Pastor Mike's Blog

A Wink and a Smile from the Virgin Mary

2011-12-19T12:43:00.002-05:00

December 18, 2011

Advent 4

Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 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. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 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. 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. For nothing will be impossible with God.” 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.

Sermon

Number four is lit. It's the fourth Sunday of Advent and the countdown is nearing the end! A season of waiting, watching, and wondering is about to culminate in a grand celebration of the birth of Jesus. And as we have for the past three weeks we again ask ourselves the question "What does this mean?" What does it mean that the savior Jesus Christ has come and is coming to our mind? What does it mean that the anointed one has come and is coming to our hearts? What does it mean that the holy one has come and is coming to our spirits? As we wrestle with that question we open the Bible today to Luke 1:26-38 where we find Mary, the Mother of our Lord, in her own wrestling match. She is caught in the fight between promise and peril. She is caught in the tension between opportunity and disaster. Between adventure and catastrophe. All because of a little child.

Several years ago when Karin and I moved into the house we still live in with our three kids, I would take Fridays off for household chores, shopping, and naps. One particular Friday I happened to be in the nap phase of the day when the door bell rang. Then someone knocked on the door and then rang the door bell, again. Not entirely overjoyed to have my nap interrupted, I opened the door to find one of my neighbors with a real look of concern and worry on her face. She said "I just thought I stop to let you know that one of your kids is on your car." I said "What?" Again she said, more slowly, "One of your kids is on your car." So I followed her around the front to the driveway and sure enough there Rachel was standing on top of the car. Actually I was impressed. All of seven years old, it took some real strength and dexterity to climb that car. I just winked and smiled at Rachel, and thought to myself "That girl is going do something with her life." But when I looked at the neighbor lady, she definitely was not smiling. She was alarmed and concerned about the danger she was in. The promise and peril of life is all around us.

Across the street, neighbors put up a basketball goal for their young son, eager for him to work his body, eager for him to develop some skills, eager for him to enjoy his home, eager for him to realize his full promise and potential in the world. Not only did they put up a basketball goal, they also set out big orange construction zone cones at the end of the driveway to stop the boy should he lose control of the basketball into the street. And next to the street they set out one of those flat florescent lime green figures that holds a bright orange warning flag for all cars to see and be aware that there were children playing. The promise of a young boy developing in mind body and spirit playing with a ball and a hoop in the driveway next to the street.

We all live our lives in the constant tension between promise and peril, between adventure and disaster, between opportunity and danger. But not just we ourselves, but today in Luke, Mary. For in today's story of Mary promise and peril are all around.

The angel Gabriel appears to her and says "Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you." And he goes on "You have found favor with God" so much so that 'he has chosen you to bear his son.' He is the long awaited one, the anointed one, the holy one of Israel. He is to be called Jesus. He is going to free people from their sins. This is it! The promised one is coming into the world and you, Mary, are his instrument. The promise God made to Abraham, the promise to bless all the nations through his descendent is now coming to pass. The promise of everlasting life, the promise of the healing of the nations, the promise that heals the brokenness of each individual life, the promise that overcomes the divisions in society, the promise that heals the planet, but not just the planet . . . the entire cosmos. That promise Mary is now upon the world, and you have a front row seat to its happening.

Any devout Jew with a modicum of understanding of the scripture and of the promises of God, would have seen this announcement as the earth shaking, time-altering adventure it was. And no doubt, Mary did.

But that is not all Mary was aware of. It wasn't just the promise, the possibility, the opportunity that ran through Mary's mind. She was also struck by the peril, the risk. Not only was the angel's announcement bursting with promise, it was also shadowed by danger.

That's probably why when the angel made the great announcement of good news, the Bible says in verse 29 that Mary was "much perplexed."

The NIV translation says this:
"Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be."

The Message translation says:
"She was thoroughly shaken."

JB Phillips says,

"Mary was deeply perturbed."

The New Living Bible Translation says,

"Confused and disturbed,"

New Jerusalem Bible
"deeply disturbed"

However you look at it, everyone agrees that the angel's announcement left Mary shaking in her boots. When you think about it, it's not hard to see why. In spite of all that the promise of God meant for the world and all that could go right, there was plenty that could go wrong.

In the first place, you think about all the physical risks and perils involved in child birth. Make no mistake about it, having babies is dangerous stuff. The physical risks are too many to count. In our day and age, we have all kinds of experts, and resources, and helps to mitigate the risks of childbirth. We have prenatal care that includes special vitamins, special diet, and regular check-ups with the OBGYN. At a certain point you go in and they pull out some an electronic seeing-eye that slides across mom's greasy belly and produces an image on the screen. The sonogram techie points to the screen. "There's a foot. And there's a hand. Look at the head and wait, what is that? . . . horns? a tail? No, I'm sorry, that's not a tail, he's a boy." You're having a boy.

And then once you get into the delivery room and it's time for the big show, there are all kinds of specially trained professionals and equipment, for JUST IN CASE. Just in case what? Just in case something goes wrong. Like what? Like with my first kid. She didn't want to come out. She was cozy and comfortable in her mommy pad and was just fine thank you. After about 19 hours of labor, the doctor attached some sort of suction cup to the top of Rachel's head, put one foot on one side of the delivery bed and one on the other and began to tug. Of course that brings with it certain risks. Another risk in childbirth is when the cord is wrapped around the baby's neck like happened with our second kid. The doctors had to do some fancy maneuvering to take the noose of her neck before she could make it through the shoot. Another risk in childbirth is fluid in the lungs like our third kid had. He came up for air a little early inhaled some fluid. Of course they were right there with all the suction hoses to vacuum him out. Later on he got that RSV virus and spent a few days in the hospital where me and the boy watched the Super Bowl together from within an oxygen tent.

What can possibly go wrong? Everything! Having babies can be a dangerous proposition. It is a matter of life and death. Now consider for a moment Mary's world. The odds of someone dying, mother or child, in childbirth were astronomically higher. Infant mortality rates were frightening. To become pregnant for any woman in those days was a near death experience either for the mother or the child and many times, for both. No wonder the thought would shake her up.

In the second place, there were all sorts of relational perils. Becoming pregnant without the benefit of marriage is a hard thing. People look at you differently. They wonder about you. They gossip about you. Talk about what might have gone wrong in your life. It's a scandal. I had a distant cousin get pregnant when she was 14. You think that didn't rock her family's world. Imagine Mary going to her parents and saying to them "Mom . . . Dad . . . I'm pregnant." Their response "What!?!?" "How?!?!" "Who!?!?" How did this happen? We thought Joseph was such a nice boy. I'll kill him." Mary comes back, "No. It's not his." "Then whose is it?" they ask. And she says . . . wait for it . . . "it's God's. He says 'I'm favored.'"

One of the things families feared most in Mary's day was public shame and disgrace. And here she brings it in spades. No wonder she was shaking in her boots when the angel announced the glad tidings.

And in the third place, the promise brought political peril.
The angel tells her his name will be Jesus. He will assume the throne. He will reign. His kingdom will never end. He will be the Redeemer, the Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God. That's is what you will call him. In Mary's day, everyone knew that there was already a Redeemer, Savior, Messiah. Everyone already new who the Son of God was. And it wasn't the baby of a Jewish peasant girl. It was the Roman emperor. He was the son of god. If you didn't believe, just read any one of the coins in circulation. If you didn't believe it read any of the inscriptions on his statues throughout the empire. If you didn't believe it then they'd give a inside view of the Colosseum as you faced the gladiators or lions. Rome was eternal and the emperor was its head. Talk of a Jewish redeemer, king, ruler, messiah was treason. No wonder Mary shook in her boots. Her baby would become an enemy of the state, a target for assassination.

No, there can be no doubt that Mary was caught in a pressure cooker between the promise and peril.

And to be honest with you I don't think there can be any doubt about the fact that everyone of you are caught in the same bind. You have a sense that there is so much potential to life. You have a deep seated belief that there is great opportunity in the world before you. You are inspired by the promise that life presents to you. And you come to church, to learn how to live into the promise. You gather week after week to try and embrace the moment. You get yourself up out of bed to open yourself to new opportunities. Yet, in the air lurks the shadow of peril. Do you take it? Do you take the leap Mary took?

Seven years ago, I took my family on a trip to Mexico. It was a three month sabbatical to the Yucatan. Amazing and wonderful. One place we visited was an outdoor all natural water park. One feature of the park was cliff jumping. There we stood as a family, me, Karin, Rachel who was twelve, Hannah was 10 and Aaron was 8. The cliff towered about 40 feet above the water. And the water was so beautiful. Maybe you've seen the beautiful waters of Mexico, so clean, aqua green, shining like an emerald. It was inviting, even calling to us. As you get close to the edge of the cliff feeling the weight of your body moving to the emerald like water, captivated by the beauty and at the same time in the back of your mind asking yourself have I lost my mind. I jumped and it was so far down that if I had brought a magazine, I could have read it from cover to cover and had time to renew the subscription before I hit bottom. But I couldn't have really read because I was too occupied screaming like a little girl. After I came up, I looked up to the top and yelled out "It's awesome! Jump!" When she heard my voice, she jumped, Rachel, screaming at the top of her lungs. Then Hannah. Then Aaron. Karin wasn't feeling well and didn't make the jump. But the kids and I did it over and over again.

Each and every one of you live everyday on the edge of promise and peril. At the launching point of adventure and disaster. On the verge of opportunity and danger. And oftentimes we find ourselves unsure, like Mary. There is a moment of hesitation, of pondering, of being perplexed, of being conflicted. You've taken risks before and lived to regret it. You've accepted the invitation to try something daring and been bruised. Sometimes we're not so sure we want to take another risk.

But let me share something with you.
The difference in a good risk and a bad risk is the one who is inviting you to take it. My kids knew my voice and trusted my call to them. Mary knew God's voice and trusted God's call. She heard in the angel's words the voice of her heavenly Father. Then she jumped. She embraced the promise and lived with the peril. And the world has never been the same since. We tell her story over and over again. As you embrace the promise, your world will never be the same. And you, too, will have stories to tell, stories of how God lead you along the edge of adventure, like Mary. And when you get to heaven and sit across the table from her at the heavenly banquet, don't be surprised if when you look her way she gives you a knowing wink and a smile.

Finding Jesus in Our Confusion

2011-12-12T13:33:00.002-05:00

December 11, 2011
Advent 3

John 1:6-8, 19-28
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’” as the prophet Isaiah said. Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. They asked him, “Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.” This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.

Sermon
Today is the Third Sunday of Advent and we continue our waiting and watching for the coming of Jesus. The Advent candles are lit, the countdown continues. And so we ask ourselves “What does it mean that Jesus is coming?” “What does it mean that he is coming to our hearts, and minds, and souls?” What is a person to think? What to do?

One of my favorite cartoon strips has always been Peanuts, Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy and the gang. One particular strip showed Linus and Lucy having a conversation. They were looking toward a hill on the horizon as they leaned on a fence. Lucy says to Linus, “You know what I believe Linus? I believe that all the answers to all of life’s questions are just over that hill. Every solution to every problem, every answer to every riddle, is just on the other side of that hill. If we could just get to the other side of that hill we would know everything we need to know for things to make sense.”

Linus replied, “Do you suppose that might be some other kid on the other side of that hill looking our way? And what if that kid on the other side of the hill is thinking the exact same thoughts, that all the answers to his questions are on this side of the hill?”

The last frame shows Lucy cupping her hands to her mouth and shouting with a loud voice “Forget it kid! There’s nothing over here!”

As you heard the reading of the gospel from John this morning, no doubt you heard lots of questions. The Pharisees sent some priests and levites to pepper John the Baptist with questions: Who are you? Elijah? What makes you think you can do what you’re doing? Are you the prophet? Maybe the Messiah? Spill it, water boy! Questions are all over the page in the story of John the Baptist.

As a matter of fact, questions are all over the page in the headlines of our world as well. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised if the majority of us here today had some pretty good questions: Where is the economy headed? Will my pension bounce back? What do I need to do to get through to my teenage child? How am I going to take care of my aging parents? What is causing my headaches? Is there any hope for our government? Should I get a second opinion for my medical issue?

Day in and day out, questions pile higher and higher to the point sometimes we can’t even see the light of day. Oh, to have the clarity of someone like John the Baptist!

The further you read in today’s lesson the more you get a sense for what made him so popular a speaker. He had a way about him He had some sort of charisma, some energy that just drew people from far and wide. They travelled, some more than a day, to get to him. Camped out like a bunch of eager beavers at a Best Buy midnight madness sale. John’s voice would roar and thunder, sending chills up the spines of people both young and old. The hair on the back of their necks would stand straight up as John’s voice would rise and fall, either because of fear, or excitement, or both. This was a new day! No doubt about it. Certainly, John didn’t have any doubt about it.

He was as clear as a bell about who he was and what he was supposed to be doing. He knew exactly where he stood in the big scheme of things. When the priests and levites asked him if he was the Messiah? John said “No.” In fact, it says that not only did John deny that he was the Messiah, he confessed it. From the depths of his heart, from the core of who he was, from the depths of his very being . . . he was not the Messiah. Got it? Good! Clarity, Conviction, Commitment . . . these are the kinds of words that describe John.

He was not the messiah. He was not Elijah. He was not the prophet. He was simply the voice of the one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way for the Lord.” John was convinced that the Lord was coming. And his job was to help get people get ready. Actually, John tried and tried to get people to follow Jesus. Later on when Jesus walks up, John says “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Follow him.” When Jesus walks up, John gives him the finger, the index finger that is, point away from himself to Jesus. Go that away, John says. Things were as clear to John as they could be. Certainty and conviction filled the air around him.

Maybe you can remember a time when you felt a kind of certainty. When you knew who you were and what you were supposed to be doing in this world. Perhaps you remember the sense of direction and purpose that marked the sound of your stride as you went from one place to another. Pretty good feeling, huh? Maybe, you felt that way in your marriage, or in your job, or with your kids. Maybe you felt that way about your country or your faith. Do you not remember when at least life seemed secure and certain? If so you probably also remember how it felt when certainty slipped away from you, when questions invaded your quiet confidence and doubts chipped away at your conviction.

If there is anyone here today who knows what I am talking about, then you have also been down the road of John the Baptist. Because later on, in John’s story, we see that he goes from certainty to confusion, from conviction to doubt, and from clarity to desperation. He doesn’t know what to think. The gospels report that at some point after Jesus begins his ministry, John the Baptist is arrested and thrown into prison. While he is there, we see just how overcome with questions John is. He calls his disciples to him, John’s disciples, that is. And he sends them on an errand. He has a question of his own for Jesus. “Are you the one, or should we wait for another?” (Matthew 11: 2-3). “ARE YOU THE ONE, OR SHOULD WE FOR ANOTHER?” Are you kidding me? Wasn’t John the one who was “light’n up” the crowds with his impassioned messages about Jesus the coming one? His question now shows that he isn’t so sure. His question now shows how what he believed was absolutely certain was up for grabs.

How many times have you looked out at your world and said to yourself, “This just doesn’t make sense?” How many times have you looked at the pieces of your life and wondered to yourself “How in the world are you going to put things together?” How many times have you, like me, looked at the numbers and seen that things just don’t add up?”

In his prison cell, John the Baptist lost sight of the most basic realities that gave his life purpose and meaning. In his prison cell his questions overwhelmed him and he lost touch with what gave him greatest joy. And all he could do was sit.

And Jesus? How does Jesus respond? When you, or I, or John the Baptist, lose sight and lose touch with who we are and who Jesus is because the questions have backed us into a dark corner, how does he reply? Well I tell you what he doesn’t do. He doesn’t give you a kick in the pants and tell you to stop being a wuss. He doesn’t slap you upside the head and tell you to suck it up. He doesn’t turn a cold shoulder to you and tell you to apply a little elbow grease, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, or put your nose the old grindstone.

I had a boss that said that to me once. One of my first jobs was at a grocery store called Albertsons. It’s like Kroger or Marsh. I started sacking groceries when I was 16 and was the best sacker the world had ever seen. My supervisor noticed and gave me a promotion, washing dishes. I moved from the front end of sacking groceries to the deli kitchen to be the sud-buster with a nice raise to boot. One day after school, I arrived at work to find out that the grill had caught on fire and burned it to a crisp. All the grease and oil from I don’t know how long had caught on fire and then baked onto the outside of the grill. It was my job to clean it. After I finished the dishes I commenced to working on the grill. I tried everything I could to get the dark black burned grease to come off. I made several trips to the cleaning aisle to try every toxic product I could on that grill. That grill had every chemical, corrosive and acid, I could find poured onto it. I tried SOS pads, steel wool, emery cloth, a hammer and a chisel. I even looked for a jackhammer. I threw everything I had at my disposal at the problem, but for nothing.

About midnight my dad called the store and wanted to know where I was. I said I was still working. He said to come home. I called the store manager in the office. He was a burly fellow with some sort of Hungarian, German, or Austrian accent. I don’t know but he was a foreigner and mean as all get out. He once punched a customer and broke the guy’s jaw. Most people avoided him like you’d avoid a big brown bear. I told him it was late and I had to go. He said “you’re not done yet.” I said I can’t get it off. And he just said “Use some elbow grease you little %#!”

When Jesus answers John he gives none of the typical answers you might hear from some hardnosed individual. He simply tells John’s disciples “Go and tell John what you see and hear. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.” You have to help John see what he can’t see. You have to help John hear what he can’t hear right now. You must be his eyes and ears. You must point out what is taking place.

That is precisely what John is doing for us today in today’s gospel lesson. John is serving as our eyes and ears. He sees something others don’t see. He hears something others aren’t quite picking up on. He is pointing to something that is taking place.

People come to John with all kinds of questions today. “Who are you? What’s going on here?” etc. And John hears their questions, their confusion, and their consternation. And once they have aired them all, John takes them into consideration and then sets them aside for the moment. And he tells them that the one who he has been talking about, the one about whom they have been asking . . . is here, now. Right now he stands among you and you can’t even see it. John sees it.

“Among you stands one [Jesus] whom you do not know.”

Many of you have lived long or hard enough to develop a list of questions you’d like answered. As John shows, some have pretty quick and direct answers. But some questions don’t respond to our attempts to explain or understand. Sometimes the pieces won’t come together. Sometimes the solutions are nowhere to be found.

If that is the case for you today, then set them aside for the moment. Take the open ends of your life and just lay it down for a second and hear what John has to say: “Among you stands one [Jesus] . . . .” Jesus is here, right now. He is among us. Here in this room. Put your questions to the side for the moment, sense his presence. Draw from his strength.

Straight from the Heart of God

2011-12-05T13:06:00.000-05:00

December 4, 2011

Advent 2
Mark 1: 1- 8

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Sermon
Today is the second Sunday of Advent and so we continue our preparation for the coming of Jesus. We look forward to his entering our lives, asking ourselves “What does this mean?” What does it mean that he is coming? What should we do? What to think?

Today’s gospel lesson from Mark gives us some help. John the Baptist appears and barks the command, calling everyone to attention. There are a variety of ways we can get into this story. There are a variety of ways to get on to what the Bible is saying. And I would have to say that the three best on-ramps to the Bible’s message today can be summed up in three words: Resistance, Resolve, and Re-birth.

Resistance.
One of the truths of life is that where there is movement, there is friction. That’s because friction is a byproduct of resistance. When John the Baptist calls attention to the movement of God’s work in the world, things get heated. He calls people to get ready. Calls them to a new life. Calls for them to straighten out their lives, get their acts together, and walk the straight and narrow. John is very effective. Here he is, laying into people, and they come in droves to the wilderness. They beat a path to him and present themselves for a new day. And people were genuinely enthusiastic. They were enthusiastic in their openness to John’s message. But there were some who were enthusiastic in their opposition to John’s message. People who rubbed the wrong way.

These would be the scribes, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and other experts in religion. They did not approve of John so much. They wagged their finger at him. Shook there heads in disapproval. And said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? Where does he get off talking to us like that? And they pushed back on John. Resisted him, they did. They would resist Jesus as well.

But lest we get too high and mighty in our verbal smack of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, let’s not forget that they were not the only ones who pushed back on Jesus. They were not the only ones who resisted him, but Jesus’ closest peeps did as well.

Surely you remember when Jesus was walking along with his disciples and was cluing them in on what lay before him. “The day is coming,” he said, “when the Son of Man” (that’s what he called himself) will be delivered into the hands of his enemies and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

Then, Peter squares off with Jesus. He says “Over my dead body. You can forget it Jesus. Not gonna happen. I won’t allow it.” He resists Jesus. He resists the path Jesus takes them on. He pushes back against the road Jesus is trying to make. All the disciples, in their own way, resist Jesus’ move in their lives. They see that he wants to break some new ground and route the way of God in areas that perhaps they are not open to.

Pushing back against roads is something we know something about in Indiana. Some of the state’s biggest battles have been over highway projects and proposed highways. Governor Mitch Daniels “Major Moves” campaign where he leased the Indiana toll road in the northern part of the state created some major pushback. But that resistance is small potatoes compared to the resistance the I-69 project has created. For more than two decades, since the passing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) under then President Clinton, a new superhighway linking Canada, the United States, and Mexico, has been planned. It cuts right through the middle of the state. And there are people who stand up and say “Not in my backyard! Not on my watch!” And they push back on the road that is coming their way.

Just like Jesus’ first disciples, those who broke bread with him and shared a cup of wine, there is something inside us that resists the directions God wants to move. There is something within us that pushes back on the way of Christ.

Resolve.
The second word that will give us access to the flow of this passage is resolve. Just as it is true that in some way or another we resist Jesus’ way in our life, it is also true that God is resolved to see happen. It’s gonna happen. The Bible says today that a highway is being built in the wilderness for the coming of our God.

In the ancient world highways were constructed by conquering monarchs to help move troops and create places for celebratory parades. From Babylonian hymns and from archaeological evidence we know that the high street in Babylon was like the Champs Elysees in Paris, leading to the Arc de Triumph. In the Roman world, the conquering and triumphant ruler would approach the city with great pomp and circumstance, displaying the mighty power of the king. Often they would drag along captives from the conquest in the parade, as Titus did to the Jews after destroying the Jerusalem Temple.

The road, street, or highway in the wilderness is just one of those ways. The Bible says that a way is being prepared in the wilderness for the coming of our Lord. There is nothing that he let stand in his way. There is nothing that is going to delay or prevent is coming. The rough places are made smooth and the low places are raised up.

If you have done any driving along State Road 135 in the past two years, you’ve had a close up view of the process. While it seemed to take 20 years instead of two to finish it was interesting to watch. Did you see how they cut out hillsides to make room? They didn’t wind around the hill. They cut into it. Made it fit their plans. Did you see how they raised up certain depressed areas? They didn’t have the road follow the topography of the land. They made the topography fit the road. Construction workers were determined to clear out any obstacle to give a clear and straight shot from one point to another. They even dug stuff up under the ground. They relocated underground utilities. They even relocated a grave yard. Nothing living or dead, animate or inanimate was going to obstruct the creation of the road.

As you think about the coming of Jesus into your life, whether you think of him in terms of a little baby in a manger or a great and glorious king at the end of all time, know this there is nothing that is going to inhibit or prohibit his coming. He is removing all obstacles, uprooting and unearthing the living and the dead to clear a straight path from one point to another. He making a way for the passage of all the blessings of his kingdom, all the love of his heart, all the forgiveness from the cross, and all the healing from his hands straight to your life. As Paul says in Romans (8:38-39),

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You can resist all you want, but he is coming. You can give him a stiff arm, but he’s just going grab it and pull you in for a bear hug. You can tell him to talk to the hand as turn the other way, but he’s just going to take you by the hand and go with you wherever you go. You can try and hide behind lock and key in the deepest dungeon in your heart, but you will wake up to the reality that he has joined in you in jail. Not even death will curb his plans.

There is nothing that will forestall his entrance into your life. The highway is there and he is on the road.

Rebirth.
The third word that will help you enter the stream of this story in Mark is Rebirth. As you know well, John the Baptist makes a real splash in the Bible. He makes his presence known to the world at the Jordan River calling people to a new life. And as they come into the river, something happens for each one of them. As they go under for baptism the water is broken. As they come up out to the surface through the broken water they are new and reborn as children of God. There is a new life. Baptism becomes for us the beginning of a new life. Here's what the Bible says . . .

"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away;

see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Just imagine! Your life as God always intended. Holy, and Pure. There is so much in this world that can drag us down. The pull of sin and self-destruction is like the constant undertow of the ocean at your favorite beach. Once in a while, a rip tide grabs hold of you and pulls you under for what feels like the last time. So random, so unpredictable. When you think of Jesus’ coming into your life, whether it is as the babe of Bethlehem or the cosmic Christ, know this he makes all things new.

This Advent season is one of waiting and watching for Jesus’ coming. As we gather together today, please be aware that in some way of another we all resisting Jesus’ forward progress in our lives. For some reason or other, our minds, and hearts, and spirits are not moved by his gestures. Be that as it may, he is resolved to love you. There is nothing you can do to stop him or slow him down. And be prepared to get wet.

High Drama in the Highest Heavens

2011-11-28T12:38:00.005-05:00

November 27, 2011
Advent 1

Mark 13:24-27
“But in those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Sermon
Today we begin the season of Advent, a time of preparing, waiting, and watching for the coming of Jesus Christ. And as we begin today, you and I are invited into some pretty dramatic scenes. Scenes of incredible happenings in the heavens . . . stars dropping out of sight. Sun and moon shutting down. Jesus coming on the clouds. What does it all mean? Where is it all going?

There are all kinds of lessons we could find in this passage of scripture. But let me narrow it down a little. Of all the things that the coming of Jesus means for you and me, it at least means this:

First, it means “lights out” for the powers.

Jesus says “In those days, after that suffering, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.”
– Mark 13:24-25

The lights . . . sun, moon, stars . . . are shut down. And for who? “The powers.” Let me explain. In Jesus’ day, people believed that there was more to life than meets the eye. They believed that there was a reality that you couldn’t touch, or see, or taste, or smell, or hear. In their minds, there were invisible powers that moved on the earth. And there were invisible powers that moved in the heavens. For them, the sky was the uppermost part of the earth. Above the sky, you get into the spiritual realm, where unseen forces influenced what happened on earth. These were energies determining the course of peoples’ lives that you just couldn’t quite put your finger on. Forces that you couldn’t quite wrap your mind around. And they were almost always bad.

Playing people like puppets on a string, marionettes in a circus, these powers enslaved people. They took over. They ran the show. They commandeered the action. When people looked at their lives they saw lots of negative results of the powers.

Not so different from today. Everywhere you look it can look pretty negative. The dark powers of the world seem to call the shots. It’s what we are most aware of. The negative gets the headlines. The dark side of life gets the spotlight. It’s what sells newspapers. It’s what sells magazines. It’s what catches our attention on the news. In our world, as in Jesus’ world, the negative dark forces seem to live in the lime light.

Jesus’ coming to our world, Jesus’ coming to your heart and mine, his coming to your spirit and my spirit, his coming to your mind and my mind, means that for the powers that cause so much havoc, the lights are turned out.

William Shakespeare once said something like “Life is a stage and we are all actors on it.”

If that is the case then, the powers have had their fifteen minutes of fame. Their time is up. Their light is out. Their moment in the sun is over. The Bible says that

“God raised him [Jesus] from death and set him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from his rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything.”

— Ephesians 1 (Message)

Second, it means that Jesus takes center stage.

The skies yield to his presence. The heavens move for his coming. We saw the same thing when Jesus was baptized.

“Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.” — Mark 1:10 (Message)

The Bible says the same thing happened to the temple curtain at Jesus' death:

“for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.” — Luke 23:45 (NRSV)

It is as if the curtain on the big stage of history is pulled wide open and Jesus steps out onto it. When Jesus comes into your mind, and heart, and spirit, he steps into center stage. He commands all the attention. He drives all the action. He is the center of focus and activity.

All the bit part players like sin, death and the devil exit stage left, taking with them all their disguises like fear, pain, illness, and violence. Their time is over. Their moment of fame is up.

Jesus is here now. The curtain dividing heaven and earth is split, torn, and ripped. The prayer from today’s first reading from Isaiah is answered: “Why don’t you tear the sky open and come down?” (Isaiah 64:1) When Jesus comes to your spirit, he stands front and center. All barriers between you and the eternal God are pulled aside.

Three, it means a curtain call for the supporting cast.

The Bible says in today’s gospel,

“Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds,

from the ends of the earth to the end of heaven.”

When he comes out onto center stage of history in his concluding drama, he calls all his understudies to his side. He brings them up on the stage with him to be part of the last act. From “end of the earth to the ends of heaven,” that is, from every nook and cranny of the globe he calls them in. And they gather together around him as he presides over the final curtain call. The writer of Revelation gives us a sneak peek when he writes:

“Then I looked, and,

oh!—a door open into Heaven. The trumpet-voice, the first voice in my vision, called out, "Ascend and enter. I'll show you what happens next."

