But it is the third part which makes some protestants stumble. “Pray for us” Yet I invite you to notice that we’re not praying to Mary, but asking for her prayers, in the same way we might ask for anyone to pray for us. Of course, Mary is not just anyone. She is the consummate saint in heaven, the Queen of all the saints. So if you believe in the communion of saints, then perhaps you are okay with asking for Mary’s intercession. Do you converse with family members who have died before you. I do.
Hear the prayer again in different words, Greetings Mary, favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Having prayed with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, now let us pray with our Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers: God-bearing Virgin, rejoice! Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have born the Savior of our souls.
Now hear the scripture:
NRS Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God." 38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The visit from Gabriel is a surprise to Mary, naturally. Few of us have such supernatural experiences.
I want to tell of one which I had on All Saints Day in Greece less than two months ago. Emily and I were asleep in a hostel. Though exhausted from our travels, I was sleeping poorly, knowing I had to walk four blocks to the bus station at 4:00 am to get to the airport. I can’t bring myself to pay over $50 for a taxi ride when I can take the bus for three dollars. So while I’m trying to sleep, another hostel resident comes to our door and repeatedly tries to open our door, obviously confused about the room number. But every time he or she tries to unlock my door, fear rises up in me and I imagine having to confront someone drunk or worse, someone determined to do us harm. Finally the person gets to the right door and leaves us alone, but I’m lying there afraid to walk to the bus station. At last I doze off and in my dream Barbara Deibert, Richard’s mom has come to visit the family as an angel. Barbara died in the summer of 2006. When I wake up I am confident that she is present in the room, and that she will walk with me to the bus station, as my guardian angel. It was a powerful experience. Tears ran down my face as I rode the bus to the airport.
I have had one other significant angelic-type experience like that when my dad, after he died, and I resolved a deeply emotional issue in a dream. I needed for my own peace of mind to forgive my dad and that forgiveness got resolved in a dream. You can separate reality from dream if you want, but for me they are connected.
Now, let’s be clear, the text does not say that the angel came to Mary in a dream. It says that about the angel and Joseph in Matthew, but we don’t know whether Mary’s visit was in the day or the night. But the scripture tells us the angel greets her as the one full of grace, and says to her what we say to each other every week as we come to the Sacrament. “The Lord be with you. The Lord is with you.” The angel explains that Mary has been chosen by God and encourages her not to be afraid. And the angel informs her that she will have a son, who will be great, who will be Son of the Most High.
Mary asked the question that generations after her have asked. “How can this be?” Our modern minds bent toward scientific proofs want to know even more than people in Biblical times, “How can this be?” Tell me how. We try to tame the miracle. We want to be able to wrap our minds around it. Make it more believable, more real. But maybe it’s more real, when you relish the miracle like I relished the presence of Barbara Deibert on the sidewalk of Athens at 4:00 am. I challenge you this Christmas to take on the faith of little children and cling to the miracle. Enjoy it. Celebrate it. Live into a second naivete’ and dare to believe the truth which cannot be proven, but which will change your life when you are open and receptive like Mary.
I like believing that the Holy Spirit can do things that seem impossible to us. Does that make me a fundamentalist? No? But it means my view of Christ is higher than my view of my own ability to process information. I cannot explain higher math, so why should I be able to explain how Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit?
I affirm by faith, though not by logical reason, that the child conceived in Mary was truly divine. If not conceived by the Holy Spirit, then Jesus was just a great human being, a marvelous teacher, a prophet. He was all those things but more. He was Immanuel – God with us in person. He was set apart from the very beginning. I believe this Incarnation – this God becoming human flesh – was a holy and mysterious event, brought about by divine grace surpassing human possibilities. (This language borrowed from The Study Catechism) If he’s not fully divine, then he is not deserving of our worship. If he’s not fully human, then we have not been fully saved. As Irenaeus, the 2nd century church leader, whose name means “peace” said, “That which has not been assumed, cannot be healed.”
I’m grateful that Jesus had a wonderful step-dad in Joseph but I have no trouble claiming that his real father was God. And that whatever happened to Mary was different and more glorious than what happened to me four times, or we could say five. And of course, we all know anyone’s child-bearing, is a miracle beyond our explanation – how babies in the short period of nine months become the perfect and beautiful individuals they are with genes from two people mixed into this unique DNA combination. And how even adopted children develop deeply held attitudes and mannerisms picked up unconsciously from their loving parents who nurtured them.
But miraculous as regular child-bearing and child-rearing is, it is not the same as giving birth to God with us, the Lord of heaven born on earth. But what the Church has seen in Mary for two thousand years is a human being ready to receive the fullness of God, willing to receive the fullness of God, unafraid to receive the fullness of God, the fullness of God, the fullness of God. Mary is our greatest role model, as she was the very first person to accept, to receive Jesus Christ into her life unreservedly.
I pray to become more like Mary, willing to say to the outrageous claim of an angel of the Lord, “Let it be with me according to your word.” In other words, in common vernacular, “Okay, Gabriel, what you’ve just told me makes no common sense but do with me what you want. I am open and receptive.” Wow, what if we said that too! What might happen, if we really received Christ like that? O Little Town of Bethlehem, which we will sing in a moment, has this wonderful line: Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in. We are told Mary was likely a peasant girl, not very old, not at all prestigious, until by her faithful openness to receive the fullness of God, she became known and loved around the world as Mother of our Lord. May we discover the meekness of a childlike and receptive faith this Christmas.
The other wonderful line from O Little Town of Bethlehem will be our prayer –
O holy child of Bethlehem descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today.
4th Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Today we read the story of Mary, the one who received the gift of God in all fullness. We talk about receiving gifts, but all hail to Mary. She received the best gift of all. She caught in her very own womb, God’s miraculous fullness to transform all of creation. She was chosen to be the mother of God with us, Immanuel. Let us pray: Ave Maria.... Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
For some of us that prayer is as deeply inbedded in our souls as the Lord’s prayer. For others of us, who were taught to define ourselves in reaction to the Roman Catholic Church, it is not be a comfortable prayer, though the music of Ave Maria is part of our repertoire. I want to begin today by telling you why this prayer is meaningful to me. To me Mary is the greatest example of human faithfulness. She represents the person I could become, were I to be as receptive to God’s will as she was. Jesus was fully human, fully divine. I cannot relate to being fully divine, even though through the power of the Spirit I grow in Christ-likeness. But I find it easier to relate to Mary, who fulfilled her calling by being receptive to God in her body, mind, and soul. Receptive to God in body, mind, and soul.
Protestants often resist praying the Hail Mary prayer because we have been taught not to worship or pray to Mary. But I think Protestants might grow in respect for Mary by attending to this prayer, as it relates to our scripture today. The first part of the prayer is the greeting of the angel. “Greetings, favored one is the same as Hail, Mary, full of grace, or graced one.” Then the second part of the prayer is Elizabeth’s greeting, mother of John the Baptist, who says, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” That visit of Mary and Elizabeth is not part of our scripture today. But it is the third part which makes some protestants stumble. “Pray for us” Yet I invite you to notice that we’re not praying to Mary, but asking for her prayers, in the same way we might ask for anyone to pray for us. Of course, Mary is not just anyone. She is the consummate saint in heaven, the Queen of all the saints. So if you believe in the communion of saints, then perhaps you are okay with asking for Mary’s intercession. Do you converse with family members who have died before you. I do.
Hear the prayer again in different words, Greetings Mary, favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Having prayed with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, now let us pray with our Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers: God-bearing Virgin, rejoice! Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have born the Savior of our souls.
Now hear the scripture:
NRS Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God." 38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The visit from Gabriel is a surprise to Mary, naturally. Few of us have such supernatural experiences.
I want to tell of one which I had on All Saints Day in Greece less than two months ago. Emily and I were asleep in a hostel. Though exhausted from our travels, I was sleeping poorly, knowing I had to walk four blocks to the bus station at 4:00 am to get to the airport. I can’t bring myself to pay over $50 for a taxi ride when I can take the bus for three dollars. So while I’m trying to sleep, another hostel resident comes to our door and repeatedly tries to open our door, obviously confused about the room number. But every time he or she tries to unlock my door, fear rises up in me and I imagine having to confront someone drunk or worse, someone determined to do us harm. Finally the person gets to the right door and leaves us alone, but I’m lying there afraid to walk to the bus station. At last I doze off and in my dream Barbara Deibert, Richard’s mom has come to visit the family as an angel. Barbara died in the summer of 2006. When I wake up I am confident that she is present in the room, and that she will walk with me to the bus station, as my guardian angel. It was a powerful experience. Tears ran down my face as I rode the bus to the airport.
I have had one other significant angelic-type experience like that when my dad, after he died, and I resolved a deeply emotional issue in a dream. I needed for my own peace of mind to forgive my dad and that forgiveness got resolved in a dream. You can separate reality from dream if you want, but for me they are connected.
Now, let’s be clear, the text does not say that the angel came to Mary in a dream. It says that about the angel and Joseph in Matthew, but we don’t know whether Mary’s visit was in the day or the night. But the scripture tells us the angel greets her as the one full of grace, and says to her what we say to each other every week as we come to the Sacrament. “The Lord be with you. The Lord is with you.” The angel explains that Mary has been chosen by God and encourages her not to be afraid. And the angel informs her that she will have a son, who will be great, who will be Son of the Most High.
Mary asked the question that generations after her have asked. “How can this be?” Our modern minds bent toward scientific proofs want to know even more than people in Biblical times, “How can this be?” Tell me how. We try to tame the miracle. We want to be able to wrap our minds around it. Make it more believable, more real. But maybe it’s more real, when you relish the miracle like I relished the presence of Barbara Deibert on the sidewalk of Athens at 4:00 am. I challenge you this Christmas to take on the faith of little children and cling to the miracle. Enjoy it. Celebrate it. Live into a second naivete’ and dare to believe the truth which cannot be proven, but which will change your life when you are open and receptive like Mary.
I like believing that the Holy Spirit can do things that seem impossible to us. Does that make me a fundamentalist? No? But it means my view of Christ is higher than my view of my own ability to process information. I cannot explain higher math, so why should I be able to explain how Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit?
I affirm by faith, though not by logical reason, that the child conceived in Mary was truly divine. If not conceived by the Holy Spirit, then Jesus was just a great human being, a marvelous teacher, a prophet. He was all those things but more. He was Immanuel – God with us in person. He was set apart from the very beginning. I believe this Incarnation – this God becoming human flesh – was a holy and mysterious event, brought about by divine grace surpassing human possibilities. (This language borrowed from The Study Catechism) If he’s not fully divine, then he is not deserving of our worship. If he’s not fully human, then we have not been fully saved. As Irenaeus, the 2nd century church leader, whose name means “peace” said, “That which has not been assumed, cannot be healed.”
I’m grateful that Jesus had a wonderful step-dad in Joseph but I have no trouble claiming that his real father was God. And that whatever happened to Mary was different and more glorious than what happened to me four times, or we could say five. And of course, we all know anyone’s child-bearing, is a miracle beyond our explanation – how babies in the short period of nine months become the perfect and beautiful individuals they are with genes from two people mixed into this unique DNA combination. And how even adopted children develop deeply held attitudes and mannerisms picked up unconsciously from their loving parents who nurtured them.
But miraculous as regular child-bearing and child-rearing is, it is not the same as giving birth to God with us, the Lord of heaven born on earth. But what the Church has seen in Mary for two thousand years is a human being ready to receive the fullness of God, willing to receive the fullness of God, unafraid to receive the fullness of God, the fullness of God, the fullness of God. Mary is our greatest role model, as she was the very first person to accept, to receive Jesus Christ into her life unreservedly.
I pray to become more like Mary, willing to say to the outrageous claim of an angel of the Lord, “Let it be with me according to your word.” In other words, in common vernacular, “Okay, Gabriel, what you’ve just told me makes no common sense but do with me what you want. I am open and receptive.” Wow, what if we said that too! What might happen, if we really received Christ like that? O Little Town of Bethlehem, which we will sing in a moment, has this wonderful line: Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in. We are told Mary was likely a peasant girl, not very old, not at all prestigious, until by her faithful openness to receive the fullness of God, she became known and loved around the world as Mother of our Lord. May we discover the meekness of a childlike and receptive faith this Christmas.
The other wonderful line from O Little Town of Bethlehem will be our prayer –
O holy child of Bethlehem descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Rejoice in the Love
Zephaniah 3:14-20 & Phil. 4:4-9
3rd Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
NRS Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
After last Sunday’s call to repentance, you might be glad to know that on this 3rd Sunday of Advent, we move to the more cheerful theme of rejoicing. Joy, joy, joy. We’d rather be rejoicing than repenting. But when you hear about the context of Paul, writing to the Philippians from prison, saying “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, “Rejoice!” then you know that this rejoicing is deeper than having a “Holly, jolly Christmas”. Sometimes the fa, la, las of the season get on my nerves. The tunes are fun, but the more Christmas gets associated with chestnuts and bows of holly and silver bells and frosty snowmen and red-nosed reindeer, then we are promoting a carefree and shallow notion of Christmas cheer,not real Advent joy that can stand up against the harshest realities.
We need a joy that can be sustained in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We need a joy that can lift our spirits when death is knocking at our door and we can’t keep it way off in the yard any more, a joy that supports us when we’re still grieving this time of year for those who have gone before us. We need a joy that can build us up when we suffer through divorce or depression or aging or school troubles or the parent problems. (Parent problems go both ways you know – trouble as parents or trouble with parents.) We need a joy that can inspire us to give generously to those who have lost hope, or are hungry, or have no where to turn, as we at Peace are trying to do, but never do enough.
Rejoicing after repenting, and that’s what we do every Sunday when we confess our sins, then remember our baptism into the arms of God’s love and then greet one another with the peace of Christ. That a moment of rejoicing in God’s goodness – such that no matter what we’ve done, no matter what someone has done to us, there is joy and forgiveness and love for all.
The first time I heard Philippians 4 discussed in a college Bible study, I remember appreciating the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is be cheerful and glad when all is going well. Joy is being content and glad whether things are going well or not. Instead of “Don’t worry. Be happy” the message for today is rejoice in God’s love. Put worry and sadness and frustration and fear in perspective. If Paul can say from prison “Rejoice” or “count it all joy” or some other use of the word joy 14 times in this short letter, then we can reach a little deeper ourselves. You cannot muster happiness, but you can muster joy through the disciplines of the faith – through worship, prayer, and Bible study, through putting others first and living according to Christ’s example, yes, you can find joy, even if you are never happy.
Old Testament prophets like Zephaniah, who lived through a difficult season of Israel’s life in the 7th century BC, help us to discover a spirit of joy despite the agonies of a God-forsaken existence. When you hear the mournful Zephaniah who is so depressed over the way his people are living, so discouraged under the leadership of evil King Manasseh, say “Rejoice and be glad!” then you know that rejoicing comes as a great nevertheless to the suffering and evils of the world. That’s what theologian Karl Barth said of Paul’s rejoicing from prison – that it was a defiant nevertheless. Nevertheless I will rejoice and be thankful.
Zephaniah’s people are under the oppressive thumb of the Assyrians and this is before the great spiritual reforms of the good King Josiah. And Zephaniah does not mince words in the opening of his book. In chapter one he announced that their flesh is dung and there will be a terrible end to all of creation. Yet this same prophet ends his writing with words of hope and rejoicing. Perhaps the circumstances had actually changed by the time or perhaps he could tell that times were changing when these verses from chapter 3 were added, but all the same, these words of hope and rejoicing come to us in the literary context of despair and destruction. Zephaniah invites us to revere God and turn to God’s ways, to trust in God as protector and savior, to love God, knowing that God is delighting in us, and to imagine a better world, one in which God is reigning and renewing us in love.
Hear the word of the Lord from Zephaniah: NLT Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Isreal! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 For the LORD will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the LORD himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. 16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, "Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid! 17 For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." 18 "I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. 19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones;I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. 20 On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
God's people learn to rejoice in God's presence, even or especially when there seemed little visible evidence to support it. Think of Mary waiting for the birth of Jesus, dealing with some anxiety about people’s perceptions yet singing about her hope: "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Or consider Paul and Silas during their first visit to Philippi. When they were thrown into prison they sang hymns of praise at midnight, "and the prisoners were listening to them" and their chains fell off. (Acts 16:25) (Christian Century, Nov 23, 1994, William Dyrness) There is freedom in being able to rejoice in the middle of difficult circumstances. To cling tenaciously to hope in God while everything around you tells you there is no hope.