I was caught up at once in deep worship and, oh!—a Throne set in Heaven with One Seated on the Throne, suffused in gem hues of amber and flame with a nimbus of emerald. Twenty-four thrones circled the Throne, with Twenty-four Elders seated, white-robed, gold-crowned. Lightning flash and thunder crash pulsed from the Throne. Seven fire-blazing torches fronted the Throne.” Revelation 4:1-6 (Message)

And who do you think it is that wears the white robe and golden crowns? You do. As part of God’s elect, one of his chosen, you share in his rule. The number twenty-four is the Bible’s dramatic way of saying “all God’s people.” You take the twelve tribes of Israel who are the people of God from the Old Testament and add the twelve disciples who represent the people of God from the New Testament and you have twenty four. All God’s people -- past, present, and future -- preside with him in the throne room, in deep heaven. Not just for the time being, but forever.

Sheep, Goats, and the Blessed Life

2011-11-21T09:54:00.000-05:00

November 20, 2011

Christ the King Sunday
Matthew 25:31-46

Matthew 25:31-46
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Sermon
On November 8, just under two weeks ago, a meteor the size of an aircraft carrier flew by the earth in what astronomers called a “near miss.” It came within about 200,000 miles of use, which in cosmic terms is just a whisker. Had such an object actually hit the earth it would have completely ended life as we know it. You could say we dodged a bullet and again we are reminded how quickly things can change. And how they will change! For just as surely as massive meteors have hit in the past and changed the face of the earth, there will be another in the future. It’s not a matter of if but when.

Today in Matthew chapter 25:31-46 Jesus himself raises the specter of all life ending as we know it. There is going to come a day when everything we know comes to an end. And for Jesus it’s not a matter of if but when. As Jesus tells it when that time comes he will be coming back in all his glory as a great and mighty king. He is going to gather the nations before him. Every last one of them, from every corner, every nook and cranny of the globe, will stand before him. And he is going to divide them up into two groups like a shepherd separates sheep and goats. Then you’re life will never be the same.

As the idea of massive change coming to your life at the end of the ages sinks in, keep this in mind: You are the sheep. In the Bible, sheep are used as a symbol for God’s people. All throughout the Old and New Testament, sheep stand for people who are the special object of God’s desire. They are the special object of God’s attention. They are under the care of God.

Perhaps you remember one of the best loved passages in scripture: the Twenty-third Psalm. What is the first line?

“The Lord is my shepherd.”

Throughout the Bible, God is pictured as a shepherd caring for his flock.

That is what the Psalm we just sung says:

“For the LORD is our God,

and we are the people of God's pasture

and the sheep of God's hand.” (Psalm 95:7)

Jump over to the New Testament and we see that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we are his flock.

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,” (John 10:14)

Jesus knows who you are. He has studied you and observed you. He knows your personality and thoughts. He knows you in every detail. That’s what good shepherds do. You are the special object of his desire and the apple of his eye. How he loves to walk you through the valley of the shadow of death! What pleasure it brings to him to lead you to the still waters! Such joy it gives to him to take you to the green pastures!

When it comes to the end of life as you know it, my friends, know this . . . you are the sheep.

Just as our planet had a near miss a couple of weeks ago, there are times in your life and my life when we experience a near miss . . . a time when you suddenly realize how short and precious and fragile life is. How things can change in an instant. Karin and I had one of those moments a couple of months ago when we were at Marsh checking out at the self-serve checkout line. It was Friday afternoon and we were getting ready to party at our house that night with our kids and a movie. Chips, salsa, queso, coke, everything you need to have a good time. In the middle of checking out, Karin gets a phone call. It’s Rachel our oldest. She’s been hit in a car accident. She had just got her license and was on her way home from her new Catholic school when she was stopped at a stoplight and someone behind her didn’t stop. Rammed right into her. Of course, we dropped everything and left all of our stuff at the register and ran out the Marsh front door. Jumped in the car and drove about hundred thousand miles an hour to get to our daughter on 135 north of Stop 11. Well, as it turns out she wasn’t hurt. Thank God. The bumper on our Honda was beat up (still is). But she was fine. The other car, driven by a Center Grove teacher looked totaled. That’s what we call a near miss.

Many of you have had near misses recently. Many of you will in the next year. You might see someone ahead of you run a red light and think to yourself, “I’m glad I was wasn’t going through that intersection then.” You might get some test results from the doctor and realize that you have been skating on thin ice for a while. And it’s lucky you caught it early. You might be a part of a company that is downsizing and half your department is gone. And you had a near miss.

These near misses raise the specter of how life can change so suddenly and so completely. How our world will someday end as we know it. Know this, my people, when it comes to the end, you are the sheep.

You are not the goat.

If sheep have a symbolic meaning in the Bible and stands for the people of God, what does the goat stand for? Goats are not like sheep. Yes, of course, they have four legs and forage of the ground for their food like a sheep, but goats are as different from sheep as night is from day. Sheep will eat grass and clover. They’re cute and fluffy. Goats are maingy looking creatures. Those goats will eat about anything: twigs, thorns, thistles. They’ll eat your shoes and shoe laces. They’ll even eat a tin can. They aren’t too particular.

But more than that, in the Bible the goat has a special role. If you go back to the days of Moses and Aaron his brother, you see that the goat had starring role on the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement was a great day each year when all the Israelites could experience a new beginning by being cleansed from their sins and restored to fellowship with God.

"On this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the Lord" (Lev 16:30).

Throughout the year and on the Day of Atonement the guilt and burden of the sins of the people were transferred to the Temple by the blood of a sacrificed animal. On that day, a goat was selected and the burden of all the sin of the people was transferred to the goat. The blood of sacrificed animals was poured or otherwise applied to the goat. Then the goat was driven into the wilderness where it would perish.

With a starring role on the Day of Atonement, the goat represented all that is wrong in the world. It represents all the guilt and shame and rebellion against God. It represents all the abuse and violence and darkness that are a part of our lives. The goat represents everything that is ugly and despised and to be driven out.

You are not the goat. You are not to be driven out.

When life as you know it comes to an end, you are welcomed in. That’s what Jesus says to the sheep, to his people,

“'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;”

You are one of God’s blessed ones. When the end is here you will know where you stand with the Lord. You belong to God. When the bottom falls out, and when the sky has fallen in upon you, you will know right where to stand.

About twenty minutes from parent’s house, the house that I grew up in, is a place where the sky fell to the ground. If you jump in your family roadster, go west on 8th street, hook a left on Loop 338, then west on I-20, you’ll come to the turn off for the Odessa Meteor Crater. It’s a big hole in the ground punctured there by meteorite. It’s big and deep, but not as big as the one in Arizona. You can walk in and out at will.

What Jesus wants you to know my good friends is that as his sheep there will no depression so deep that you cannot walk out of. There is no valley so dark that he will not light the way. There is no rock so large that he will not lay aside for you. Because you are his sheep, the people of his pasture.

A Wedding Celebration Fit for a Saint

2011-11-07T13:10:00.000-05:00

All Saints Sunday
Matthew 25:1-13

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Sermon
Between the times I graduated from college and went to seminary I preached at a local homeless shelter in my home town. Once every couple of weeks I was up for duty. The shelter made the homeless men sit through some young wet behind the ears preacher wanna–be before they could eat. I was one of those young preachers. One particular week I forgot that it was my week. The week got away from me and about an hour before the time I was to speak it dawned on me that I was to speak. In a panic, I rushed to clean up and get going and while I was driving there I commenced to praying. I prayed a hard and desperate prayer. “Please, Lord, give me the words to speak. I know that you promise to give the words at the right time. So please, now, dearest Lord Jesus, enter into my mind and out through my voice. Speak through me.” Well, when I arrived, I gathered myself at the makeshift pulpit, laid my Bible on it, tuned my heart to heaven and waited for a brief moment. I still had no idea what I was going to say. Then, it happened! I found the right frequency. The Lord spoke to me. And do you know what the Lord said to me? The Lord said, “Mike, you didn’t prepare.” And I had nothing. Those were some of the longest and most painful moments I ever spent behind a pulpit. Those poor homeless men.

Well, today as we celebrate All Saints Sunday, I want to help you get prepared. Prepared for the final call. Prepared for the final moment. Prepared for the end. The end of your life, and the end of the world as we know it. That’s why we have Matthew 25:1-13 as our reading for the day. For it too is about the end. Jesus says “The kingdom of heaven can be compared to this” And what is this? It is a wedding banquet. Do you like weddings? I know I do. Weddings are full of hope, and promise. They are full of food and drink. They are full of music and dance. People today really get into weddings. Even the guests dress up. We don’t dress up for church anymore. But we do for weddings.

We do a lot of weddings here at Risen Lord. It’s such a pretty place to get hitched, you know. And one of the things I really try to impress upon couples who get married here is to soak it up. “Relax,” I say. Get into the moment. It goes fast. I mean really from the time the bride shows up at the back up the church, often with her father at her arm, until the time the newly wed couple walk out of the church arm in arm, it is about 25 minutes. Just twenty-five minutes for committing your life together. An event that takes months and for some years to plan, is over in the blink of an eye. Then they rush out to the reception hall for a little “Boogy Fever” or “Stayin’ Alive,” maybe if their lucky some Frank Sinatra. Then some cake. But after that, everyone heads home. Then the newlyweds wake up in the next day or two and start washing clothes, paying bills, cutting the grass, and cleaning toilets.

That’s not quite what Jesus had in mind here, though. When he said the “kingdom of heaven is like a wedding banquet” he meant a wedding from back in the day. In his day, people really knew how to celebrate weddings. In fact rather than being a few short hours, wedding celebrations lasted an entire week. Yeah, that’s right, weddings lasted seven days. Since they didn’t haven’t have the number of holidays we have built into our calendars, a marriage feast was the Memorial Day weekend, county fair, and Thanksgiving holiday all rolled into one. People came from far away, camped out and settled in for a celebration that just went on forever.

Jesus says that the kingdom of God, the place of God’s abode, where God’s will and way is the only way, where there is no darkness there, no crying or sighing, or dying, where love and freedom, and joy, and peace extend out from the Father without end . . . that place is like a marriage feast. It is one giant wedding banquet, non-stop music and dancing and laughter and hope. And it goes on forever. People just move in and stay.

But we need to be prepared. We need to get ready. So Jesus tells this parable in Matthew 25:1-13 to help us get our heads straight. There are some things you and I need to be aware of, things to be ready for. There are some things you need to expect.

One.
Expect to wait for a while. The time between when you join the wedding party and when it begins often takes longer than you planned. That’s what some of the bridesmaids learned in today’s lesson. They are waiting for the groom. In the New Testament, the groom is always Jesus Christ. He is the one for whom the faithful are waiting. Sometimes the faithful are called the Bride of Christ. Sometimes, like today, they are referred to as bridesmaids. Some of the bridesmaids are called “foolish,” five are “wise.” The foolish didn’t prepare. Like me in that homeless shelter they were not ready. They are what we call a bunch of “knuckleheads.”

One of the hardest lessons children have to learn is how long things take. Take Birthdays or Christmas. You put up the tree, the decorations, -- some gifts begin showing up. And the anticipation builds like torture. One of Karin’s and my kids, used to wind up in a bad mood in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Couldn’t stand the wait. Made him mad and irritable.

It’s not just kids that have a tough time waiting, is it. As adults, we have a hard time letting things take their course. From standing at the express cashier lane at the grocery store to waiting for job offers, we sometimes find ourselves having to gut-out the clock.

Two
Expect to run out of energy. The knucklehead bridesmaids didn’t quite have their act together. Don’t be mistaken though. They are part of the community. Part of the church. They know who they are and why they are there. They believe in the Groom and who he is. They just didn’t get their act together. They come up a little short, didn’t have the fuel to go the distance in their waiting for the Lord.

If the truth be known, I don’t know of anyone in church that really has their act together spiritually. There is a sense where we all come up short. In fact that’s exactly what the Bible says in Romans 3:23:

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

All the saints that we celebrate today are not saints because they were somehow cut from different spiritual cloth than everyone else. Somehow we get the idea that they were some sort of spiritual super heroes, as their feet didn’t quite touch the ground, as if they walked on water. But you and I know that there is only one who walked on water. Everyone else loses heart and sinks like a rock. Everyone loses strength. Everyone runs out of energy. Everyone runs short in the end.

You know how this works. Somewhere in your heart, you have a love for Jesus. You believe in God. You look forward to his return. You want to be a part of the big heavenly celebration. Then you go about your week. Responsibilities weigh on you. You’ve got customers to serve, patients to treat. You’ve got kids to feed and cart around, and parents to keep an eye on. You’re losing your hair and your shape. You can’t remember the last time you didn’t feel overwhelmed. Pretty soon, the weight of the world begins to press in upon you. Yes, of course, you love Jesus. Yes, of course, you look forward. But right now, you are lucky just to get though another day without freaking-out.

All the pressures and burdens of life take a toll on our spiritual energy. Often times we simply run on empty, in a constant energy crisis. That’s where the five knuckleheads in today’s story are. They have an energy crisis. They are out of oil for their torches or lamps. At some point, everyone runs out.

Three.
Expect lots of company. Most, scratch that . . . all of us in the church are knuckleheaded. That means that we have a lot of company. It is not true that some of us get it and are ready and others are not. There is some sense where each and every one of us started in our faith or in our church excited and enthusiastic but failed to realize what we were really getting into and what we needed to make it to the end. No one here is any better than the other. No one here is on another level spiritually. In Psalm 49:10, the Bible says,

“Anyone can see that even the wise die, as well as the foolish and stupid.”

Which leads us to our next point . . .

Four
Expect your light to go out. There are few things in life that are certain, but one of them is death. It is before all of us. It is inescapable. You can’t cheat it. You can’t outsmart it. I’ve stood at the bedside and the graveside of more people than I can count and it is one appointment waiting for us all.

Five
Expect a celebration that lasts forever.
That’s why I can tell you today as we remember those who have gone before us, as we remember the saints of old . . . Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Peter, Paul, Aquinas, Theresa of Avila, Francis. We could add Luther and Calvin. As we remember the saints of our lives, those who have passed on to the church triumphant this past year, Helen, Bob, Francie, Chester, Dave, Bill, we remember that even though the light went out on their lives, even though the darkness moved in upon them, there is one light left. There is one light that no darkness can overcome. This is the Groom. The Groom provides his own light. The Bible says in John 1:2-5:

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

When your light goes out and darkness covers over you, you will see exactly what the saints of old saw. You will see what the saints of this past year saw. You will see the light of Jesus Christ, who comes to you in your darkness to light the way. He will not leave you nor forsake you. He will not abandon you to the darkness. He will come to you. He will take your hand. And he will escort you to the feast, resplendent and radiant as a newly adorned bride.

Oddballs Changing the World

2011-10-31T10:12:00.000-04:00

October 30, 2011

Reformation Sunday

John 8:31-36 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, 'You will be made free'?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Let me begin this morning by thanking you for going along with me as I wore this 16th-century style pastor garb this past month as we celebrated Lutheran Heritage month at Risen Lord. And thank you for going with the flow and humoring me as we invited you to all wear these Martin and Katie Luther hats. You look very Reformation-like. You look very Luther-like. You look, shall I say, different.

The reason we wear these hats and I wear this 16th century pastor cassock today is the same reason the NFL occasionally breaks out the throwback uniforms. It is to remember and show our connection to the past. It is to show that we don’t take ourselves too seriously. It’s a little tongue-in-cheek, to be quite honest, a way to poke fun at what can be an overly serious subject, to walk to the beat of own drum, to dance to the tune of our own music. Odd and unusual, we do our own thing.

It’s kind of like Gary Larson, creator of the Far Side cartoon. He is a Lutheran, of course, and has such an odd sense of humor. I’ll never forget the birthday card I received from a church friend when I turned 22 – a little over 10 years ago. It was a Far Side cartoon card with a scene of what looks like a bunch of penguins on an arctic beach somewhere, crowded together, all looking the same, standing the same. You couldn’t tell one from another, except for the one penguin in the middle of the frame, singing out over all the others “I gotta be me, oh I gotta be me.”

Larson’s humor is not for everyone. But he walks to the beat of his own drum. Some see marching to the beat of your own drum as just weird, odd, unusual. Others see it as a way to change the world. Another Lutheran who walked to the beat of his own drum was Steve Jobs, the founder and creative genius behind Apple. If there was anyone who didn’t conform to the mold, it was Steve Jobs. And the world has never been the same since.

Almost 500 years ago Martin Luther was the Steve Jobs and Gary Larson of the religious world. He couldn’t quite conform, couldn’t quite fit in, couldn’t quite get with the program. Not that he didn’t try, mind you. He did. From his very depths he wanted nothing more than to do what was expected of him. As a boy, he had a deep desire to please his father, to do what would be acceptable in his eyes, to rise to his father’s expectations. And his father expected a lot. He saw in young Martin something special. There was potential. There was a spark. And Martin’s father, Hans Luther wanted to give the boy the opportunities that would put him position to make his mark on the world. So Hans worked from sun-up to sun-down in the copper mines of Germany to scrimp and save to get Martin an education. He did back-breaking work so that Martin could stand tall in the world and rise above all others.

As you think about it, sounds like a lot of you, doesn’t it? How many of you have parents that saw something special in you and had expectations of you in the world? How many of you witness your own parents bending over backward to see that you had opportunities they never had? How many of you had to hear your parents say ‘no we don’t have money for this or that’ so that they could put it aside for your education? And how many of you, now, who have children haven’t passed up on an opportunity to stop at a restaurant or scaled down a vacation plan or bought a used car or no car so that you could help your kid get ahead? How many of you have made sacrifices behind the scenes that the ones you love get to rise to their potential? I bet there is more than one. I bet if I looked each one of you in the eye right now, many of you would give me a wink or a nod, to tell me that “yes you have.”

Then you know the pride and joy of Hans Luther as he saw his boy destined for greatness. But you also know the pressure that comes with that. The pressure on Martin Luther, that is. He was on the spot to perform. He was on the spot to produce. His father expected great things of him. So he sent him to law school. But one day on the way back to school from visiting his parents, something shook Martin up. He got caught in a storm that could have meant life or death. His life flashed before his eyes. It’s amazing, isn’t it, how near death experiences get your attention? Give you a new perspective? Change the way you see things around you? It did for Martin Luther, and as a result he began to march to the beat of his own drum.

He dropped out of law school to go into the monastery and become a monk. You talk about disappointing his father! Is this what he had slaved for all those years in the copper mine? So that his son could run off, shave his head, put on a robe, and assume the position of a holy man? I don’t think so! Actually, Martin never really expected anything different from his father. He was regularly disappointing him. Never quite measured up. Becoming a monk was just the latest in a long string in a long list of failures. Luther experienced nothing else, from his earthly father . . . or his heavenly Father.

But once Martin entered the monastery, he set out to prove them different. He set out to prove that he was not a failure, that he was not a bum, that he was not a dud. He poured himself into the monk business, nose to the ol’ spiritual grindstone. Religious elbow grease was flying all around. But he could never escape the feeling that, in the end, he was a disappointment to all around him and above him. He went to confession so often that his confessor told him to stop coming around so much, because every time Luther “cut the cheese” he felt the need to go to confession.

Luther was down on himself in the worse way. Nothing he did or touched was ever good enough. Some of you know that I have a brother who was a band director. He is a gifted musician and teacher. From a very early age he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. In 7th grade he joined the band, picked the trumpet as his instrument, and began his career. He practiced so much in our small house that my father said “Son you are doing great. But I think you will find it sounds much better when you practice into the closet.” My brother became the best high school trumpet player in Texas and later the best band director in Texas. He was driven to excel. It was his goal to have the best bands in the country, in the universe. And they were. Award winning, jaw-dropping, ovation-getting, tear-provoking, CD-recording performances. No one was better. But he didn’t believe it. They were never quite good enough for him, because, as he tells it, he was never quite good enough. One thing he says about his days band directing was that he needed his bands to be the best so that he could feel good about himself. He had this “ideal self” that he was trying to be, but always fell short.

This was Martin Luther’s struggle. Like my brother, he was trying to become his “ideal self.” And with it, came impossible expectations. Christianity in his day thought it knew exactly what it meant to be a good Christian, what it meant to be acceptable to the heavenly Father, what it took to be claimed by the Father. It was spelled-out, written-down, and passed-around. Everyone was expected to know it, agree to it, and sign-off on it. If you don’t, there will be hell to pay.

This struggle drove Luther to a crisis, where he hated everything about his life. He hated himself. And he hated God. How could God ever love him when he fell so short all the time? And how could Luther ever love a God who always was disappointed in him?

But then something happened. He was studying the Bible, today’s second reading, in fact. As he read it he began to hear something different. These words had a different cadence, a different rhythm. And they freed him from trying to live up to other’s expectations. That’s why the gospel reading from today is always read on Reformation Sunday. In Luther’s life, God broke through the chains that had bound him in misery. God freed Luther and released him to walk to the beat of a different drum, to the beat of freedom in Christ. And the world has never been the same.

Jesus frees you and me from having to slavishly live up to some ideal version of your self. Frees you from having to live according to other’s expectations. Frees you to live according the rhythm of his beat in your life. Where forgiveness and love prevail.

May the beat of Christ’s love move your feet in new directions. May the rhythm of his grace carry you to new places. And may the world around you never be the same.

See Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speach 2005.

Politics, Jesus and the Great Dance

2011-10-17T11:35:00.000-04:00

October 16, 2011 Pentecost 18

Matthew 22:15-22
Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

One of the most dreaded social situations for me as teenager was when I first started going to school dances. It was a painful and awkward moment. I just didn’t have any moves. Couldn’t find my rhythm. Knowing where to stand. Where to put my feet. How to move first this way, then that. I would have preferred walking around with gum on my nose to getting dragged out on the dance floor. Then one day I was at some sort of conference where they taught us to dance the “Cotton Eyed Joe,” and the “Texas Two Step.” Not only that, but they taught us the “Foxtrot” and the “Waltz.” Suddenly what had usually been awkward and painful social moments became tolerable and even enjoyable. Once you learn the steps, you can kind of lose yourself in the music with a sense of freedom. Today as we look to the gospel, I want to share with you some steps to deal with what for many adults is an awkward situation: politics.

In Matthew today we see that Jesus is standing in the middle of what for many would be very awkward social situation. There he is in the middle of a crowd, put on the spot, with all eyes on him, as the Pharisees and Herodians start to butter him up: “Hey Jesus, we know that you are an awesome teacher. Really. Your teachings line up right with God’s. And we should know. Besides all that, oh Jesus old buddy of mine, you don’t shine people on or use smoke and mirrors. Not you. You just lay it on the line. We are impressed. Really.”

Now here comes the question: “Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?”

Well, if there is anything you don’t talk about in polite company, it is politics.

How often have you opened your mouth or shown your hand in some political matter only to wished you hadn’t? I’d guess more than once. It’s just not something we’re normally very good at. But let’s take a look at Jesus and see how he handles the situation. What steps does he take?

Step One: Don’t take the bait.

The first thing we see Jesus do is take a step back. He refuses to take the bait. He sees it as a no-win argument. He sees that he is being set-up. He looks at his questioners and sees both Pharisees and Herodians. You talk about an odd couple! It would be like seeing Rush Limbaugh walking up with Rev. Al Sharpton. Or Sean Hannity walking up with Rachel Maddow. Or Eric Cantor walking up with Nancy Pelosi. You just didn’t see Pharisees and Herodians linking up. You think things are polarized and partisan in our country?

It was just as bad if not worse in Jesus’s day. The Pharisees and Herodians came from opposite ends of the political spectrum. They had competing and opposite goals. The Herodians were a political party in Jesus’s day that like things just the way they were. The Romans ruled the roost in Palestine through the local king Herod. And they were just fine with it. They supported the paying of taxes. To them, it’s what every subject of Rome should do. But the Pharisees were against the tax. To them it represented the unacceptable colonization of a foreign power God’s land and people. Pharisees and Herodians were bitter political enemies. But if there was a chance to take Jesus down, they could work together.

Jesus sees them coming from a mile a way. And refuses to take the bait. They present him with an either/or choice. As if you could boil life down into a series of two alternatives.

That is the exact same sort of thing we see playing out in our country every day. Either you are a Republican or a Democrat. Either you are Conservative or Liberal. Either you believe in global warming or you don’t. Either you are for the war or you are against it. Either this or that . . . and on and on it goes. You turn on your TV and watch a little of the news on MSNBC and you will get one perspective, one view, of how things are how things should be. Then you turn to FOX news and you get another view and perspective on how things are and should be. And they are polar opposites. And do you know why they are polar opposites: because by expressing news and events in such sharp terms creates tension and conflict. Tension and conflict gets attention. It drives ratings. Ratings mean viewers. Viewers mean advertising. And advertising means money.

Don't you sometimes get the feeling that we are being played by the world around us. We are being baited, set-up, and exploited. That is just what the Pharisees and Herodians are doing to Jesus today. They are trying to set him up. But he doesn’t take the bait.

Step 2: Keep your perspective.

After Jesus declines to take the bait, he asks them for a coin that they would use to pay the tax. They pull out a denarius. Jesus asks them “Whose image is on it? And whose title is it?’ They said “the emperor’s.”

Jesus brings a certain focus to the debate. In having them name the emperor on the coin and his title, he reminds them of the emperor’s, Tiberius Caesar, claim to divine status. In fact, it is during the lifetime of Jesus that the Roman Caesars began to elevated to more than human. They became gods. The title, the inscription on the coin read “Tiberius Caesar. Son of the Divine.” Calling him son of the divine (god), the coins was proclaiming him as god. In the Roman Empire people tended to combine their religious views with their political views. Rome itself was considered eternal. The emperors were divine leaders. In fact, there were many temples set up around the Roman empire for the worship of the emperors. People were expected to go and make an offering to the emperor and kneel in worship to the emperor.

Many Christians lost their lives in the Roman Coliseum to gladiators and wild animals because they would not bow to Ceasar and his divine claims.

But it is not just in ancient Rome that people mixed and confused their religion and politics. In our country, which some have called the New Rome, we have sometimes combined our views on religion and politics. Many of you will remember that the first Pilgrims moved here from England to establish “a city on a hill” to be a beacon of hope and promise to the world. Over time this idea that the United States of America has some divine calling to be an example grew into the belief that we, as Americans, are the chosen people.

In his novel White Jacket, Herman Melville wrote this:

“We Americans are the peculiar, chosen people—the Israel of our time; we bear the ark of the liberties of the world. . . . God has predestined, mankind expects, great things from our race. . . .Long enough have we been skeptics with regard to ourselves, and doubted whether, indeed, the political Messiah has come. But he has come in us, . . . “

“The political Messiah has come in us,” wrote Melville. Somehow the notion that America is the world’s savior crept into the thinking and works of our greatest thinkers and writers. Somehow the notion that there is something holy about our nation, something divine, has become part of the country we live in. Some have the sense that our leaders are somehow above everyone else. Some have the belief that our presidents are super human. Some have the belief that our halls of government are anointed with the blessing of the Holy Spirit.

If you don’t believe it just hop in your car and drive the 10 hours to our nation’s capital. It’s pretty much a straight shot from Indy to DC on I-70. You walk into the Capital Building and you will know what I mean. I don’t mean to say that our senators and representatives have a god-complex (well, maybe). But what you and I need to do is see how we elevate leaders to god-like status. When you walk into the Capital Building and get into the Rotunda look straight up. Do you know what you will see? You will see a painting on the inside of the dome of George Washington. But it is not any old ordinary painting or Washington. It is called the “apotheosis of George Washington,” or the “divinization of George Washington.” It is a painting of our great leader coming to us on the clouds of glory. But instead of the great leader being Jesus Christ, it is GEORGE WASHINGTON. You can even buy Christmas tree ornaments, pens, decorative plates celebrating the apotheosis (divinization) of George Washington.

Let me say it out loud, my people. George Washington is not god, a god, or sort of god-like. He did not create the world and all that exists. And He did not die on the cross to save you from your sins. He is not coming on the clouds of glory.

Keep your perspective. There is only one God. There is only one savior.

Step three: Know who you are. And whose you are.

Once the Pharisees and Herodians produce the coin and Jesus asks them whose image and whose title it is, he tells them “Give to the emperor (Caesar) what belongs to the emperor. And give to God what belongs to God.”

There are things that belong to governing authorities. In so far as you are a citizen, pay your dues. And there is that which belongs to God. And what, may we ask, belongs to God? Well, the short answer is everything. The Bible says that

“The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it” Psalm 24:1

Speaking generally, it all belongs to God. Speaking specifically . . . you belong to God. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

"You are not your own; you were bought at a price."

Jesus Christ bought and paid for you with his own life, redeemed you from the grave and formed you in his image. As Paul says in his second letter to the Corinthians:

"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed

into his image with ever-increasing glory," (2 Corinthians 3:18)

As we gather ourselves day after day and week after week, remember that as great as it is to be American, what is most true about you is not found in the US Constitution or anywhere else in Washington DC. The truth about you is not your passport, naturalization papers, or birth certificate. The truth about you is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. You are more than an American. You are a child of God. A brother or a sister of the ruler of the universe. You are a bosom buddy to the friend of sinners.

As you and I are transformed from one degree of glory to another into the image of the One who has called you by name, as our steps conform to those of Jesus Christ in a partisan and political world, you will discover a tremendous freedom. You will move with confidence and ease no matter what tune is getting played. And you will dance into the kingdom in the everlasting arms of the One who calls you “beloved.”