Those who have joy more than happiness know that life is painful. They are not in denial about their own and others’ pain, but they are not imprisoned in despair. They understand that they have a challenging but rewarding role to play in keeping the faith and living joyfully despite difficulties.
This passage captures the tension between the hope and the conviction we hold in God’s future, and the radical change and re-shaping of our world that is required for this foreseen future to become a present reality. There is great hope in a vision of a future restoration, but all of the difficulty and pain associated with his sort of change remains in view.” (Howard Wallace, Uniting Church, Australia)
It was hopeful on Friday to hear a repentant Tiger Woods say that he needs to take a break from golf to work on healing the hurt he has caused his wife and family, not to mention the disappointment of his friends and fans. This is something to rejoice in – his repentance, but not something to be happy about. There is no happiness in Tiger and his wife trying to work out the problems caused by his multiple infidelities. There is a lot of difficulty and pain ahead, yet there can be some joy in Tiger’s decision to try to do what is right and necessary, if there is any hope of healing.
So, my friends, we end up in the same place as last week, with the tension of knowing we have a God who is coming to make things right, who is calling us to live as Christ lived, which is quite different from the way we live now. God condemns the sin of our lives, challenges us to repent, and then takes the judgment away. God is delighting in us, while also wanting more from us. God is renewing us in God’s boundless love, rejoicing in us, changing our shame into praise.
We are accustomed to images of God as judge. We are accustomed to images of God as shepherd, gathering the flock into the fold. But how often do we imagine God as one who rejoices? One who sings? Yet here, in our text, God and God's people alike are caught up in a joy that overflows into song, a joy that springs from love renewed, from a relationship restored.
This joy is not one-sided. It is not simply we, God's people ,who rejoice because God has forgiven and restored us. It is not simply God's people who rejoice. God,too, sings and shouts with joy over this love restored. The divine heart overflows with jubilation!
This image of God bears no resemblance to Aristotle's "unmoved mover," Many people today think that some higher being set the world in motion and lets it go. No, this God is moved by human attitudes and actions. This God does not watch from a distance, but enters into the life of the world. This God enters even into human flesh, in the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation.
This Sunday, we rejoice in the love, even if our lives are in a minor key. We sing with the joy of a people redeemed and restored, but also with the joy of a God who is deeply invested in the life of the world. God sings. God shouts. God rejoices. Emmanuel comes to us and renews us in love “REJOICE, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to Thee, O Israel.”
(Ideas in last four paragraphs re-worked from Kathryn Schifferdecker, workingpreacher.org)
3rd Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
NRS Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
After last Sunday’s call to repentance, you might be glad to know that on this 3rd Sunday of Advent, we move to the more cheerful theme of rejoicing. Joy, joy, joy. We’d rather be rejoicing than repenting. But when you hear about the context of Paul, writing to the Philippians from prison, saying “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, “Rejoice!” then you know that this rejoicing is deeper than having a “Holly, jolly Christmas”. Sometimes the fa, la, las of the season get on my nerves. The tunes are fun, but the more Christmas gets associated with chestnuts and bows of holly and silver bells and frosty snowmen and red-nosed reindeer, then we are promoting a carefree and shallow notion of Christmas cheer,not real Advent joy that can stand up against the harshest realities.
We need a joy that can be sustained in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We need a joy that can lift our spirits when death is knocking at our door and we can’t keep it way off in the yard any more, a joy that supports us when we’re still grieving this time of year for those who have gone before us. We need a joy that can build us up when we suffer through divorce or depression or aging or school troubles or the parent problems. (Parent problems go both ways you know – trouble as parents or trouble with parents.) We need a joy that can inspire us to give generously to those who have lost hope, or are hungry, or have no where to turn, as we at Peace are trying to do, but never do enough.
Rejoicing after repenting, and that’s what we do every Sunday when we confess our sins, then remember our baptism into the arms of God’s love and then greet one another with the peace of Christ. That a moment of rejoicing in God’s goodness – such that no matter what we’ve done, no matter what someone has done to us, there is joy and forgiveness and love for all.
The first time I heard Philippians 4 discussed in a college Bible study, I remember appreciating the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is be cheerful and glad when all is going well. Joy is being content and glad whether things are going well or not. Instead of “Don’t worry. Be happy” the message for today is rejoice in God’s love. Put worry and sadness and frustration and fear in perspective. If Paul can say from prison “Rejoice” or “count it all joy” or some other use of the word joy 14 times in this short letter, then we can reach a little deeper ourselves. You cannot muster happiness, but you can muster joy through the disciplines of the faith – through worship, prayer, and Bible study, through putting others first and living according to Christ’s example, yes, you can find joy, even if you are never happy.
Old Testament prophets like Zephaniah, who lived through a difficult season of Israel’s life in the 7th century BC, help us to discover a spirit of joy despite the agonies of a God-forsaken existence. When you hear the mournful Zephaniah who is so depressed over the way his people are living, so discouraged under the leadership of evil King Manasseh, say “Rejoice and be glad!” then you know that rejoicing comes as a great nevertheless to the suffering and evils of the world. That’s what theologian Karl Barth said of Paul’s rejoicing from prison – that it was a defiant nevertheless. Nevertheless I will rejoice and be thankful.
Zephaniah’s people are under the oppressive thumb of the Assyrians and this is before the great spiritual reforms of the good King Josiah. And Zephaniah does not mince words in the opening of his book. In chapter one he announced that their flesh is dung and there will be a terrible end to all of creation. Yet this same prophet ends his writing with words of hope and rejoicing. Perhaps the circumstances had actually changed by the time or perhaps he could tell that times were changing when these verses from chapter 3 were added, but all the same, these words of hope and rejoicing come to us in the literary context of despair and destruction. Zephaniah invites us to revere God and turn to God’s ways, to trust in God as protector and savior, to love God, knowing that God is delighting in us, and to imagine a better world, one in which God is reigning and renewing us in love.
Hear the word of the Lord from Zephaniah: NLT Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Isreal! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 For the LORD will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the LORD himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. 16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, "Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid! 17 For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." 18 "I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. 19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones;I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. 20 On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
God's people learn to rejoice in God's presence, even or especially when there seemed little visible evidence to support it. Think of Mary waiting for the birth of Jesus, dealing with some anxiety about people’s perceptions yet singing about her hope: "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Or consider Paul and Silas during their first visit to Philippi. When they were thrown into prison they sang hymns of praise at midnight, "and the prisoners were listening to them" and their chains fell off. (Acts 16:25) (Christian Century, Nov 23, 1994, William Dyrness) There is freedom in being able to rejoice in the middle of difficult circumstances. To cling tenaciously to hope in God while everything around you tells you there is no hope.
Those who have joy more than happiness know that life is painful. They are not in denial about their own and others’ pain, but they are not imprisoned in despair. They understand that they have a challenging but rewarding role to play in keeping the faith and living joyfully despite difficulties.
This passage captures the tension between the hope and the conviction we hold in God’s future, and the radical change and re-shaping of our world that is required for this foreseen future to become a present reality. There is great hope in a vision of a future restoration, but all of the difficulty and pain associated with his sort of change remains in view.” (Howard Wallace, Uniting Church, Australia)
It was hopeful on Friday to hear a repentant Tiger Woods say that he needs to take a break from golf to work on healing the hurt he has caused his wife and family, not to mention the disappointment of his friends and fans. This is something to rejoice in – his repentance, but not something to be happy about. There is no happiness in Tiger and his wife trying to work out the problems caused by his multiple infidelities. There is a lot of difficulty and pain ahead, yet there can be some joy in Tiger’s decision to try to do what is right and necessary, if there is any hope of healing.
So, my friends, we end up in the same place as last week, with the tension of knowing we have a God who is coming to make things right, who is calling us to live as Christ lived, which is quite different from the way we live now. God condemns the sin of our lives, challenges us to repent, and then takes the judgment away. God is delighting in us, while also wanting more from us. God is renewing us in God’s boundless love, rejoicing in us, changing our shame into praise.
We are accustomed to images of God as judge. We are accustomed to images of God as shepherd, gathering the flock into the fold. But how often do we imagine God as one who rejoices? One who sings? Yet here, in our text, God and God's people alike are caught up in a joy that overflows into song, a joy that springs from love renewed, from a relationship restored.
This joy is not one-sided. It is not simply we, God's people ,who rejoice because God has forgiven and restored us. It is not simply God's people who rejoice. God,too, sings and shouts with joy over this love restored. The divine heart overflows with jubilation!
This image of God bears no resemblance to Aristotle's "unmoved mover," Many people today think that some higher being set the world in motion and lets it go. No, this God is moved by human attitudes and actions. This God does not watch from a distance, but enters into the life of the world. This God enters even into human flesh, in the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation.
This Sunday, we rejoice in the love, even if our lives are in a minor key. We sing with the joy of a people redeemed and restored, but also with the joy of a God who is deeply invested in the life of the world. God sings. God shouts. God rejoices. Emmanuel comes to us and renews us in love “REJOICE, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to Thee, O Israel.”
(Ideas in last four paragraphs re-worked from Kathryn Schifferdecker, workingpreacher.org)
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Prepare the Way
Luke 3:1-6
2nd Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
We learned this week that Richard’s dad and brother might bring his aunt and uncle for Christmas. They don’t have grandchildren yet, so they enjoy the energy of our family. We’d enjoy having them. Richard is concerned about whether they can climb the stairs. I’m concerned that the carpet upstairs desperately needs cleaning. Preparations for Christmas. Opportunity to focus on what’s important – welcoming people. Or not.
Richard and I got into a money argument Friday morning because I’m worried about what we should get the kids – keeping things in balance, and I interpreted his response to my anxiety about this as an unwillingness to engage the subject of finances when really, he just thought this wasn’t the right time for the conversation because I said I had a sermon to write. He’s keeping everything in separate box in his brain, while all the things in my brain have connections to all the other things. Christmas preparations. Opportunity to focus on what’s valuable – good, loving, respectful communication. Or not.
At the Festive Friday party we hosted for families of children and youth, we had a conversation about when everyone puts up decorations. Some get it up on Thanksgiving week-end in time for the first Sunday of Advent. They are done with it by December
26th or at least by the new year. Others of us wait until close to Christmas, then leave up until the 12 day of Christmas – Epiphany, the 6th of January. Preparations for Christmas, the season. Opportunities to focus on the reason for the season – or not.
Our scripture today is concerned with a different kind of preparation. We might call these advent preparations. John the Baptist talks about preparing the way, making a path for our God. He’s preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sin. Repentance? How does that fit into this season of decking the halls and trying to be jolly? Repentance is the heart of our Christmas Preparations. That is how we prepare the way.
Hear the word of the Lord from Luke 3.
NRS Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
We prepare the way by repentance. But repentance is not a popular theme these days. We could blame that on the fundamentalist and right wing preachers, who made a mockery of it by shouting from street corners and revival tents and bully pulpits, while having too much hypocrisy in their own lives to make their calls to holiness seem authentic. The right wing preacher would focus our attention on the crookedness of our lives.
We prepare the way for Christmas by repentance. But repentance is not a popular theme. We could blame that on secular humanists and left wing Christians, who invite us to make fun of a faith focused on repentance, who encourage us to think good thoughts about ourselves, to build up self-esteem, and believe in a God who always accepts all people just as they are without condition or reserve. The left wing preacher would focus our attention on the last verse – the promise that all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.
Both polarized groups are missing something – both have cheapened our view of the Christian life and tried to put God in a box for safe keeping. We need to stop choosing sides and realize that both messages are needed. Repentance and forgiveness. Never one without the other. Our reading from Malachi mentions the “refining fire” Fire burns. Fire melts and molds. There is a harshness to fire, but a glorious purpose in the shaping of a godly character. Think of the way fire clear away the brush so the forest is healthier.
We have need of God’s refining fire. We have need of a healthy fear of the Lord’s judgment. We have become far too cozy with God, as if the Lord of heaven and earth is our good buddy with whom we can laugh about sin, ‘cause it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is grace. What a friend we have in Jesus. Yes, but we are not equals. He lived without sin. We live full of sin. Thank God, our Lord is merciful enough to keep us from seeing the full ugliness of our own hearts.
John the Baptist is the forerunner paving the way for Christ’s first sermon which begins “Repent and believe the good news.” John says “repent” and goes on to call his gathered congregation a “brood of vipers.” He challenges them to bear fruits worthy of repentance or be thrown into the fire. When they ask what he means by this repentance, he says, “Whoever has two coats, share with someone who has none. Whoever has food, do likewise.” Repent doesn’t mean sitting around feeling bad about my seven coats in the closet. It doesn’t mean that I should ask for forgiveness with no intention of changing. It means doing something different. Making a change.
To those who had the power of money matters, tax collectors, John said, “Collect no more money than the amount prescribed.” Be fairer than other tax collectors.
To soldiers he said, “Do not threaten people or make false accusations or take what doesn’t belong to you. Be satisfied with what you have.”
To the all crowd, John said of Jesus, I am not worthy to untie his sandals. There’s the measure of humility that we need. If we recognize that we are completely unworthy, fully needy of God’s forgiveness because of our continual sin and blindness of heart, if we can truly repent, which means turning away from the sin we acknowledge, then we are beginning to prepare the way of the Lord.
To prepare the way of the Lord is to stop comparing ourselves with other people, allowing ourselves an opportunity for self-righteousness. That’s why we find it hard to stop watching the slime about other people, people like Tiger Woods, people in high places who fall from grace, because it reinforces our thinking that we’re pretty good folk. We haven’t done anything that bad. We’re nice people.
But the comparison we need to make is of ourselves with a holy God, not ourselves with others. We need to compare ourselves with the people God intended us to be. Ourselves with Jesus Christ. Then we see how far short we fall. It’s not about condemnation of others. It’s not about wallowing in guilt and bad feelings about ourselves. There is no repentance in that – only continued sin and sickness. God wants us well and whole, and we take part in the healing process by cooperating with the treatment plan and taking the medicine. The medicine is repentance, acknowledgment of fault and turning from it. The treatment plan is forgiveness, followed by a renewed commitment to holiness, which requires daily repentance. Forgiveness without continuing repentance and desire for holiness does not cure our adness, our sinful condition. We need comfort of God’s promises, but also the challenge of God’s holy claim on our lives.
Repentance – a daily pattern of turning away from all which is not pleasing to God. Daily awareness of the depth of God’s forgiveness comes by seeing also the depth of our sin. Repentance – making way, preparing for Christ to be born anew in our hearts – is the challenge of this season. Hear these words from The Illumined Heart by Frederica Mathewes-Green: “The ancient Christian literature on repentance is beautiful – full of simplicity, humility, and spreading peace. There is nothing in it of masochism or despair. Those who know themselves to be so greatly forgiven are far from gloomy, but are flooded with joy and deep tranquility. Those who are forgiven much love much. They find it hard to hold grudges against others; they find it hard to hold any thing in this life very tightly. For the Christian, two things seem to be ever linked: sorrow over sin, and gratitude for forgiveness. Repentance is the source of life and joy.” (p. 42)
So we can spend all our time preparing for the cultural traditions of Christmas–holiday lights, presents for one another, food and seasonal gathering. One can stay quite busy with all of that.
But stop to think about Jill and Mark, who left this morning to attend the funeral of their close friend Gary, forty-something, who died, leaving a seven year old and a wife. Think about the family of Tricia’s friends, the Knauert family, four kids and a wife moving through a first Christmas without dad and husband. Think about all the people in the world who are hungrier this Christmas than last Christmas. Do our holiday lights, presents, and sugar cookies do much for that grief? Those Christmas preparations would be like trying puts band-aids on a severed leg.
That’s why it is imperative that we prepare for advent. Prepare our hearts more than our houses. Pray, work on our relationships, give generously, read scripture, listen to music which inspires our faith, think about how we can make a difference. Prepare the way of the Lord by a renewed desire to repent. Repentance is not so much emotion but is renewal of the mind, a rethinking of motives and actions, a willingness to admit sin, and then to work at living according to the will of God. It is attitude. Sorrow for sin. Gratitude for forgiveness. The best gift you can give anyone this year is your own spirit of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
Lord, we are part of a generation that wants to dismiss the gravity of sin, to deny our own short-comings, to defend our own actions at all costs, even the cost of life and joy and peace. In place of true repentance, we have despair, confusion, and anger. Help us to see that the call to repentance is good news. But more importantly, help us to repent. Help us to see the selfishness of our lives, the self-justifying attitudes, the unwillingness to deeply examine ourselves, and be open to change. May your loving and purifying Spirit burn away all impurities in us, and overwhelm us with gratitude for your merciful, boundless forgiveness.
Come, O long-expected Jesus, born to set your people free. From our fears and sins release us. Let us find our rest in Thee.
2nd Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
We learned this week that Richard’s dad and brother might bring his aunt and uncle for Christmas. They don’t have grandchildren yet, so they enjoy the energy of our family. We’d enjoy having them. Richard is concerned about whether they can climb the stairs. I’m concerned that the carpet upstairs desperately needs cleaning. Preparations for Christmas. Opportunity to focus on what’s important – welcoming people. Or not.
Richard and I got into a money argument Friday morning because I’m worried about what we should get the kids – keeping things in balance, and I interpreted his response to my anxiety about this as an unwillingness to engage the subject of finances when really, he just thought this wasn’t the right time for the conversation because I said I had a sermon to write. He’s keeping everything in separate box in his brain, while all the things in my brain have connections to all the other things. Christmas preparations. Opportunity to focus on what’s valuable – good, loving, respectful communication. Or not.
At the Festive Friday party we hosted for families of children and youth, we had a conversation about when everyone puts up decorations. Some get it up on Thanksgiving week-end in time for the first Sunday of Advent. They are done with it by December
26th or at least by the new year. Others of us wait until close to Christmas, then leave up until the 12 day of Christmas – Epiphany, the 6th of January. Preparations for Christmas, the season. Opportunities to focus on the reason for the season – or not.
Our scripture today is concerned with a different kind of preparation. We might call these advent preparations. John the Baptist talks about preparing the way, making a path for our God. He’s preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sin. Repentance? How does that fit into this season of decking the halls and trying to be jolly? Repentance is the heart of our Christmas Preparations. That is how we prepare the way.
Hear the word of the Lord from Luke 3.
NRS Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
We prepare the way by repentance. But repentance is not a popular theme these days. We could blame that on the fundamentalist and right wing preachers, who made a mockery of it by shouting from street corners and revival tents and bully pulpits, while having too much hypocrisy in their own lives to make their calls to holiness seem authentic. The right wing preacher would focus our attention on the crookedness of our lives.
We prepare the way for Christmas by repentance. But repentance is not a popular theme. We could blame that on secular humanists and left wing Christians, who invite us to make fun of a faith focused on repentance, who encourage us to think good thoughts about ourselves, to build up self-esteem, and believe in a God who always accepts all people just as they are without condition or reserve. The left wing preacher would focus our attention on the last verse – the promise that all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.
Both polarized groups are missing something – both have cheapened our view of the Christian life and tried to put God in a box for safe keeping. We need to stop choosing sides and realize that both messages are needed. Repentance and forgiveness. Never one without the other. Our reading from Malachi mentions the “refining fire” Fire burns. Fire melts and molds. There is a harshness to fire, but a glorious purpose in the shaping of a godly character. Think of the way fire clear away the brush so the forest is healthier.
We have need of God’s refining fire. We have need of a healthy fear of the Lord’s judgment. We have become far too cozy with God, as if the Lord of heaven and earth is our good buddy with whom we can laugh about sin, ‘cause it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is grace. What a friend we have in Jesus. Yes, but we are not equals. He lived without sin. We live full of sin. Thank God, our Lord is merciful enough to keep us from seeing the full ugliness of our own hearts.
John the Baptist is the forerunner paving the way for Christ’s first sermon which begins “Repent and believe the good news.” John says “repent” and goes on to call his gathered congregation a “brood of vipers.” He challenges them to bear fruits worthy of repentance or be thrown into the fire. When they ask what he means by this repentance, he says, “Whoever has two coats, share with someone who has none. Whoever has food, do likewise.” Repent doesn’t mean sitting around feeling bad about my seven coats in the closet. It doesn’t mean that I should ask for forgiveness with no intention of changing. It means doing something different. Making a change.
To those who had the power of money matters, tax collectors, John said, “Collect no more money than the amount prescribed.” Be fairer than other tax collectors.
To soldiers he said, “Do not threaten people or make false accusations or take what doesn’t belong to you. Be satisfied with what you have.”
To the all crowd, John said of Jesus, I am not worthy to untie his sandals. There’s the measure of humility that we need. If we recognize that we are completely unworthy, fully needy of God’s forgiveness because of our continual sin and blindness of heart, if we can truly repent, which means turning away from the sin we acknowledge, then we are beginning to prepare the way of the Lord.
To prepare the way of the Lord is to stop comparing ourselves with other people, allowing ourselves an opportunity for self-righteousness. That’s why we find it hard to stop watching the slime about other people, people like Tiger Woods, people in high places who fall from grace, because it reinforces our thinking that we’re pretty good folk. We haven’t done anything that bad. We’re nice people.
But the comparison we need to make is of ourselves with a holy God, not ourselves with others. We need to compare ourselves with the people God intended us to be. Ourselves with Jesus Christ. Then we see how far short we fall. It’s not about condemnation of others. It’s not about wallowing in guilt and bad feelings about ourselves. There is no repentance in that – only continued sin and sickness. God wants us well and whole, and we take part in the healing process by cooperating with the treatment plan and taking the medicine. The medicine is repentance, acknowledgment of fault and turning from it. The treatment plan is forgiveness, followed by a renewed commitment to holiness, which requires daily repentance. Forgiveness without continuing repentance and desire for holiness does not cure our adness, our sinful condition. We need comfort of God’s promises, but also the challenge of God’s holy claim on our lives.
Repentance – a daily pattern of turning away from all which is not pleasing to God. Daily awareness of the depth of God’s forgiveness comes by seeing also the depth of our sin. Repentance – making way, preparing for Christ to be born anew in our hearts – is the challenge of this season. Hear these words from The Illumined Heart by Frederica Mathewes-Green: “The ancient Christian literature on repentance is beautiful – full of simplicity, humility, and spreading peace. There is nothing in it of masochism or despair. Those who know themselves to be so greatly forgiven are far from gloomy, but are flooded with joy and deep tranquility. Those who are forgiven much love much. They find it hard to hold grudges against others; they find it hard to hold any thing in this life very tightly. For the Christian, two things seem to be ever linked: sorrow over sin, and gratitude for forgiveness. Repentance is the source of life and joy.” (p. 42)
So we can spend all our time preparing for the cultural traditions of Christmas–holiday lights, presents for one another, food and seasonal gathering. One can stay quite busy with all of that.
But stop to think about Jill and Mark, who left this morning to attend the funeral of their close friend Gary, forty-something, who died, leaving a seven year old and a wife. Think about the family of Tricia’s friends, the Knauert family, four kids and a wife moving through a first Christmas without dad and husband. Think about all the people in the world who are hungrier this Christmas than last Christmas. Do our holiday lights, presents, and sugar cookies do much for that grief? Those Christmas preparations would be like trying puts band-aids on a severed leg.
That’s why it is imperative that we prepare for advent. Prepare our hearts more than our houses. Pray, work on our relationships, give generously, read scripture, listen to music which inspires our faith, think about how we can make a difference. Prepare the way of the Lord by a renewed desire to repent. Repentance is not so much emotion but is renewal of the mind, a rethinking of motives and actions, a willingness to admit sin, and then to work at living according to the will of God. It is attitude. Sorrow for sin. Gratitude for forgiveness. The best gift you can give anyone this year is your own spirit of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
Lord, we are part of a generation that wants to dismiss the gravity of sin, to deny our own short-comings, to defend our own actions at all costs, even the cost of life and joy and peace. In place of true repentance, we have despair, confusion, and anger. Help us to see that the call to repentance is good news. But more importantly, help us to repent. Help us to see the selfishness of our lives, the self-justifying attitudes, the unwillingness to deeply examine ourselves, and be open to change. May your loving and purifying Spirit burn away all impurities in us, and overwhelm us with gratitude for your merciful, boundless forgiveness.
Come, O long-expected Jesus, born to set your people free. From our fears and sins release us. Let us find our rest in Thee.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
The Hope for More
Luke 21:25-36
1st Sunday in Advent
Rev. Tricia Dillon Thomas
‘She’s a pastor, you know?’ I overheard one mom say to another after I suggested the children go around and say what they were thankful for in lieu of the forbidden public school prayer during Mason’s 2nd grade Thanksgiving party. ‘Oh, I had no idea.’ ‘Yes, she and her husband both.’ And as the children held hands and one of them said “I’m thankful for God” I started to feel a little smug. Yes, my idea. She’s thankful for God. And other children were thankful for their parents. And Mason was thankful for candy. And then the end. Amen. Time to gorge.
The same thing happened at my family Thanksgiving...I’m thankful for family and friends...time together...hey, this gravy doesn’t have enough giblets in it! Where’s the slotted spoon?
And so this Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we wave goodbye to the Thanksgiving festivities of the last few days, and we turn to welcome the coming of Jesus, our Lord. And in all seriousness it is kind of a nice flow...I give thanks for God, and now I’m going to give thanks for the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Up until this first Sunday of Advent, we have been following the Gospel of Mark. Now I know the men’s prayer group has been studying Luke, but for the rest of us let’s take a moment with Luke and Luke’s Jesus.
Luke is written chronologically, starting with the birth of John the Baptist, it follows the birth of Jesus, his baptism, miracles and healings, the calling of the 12, miracles and parables, the transfiguration, many more miracles and parables, and finally the turn back to Jerusalem to face his death. He enters the city triumphantly, but when he is near and sees Jerusalem Jesus weeps. And immediately before our passage, Jesus foretells of the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.
Jesus knows what awaits him. He tells them in Luke 18, “See we are going to Jerusalem, and everything that’s written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.” Jesus MUST prepare his disciples for the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, his death, and his resurrection. The disciples will live to see all of this. And they need to know that his death isn’t some random act of violence; it was part of the plan, they knew it from the scriptures. His death and resurrection are “the turning point of history.”(1) But that’s not the end of the story!
Let’s now hear today’s scripture, Luke 21:25-36:
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and
the stars, and on the earth distress among nations
confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.
28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees;
30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.
31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”
32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
The Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God.
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” Have any of you seen the movie Chicken Little?. When Chicken Little sees a piece of the sky fall down, he runs to the town’s tower and begins ringing the bell, which signals to the whole town an emergency is on the way. He’s screaming, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” and mayhem ensues. Folks are running around screaming. Fire engines are singing.
Listen to what Jesus says,
“26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
My husband is preaching on this text today as well. His sermon is called “Duck and Cover.” Jesus is talking the end of the world! Apocalypse! He says we’ll see it in the sun, and the moon, and the stars. There will be earthquakes in the heavens. Nations will be distressed. The oceans and seas will roar. The world will be full of emergency! Everything will break loose! “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
What comforting words Jesus offers his disciples as he turns toward Jerusalem to face his death. What was Jesus thinking? That he would scare the bejesus out of them...or scare the Jesus into them?!
We Presbyterians don’t often talk about end times. As one scholar writes, we “don’t deny the big booming events such as the second coming, but we don’t think about them very much either.”(2)
But why are we even talking about end times when we’re celebrating the first Sunday of Advent. Isn’t Advent supposed to be a time of preparation for Christ’s birth? The word advent translated from its Latin root “adventus" means ‘coming,’ that is,
the coming of Christ.(3) So while we remember Jesus’ coming for the first time, Advent speaks to both the past and the future coming of Christ. What kind of Christians would we be if we only remembered and didn’t hope? Didn’t hope for Christ’s return?
Most authorities on the Gospel of Luke think it was written around 80 CE. So Luke and Luke’s audience had already seen the Temple destroyed, Jerusalem sacked, and all havoc break loose by the time Luke wrote this text. Listen to this opening part of a poem written by James Lowry:
He was standing knee-deep
in the rubble of unkept promises
when Luke finally took pen in hand
to write it all down...
From the eager anticipation of the birth of Jesus...
the birth of Jesus
and of his cousin John...
all the way to the birth of the church,
Luke saw it all
not so much through the eyes of Jesus
walking headlong into destiny;
but through the eyes of one
standing in the rubble of destiny.(4)
Jesus assures them after the description of the Apocalypse:
“So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
They had seen these things taking place. Everything around them had fallen. Their Temple, their city, their God. Jesus is talking to people who are in the midst of despair.
Another scholar wrote, “These are Exodus people. These are Passover people. These people have a history of being squeezed by Egypt, Babylon and Rome. To these people, redemption is the longing of their heart. They want Rome off their back. They want Caesar out of their hair. It’s their dream. It’s their passion. The coming of God’s redemption means justice is coming, liberation is coming, the King of all the earth is coming.” (5)
(sing) Freedom, oh Freedom, oh Freedom, Freedom is coming.
Oh yes, Oh yes I know. Oh yes, I know. Oh yes, I know Freedom is coming.
Oh yes, I know.
Freedom! The return of Christ! The dawn of a new kingdom! Righteousness filling the earth!
Luke’s audience had an urgency and hope for more. They were waiting, ‘heads up’ for the return of Christ.
And I can imagine there is an urgency, a hope for more from the destitute. For those like Luke who are waiting for redemption. For those who can’t find a home to rest their head in the harsh winters; for those in regions in the Congo and Sudan who wait and hide in fear for themselves and their families; for those in Israel and Palestine who watch as suicide explosions are received and answered with bombings; for those who are afraid to walk out of their house; for those who are afraid to live in their house. There is an urgency and a hope for more, because and when that day comes there will be freedom, and justice will finally prevail on earth!
But what about us? What about those of us who aren’t living in fear? Where is our urgency?
Will Willimon says, “It’s hard to stand on tiptoe for 2000 years.”
Listen to the rest of Lowry’s poem:
Like leaving the breakfast table in tense silence,
dodging the victims of road rage,
and stepping over the homeless
huddled on the steps of the church
as we make our way to Advent worship,
our telling of the advent of hope
and hearing of the advent of hope
cannot escape...
should not escape
what our eyes have just seen.
and our hearts have just felt. (6)
Where’s our urgency!?! Yes, it’s been a long wait! And even though Paul tells us it will come like a thief in the night, over 200 predictions have been made about the 2nd coming, all 200 of them wrong! But is it better to live our lives under the radar? Is it better to live in apathy? To just sit and wait for nothing in particular?
Jesus tells his disciples: 34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap.
Perhaps these words are for us. We have worries. We even worry about things that matter. We worry about economics. We worry about how we’re doing in school. We worry about paying the mortgage. We worry about what will happen if we miss an important practice. We worry about the health of ourselves and loved ones. We worry about what our friends will think of us. We worry about those we love. We worry. We worry. We are anxious. And my goodness, these are all valid things. They are. They truly are.
But are they going to trap us? Catch us unexpectedly, so that when Jesus comes, our heads remain down? Are stuck in the muck of the anxieties that surround us, or are we living ‘in between’ lives?
How do we live in these present times? How do followers of Jesus live “in between” times? How do we live in a time where we have received the salvation of God, but God’s kingdom on earth has not yet come? How do we live urgently awaiting Christ’s coming, without getting bogged down with the anxieties of our lives?
What does it even look like to live a life where Christ has already come and died for our sins, but he has not yet returned to the earth so that the kingdom of God will reign? What does it look like to live into the hope for more?
I think this is a glimpse.
220 years ago the Connecticut House of Representatives was in session on a bright day in May, and the delegates were able to do their work by natural light. But then something happened that nobody expected. Right in the middle of debate, there was an eclipse of the sun and everything turned to darkness. Some legislators thought it was the second coming. So a clamor arose. People wanted to adjourn. People wanted to pray. People wanted to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
But the Speaker of the House had a different idea. He was a Christian believer, and he rose to the occasion with good logic and good faith. We are all upset by the darkness, he said, and some of us are afraid. But "the Day of the Lord is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. And if the Lord is returning, I for one, choose to be found doing my duty. I therefore ask that candles be brought." And men who expected Jesus went back to their deska and resumed their debate. (7)
To hope for more, isn’t just a frame of mind or internal peace. It is living a life that proclaims with bold conviction, I am not afraid! I will live with the love of God and one another in my heart! Christ died. Christ rose. And Christ will come again!
When these things take place, may we bring in the candles and stand with raised heads because our redemption is drawing near.