New Life in Jesus' Hands

2011-05-10T08:39:00.000-04:00

May 8, 2011
Easter 3 (A)

Luke 24:13-49
Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.” Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

New Life in Jesus' Hands
As many of you know, this afternoon Risen Lord holds a Mother-Daughter banquet to celebrate the gift of the relationship of mother and children. Plans have been long in the making. Months of preparation have gone into this. Last Sunday at Youth Quake, our youth grades 4-12 spent their evening painting and decorating pots for their mothers, putting dirt and flowers in them. From 5:30 – 7:30 they worked to make a gift for mom. Then they went home. After they had gone to bed, in the dark of the night, the news broke. You know what news don’t you? President Obama came on TV to tell us all that Osama bin Laden had been killed. And for the week leading up to Mother’s Day, these two items got caught in a vortex of news cycles: celebrating Mother’s Day and the death of bin Laden.

If there were ever a more drastic reminder that “Mothering” takes place in a broken world I don’t know what it is. Most mothers are painfully aware of the threats and dangers to bringing a child into this broken world. And if you are one of them, then have I got good news for you! Because on the day that we both celebrate Motherhood and remember how broken things can get, we hear from the Bible that Jesus does his best work when things are their most broken. In fact, it is in the brokenness that Jesus is most immediately identified.

That’s got to be good news for you. To know that God understands and knows how easily and quickly things can fall apart? Think about it, one of the first things we learn about God is that he has children that make a mess of their life. Of course I am talking about Adam and Eve. God makes them and then God says to Adam

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Adam replies.

“Don’t eat the forbidden fruit” says God.

“We got forbidden fruit? Hey Eve! We’ve got forbidden fruit!”

God says “Don’t eat it.”

“No problem” says Adam.

What happens? They eat it of course. They break trust with God who asks “What’ve you done?”

Adam quips “What do you mean?”

“The fruit” says God.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The fruit I said not to eat.”

Then Adam takes it like a man. He blames his wife.

“It’s her fault.”

“Nuh uh” shouts Eve.

“Uh huh!”

“Nuh uh!” “Uh huh!” And so on.

As a result, death and sin became part of our everyday news cycle. And it’s in the daily news cycle of our broken lives that Jesus steps in and brings new life. Last week we saw how the disciples were behind closed doors when Jesus steps in to greet them. And how is it that they recognize him? They see his hands where the nails broke through the skin and his side where the sword opened him up and they recognize him. Jesus is the one who steps into our lives and takes the brokenness upon himself.

They had seen it so many times before. Once they were walking with Jesus and came upon a town called Nain where a mother was about to bury her son. They were processing out of the town when Jesus stepped right into the group and put his hand on the cot and restored him to new life.

You do realize that all the people that Jesus healed and loved and blessed had mothers don’t you? The man born blind, the woman with an evil spirit, the lame, the deaf, the hungry, the centurions servant, Jairus’s daughter . . . everytime Jesus steps into their lives he is stepping into the lives of their mothers who have carried the burden of trying to bring new life into a broken world. Being a mother is hard! Sometimes it’s crushing. There are few mothers who have not at some point been driven to the breaking point themselves by motherhood.

And when that moment comes, Jesus’ words to the Apostle Paul make their mark in your mind

“My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Jesus does his best work when life is at its most broken.

Remember the day Jesus was teaching in the house and there was standing room only. The crowds had pressed in so tightly that there was no way in or out? There was a mother’s son who was lame. He couldn’t walk. He couldn’t get up. He couldn’t take care of himself. His world was broken. And his mother was undoubtedly left with his care. What do you do with a broken world? What do you do when you have poured every last cent, every last ounce of energy into a broken situation? What do you do when you are empty? I’ll tell you what you do, you look and you watch because has stepped into your life and into your world to bring newness. And what happened to the lame man? They dropped him in Jesus’ lap. They took apart the roof and lowered him in from on high. And there Jesus was who told him “Your sins are forgiven” and then “Rise, take up your mat and walk.” And he did.

In today’s gospel, Jesus is appears and joins two of his disciples along the road to Emmaus. Their world has broken apart. The center of the life has been violently killed not by an individual terrorist, but by a terrorist state. For Jews in Jesus’ day, the Roman occupation was a violent experience known for bringing torture, death, fear, and insecurity. That’s just how the Romans liked it. And as the disciples walked, all they could see was the horrible face of Roman death. And yet, all the while, Jesus was there walking with them. Talking with them. Walking through the scriptures together. He helps them see in the mess of suffering and darkness his face and his hands and his plan.

Mother's Days are often times of remembering. Remembering a mother long since passed. Remembering a mother's laugh or cooking or hard work. Remembering tender moments with one of your children. One mom remembers a time when she was up early, trying to wake up with some hot coffee and a newspaper. Her five year old son was also awake, way too awake. He woke up bouncing off the walls and it was a little too much for mom. He kept coming to her to play or read or for this or that. He kept interupting her "grogginess" with giggles and shouts. Finally she had had enough and decided to help him find a quiet. An activity that would take some time. So she took a page of the newspaper and tore it into several pieces gave his some Scotch tape and told him to sit in his room and tape the "puzzle" together. When he finished she said she would play with him, thinking it would take him a while to complete.

Within about ten minutes he was back wanting to play. She said "No honey, I told when you finish the 'puzzle.' "But I'm done" he said. "You can't be. Bring it to me." So he goes back into the room and brings out the "puzzle" fully assembled and taped together. She said "How did you do this so fast?" He told her that when he started he couldn't do it because there were too many words. But he noticed on the other side there was a picture. And when he put the picture together it all fit and he taped it. She turned the page to the other side where she saw a picture of Jesus from some church's Easter ad. It was all torn and tattered, but it brought it all together.

The discples walking with Jesus are trying to make sense of all the pieces on the road to Emmaus. Things have been torn apart. But Jesus steps into the picture and things begin to come together. He stays the evening with them for a meal. And when he takes the bread in his hands and breaks it, something clicks. The last piece is in place. They recognize him. Their eyes are opened. Their hearts were warmed. In the breaking of the bread they become centered in new life.

My good friends and dear mothers, Jesus steps into the middle of your most broken situations holding out his hands to you with an offer of new life. May you see in his body the power and new life.

The Sights, Sounds, and Touch of Resurrection

2011-05-03T10:11:00.000-04:00

May 1, 2011

Easter 2 (A)
John 20:1-18
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

The Sights, Sounds, and Touch of Resurrection
In 1970 Hal Lindsey wrote the book The Late Great Planet Earth, a book that catalogued the events of the 60's and 70’s as signs that the end of the world was near. When he and other writers of Christian end time fiction describe the end, they write of a world filled of evil and judgment and fire. Their view is that at some point the evil will get so bad that it is going to push God over the edge and God is going wipe it all away. Before he does that, you know, he is going to transport his loved ones away to heaven. Beam them up he is. And those who are left will be facing a world of hurt and punishment. At the very end, say these professional writers of Christian fantasy horror, God is going to wad up the world and toss it into the cosmic incinerator. Those who are with God are safe in Christ’s spiritual kingdom, far away from the hassles and inconveniences of the material world. Hal Lindsey’s fantasy has been repeated in the Left Behind books of Time LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. It has been repeated on the tv broadcasts of John Hagee, Jerry Falwell, and Jimmy Swaggert. And it has been preached in the pulpits of thousands of American churches across this land.

No doubt, some of you have heard that version of the end time. Today, as we continue our celebration of God’s victory over sin, death and the devil, I want to offer you another way to look at the end. One of the most consistent and steady streams of teaching in the Bible is that God does not destroy what God loves. God does not cast aside what he poured himself into. God does not turn his back on what he is attached to. That includes you and me and it also includes the creation. From the very beginning of the world when God began creating all that exists, the Bible says that after the first day God said “It was good.” And after the second day “It was good.” And the third and the fourth and fifth and sixth, God said “It is good.” God takes great delight in what he has made. It is a part of him. It bears his imprint. God loves the material world. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the experience of it all – pleases God to no end.

Surely you understand how God could get so attached to it all. How many of you have seen, or heard, or smelled, or touched something that was so moving that it became a part of you? We’re coming up on camping season. And there will be a number of us who won’t be in church on Sunday morning because we’re going to be out in the woods going to church. You know what I mean?

Some of you are getting ready to head out and collect mushrooms. They’re called morels. You’ll be moving through the some woods somewhere, the cool spring air on your face, the smell of moss in the air, the sun’s light passing through the trees above in slanted golden streams. You’ll find a batch of morels and kneel down and pinch ‘em off at the bottom. How smooth they feel between your fingers as you cup them in your hands. At some point you’ll take them back to be washed while your butter melts in the pan, maybe a little garlic or breading added to the mix. When you finally eat them at meal time, your mind is filled with the smell of the woods, the knock of the red headed wood pecker, the sight of a spider web dripping with dew. It becomes a part of you and you get attached to it.

Others of you have spent some time at a beach. Remember the feel of sitting and looking out at that vast expanse of water that goes as far as the eye can see? The waves roll in and out and then back in again, never the same. At some point your breathing and the beat of your heart begin to sync with the rhythm of the waves. Moves you into a place of inner peace and calm. The breeze across the water brings the saltiness into your face. You can taste it on your lips. The sand between your toes tells you that you are connected to this world around you. It is a part of you. And you are a part of it.

Some of you have been to the Grand Canyon and stood at the edge of that great work of art. So massive. So inspiring. As you look over the edge, you can feel it pull on you. The depth reaches up to touch you. And you are moved.

It is not hard to see how God could get so attached to creation, the mountains, valleys, oceans, forests, and stars above. That’s why the Bible says in John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son . . . “

One thing you should know about that verse is that the word “world” means “cosmos.” It does not say “For God so loved the good people” or “God so loved our souls” or “God so loved the church”. It says for God so loved the world, as in creation, as in universe, as in the whole kit-and-kabootle. Jesus’ resurrection is not just for your soul and my soul, but for the whole created order. The plants and animals, the stars and moons, the forests and valleys. All that you can see and hear and smell and taste and touch is included in God’s saving work in Jesus Christ. That’s why when Jesus was raised from the dead it wasn't simply his spirit or his soul but his body. His flesh. His eyes, hair, nose, ears, hands and feet – all of it. Nothing about Jesus was left behind.

God loved all of Jesus. Body, mind and spirit – the whole package, the whole kit-and-kabootle.
That’s the point of today’s lesson from John. When Jesus appears to the disciples, he comes to them in the flesh, in his body. They found it hard to believe until they see his hands where the nails had been and his side where the sword had pierced. Thomas, too, needed to know it physically. He wanted to see with his own eyes, to feel with his own hands, to hear with his own ears. And he did. Thomas recognized Jesus. He knew who he was.

There are those who will tell you that all the earth and everything connected with it will be wiped away forever, nothing more than a distant memory. Don’t you believe it. In Jesus Christ, God reclaims, renews, and recreates the material world to his purpose.

What you have seen with your eyes, heard with your ears, touched with your hands, tasted with your mouth, held in your arms will be redeemed and saved for eternity. There are some of us who have said “goodbye” to loved ones. Either in a funeral or a disagreement. There are relationships that have fallen by the wayside. There are friendships that never reached their potential. These too are redeemed and reclaimed.

In a previous church, I did a funeral within the first month of arriving as pastor. After the funeral, when I went to visit the surviving wife, she wanted to know one thing: “When we see each other again in the resurrection will he recognize me?” “Yes,” I said “and you will hold him in your arms, see him with your eyes, hear him with your ears.” What happened to Jesus happens to all of us.

You -- mind, body, and spirit -- will be raised in a new birth to a life without end with the beauty and wonder and affection of those you love.

Take Your Best Shot

2011-04-26T18:12:00.000-04:00

April 24, 2011
Easter (A)

Matthew 28:1-10
After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Take Your Best Shot
Perhaps you remember what it was like to get involved in a scrape on the playground or in your neighborhood. It’s a more common sight among boys than girls I would guess. Before the two actually come to blows, there is usually a verbal exchange. Before one lays hands on the other there is typically some verbal jousting. Pushing back and forth with the force of language. Intimidation by one liners and insults. For example, one kid might try to draw a line in the sand with the comment “Well my daddy can beat up your daddy!” To which the other kid might respond “Oh yeah!? Well your momma wears army boots.”

The same sort of verbal pushing and shoving shows up in the movies. Movies are famous for their one liners. Perhaps you remember Clint Eastwood in the Dirty Harry movies saying “Go ahead, make my day.” Or “Do ya feel lucky punk? Well do ya?” One of my favorites is from True Grit starring John Wayne where someone says to him “That’s big talk for a one-eyed fat man.”

As we gather today to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave there is one line I’d like to suggest to you today that sums it all up. And that one line is “Go ahead, take your best shot.”

As we made our way through holy week, we witnessed all sorts of people taking their shots at God’s only son, Jesus. You see how the religious leaders, seethed with rage as they plotted his death. They used their best planning to connive and conspire with each other. They put all they had into setting him for a fall. They took every opportunity, wasted no time, and gave it their best. And they succeeded.

Then you see the crowds at his trial calling for his crucifixion. They knew just what to say. They were primed and ready. Every time Pilate challenged them they had an answer “We have no king but Caeasar!” “Crucify him!” they shouted. How about I let go a criminal for you? “Barabbas! We want Barabbas!” They didn’t miss a beat. “Crucify him!” They gave him their best shot. And they succeeded.

Then you look at the soldiers beating him. They were good at it. They were professionals. They knew where to strike, knew how to rip the flesh right off. They held nothing back. Going so far as to spit on him. They unloaded all their meanness, all their ugliness, all their hatred. They gave it to him good.

Take your best shot. Give it to him. Lay it on him. He invites it you know. He asks for it. Surely you remember when he was talking to the crowds in Matthew chapter 11 and he says

                      “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden.
                                        And I will give you rest.”

Jesus invites the crowds to come to him and give it to him . . . their burdens. To those whose lives are heavy with shame and guilt, he says give it all to me. To those whose lives are full of sin and rebellion, he says let me have it. To those whose lives are out of control and headed for destruction, Jesus says "lay it on me."

Jesus came so that we could lay all that is wrong in our lives on him. He was born in that stable and raised by the virgin Mary and the carpenter Joseph so that you could come to him and give it to him. He’s got big shoulders. His shoulders are so broad that they assume the weight of the world. All the ugliness, all the darkness, all the sin, the pollution, the violence, the war, terrorism, corruption, greed, depression . . . all of it. He wants it all. Don’t hold anything back. Let him have it.

Surely you remember that the Bible says that

                                             “he took our infirmities and bore our diseases.”
                                                                     (Matthew 8:17)

In fact, so completely does Jesus take all the sin, death and destruction in the world that the Bible says that he became sin for us on the cross. He absorbs it all and takes it to the cross. And he takes it down.

That’s another line you hear right before a fight: “You’re goin’ down.” That’s exactly what Jesus does with sin, death and the devil . . . takes ‘em down. Straight down to the grave. He robs them of their strength. He takes from them any power over your life. He makes them impotent. Because of what Jesus did, they’ve got nothing on you. And then as he takes it down, he says “Is that all you’ve got?”

Perhaps you remember Rocky III, when Rocky Balboa, the Italian Stallion fights Mr. “T.” At the end of the movie Rocky and Mr. T face off in the center of the ring, Mr. “T” tells Rocky “I’m gonna bust you up.” Then during the fight Rocky keeps asking Mr. “T” “Is that all you’ve got!”

And why does Jesus want all this? Why does he want it all? Why should we give him our best shot? Because the Bible says that he takes all to the cross to take it down to the grave so that he can give you what he’s got. We call this the happy exchange. You give him all that is not right in your life, the whole kit and kabootle, and he gives you all that he has: healing, wholeness, peace, love, forgiveness, everlasting life. All the beauty of his Kingdom is yours.

For those who were not able to join us for worship, our choir sang Handel's Hallelujah chorus. Actually, they sang it better than the performers in this flash mob video.

the gospel in glee: God Can Give You Power As Needed

2011-04-13T08:39:00.000-04:00

April 10, 2011
Lent 5 (A)

John 11:1-45
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

God Can Give You Power as Needed
Today we conclude our series of messages the gospel in glee, a series where we have looked at the surprising ways the gospel of Jesus Christ appears in what seems to be a very irreligious tv musical program. From the very beginning of the first season, even in the pilot episode of the series, the main story line is that there are some people in life who are “losers.” In glee these are the people in the showchoir, people who for a variety of reasons don’t measure up. These are people are not the cream of the crop. They are not at the top of the social ladder.

In fact, the glee club is at the bottom. They are the least in the high school caste system. There is one character, Finn, who plays football and is in the glee club. His teammates ride him, bully him, tease him, and shame him for his involvement in the uncool and unmacho singing group. Finn tries his best to put them off and reassure them that he is still one of them. The scene this morning shows Finn walking with a football friend trying to explain why he is in glee club. His friend leads him to the porta potties where other football players are gathered. They have locked the kid in the wheelchair in it and going roll it. They want Finn to have the first honor. Let’s watch the clip. (clip not available)

This is a defining moment for Finn, when he realizes who he is and what is important to him. He can accept the fact of not being “cool” or “in” or “on top.” When it’s all said and done, they are all losers. They all fail to measure up in some way.

If there is one thing the Bible makes clear it is that there is a sense where we too have failed to make the cut. If you look at your outline you’ll see a line from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:

“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.” (1 Corinthians 1:26)

By and large people who made up the Jesus movement were not the best and the brightest, not the high and mighty, not on their way to the top. They were regular folk like you and me. That’s the kind of people God reaches out to from the beginning of the Bible to the end. Remember Abraham? Genesis chapter 12. When God called him what was his situation? Hopeless. He was 75 years old at a time when people were lucky to reach age 40. He had one foot in the grave and only one place to go. He had nothing in front of him, a “has been.”

Fast forward to Jesus, when he hits the scene with his life changing message where does he go? He goes to the down-and-outers. To the peeps who have struck out. He doesn’t go the halls of power to recruit the people with the “right stuff.” He doesn’t go to the Temple to woo the high and mighty. He moves along the fringes, along the beach, looking for beach bums and fisher folk. He calls those who have been cast off and away, those who are deficient in someone’s eyes like the prostitutes and tax collectors, the lepers.

Yes when Jesus seeks out the losers of the earth. When you look closer at the characters in glee, you see that they are “losers” not simply because someone says they are. They are “losers” because they have experienced a loss. They have all lost something precious and valuable. Finn lost his dad in the first Iraq war. Artie lost the ability to walk in a car accident. Quinn lost her virginity. Kurt lost his mother when he was a boy. All these characters have endured significant losses.

Which brings us to today’s gospel reading. People have experienced a loss. Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, died. When Jesus finally gets around to getting to Bethany where Lazarus and his sisters lived, he finds what you would expect. Tears, mourning, anger. Martha meets him and says “Jesus if you had been hear my brother would not have died.” It is not hard to hear the disappointment in her voice. They continue down the path. There’s Mary, Lazarus’ other sister. And what does she say? The exact same thing: If only you had been here, Jesus.

Jesus sees Mary weeping. He sees Martha weeping. The crowd around him is weeping. The air is heavy with grief. Then, Jesus moves in, into the center – the middle of the scene. People around him doubled over from the death of a loved one. And it moves him. It matters to him. It touches him. He cries.

You must know that when Jesus sees his loved ones in pain, it gets to him. Your situation is not something he observes at a distance. He is not in the bleachers as a spectator to your life. He is right in the middle of it. Right in the middle of your marriage. Right in the middle of your search for a job. Right in the middle of you worry over your health. He’s in the middle of it all. And he is moved by what you have lost.

“Open it up.” he said. “Roll away the stone.” “Open up the grave.” You talk about getting into the situation. For some standing by, that was a bit much. For some who were gathered there, it was a little too far. “Lord, he has been there for four days. There will be a stench.” Yes, it is ugly. Unpleasant. Smelly. “Open it up” says Jesus.

And they do. Jesus reaches into the dark, smelly, hopeless situation and pulls Lazarus out. Draws him to him for a new day and a new life. For the man who had lost everything, Jesus calls him out.

When you think about it, we are all going to lose it. We’re all going to lose everything just like Lazarus. And Jesus is going to step into the middle of it. He’s going to be where it is unpleasant. He’s going to be where it is dark. He is going to be where your life stinks to high heaven. And he’s going to call you out. He takes all the ugliness of the situation to himself. He internalizes it. He takes all the guilt, the shame, hurt, and loneliness of the world into himself. And then he takes it to the cross where he puts it in its place – the grave.

And then he puts you in your place, at his side, for now and for eternity.

gospel in glee: God Has a Cure for Your Secret Loneliness

2011-04-05T21:43:00.000-04:00

April 3, 2011

Lent 4 (A)

John 9:1-12
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

God Has a Cure for Your Secret Loneliness
Today we continue our series, the gospel in glee, where we are looking at how the Gospel of Jesus Christ appears in what is a pretty irreligious TV musical program. One of the main story lines in season one of glee is that the glee club, called New Directions, is preparing for competition. The competition determines whether they get to continue having their group. All their rehearsals and hard work is aimed at this one goal. But there is a snake in the garden. There is a foil, a destructive presence. Her name is Sue Sylvester. Sue hates the glee club and wants nothing but for them to fall on their faces in utter ruin and shame. To help them do just that, she leaks the song set and performance plans of New Directions to the other two schools competing.

Imagine the horror, the anguish, of the New Directions kids when they see their set being performed right in front of them before they go on. The other choirs stole their thunder. The other choirs took the spotlight away from them. This is not at all what they had planned. This was not at all what they wanted, to be cheated like that.

At the last minute the New Directions group regrouped and threw together a couple of songs, the last one being the Rolling Stones classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” It was the perfect comment on an awful situation.

Let’s watch the clip now.

If I’m not mistaken, I saw a number of you lip-sinking the song. I bet some of know it by heart. If not the words, then you know the truth by heart from your own life and experiences. You really can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.

In John chapter 9, Jesus is walking along with his disciples and they come upon a man who has been blind since his birth. Certainly, this man knows things don’t always work the way you want. Certainly, this man finds himself in a situation not to his liking, not of his choosing, not of his wanting. Imagine it if you can . . . never to see a flower, a sunrise, a sunset. He would never know what his parents looked like. Doctors tell us that when a baby is born and begins to open his or her eyes they can see about fifteen inches away. That’s just far enough to lock in on the mother’s face as the baby nurses. All those moments of intimate affection and life giving nourishment so common between mother and child was not for him to know. The sense of isolation and loneliness for him must at times have been unbearable.

Then here come the disciples. And the first thing out of their mouths was a question trying to assign blame. “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” Noone was shocked at the question. It was rather matter of fact. There had to be some reason to explain it. There had to be some cause. Who messed up? Who blew it, Jesus? Did he have it coming, Jesus?

It reminds me of a single mother in 1980 in my home town of Odessa, TX. She was headed for home late one night after work when she stopped off at a car wash to wash her car. The car wash was not one you would drive through as you sat in the car. It was the kind you had to get out of the car and grab that big wand that sprayed the water and then the suds and then the water again. Well, as she was washing her car, she was accosted by a stranger. She was beaten and then raped. When news of the incident hit the airwaves and grapevine, do you know what I heard? I heard people ask questions . . . questions like “well, what was she wearing?” Or “What was she doing out that late at night?” Or “Doesn’t she have any better sense than that?”

It’s called blaming the victim. It happened in Jesus day among his disciples as they tried to ascertain whether the man born blind had it coming because of something he had done wrong or something his parents had done wrong. It happened in Odessa in 1980. And it happens today on every street in our community and in virtually every house.

The reason it is so prevalent in our world is that the vast majority of people who walk this planet have a continually looping tape in their mind that tells them when things go bad, God is evening the score. From the smallest hassle like the neighbor whose lawn mower quit halfway through cutting his lawn, then the trimmer ran out of line, and he cut his finger, all the while wondering if he had offended the lawn gods some way.

It happens during major catastrophes as well, as when Pat Robertson announced on his show that the devastating earthquake in Haiti was God’s judgment on them for something a long time ago.

It happens to people like you when something in your life turns sour. Losing a job. Fighting health problems. Struggling with wayward children. Broken relationships. All these and more are times when the tape plays in the back of our heads telling us “you had it coming.”

That’s what Jesus’ disciples were saying to the man born blind, sitting there begging his way through life, when they asked Jesus “who sinned?” But what does Jesus say? What goes through his mind as he looks at you sitting there with whatever troubles you? What he says is that the suffering and loneliness that people go through is not because God is trying to get even with you or pay you back for some indiscretion. Whatever the cause of what has gone wrong or turned sour for you, it is not because you stepped on God’s holy toes.

What goes through his mind when he sees you in any unwanted and unwelcome situation is “what great thing can be done with this?” That’s what he said to the disciples “It’s not because of this man’s sin or his parents’ sin, but that the glory of God might be revealed.”

Instead of placing a coin in the man’s lap or basket, Jesus places his hand on the blind man’s face and his eyes. Jesus knows exactly what is going on here. Jesus knows exactly what this man needs. And he gives it to him. He gives him his sight. And Jesus knows exactly what is going on with you. He knows exactly what you need. And he’s going to give it to you. Placing his hand in the place you are weakest. Placing his hand on the spot you are most tender. He heals. He restores. He brings to new life.

the gospel in glee: A Dose of Doubt May Strengthen Your Faith

2011-03-28T11:40:00.000-04:00

March 27, 2011 Lent 3 (A)

John 4:1b-26, 39-42
he [Jesus]left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’

Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’

Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you want?’ or, ‘Why are you speaking with her?’ Then the woman left her water-jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?’ They left the city and were on their way to him.

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me everything I have ever done.’ So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there for two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.’

Sermon
Today we continue our series the gospel in glee where we are looking at the variety of ways the good news of Jesus Christ appears in what seems to be a completely irreligious tv musical program. One of the main story lines in glee is the relationship between Quinn and Finn. During season one they were romantically involved and Quinn winds up pregnant. Both Quinn and Finn carry the burden of the pregnancy in secret until she begins to show and Finn decides it’s time to let her parents know, which he does in song. You can imagine the intense feelings of both parent and child at the revelation. Quinn’s parents respond by kicking her out of the house. She becomes an outcast. That’s when her friends from the glee club step in. Something gets triggered inside them. They get the feeling. They have the intuition. They feel the prompt to reach out to Quinn and Finn. And in the end they express their solidarity with this song.

http://www.wat.tv/video/glee-cast-lean-on-me-latino-2fc6z_2jz7p_.html

You know as well as I know that there are times when being alone is too much. You know as well as I that there are times when you fell like an outcast, like an outsider to much of what is happening in the world around you, and it is just too much. You need someone to stand with you. To reach out to you. To comfort you. To strengthen you. To encourage you.

That is precisely what we see Jesus doing today in John chapter 4. Jesus gets the sense that there is someone somewhere who needs him. And he goes. The way the Bible says it is at the end of verse 1: “he [Jesus]left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria.” Jesus and his team are headed back to Galilee from Judea. And the Bible says they have to go through Samaria. Let me give you a quick geography lesson. It really is not true that you have to pass through Samaria to get from Judea to Galilee. Not one bit necessary. It’s like saying you have to go through Greenwood to get to Indianapolis. Or you have to go through Martinsville to get to Bloomington. Or that you have to go through Franklin to get to Columbus. You can if you want to, but you don’t have to.

But the Bible says that Jesus “had to go.” How so? You all know that Butler advanced to the Final Four again this weekend. Go dawgs! Butler has more going for it than a premier basketball program. It also has a great music program. In years past, before we had the music program that we do now at Risen Lord, we used to go to Butler to find singers and worship leaders. One of those worship leaders once told me that she and her sister were so close and aware of each other that no matter how far they were separated geographically, if one was down the other knew it. If one was depressed or distraught, it registered on the other sister’s mind or heart. If one of them needed support they knew it and called.

Jesus is so aware of people around him that no matter how far away he is geographically if there is a need or someone has been cast out or is distraught, he is there to lean on. He “had to go through Samaria” to meet someone who needed him.

My friends, you’ve gotta know that no matter what is going on in your life, Jesus is aware of it. You and he are connected in very deep and mysterious ways so that your hopes, your dreams, your hurts register in his heart. You’ve gotta know that no matter where you are, he’s going to be there.

The rest of the story completes the picture.

First, he knows precisely where to find you.
The Bible says that Jesus was headed through Samaria to cross paths with a woman. On foot, that could mean just about anything. Pretty general directions. It’s like my mother and father-in-law who were here a couple of weeks ago. They wanted to go to the Antique Mall in Edinburgh. I said let me draw you a map. My father-in-law said “No. We don’t need a map.” I said, “Really, I don’t know the address and your Garmen navigation won’t get you there.” Again he said “That’s ok.” I said “Do you know where you are going?” He pointed with his finger to the garage, kind of south and southeast and said “That way.” Typical man. He just wanted to get in the car and go and feel his way along.

Jesus and his disciples “went that away.” And came to the exact location at a well outside the town of Sychar: Jacob’s well to be precise. The disciples had gone into town to rustle up some grub and left Jesus at the well. And then she comes. The fact that we never learn her name isn’t important. What is important is that Jesus is there when she needs him. He is there when you need him, too. There is no place that you can go that Jesus can’t find you. There is no situation you will be in that Jesus won’t appear. As you stand beside the bed of a loved one in Critical Care, Jesus is there. As you walk back to your cubicle after a disappointing performance review at work, Jesus is there. As you drive down the road, listening to the radio when reports of a gun incident at your kid’s high school is reported, Jesus is there. Jesus knows where to find you when you need a shoulder to lean on. And he is there.