(1) Jean-Pierre Ruiz "Lectionary Homiletics",
"http://www.goodpreacher.com/journalread.php?id=1225"
www.goodpreacher.com/journalread.php?od=1225
(2)Cornelius Plantinga Jr. "Between two Advents: In the Interim:
"Christian Century", December 6, 2000: 1270
(3)Howard Rice and James Huffstutler "Reformed Worship", Geneva Press
(Louisville: 2001) 144.
(4)James S. Lowry, "Introducing the Luke Cycle: Advent Preaching for Year "C"
Advent 1997.
(5)Cornelius Plantinga Jr. "Between two Advents: In the Interim:
"Christian Century", December 6, 2000: 1271
(6)James S. Lowry, "Introducing the Luke Cycle: Advent Preaching for Year "C"
Advent 1997
(7)Cornelius Plantinga Jr. "Between two Advents: In the Interim:
"Christian Century", December 6, 2000: 1272
1st Sunday in Advent
Rev. Tricia Dillon Thomas
‘She’s a pastor, you know?’ I overheard one mom say to another after I suggested the children go around and say what they were thankful for in lieu of the forbidden public school prayer during Mason’s 2nd grade Thanksgiving party. ‘Oh, I had no idea.’ ‘Yes, she and her husband both.’ And as the children held hands and one of them said “I’m thankful for God” I started to feel a little smug. Yes, my idea. She’s thankful for God. And other children were thankful for their parents. And Mason was thankful for candy. And then the end. Amen. Time to gorge.
The same thing happened at my family Thanksgiving...I’m thankful for family and friends...time together...hey, this gravy doesn’t have enough giblets in it! Where’s the slotted spoon?
And so this Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we wave goodbye to the Thanksgiving festivities of the last few days, and we turn to welcome the coming of Jesus, our Lord. And in all seriousness it is kind of a nice flow...I give thanks for God, and now I’m going to give thanks for the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Up until this first Sunday of Advent, we have been following the Gospel of Mark. Now I know the men’s prayer group has been studying Luke, but for the rest of us let’s take a moment with Luke and Luke’s Jesus.
Luke is written chronologically, starting with the birth of John the Baptist, it follows the birth of Jesus, his baptism, miracles and healings, the calling of the 12, miracles and parables, the transfiguration, many more miracles and parables, and finally the turn back to Jerusalem to face his death. He enters the city triumphantly, but when he is near and sees Jerusalem Jesus weeps. And immediately before our passage, Jesus foretells of the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.
Jesus knows what awaits him. He tells them in Luke 18, “See we are going to Jerusalem, and everything that’s written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.” Jesus MUST prepare his disciples for the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, his death, and his resurrection. The disciples will live to see all of this. And they need to know that his death isn’t some random act of violence; it was part of the plan, they knew it from the scriptures. His death and resurrection are “the turning point of history.”(1) But that’s not the end of the story!
Let’s now hear today’s scripture, Luke 21:25-36:
"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and
the stars, and on the earth distress among nations
confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud' with power and great glory.
28 Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
29 Then he told them a parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees;
30 as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.
31 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”
32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
The Word of the Lord, Thanks be to God.
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” Have any of you seen the movie Chicken Little?. When Chicken Little sees a piece of the sky fall down, he runs to the town’s tower and begins ringing the bell, which signals to the whole town an emergency is on the way. He’s screaming, “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” and mayhem ensues. Folks are running around screaming. Fire engines are singing.
Listen to what Jesus says,
“26 People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
My husband is preaching on this text today as well. His sermon is called “Duck and Cover.” Jesus is talking the end of the world! Apocalypse! He says we’ll see it in the sun, and the moon, and the stars. There will be earthquakes in the heavens. Nations will be distressed. The oceans and seas will roar. The world will be full of emergency! Everything will break loose! “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
What comforting words Jesus offers his disciples as he turns toward Jerusalem to face his death. What was Jesus thinking? That he would scare the bejesus out of them...or scare the Jesus into them?!
We Presbyterians don’t often talk about end times. As one scholar writes, we “don’t deny the big booming events such as the second coming, but we don’t think about them very much either.”(2)
But why are we even talking about end times when we’re celebrating the first Sunday of Advent. Isn’t Advent supposed to be a time of preparation for Christ’s birth? The word advent translated from its Latin root “adventus" means ‘coming,’ that is,
the coming of Christ.(3) So while we remember Jesus’ coming for the first time, Advent speaks to both the past and the future coming of Christ. What kind of Christians would we be if we only remembered and didn’t hope? Didn’t hope for Christ’s return?
Most authorities on the Gospel of Luke think it was written around 80 CE. So Luke and Luke’s audience had already seen the Temple destroyed, Jerusalem sacked, and all havoc break loose by the time Luke wrote this text. Listen to this opening part of a poem written by James Lowry:
He was standing knee-deep
in the rubble of unkept promises
when Luke finally took pen in hand
to write it all down...
From the eager anticipation of the birth of Jesus...
the birth of Jesus
and of his cousin John...
all the way to the birth of the church,
Luke saw it all
not so much through the eyes of Jesus
walking headlong into destiny;
but through the eyes of one
standing in the rubble of destiny.(4)
Jesus assures them after the description of the Apocalypse:
“So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
They had seen these things taking place. Everything around them had fallen. Their Temple, their city, their God. Jesus is talking to people who are in the midst of despair.
Another scholar wrote, “These are Exodus people. These are Passover people. These people have a history of being squeezed by Egypt, Babylon and Rome. To these people, redemption is the longing of their heart. They want Rome off their back. They want Caesar out of their hair. It’s their dream. It’s their passion. The coming of God’s redemption means justice is coming, liberation is coming, the King of all the earth is coming.” (5)
(sing) Freedom, oh Freedom, oh Freedom, Freedom is coming.
Oh yes, Oh yes I know. Oh yes, I know. Oh yes, I know Freedom is coming.
Oh yes, I know.
Freedom! The return of Christ! The dawn of a new kingdom! Righteousness filling the earth!
Luke’s audience had an urgency and hope for more. They were waiting, ‘heads up’ for the return of Christ.
And I can imagine there is an urgency, a hope for more from the destitute. For those like Luke who are waiting for redemption. For those who can’t find a home to rest their head in the harsh winters; for those in regions in the Congo and Sudan who wait and hide in fear for themselves and their families; for those in Israel and Palestine who watch as suicide explosions are received and answered with bombings; for those who are afraid to walk out of their house; for those who are afraid to live in their house. There is an urgency and a hope for more, because and when that day comes there will be freedom, and justice will finally prevail on earth!
But what about us? What about those of us who aren’t living in fear? Where is our urgency?
Will Willimon says, “It’s hard to stand on tiptoe for 2000 years.”
Listen to the rest of Lowry’s poem:
Like leaving the breakfast table in tense silence,
dodging the victims of road rage,
and stepping over the homeless
huddled on the steps of the church
as we make our way to Advent worship,
our telling of the advent of hope
and hearing of the advent of hope
cannot escape...
should not escape
what our eyes have just seen.
and our hearts have just felt. (6)
Where’s our urgency!?! Yes, it’s been a long wait! And even though Paul tells us it will come like a thief in the night, over 200 predictions have been made about the 2nd coming, all 200 of them wrong! But is it better to live our lives under the radar? Is it better to live in apathy? To just sit and wait for nothing in particular?
Jesus tells his disciples: 34 "Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, 35 like a trap.
Perhaps these words are for us. We have worries. We even worry about things that matter. We worry about economics. We worry about how we’re doing in school. We worry about paying the mortgage. We worry about what will happen if we miss an important practice. We worry about the health of ourselves and loved ones. We worry about what our friends will think of us. We worry about those we love. We worry. We worry. We are anxious. And my goodness, these are all valid things. They are. They truly are.
But are they going to trap us? Catch us unexpectedly, so that when Jesus comes, our heads remain down? Are stuck in the muck of the anxieties that surround us, or are we living ‘in between’ lives?
How do we live in these present times? How do followers of Jesus live “in between” times? How do we live in a time where we have received the salvation of God, but God’s kingdom on earth has not yet come? How do we live urgently awaiting Christ’s coming, without getting bogged down with the anxieties of our lives?
What does it even look like to live a life where Christ has already come and died for our sins, but he has not yet returned to the earth so that the kingdom of God will reign? What does it look like to live into the hope for more?
I think this is a glimpse.
220 years ago the Connecticut House of Representatives was in session on a bright day in May, and the delegates were able to do their work by natural light. But then something happened that nobody expected. Right in the middle of debate, there was an eclipse of the sun and everything turned to darkness. Some legislators thought it was the second coming. So a clamor arose. People wanted to adjourn. People wanted to pray. People wanted to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
But the Speaker of the House had a different idea. He was a Christian believer, and he rose to the occasion with good logic and good faith. We are all upset by the darkness, he said, and some of us are afraid. But "the Day of the Lord is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. And if the Lord is returning, I for one, choose to be found doing my duty. I therefore ask that candles be brought." And men who expected Jesus went back to their deska and resumed their debate. (7)
To hope for more, isn’t just a frame of mind or internal peace. It is living a life that proclaims with bold conviction, I am not afraid! I will live with the love of God and one another in my heart! Christ died. Christ rose. And Christ will come again!
When these things take place, may we bring in the candles and stand with raised heads because our redemption is drawing near.
(1) Jean-Pierre Ruiz "Lectionary Homiletics",
"http://www.goodpreacher.com/journalread.php?id=1225"
www.goodpreacher.com/journalread.php?od=1225
(2)Cornelius Plantinga Jr. "Between two Advents: In the Interim:
"Christian Century", December 6, 2000: 1270
(3)Howard Rice and James Huffstutler "Reformed Worship", Geneva Press
(Louisville: 2001) 144.
(4)James S. Lowry, "Introducing the Luke Cycle: Advent Preaching for Year "C"
Advent 1997.
(5)Cornelius Plantinga Jr. "Between two Advents: In the Interim:
"Christian Century", December 6, 2000: 1271
(6)James S. Lowry, "Introducing the Luke Cycle: Advent Preaching for Year "C"
Advent 1997
(7)Cornelius Plantinga Jr. "Between two Advents: In the Interim:
"Christian Century", December 6, 2000: 1272
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Living Stones
1 Peter 1:3-5, 22-23,2:1-6
Dedication Sunday
Elizabeth M. Deibert 22 November 2009
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and redeemer.
We have had our gratitude rocks for three weeks now. Some of us even longer. About thirty years ago there was a new fad – pet rocks. A guy named Gary Dahl invented pet rocks, with their little beady stick-on eyes, after talking to some friends about how much trouble real pets were. What made the pet rock sales soar at Christmas of 1975 was the 32 page book with instructions about how to care for your pet rock. And of course, at Christmas time, when people are looking for useless but cute gifts for people who have everything they need, they often buy the latest silly fad.
Well, the Stewardship team of Peace gave you a pet rock for Thanksgiving. This gift was for the purpose of building your gratitude. And we hope your gratitude rock is alive and well, increasing in your life a renewed sense of God’s presence and power. If the gratitude piles up, the blessings will overflow even more.
(Image of cairn)
Do you know the old hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing“? We sang it a lot when I was a kid, but it’s not so popular any more. One of the reasons is that the language is so dated. “Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by They help I’m come; And I hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.” Ebenezer is a combination of 2 Hebrew words that literally means stone of help.
The Old Testament story is that of Samuel, Hannah’s son, whom she gave in gratitude to God, to be raised by the priest Eli. Samuel, leader of Israel, who after the powerful Philistines were subdued and did not again encroach on Israel’s land, Samuel set a stone of thanksgiving and named the peaceful spot where he laid that stone, Ebenezer, because of God’s help. Cairn is the Celtic word for such a special spot, where a stack of stones is placed.
We need physical, concrete reminders of our thanksgiving for God’s help. In a visit with Gretchen and John on Friday, I noticed they have a cairn as table decoration, an ebenezer to which may serve to remind them of God’s help and strength. Read the insert today and learn about the gratitude rock that accompanied and encouraged Peter Miller at his dissertation proposal hearing. Read also about the very ordinary stone, full of meaning because of the imprints it contains, a stone which has been on Peggy Donaldson’s dresser for a long time reminding her of the things that matter......Imagine with me that each of these rocks in the cairn on the screen is a person full of gratitude. What a powerful symbol – just as any gathering of Christ’s people should be a powerful witness to God’s goodness. Rocks of all shapes and sizes, rocks from all times and places, made of different materials, each with a history, together making a statement about God’s care.
In our scripture lesson today we are invited to come to Christ, the cornerstone, the One rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious. We are instructed to let ourselves be built as living stones into a spiritual house. “Let ourselves be built” This has special meaning for us, as a recently chartered church. We do not have a church building yet. We struggle even to have a hospitable place in which to meet. But because of all this, we are forced to remember that it is our submitted lives, given over to God, built together on Christ the Cornerstone in which the living Lord dwells, not in a physical structure. We, the people of Peace are a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. We are the temple and the priest. We are the sanctuary and the minister – we, all of us.
When churches falter, it is not because of crumbling buildings but because of crumbling, weak Christian characters, who wound one another. Churches crumble when their congregational identity is built on the shifting sands of culture, not on the Rock of salvation and the blessing of mutual love. When churches falter, it is because Christians failed to grow into their salvation. They just took the cookie (Jesus loves me. This I know) and ran on to do whatever they wanted to do. That’s not Christian faith. True Christians long to grow. They engage the struggle to love one another. They make difficult choices. They sacrifice to follow in Christ’s steps. We do this, knowing it is right and that Christ is on the road with this. We know that in all things, even difficult times, God is working the divine purpose out in our life together.
So hear now about the living hope of our calling in Christ, hear that calling defined as obedience to the truth and genuine mutual love, hear how those of us who have tasted God’s goodness are encouraged to grow into our salvation by allowing ourselves to be built into a place where God’s spirit is pleased to dwell.
Scripture
(image) Impressive rocks. Hard, cold, huge, imposing. But not living stones. A rock of refuge, of safety, yes. Living stones? No. But there were in Meteora, Greece, monasteries and nunneries on built on these rocks. (image of monastery) Emily and I were impressed with the living of these people who dedicated their lives to prayer and service for the sake of the world. The wise man, the wise woman builds her house upon the rock. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock.” These word of mine, he says. Those words from this sermon to which he is referring are challenging words – words about bearing good fruit or being thrown into the fire, words about the danger of hypocrisy – judging the speck in someone else’s eye while you have a log in yours. Words about the gate being narrow. Words about loving your enemies, turning the other cheek, doing good to those who are mean to you. We thought you were just talking about being sensible, but that kind of house on the rock makes no sense, Lord.
The rock is living a different life, a life set apart by God. And what makes the rock come alive? Hope in the love of God. Commitment to that life of obedience to the truth. Knowing that this calling is to something so valuable, so imperishable, that all the voices of the world are put in their proper place. (Image of Acrocorinth)
In Luke 19 we read about Palm Sunday, when the Pharisees demanded that Jesus silence his followers who were praising him, singing, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Jesus replies, “If my people were silent, then the stones would shout out.” The truth will come out when Christ is revealed.
When Emily and I walked up to the top of Corinth, where Paul shared the gospel, we were struck by the way the sun caught these rocks and made them glisten as if alive. By comparison to the rocks, the tree appears dead.
You are living stones, my friends, when your hearts are full of gratitude for the new life we have in Christ. (Image of Christ) You are living stones when your gratitude is translated into an obedience to the truth, a sincere commitment to grow toward salvation, disciplining yourself to live in accordance with God’s word.
That means loving one another deeply from the heart, and ridding ourselves of all those negative thoughts and gossiping or hurtful words and bad intentions toward others. This is a high call. A call to holiness and generosity. A call to sacrifice for the sake of others.
These sacrifices are required to “let ourselves” be built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. We are called to offer spiritual sacrifices – to give up things for the sake of pleasing God and growing into our salvation.
That, my friends, is what you do when you make promises today to give in 2010 and when you follow through, as much as you are able, on those promises. You are making spiritual sacrifices. When you give of your resources – your money, your time and talent, then you are breathing life into stones, filling them with the heartbeat of gratitude.
You are living into this inheritance that is not perishable and you will never be put to shame for these sacrifices, for no one who puts faith in Christ will never be ashamed. Quite the opposite, you will make difficult sacrifices, giving generously, loving deeply, and will find your lives enriched, fulfilled as you grow into the salvation that God intends, the salvation that makes us together a saving place, a sanctuary of grace and challenge.
So don’t be a dead rock – scared to risk life and breath, scared to trust the One who created this earth and is in the process of saving you. Don’t be a rolling stone – too busy to notice the things that matter. Don’t be a rough hewn rock running roughshod on all who dare to cross your path. Don’t be a silent stone, unable to speak truthfully about what God’s doing in your life. Don’t be a lone pebble along the road, keeping what you think is a safe distance, but easily tossed around by anything that rolls along. Be a living stone – breathing with the love of Christ. Be a gratitude rock – one who gives back to God. Be an ebenezer (stone of help) – one that others can lean upon. And let yourselves be built together into a cairn of hope for this hurting world. Be the generous and loving people of God you are intended to be, built on Christ the head and cornerstone, our secure foundation.
O God, our rock of refuge, we re-commit ourselves to your service today with one of our most precious gifts, the gift of money. Speak to us now regarding these promises we intend to make. You know our particular situations, so speak gently to reassure us or offer us the challenge we need to grow in faith....Bless us with a firm resolve to live the new life to which you call us.... Take us and built of us a spiritual house, a holy people who minister to one another, who care for others with generosity of heart. Remove all fear in us, breathe life into us and make us your living stones, people who make spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to you through Jesus Christ, our cornerstone, we pray. Amen.
Dedication Sunday
Elizabeth M. Deibert 22 November 2009
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and redeemer.
We have had our gratitude rocks for three weeks now. Some of us even longer. About thirty years ago there was a new fad – pet rocks. A guy named Gary Dahl invented pet rocks, with their little beady stick-on eyes, after talking to some friends about how much trouble real pets were. What made the pet rock sales soar at Christmas of 1975 was the 32 page book with instructions about how to care for your pet rock. And of course, at Christmas time, when people are looking for useless but cute gifts for people who have everything they need, they often buy the latest silly fad.
Well, the Stewardship team of Peace gave you a pet rock for Thanksgiving. This gift was for the purpose of building your gratitude. And we hope your gratitude rock is alive and well, increasing in your life a renewed sense of God’s presence and power. If the gratitude piles up, the blessings will overflow even more.
(Image of cairn)
Do you know the old hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing“? We sang it a lot when I was a kid, but it’s not so popular any more. One of the reasons is that the language is so dated. “Here I raise my Ebenezer, Hither by They help I’m come; And I hope by Thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.” Ebenezer is a combination of 2 Hebrew words that literally means stone of help.
The Old Testament story is that of Samuel, Hannah’s son, whom she gave in gratitude to God, to be raised by the priest Eli. Samuel, leader of Israel, who after the powerful Philistines were subdued and did not again encroach on Israel’s land, Samuel set a stone of thanksgiving and named the peaceful spot where he laid that stone, Ebenezer, because of God’s help. Cairn is the Celtic word for such a special spot, where a stack of stones is placed.
We need physical, concrete reminders of our thanksgiving for God’s help. In a visit with Gretchen and John on Friday, I noticed they have a cairn as table decoration, an ebenezer to which may serve to remind them of God’s help and strength. Read the insert today and learn about the gratitude rock that accompanied and encouraged Peter Miller at his dissertation proposal hearing. Read also about the very ordinary stone, full of meaning because of the imprints it contains, a stone which has been on Peggy Donaldson’s dresser for a long time reminding her of the things that matter......Imagine with me that each of these rocks in the cairn on the screen is a person full of gratitude. What a powerful symbol – just as any gathering of Christ’s people should be a powerful witness to God’s goodness. Rocks of all shapes and sizes, rocks from all times and places, made of different materials, each with a history, together making a statement about God’s care.
In our scripture lesson today we are invited to come to Christ, the cornerstone, the One rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious. We are instructed to let ourselves be built as living stones into a spiritual house. “Let ourselves be built” This has special meaning for us, as a recently chartered church. We do not have a church building yet. We struggle even to have a hospitable place in which to meet. But because of all this, we are forced to remember that it is our submitted lives, given over to God, built together on Christ the Cornerstone in which the living Lord dwells, not in a physical structure. We, the people of Peace are a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. We are the temple and the priest. We are the sanctuary and the minister – we, all of us.
When churches falter, it is not because of crumbling buildings but because of crumbling, weak Christian characters, who wound one another. Churches crumble when their congregational identity is built on the shifting sands of culture, not on the Rock of salvation and the blessing of mutual love. When churches falter, it is because Christians failed to grow into their salvation. They just took the cookie (Jesus loves me. This I know) and ran on to do whatever they wanted to do. That’s not Christian faith. True Christians long to grow. They engage the struggle to love one another. They make difficult choices. They sacrifice to follow in Christ’s steps. We do this, knowing it is right and that Christ is on the road with this. We know that in all things, even difficult times, God is working the divine purpose out in our life together.
So hear now about the living hope of our calling in Christ, hear that calling defined as obedience to the truth and genuine mutual love, hear how those of us who have tasted God’s goodness are encouraged to grow into our salvation by allowing ourselves to be built into a place where God’s spirit is pleased to dwell.
Scripture
(image) Impressive rocks. Hard, cold, huge, imposing. But not living stones. A rock of refuge, of safety, yes. Living stones? No. But there were in Meteora, Greece, monasteries and nunneries on built on these rocks. (image of monastery) Emily and I were impressed with the living of these people who dedicated their lives to prayer and service for the sake of the world. The wise man, the wise woman builds her house upon the rock. Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock.” These word of mine, he says. Those words from this sermon to which he is referring are challenging words – words about bearing good fruit or being thrown into the fire, words about the danger of hypocrisy – judging the speck in someone else’s eye while you have a log in yours. Words about the gate being narrow. Words about loving your enemies, turning the other cheek, doing good to those who are mean to you. We thought you were just talking about being sensible, but that kind of house on the rock makes no sense, Lord.
The rock is living a different life, a life set apart by God. And what makes the rock come alive? Hope in the love of God. Commitment to that life of obedience to the truth. Knowing that this calling is to something so valuable, so imperishable, that all the voices of the world are put in their proper place. (Image of Acrocorinth)
In Luke 19 we read about Palm Sunday, when the Pharisees demanded that Jesus silence his followers who were praising him, singing, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Jesus replies, “If my people were silent, then the stones would shout out.” The truth will come out when Christ is revealed.
When Emily and I walked up to the top of Corinth, where Paul shared the gospel, we were struck by the way the sun caught these rocks and made them glisten as if alive. By comparison to the rocks, the tree appears dead.
You are living stones, my friends, when your hearts are full of gratitude for the new life we have in Christ. (Image of Christ) You are living stones when your gratitude is translated into an obedience to the truth, a sincere commitment to grow toward salvation, disciplining yourself to live in accordance with God’s word.
That means loving one another deeply from the heart, and ridding ourselves of all those negative thoughts and gossiping or hurtful words and bad intentions toward others. This is a high call. A call to holiness and generosity. A call to sacrifice for the sake of others.
These sacrifices are required to “let ourselves” be built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood. We are called to offer spiritual sacrifices – to give up things for the sake of pleasing God and growing into our salvation.
That, my friends, is what you do when you make promises today to give in 2010 and when you follow through, as much as you are able, on those promises. You are making spiritual sacrifices. When you give of your resources – your money, your time and talent, then you are breathing life into stones, filling them with the heartbeat of gratitude.
You are living into this inheritance that is not perishable and you will never be put to shame for these sacrifices, for no one who puts faith in Christ will never be ashamed. Quite the opposite, you will make difficult sacrifices, giving generously, loving deeply, and will find your lives enriched, fulfilled as you grow into the salvation that God intends, the salvation that makes us together a saving place, a sanctuary of grace and challenge.
So don’t be a dead rock – scared to risk life and breath, scared to trust the One who created this earth and is in the process of saving you. Don’t be a rolling stone – too busy to notice the things that matter. Don’t be a rough hewn rock running roughshod on all who dare to cross your path. Don’t be a silent stone, unable to speak truthfully about what God’s doing in your life. Don’t be a lone pebble along the road, keeping what you think is a safe distance, but easily tossed around by anything that rolls along. Be a living stone – breathing with the love of Christ. Be a gratitude rock – one who gives back to God. Be an ebenezer (stone of help) – one that others can lean upon. And let yourselves be built together into a cairn of hope for this hurting world. Be the generous and loving people of God you are intended to be, built on Christ the head and cornerstone, our secure foundation.
O God, our rock of refuge, we re-commit ourselves to your service today with one of our most precious gifts, the gift of money. Speak to us now regarding these promises we intend to make. You know our particular situations, so speak gently to reassure us or offer us the challenge we need to grow in faith....Bless us with a firm resolve to live the new life to which you call us.... Take us and built of us a spiritual house, a holy people who minister to one another, who care for others with generosity of heart. Remove all fear in us, breathe life into us and make us your living stones, people who make spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to you through Jesus Christ, our cornerstone, we pray. Amen.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Giving Back in Gratitude
1 Samuel 1:6-2:2 (selected verses)
Stewardship Season
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Children were for Hannah and the women in their generation prestige, wealth, and security. Barrenness was not just childlessness for her. Childlessness is an acceptable way to live in our world. But in Hannah’s world, it was barrenness in the fullest sense of the word – being without everything that mattered. It was to be empty.
So not only is Hannah without children, the one thing that she wants and needs for her present and future life, she is scorned and ridiculed by her rival wife of Elkanah. The Old Testament records quite a few relational problems with polygamy. This is one of those stories. Peninnah’s intentionally cruel to Hannah. In this agrarian society, at a time when only half of one’s offspring survived childhood, it was very natural to look upon the state of childlessness as a grave misfortune. The wife who presented her husband with no such tangible blessings or supporters felt that her aim in life had been missed. "Give me children or else I die!" was the plea of Rachel (Gen. 30:1) when she saw her sister Leah adding child after child to Jacob's household;
Hannah in her desperation, cries out to God. If only, if only, if only I can have this one thing God – a son, then I will give him back to you. She makes this very large promise with her prayer and most remarkably, she keeps it.
Let’s read the story.
I don’t know that many of us try to make deals with God. If you’ll give me this, God, I promise I’ll do this. I suppose we often pray our desperate prayers without any commitment. Just sheer pleading, no deal. But Hannah makes her promise that any son given to her will be given back. And sure enough, her prayer is answered, she nurses the child for the typical length of time in her day – about three years or a little more, then she takes him to the Temple to be raised by Eli, the priest.
I have never had to give up a child, but I think it would be much harder the longer you’ve had to love him or her. Of course, Samuel was not dying. He was just being sent to a sort of boarding school you might say, at the Temple with Eli. She gave up possessing her son. She gave up control over her son, but that boy would always be her son. She did early what all parents do eventually. Give up their children.
Richard and I will never forget our seminary friends Scott and Martha, whose baby son Jeremiah got very sick with meningitis. Richard helped them to realize that his condition was very serious and that they needed to go to the hospital. While there, Scott who was extremely calm but surely worried, turned and said to Richard, “Jeremiah belongs to God, not to us.”
We had no children at the time, but this thought has remained with us as we have watched our own offspring grow up. They belong to God, not us. We affirm that in baptism and in confirmation of baptism the teens affirm it for themselves.
They belong to God, not us. Same is true of our beloved spouses, parents, and other significant people. They belong to God.
What else belongs to God? Your house. Your bank account. Your health. Your time. Your abilities. Your everything. It’s all God’s and you’ve been asked to be a good manager, a steward of God’s property. It’s yours for you to take care of for a while. A steward of an airplane or ship or a house, is one who has total access but effectively cares for something that he or she doesn’t own, in such a way that tasks and people are managed fruitfully.
So as stewards of God’s creation, we perform tasks to make life better for the inhabitants of the earth. As stewards in the church, we take on tasks that make life better for those in the church and beyond the church. That’s why we have a stewardship season in the fall entirely focused on monetary giving. Because we cannot take care of the church and the church’s mission as effective stewards without money.
The amazing thing about Hannah is how she sings her song of triumph, not when the child is born, but after she gives the child back to God in gratitude. Think about it. A mother raises her child for three or four years, loves and adores the child, then hands the child over to someone else and sings a song of praise.
That how we should live in gratitude toward God with everything and everyone important to us.
If you’ve had a house and lost it in this terrible market, give thanks to God for the time you lived in it, and remember that it was a gift from God.
If you had a job you loved and now you don’t, be glad for the joy of that work. That job was a gift from God.
If you have a savings account, an investment account, that’s a tremendous blessing of security for yourself and your loved ones. If you give it away, then your blessing extended even beyond your own family. Charitable bequests are a great idea.
If you have a luxury item like a second home or a boat or a sports car, remember those are gifts from God and you might be called by God to give up them at some point for the greater benefit of others.
If you have enjoyed good health for many years, what a gift! Good health is a gift which we all give up eventually. Some of us kicking and screaming and others of us more graciously.
If someone you love is dying, they belong to God and are returning to God. You give them up with sadness, but surely also with gratitude for the blessing they have been for three years, thirty-three years or eighty-three years.
In our day, we expect children to outlive their parents, even though that does not always happen. In Hannah’s day, only half of the children made it to thirteen and the life expectancy was no more than thirty. I wonder if this kind of loss is easier when it is half expected. Now the loss of a child to a parent is compounded by the rarity of the occasion, so the feeling of unfairness is greater.
Hannah, in her longing for what she did not have, and in her grateful song of thanksgiving after returning to God the gift of a son, remembers to turn to God in every and all circumstances. Essentially, she remembers that her life is in the hands of God and that therefore everything that she receives is from God and belongs ultimately to God. So she gives back to God the son to whom she could have tried to cling.
What about us? Do you think that you could take your gratitude rock this week and not only give thanks for all the things you have, but say to God each time you give thanks. “This blessing is a gift from you, Lord. I offer it back to you, as a faithful steward.”
Rather than wish for more, long for newer, better, could you say, “Thank you, God, for this car that still runs well. It is a gift from you and I offer it back to you. Show me how you would have me use it.”
Rather than griping that again we need milk, I touch my gratitude rock and say “Thank you God for my freedom to go to the grocery store nearly any time of day and buy what my family needs. I don’t have to milk the cow or even walk to the store. Thank you for that privilege. I give you back this freedom and ask you, “What would you like me to buy in the store. More food for Beth-El?”
Rather than complaining about going to the dentist or doctor for some form of treatment, I touch my rock and say “Thank you God for the privilege of health care, which many do not have.” I give you back my health and ask what you would like me to do with it.
Thank you, God for the family you have given me, for all the gifts I receive through them. I give them to you, for they belong to you, not me, and ask that you would help me to steward/ to manage those relationships in ways that are fruitful.
Missionary Jim Elliot, was martyred at age twenty-eight (1956) with four companions while trying to share the Gospel with the Huaorani tribe of Aucas in the jungles of Ecuador. Jim Elliott, in his journal wrote these words which have been quoted many times – not because he lived but because he died so early. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Some people think he was re-stating the words of the English preacher Philip Henry (1631-1696) who said "He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed with that which he cannot lose"[15].
Perhaps what Hannah saw is that giving her son back to God meant even greater blessings than keeping him close to her. After all, Samuel became a great leader in Israel, after growing up with the priest Eli. She gave up that for which she had been praying and longing and for three years loving with all her heart. But what she could not see was that in giving him up, she gained an even greater blessing, a faithful son, who was not only a blessing to her, but to the whole people, the Israelites. If she had clung to her son, he would have never become what he was intended to be – a blessing to many. We have the opportunity, people of Peace, to pool our resources, to create something that will surpass anything we could accomplish as individuals, something that will endure long after we are gone. We have the privilege and I think the responsibility, to build a congregation called Peace, whose people will be and do far more than we can think or imagine. God has gifted you. Will you give back in gratitude and with vision for the amazing things God can accomplish through us, working generously together?
Stewardship Season
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Children were for Hannah and the women in their generation prestige, wealth, and security. Barrenness was not just childlessness for her. Childlessness is an acceptable way to live in our world. But in Hannah’s world, it was barrenness in the fullest sense of the word – being without everything that mattered. It was to be empty.
So not only is Hannah without children, the one thing that she wants and needs for her present and future life, she is scorned and ridiculed by her rival wife of Elkanah. The Old Testament records quite a few relational problems with polygamy. This is one of those stories. Peninnah’s intentionally cruel to Hannah. In this agrarian society, at a time when only half of one’s offspring survived childhood, it was very natural to look upon the state of childlessness as a grave misfortune. The wife who presented her husband with no such tangible blessings or supporters felt that her aim in life had been missed. "Give me children or else I die!" was the plea of Rachel (Gen. 30:1) when she saw her sister Leah adding child after child to Jacob's household;
Hannah in her desperation, cries out to God. If only, if only, if only I can have this one thing God – a son, then I will give him back to you. She makes this very large promise with her prayer and most remarkably, she keeps it.