Second, Jesus knows when to find you.
The Bible says that it was about noon when Jesus met the woman at the well. That’s actually a little odd. Collecting water at mid-day. People didn’t usually gather water in the heat like that. You know how this works if you have ever been to Mexico. Mexicans have been smart enough culturally to develop what is called a "siesta." They work early morning to midday, and then take off a few hours for a big meal, catching up with family and maybe a nap. Then back to work late afternoon to evening. What they have found is that you’d be surprised how much more productive you can be when you’re not about to have a heat stroke. You’d be surprised how much better you can perform when sweat is not pouring into your eyes. Hot arid cultures understand this.

The land of Jesus is hot and arid. Women in Jesus’ day would go together in the morning cool or evening to collect water. They went together, in packs . . . you know how women stick together. But the woman Jesus met came at an odd time. It was unusual. It was out of the ordinary. She didn’t go to the well with the other women. Maybe she was just not a morning person. Maybe she had a late night with a sick loved one. We don’t know. But he knew, somehow, when to find her. Jesus knows when to find you. He knows your patterns throughout the day. He knows the people you do and do not travel with and why. He knows the seasons of your life.

Third, Jesus knows all about you.
That became clear when they began to speak. Jesus speaks to her with a familiarity that is striking. Here he is at a well in public with a woman whose name is never mentioned. And that he was speaking at all to her was astounding. Men didn’t address women in public. It just wasn’t done. It was against protocol. He asked her for a drink, to share her cup. In our day and age, you’ve got to know someone pretty well in order to share a drink from the same cup. That’s getting pretty close. And for a Jew to share a drink with a Samaritan, even more so! You can see how familiar Jesus is with her by their conversation. They talk about her track record with men. They talk about religion and even politics. The question about where to worship in Jerusalem or on “this mountain” was as much political as it was religious.

To have a conversation with him about all these things, to be so familiar with her as to ask for a sip of her cup, meant that Jesus was very familiar with her already. He knew her very well. In fact he knew her so well that she got the sense that her entire life had been opened to Jesus. With him she was exposed. With him she was revealed. With him she was seen in a way that others had missed.

And she was ecstatic. She was so moved by his gesture. She was so touched by his love. She was so strengthened by his presence that when she went back into town, she couldn’t stop talking about it. When she needed someone to lean on, Jesus was there.

You might wonder “how could Jesus have known where to find her?” You might wonder “how Jesus could know when to find her?” You might wonder “how could Jesus be so intimately familiar with her life?” How can Jesus know where and when to find you? How can Jesus be so familiar and intimate with your life?

I’ll tell you how. Because, you and he are connected. You are joined together in deep and mysterious ways. What you experience, what you feel, what you think all registers on his radar. It affects him. And when you have a special need to lean on him, he is there.

the gospel in glee: Playing It Safe Is the Most Dangerous Way to Live

2011-03-21T12:23:00.000-04:00

February 20, 2011
Lent 2 (A)

Genesis 12:1-4a
“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”

Playing It Safe Is the Most Dangerous Way to Live
Using abbreviations, acronyms, tags, formulas and labels has become second nature for us in American society. For example, if I ask you what NFL stands for, you would tell me right away National Football League. If I ask you what NRA stands for you tell me – National Rifleman’s Association. Or AA? . . . Alcoholics Anonymous. How about e=mc2? Yes there are even people here to tell us what that means.

We use these abbreviations and formulas and labels for all kinds of groups and concepts. It’s a kind of shorthand. It’s how we organize our world. It’s quicker. But not only do we use them for organizations and scientific and math concepts, we also use them for people. In the world of Glee where there is caste system among young people there are “jocks” and “cheerios.” You know what jocks are; the cheerios are the cheerleaders. They are at the top of the caste system. Everyone else falls below. Some fall to the bottom and join Glee: “cripples,” “Asians,” “blacks,” “stutterers,” and “pregnant chicks.”

All these and others fall under the general label “losers.” One of the recurring themes of Glee is Mr. Schuester, the Glee Club director trying to help the kids break out of their assigned roles. He sees past their various labels. He sees something wonderful and beautiful inside them that others don’t see. Maybe they don’t even see it themselves. In addition to teaching music, his mission is to help to kids move past, move beyond, and move over the labels that have been put on them. To be themselves. To dig down and find what is most true about them and offer it to the world without fear.

It’s a lesson Mr. Schuester has to learn over and over too. He wants his show choir to win, of course. So he has another choir visit his school to demonstrate how it’s done. When the visiting school performs for the Glee club, they are dramatic and energetic. They waved and flipped their hair from beginning to end, making quite an impression on Mr. Schuester. Afterwards he decides to put all of his kids in wigs, and tries to teach them to toss their hair and shake themselves like the inner-city school group did.

And they looked ridiculous, of course. It wasn’t them. In the end of the episode, they find a style and song that reveals who they are and what they are trying to accomplish.

To watch it click below:

One of the things the Bible makes abundantly clear is that God sees what others do not see. God looks on the inside of a person and not the outside. God sees in you what others overlook. If you were to ask Abraham’s neighbors to tag him with a word or phrase, I have no doubt the first word that they would use to identify him would be “old.” That about sums it up. He was simply an old geezer. 75 years old in a day when the average life span was 37. The man practically had one foot in the grave. All washed up. No place to turn. Way past time to put him out to pasture. Long in the tooth he was.

How would people tag you? When the world looks at you what shorthand would they apply? Dentist? Teacher? Sale rep? Doctor? Mother? Father? Mechanic? Democrat? Republican? The world has a way of boiling us down like that you know? Reducing us to a single word of phrase. As if you could understand what a person was about with a word.

But when God saw Abraham, he saw past old. God saw past the wrinkles, thinning hair, and weathered skin to a heart that was ready for action. God saw that deep down Abraham was a man in search for a new beginning, in search of adventure. Abraham was ready to strike out into the unknown to do the unthinkable and do it completely unprepared. God saw past his aged body to a person who was ready to risk everything.

I wonder. When God looks past the tags and labels the world has put on you, what does he see? Is it not true that your being a businessman doesn’t quite tell the whole story about you? Is it not true that being a politician isn’t the complete story for you? Is it not true that being a wife or a mother a husband or a father doesn’t quite get at the entirety of who you are? If the facts be known, the truth about you cannot be boiled down to a single phrase or label. You are far too complex and wonderful for that.

There is more, so much more, about you that others do not see. There is more, so much more that perhaps even you do not see. But God sees! God knows! And God calls to that part of you that is dying to get out.

He did to Abraham. The Bible says that God spoke to Abraham: “Go!” To Abraham who was willing to risk everything, God says “do it!” Let me give you a quick lesson in Hebrew. The word “go” seems simple enough. After all, it just has two letters. It comes out of the mouth pretty quick. But in the language of the Old Testament it’s a long word. In the language of Abraham, it’s a fat word. It’s a word that promises you the ride of your life. It’s a word that tells you to brace yourself.

When translated literally, the word in Hebrew means “Go to yourself” or “Go for yourself.” When God tells Abraham to “go” he’s letting him know that the “going” will involve more than just putting one foot in front of the other. The journey is more than about new scenery and spaces. The journey for Abraham runs deeper than the valleys he is going to pass through. Higher than the mountains he is going to climb.

The journey that Abraham goes on is as much an internal as an external one. He is going to face his greatest fears and his deepest inadequacies. And so will you, my brothers and sisters. Because God has not only spoken to Abraham, but God has spoken to each one of you. It is no coincidence that you are here this morning. It didn’t just happen. You are here because something in your soul heard the voice of God. Something stirred. Something ignited. And you came today. You put one foot in front of the other and you came.

And like Abraham, God brings you into the journey. Some of you may well need to pick-up and move as he did. Some of you may be called to a new land as he was. I don’t know those details. But this I do know. The journey God calls you to is going to draw you in and turn you inside out. So that what is deepest and most true and beautiful about you is apparent for the world to see.

Because there is something that God sees in you that others don’t quite see. And in Jesus Christ, that truest part of you is being awakened and made alive. In Jesus Christ, God reveals your true colors.

the gospel in glee: God's Rules On Sex Can Liberate You

2011-03-14T14:05:00.000-04:00

March 13, 2011 Lent 1 (A)

Matthew 4:1-11
Genesis 2:5-17; 3:1-7

How God’s Rules on Sex Can Liberate You

Today we begin a new series of messages called the gospel in glee where we are looking at the surprising ways the good news speaks to and through the popular TV musical drama-comedy – glee. Honestly, the first thing I noticed about the show was its sexual content. I don’t know if I’m a prude or what, but it just seems to me that the show pushes the edges with human sexuality. Given the fact that today’s first lesson shows a naked Adam and Eve falling to temptation and the gospel shows Jesus overcoming temptation, I thought we’d just deal with it upfront. The Bible has much to say about sexuality that might surprise you.

You may have heard the story of the young couple that went to see a pastor some time ago about getting married in the church. During the course of their first meeting, the pastor asked the couple if they’d like a traditional or contemporary type of wedding. They opted for the contemporary wedding. About a week before the wedding, torrential rainstorms beat down upon the community. Flash flooding was everywhere. There was so much flooding that on the day of the wedding, the groom had to find a different route to the church. Once he parked his car, he saw that the parking lot was inches deep in water. So he rolled up his pants legs and darted inside, just in time for the best man to lead him to the altar where the pastor was waiting. Just before the bride made her entrance, the pastor said to the groom “Pull down your pants.” The groom thought for a moment and said “On second thought, I think we’ll go with the traditional wedding service.”

I don’t know if it was raining when God married Adam and Eve but I do know it had as much humor as any you’d see today. When talking about the pairing up of Adam and Eve, The Living Bible says in Genesis 2:22, 25

“Then God made . . . a woman and brought her to the man. ‘This is it!’ Adam exclaimed . . . The man and his wife were both naked, but neither was embarrassed or ashamed.”

You could also say that when Adam first laid eyes on Eve, he said “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!” In other word, he liked what he saw.

As we consider the ways God’s rules about sex can liberate us, you need to understand why God gave the gift of sex in the first place. There are basically three reasons: First, to promote unity (Mt. 19:4); second, for enjoyment (Proverbs 5:18-19); and third to make kids (Genesis 1:28). It’s important to remember that sexuality is a part of the good creation. Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed.

But sadly, when Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit in today’s first reading, sin entered the picture and the gift became a burden, clouded by embarrassment and shame. In our day, it is still clouded. Because of sin, our sexual lives are undermined and we are robbed of the beauty that God had envisioned for us from the start.

There are at least three things that turn the gift into a burden:

1) Unhealthy Attitudes: Our society is overwhelmed with unhealthy attitudes about sex. The two most obvious are the notion that sex is somehow dirty or sleazy. People grow up with the impression that physical intimacy is a guilty pleasure that needs to be repented of. Another unhealthy attitude is the focus on body parts.

2) Relationship Problems: A second factor that turns the gift of sex into a burden is the problems in a marriage. When communication has broken down between two lovers, physical intimacy does too. When husband and wife can’t see eye to eye on matters of daily life like money and kids and work and dishes, those all impact the magnetism between the two in the bed.

3) Physical Complications: A third factor that turns the gift into a burden is a person’s physical state. When your body aches with the flu the last thing you want to do is play a little “smacky-mouth.” When you are leaned over the toilet tossing last night’s half-priced burrito, you probably aren’t in the mood for much cuddling. Your physical condition, imperfect as it is, can cast a pall over your love making. And not just once in a while . . . if you are one of millions of Americans who have some form of chronic pain then it goes on and on.

What I want you to know this morning as we consider how God’s rules on sex can liberate you is that there is really only rule that matters. There is really only one thing you need to remember. Remember that there is only one who rules. Jesus rules. Surely you remember that Jesus Christ went to the cross taking all the brokenness and filth and burdens of the world with him. Surely you remember that Jesus Christ defeated sin, death and the devil. Today’s reading from Matthew with how Jesus overcame temptation in the wilderness gives you a sneak peak at Jesus’ ultimate victory. He’s in charge. All that falls short of the glory of God meets its match in Jesus Christ. It is overcome. It is redeemed. It is reconciled. It is renewed. Resurrection is not just about your soul. It is about your body and all that that means. There is a new creation – a new beginning with all that God made.

In season one of glee, there are two people who get a new beginning at a life of love and intimacy. One of the main characters is Fin, the high school quarterback and glee club member lead singer. His father died fighting in Iraq when he was a young boy. Since then, Fin’s mother has been alone. Another glee club character, Curt, has a single dad. The mom and dad meet, fall in love, and get married.

(To see a clip of the celebration click here.)

They get a new start. The Bible tells us that because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross, we, too, get a new start. A new start not only with God, but a new start with each other. Friendships can be restored. Relationships between family members can be healed. Estranged business partners can embrace . . . all because the resurrection power.

The Bible says that with Christ the cloud of sin is lifted over our lives.

Romans 8:1

“Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.” (Message)

The power of Christ’s resurrection reclaims our sexual selves as well. Whereas before Christ, the “morning after” a night of love-making could be filled with shame and guilt, as one of God’s redeemed it no longer is. Because of Christ’s work for you on the cross, your sexuality wakes up to a different kind of morning.

As one of the redeemed you wake up after a night of intimacy with your beloved:

To a deep satisfaction.

You find that the love and intimacy you share is good and a part of God’s blessing. In fact, it is holy in a sense. In the Hebrews 13:4, the Bible says,

“Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy between a wife and husband.” (Message)

Did you hear that? The sacredness of sexual intimacy? As one of Christ’s redeemed, there is something pure and holy about what takes place between you and your beloved in the bed.

Not only that, God goes further. God get’s even more explicit. I wouldn’t have included this in the Bible personally, but God didn’t ask me.

In Proverbs 5:18-19 it says,

“Be happy, yes rejoice in your wife . . . Let her tender embrace satisfy you. Let her love alone fill you with delight.”

Look at that word “delight.” In Hebrew, that word is a rich and multilayered word. It has many meanings. So rich is the word in Hebrew that other Bible translations translate it as “ravished” (“Let her love alone ravish you.”), or “enraptured” (“Let her love alone enrapture you.”), or “intoxicated” (“Let her love alone intoxicate you.”). I even saw a translation that said “Let her love alone steal your senses.”

Pretty cool, huh? Redemption means a lot more than we usually think.

Because of Christ’s work for you on the cross, you wake up to a different kind of morning. You wake up to a morning of
unrestrained affection.

Because Christ held nothing back, we are freed from our hassles and hang-ups to give all of ourselves to our beloved. It is unbridled, wild, and free love. It’s the kind of affection that creates a safe place for sharing. To get a glimpse of this kind of sharing look at the Song of Solomon:

“The feelings I get when I see the high mountain ranges – stirrings of desire, longings for the heights – remind me of you, and I’m spoiled for anyone else!” (Song of Solomon 7:1-3)

Because of Christ’s work for you on the cross, you wake up to a different kind of morning. You wake up to a sense of completeness.

I don’t mean this in a sappy, sentimental, or sissy sort of way, like you would see in the movies. Remember Tom Cruise in the movie Jerry McGuire? He goes to Renee’ Zelwegger and says in his neediest voice “You complete me.” Just about makes me want to cry right now.

No I mean the kind of completion that only two lovers can experience who are redeemed by Christ and living in a life-long committed relationship. Because when Christians make love they are not out to “get some” but to give. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5:

“The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality – the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to ‘stand up for your rights.’ Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out.” (Message)

Intimacy is about sharing and giving of yourself to another. When you embrace you lover intimately, you give yourself away. You share a part of your soul. And your partner does the same. As both give, both receive. This is what Jesus says when the two become one. Christ gives you as his own redeemed an intimacy that you cannot find anywhere else.

Relaxing in the Hands of God

2011-02-28T10:39:00.000-05:00

February 13, 2011, Epiphany 6 (A)
Matthew 6: 24-34
‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Today we conclude our series of messages on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, a series that we have called “There’s an App for That.” This series has looked at the wonderful ways God’s crazy love applies and transforms our daily life. And today we look at Jesus’ teaching on a very common daily experience . . . worry.

In the Bible’s view, worry is spiritual cholesterol. It’s something that makes us tense and nervous. It makes us uptight and anxious.

Like the woman who walks into her doctor’s office worried she has a rare liver disease. She has been on the internet researching it and she just knows that she has it. The doctor tried to assure that it was extremely unlikely if not impossible for her to have it. She persisted. She just didn’t feel right. He told her that if she did have it she couldn’t possibly know it since there is absolutely no physical discomfort associated with the disease. She exclaimed “That’s my symptom exactly!”

Worry plays with our minds. It undermines our relationships. It chokes off real enjoyment in life. So when Jesus talks about it you know that people are eager to hear.

UNREASONABLE
There are four things Jesus says about worry in today’s gospel. First of all, Jesus says that worry is UNREASONABLE. It is unreasonable. It just doesn’t make sense. It is illogical. It is irrational. Worry plays tricks with the mind. No doubt you have had the experience at some point of having someone rub you the wrong way. Maybe someone at work or in the neighborhood. They say something that cuts. They seem to give you the evil eye. They step on your foot. And then you walk irritated, agitated. Then you “remember” someone else who has offended you in some way. Then another. And another. Pretty soon your anxiety pushes you to the conclusion that everyone is against you. They’re all out to get you. And your worried mind tells you that in the end you can really trust no one. That you are all alone in the world. Worry inflates and expands isolated events into global conspiracies.

This doesn’t just happen to the “weak in faith types” like you and me. It happens to the best of us . . . today and in the Bible. You look at someone like Elijah, one of the most important and spiritually powerful prophets in the Old Testament. There was a time when at one moment he was on top of the world with confidence and trust. Not a worry in the world. The priests and prophets of the enemy religion of Baal were defeated on Mt. Carmel. The people had rededicated their lives to God. All was well.

But then, he got a memo from the queen – Jezebel: “You’re a dead man! If it is the last thing that I do, I’m gonna see you dead.” Elijah got the message and high-tailed it out of there. He went as fast and as far as he could into the wilderness. Finally he collapsed in exhaustion by a broom bush, where God speaks to him “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Elijah tells God about all his troubles and how there is no one left who believes anymore. They are all out to get him. And he is the only one who is left who believes.”

Worry and anxiety play tricks on the mind. It makes you see things that aren’t there. It causes you to read things into people’s words. It causes you to see threats where are none. It causes you to exaggerate the challenges and troubles you do have. And it causes you to see isolated events as evidence is some vast conspiracy whether by the government or your family.

UNNATURAL
Not only is worry unreasonable, it is also UNNATURAL. It is not the way we were created and built. When God created you, when God wired you together, he wired you to trust him and love him. God’s original design for you did not include worry.

Jesus says this by turning to ornithology. He says "look at the birds of the air. They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns but your heavenly Father provides for them. Are you not more important than they are?" I don’t know if you pay much attention to birds, but if there were ever a critter more on God’s welfare, I don’t know what it is. What do birds do? All they do is flit and fly around gathering up twigs and seeds. Once in a while they tweet or whistle. Too often they are taking target practice on the world below. And yet, Jesus says, God takes care of them.

Then Jesus turns to botany . . . "consider the Lillies of the field, they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you Solomon in all his glory was never adorned as by one of these."

UNHELPFUL
Worry is unreasonable. It is unnatural. It is also unhelpful. It doesn’t contribute anything. It adds no value. By worrying you can’t lengthen your life. In fact, it’s the opposite. By worrying you cannot add to you height. Worry is a lot of stewing without doing. It’s like sitting in a rocking chair. Yeah, there is motion and movement, but you’re not going anywhere.

UNNECESSARY
It is unreasonable, unnatural, unhelpful, and most importantly . . . UNNECESSARY.

You just don’t need it. Jesus says that your worry is unnecessary because God’s got it covered. God has your needs on his “To Do” list. He has taken the responsibility to provide for you. That’s what a good parent does. God is like a mother or father who takes great delight in supplying your life. It’s what he does. Gives. Blesses. Showers with goodness.

Tell me you know how this works. Surely as a mom or dad, you know something of the joy of providing for your children. What father or mother hasn’t had as much fun as your kid when you go to Dick’s Sporting to buy your son or daughter a new baseball glove? Remember the glove’s smell? Remember the delight of seeing your young’en using the bat you provided to get to first base? What joy! God loves to provide for you.

In fact, God is so far ahead of you on this that there are needs you are going to have in the future that you have no clue about. But God does and he has already set in motion the events and processes that will bring into your life what you need.

Someday my kids are going to need a car. We’ve always told them that they’ll have to buy their own cars. And they have been saving their birthday money, allowances, Christmas money for that day. They each have a savings account at the bank. And they each have a Charles Schwab account with some stock. What I really want to do when the time is right is to help them buy their first car by matching what they put into it. How exciting would it be to watch them turn the ignition on a car that I helped them get into?

Maybe, just maybe, if I work things just right, Karin and I can match their money with another $400 or $500 to help them get into a Ford Pinto, or an Opal. Maybe we can squeeze out another $45 and help them upgrade to a Gremlin.

Further down the road, they’ll go to college. And we’ve been preparing for that as well. I can think of no greater satisfaction than writing a check and helping my kids get through college.

Your heavenly Father takes great delight in providing for you. It’s what he does. All this worry we have in our lives, Jesus says, is just UNREASONABLE. It’s UNNATURAL. It’s UNHELPFUL. And it’s UNNECESSARY.

So my people, the worry and anxiety you carry with you . . . let it go. Relax. Take a breath. And watch God do his thing.

There's an App for That Pt. 2

2011-02-14T10:56:00.000-05:00

February 13, 2011
Epiphany 6 (A)

Matthew 5:27-32

Sermon
Today we continue with part 2 of our series “There’s an App for That,” a series where we are looking at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount for some of the ways that God’s crazy love applies to our everyday lives. And today we are going to be talking marriage.

A man walks into his pastor’s office for some counseling. His marriage is on the rocks and has been for some time. When he admits that he wants to throw in the towel, his pastor said to him, “You promised you’d take her for better or for worse.” The man said, “Yeah, but she’s a lot worse than I took her for.”

Today we are going to talk about the three stages of every marriage. The first stage is “The Happy Honeymoon.” The second is “The Party’s Over.” And third . . . “Let’s Make a Deal.” What often begins as an ideal, turns into an ordeal, where people start looking for a new deal.

As anyone who has been in a relationship can tell you, the beginning of a new relationship, the Happy Honeymoon, we call it, is full of euphoria. It is a time when everything about the other person fascinates you and intrigues you. Each detail of his or her presence is a source of fascination and delight. The inflection in the voice, the warmth of a glance, the smell of her skin . . . can mesmerize you. You get a clear sense of this intense pleasure when you read the Song of Songs in the Old Testament. Today’s first lesson was read from chapter four of that book (The Message Translation).

1-5 You're so beautiful, my darling, so beautiful, and your dove eyes are veiled
by your hair as it flows and shimmers,
like a flock of goats in the distance
streaming down a hillside in the sunshine.
Your smile is generous and full—
expressive and strong and clean.
Your lips are jewel red,
your mouth elegant and inviting,
your veiled cheeks soft and radiant.
The smooth, lithe lines of your neck
command notice—all heads turn in awe and admiration!
Your breasts are like fawns,
twins of a gazelle, grazing among the first spring flowers.
6-7 The sweet, fragrant curves of your body,
the soft, spiced contours of your flesh
Invite me, and I come. I stay
until dawn breathes its light and night slips away.
You're beautiful from head to toe, my dear love,
beautiful beyond compare, absolutely flawless.

In this stage everything is perfect and pleasant and intoxicating. In many cases it leads to marriage, which is one of the most intense moments of the Happy Honeymoon. All the preparation . . . all the energy . . . that goes into it.

You probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that we host a lot of weddings here at Risen Lord. It’s a pretty church and people driving by see that and want to get married here. So we throw open the doors. Oftentimes two years in advance. What is funny is that when we first meet with the couple, the bride will show up with a notebook, a three ring binder full of details and lists for the wedding. Ideas and hopes and dreams she has been keeping since was a little girl. Ideas and hopes she has picked up at countless other weddings she has been to or been a part of. And the dude? He usually just sits there, trying not to draw too much attention to himself by being pleasant and compliant.

Then the day comes, a day that has been thought out, planned out, and scripted for months. Every color has to be just right. The invitations and programs all coordinate. The flowers, the sights and the sounds are all in place. So much hairspray has been applied to the bride that a hurricane could blow throw and not a single hair would so much as twitch.

As the groom turns back to see her, the hearts of even the most macho and rugged groom skips a beat at the sight. And as she walks in, though there are a hundred or more people around her, only one captures her attention, much like the woman in the Song of Songs says in chapter 5, today’s second reading:

10-16 My dear lover glows with health—
red-blooded, radiant!
He's one in a million.
There's no one quite like him!
My golden one, pure and untarnished,
with raven black curls tumbling across his shoulders.
His eyes are like doves, soft and bright,
but deep-set, brimming with meaning, like wells of water.
His face is rugged, his beard smells like sage,
His voice, his words, warm and reassuring.
Fine muscles ripple beneath his skin,
quiet and beautiful.
His torso is the work of a sculptor,
hard and smooth as ivory.
He stands tall, like a cedar,
strong and deep-rooted,
A rugged mountain of a man,
aromatic with wood and stone.
His words are kisses, his kisses words.
Everything about him delights me, thrills me
through and through!
That's my lover, that's my man,
dear Jerusalem sisters.

The amazing thing about this stage is that you do things that you wouldn’t normally do. Guys do stuff like watch chick flicks, hand her the remote control, splash on some Agua Velva, and make sure they have on clean socks and underwear. Women, for their part, shave their legs and pits, apply a little extra effort in the makeup department, and lay on the sofa watching some boring ball game.

The Party’s Over
But as always happens the Happy Honeymoon gives way to the next stage: The Party’s Over. One day the couple wakes up and there is a stack of dirty dishes in the sink, a carton of milk spoiling on the counter, laundry piling up in the corner, garbage to be taken out, and a stack of bills to pay. Instead of waking up to the handsome well-groomed Greek god that smelled like a fresh morning meadow, she wakes up to indecent scratching, burps, morning mouth, and other noxious gases. The husband wakes up to her day old makeup, slobbering on the pillow, ten year old sweats for a night gown, and sandpaper legs. And they start asking themselves “what happened? What went wrong?” They wonder “Did I make a mistake here.” And usually sometime after that some couples will come to my office and say to me “We just don’t connect anymore. We have nothing to talk about. We are just roommates passing in the kitchen.” Sometimes one will say, “I’m throwing in the towel.”

In today’s reading from Matthew 5, Jesus says it point blank: “Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is.” (The Message)

It is not easy. That’s when we move to the next stage.

Let’s Make a Deal
It’s in this stage that we begin to realize what a sacred place marriage can be. It’s in this stage that we begin to see how God’s crazy love transforms our most important relationships. Because we see that when the Bible talks about God’s love for us, it talks about the kind of love that exists between a husband and a wife. Jesus' first miracle was at a wedding and heaven itself is presented as a great wedding banquet. Jesus is the bridegroom. And as happens in most relationships the Happy Honeymoon gives way to the Party’s Over for our spiritual lives. There comes a point in the heart of every believer where we just go through the motions, where we just pass him by in the hallways – not much connection. And we act in ways that show we aren’t all that into it. We say things we shouldn’t say. We look at things we shouldn’t look at. We think and feel things we shouldn’t. And at times we just check out of our life with God.

And yet, God stays true and faithful. Regardless of what we say, or do, or where we go, God refuses to let us go. There is nothing we can do that will make God love us less. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more. This is the deal God makes with us in Jesus Christ. Nothing will separate us from him. As we move to the New Deal in our marriages, something very sweet and wonderful and sacred happens. The kind of love God extends to us in Jesus Christ becomes the new basis for our marriages.

If the truth be known, I am not a perfect husband to my wife. I have let her down. I’ve said some things I shouldn’t have said. Thought some things I shouldn’t have thought. Felt some things I shouldn’t have felt. She has seen me lose it in many ways over the past 19, or 20, or 21 years. I can never remember which. Actually, neither can she. Last year we both forgot our anniversary until about a week after the fact. I gave her a card, signed of course. When she opened it, she signed it and gave back to me. You think I’m kidding? She has seen me lose my temper. She has seen me lose my composure. She has seen me lose my religion. She’s even seen me lose my hair and my Greek god-like physique. And yet in spite of all that she knows about me, in spite of all the things that I am not, she embraces me and kisses me as her own. She is still thrilled to wake up next to me in the morning and be my wife. Being with her tells me something about God.

And she, my friends, is not a perfect wife. She has said some things, thought some things, felt some things that she ought not. I have also seen, her lose her temper, her composure, and her religion. I have seen her dark side as well. But in spite of all the things that she is not, I embrace her and kiss her with a love that is more than love. I am still thrilled to wake up to her each and every morning and to stand by her side. It is an honor and a privilege to be her husband.

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. There will be cards exchanged. Candies eaten. And flowers delivered. Take the grace God gives you in Christ to throw open your arms with reckless abandon to the one you call beloved. Amen.

This song below is one of "our songs" and kept running through mind mind as I worked on this sermon. Thank you, Karin.

Your Place in the World

2011-02-08T10:54:00.000-05:00

February 6, 2011
Epiphany 5 (A)

Matthew 5:13-20‘You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.

‘You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Sermon
You may have seen this past week that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has a new book out that tells his story of serving under President George W. Bush and his father before him H. George Bush. A book where he tries to show how his life fits in the overall scheme of the time. A book where he tries to spell out what his life means in the big picture of world events. And before him, Dick Cheney put out his book showing how his life fits in the big picture of American and world history. And before him President Obama. And before him Hillary Clinton. And before her Al Gore.

There are a couple of lessons we can take from the books of the rich, famous, and powerful. First is the lesson that history is written by the rich and powerful. It tells their stories. The second lesson is . . . you don’t have to be rich and powerful to wonder where your life fits in the big picture. Ordinary people from all walks of life wonder “where does my life fit in?” When it’s all said and done, “what does my life really mean?”

It’s a question Jesus sees written all over our faces day in and day out. It’s a question Jesus saw written on the faces of the crowds in today’s lesson from Matthew. Because they have come to him, today, to hear him speak again. And they have gathered at the mount where he taught so many times. It’s important to note where Jesus did his teaching. It’s important to note where Jesus did his miracles. It’s important to note where he performed his healings. When Jesus went about spreading the good news of God’s kingdom, the Bible says that he moved among the towns and villages. He went from one small community to another.

He did not spend his time in the great centers of power. He did not set up an office in the city of Jerusalem. He did not travel to Rome. No, he moved among people on the margins, people who were ordinary people like you and me trying to get through another day. He invested his energy in small towns and villages, the Bargersvilles of the world. Where people were doing their best to raise a family. Doing their best to eke out a living. Doing their best to keep their sanity in a world that seems to be falling apart.

Imagine their surprise when Jesus looks at them knowing that they too want to know how their life fits in the big picture and says:

“You are the salt of the earth.”

Jesus says that when he looks at the big picture, you are to the world as salt is to the earth. In his day salt had a number of uses. Mainly it was used for seasoning. It was a spice that was added to food. It brought out flavor. It added interest. It added enjoyment to an otherwise plain meal. Salt did all this and more as you and I know so well. In the seasoning, in the adding of flavor and seasoning, salt creates a craving. It makes you want more.

I remember not too many years ago I noticed one of my kids making some microwave popcorn. I probably shouldn’t mention his name. It might embarrass the only son I’ve got. After he popped the popcorn and poured it into the bowl, he took out the salt shaker and covered it with salt. After he finished eating all the popcorn, he took his finger, licked it, and ran it around the bowl wiping up every last magic little crystal. But he didn’t stop there. Next he went into the kitchen where he had set aside the emptied bag of popcorn and tore it into strips and pieces where he then licked off the inside of the bag.

That's a boy after my own heart.

Jesus says you are the salt of the earth. You create a craving. But a craving for what?

Another thing that salt was used for in Jesus’ day was as a preservative. It helped keep meat from going bad. It helped keep it from turning sour. It helped keep it from spoiling. It kept it pure. Jesus says that you are the salt of the earth. You add flavor, and interest, and seasoning, and a craving to preserve what is pure. In the big picture of things, in the overall scheme of things you help your world desire what is good and holy. When it’s all said and done your presence, your being, made white as the whitest salt with the grace of Jesus Christ, keeps the world from spoiling. You are what is good and decent and right in the world.

Not only are you the salt of the earth,

“You are the light of the world.”

What does light do? As it streams in from the sun, the stars, and from every other source in the universe, light illumines. It reveals. It shows. “Shows what?” you say. Light shows the beautiful spectrum of color God has woven into the fabric of creation. Last weekend, I took our confirmation kids to Chicago for a youth gathering. You ever been to Chicago? It’s always the same there, isn’t it? Gray and overcast. Does the sun not ever shine there? God could have, if he had wanted, made the entire world look like Chicago. But he didn’t. He filled it with beauty and color and fascinating shapes and textures to enrich our lives.

From where Jesus sits, he says, “You are the light of the world.” In the big picture, you bring beauty and color. You are what makes the world interesting.

Now, I know what you are thinking. It’s all over your faces: “Hold on there you good looking preacher. How in the world am I supposed to be all that? I’ve got my own moral battles without having to deal with the pressure of preserving the world. I’ve got my own problems. I don’t have the time or the energy to be interesting or to add flavor to the world.”

And I suspect that that the people listening to Jesus speak on that mount long ago had a similar response. Their lives, like yours, were not all that polished. They, like you, were just everyday ordinary people.

It can be a little surprising to think of your lives having such incredible influence in the world. It’s not the kind of thing we would expect. It doesn't seem to fit.
It reminds me of my home town in Texas. As I have shared with you in the past, my home town is not the kind of place people travel to for vacation. It’s not an attractive place. It’s not a sweet smelling place. It’s a blue collar town where people make their livings mostly in the oil field. It’s dirty hot smelly work. You can blindfold me and drive me across the country and I can tell you how close I am to home by the smell of the oil refineries in the area.
Pretty much all there is to do in Odessa is to “tie-one-on” at a local bar, watch high school football, or mangle the English language. Country comedian Jeff Foxworthy travels to Odessa to look for new material.

Be that as it may, one thing that you probably do not know about Odessa is that right in the center of the town is the Globe. Not the globe as in a model of the earth on a frame. But the Globe, as in Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. In my home town, where missing teeth, mangled English, and mullets are as common as swamp coolers -- sits the most exact and precise replica of Williams Shakespeare’s original theatre in the world.

Universities, colleges, drama groups from around the country travel to Odessa yearly to perform the most pristine and beautiful form of the English language there ever was. It is a gem, a bright precious jewel, in an otherwise earthy ordinary town.

From where Jesus sits, you are the gem. You are the bright precious jewel that reflects and refracts his brilliance into the world. It is not something you become, not something you reach for, not something you work toward . . . it is something you already are. At least, that's how it looks from where Jesus sits.

Find Your Freedom in Christ

2011-01-17T12:43:00.000-05:00

January 16, 2011
Epiphany 2 (A)

John 1:29-34
The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

Find Your Freedom in Christ
I grew up in Odessa, Texas part of the Bible Belt of fundamentalism and hell, fire and brimstone preaching. One particular Baptist church was especially well known for lightin’ ‘em up -- Temple Baptist Church. When it came to the pulpit, that particular preacher took no prisoners and left no survivors. If there was any doubt about whether you had a hope in the world, by the time he got done with you, you knew for a fact that there was none. He had a scorched earth policy and the only fallout was a bunch of guilt and shame. As we drove across town in that 1965 Ford Galaxy 500 to go to the Lutheran church we would drive by Temple Baptist church. One summer was especially hot, must have been close to a thousand degrees. It was so hot, cactuses packed up and left town. Newspapers, local news, and restaurants were all abuzz with talk about the oppressive and punishing heat. We were driving across town to go to church one Sunday morning and Temple Baptist, famous for its hell, fire, and brimstone had a new message on their church sign. It read “AND YOU THINK IT’S HOT HERE?!”

Hell, fire and brimstone preaching is what John the Baptist was famous for. “REPENT!” his voice would bellow out. “BEAR FRUIT WORTHY OF REPENTANCE!” And to those who were especially wicked he would blister them “WHO WARNED YOU TO FLEE FROM THE WRATH TO COME, YOU SNAKES?!”

“Get your act together,” he would say and “Walk the straight and narrow.” “There's not much time.” “The fire is kindled and coals are white hot. Brace yourselves, because it’s gonna get ugly. Brace yourselves because if you don’t, there’s gonna be hell to pay.” And the people came. It got their attention. John had the crowds in the palm of his hand with his firebrand preaching. For some reason, there is something about it that sticks in our minds. For some reason, it makes an impression on us. Not just for people in foreign lands speaking a foreign language but in our land and in our language.

Perhaps the most famous sermon ever preached in an American pulpit was a sermon by Jonathan Edwards in 1741 called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Edwards convinced his people at the founding of this country that they were wicked and as hopeless as a bug dangling at the end of thread over the fires of hell. Some might have wondered if Jonathan Edwards was John the Baptist back from the dead. People must have wondered if the preacher of Temple Baptist Church was John the Baptist come back from the dead. The constant accusations, the rules and regulations, the do’s and don’ts.

If you’ve ever been exposed to that kind of message, if you’ve ever found yourself trying to pull yourself up by your religious bootstraps, if you’ve found yourself trying to get back into a life with God by applying that spiritual elbow grease then you know where it leads. Frustration. Exhaustion. Living your life like in constant spiritual crisis mode is like running non-stop on a treadmill. You keep running and running to get it right. You keep trying and trying to be the right kind of person that you think God would approve of. But after a while, because you sense that it will never be enough, you get worn-out, stretched-thin, and left feeling empty. And eventually, you just bail out.

This life of constant rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, will suck the life out of you. John the Baptist knew this. That’s why today in our first verse from the gospel in John he says “On the very next day [after Jesus’ baptism] John saw Jesus coming and said ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Follow him.”

John knew that you need to get past basing your life on a simple commitment to getting it right. John knew that you need to move beyond building a life on observing certain rules and regulations. John knew that at some point you need to move away from a series of do’s and don’ts.

John tells those who were following him, John tells those who were on the spiritual treadmills, "there he is . . . follow him. Go that way." And they did. These two disciples followed after Jesus, apparently at a distance . . . watching . . . observing . . . wondering. Jesus senses their presence. Jesus picks up on their curiosity. Jesus detects their longing to move beyond hell, fire and brimstone. And he turns around, looks them square in the eyes and says “What do you want?”

One of the facts of modern church life is that churches are filled with people who want more from their religious life. Churches are filled with people who want to move beyond mere rules and regulations, who want to get past the guilt and heaviness of religion. There are people here today who, like my childhood family driving by the guilt trip of normal religion, want to move on. Well, my good friends, Jesus is here. And he asks you the same question he asked them “What do you want?”

Well . . . what . . . do . . . you . . . want?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I would imagine after an awkward silence, the disciples said, “Where are you staying? Where have you pitched your tent?”

Jesus simply says “Come and see,” or in other words “Walk with me.”

And they walked with him. My friends, as you seek a fuller more rewarding life with God, Jesus invites you past the rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, guilt and shame to a simple walk with him.

As you walk with him, he draws you into his orbit. As you walk with him, he pulls you close to the heart of God. As you walk with him, you begin to see things like he sees them, hear things like he sees them, feel about things like he feels about them. As you walk with him, he becomes the center of gravity that rearranges and reorders your life so that the very life of God flows through you. The do’s and don’ts are history. The rules and regulations are have passed. The guilt and shame are no more.

The Bible says that “we are discharged from the law” (Romans 7:6) and in Galatians 5:18, “you are not subject to the law.”

For those of you who have served in the military, you know what it means to be “discharged.” You may even have a piece of paper that says you have been discharged. It means that you no longer take orders from the same people anymore. They no longer rule your life, set its direction, or call the shots. When John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus he discharges them to follow him and Jesus becomes the epicenter of their lives.

Next Sunday, we will be receiving financial commitments, pledges, for our capital campaign. There is something I want you to understand. You do not have to participate. You do not have to pledge or give. In this church, we are way past laying down the law. And if you are tempted to give because you feel like you should, then think about holding off. When we give, we give not because we should. We give because we are on a walk with Jesus. When we give, we give not because there is a rule somewhere that commands it. We give because our lives are looped into Jesus'.

When I was a pastor in Dallas at an inner city black church, there was a poor old black woman who started attending. Actually, she wouldn’t say she was black, she would say she was “chocolate, because the darker the skin the sweeter the sugar” -- her words not mine. Helen would give a large offering every quarter, so much so it alarmed people who were counting the offering. “She can’t do this! Where does this come from? Pastor you should speak to her about this. It’s too much. She can barely keep herself afloat.”

Well I spoke to Helen and asked about her generosity. And when I asked her why and how, she said “Pastor, this morning I woke up with my mind stayed on Jesus.” And I understood that her gift to the church came out of her walk with Jesus. It happened a couple of other times. I was asked to speak to her and each time she would say “I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus.”

In this church, here at Risen Lord, you have a sister who lost her job over a year ago. She’s been on food stamps for a year. In 2010, she gave over a thousand dollars to the church. Why? How? Where does this come from? It comes out of her walk with Jesus. Whatever you give, my good friends, give from you walk with Jesus. And whatever you give or pledge, let me say this . . . Thank you. Whether it is one dollar or a gazillion dollars . . . Thank you.

A Father's Love

2011-01-10T13:12:00.000-05:00

January 9, 2011, Baptism of Jesus (A)

Matthew 3:13-17

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

During seminary I worked for a summer at a rural church with a pastor named Dick Sansgaard. He and his wife had already raised their children, but decided later in life they like it so much they would do it again. So they adopted a three year old boy named Sammy. Once they got Sammy home and introduced to the church, the community and set up in his new home, they decided it was time for Sammy to be baptized. What a wonderful occasion it was. Very exciting. After the service they went to the parsonage for a baptism party with cake and ice cream and gifts. As Sammy was sitting there eating his cake and ice cream, he began to reflect on the day. He said “I was baptized today?” “Yes,” said his pastor dad, proudly smiling. “And Jesus took away my sins?” Sammy continued. His dad said “Yes he did. Jesus took away your sins.” Then Sammy said “Well, I want them back!”

He thought he’d been robbed! So his father set him straight. He set the record straight on what baptism is really about. Today as we heard Matthew, chapter 3, retell the story of John the Baptist baptizing Jesus, it’s not just 3 year old boys that need to be set straight on baptism, but grown-ups as well. John didn’t quite get it when Jesus came to be baptized.

There John was preaching up a storm. A man who, by all accounts, was not a neat man, not a polished man, not a soft-spoken man. No, John was course and loud, preaching a message of fire and brimstone. Giving them that good old time religion. Lit ‘em up he did. And the people loved it. They came to the river to make a new start with God. They came from the towns and villages, from all around the country side.

And as John was course and edgy, so were the people who came to him. These were not religious people for the most part. They were the salt of the earth, maybe a little too salty, if you know what I mean. Over the years their lives had grown a little too course. Over the years their lives had grown a little too calloused. Over the years their lives had grown a little too uncaring toward God. They were spiritual misfits and religious hillbillies. Bassakwards and moral bumpkins. They were eager to amend their ways and make a new beginning.

And when they heard John’s message ring across that arid land, they came, imperfect and unclean into the water. Baptized by John, washed and cleansed, ready for a new start with God. And then . . . there he is – Jesus, that is. Standing with the crowd. Coming with the crowd into the water.

John recognizes him of course. The Son of God, the beloved of the Father, the one whom angels adored, the one who was the very righteousness of God, coming down into the water. Into the dirty water, soiled as it was with the sins of the people. John protests when he says “Why do you come to me? I should be baptized by you.” But John got it all wrong. He didn’t quite grasp what baptism was all about. And Jesus had to set him straight. Jesus had to set the record straight. “It is necessary to fulfill all righteousness.”

And Jesus goes under the water, covered from head to toe. He goes into the water, the place sinners have let go all their uncleanness and he soaks it up. He is saturated with it. As the water covers him, he takes upon himself the sinfulness of all those who have been there. He assumes their coarseness. He assumes their callousness. He assumes their coldness to God. He takes it all upon himself.

When Jesus comes into the water, it’s not because he needs to be forgiven. It’s because without him water is just water. But with him it is life changing water, a new beginning, a clean slate.
Years ago we had a member of the church who was the head of infectious control at one of the hospitals. It was his job to see to it that the hospital was clean, that hazardous waste was disposed of properly, and that there weren’t any stray cooties. He would say both there and here regarding cleaning: “The solution to pollution is dilution.” The solution to pollution is dilution. When Jesus entered the waters of baptism with us he took upon himself our impurity and he imparted to us his purity. He released his grace into our lives so that we could be immersed in his righteousness. So that you could be penetrated with his love. So that every nook and cranny of your existence would be saturated with his holiness. So that every dimension of your life would be infiltrated with his purifying presence.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 3:18 that ‘we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another.’

God is looking to transform every area of your life. Your family. Your marriage. Your kids. Your friends. Your mind. Your heart. Your workplace. Your sexual life. Your neighborhood. Your money.

As we begin our capital campaign this month, I am reminded that Martin Luther once said that many Christians go through the waters of baptism holding their wallets and purses over their heads. Meaning, we are not always sure we want God getting involved with our finances, unless of course it is to give some more. We are not always sure we want to mix faith with finance. We aren’t always sure we want the church talking about such things. Keep your hands to yourself, we might say.

Why would Jesus need it anyway? Let’s get something straight. When it comes to faith and finances we need to set the record straight. Listen to me. Jesus doesn’t need your money. Whatever you put in the plate each week, whether its five dollars or five hundred dollars, Jesus does not need it. It’s chump change to him. He owns it all anyway. All the gold, the diamonds, the pearls and oil, everything it is already his. As is the entire planet, and the solar system, the galaxies -- yes they belong to him too. Why give to someone who has it all anyway.

I’ll tell you why. It’s like when my kids were real young. I remember taking the kids on dad dates. Each one, I would take out and have some adventure. One of the earliest and tastiest dates was to McDonalds. Oh what a great time we had. Just me and the boy. We’d go there and get a happy meal. You know it has a toy right inside the box. But you’ve gotta eat your meal first. How are those French fries? Aren’t they just the best in the world? And the chicken nuggets. Yeah, they’re made from chicken parts. After you finish son, we’ll go play in the playground in all those tubes.

On more than one occasion when we would be nearing the end of the meal, he would get up to go to the potty. He would take one step and then turn back to me, looking me right straight in the eyes like a gun-slinger and say “Don’t you eat my fries.”

“Don’t eat your fries?” I laughed to myself. I bought those cotton-pickin’ fries. And if I had wanted some of his fries it wasn’t because I wanted to take away from him. If I had any interest in his fries it was not the fries I wanted, but the opportunity to connect with him, a chance to bond, a chance to give him something of myself.

God has given us so much. It delights him to provide for your needs. It pleases him to make you the special object of his affection. And if God has any interest in your money, it’s not because he wants to take something away from you. It’s so that he can give you something of himself. Your finances are an opportunity to connect with him, to bond with him.

One of the most beautiful verses in the Bible comes in this baptism story. Once Jesus is baptized, the heavens are opened and the voice of the Father covers Jesus in approval “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well please.” Before Jesus has done a thing, before Jesus performs his first miracle, offers his first teaching, heals his first cripple . . . God declares his eternal love for him.

And you, my people, as you stand there in the water with Jesus, cleansed and made new, the Father’s words cover you in approval. Before you do a thing, before you say a prayer, help a friend, help at church, or give a pledge to the capital campaign . . .

God declares his eternal love for you. You are his beloved. In you he is well pleased.

The Scandal that Rocked Christmas (Christmas Eve, 2010)

2010-12-25T16:27:00.000-05:00

December 24, 2010, Christmas Eve (A)

Luke 2:1-20
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

The Scandal that Rocked Christmas
Eleven Million Dollars. $11 million. That’s a nice round number for the Christmas tree that sits in the lobby of the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. It is 43 feet high. Covered with 181 diamonds, pearls, rubies, emeralds, precious stones, and gold. News organizations around from Australia to Ireland to Japan to the US called the tree “Over the Top,” “Outrageous,” “Excessive,” “Extravagant,” and “Scandalous.” Should you decide you would like to see the tree personally, it will cost you an even million bucks for a one week stay at the seven star hotel. As you walk to your room, you will pass by a vending machine that dispenses solid gold bars.

Then again you may decide that that’s not for you. Even if you managed to take on a lifetime of debt to make the trip you may choose not to because that kind of extravagance might not be your scene. I have no doubt that most if not all of us here tonight would be uncomfortable in that setting. I have no doubt that the majority of us would feel out of place, perhaps even a little offended, put off, and somewhat disturbed.

If you are among those who likely experience such feelings then do I have news for you tonight? If such extravagance and outrageous displays are difficult for you to embrace, then has God got a surprise for you? Because God in his infinite love for you has gone over the top. God in his unrestrained devotion to you has produced a scandal unequaled in the history of the universe. Just what is that scandal, you ask? . . . Jesus Christ! Yes you heard me right.

One of the things the Bible makes clear is that God scandalizes, offends, and pushes our sense of what is decent and acceptable in Jesus Christ. Jesus, the one that you and I know as the sweet little baby of Bethlehem. Jesus, the one baptized by John in the Jordan River. Jesus, the one who put little children on his lap to bless them. Jesus, the one who walked on the water, who multiplied a few loaves of bread and fish to feed thousands, who said to the man “take up your pallet and walk,” who raised Lazarus from the dead, who healed the man born blind, who made the deaf to hear.

This is the same Jesus who taught us to pray, who promises eternal life, who heals our diseases and forgives our sins. This is the same Jesus who casts out demons and forgave the woman caught in the act of adultery, who touched the unclean, and made friends out of outcasts.

This Jesus that you have come to know is God’s gift to the world, a gift so staggering that it’s difficult for us to comprehend. This Jesus Christ who was born in a manger to two Jewish teenagers, crucified and resurrected is in the Bible’s language “a scandal.”

Paul says in I Corinthians “For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a scandal to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles," (I Corinthians 1:22-23).

In fact, in Jesus Christ, God lays the whole kingdom on the line. He puts it all on the table. The vaults of heaven are kicked wide open.

A gift so over the top it’s hard for us to know what to do with it.

Of course, this is something that we see every year about this time, especially if you have young children. It wasn’t that long ago that Karin and I were parents of very young children. I remember those early Christmases. The tree was up, ornaments from the lowest parts of the tree taken down because little hands couldn’t leave them there. And gifts were under the tree. Then that special morning came. Karin and I had shopped for weeks, planned for months for the special gifts and surprises under the tree. We were excited for them. But it never failed. The first Christmas or two, the kids didn’t quite get the concept.

We would give them a gift and the little knucklehead would just look at it. I thought I could read their minds, “Nice box dad. You put some pretty paper on it. And look at the bows and ribbons.” We would say “open it.” And they would, slowly, carefully, cautiously. “No, no, no . . . honey, just rip it. Tear it open. Have fun.” And they would. They opened the gift and gave the look “is this for me?” “Yes it is” we would nod. “And you see all these other gifts around you? These are yours too.”

The amazing thing with gifts and outrageous shows of love is you have to encourage and convince people that it is for real and it is for them. It takes a while to get used to the idea.

The same happens to adults, you know. One year along time ago, Karin and I refinanced our house. And when you do that you get a check back from the mortgage company. It’s the escrow check. When we refinanced I didn’t tell Karin about the extra check. When it came in the mail, I got it and hid it. At Christmas time, I took the money and bought Karin a truckload of gifts. She had always gotten the short end of the stick at Christmas time. She would give the kids her last nickel if she had to go barefoot. So I wanted her to have a little extra. When she got up Christmas morning and saw the dozens of professionally wrapped boxes with clothes and such and she just didn’t know what to say. She just didn’t know how to respond.
The same thing happens for every individual who takes in the staggering graciousness and generosity of our God. We pause, not knowing exactly how to respond. What do you do when someone goes over the top for you? God went over the top in giving you the gift of Jesus Christ. God held nothing back. Everything he had, he put within our possession.

The Bibles says “He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?” (Romans 8:32).

God is head over heal in love with you. He is nuts about you. He is bananas about you. Everything at his command is yours, even his most precious treasure, his son.

Now, this is where things can get a little uncomfortable. Here is where you might be asking yourself if this is a scene you can be a part of? Here is where you might be tempted to step away from such extravagance. Why? Well, if you are like me, you look at yourself and say “It’s too much.” You think to yourself “God shouldn’t love me so much. If only he knew what I was really like. If only he could see what I have done, heard what I have said, been where I have been. If God knew all that I am ashamed of, he wouldn’t love me so.”

Listen to me, my people, and brace yourself . . . God already knows. God did what he did with complete foreknowledge, foresight, and forewarning of everything about you. What is so scandalous and over the top is God knows it all and still sent his Son for you.

The gift is for you. Open it up. Get into it. Put it on. Take it in your arms. Receive the life, the love, and the laughter the kingdom has to give.

Waking up for ADVENTURE pt. 4 "Jesus without Politics"

2010-12-20T12:14:00.000-05:00

December 19, 2010, Advent 4 (A)
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’

Jesus Without Politics
(This is the fourth and final in a series of sermons for Advent "Waking up for Adventure." These sermons do not always follow the assigned lectionary.)

The words are familiar to many if not most of us . . . “We the people of the United States of America in order to form a more perfect union establish justice . . .” These are the words of the Preamble to the US Constitution. Words that many of you learned in grade school, memorizing them as you did for a class project. More than likely you memorized those words at about the same time you were memorizing other words in church: Bible verses, the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, the Ten Commandments. Words of the US Constitution and words of the faith wrap themselves around the lives of believers across this land like a nicely packaged gift. But what you and I need to talk about today as we conclude this series of messages “Waking up to ADVENTURE” . . . What you and I need to address as we conclude these messages on preparing ourselves for becoming part of God’s drama in the world, is what does it mean to be a Christian in the land of plenty. How do we understand ourselves as followers of the babe in the manger in the land of liberty.

Oh, I know that for many of us, the land of liberty is cause for celebration. For many citizens, religious freedom is a cherished right. And I agree. We should count ourselves as among the most blessed for the opportunity to worship without fear of attack or persecution or harassment. But there are people in the world who simply have not had such a cozy and comfortable relationship with the governing authorities.

Take for example Jesus. From the moment he was born till the day he died, those in authority feared him. That’s what our gospel lesson told us last week. When the wise men travelled from afar, following the star, they ended up at the doorstep of the local magistrate in Jerusalem. His name was Herod. When Herod heard the news that the Messiah of the world was born, the Bible says that he was terrified at the thought and all those in the ruling city were terrified. Jesus the Messiah was a threat. He unnerved them. Herod gathers the wise men and lies straight through his teeth, “That’s awesome! We have been waiting for this. You guys go on ahead and find the child and when you do, you send word back to us, so that we can also go and worship him.”

All the while King Herod made plans to assassinate Jesus. Jesus was Herod’s enemy. You must know, my good friends, that there are places in the world where the governing authorities do not exist for the people. They are not of the people. They are not by the people. There are rulers, and kings, and presidents, and queens, and prime ministers, and all manner of political leaders who are not interested in the people. They are not concerned about the people. They are not in solidarity with the people. Jesus lived in such a day. Jesus lived in such a land. Where those in authority are only interested in themselves, their own power, their own wealth, their own everything. Any possible threat had to be dealt with unmistakable brutality and cruelty. And that is exactly what Herod brought to the party.

When the wise men returned to their home country without consulting with Herod, Herod marshaled all the resources of the state to wage war on the baby Jesus and his teenage parents. He sent out the SS, the death squads of the empire and in one fell swoop descended on Bethlehem killing all the boys two years and younger. This is the kind of crime against humanity that you would see in Cambodia decades ago, or Serbia, or Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. All directed at Jesus.

In 1987 I was a student in seminary learning the ropes to being the dashingly good-looking preacher that I am today. One of my goals during seminary was to study abroad. I had been a Latin America history major and studied about such wonderful places as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Chile. I had been to Mexico several times and decided to work in Argentina where I helped established a new church in a poor suburb. After that I went to Chile to study in a Protestant seminary. I wanted to study the Bible and theology in Spanish. I also wanted to learn in a setting that was politically oppressive.

The government of Chile was a military dictatorship under the rule of Augusto Pinochet. He came to power fourteen years earlier in a military coup that was brutal and oppressive. He gathered up 30,000 people from the opposition party and put them in a stadium and killed them. When I was there in 1987 there were various protests against his rule and brutality. I went there with a camera with a lens long enough that I could take photos from a distance. Tens of thousands of students were protesting throughout Santiago. Waves of masses of people. Riot police were everywhere. Back and forth. Tear gas canisters were flying through the air. You know why they call it tear gas? Well, it makes you cry almost uncontrollably. Like having battery acid rubbed in your eyes and nose and throat. Water cannons were blasting protesters with water. This was not Perrier water mind you. It was sewer water. I had intended to get some photos from a distance but I got caught up running scared with other protesters. I was running with a group of students, like a heard of buffalo we were, through the downtown streets of the capital of Chile, Santiago. When we came up on a “T” in the road, all of them turned left, but I turned right. Soon after I was tackled by a secret police into a glass window and placed under arrest. Those “billy clubs” you see riot police carry around? They use them. They beat me black and blue from top to bottom. Later that night in jail, the US consul came to get me. He told me how stupid I had been. He told me if it happened again he wouldn’t be able to get me out. I went back to my apartment, bandaged my wounds, packed my bags, and got the earliest flight home I could.

There are governments in this world that are not of the people. There are governments in this world that are not for the people. There are governments in this world that are not by the people. How do you live in such a time?

How do you live in such a time when you don’t know which way to turn? How do you align yourself when you don’t know whether to go left or right? When do you head for the hills and when should you take a stand? What are you to do as a Christian when all you can see is political intrigue and manipulation and the possibility for violence?

These questions and more are the questions that confronted two Jewish teenage parents and their little boy in Bethlehem as they held Jesus tight in a world of political trickery and violence.