Let’s read the story.
I don’t know that many of us try to make deals with God. If you’ll give me this, God, I promise I’ll do this. I suppose we often pray our desperate prayers without any commitment. Just sheer pleading, no deal. But Hannah makes her promise that any son given to her will be given back. And sure enough, her prayer is answered, she nurses the child for the typical length of time in her day – about three years or a little more, then she takes him to the Temple to be raised by Eli, the priest.
I have never had to give up a child, but I think it would be much harder the longer you’ve had to love him or her. Of course, Samuel was not dying. He was just being sent to a sort of boarding school you might say, at the Temple with Eli. She gave up possessing her son. She gave up control over her son, but that boy would always be her son. She did early what all parents do eventually. Give up their children.
Richard and I will never forget our seminary friends Scott and Martha, whose baby son Jeremiah got very sick with meningitis. Richard helped them to realize that his condition was very serious and that they needed to go to the hospital. While there, Scott who was extremely calm but surely worried, turned and said to Richard, “Jeremiah belongs to God, not to us.”
We had no children at the time, but this thought has remained with us as we have watched our own offspring grow up. They belong to God, not us. We affirm that in baptism and in confirmation of baptism the teens affirm it for themselves.
They belong to God, not us. Same is true of our beloved spouses, parents, and other significant people. They belong to God.
What else belongs to God? Your house. Your bank account. Your health. Your time. Your abilities. Your everything. It’s all God’s and you’ve been asked to be a good manager, a steward of God’s property. It’s yours for you to take care of for a while. A steward of an airplane or ship or a house, is one who has total access but effectively cares for something that he or she doesn’t own, in such a way that tasks and people are managed fruitfully.
So as stewards of God’s creation, we perform tasks to make life better for the inhabitants of the earth. As stewards in the church, we take on tasks that make life better for those in the church and beyond the church. That’s why we have a stewardship season in the fall entirely focused on monetary giving. Because we cannot take care of the church and the church’s mission as effective stewards without money.
The amazing thing about Hannah is how she sings her song of triumph, not when the child is born, but after she gives the child back to God in gratitude. Think about it. A mother raises her child for three or four years, loves and adores the child, then hands the child over to someone else and sings a song of praise.
That how we should live in gratitude toward God with everything and everyone important to us.
If you’ve had a house and lost it in this terrible market, give thanks to God for the time you lived in it, and remember that it was a gift from God.
If you had a job you loved and now you don’t, be glad for the joy of that work. That job was a gift from God.
If you have a savings account, an investment account, that’s a tremendous blessing of security for yourself and your loved ones. If you give it away, then your blessing extended even beyond your own family. Charitable bequests are a great idea.
If you have a luxury item like a second home or a boat or a sports car, remember those are gifts from God and you might be called by God to give up them at some point for the greater benefit of others.
If you have enjoyed good health for many years, what a gift! Good health is a gift which we all give up eventually. Some of us kicking and screaming and others of us more graciously.
If someone you love is dying, they belong to God and are returning to God. You give them up with sadness, but surely also with gratitude for the blessing they have been for three years, thirty-three years or eighty-three years.
In our day, we expect children to outlive their parents, even though that does not always happen. In Hannah’s day, only half of the children made it to thirteen and the life expectancy was no more than thirty. I wonder if this kind of loss is easier when it is half expected. Now the loss of a child to a parent is compounded by the rarity of the occasion, so the feeling of unfairness is greater.
Hannah, in her longing for what she did not have, and in her grateful song of thanksgiving after returning to God the gift of a son, remembers to turn to God in every and all circumstances. Essentially, she remembers that her life is in the hands of God and that therefore everything that she receives is from God and belongs ultimately to God. So she gives back to God the son to whom she could have tried to cling.
What about us? Do you think that you could take your gratitude rock this week and not only give thanks for all the things you have, but say to God each time you give thanks. “This blessing is a gift from you, Lord. I offer it back to you, as a faithful steward.”
Rather than wish for more, long for newer, better, could you say, “Thank you, God, for this car that still runs well. It is a gift from you and I offer it back to you. Show me how you would have me use it.”
Rather than griping that again we need milk, I touch my gratitude rock and say “Thank you God for my freedom to go to the grocery store nearly any time of day and buy what my family needs. I don’t have to milk the cow or even walk to the store. Thank you for that privilege. I give you back this freedom and ask you, “What would you like me to buy in the store. More food for Beth-El?”
Rather than complaining about going to the dentist or doctor for some form of treatment, I touch my rock and say “Thank you God for the privilege of health care, which many do not have.” I give you back my health and ask what you would like me to do with it.
Thank you, God for the family you have given me, for all the gifts I receive through them. I give them to you, for they belong to you, not me, and ask that you would help me to steward/ to manage those relationships in ways that are fruitful.
Missionary Jim Elliot, was martyred at age twenty-eight (1956) with four companions while trying to share the Gospel with the Huaorani tribe of Aucas in the jungles of Ecuador. Jim Elliott, in his journal wrote these words which have been quoted many times – not because he lived but because he died so early. "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Some people think he was re-stating the words of the English preacher Philip Henry (1631-1696) who said "He is no fool who parts with that which he cannot keep, when he is sure to be recompensed with that which he cannot lose"[15].
Perhaps what Hannah saw is that giving her son back to God meant even greater blessings than keeping him close to her. After all, Samuel became a great leader in Israel, after growing up with the priest Eli. She gave up that for which she had been praying and longing and for three years loving with all her heart. But what she could not see was that in giving him up, she gained an even greater blessing, a faithful son, who was not only a blessing to her, but to the whole people, the Israelites. If she had clung to her son, he would have never become what he was intended to be – a blessing to many. We have the opportunity, people of Peace, to pool our resources, to create something that will surpass anything we could accomplish as individuals, something that will endure long after we are gone. We have the privilege and I think the responsibility, to build a congregation called Peace, whose people will be and do far more than we can think or imagine. God has gifted you. Will you give back in gratitude and with vision for the amazing things God can accomplish through us, working generously together?
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Riches of Voluntary Poverty
Mark 12:41-44 & 2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Stewardship Season
Elizabeth M. Deibert
I am so glad to be back with you I can hardly contain it. My gratitude is overwhelming, gushing, embarrassing. I love this congregation and I love the way ministry with you pushes me, challenges me. Of course, my extreme joy in being back is not that I had a bad time in Greece, far from it. I thoroughly enjoyed the time with Emily and the privilege of seeing places like this, where monks and nuns have been drawing near to God and praying for the world for 600 years. (image of Greece) I was challenged, however, by the poverty which I saw. Beggars on the street, relentlessly calling out “parakalo, parakalo” (please, please) Graffiti stubbornly asserting itself against natural beauty. (Graffiti image) People walking through restaurants desperately trying to sell their wares – things we would hesitate to buy for fifty cents at a yard sale. Abandoned puppies left by the side of the road, like these whose pitiful cries broke Emily’s heart. (Image of Puppies) We were keenly aware of simpler lifestyles, of clothing hanging on balconies, of tiny apartments and narrow, noisy streets, of a clearer view into poverty – not too different from th widow in our Gospel lesson today. Hear now the story of the Widow’s mite.
Mark 12:41-44
(Image of widow)
Jesus says that two pennies is worth more than all the money the wealthy people have put in, because the widow, a very powerless person in Biblical times, gave of herself sacrificially. She embraced and extended her own poverty in order to give, whereas they gave of their abundance. I’m not sure the core of this message ever really hits home with us because we continue to be more excited about big things – big money, big salaries, and big gifts. We admire the widow greatly for her generosity but we don’t actually believe that her gift is more. Yet that’s the strange way it is in Christ’s economy. More is less and less is more. “Give a little or give a lot.” as the kids song said. The point being: it is only a lot when it is a lot to you, when it makes you more impoverished, when it is sacrifice.
Sacrifice is at the heart of the Christ-centered existence. That’s why it is so good to be back here to engage this ministry with you. Because this ministry with you invites joyful sacrifice in my life. I cannot do exactly what I want to do. My time is not mine. My resources are not mine. I am open to your pain as well as your joy is mine. It is ours mutually. And those of you who are giving the most sacrificially, feel so much love for this church – because of your sacrifice, because of the risk you take in giving of yourselves. Those of you with children know that your love for your children is inextricably tied to the sacrifices you have made for them. Sometimes we get tired and feel the need for a break but when we are get unencumbered, then we realize freedom is not best. Sacrifice is best.
So with Emily’s youthful encouragement I sacrificed my body as much as possible, walking up these rocky hills to get these wondrous views among ruins some of them more than two thousand years old. (image of the Acrocorinth)
Here we are at the top of old Corinth, and I’m thinking Paul walked up this hill, after traveling from far away places like Thessaloniki in Macedonia. Emily and I flew there, and took a combination of bus and train back. Paul traveled by foot and by boat, in shoes as unfit for walking on rocks as Emily’s flip flops. (Image of Emily at top of Corinth) He walked up, not knowing whether he would get a nice glass of wine and delicious Greek meal at the end of the day. With every hard step, I was banking on that wonderful, warm meal at the end of day. Paul had to confront idolatry at the top of this hill. Emily and I had only a glorious view to share with a handful of other tourists. He had to confront wealthy merchants and prostitutes.
I walked up thinking how easy life is for me. Sure I was breathing hard. I was wondering if a taxi ride would have been a good idea, instead of this plan to walk it. My legs were hurting, but I reached down and picked up this rock and remembering our stewardship season theme of gratitude for this year, I thought to myself “This is my gratitude rock” With my rock in hand, and more rocks than I could begin to count under foot, I thought about the privilege of world travel, of the gift of time with a daughter turning into an adult. I was so grateful to be alive, so thankful to have seen this glorious country where the Apostle Paul did new church development. But I was also grateful to know that I could return to my place, this place of comfort and joy and peace, this place where I am called to live daily in sacrificial ministry. (Image of rocks in Corinth) By the way, this is my rock from Corinth. I wanted a pocket size one. This one is David and Dotty’s from a trip a couple of years ago. This one is Richard’s from nearly ten years ago.
Paul preached the good news of God’s grace and Christ’s sacrifice on this hill and got in trouble for it. But lives were changed and a congregation was formed and later Paul wrote a letter to them, encouraging them to be generous with other Christians, to support the churches as the Macedonians have. Having lived here for more than a year, Paul knew the Corinthians were people of greater means. This was an upscale city, Corinth. They had more to give than the generous Macedonians, more than the widow of whom Jesus spoke. And so Paul challenges them to sacrifice for the sake of fairness, of equality, to be generous because they know the generous sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who was rich and for our sakes became poor. He challenges them to help the mother church in Jerusalem, where there’s been a famine.
Hear the word of the Lord from 2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Those with abundant joy (gratitude) and extreme poverty (the Macedonians) overflow in a wealth of generosity. Paul says they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means. To give beyond your means is to engage in voluntary poverty. They did it because they wanted (desperately wanted) a share in the exciting new church development on which Paul and other were working. They were grateful for what Christ had done for them.
So Paul says to the wealthier folks in Corinth – those of did not have a cash flow problem – since you’re doing well in everything, since you’ve got a lot going for you, take this generosity on as well.
Here’s why: Jesus Christ had everything too. He had all the power of God because he was God. He had all the glory of God because he was God. He had all the freedom of God because he was God. But he chose to sacrifice it for love. He gave it all up, made himself impoverished or destitute, so that we’d experience the richness of God’s love, the abundant of God’s goodness, the power of our redemption. Jesus was what we are meant to be - completely generous to the point of joyful, willing sacrifice.
Paul challenges the Corinthians to complete their task, much as we have a task to complete here at Peace. We have by God’s grace and blessing, accomplished so much. We are giving more than 20% of our budget away. We are giving percentage-wise more than any other church to our presbytery’s mission. We are becoming independent financially after a five year grant was put in place by presbytery to help us get started as a new church. We have a wonderful and devoted staff in place, and the best volunteer leaders and servants of any congregation I know.
So we must complete our work, according to our means. Paul is quick to add that he’s not begging the Corinthians to give beyond their means – only that they give fairly according to the gifts they have. But when they choose to give beyond their means, as the Macedonians did, Paul celebrates.
For some of you, deciding to consistently give twenty-five dollars each week or one hundred/month is a new step and a big one. It is a challenge. Perhaps you’ve been really pulling yourself out of a crisis or are on the verge of one.
Nobody, not Paul nor I is asking you to be ridiculously sacrificial. But we are asking you to consider a new lifestyle which says “I love God first, I’m grateful for my blessings, and willing to make some sacrifices in order to be generous with others.”
For others $100/week is really no sacrifice because you are covering your bills without nail-biting and fear each month, without that panicky feeling that you’re going to open a second notice you cannot afford to pay. You may need to dig deeper, to find that more challenging place of generosity. Realize that God has promised to take care of you, so you can reach for a higher level of giving. Would you really notice if you added another $25-50 each week? If you wouldn’t notice it, then perhaps you have not reached for sacrificial giving yet. Find the joy of a gratitude-filled trust in your shepherding, loving Lord for your future.
For Richard and me $200 each week felt like a stretch a couple of years ago when we first decided to try it and sometimes it feels foolish even now. But we don’t go down that thought-path. No, we’re not saving for the future as we should. We’re barely covering college bills, and it’s only going to be worse next year and the next. But we feel called to tithe and give weekly as much as we think we can, because we have learned how much more joyful we are when we make such sacrifices, when we trust God enough to be slightly unguarded and uncalculating. It helps to know that certain activities and purchases are ruled out because of our giving to church. There is something very liberating about feeling the sacrifice, knowing our limitations, trusting God.
For some of you, giving generously can means a tremendous difference for Peace’s budget, much as the Corinthians had the wealth to make a difference for the Jerusalem Church. You have enough money to insure that Peace can be bolstered for future growth, but maybe knowing you have that power and privilege makes you nervous. Your sacrifice is one of trusting that you will not be given too much power in your giving. You don’t want to be the only one giving at that level. You want to inspire others to give, so there a fair balance. But to give less than you are able is not to make the sacrifice that the Lord of these scriptures calls you to make, so you feel the burden of potential giving. I heard from one family at Peace who plans to take a major step in giving this year, out of gratitude for what God is doing at Peace, out of a firm conviction that we must all step forward to see Peace into the future. I hope this gift will inspire all of you reach. Would it not be great if we exceeded our budgetary needs this stewardship season and could begin saving for a building? Would it not be wonderful if we knew that we would have no trouble paying all our staff well and continuing our commitment to a generous benevolence toward those with greater needs?
We do not want anyone to have too little or too much, Paul says. We want a fair balance between those with abundance and those with great need.
But whether you yourself have a great abundance or great need, the call is to sacrifice as you can, according to your own means. It is a matter of your heart, your sacrifice, not your amount compared with that of someone else. It is the level of giving which requires deep trust on your part. The riches of voluntary poverty are not monetary riches, but the deeper riches of being in the right relationship of trust with God, so that you are willing to do whatever God asks of you.
Your heart will be filled to overflowing with gratitude for all of God’s good gifts when you begin to make sacrifices in response to the voluntary poverty, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in being one with us, that we might be one with God. There is no place of greater riches, than being one with God in Jesus Christ. To be like Christ is to sacrifice.
So let us all touch our rock daily and count our blessings, not our limitations. Let us be grateful for the little things and stop lusting for the big. Stop dwelling on what’s missing in your life and look around and see just how rich you are with the blessings of God. Remember the global perspective – the relative comfort of our way of life. Be joyful, be free, be prayerful and open. In the spirit of our loving Christ, volunteer to be poorer tomorrow than you are today, and you will be richer than you’ve ever been.