What we see them do is hold on to the God who is holding on to them. Whenever they packed up their bags for Egypt, it wasn’t simply a matter of putting a few things in a bag, getting the donkey ready for Mary who would hold Jesus close. By the time the wise men leave the holy family, Jesus is a year or two old. He is sitting up and holding things. Every time they hit rough terrain, it wasn’t just Mary holding Jesus’ hand . . . he was holding hers. It wasn’t just that Joseph would put Jesus on his shoulders, but Jesus had his hand on Joseph. Every perilous uncertain step of the way, Jesus the Messiah was with them.

When you travel with Jesus, when you set out on the adventure that he brings, there is a freedom in the journey that you can’t find in the Constitution. With Jesus there is a liberty you won’t find in the preamble. With Jesus there is life that you will never read in the laws of our land.

I don’t know where you lean in this political world, whether you lean right or you lean left. I don’t know where you get your news . . . from CNN, or Fox, or msnbc, or Timbuktu cable news. But I do know that if you are looking for another way. If you are longing for real freedom. If you are longing for real liberty. If you are longing for real life, then it is here. He is here, extending his hand to support you and guide you on your way.

He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. He is the Lord of nations. Jesus.

Waking up for Adventure pt. 3 - Wonderfully Deep Impact

2010-12-13T16:24:00.000-05:00

December 12, 2010, Advent 3 (A)
Matthew 2:1-12

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Wonderfully Deep Impact
(This is the third in a series of sermons for Advent "Waking up for Adventure." These sermons do not always follow the assigned lectionary.)

Perhaps you read the article yesterday about the formation of the early Earth. Internet headlines, newspapers, and magazines featured the discovery by astronomers and other researchers that about 4.5 billion years ago a gold nugget the size of Pluto slammed into the earth, punching a massive hole in the crust, and distributing the majority of the gold that is current on the earth today. When I see stories like that I understand why men and women choose astronomy as a career. The sense of awe and wonder from amazing sights must fill your heart and mind every day. When we hear such news we get a clearer sense of what possessed the wise men to do what they did in today’s reading from Matthew.
The wise men, magi, were from the East. The area is today what we know as Iraq. These were the stargazers of their day. They were educated and deeply engrossed in the study of the night sky. One particular night something special caught their eye. Something new and different in the lights above reached out and grabbed a hold of them. Their minds raced. Their hearts beat faster. And what did they do? They packed up and took off! They set out on a long long journey.

Today as we continue this series of Advent messages, “Waking Up for ADVENTURE,” I want to talk to you about the journey that makes your heart beat faster and your mind race. As you and I prepare ourselves for the birth of Jesus Christ and the adventure he begins, let’s focus on the story of the magi.

One of the first things you notice for the wise men travelling guided by a star is that the journey happens as a series of zig zags. The journey is not a straight line. I know that sometimes people talk in Christian circles about “keeping on the straight and narrow.” But the journey with God is far from straight. Let’s call it the scenic route.

It’s just like when explorers sailed across the oceans with only the North star and a compass the find their way, they would zig zag their way across great expanses. Magellan, Columbus, Marco Polo, and Amerigo Vespucci found their way across wide expanses of ocean by using the North star as a coordinate. They would go this way a little too far, then correct themselves, head the other direction a little too far, then correct themselves. Back and forth they went until their course narrowed to their destination.

The wise men would zig zag their way across vast expanses of dessert and mountain, always overshooting and then correcting themselves. This is how the journey with God progresses. We go one way and at times we go a little too far. Then we correct ourselves and head the other direction. It is not a straight line. We’re go back and forth in our beliefs. We go back and forth in our fervor. We go back and forth in our trust. I wish I could tell you it was otherwise my friend. I wish I could tell you that being a Christian is as straightforward as 10 steps. How I wish I could simply tell you the ABC’s of Christian living. But it doesn’t work that way. But the adventure of faith is much more unpredictable than that. The journey with God is too full of surprises to boil it down to simple shapes and sizes.

A second thing that you should expect from your faith is that it takes place in the dark. When wise men travel, they travel at night. Their vision is impaired. They aren’t always sure which way is best next. They aren’t always sure which way is forward. They aren’t always sure what the next step is.

This is what the apostle Paul refers to when he says in 1 Corinthians that “Now, we see as in a mirror dimly.” Mirrors in Paul’s day weren’t glass. They were polished metal. Often times they were blurry and cloudy. The reflection they provided was indistinct. This is how it is on the journey with God. Not clear. Not obvious. Not apparent.

How often have you looked at some situation in your life and wondered to yourself “What the heck do I do now?” How often have you been bogged down in a relationship and not know how to move forward? How often have you given thought to your finances and come up blank? How often have you agonized over your kids or parents and not know what to do next?

The journey with God happens in the dark, where you and I are most aware that we lack the resources, lack the courage, lack the strength to reach our destination.

A third thing you can see about the journey of the wise men. It’s going somewhere. They’re on the trail of something big. They are headed for someplace that they have never been before. They are headed for a far country with exotic colors and people. They are going to encounter new foods and spices. They will taste new drink. They will stand where they have never stood before and they will be changed forever because of it. That’s what the Bible says, you know, they didn’t go back the way they came. They went back different. Not only was the route different but they were different. No one can come into the presence of Jesus and remain the same. These magi were different and returned home a different way.

The impact Jesus made in their lives was like none other. The treasures he imparted to them were immeasurable. The ways he enriched their lives were incalculable. And all of this because of the journey they took. On the journey with God everything looks different. In the winding, zig zag course in the dark, adventure is around every bend in the road. It’s not a matter of wondering if there will be adventure but what kind of adventure will God surprise me with next? On the journey with God we have new eyes to pick up on the drama, the tension, the wonder of what God is doing in the world. And because of the journey we are never the same.

One of the things we like to do in our family is take trips. We love to go on adventures. Whether we are collecting geodes in Brown county or collecting sand in California, we love an adventure. I remember the first time I took my kids to Texas to see my parents. On the first things I had to do was take my kids to a location about 5 miles from their house, the house I grew up in. The location was simply a big giant hole in the ground. I was so excited for my kids to see it. I had them stand in it. “Look at this kids! Isn’t it great?!” I took their pictures standing in the hole. It’s 115 thousand degrees out there and I am telling them “I can’t see you smile.”

Now I already know what you want to ask me “Hold on there you good looking preacher. What’s the big deal about a silly hole in the ground?”

Well the big deal is that the hole in the ground where I had them stand was a meteor crater. It landed there some 50,000 years ago spraying bits and pieces of meteorite all around which of course we collected up. A mastodon was even unearthed. When you know the whole story it’s amazingly exciting thing to stand right in the hole in the ground and be part of the story. Suddenly everything looks different.

As you prepare for the coming celebration of Jesus’ birth, please be aware as you become part of the journey of God you become part of the story. Everything looks different. You wonder and marvel at the silliest things . . . even a hole in the ground. Because some day you are going find yourself in hole. Jesus did. A hole punched out of the limestone as a gravesite after his crucifixion. You and I are going to stand in the same kind of hole and even then we are going to marvel. You are going to stand there and say “This is awesome! Can you believe this! This is incredible!” Because on God’s journey everything is packed with awe and wonder – even death itself.

Waking up for Adventure Part 2 - God at Risk

2010-12-06T11:15:00.000-05:00

December 5, 2010, Advent 2 (A)
Matthew 1:18-25
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

God at Risk
A priest, a pastor, and a rabbi were busted in a small rural town as part of an illegal gambling operation. When the police entered room, the chief of police was shocked to see the three. “Father O’Brian,” he said “are you gambling?!” The father cut his eyes up to heaven and said a short prayer “Forgive me Lord for what I am about to do.” Then looking the chief of police right in the eye, he said “No my son, this is a social gathering.” The chief turns to the pastor “Pastor Nelson, are you not gambling?” The pastor mumbled the same prayer as the priest and said to chief “No, I am not gambling.” The chief turned to the rabbi, “Rabbi, how about you? Are you gambling?” The rabbi looked at his two colleagues at the table and said “And with whom would I be gambling?”

Gambling is what some would consider one of those guilty pleasures. It’s not the kind of thing you go around letting everyone know you do. If it causes you some mixed feelings, you will probably understand the predicament of the pastor on vacation.

One day he walking along a secluded beach for his morning devotions. He was deep in prayer when suddenly a powerful voice from on high spoke to him “Dig!” He paused and looked around. “Dig!” the voice boomed again. So he dropped to his knees and began to dig. Within no time, he found an old wooden box with a lock on it. The powerful voice said “Open it!” He looked around and found a rock and began beating at the lock. It fell off and when he opened the box it was filled with gold coins. The voice rang out “Go to the casino!” The pastor jumped to his feet, gold coins under his arm, and ran to the nearest casino. He cashed the coins in for chips. Again the voice said to him “27! Put it all on 27!” The pastor did. And as the roulette wheel span round and round, the ball jumped and bounced, and finally landed . . . on number 20. At last the big powerful voice from on high bellowed “Dang it!!!”

Albert Einstein was quoted as saying that “God does not play dice with the universe.” God doesn’t gamble. That is probably true, but today as we continue the series of messages “Waking up for ADVENTure” I want you to know that God definitely takes risks.

How else can you understand today’s reading from Matthew chapter 1 where God singles out a poor rural Jewish teenager and tells her I want you to bear the Messiah? How else can you understand God putting this engaged youngster on the spot like that? How else can you understand God entering the world in human form under the cloud of scandal of an unwed mother?

Unwed teenage mothers are something we know a lot about in this country. In fact, you could say that America is #1 in this regard. We lead the Western world in teenage births. 34% of all newborns born in the USA are born to teenage moms. The vast majority of them are unmarried. And you talk about risks?! Unwed teenage moms are among the most disadvantaged. Their educations suffer. Job prospects evaporate. Welfare and dependency are before them. The babies are often underweight, underdeveloped, and undernourished. There is a lot at stake.

Even more so for a teenage girl in Jesus’ day, where the end result for girls in Mary’s situation – pregnant while engaged – was a capital offense. She could be put to death for the episode. Stoned to death. It was a risky move for her. It was a risky move for God.

As you prepare yourself for the coming celebration for the birth of our Lord, I want to help you understand the risk God took in entering the world in human form. There are a wide variety of risks but for now let me point out only a few.

First, when Jesus entered the world under such a cloud of scandal, he took the risk of being misunderstood. People could have easily dismissed Jesus as the Son of God concluding that since they knew his mother, and father, and brothers and sisters, that he couldn’t possibly be anything special. Many just blew him off because he seemed to them to be just the son of an ordinary carpenter. Misunderstanding often followed Jesus. It is a common sight in the gospels to hear stories of people who just don’t get him. The are puzzled by him. They are stumped by him. He is, for many, an enigma wrapped in a conundrum shrouded in mystery. Throughout the Gospel of Mark, the disciples misunderstand him time and time again.

When Jesus entered the world, he had to use words to get his point across. He couldn’t simply place his hands on someone’s head like Spock in Star Trek and have a marriage of the minds where his thoughts were automatically transferred. No he used words and actions, both of which were often misunderstood. His life-saving message moving through the gridlock of human communication.

Secondly, when Jesus entered the world, God took the risk of being mistrusted. The world that Jesus walked into was a world filled with mistrust, cynicism, and skepticism. Unlike today, right? In Jesus’ world, society was fractured. People in the streets didn’t trust their leaders. The leaders didn’t trust the people. No one trusted the Romans. And so why should Jesus be any different? The religious leaders didn’t trust Jesus. They thought for sure he was a pretender. They thought for sure he was leading the people astray. Every lesson he taught and every miracle he performed only confirmed their suspicions that Jesus was putting people in spiritual peril. As a result they charged him with breaking the Sabbath, blasphemy, and demon possession. No act of love on his part could convince them otherwise.

It reminds me of a dog we had not too many years ago. Actually, not enough years ago. It was one of the times that Karin and I tried to bring a mangy critter into our domicile. The kids were young. It would be good for them, we thought. So off to the pound they go. And when they return, they bring home what turned out to be the most mentally deranged beast God ever created. It was black and cute, but that was about it. It was mostly mean. It was mean to the kids and to Karin. I just kept telling them “Love the dog.” All it needs is some L-O-V-E. In the morning, it would wake Karin up by jumping up the side of the bed and biting onto her hair and hanging on. I just told her to “Love the dog.” One morning I was ready to head to the church office and was going to put the dog out. Even though we had welcomed the dog, spoken gently to the dog, and bent over backwards to express tenderness, affection, and goodness to the dog, it did not trust us. As I tried to entice it outside with treats or toys or soothing speech the dog backed away from me. It backed itself behind the sofa. I reached back behind the sofa to encourage it out. The more I reached, the more it back away. Finally, I am able to extend myself far enough that I can ever so gently stroke its little paw and then its ear. Suddenly, the dog bites me. It sinks its teeth into my flesh, my blood pouring out. As I take the sofa and push it aside and grab the mut to take it outside, the demented creature loses control of its bodily functions on me. It had diarrhea on my freshly ironed white shirt. We no longer have that precious little creature.

No matter what we did, it interpreted our actions as hostile. No matter how we approached it, it viewed our movements as destructive. Because the world was so conflicted, whenever Jesus spoke love so many people heard damnation. When he performed healing many saw violation. He was mistrusted.

When Jesus entered the world there was a lot at stake. God risked being misunderstood. He risked being mistrusted. He also risked being mistreated. When you are born and you have questionable parentage, boys and girls can be cruel to you. When you are born poor and Jewish in an anti-Jewish world, the world will make sure to put you in your place. When you speak against the corruption and abuse of the prevailing social order, you can count on some push back. And Jesus, well . . . he was pushed. And he was shoved.

Throughout much of his work in the world, someone was always hatching a plot to take him out. Finally, in the end they did. Strung up and beat, spat on, laughed at, stripped and humiliated. Publicly displayed as a criminal and a failure, he was given a parade through town to highlight the mistreatment.

“Why?” You might ask. Why would God take such risks? Why bother, when you are holding all the cards? Why would God expose himself to such loss? The reason that God takes such a risk with you and me is simple. He wants to show you his hand.

He wants to show you his hand, punctured and injured. That’s what he tells Thomas isn’t it? “Look at my hand. See the mark. Put your finger here.” In so many ways, Thomas voices much of our misunderstanding, the mistrust, or perhaps even mistreatment of Jesus.

As Jesus shows you his hand, he shows you that in taking on the risks he did, he put everything on the table. God held nothing back. He bet the house for you. Not so that he could win. Not so that he could add to his heavenly stockpile. Not so that he could increase his holdings. But so that you could win.

Isn’t that something parents routinely do? How often have you as parents of guardians played a game with your child only to lose so that they could win? Whether it is a game of old maid, go fish, hearts. A game of horse or pig. Even a game of tag. Do you not gladly take the loss so that your child can gain?

Jesus Christ has taken on the risks he has not so that he can win it big but so that you can win it big. He put everything in the kingdom on the table, so that he could show you his hand, and loose. So that in his loss, you might win the kingdom.

Waking Up for Adventure - 1

2010-11-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

Advent 1 (2010)
Matthew 1:1-17
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Sermon
(This is the first of four Advent sermons. The title for this series is “Waking Up for Adventure” and does not always follow the lectionary texts assigned for the day.)

Waking Up for Adventure
Many of you are aware that the seventh and final episode of the Harry Potter series is out in theatres. It is titled “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and opened in theatres on November 19 around the country. The Harry Potter series has been one of the best-selling books of all time. The movies have raked-in record-breaking sums of money. It is a testament to the world’s love of a good story – a good adventure story.

Adventure, my friends, is what Advent is all about. This first Sunday of Advent, as we begin the countdown to another celebration of our Savior’s birth, I want to help you prepare yourself for the adventure of Jesus’ birth. A drama filled with intrigue, tension, exotic locations, and fascinating characters.

As you know from your own reading and movie going, there are certain things great adventures have in common.

And one of the first things you see are colorful characters. Today’s gospel reading is a nice long list of names that make up Jesus' family tree. If there was an ancestry.com for Jesus this would be the result. His background shows a wide variety of types of people. There are shepherds and kings, and poets and warriors. Many of us are coming a few days of celebrating Thanksgiving with extended family. In the Brown household, we had almost the entire tribe of in-laws camped-out in our space. Twenty people . . . twenty interesting, fascinating people lived under the same roof for four days and four nights. What an assortment of characters! And the stories that were told! It reminded me of my own youth when carloads of family would arrive at my parents’ house for Thanksgiving, telling stories of days gone by. I remember the story of my dad and aunt fighting as brother and sister. Aunt Betty was chasing my dad through the house and karate-kicked him through the screen door. When he landed on the other side, he didn’t move a muscle. He didn’t breathe or blink . . . dead like a possum. Betty barked at him “Get up Dickie!” “Get up!” Then she began to get worried, “Dickie? Are you ok?” She knelt down beside him to check his pulse, trembling for what she might have done to her little brother. As soon as she placed her ear next to his lips to see if he was breathing, he laughed out loud, “Gotcha!” Then she jumped on him and beat him some more.

Ahh, . . . good times. I never got tired of hearing that story.

It’s one of the stories you can tell in front of children . . . you know what I mean? Because there are stories that are fit for children’s ears and stories that you might hesitate telling.

You may or may not know it, but Jesus' family tree has both kinds of stories as well. There are all kinds of people in his family. There are respectable and upright types and then there are those whose stories you might not share in polite society. For example, as the list goes on you run across the name of Tamar. Do you know who Tamar was? Well, in a sense, I guess, you might call her an entrepreneur. She was in business for herself, if you know what I mean. She was in the oldest profession. She operated a brothel. She was CEO of the local “cat house” in Jericho at the time of the conquest of the Holy Land. Not something that many of us can find in our families is it? Or read further in Jesus’ gene pool and you find the name of “Ruth.” And who was Ruth? She was from Moab. She was a foreigner. In a world that was concerned with keeping a pure and clean gene pool, to have foreign blood was looked down upon. Yet, Jesus’ background included people who were looked down upon.

Every great adventure has great characters and the adventure that you and I are invited to join is no exception. In fact, Jesus makes no exceptions when it comes to who is invited. All people . . . no matter how squeaky-clean or morally suspect, are included in God’s great adventure.

A second thing you see in great stories is the setting. And in the adventure of Jesus’ coming, you see it set in an exotic setting. The language is different. The music has a different beat. And the people wear unusual garb. As the characters move around the setting in their foreign-looking dress they fulfill their unique roles.

Not too many years ago, Karin and I were on a rare date downtown Indianapolis. It was in the heat of August, so we were at an outside table on the sidewalk on Washington Street. There we were, enjoying the moment of closeness, when out of the corner of my eye passes an individual in a Star Wars storm trooper costume. I looked around and saw another and then another. And over there was Princess Leah . . . over there three Luke Skywalkers . . . Jaba the Hut! I looked at Karin, and then at my adult beverage, then to the storm troopers.

It turns out the national Star Wars convention was in town that weekend. And heavens! Did they ever dress the part?! Man! Were they were living the story, acting the character, and caught up in the moment.

When it comes to the Adventure we have with Jesus Christ, you should know that it is not only the people in the Bible world who dress differently. They are not the only ones who put on new apparel and live a different story. But each one of you, as you become part of the adventure of Jesus’ life, will dress differently. You will present yourself to the world differently. You live out of a new sense of identity and character.

The apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:27,

“As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

And in Romans13:14 he says,

“put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

As one of the characters in Jesus’ adventure, you have a new sense of self, a new identity to live from. And as you allow yourself, as you give yourself the freedom to get caught up in the moment, to live the story, you will never feel more alive.

A third thing you see in great adventures is a mind-bending plot. There has to be a sense of the tension and urgency running from beginning to end. And you have it today. As the Gospel of Matthew ticks off name after name starting with Abraham and ending with Jesus the Messiah, you begin to understand that God is bringing everything to its conclusion in Jesus Christ. He is the culmination, the climax of the entire drama, the holy adventure. His ending becomes your ending. Now tell me, my people, where does the story go with Jesus? What is its conclusion? Resurrection! . . . New Life! . . . New Creation! The mind-bending plot that you are a part of ends with a new beginning, where all of life is as it should be, and should have been all along. And everything you are and do clothed with Christ brings that moment one scene closer.

Of all the adventures you have read or seen or heard, there is no adventure like the one Jesus calls you to. It is the one that makes your pulse race and your heart beat. It is the one that will light your imagination and cause your mind to soar. What I am asking you today, my friends, is “wake up!” Wake up to the adventure of Jesus’ life. Embrace the characters he has assembled. Clothe yourselves with Christ. And move to the new day that is coming upon us. Don’t hold back! Pour yourself into it! Live the adventure!

What Jesus Wants You to Know About the End

2010-11-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

Pentecost 25 (C)
Luke 18:9-14
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’
They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.
‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.

Sermon
There are certain books and movies I have been eager for my kids to know. The Bible for example. That’s a pretty big deal. I want my kids to know and enjoy it. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn is another. When it comes to movies, I have made sure my kids have been exposed to The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, and the Ten Commandments. Perhaps one of the most cherished movies we have made sure the kids get into is the movie “The Princess Bride.” If you haven’t seen it, the Princess Bride is an offbeat cult comedy classic that my family has watched several times and I am proud to say my kids are able to quote from like they were quoting from the Bible.

One scene in the movie shows a Spaniard named Inigo Montoya engaged in a mighty duel with the “man in black.” Both with swords drawn in their left hands, back and forth they went. High drama! A life and death struggle! At one point the “man in black” apparently had the upper hand but Inigo Montoya was grinning. The “man in black” asked “Why are you smiling?” He replied “Because I know something that you do not.” “Oh,” said the man in black “what is that?” Montoya replied “I, am not left handed.” Then he switches to his right hand and continues the battle gaining the advantage. The great duel continues until the “man in black” is pressed against the wall at the edge of the cliff and he is smiling. The Spaniard asks “And why are you smiling?” The “man in black” answers, “Because I know something that you do not. I am not left handed either.” Then he switches to his right hand and the battle continues.

Today Jesus wants you to know something that most people do not know. He wants you to know what he knows about the end of the world. In today’s gospel from Luke chapter 21, he is with his disciples at the temple in Jerusalem and his disciples are amazed at the stone work. Blown away, they were. It was the largest structure they would have ever seen in their lives. Single cuts of rock measuring up to 50 tons formed the temple walls. It was a sight to behold. Jesus, though, was not impressed. He said “You see these stones? The day is coming went not one stone will be left standing upon another.”

To the Jewish ear that was doomsday talk. To the disciples it caught their attention more than the rocks themselves. “When?” they asked. “What? . . .” “How will we know ?. . .” As you can imagine their minds were racing.

Jesus then tells them about the day when egomaniacs are going to stand up and claim to be “the One.” A day when demagogues and charismatic personalities are going to lead people down a dark alley. A day when there are going to be wars and rumors of wars, when nations rise up against nations, when there will be earthquakes and upheavals. A day when famine and pestilence ravage the lands. A day when tsunamis batter helpless villages, when Jesus followers are mistreated, bullied, and assaulted, A day when . . .

You get the picture. It’s a bad scene. A dark time. You might even say “We already know all that.” And I have no doubt that you do. You can’t turn on the tv without being reminded that the world is in a world of hurt. You hear about bad almost the instant it happens. Thanks to cable news and the internet, you heard about the earthquake that buried Haiti within moments of it happening. You heard about the BP oil rig explosion before the rig itself sunk to the bottom. Heavens to betsy, you could watch the oil spew into the ocean by a live feed camera. It’s all around us, all the time, news feeds on the latest catastrophe in some remote part of the world. The latest military coup in Africa, the latest protest in France, the latest terrorist attack in Yemen.

Even if you don’t watch cable news or have internet access, you can often be reminded of the hurt the world is in by looking at your own life. Some of you are in the fight of your life dueling with a marriage that can’t seem to get on track. Some of us are dueling with bodies that seem to be attacking themselves. Others are dueling with financial realities that seem to have the upper hand.

These are all things that you do know. And if you are like a lot of people you feel like you know them all too well. What on earth is it then that Jesus knows about the end that most do not know?

It comes near the end of today’s gospel reading. After listing all kinds of terrible things that make up our world, Jesus says “And not a hair of your head will perish.” Through all this upheaval and danger and devastation and agony, Jesus says you will not lose even as much as follicle. In Matthew, Jesus says all this upheaval and cataclysm is but “the beginning of the birth pangs (24:8). In the book of Romans Paul says that the whole creation has been “groaning in labor pains” (8:22).

When Jesus talks about the tribulations and struggles of this present time, he says what you and I need to know is that what is happening is a new birth. What is happening is God is bringing about a new creation. God is delivering a new life, like a midwife delivering a baby.

No doubt many of you can remember what that was like. Just yesterday I was visiting a couple in the church that just had a new two week old baby. Her name is Brinley Rees Watson. She is Kelly and Paul Watson’s newest joy. I sat there on the sofa next to Kelly and held the precious little girl. I cradled her in my arms, studied her face, smelled her hair. It was an unforgettable smell and took me back to when Karin and I welcomed into the world our three kids. What a flood of memories! Beautiful time. Looking down at little Brinley into her baby blue eyes, her little eyelids opened and closed. They worked! Her fingers nice and long and crinkly. It was a perfect moment as I looked at her mom and dad looking on with such a sense of hope and excitement at the promise and gifts of a new life.

I looked back down at Brinley and then she puked right at my face! Not a little spit up, but full force projectile baby vomit missing my nose by a half an inch, drenching my shirt. We all laughed and smiled, and commented on what good lungs she had. No amount of messiness

When Jesus talks about the end he wants you to know that all the hardships you go through, these are labor pains. Through all these tribulations and upheavals and cataclysms God is reaching into the world to pull out new life. He is forming a new creation. Every time you are doubled over in hardship no matter what the cause or the source, you are one contraction closer to a new life with God.

As you duel whatever it is you duel, you may or may not be able smile in the midst of it, but one day you will. You will be all smiles with new life and possibility.

When You Look in a Mirror What Do You See?

2010-11-01T07:58:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 23 (C)
Luke 18:9-14
[Jesus] also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’

Sermon
When you look in a mirror, what do you see?

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

Surely, you have mirrors in your life. In your car, you have a rearview mirror right above your eyes. You have one to the right and one to the left. Some of you carry mirrors on you in your purse. They are at your home and in your office.

So when you look in a mirror, what do you see?

That’s the question Jesus presents to us today in the parable from Luke 18. He tells the people about two individuals who go to the house of God and they have completely different ways of seeing themselves.

For the Pharisee, he never saw a mirror that he didn’t like. Mirrors were his best friend. Everywhere he looked he saw himself reflected in the world, he felt good what he saw. As he walked down the streets of the town, people would address him with respect and honor. They would smile at him and appreciate him. At a dinner party, the Pharisee would be given a seat of honor. Yes, when the Pharisee saw his reflection in the community, he saw the right stuff. He even looked the part, with special distinctive clothing.

And when he went to the house of God, he knew that surely God must see the same thing.
That’s why when he goes to the house of God, he stands front and center. He stands there in a prominent place in full view of God and the congregation. And when he speaks to God he says “I want to thank you God that I am not like other people . . . like rogues, thieves, adulterers, and this tax collector.” Then he proceeds to tell God what separates him from the rest, how he fasts twice a week, how he tithes, how wonderful he is.

Yes, when the Pharisee looked in a mirror he like what he saw.

When you look in a mirror, what do you see?

If you were to ask the tax collector that question, he would tell you that he didn’t like what he saw. Not one bit. Mirrors were not his friend. He knew there was something not right about his life. Every where he looked in his world he would be reminded about his defectiveness. Walking down the streets of the town he could see on their faces. Disgust, contempt. He was a tax collector. A sell out. He sold out his own race, his own people, collecting taxes for the foreign invaders the Romans. He sold out his religion. In fact, people often referred to tax collectors in the same breath as prostitutes and thieves. They were the bottom of the barrel. And they knew it. Every face they looked into reflected the same scorn.

And it didn’t stop there. When the tax collector went to the house of God, he knew what he was. He knew what he brought. That’s why when he went to the temple, he didn’t stand front and center. He didn’t stand strut up front like a peacock. Not this man. This man stands off to the side, out of sight of others, his face to the floor. He couldn’t bring himself to look up and presume to look straight at God. He knew where he had been. He knew what he had done.

When you look at yourself in the mirror what do you see?

Now I do understand that may be times when you and I feel pretty good about ourselves. I do understand that there may be times when we feel that we have this Christianity thing figured out, that we have it nailed down, that we have all the right stuff. And if that is the case for you today then you come on down here and take your stand next to the Pharisee this morning. Come on down and strut your stuff. Let the world see how you are not like other people.

No?

But, if, when you look in the mirror you see something that you don’t like. If you see something that sticks in your conscience, it you see something dark and embarrassing, then you bring it to the Lord. You are in God’s house now. If when you look in the mirror you see something that causes some guilt or shame, then you take your place here next to the tax collector, and give it to the Lord.

And then you look up, look up into the face of God, look into the eyes of your heavenly Father and you tell me if you don’t see a forgiven sinner. Because all who come to the house of the Lord and seek his mercy find it.

Prayer: Incredible, Invincible, Inevitable

2010-10-18T12:13:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 21 (C)
Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. He said, ‘In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, “Grant me justice against my opponent.” For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, “Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.” ’ And the Lord said, ‘Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?’

Sermon
Many of you may have watched the rescue of the miners in Chile live as it happened on Wednesday. If so, you were one of millions of people around the world watching. Some say close to a billion saw it live from China to Sri Lanka, from South Africa to Norway, from the Australia to Bolivia. An amazing story of 33 miners buried by a mountain of earth in the desert. 69 days. 2200 feet beneath the surface of the earth – trapped. Literally, the weight of the world was on their shoulders. Leaders from around the world issued public statements of support and encouragement. The president of France Sarkozy, said on the day of the rescue “We are all Chileans today.”

And in a sense he was right. Most people in the world have, at some point or time, felt the weight of the world bearing down upon them. Most people in the world have, at some point or time, felt the world caving in upon them. Yes, it is true that on that day we were all Chileans.

Of all the tools rescuers used to bring them out alive, perhaps nothing was quite as important as the super flexible fiber optic cable from Japan. With this cable, rescuers were able to drop those buried beneath a line. They were able to communicate. They were able to teleconference. They were able to share words.

Today in Luke chapter 18, Jesus has a word for you, actually three words. Today in Luke's story of the widow and the unjust judge, Jesus is dropping you a line. Because no one knows as well as Jesus what the weight of the world feels like. No one knows like Jesus how quickly things can change. How quickly you can go from being the toast of the town to being the scapegoat. How quickly you can go from people chanting your name to calling for your crucifixion. How quickly you can go from feeling close with God to feeling like God has abandoned you. Yes Jesus knows what you go through. And today there are three words for you to hear.

The first word he has for you is INCREDIBLE. As you bear the pressure of a world trying to cave-in on itself, know this: God’s love for you is incredible. I mean it is so extreme that it is hard to believe. Not like the judge in the story in Luke. No, in that story a widow has had someone in town take advantage of her and she needs help. Widows in Jesus day were among the most vulnerable and most at risk in the world. In fact, when the Bible mentions widows it often does it in the same breath as orphans. Widows often becames victims, as in today's story.

This widow goes to the local court house to try and get justice. She tries to get things put right by asking the judge for help. But the Bible makes it clear . . . the judge couldn’t care less. There wasn’t a scale sensitive enough to measure his indifference to her plight. Cold and callous he was. But in the end he gave in to her, not because he gave a hoot, but because she was like an irritating fly in his day.

Jesus says “Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night?” If the cold and apathetic judge could make things right, how much more would your Father make things right? And he calls you his “chosen ones.” You belong to God. He chose you. Jesus says in John 15, “You did not choose me. I chose you.” Unlike the unfeeling judge, God feels for you. He has made you the special object of his affection. He obsesses about you. Counting the hairs on your head. You do not need to harangue God, or badger God, or pester God to give you attention or to make things right. God does this already out of his deep love for you.

As you deal with any feelings of being overwhelmed or buried alive, Jesus has this word for you God’s love is INCREDIBLE.

The second word Jesus has for you this morning is INVINCIBLE. The widow was at risk of being overwhelmed by a corrupt world, done-in by a crooked sort of person. Getting resistance and little help. She sounds very much like a number of people I know today. How many times have you tried to dig your way out of bad situation and find that the walls just keeping caving in further? Those Chilean miners do.

As long as it sounds, the reason the miners weren’t down there any longer than they were was because of a special drilling system made in Pennsylvania that uses four hammers to pound, chop, and dig away at the rock at a rate of 40 meters of rock a day. That’s 131 feet a day, or ten stories a day. That is amazingly fast. It ate through all kinds of rock and formations: sandstone, granite, shale, slate. You name it and the drill punched through it. There was nothing that could stand in its way.

You’ve got to know that as anytime something caves in on you, whether it is you marriage, you job, or you health, there is nothing that God will not punch through for you to make things right. God’s power is invincible. It cannot be resisted or denied. There is no dark place in your marriage that God will cannot and will not bust through to bring you blessing. There is no cavern in your family so deep that he will not penetrate to elevate you to goodness. There is no weight so heavy that he cannot remove.

You remember how God freed the people of Israel out of Egypt, lead them to the shore of the Red Sea. Then here come the Egyptians again. They changed their minds and want them back. The people are caught between a rock and a hard place. And how does God rescue them? With the blast of his nostrils! The Bible says that the wind of God parted the Red Sea in two as God exhaled as with a snort or a scoff in a show of mighty power.

There is nothing God cannot and will not punch through to see that you receive the life has in mind for you, not even death. That’s the story of Jesus, you know. God reached into the heart of death itself, punched a hole, to rescue you and me. If you ever doubt that anything or anyone can help you, Jesus has this word for you – INVINCIBLE.

The third word that Jesus has for you today is INNEVITABLE. Because of God’s incredible love for you and God’s invincibility, there is an inevitability to the whole thing. The end result is not in doubt. The final outcome is not in question. It’s not a matter of “if” but “when” the great celebration is going to happen. It’s practically a done deal. All that’s left is the countdown. That’s what people on the surface kept telling the miners to keep up their spirits. They would tell them “We’re on the way. We’re getting close. We just passed the 1000 meter mark. Another 500 feet of rock out of the way. The end is in sight. Hang in there. Everything is going according to plan.

As the world waited and watched, we all knew what the final outcome was going to be, we were just waiting for it to happen so that the celebration could start. As God's chosen ones, we all know what the final outcome is going to be with the concerns and worries and heaviness of our world. What we are wating for is for it to just heppen so that the real celebrating can begin.

These are the three words Jesus has for you whenever the world around you shifts and you find yourself needing a miraculous rescue. You have a Lord who specializes in rescues. That is why Jesus tells this story. He tells this story “SO THAT” you can pray and not lose heart. It is because you know that his love for you is incredible. It is because you know that his power is invincible. And you know that the outcome is inevitable.

Don't Go There, Jesus

2010-10-11T10:25:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 20 (C) Luke 17:11-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

Sermon
You might want to get out your pens and pencils for this. I know many of you are fans of punk rock. Last year a new group from Seattle, Washington burst onto the punk rock scene with a new hit single “Terminal Boredom.” It won punk song of the year. The name of the group? The Cute Lepers. During an online interview, the lead singer was asked how they came by the name the “Cute Lepers,” expecting some punkish alternative answer or something. The lead singer simply said, “Well, two of our band members had leprosy when they were teenagers.”

Now, that’s not something you hear every day. When was the last time you heard of someone in this country getting leprosy? When was the last time you heard of anyone in any country getting leprosy? It is not very likely. In fact, you are more likely to see our music director, Dan Andersen, body slamming at a punk rock concert than to run into a leper. It’s just not that likely.

Jesus has a way of showing up in unlikely places. You see that clearly in today’s gospel lesson from Luke 17. Jesus is going to Jerusalem. That is where his mission reaches its climax as he is crucified and resurrected. As he heads toward Jerusalem, he passes through a region between Samaria and Galilee. And somewhere along the way, he comes across of group of lepers.

Now, leprosy in Jesus’ day referred to any variety of skin infections and conditions, including psoriasis and eczema. But what was most feared was the disease today known as Hansen’s disease. This is what we normally think of as leprosy. It’s not so much a skin condition as it is a nerve condition. It is a bacterium that affects the peripheral nervous system and shows various symptoms. People with this disease have lesions over their body. Open wounds and raw flesh exposed to the elements and air. They would often cover themselves with bandaging and strips of cloth to protect the sensitive area. In advanced stages, Hansen’s disease would cause disfigurement. Fingers would curl in upon themselves, creating a claw-like appearance. Ears would change shape. Noses would sink into the face.

It was a frightful sight. And people in Jesus’ day were pretty freaked-out about it. It was among their greatest fears. Even though it was and is not contagious, the idea of being anywhere near a leper wigged people out. So lepers were cast out of their homes and towns and villages to live along or in colonies begging for help.

That’s where Jesus comes in today. As he travels to Jerusalem, he comes near a group of ten lepers. And as he approaches they call out to him, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” When they call out, they are doing what they are supposed to do. Lepers were required by law to warn anyone coming near of their presence. They were required to sound the alarm of their disease and disfigurement so that others could high-tail it out of there.

But Jesus . . . Jesus isn’t alarmed. Jesus doesn’t turn and run. He doesn’t take a step back or away. He doesn’t wince or scowl or in any way shield his view. He stays put with the lepers. He looks at them. And he speaks to them. He has a way of showing up in unlikely places.

In the advanced stages of leprosy, people begin to resemble each other. The lesions, the bandages, the claw hands, ears and noses – all these symptoms make it easy to group them together, to see them pretty much in the same light. So the Bible says that Jesus spoke to them he spoke to them as a group and said “Go and show yourselves to the priest.” The reason Jesus sends them to the priest is that the priest is the one who had to issue them a clean bill of health. The priest had the final say whether or not they could re-enter society. Once the priest gave them the once-over and they passed they could go back home to their families.

As the lepers left Jesus to go to the priest, they were healed.

It is when they are healed that we learn that one of the lepers was not the same as the others. One of the lepers was keeping a secret. One of the lepers didn’t belong. He was a Samaritan. Samaritans in Jesus’ day were looked on as mongrels. No self-respecting Jew would get caught dead on the same side of the street as a Samaritan. No self-respecting Jewish leper would get caught dead sharing the same side of a rock as a Samaritan leper.

The church is sometimes referred to as a hospital for sinners. It is a gathering place for broken and sinful people. And on the surface sinners pretty much all look the same. The Bible says “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There is a sense where we can all be lumped together. But just as we see in the story of the ten lepers, when some gather, they have a secret. People come to church with private hurts and burdens like the Samaritan.

Some of you, gather with your friends and family on Sunday mornings in the presence of Jesus and deal with things hardly another soul knows about. Some of you gather here week in and week out after gutting out another week of a struggling marriage. Some of you come to church after slugging it out financially fighting for your financial life. Some of you come with struggles with your kids, grown or small. Some are dealing with parents. While so many of us might look like the same old garden variety sinner, many if not most, bear secret and private burdens. Places where God’s presence is hard to detect.

Listen to me! Jesus has a way of showing up in the most unlikely places. He shows up where you would least expect.

Jesus does not run for cover when the alarms are sounding. He does not turn his head to protect his sight from harsh realities. No, he takes his place at your side. He stands his ground. He is there for you. Jesus is there in the privacy of your bedroom during the screaming match between you and your spouse fighting for your marriage. He is there when your kid gives you a look like you have just lost you mind as you try to help him or her avoid some of the mistakes you have made. Jesus is there in the hospital room as doctors, nurses, and surgeons take invasive measures to revive a life.

There is no secret that you can keep from him. There is no burden that he will not help shoulder. He stands with you when no one else in the world will. There is no question about in the Bible, in this world, or in today’s gospel from Luke. But there is one question that has yet to be answered. And it is a question that Jesus himself asks:

Are you the one? Are you the one who return to Jesus when the crisis has passed? Are you the one who will seek him out once he has stood with you when no one else would? Are you the one who will stand with him as he heads to Jerusalem to give his life for the world?

When he realizes he has been healed, the Samaritan . . . the secret keeper . . . the hider of private burdens, returns to Jesus to thank him.

Are you the one?

Ordinary Saints - 4

2010-10-04T18:30:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 19 (C)
Luke 17:5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea”, and it would obey you.
‘Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, “Come here at once and take your place at the table”? Would you not rather say to him, “Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink”? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, “We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!” ’

Sermon
Coming up this October 25 at Conseco Field house, there will be Colin Powell, Rudy Guiliani, Danica Patrick, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Zig Ziglar . . . all titans within their own vocations. Each of them in his or her own way has had a golden touch. Whatever they touched seemed to turn to gold, not literally of course. They had a way of adding value and worth. They each have had a way of bringing something special and precious. They had a way of moving things along, of getting results. Yes, these people show a golden touch.

When you look at the life of Jesus first followers, the disciples, you can see that they, too, had what could be called a golden touch. After Jesus sent them out into the towns and villages to extend his work, they went out and laid hands on people and the people were healed. They proclaimed the kingdom of God and people believed. They cast out demons. They raised the dead. Their lives flowed out of the power of Jesus and into the world. They moved things forward, added value and worth, and beauty to the world. Whatever they touched glimmered with the presence of Jesus.

But then, at some point, the disciples hit a rough patch of road spiritually. Their lives had taken turns they hadn’t expected. There was resistance they hadn’t anticipated. When it came to their work in the world, it seemed that they had lost their groove. They had begun to lose faith. They needed more of it.

And so they come to Jesus today in Luke 17, and they ask for it point blank: “Increase our faith. Help us believe again. We need some more of what we had before.”

Today we conclude our series on Christian vocation, where we have learned that in our tradition it is not just the pastor, the priest, the nun, the bishop or the pope who have a call from Jesus to serve. We all do. Every one of us in this room is called by Jesus. And we have looked at how those who are involved in education, and public safety, and health care extend Jesus’ reach into the world.
Today we celebrate the work of Jesus through those who are involved in business and trades. And it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if those of you who are involved in the business world feel like you have just come out of a golden age. It wasn’t that long ago, maybe two or three years, that it seemed that money pretty much grew on trees. There was money to made almost everywhere you turned, in the stock market, in real estate, in starting new businesses. Almost everywhere you put your hand there was gold to be found. You were moving forward. You were adding value.

Then, it changed. There have been some unexpected turns. There has been pushback. The road forward has been jagged and dark. And many of you find yourselves right where the disciples were: looking for a little faith. Faith in what? Faith in the system, maybe? Faith in the banks? Faith in the stock market? Faith in the government? Faith in our basic system of capitalism? Faith in something, you know, the way it used to be.

The disciples take their concern, their request to Jesus: “Increase our faith. Fill us up. Deepen us. Widen us. Strengthen us.” As if faith was some sort of commodity that you could measure. As if faith was something you could have in greater quantities. As if faith was something you could find in greater density. Often times we think of faith as something we can stockpile. We want to get more of it and store it up for those especially tough times. Then when the world turns against us, when the devil battles against us, we can reach into our arsenal and blast the opposition with and clear out the way.

And Jesus, what does he say? Jesus says “if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry bush, be thrown into the sea and it would be done for you.” Faith for Jesus is not something we measure or stockpile. Faith for Jesus is something we center on. It is the size of a mustard seed, bringing us to a single point of focus, focus on Jesus Christ. It is miniscule, so tiny is its point. But so great is its release.

You might wonder what in the world God could do with something so small. What could God possibly do with such a small package that you need a microscope to see it very well. Well . . . if you believe that God is the creator and take science seriously, you know that scientists tell us that God created the universe out of a microscopic point of bundled energy. God spoke the word and Kaboom! The Big Bang. If God can create all reality out of a singular point, then imagine what Jesus can do with your faith so focused, so fine, so concentrated that it resembles a mustard seed. Focused, balanced, receptive to the life that flows from Jesus Christ.

As you and I live our lives with single minded dedication to one who calls into existence the things that do not exist, the landscape around us changes. Our world gets reordered and rearranged. Jesus says that mulberry trees that once were here, now are over there – in the sea. Mountains, too, have cleared out. The rough places are made smooth. Valleys are lifted up. Living a life with mustard seed faith is to live in a world that is constantly changing, not because of the size or the density or the volume or the strength but because of its source and content – Jesus Christ.
For those disciples among us who have come to Jesus today like the disciples of old, looking for more and more, know this: you have it, already. It is already within you. Clear your mind. Catch your breath. Center yourself.

The stock market will not carry you forward. The banking system will not clear out a path. The government will not bail you out. Jesus Christ, who has always provided you what you need, will sustain you and continue to extend his reach through your work. Your work in business establishes order and prosperity and justice in the world.

Ordinary Saints - 3

2010-09-27T13:31:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 18 (C)
Luke 17:10-19
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When he saw them, he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?’ Then he said to him, ‘Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.’

Sermon
(This sermon is the third of four sermons celebrating Christian vocation. Not only do pastors, priests, nuns, bishops, and popes have a call from Jesus to serve in the world, all do. The various ways we fulfill this call are called vocations. This series of four messages recognizes the vocations of those who work in education, public safety, healing professions, and business/crafts people.)

This morning as I begin the sermon, I would like to invite you to set everything aside. Place your hands in your lap. Close your eyes. Focus on your breathing. And as I say a few words just let the impact settle into your heart. Let each word have its full calming and purifying effect upon your mind. Ready?

Medicare

Healthcare Reform

Obamacare

Insurance Companies

Pharmacy Companies

Can’t you just feel the peace wash over you? Can’t you just breathe a sigh of relief? No? Probably not. More than likely, if you are like millions of Americans today those words are fighting words, whether you are in favor of one position or another. These are the words that are thrown around like Molotov cocktails on radio and cable news. There has been a great battle in our nation waged over how we care for the bodies in our society. This battle stirs deep and primitive passions. Words are said in the heat of battle that can be off the mark, slightly askew, or just downright wrong.

But let there no mistake about it. This battle you and see played-out in our society reflects a much deeper battle. The battle you hear on the airwaves and byways mirrors a conflict much more personal. If the fact be known, there is a battle every single second of every single day in our very own bodies. At this very moment, there are pathogens, unhealthy bacteria, and viruses trying to break down the defense of our bodies in order to make us sick and bring us down. At this very moment, our bodies have sentries posted to detect these foreign intruders, ready to send forces to attack and repel their advances.

On the rare occasion that illness does occur, what misery it brings. How quickly our enjoyment of God’s good creation spoils. When you are sick, if servants set before you a table of the finest wines, the choicest meats, and wonderful delicacies, your stomach will turn at the sight of it. When you are sick, you can have the thickest bed of the softest down with the smoothest silk, and still you toss and turn in discomfort. When you are sick the slightest sound of music can echo in your head like a pounding hammer.

Nothing brings people to a state of discomfort like sickness. Nothing drives people to a sense of despair and futility like sickness. You know this from your own experience. And do you know who else knows this? The Devil. The Devil knows that one of the most effective ways to get people to throw in the towel with God is to drive them to sickness. That is, after all, the story of Job. Job enjoyed his life. Life was good. God took delight in Job. The devil popped-off, of course Job likes you so much, he’s never had it so easy.

Then the devil shatters Jobs life like a sledgehammer. Kids killed. Home destroyed. Livestock dead. Health gone. All he had left was his wife to encourage him to get it over with, pushing him to tell God to “take a hike.” It is often when we are at our lowest moments that we are tempted to give up hoping in God. The devil knows that. But he’s not the only one who knows it.

Jesus knows it as well. After Jesus is baptized and begins his public ministry, do you know what one of the first things he does is? He HEALS people. In fact, his reputation as a healer spread like wild fire, so much so that crowds did almost every conceivable thing to get up next to him for a healing. They disassembled houses like when some men took off a roof and lowered their friend down to Jesus. They would sneak up from behind him. They would crowd around him. Jesus was known as the great physician.

Of all the things that Jesus heals people from there are a few that I would remind you of today.

First, Jesus heals you from those things we can see and understand. There were people who would come to him and their need for healing is plain to see. It is obvious. It is right there in front of you. The woman with the bleeding for eighteen years, for example, it was pretty clear what she needed. The man with the withered hand. The man born blind. The ten lepers in today’s gospel.

There are times you can look at a situation and see what the problem is. In your body, you look and point and say to yourself “This needs to get taken care of.” In your marriage, there are times you can look at it and point to something and say “This is broken and needs to be taken care of.” For every situation that you see around you that is broken and needs to be taken care of, know this, Jesus heals it. It’s not a matter of if he will but when he will. That’s what he came to do. He came to heal and to make new.

Second, Jesus heals you from those things you can’t see or understand. There were people in Jesus’ day who were considered ill – spiritually. They had, as they said, “an unclean spirit.” They were “possessed.” Then you look at what is happening in the story as a man flails about in seizures, choking, eyes rolling back in his sockets, and it hits you, he is an epileptic. When the ancient people didn’t understand something and it was terrifying and unsettling, they often labeled it as a “demonic possession.” They didn’t see the real cause or understand the situation.

Sometimes not knowing can be desired. I, myself, have had a couple of surgeries. One just recently. As they prep you for surgery, they go the extra mile to try and explain things to you. Personally, I don’t need to know. I don’t want to see any diagrams. Don’t map it out for me. Don’t tell me what cut you’re gonna make where and why. I just don’t need to know. All I want to know is do the doctors know what they are doing? If they do, then just put me to sleep and do your job. Then, when it’s all over, make sure you wake me up again. Sometimes not knowing is ok.

Other times, it’s not. Many of you know Dave Goers is still in the hospital. He has been fighting ulcerative colitis since early July. It is an auto-immune disease. His body is attacking itself. Great pain and misery. Hugely invasive surgery around the corner.

As I sat with Dave before his first colon surgery, the doctor was telling us all the details. Drawing maps and diagrams. Explaining this and then that. Not the kind of thing I need to hear personally. But Dave enjoyed it. He’s an engineer by trade. Then after the excessively descriptive prep was done, I asked the doctor. Impressed by his seeming absolute command of the workings of the body, I asked, “Now doctor, what causes this ulcerative colitis,” thinking there must be some understanding of the intense pain and wrecking of his body. Do you know what the surgeon said, “WE DON'T KNOW.” Did you hear that, we don’t know what makes a person’s colon explode on its own and bring near death. That’s a little unsettling.

But Jesus is not unsettled or caught off guard. He created us, put us together. He knows us from the inside out and knows exactly what is going on. And he heals those things we can’t see or understand. Whether these things are in our bodies, our minds, our spirits or our relationships. There is no broken situation that we will ever face that can escape Jesus’ mastery as the Great Physician. It is for him a matter of life and death.

For those of you who work in the health and healing services, you know firsthand what is often at stake. You see up close sights that would make most of us cringe. You k now the life and death struggles that go on around us daily. And what I want you to know today is that your work, your hands, are an extension of Christ’s work in the world. As you care for you patients, whether on the examination table, the surgery table, the counseling sofa, across the counter at the pharmacy, writing checks for coverage, you help extend Jesus’ reign in the world.

Disease and death are enemies of Christ. They are anti-Christ. They are what he came to defeat. Your work is an extension of his reach into the world.

I have to believe that for many of you, whether you work for a pharmaceutical company, or insurance company, or in mental health, or a physician’s office – work is often a thankless job. You see people when they can be at their worse. They come to you not feeling well. And when people don’t feel well they can be surly, short, irritable, and irrational. Whether or not the people you provide care for ever thank you, I want you to hear it here “Thank you.”

Ordinary Saints - 2

2010-09-20T13:45:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 17 (C)Luke 16:1-9
Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. So he summoned him and said to him, “What is this that I hear about you? Give me an account of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.” Then the manager said to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.” So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, “How much do you owe my master?” He answered, “A hundred jugs of olive oil.” He said to him, “Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.” Then he asked another, “And how much do you owe?” He replied, “A hundred containers of wheat.” He said to him, “Take your bill and make it eighty.” And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

Sermon
(This sermon is the second of four sermons celebrating Christian vocation. Not only do pastors, priests, nuns, bishops, and popes have a call from Jesus to serve in the world, all do. The various ways we fulfill this call are called vocations. This series of four messages recognizes the vocations of those who work in education, public safety, healing professions, and business/crafts people.)

Leaves are beginning to change and fall. The air has cooled. Apple festivals are on the calendar. All these are unmistakable signs of the arrival of fall. As are all the yellow school buses that wind their ways through our neighborhoods, their wheels going round and round. It’s a season of change. And the children who go to their classes and do their homework are changing. Learning how to add, how to read, how to spell. They learn the laws of nature in photosynthesis. They learn the workings of the stars and their contributions to the periodic table of elements. The children are learning to see the world as it really is. They learn the laws that govern. They learn to see how things really are.

And the process doesn’t stop when you get to a certain grade. It doesn’t stop at the fifth grade or the eighth grade or after high school. We never stop learning to see things as they really are.

Learning to see how things really are is what Jesus is all about in today’s reading from Luke chapter 16. He tells the story about a man
of means, a man who is a well-to-do business man, a man whose holdings and assets require him to hire out its management. And after some time, word gets back to the owner that his manager is embezzling from the company. The manager is lining his own pocket with his boss’s money. There is corruption and graft and greed. An indictment is made. Charges are filed. Anger is aroused.

It sounds a lot like what goes on everyday in our world. Every time you turn around, there is some new breaking alert about theft and embezzlement. It’s like a broken record, the sound track to our national history. Surely you know this already. But just in case you don’t, let me just say it as plainly as I can. There are people in this world that will screw you over without giving it a second thought. There are all kinds of people in all kinds of situations who will take you for every dime you have without batting an eye. It’s all around you.

It was all around Jesus. He talked about it in Luke 16 as he told the story of the dishonest manager. When the owner caught wind of what was going on, when the whistle was blown, he called the manager on the carpet. Had him brought into the executive office for his firing. Demanding a full account of all that he had done. The dishonest manager was caught in the act. As he considered his situation he was horror-struck. He was too weak for manual labor and too proud to beg. So he develops a plan, devises a strategy.

He calls on those who owe his boss money and asks what they owe. If someone owes 100 jugs of oil, he discounted it to 50. If someone owed 100 containers of wheat, he discounted it to 80. What he did was he adjusted their debt down by cutting out his commission. In the process, he made friends. He created obligations. People now owed him for what he did. In the business world, these are called contacts. That’s what you might call taking your lemons and making lemonade. The owner was impressed. Jesus was impressed. Jesus said “The children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. What impressed Jesus was the man’s street smarts and how it contrasted with how people devoted to God function in the world.

Why is that? It’s probably because the children of light live out of a different set of values and beliefs than the rest of the world does. As a Christian, you dedicate yourself to keep you sights set on the love and light of Jesus Christ. You orient yourself, you position yourself, you direct yourself so that you can embrace all the God you can get. You study and pray and sing the teachings of Jesus into your life. His rule of life becomes yours. He says things to you like: “Pray for your enemies . . . If someone strikes you on the cheek turn to him your other cheek . . . If someone takes your coat, run home get your other coat and give it as well . . . Give your life . . . Forgive those who wrong you.” These are the kinds of things you and I say and pray and sing into our heart and soul. But the world doesn’t play by the same rules. And oftentimes, Christians are sitting ducks for being taking advantage of.

Jesus wants you to be able to see things as they really are. You might say to me “Now hold on you drop dead good looking preacher, when I look at the world all I see is corruption and greed and ugliness. It’s too much of a downer to see things as they really are. When we do feel like we see things as they are, we usually cope with it in one of two ways. One: We try to laugh at it. Just yesterday the Associated Press reported the story of a man who took his kid’s Darth Vader mask, put it on, and walked into a 7-Eleven with a butcher knife and demanded all the money. The clerk gave the money and called the police. Within a half an hour, the police showed up at the robber’s house. How did they do it so fast? Well as it turns out when the robber put the mask on he was next to the 7-Eleven building and in full view of the outside security cameras. Both the police and clerk knew the guy. Pretty stupid criminal, don’t you think. I love some of those shows that feature stupid criminals.

Another way we deal with the harsh realities of life is we let it get into our head. We turn cynical and suspicious and hard. I have a neighbor and friend who lives a few doors from my family. She grew up the daughter of a county sheriff. As a girl she remembers seeing photos of crime scenes on the dinner table. Terrible scenes. Scenes of some of the ugliest forms of human violence against others. And it got into her head. She never forgot it. It affected the way she saw things. She is a good person, a good Christian, a good mother and wife. And there are lots of good people like yourselves, good Christians like yourselves, good mother and fathers like yourselves, good wives and husbands like yourselves who have seen some ugly things in life.

Perhaps you know what that’s like to try to keep those images out of your mind. Perhaps you know what it is like to fight off the cynical spirit that makes us suspicious and hard against the world.

When I think of people who are regularly exposed to the dark side of human nature, I think of people in public safety, people who literally engage in hand to hand combat with social violence and destruction. Whether they are a law enforcement officer, or fire fighter, or military personnel, these are some of the people who see daily the forces of chaos raging through our communities.

But there is one thing you need to know about seeing things as they really are: To see things as they really are as a Christian is not to look at the world and feel defeated, dejected, and disappointed. To see things as they really are as a Christian is to look into the chaos of the world and see that God is right there in the middle of it, bringing order out of it all. Do you not know that has been the case from the beginning? “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a watery chaos, a formless void, a dark deep. God imposed his will upon the chaos and made beauty appear.

To see things as they really are is to see Savior of the Universe, Jesus Christ, standing in the midst of it all holding all things together. He is the one who brings peace in the midst of the conflict and fighting. To see things as they really are is the see Jesus Christ bring peace and reconciliation to marriages that were on the brink of collapse. To see things as they really are is to see Jesus Christ breathe new life into people on their death beds seemed to have one foot in the grave. To see the world as it really is to see Jesus Christ shine brighter than the brightest stars in the world’s darkest and most distant places.

Christians, alone, are able to see such things and to look at the hurt and pain and death of the world around and not be overwhelmed and overwrought. Christians, alone, are able to look upon life’s most despicable and dastardly deeds and see possibility and hope. Why else would we gather around a cross week after week? Why else would we remember the crucifixion with song and merriment? Why else would we belt out “I Know that My Redeemer Lives” just a few short days after he was executed?

You know why. It is because there is no darkness so dark that the light of Christ cannot dispel. You know that there is no hurt so deep that the healing of Christ cannot reach. You know that there is no brokenness so broken that the love of Christ can’t bridge. You know this.