Let us pray: “We want to be rich in our souls, rich in your grace and peace. So take our lives, take our hearts, take our minds, take our wills, take our resources and make them your own. We consecrate all that we are to you in the generous Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Stewardship Season
Elizabeth M. Deibert
I am so glad to be back with you I can hardly contain it. My gratitude is overwhelming, gushing, embarrassing. I love this congregation and I love the way ministry with you pushes me, challenges me. Of course, my extreme joy in being back is not that I had a bad time in Greece, far from it. I thoroughly enjoyed the time with Emily and the privilege of seeing places like this, where monks and nuns have been drawing near to God and praying for the world for 600 years. (image of Greece) I was challenged, however, by the poverty which I saw. Beggars on the street, relentlessly calling out “parakalo, parakalo” (please, please) Graffiti stubbornly asserting itself against natural beauty. (Graffiti image) People walking through restaurants desperately trying to sell their wares – things we would hesitate to buy for fifty cents at a yard sale. Abandoned puppies left by the side of the road, like these whose pitiful cries broke Emily’s heart. (Image of Puppies) We were keenly aware of simpler lifestyles, of clothing hanging on balconies, of tiny apartments and narrow, noisy streets, of a clearer view into poverty – not too different from th widow in our Gospel lesson today. Hear now the story of the Widow’s mite.
Mark 12:41-44
(Image of widow)
Jesus says that two pennies is worth more than all the money the wealthy people have put in, because the widow, a very powerless person in Biblical times, gave of herself sacrificially. She embraced and extended her own poverty in order to give, whereas they gave of their abundance. I’m not sure the core of this message ever really hits home with us because we continue to be more excited about big things – big money, big salaries, and big gifts. We admire the widow greatly for her generosity but we don’t actually believe that her gift is more. Yet that’s the strange way it is in Christ’s economy. More is less and less is more. “Give a little or give a lot.” as the kids song said. The point being: it is only a lot when it is a lot to you, when it makes you more impoverished, when it is sacrifice.
Sacrifice is at the heart of the Christ-centered existence. That’s why it is so good to be back here to engage this ministry with you. Because this ministry with you invites joyful sacrifice in my life. I cannot do exactly what I want to do. My time is not mine. My resources are not mine. I am open to your pain as well as your joy is mine. It is ours mutually. And those of you who are giving the most sacrificially, feel so much love for this church – because of your sacrifice, because of the risk you take in giving of yourselves. Those of you with children know that your love for your children is inextricably tied to the sacrifices you have made for them. Sometimes we get tired and feel the need for a break but when we are get unencumbered, then we realize freedom is not best. Sacrifice is best.
So with Emily’s youthful encouragement I sacrificed my body as much as possible, walking up these rocky hills to get these wondrous views among ruins some of them more than two thousand years old. (image of the Acrocorinth)
Here we are at the top of old Corinth, and I’m thinking Paul walked up this hill, after traveling from far away places like Thessaloniki in Macedonia. Emily and I flew there, and took a combination of bus and train back. Paul traveled by foot and by boat, in shoes as unfit for walking on rocks as Emily’s flip flops. (Image of Emily at top of Corinth) He walked up, not knowing whether he would get a nice glass of wine and delicious Greek meal at the end of the day. With every hard step, I was banking on that wonderful, warm meal at the end of day. Paul had to confront idolatry at the top of this hill. Emily and I had only a glorious view to share with a handful of other tourists. He had to confront wealthy merchants and prostitutes.
I walked up thinking how easy life is for me. Sure I was breathing hard. I was wondering if a taxi ride would have been a good idea, instead of this plan to walk it. My legs were hurting, but I reached down and picked up this rock and remembering our stewardship season theme of gratitude for this year, I thought to myself “This is my gratitude rock” With my rock in hand, and more rocks than I could begin to count under foot, I thought about the privilege of world travel, of the gift of time with a daughter turning into an adult. I was so grateful to be alive, so thankful to have seen this glorious country where the Apostle Paul did new church development. But I was also grateful to know that I could return to my place, this place of comfort and joy and peace, this place where I am called to live daily in sacrificial ministry. (Image of rocks in Corinth) By the way, this is my rock from Corinth. I wanted a pocket size one. This one is David and Dotty’s from a trip a couple of years ago. This one is Richard’s from nearly ten years ago.
Paul preached the good news of God’s grace and Christ’s sacrifice on this hill and got in trouble for it. But lives were changed and a congregation was formed and later Paul wrote a letter to them, encouraging them to be generous with other Christians, to support the churches as the Macedonians have. Having lived here for more than a year, Paul knew the Corinthians were people of greater means. This was an upscale city, Corinth. They had more to give than the generous Macedonians, more than the widow of whom Jesus spoke. And so Paul challenges them to sacrifice for the sake of fairness, of equality, to be generous because they know the generous sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who was rich and for our sakes became poor. He challenges them to help the mother church in Jerusalem, where there’s been a famine.
Hear the word of the Lord from 2 Corinthians 8:1-15
Those with abundant joy (gratitude) and extreme poverty (the Macedonians) overflow in a wealth of generosity. Paul says they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means. To give beyond your means is to engage in voluntary poverty. They did it because they wanted (desperately wanted) a share in the exciting new church development on which Paul and other were working. They were grateful for what Christ had done for them.
So Paul says to the wealthier folks in Corinth – those of did not have a cash flow problem – since you’re doing well in everything, since you’ve got a lot going for you, take this generosity on as well.
Here’s why: Jesus Christ had everything too. He had all the power of God because he was God. He had all the glory of God because he was God. He had all the freedom of God because he was God. But he chose to sacrifice it for love. He gave it all up, made himself impoverished or destitute, so that we’d experience the richness of God’s love, the abundant of God’s goodness, the power of our redemption. Jesus was what we are meant to be - completely generous to the point of joyful, willing sacrifice.
Paul challenges the Corinthians to complete their task, much as we have a task to complete here at Peace. We have by God’s grace and blessing, accomplished so much. We are giving more than 20% of our budget away. We are giving percentage-wise more than any other church to our presbytery’s mission. We are becoming independent financially after a five year grant was put in place by presbytery to help us get started as a new church. We have a wonderful and devoted staff in place, and the best volunteer leaders and servants of any congregation I know.
So we must complete our work, according to our means. Paul is quick to add that he’s not begging the Corinthians to give beyond their means – only that they give fairly according to the gifts they have. But when they choose to give beyond their means, as the Macedonians did, Paul celebrates.
For some of you, deciding to consistently give twenty-five dollars each week or one hundred/month is a new step and a big one. It is a challenge. Perhaps you’ve been really pulling yourself out of a crisis or are on the verge of one.
Nobody, not Paul nor I is asking you to be ridiculously sacrificial. But we are asking you to consider a new lifestyle which says “I love God first, I’m grateful for my blessings, and willing to make some sacrifices in order to be generous with others.”
For others $100/week is really no sacrifice because you are covering your bills without nail-biting and fear each month, without that panicky feeling that you’re going to open a second notice you cannot afford to pay. You may need to dig deeper, to find that more challenging place of generosity. Realize that God has promised to take care of you, so you can reach for a higher level of giving. Would you really notice if you added another $25-50 each week? If you wouldn’t notice it, then perhaps you have not reached for sacrificial giving yet. Find the joy of a gratitude-filled trust in your shepherding, loving Lord for your future.
For Richard and me $200 each week felt like a stretch a couple of years ago when we first decided to try it and sometimes it feels foolish even now. But we don’t go down that thought-path. No, we’re not saving for the future as we should. We’re barely covering college bills, and it’s only going to be worse next year and the next. But we feel called to tithe and give weekly as much as we think we can, because we have learned how much more joyful we are when we make such sacrifices, when we trust God enough to be slightly unguarded and uncalculating. It helps to know that certain activities and purchases are ruled out because of our giving to church. There is something very liberating about feeling the sacrifice, knowing our limitations, trusting God.
For some of you, giving generously can means a tremendous difference for Peace’s budget, much as the Corinthians had the wealth to make a difference for the Jerusalem Church. You have enough money to insure that Peace can be bolstered for future growth, but maybe knowing you have that power and privilege makes you nervous. Your sacrifice is one of trusting that you will not be given too much power in your giving. You don’t want to be the only one giving at that level. You want to inspire others to give, so there a fair balance. But to give less than you are able is not to make the sacrifice that the Lord of these scriptures calls you to make, so you feel the burden of potential giving. I heard from one family at Peace who plans to take a major step in giving this year, out of gratitude for what God is doing at Peace, out of a firm conviction that we must all step forward to see Peace into the future. I hope this gift will inspire all of you reach. Would it not be great if we exceeded our budgetary needs this stewardship season and could begin saving for a building? Would it not be wonderful if we knew that we would have no trouble paying all our staff well and continuing our commitment to a generous benevolence toward those with greater needs?
We do not want anyone to have too little or too much, Paul says. We want a fair balance between those with abundance and those with great need.
But whether you yourself have a great abundance or great need, the call is to sacrifice as you can, according to your own means. It is a matter of your heart, your sacrifice, not your amount compared with that of someone else. It is the level of giving which requires deep trust on your part. The riches of voluntary poverty are not monetary riches, but the deeper riches of being in the right relationship of trust with God, so that you are willing to do whatever God asks of you.
Your heart will be filled to overflowing with gratitude for all of God’s good gifts when you begin to make sacrifices in response to the voluntary poverty, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in being one with us, that we might be one with God. There is no place of greater riches, than being one with God in Jesus Christ. To be like Christ is to sacrifice.
So let us all touch our rock daily and count our blessings, not our limitations. Let us be grateful for the little things and stop lusting for the big. Stop dwelling on what’s missing in your life and look around and see just how rich you are with the blessings of God. Remember the global perspective – the relative comfort of our way of life. Be joyful, be free, be prayerful and open. In the spirit of our loving Christ, volunteer to be poorer tomorrow than you are today, and you will be richer than you’ve ever been.
Let us pray: “We want to be rich in our souls, rich in your grace and peace. So take our lives, take our hearts, take our minds, take our wills, take our resources and make them your own. We consecrate all that we are to you in the generous Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
God Will Be in the Midst
Job 42: 1-6
Rev. Tricia Dillon Thomas
Pastor to Youth & Families
Peace Presbyterian Church
What an amazing Sunday last week was. I’ve had so many people from other congregations tell me how moved they felt during the birth of our church. And me, too. Oh, what a Happy Day it was--I was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit. And then, during fellowship towards the end of the celebration, Elizabeth leans over to me and says, “You get to preach next week!” So here we are...and after a Sunday of joy, we have a Sunday on the harshness of this world.
We are told in Chapter 1 that Job was a righteous man: He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion. But Job lost everything caught in a duel between God and Satan.
Nevertheless Job blesses instead of cursing God. He sits all alone in the ashes just after his wife has called him a fool for not having cursed God. And Jobs three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to be with him after hearing of the disaster. For the first week they just sit with him in silence and prayer, as they can see that Job is suffering immensely. But after a week of silence and still no relief from his symptoms, the friends, trying to find a way to relieve Job of his suffering, start to question the circumstances that could have led to such misfortune.
Job’s friends speak from a deep tradition where righteousness is rewarded and sinfulness is punished. Job knows that his reality speaks a different truth, and he wants to know why God has done these things to him. The debate with the friends takes up most of the book of job. They argue, Job defends, argue, defend, argue, defend.
Finally God enters into the conversation. God speaks out of the whirlwind, out of the chaos that is reflected in the chaos of Job’s life. After God speaks, this is how Job responds.
Then Job answered the LORD:
"I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Gods asks: 'Who is this that hides counsel / without knowledge?'
Therefore / I have uttered / what I did not understand, //
things too wonderful for me, // which // I did not know.
God says: 'Hear, // and I will speak; // I will question you, //
and you // declare to me.'
I had heard of you // by the hearing of the ear, // but now // my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself, //
and repent // in dust // and ashes."
The word of the Lord . Thanks be to God.
My family gets together every year for a reunion, usually somewhere in Florida. Three summers ago, we did it in Savannah because my Grandmother had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and couldn’t travel. My family is loud…I mean loud—especially around meal time when all 20-30 of us try to eat dinner together in a single condo unit. I was at a table with 8 or 9 female relatives. We were talking about some of my experiences in school, working in churches, serving as a Chaplain at a hospital, when Tammy a cousin of mine asks, “Tricia, why do you think bad things happen to people? Why do you think people suffer?” The table got quiet. In fact the whole room got quite. I really can’t explain how hard it is for that to happen in my family. But you see, Tammy, a beautiful woman in her early forties, was sitting there with a scarf around her bald head as she held her three year old daughter in her lap.
Tammy had been diagnosed with breast cancer the year before, had undergone chemotherapy, and had had one of her breasts removed. She had every right to ask that question. And sitting beside Tammy was my grandmother. Newly diagnosed with cancer that we knew was treatable, but not curable. And my mother was also there. My Aunt Betty, who lost her mother when she was only 14 years old, was also sitting at the table. And my cousin Joanne, who’s own mother died of cancer just a few years before and had also watched her father, succumb to Alzheimer’s not even a year earlier. So the room got quiet. Real quiet. Because the question wasn’t funny. Because of the status of health in my family at the time, I imagine it was a question that most of us had been breathing for the past couple of months.
And what was I to say? I had no answer. So I said, “I don’t know. Why do you think people suffer?” She had an answer. Just like each one of Job’s friends, Tammy had an answer. So she told us. And to be honest, I didn’t like, but I realized it made sense. I couldn’t deny the truth that she shared, which was her story. My grandmother, however, shook her head, meaning no. Nope, Tammy’s answer didn’t work for Grandma. My mother argued on my grandma’s behalf. And you know what? I didn’t really agree with my mom’s answer either. But it was an answer that was reflective of my mother’s experiences. It spoke to her reality, and I couldn’t argue with it because it was her encounter with the Holy Spirit in her life. And I had an answer, too. It spoke to my truth. But none of us had an answer that was the end all answer to why people suffer. It’s why we were talking about it, seeing if each of our threads could be weaved into greater understanding.
The age old question of “Why do bad things happen to good people?” didn’t start with Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, who wrote a book with that same title. It didn’t start with the Holocaust. Read Ecclesiastes, for that matter read The Prophets and much of the Old Testament, and you’ll see God’s people struggling with the meaning of their suffering. The Book of Job is based around this idea of the innocent suffering. One commentator on Job says biblical faith is not mature until it has faced the harshest realities of human experience clear-eyed and cold sober, as Job requires us to do. People who are serious about faith do not read this book at an arm’s distance.
Those of us who try to live our lives inside the Bible, like Job and his friends, we all base our understanding of God and suffering on what we’ve experienced, what we learned from our parents and Sunday school teachers growing up. Have you ever watched someone knit? That’s kind of what I imagine this to look like. Job and his friends, like many of us, have this fabric that is knit together in understanding. It is a fragile piece of weaved upon meanings, knitted together by shared experiences in the community. If you’ve ever watched a knitters hands, however, you can see that the knitting is always in danger of being unraveled, of coming undone when something doesn’t quite fit. But it is repaired, the thread that fell is picked up, and woven up again, and enlarged to reflect the community’s reality.
When the threads of language fall from the needle, the knitting begins to come undone. Job’s friends try to keep the piece together. But for Job, his experience tears this knitting into dust and ashes.
So Job takes God to court and demands to know what he’s done to be punished. When God finally speaks, God’s poetry speaks of the vast wildness of the animals, the chaos of the cosmos, the might and strength of beasts that only God and tame.
There is real suffering in the world. You’ve experienced it, I’ve experienced it.
The book of Job does not answer the question of why. I don’t know whether God was inflicting
Job, the only thing I know is that God was with Job. Job’s friends came, and they gave him no relief. But God’s presence did.
God creates a whole new fabric. God doesn’t answer Job using the language and understanding of Job and his friends. What God describes is a magnificent world where God is never absent, a place that is never beyond God’s power. In this new knitting God is the single strand of yarn that is woven around, under, above, and within. The only thing that picked Job off the floor was that Job became aware that God was the knitter.
God will be in the midst.
The New Testament speaks to God in the midst. It points to a God who is with us. Immanuel. Jesus Christ came to this world. Jesus Christ, innocent of all sin, suffered and died for us. But death did not have the last word. Because the story isn’t over with Jesus’ death. The story ends and begins again with his resurrection. When Jesus rose from the grave he defeated all those powers. The final word is a word of hope.
Christ commissioned this new church to be his presence in the world. To be the body of Christ. To celebrate the beauty of God’s love and share the good news of God’s grace. To sing praises and make merry, O Happy Days. But also to hold the hands of those who mourn. To witness to God, in the midst of suffering. As St. Teresa says, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours, no feet but yours.” So let us put our hope and our trust in God, who suffered for us, died for us, and rose for us, prays for us, and continues to reign in power over us. Amen.
Rev. Tricia Dillon Thomas
Pastor to Youth & Families
Peace Presbyterian Church
What an amazing Sunday last week was. I’ve had so many people from other congregations tell me how moved they felt during the birth of our church. And me, too. Oh, what a Happy Day it was--I was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit. And then, during fellowship towards the end of the celebration, Elizabeth leans over to me and says, “You get to preach next week!” So here we are...and after a Sunday of joy, we have a Sunday on the harshness of this world.
We are told in Chapter 1 that Job was a righteous man: He was honest inside and out, a man of his word, who was totally devoted to God and hated evil with a passion. But Job lost everything caught in a duel between God and Satan.
Nevertheless Job blesses instead of cursing God. He sits all alone in the ashes just after his wife has called him a fool for not having cursed God. And Jobs three friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar come to be with him after hearing of the disaster. For the first week they just sit with him in silence and prayer, as they can see that Job is suffering immensely. But after a week of silence and still no relief from his symptoms, the friends, trying to find a way to relieve Job of his suffering, start to question the circumstances that could have led to such misfortune.
Job’s friends speak from a deep tradition where righteousness is rewarded and sinfulness is punished. Job knows that his reality speaks a different truth, and he wants to know why God has done these things to him. The debate with the friends takes up most of the book of job. They argue, Job defends, argue, defend, argue, defend.
Finally God enters into the conversation. God speaks out of the whirlwind, out of the chaos that is reflected in the chaos of Job’s life. After God speaks, this is how Job responds.
Then Job answered the LORD:
"I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
Gods asks: 'Who is this that hides counsel / without knowledge?'
Therefore / I have uttered / what I did not understand, //
things too wonderful for me, // which // I did not know.
God says: 'Hear, // and I will speak; // I will question you, //
and you // declare to me.'
I had heard of you // by the hearing of the ear, // but now // my eye sees you;
therefore I despise myself, //
and repent // in dust // and ashes."
The word of the Lord . Thanks be to God.
My family gets together every year for a reunion, usually somewhere in Florida. Three summers ago, we did it in Savannah because my Grandmother had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and couldn’t travel. My family is loud…I mean loud—especially around meal time when all 20-30 of us try to eat dinner together in a single condo unit. I was at a table with 8 or 9 female relatives. We were talking about some of my experiences in school, working in churches, serving as a Chaplain at a hospital, when Tammy a cousin of mine asks, “Tricia, why do you think bad things happen to people? Why do you think people suffer?” The table got quiet. In fact the whole room got quite. I really can’t explain how hard it is for that to happen in my family. But you see, Tammy, a beautiful woman in her early forties, was sitting there with a scarf around her bald head as she held her three year old daughter in her lap.
Tammy had been diagnosed with breast cancer the year before, had undergone chemotherapy, and had had one of her breasts removed. She had every right to ask that question. And sitting beside Tammy was my grandmother. Newly diagnosed with cancer that we knew was treatable, but not curable. And my mother was also there. My Aunt Betty, who lost her mother when she was only 14 years old, was also sitting at the table. And my cousin Joanne, who’s own mother died of cancer just a few years before and had also watched her father, succumb to Alzheimer’s not even a year earlier. So the room got quiet. Real quiet. Because the question wasn’t funny. Because of the status of health in my family at the time, I imagine it was a question that most of us had been breathing for the past couple of months.
And what was I to say? I had no answer. So I said, “I don’t know. Why do you think people suffer?” She had an answer. Just like each one of Job’s friends, Tammy had an answer. So she told us. And to be honest, I didn’t like, but I realized it made sense. I couldn’t deny the truth that she shared, which was her story. My grandmother, however, shook her head, meaning no. Nope, Tammy’s answer didn’t work for Grandma. My mother argued on my grandma’s behalf. And you know what? I didn’t really agree with my mom’s answer either. But it was an answer that was reflective of my mother’s experiences. It spoke to her reality, and I couldn’t argue with it because it was her encounter with the Holy Spirit in her life. And I had an answer, too. It spoke to my truth. But none of us had an answer that was the end all answer to why people suffer. It’s why we were talking about it, seeing if each of our threads could be weaved into greater understanding.
The age old question of “Why do bad things happen to good people?” didn’t start with Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, who wrote a book with that same title. It didn’t start with the Holocaust. Read Ecclesiastes, for that matter read The Prophets and much of the Old Testament, and you’ll see God’s people struggling with the meaning of their suffering. The Book of Job is based around this idea of the innocent suffering. One commentator on Job says biblical faith is not mature until it has faced the harshest realities of human experience clear-eyed and cold sober, as Job requires us to do. People who are serious about faith do not read this book at an arm’s distance.
Those of us who try to live our lives inside the Bible, like Job and his friends, we all base our understanding of God and suffering on what we’ve experienced, what we learned from our parents and Sunday school teachers growing up. Have you ever watched someone knit? That’s kind of what I imagine this to look like. Job and his friends, like many of us, have this fabric that is knit together in understanding. It is a fragile piece of weaved upon meanings, knitted together by shared experiences in the community. If you’ve ever watched a knitters hands, however, you can see that the knitting is always in danger of being unraveled, of coming undone when something doesn’t quite fit. But it is repaired, the thread that fell is picked up, and woven up again, and enlarged to reflect the community’s reality.
When the threads of language fall from the needle, the knitting begins to come undone. Job’s friends try to keep the piece together. But for Job, his experience tears this knitting into dust and ashes.
So Job takes God to court and demands to know what he’s done to be punished. When God finally speaks, God’s poetry speaks of the vast wildness of the animals, the chaos of the cosmos, the might and strength of beasts that only God and tame.
There is real suffering in the world. You’ve experienced it, I’ve experienced it.
The book of Job does not answer the question of why. I don’t know whether God was inflicting
Job, the only thing I know is that God was with Job. Job’s friends came, and they gave him no relief. But God’s presence did.
God creates a whole new fabric. God doesn’t answer Job using the language and understanding of Job and his friends. What God describes is a magnificent world where God is never absent, a place that is never beyond God’s power. In this new knitting God is the single strand of yarn that is woven around, under, above, and within. The only thing that picked Job off the floor was that Job became aware that God was the knitter.
God will be in the midst.
The New Testament speaks to God in the midst. It points to a God who is with us. Immanuel. Jesus Christ came to this world. Jesus Christ, innocent of all sin, suffered and died for us. But death did not have the last word. Because the story isn’t over with Jesus’ death. The story ends and begins again with his resurrection. When Jesus rose from the grave he defeated all those powers. The final word is a word of hope.
Christ commissioned this new church to be his presence in the world. To be the body of Christ. To celebrate the beauty of God’s love and share the good news of God’s grace. To sing praises and make merry, O Happy Days. But also to hold the hands of those who mourn. To witness to God, in the midst of suffering. As St. Teresa says, “Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours, no feet but yours.” So let us put our hope and our trust in God, who suffered for us, died for us, and rose for us, prays for us, and continues to reign in power over us. Amen.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
NO LONGER STRANGERS
A SERMON FOR THE CHARTERING OF PEACE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
EPHESIANS 2:12-22
TED W. LAND, PASTOR
First Presbyterian Church of Arcadia
No more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home…
"My Shepherd Will Supply My Need"
#172 - The Presbyterian Hymnal
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Ephesians 2:19-22
It would have been easy to have focused on the first part of our scripture today. We’re chartering, organizing, a Presbyterian Church called Peace. And Jesus Christ is indeed our peace. He has made peace, and reconciled us to God through the cross. And that is the message that this church called Peace is chartered, organized, designed to proclaim. Peace to those who are near, and peace to those who are far off. The peace that passes all understanding.
But that would have been too obvious, too easy.
Instead, let’s think about what it means to be “no more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home.” Let’s think about what it means to become citizens with the saints, members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
I remember once when we were all strangers, all guests. Polly, Bob and Ardis, and I, we were there, present, at the first gathering of the saints who would become Peace Church. It was a cold night in January, and we met in the library at the Out of Door Academy, and Chris Curvin, then associate pastor at Church of the Palms, led worship, and John Ferriera, their Director of Music, played the keyboard, and several of the choir members from Church of the Palms sang. And we were all strangers and aliens one to another. Some of us were interested members of Presbytery; some were members at Church of the Palms or Sarasota First. Some were people who saw the notice in the newspaper, or a sign on the corner. Some of you may still be here this afternoon. Some of those folks we’ve never seen again.
For some people, things happened too fast. For others, they happened too slowly.
Patience and passion have to come together in equal measures to start a new church. And sadly, those with the passion sometimes lack the patience, and those with the patience, the passion.
You were once all strangers and aliens, visitors and guests, you who have signed the roll as charter members of Peace Presbyterian Church. You are now citizens with the saints! You are members of the household of God! You are no longer in that limbo that exists when you are a New Church Development. You’re official! You can have elders, and deacons if you want them, and a pastor, and even a parish associate. That “almost a church” status that you’ve both enjoyed and suffered under has come to an end. You are a church! You are indeed a household of God!
I’ve mentioned a few of the saints, the apostles and prophets who were a part of that beginning. I won’t dare to attempt to list them all. They were too many, too varied. There was a steering committee that plotted a course, and a search committee, that found Elizabeth Deibert, and there was the Presbytery Committee, that has changed its name twice during the time this church has been developing, and there was a property acquisition committee.
I’ve lost track of how many pieces of real estate were considered as a future home for Peace Church. It is important to have that piece of real estate. But that doesn’t tell you where Peace Church is. Peace Church is wherever its members are, individually and corporately
When someone asks you where your church is, tell them it is wherever you are! Peace Church cannot be confined or defined by a building!
You’ve already built one building, you know! That’s right! It isn’t a house of worship. It isn’t a place of fellowship and learning. Well, maybe it is, because a lot of fellowship and a lot of learning took place when the team from Peace built Mr. McIver’s house in the little DeSoto County community of Hull. This church truthfully was building itself as they built that house. And someday, maybe using some of the things you learned, you will build a house of worship. I know that all of us look forward to that day when we will meet again to dedicate the building in which Peace Church will worship and gather for fellowship and for Christian Education, and from which you will go out into the community to serve. I’m planning on being there!
But recognize and realize: you will not be dedicating a church when you do that. You will be dedicating a building. You are the church! You are that which is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Jesus Christ Himself as the cornerstone.
Now the word we translate here as cornerstone, well, we don’t have a word or a concept in our architecture that corresponds to the concept in Biblical times.
Perhaps you’ve heard the scripture, and the legend, about the stone that the builders rejected, the one that came from the quarry when they were building the temple in Jerusalem, It had one arm that went like this, and one that when like that, and a third arm sticking out to the side. It wasn’t like the symmetrical keystone that holds together a Roman arch. It wasn’t like the square, solid, cubical stone that we put in the corner of our buildings. But in the rather primitive architecture of the Israelites, “the head of the corner” was what held the walls of the temple together, and odd-shaped though it was, it was essential to keep things together.
You who were strangers and aliens, visitors and guests, have been bound together by the one who is the cornerstone into a church called Peace.
As the Avery and Marsh song of a few years back said,
I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus all around the world! Yes, we’re the church together!
The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people.
We’re many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces, all colors and all ages, from all times and places.
I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together!
Today, you become Peace Presbyterian Church. It is Jesus Himself who joins you together, and who allows you, empowers you, to grow into a holy temple of the Lord. You are thus built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Peace Church, God dwells within you! God dwells in you hearts, in your minds, in your souls, in your lives. His peace is your peace.
You are no longer strangers. You are now a church.
And to Jesus Christ, the head of the church, the cornerstone who joins us together, be the glory, the power, the dominion and the praise, in the church and in the world, now and forever more. Amen.
EPHESIANS 2:12-22
TED W. LAND, PASTOR
First Presbyterian Church of Arcadia
No more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home…
"My Shepherd Will Supply My Need"
#172 - The Presbyterian Hymnal
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In Him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Ephesians 2:19-22
It would have been easy to have focused on the first part of our scripture today. We’re chartering, organizing, a Presbyterian Church called Peace. And Jesus Christ is indeed our peace. He has made peace, and reconciled us to God through the cross. And that is the message that this church called Peace is chartered, organized, designed to proclaim. Peace to those who are near, and peace to those who are far off. The peace that passes all understanding.
But that would have been too obvious, too easy.
Instead, let’s think about what it means to be “no more a stranger or a guest, but like a child at home.” Let’s think about what it means to become citizens with the saints, members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.
I remember once when we were all strangers, all guests. Polly, Bob and Ardis, and I, we were there, present, at the first gathering of the saints who would become Peace Church. It was a cold night in January, and we met in the library at the Out of Door Academy, and Chris Curvin, then associate pastor at Church of the Palms, led worship, and John Ferriera, their Director of Music, played the keyboard, and several of the choir members from Church of the Palms sang. And we were all strangers and aliens one to another. Some of us were interested members of Presbytery; some were members at Church of the Palms or Sarasota First. Some were people who saw the notice in the newspaper, or a sign on the corner. Some of you may still be here this afternoon. Some of those folks we’ve never seen again.
For some people, things happened too fast. For others, they happened too slowly.
Patience and passion have to come together in equal measures to start a new church. And sadly, those with the passion sometimes lack the patience, and those with the patience, the passion.
You were once all strangers and aliens, visitors and guests, you who have signed the roll as charter members of Peace Presbyterian Church. You are now citizens with the saints! You are members of the household of God! You are no longer in that limbo that exists when you are a New Church Development. You’re official! You can have elders, and deacons if you want them, and a pastor, and even a parish associate. That “almost a church” status that you’ve both enjoyed and suffered under has come to an end. You are a church! You are indeed a household of God!
I’ve mentioned a few of the saints, the apostles and prophets who were a part of that beginning. I won’t dare to attempt to list them all. They were too many, too varied. There was a steering committee that plotted a course, and a search committee, that found Elizabeth Deibert, and there was the Presbytery Committee, that has changed its name twice during the time this church has been developing, and there was a property acquisition committee.
I’ve lost track of how many pieces of real estate were considered as a future home for Peace Church. It is important to have that piece of real estate. But that doesn’t tell you where Peace Church is. Peace Church is wherever its members are, individually and corporately
When someone asks you where your church is, tell them it is wherever you are! Peace Church cannot be confined or defined by a building!
You’ve already built one building, you know! That’s right! It isn’t a house of worship. It isn’t a place of fellowship and learning. Well, maybe it is, because a lot of fellowship and a lot of learning took place when the team from Peace built Mr. McIver’s house in the little DeSoto County community of Hull. This church truthfully was building itself as they built that house. And someday, maybe using some of the things you learned, you will build a house of worship. I know that all of us look forward to that day when we will meet again to dedicate the building in which Peace Church will worship and gather for fellowship and for Christian Education, and from which you will go out into the community to serve. I’m planning on being there!
But recognize and realize: you will not be dedicating a church when you do that. You will be dedicating a building. You are the church! You are that which is built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Jesus Christ Himself as the cornerstone.
Now the word we translate here as cornerstone, well, we don’t have a word or a concept in our architecture that corresponds to the concept in Biblical times.
Perhaps you’ve heard the scripture, and the legend, about the stone that the builders rejected, the one that came from the quarry when they were building the temple in Jerusalem, It had one arm that went like this, and one that when like that, and a third arm sticking out to the side. It wasn’t like the symmetrical keystone that holds together a Roman arch. It wasn’t like the square, solid, cubical stone that we put in the corner of our buildings. But in the rather primitive architecture of the Israelites, “the head of the corner” was what held the walls of the temple together, and odd-shaped though it was, it was essential to keep things together.
You who were strangers and aliens, visitors and guests, have been bound together by the one who is the cornerstone into a church called Peace.
As the Avery and Marsh song of a few years back said,
I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together! All who follow Jesus all around the world! Yes, we’re the church together!
The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people.
We’re many kinds of people, with many kinds of faces, all colors and all ages, from all times and places.
I am the church! You are the church! We are the church together!
Today, you become Peace Presbyterian Church. It is Jesus Himself who joins you together, and who allows you, empowers you, to grow into a holy temple of the Lord. You are thus built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.
Peace Church, God dwells within you! God dwells in you hearts, in your minds, in your souls, in your lives. His peace is your peace.
You are no longer strangers. You are now a church.
And to Jesus Christ, the head of the church, the cornerstone who joins us together, be the glory, the power, the dominion and the praise, in the church and in the world, now and forever more. Amen.
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