You know this especially if you are a man or woman of Christ who has given your life to the cause of public safety, you who have dedicated yourselves for the common good. The stories you could tell of brushes with death. The events you have witnessed of near catastrophic loss where it not for intervention of God. You who serve the common good in public safety stand on the front lines of God’s work of justice and order in a world bent on self-destruction. Your hands and your feet are the hands and feet of Christ as you defend the innocent and needy. Your hands and feet are his hands and feet as you fight the raging fire. Your hands and your feet are those of Christ as he brings about the renewal of the world.

Ordinary Saints - 1

2010-09-13T13:11:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 16 (C)
Luke 15:1-10
Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
So he told them this parable: ‘Which one of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders and rejoices. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.” Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance.
‘Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.” Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.’

Sermon
This week we begin a series of sermons, called "Ordinary Saints" based on the lectionary but looked at through the lens of Christian vocation. Today and for the next three weeks, we are going to commemorate and celebrate the various vocations in our community. One of the special features of our Lutheran perspective is that we happen to believe that it is not only the pastor who stands up front in the nice white alb and stole that is called to serve God in ministry. It is all of us. We are all called. Each of us in this room is a priest, a pastor, a bishop, and a pope. God calls each of us to serve. And the various ways we serve are called our vocations. You may serve God as a doctor, or teacher, or electrician, or janitor. You might also be a mother, father, son or daughter. These are your vocations, the ways you live out your call to help advance God’s work in the world. Your lives are an extension of the life of Jesus Christ.

Today, we lift-up and give thanks for educators, anyone involved in the systems of education in our community. When I think back to my favorite teachers, one comes to mind – my brother, Bobby. He is a gifted teacher, a music teacher, a band director. In fact, he is one of the very best band directors the state of Texas has ever seen. His Middle School and High School were legendary, award-winning, and stunning. People would travel across the country to see him rehearse his kids. He was the cream of the crop.

He once told the story of one of his first days on his first job at Jefferson Junior High School in Abilene, TX. He walked into a band hall full of 200 kids, stepped up on the podium, picked up his baton, ready to begin teaching. Suddenly, he noticed at the back of the room a student, we’ll call him a knucklehead, who wasn’t quite getting with the program. Wasn’t quite engaging in the learning process. Wasn’t quite getting the whole idea of being attentive and participating. My brother hurled his music stand aside and made a “b-line” right through the middle of the band, stomping and snorting like a raging bull. When he gets to the kid, he gets to within an inch of his nose and dressed him up one side and down the other. He made sure the budding knucklehead knew what was expected of him and who was in charge. Then he returned to the podium. Needless to say, he had their attention. And they performed as he expected.

But know this: what makes my brother such a gifted teacher is not that the kids feared him. What makes my brother such a gifted teacher is that he FREED them. For him, teaching is an act of liberation. It is to free them from the lack of awareness of the deep joy of music. It is to free them from the peer pressures of band not being “cool”. His teaching removes the blinders that keep people from seeing clearly. His teaching removes the shackles that imprison the mind, heart, and soul. Teaching, at its heart, is an act of liberation. And because of that, it is subversive and even dangerous.

How else can you explain what happened to Jesus? He was, after all, a teacher . . . the Master Teacher. Everywhere he went people pressed in upon him to hear him speak, to hear the words come from his lips. They wore out their sandals walking great distances to be schooled by him, taught by him. The Bible tells us that when he taught, people were amazed. The Bible tells us that people disassembled houses to get near him. He would read or recite scripture and then tell people what it meant. And when he did people were liberated. They were freed. Teaching is an act of liberation.

In today’s text from Luke 15, we see three things that Jesus frees people from.

First, we see that Jesus frees you from yourselves. The first line from the reading says it all “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. Jesus drew a crowd, but not just any old crowd. When Jesus drew a crowd, the people who came to him didn’t always have their acts together. The people who crowded around Jesus were people who tended to shoot themselves in the foot in life. They were people with bad habits, bad judgment, and bad reputations. They were the spiritual rednecks of the day. They were religious hillbillies, not respectable like the Pharisees and all.

Why do you think people whose track record in life was a little spotty came near to Jesus? Probably because of the same reason you and I seek him. Because, when we are near him, he has a way of bringing something else out in us. . . . The places we go and the people we see draw something out of us, something lovely and noble or something dark and self-destructive.

When Karin and I moved from Iowa to Greenwood, IN to start this church she joined a play group and made some new friends. She made one friend in particular that always has a lasting impact on me. We see her once a year or so now, but anytime we cross paths I always feel like I just walked into a beam of sunlight. She seems to convey a real holiness from God.

When Jesus taught, he didn’t just pour new ideas into the minds or lay a new program of spiritual insight. No, when he taught, something happened to the people on the inside. They were freed from themselves and drawn away from their self-destructive habits.

A second thing we see is that Jesus frees you from living for the approval of others. Did you see what it said in verse two? “And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” Just as surely as there were people being liberated by Jesus’ teaching, there were people being offended by it. I don’t know if you know this or not, but there will be people who will not approve of what you do. There will be people who may not approve of some of you decisions. There will be people who will be critical of how you operate in life.

Listen to me . . . Jesus frees you from living for others’ approval. One of the things that I have shared with about my family growing up is that I grew up in a family of mouthy women. Most all the women in my family have been strong-willed, opinionated, and outspoken. They just say it. Whatever they happen to be thinking, it just comes out. There is no pause or delay. It just comes out in all its glory. I thought all women were that way. But as it turns out, that’s not the case. My mother, I am told, started out in her marriage to my father on the quiet side. She held her tongue and bit her lip to keep from disagreeing too much or causing a stir. But after a while, she’d had enough of that and settled into a way of expressing herself that was honest and genuine.

Maybe you know what it is like to constantly watch what you say. Perhaps either at work, with friends, or at home, you walk on egg shells. People can become so sensitized to their environment that they are immediately aware anytime someone is unhappy with them. What a nightmare! What a prison! When Jesus teaches he liberates and frees you from the chains that keep you from enjoying an honest and genuine life.

A third thing we see is that Jesus frees you from all kinds of religious baggage. Over and over again in the gospels, Jesus is teaching, in the synagogue, at the beach, in a home, at dinner. And he is teaching people who have been taught before. They knew the laws. They said the right prayers. They had been to synagogue. They weren’t complete ignoramuses. But often what they were taught was sucking the life out of them. They had to unlearn some lessons. When Jesus taught them he freed them from a religious world that organized life in nice little boxes and categories, where there was no mystery, no adventure, no drama. He took the shackles off them so they could join the whirlwind tour of God’s work in the world.

When Karin and I moved to Greenwood, one of my earliest experiences of education in our community was when I went to join one of my daughters who was then in second grade for lunch. When I arrived at the school, I was impressed by the freshly painted walls and the clean will-lit hallways. In the cafeteria, I was amazed at the sense of order. Children stood in straight lines, looking ahead quietly. They took their seats at the appropriate table for the meal and polite conversation. When it was time, they were instructed to rise and exit. At the head of the cafeteria was a tall lady with a microphone and what looked like military boots. She was clearly in command. Her cafeteria was a work symmetry, balance, and decorum. There was even a special booth and table to honor those children who excelled at the fine art of etiquette, politeness and decency. It was called the Manners Matter table.
At first glance, you might walk away from such a well-controlled, tightly run cafeteria or classroom, whether in Abilene, TX or Greenwood, IN and think that’s what education is all about.

But you and I know better. Beneath the kind, polite, and disciplined surface of every teacher who is called by God is a liberator, whose very presence brings hope and new opportunities for a better world.

The Outlaw Jesus Christ

2010-08-23T10:36:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 13 (C)
Luke 13:10-17
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.’ But the Lord answered him and said, ‘You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.

Sermon
Former heavy weight boxer James “the Quick” Tillis tells about how he moved from the flat dry plains of Oklahoma to Chicago, Illinois to make his mark in professional boxing. He got off the bus downtown and he walked over to the Sears Tower, with a cardboard “suitcase” under each arm. After he set his suitcases down he looked up at the tower, took a deep breath, and said to himself “I’m gonna conquer this town.” After this brief moment, he said when he looked down to pick up his suitcases, they were gone!

Isn’t it amazing how often in life things don’t always turn out how you expect? Doesn’t it just blow your mind how often everything you’ve come to expect turns out wrong? When that happens, we are left with basically two options. We can either reject it or we can embrace it.

In Jesus’ day, the religious leaders chose to reject it. That couldn’t be any clearer than in today’s gospel from Luke chapter 13. It is the Sabbath. And Jesus is doing what religious people do on the sabbath. He goes to church, only they didn’t call it church then. He went to the synagogue. And at the synagogue, they did the very things that you and I do week in and week out. They sang. They prayed. They listened to scripture. And then they heard someone teach or speak on the scripture. This particular day Jesus was the one doing the teaching. As the Sabbath rolls along just fine when a woman with a chronic back problem shows up. When Jesus spots her he heals her, tells her she is free, puts his hands on her and sets her up straight.

When the leader of the synagogue sees this he loses it. Rather than giving Jesus a tongue-lashing he gives the people one, telling them not to seek his healing on the sabbath, telling them not to tempt him, not to encourage him. It is disruptive. It’s distracting. It’s just plain wrong . . . what Jesus is doing. He is breaking the law. He is crossing the line. Not just any law and not just and line, but God’s law and God’s line. For the leader of the synagogue, this was no small matter. It’s not like they just make the rules up as they go along. But observing Sabbath has been at the heart of who they are as a people going back to Moses. In fact, that was the very reason God freed them from captivity, so that they could go and worship God. It was on Mt. Sinai where God placed in Moses’ own hands the ten commandments, the covenant. It was there written in stone that God said in the fourth commandment “Remember the sabbath and keep it holy.” If there was a more open and shut case, what could it be?

The Bible says it plain and simple, don’t work on the Sabbath. God rested after he created all that is. The Jewish leaders didn’t just disagree with Jesus in principle. The Bible says that they were indignant. They were hostile. Jesus was calling into question the very laws of God. He is not at all what they expected in a messiah. His conduct is not very becoming to a savior of the world. His demeanor doesn’t fit the code of conduct they had in mind for the chosen one of God. It didn’t stop there either. Not only did Jesus break the sabbath law, but he also palled-around with known sinners: tax collectors and prostitutes. He had no decorum, no sense of decency. How many times did he speak to strange women in public? For any Jew worth his salt, that was just unexpected and unacceptable. There was no doubt about it, Jesus was an outlaw. All he lacked was a six shooter and holster to complete the picture.

And what do you do with outlaws? You arrest them. Lock ‘em up. And hang ‘em high. And that’s what they did . . . to Jesus, when he didn’t meet their expectations.

But local lawmen weren’t the only ones on the scene. There was a woman there. And she, too, had expectations. I have no doubt that this woman expected to return home pretty much the way she left home – a hunchback. That is how she had been for eighteen years, hunched over. Whatever caused her back condition, whether the result of a fall, a degenerative disc, scoliosis, spinal bifida, or she just tweaked it and it never got better, one thing is clear . . . she had learned to live with chronic pain. Eighteen years of back pain. There are few pains quite as unbearable as back pain. Or as frightful. How many times have you been messing around the house and tweak your back. Maybe you were just making your bed, cleaning the toilet, or loading your car when you feel something twitch. If you are like me sometimes you’ll grab your back and ask yourself “Is this the big one?”

That’s what happened to me a couple of days ago. I was at Home Depot, making a purchase, and when I leaned over to put it in the backseat of my Honda, I felt it . . . the twitch. Of course I reached back to support myself and said “O Lord, help me Jesus!” Then I spent the day walking around like a pregnant woman with one hand on my back trying to get up and down.

Many of you who have had back pain know the special agony that comes with it. It goes to the very core of who you are. Your spinal column, central nervous system, affecting everything else. If you have ever lived with long-lasting pain, you know how easy it is to give up hope that things will ever be different. You know how easy it is tell yourself that this is just your lot in life and you better learn to tough it out.

And that’s just what so many people do today . . . live their lives from day to day expecting that today will be pretty much like the one before that and the one before that, and most days after this one will be pretty much the same.

Of course, chronic conditions aren’t always found in the body. How many times have you felt that your marriage has been stuck in the same rut for years? No change. No improvement. You deal with the same problems, have the same discussions, loop around to the same misunderstandings day after day. Or, how many of you have ever looked at your job and concluded that this is about as good as it’s going to get? And you go to work, day after day, never expecting any real change for the better, gutting it out. Or how many times have you looked at one the relationship with your brother or sister or mother or father or aunt or uncle and just decided not to expect anything more?

Surely, the woman wasn’t expecting any more when she walked near Jesus on that sabbath. But like so others who come near, Jesus doesn’t give her what she expects. She expects to return pretty much the same as she came. But Jesus said “nothing doing.” Not gonna happen. He breaks the law of the land to love her. He rides roughshod over the rules to care for her.

If the truth be known, when it comes to Jesus love for you, there is no binding him. You can’t restrain him or contain him. Not any religious law, no command, no expectations. There isn’t a pair of handcuffs strong enough and there are no shackles hard enough to hold him back from loving you. There is no law he won’t break. There is no power he won’t take down to speak to you, to touch you, and to free you from pains you to the core.

Now I don’t know what you have been expecting from your life with God. I don’t know what you expect from yourself. But there is one thing you should know today and that is you cannot come to Jesus and walk away the same.

When Jesus Takes Aim at Your Family

2010-08-15T20:35:00.000-04:00

Luke 12:49-56 ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

Sermon
The Heartland Film Festival is coming up in October for Indianapolis. Independent film makers from around the world will submit films and movies for the competition. The Festival features offbeat and non-mainstream films that speak to the human condition and highlight human hopes and struggles. Past films have included August Rush and The End of the Spear.

One of the most off-beat films to come out in several years came out in 2007 called Juno. Juno is the movie about a sixteen year old girl whose parents divorced when she was a kid and later re-married. She becomes pregnant by her boyfriend. And rather than terminating the pregnancy, Juno decides to carry the baby to full term and offer it up for adoption. She and her boyfriend find the adoptive couple in a local Thrifty Nickel ad. The climax of her struggle comes near the end of her pregnancy when her boyfriend takes another girl to the prom and the adoptive parents decide to divorce. This is too much for her to take and as she drives home in the family van she pulls to the side of the road and cries. After the crying spell, she goes home and asks her dad “Is it possible for two people who love each other to actually stay together forever?” She wants to know if couples can stay together. Is there any reason to hope? To believe? To expect that people who love each other will be together forever?

I would say that this is not just the question of a sixteen year old girl, but the cry of people across this land. People from North to South and from East to West are asking the question “Is it possible for two people who love each other to stay together forever?” Well I am happy to tell you “yes it is.” God wants you to know that it is entirely possible. Not only is it possible, the Bible says that when Jesus enters the scene of your marriage, it is likely.
We have his words today in Luke chapter 12, “Don’t think that I have come to bring peace to the world, but division.” Matthew adds here “but a sword.”

“From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against
two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

“What!?” you say to me. How in the world is that such good news for families and marriages? You might say to me that you can’t quite see the hope in his words. You might turn away from this notion because you can’t quite see the promise. And that is precisely the point. You can’t see it. But Jesus can see it.

The Bible tells us that Jesus can see things that we can’t see. The Bible tells us that he can see everything. He can see the thoughts of others. He can see others’ intentions. He can see their hearts. He can see the evil spirits. The Bible even says in John that Jesus can see the face of God. There is nothing that Jesus cannot see. He sees it all. You and I, on the other hand, can’t. We can’t see everything.

In fact, you and I can’t actually see the vast majority of what we call reality. Take gravity for example. You can’t see it. You see its effects but the force itself is invisible. Physicists and astronomers tell us that at least 95% of the universe is invisible. It is made up of what they call “dark matter.” It is real. It is as much a part of the physical universe as the donut you ate this morning, but no one can see it. Light is something that is real and is as much a part of the world as the nose on your face, but you can’t see most of it. What you and I do see is just a small sliver, a certain spectrum. The vast majority that passes through this world is invisible to our eyes.

There are realities that shape our lives, direct our actions, and mold our responses that we never even see. This is true not just in the physical world but in our relationships too. Our marriages and families operate amid realities and forces that we cannot see. And these forces that we cannot see shape our marriages and families as much as gravity affects a falling apple.

A month or two ago I was jumping into my hotrod Honda ready to burn some rubber on my way home to see my family when I turned on the radio. And the first voice I heard on the radio was that of Mel Gibson. He was screaming at his new wife. You may know that a few years back he divorced his first wife and mother of his children and married a young model. And as he was screaming at her, apparently she had recorded him saying such vile and vulgar things. Calling her names and accusing her of terrible things. Now, you don’t have to be Dr. Phil to look at Mel Gibson and listen to one of his rants and see that he has issues. He is being influenced by forces he can’t see. He is wrestling with some, shall we say demons. Mel Gibson isn’t the only one wrestling with demons.

It is often these unseen dark forces that spoil our marriages and break up our families. These dark forces often lurk out of our field of view and in our blind-spots. They sneak up on you. Ambush you. Catch you in the dark. How often have you found yourself in a tough situation in your marriage or family because something you couldn’t see. The good news for you is that Jesus sees what you can’t see. He sees what lurks in your blind-spot. Jesus sees what is out of your field of view.

One of my favorite movies is the Mel Gibson movie Braveheart. In the movie he is William Wallace, the kilt-wearing head of a Scottish rebellion against the English. When the rebellion starts to pick up steam, two men show up wanting to join Wallace. Both were unknown. One was Irish and seemed half-crazed. He kept referring to Ireland as his Island. The other seemed normal. One day as William Wallace was in the woods hunting deer, it is a very quiet moment . . . still . . . peaceful as the deer eats off the forest floor. As Wallace takes aim, the deer in his sights, the deer spooks and runs away. Wallace looks up to see the crazed Irish man running at him holding a sword in both hands over his head. As Wallace considers his options, the scraggly looking Irishman hurls his sword in Wallace’s direction. It flies over his shoulder and lands in a would-be assassin’s chest coming up from Wallace’s blind-side. Wallace was unaware of the danger he could not see.

Know this, everyone who comes at you with a sword is not your enemy. When Jesus appears on the scene of your marriage and your family with a sword, it is because he sees something in your marriage or in your family that needs to go. It is a threat to the safety and well-being of your marriage and family. Jesus is not messing around, people. There will be times when he pulls out a sword to take down the dark forces that lurk in your life. He is going to cut ‘em down, slice ‘em away, chop ‘em off. There are things in your marriage that need to go. You may not be able to see them. But Jesus can. There is something in your family that has gotta go.

Jesus knows how much your marriage means to you. He knows how important your family is. That is God’s plan. That is the way God set things up. You remember how when God created the heavens and the earth, God created Adam and Eve for each other. God is the original match-maker. He sets them up, makes the introduction, and officiates at the wedding. And then he tells them to have some kids. They do. Marriage, family, human community is part of God’s original plan. It is part of what is good in the world God made.

You know how good it can be. How you treasure your marriage. How deeply you love your children. It is good. How far would you go to protect it? What would you do to guard your marriage and your family? How far do you think Jesus would go to protect it? He goes so far as giving you a heads up that there will be times when he is going to come into your field of view with a sharp weapon. When he sees danger, he is going to go for its throat. When he sees something that threatens to destroy what God has put together he is going to draw blood. When he sees the dark forces coming up on the blind-side of your marriage or family, don’t be surprised to see him coming toward you with a weapon. Don’t worry. Don’t flinch. Don’t freak- out. Just keep your eyes set right on him. Don’t look left. Don’t look right. Look right at him.

That, really, is the key to keeping your marriage safe – keeping your eyes on Jesus. The biggest mistake you can make as a husband is to make your wife the center of your world. The biggest mistake you make as a wife is to make your husband the be all and end all of your life. Make Jesus Christ the reason you get in the morning. And as you and your loved one, both of you with eyes set the same direction to the Savior, will be as safe as you can get in a world where you cannot see most of what is going on. The same is true for you as parents. Do not make your children the center of your universe. Make Jesus Christ the center of your relationship with your kids. And your family will be as safe as it can get.

If I was not a pastor and I knew that there was even a smidgeon of a chance that by centering my marriage and kids on Christ would protect us from a world of hurt, I would never miss a Sunday. I can’t imagine that any of you don’t take every measure to ensure the safety and goodness of your marriage and family. Take every advantage this church has to ground yourselves, your marriages, and your kids in the sure and strong presence of Jesus Christ.

Wild at Heart and Loving It!

2010-08-09T09:56:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 11 (C)Genesis 15:1-6
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.’ But Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’ And Abram said, ‘You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.’ But the word of the LORD came to him, ‘This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.’ He brought him outside and said, ‘Look towards heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ Then he said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Sermon
If you’ve been through any one of a dozen towns in Minnesota, you have probably seen a larger-than-life statue of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe. If not, then perhaps you recognize the story from your childhood reading days of a legendary mythological lumberjack. Paul Bunyan embodied the American pioneer spirit during the nineteenth century. He symbolized the heart of a society that saw itself as a society of explorers and adventurers.

Today in our readings we come across another larger than life figure – Abraham. He is, like Paul Bunyan, a pioneer. He is, like Paul Bunyan, an explorer and an adventurer. He, like Paul Bunyan, embodies the heart of a people – the people of God. But unlike Paul Bunyan, Abraham is not simply some legend or mythological character. Abraham was real. He was a real man, with real faith, in a real God. And he is your ancestor in faith. His life will tell you how to understand your life and what to expect from your God. There are so many things we can learn about faith and our life with God from the life of Abraham.

The most obvious lesson about our life with God we get from Abraham is that faith is a journey.

As much as we would like have things nailed down, well organized, and nicely packaged, our life with God just isn’t that way. You see that clearly when in Hebrews it says that Abraham moved forward “not knowing where he was going.” Sounds just like a man doesn’t it? Abraham, at the ripe old age of 75, packed up his belongings, his family, his servants, his goats, everything but the kitchen sink, and set off for the horizon. And he had no idea where he was going! He didn’t know what the future held. He didn’t know what was waiting for him around the next bend or over the next hill. When he tried to project himself down the road in his life he came up blank. At a time when you might expect some measure of certainty about your life and what to expect, Abraham only had questions. It was a mystery to him.

Sound familiar? How many of you have wondered about what lay in store for you? How many of you have tried to look around the next bend and come up with nothing more than strained eyes? How many of you have tried to see over the next hill and wound up with a sore neck? Your kids . . . when you pray or ponder your futures, how clear is that to you? Your livelihood . . . when you try to get a feel for what is coming your way, what do you sense?

If you are like Abraham, not much, you just don’t know. Our lives don’t develop as if they were following a script written by some grand all-knowing author, whether that be human or divine. Our lives meander . . . wander . . . and wind back and forth and side to side. If you come in faith to Christ Jesus looking for predictability in daily life, you are going to be frustrated. That’s just the reality of it.

That lack of predictability, that wandering way of life points us to another reality of Abraham’s life and the lives of believers who follow in his footsteps with God. And that is the adventure of it all. The faith we share with Abraham is a journey of adventure. When Abraham reached down and pulled up his roots out of Ur the land of the Chaldeans, he wound his way up the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers passing through the cradle of civilization through deep mountain passes into the wild. This was a kind of roughing-it that would have made Davy Crockett tip his coon-skin cap. It was a kind of exploration that would have made Louis and Clark stand up in their canoes and applaud.

The journey that Abraham and every believer sets-out on is not some depressing death march to nowhere. It is a life of exploration and discovery. In his home in Ur the land of the Chaldeans, Abraham would be surrounded with familiar sounds and smells. The ingredients that spiced-up his food would have been as common to him as the dust that clung to his sandals. Each day was one run-of-the-mill day after the other.

But on the journey with God, life became an adventure, a world full of firsts. Out on the road with God, he stood face to face with new peoples. Passing by the Mediterranean Sea, he would smell for the first time the salt in the air and the fish in the market. On his way and with God at his side, he would know the cold hardness of a sword in his hand as he engaged in battle for Lot against the Canaanites. With God at his side, he would pass by the Great Pyramids of Egypt and the Sphinx.

How often have images of far-away places caught your attention? How often have you harbored a secret desire for something new and exciting to break into your world and whisk you away on the adventure of a lifetime? You are never more alive than when you are on an adventure. Your senses come alive. Your eyes pick up on colors and shapes and combinations of the materials in new ways. And you are dazzled. Your ears hear sounds that you never heard before. You smell and taste food and drink that is almost from another world.

If you are like Abraham, and you are like Abraham, there is a lust for exploration and adventure that only God can satisfy. This is what awaits you as you move on down the road with God to a new life.

And because of this journey of a lifetime, this wild explorer’s journey, you have the sense that something good is going to happen. Abraham didn’t know where he was going, but he knew that something dramatically wonderful was going to happen. God had promised him that a blessing awaited him and the whole world on his journey. In fact, God said in Genesis 12 that all the peoples of the earth would be blessed because of it. And you, my people, you are children of Abraham, with the same wanderlust flowing through your veins. And because you have the same attraction to the God-adventure as Abraham, you must also know that there is something dramatically wonderful waiting for you. You do know it don’t you? Certainly you can feel it. There is a tug, a pull, some irresistible draw that moves you along. Just as when God looked at Abraham he saw promise, when God looks at you he sees promise written all over you. Your life is pregnant with promise and potential! That is the reality of the situation.

But because you are like Abraham, because you have taken the leap of faith that moves you forward without having to know all the answers, because you have accepted God’s invitation to adventure and exploration, and because you know that your life is full of promise and possibility, you also should know that there will be some dark moments, moments when you catch yourself wondering if it is at all true. There will be moments along the way when all that you see and hear and experience seems to contradict your time with God. And you will find yourself wondering if the conversations and connections you have made with the God of Abraham are just an echo chamber of your own thoughts, hopes, and desires. And like Abraham, who in today’s reading from Genesis chapter 15, wrestles with doubt, you and I will find ourselves wondering if the story the of promise of God is just a legend we have been telling ourselves.

That’s Abraham’s plight today in Genesis chapter 15. He began his journey with God at the ripe old age of 75. Now, he’s pushing 100. And still the dramatic goodness, the blessing, the promise that God saw so clearly for Abraham is nowhere in sight. So Abraham pulls off to the side of the road, hops off his camel-ac, looks to heaven and asks “What’s the deal?” Have you ever wanted to do that? Have you ever wanted to just talk “turkey” with the God of Abraham? You can. It’s not out of place. And it’s not out of order. In fact, God expects it. It’s just as much a part of the journey as the adventure.

The reality of it is that the God of Abraham restates, repeats, and reissues the promise that moved Abraham into a new life. And God does the same for you, child of Abraham. No matter what doubts cross your mind, no matter how long you need to pull off the side of the road, no matter how often the things that you experience stand in your way, your God restates, repeats, and reissues the promise to you. That is the reality of the situation.

God Has Something Better for You

2010-08-01T20:48:00.000-04:00

Pentecost 10 (C)
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’

Sermon
Friday morning a man burst into a Metro PCS cell phone store in Pompano Beach, Florida, pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money. Nayara Goncalves was the clerk and by herself. And instead of handing him the money and providing a quick fix to his financial needs, she told the man “No.” She said “God has something better for you than this. Go back to Jesus.” The man said “Give me the money!” She just kept saying “God has something better for you. Go back to Jesus. You know better than this.” But, he explained he needed the money now or his family would be evicted. “God has something better for you than this. Go back to Jesus.” And the man left.

This morning in the Gospel of Luke a man comes to Jesus. And he, too, has a money problem. And he says to Jesus, “Tell my brother to give me a share of the inheritance.” In the ancient world the oldest brother served as the executor of the estate. After he took what he wanted for himself and his family, he would divvy up the rest among the other siblings. Needless to say, the oldest brother got the lion’s share of the inheritance. Hard feelings were common when it came to settling the estate. Not just then but now as well.

That’s something we all know. Even children know the pitfalls of dividing up an inheritance. A sixth grade teacher was giving her class a math word problem. “Children,” she said, “A wealthy man died and left $10 million dollars. One fifth went to his wife. One fifth went to his son. One sixth went to his butler. The rest went to charity. What did each one get?” The class went silent. Kids took pencil in hand, worked the problem and thought a little more. After a long silence, one boy raised his hand. The teacher said, “Yes, what is it? What did each one get?” The boy said “A lawyer.”

That’s exactly what the man who came to Jesus was looking for – a lawyer. He was asking Jesus to step in and be his advocate. He was asking Jesus to adjudicate the case, to reach into his bag of miracles and provide a quick solution to his financial problem. Jesus’ answer? “Who am I to serve as your arbitrator?” There will be many times in our lives when we are going to feel like we are getting the short end of the stick financially. There are going to be times when you are going to look to Jesus for a financial miracle.

But as often as not, Jesus doesn’t reach into his bag of miracles and pull one out for you. Instead, what he says to you is what he said to the man who came to him. It is the same thing Nayara Goncales said to the man in her store: “God has something better for you.”

To illustrate, Jesus tells a story. He tells a story about a man who also had a money problem. But instead of having too little money, he had too much. How did it happen? -- a bumper crop. That particular year was an especially productive year for the land. It far exceeded his most optimistic business plans. In fact, he had so much wheat that he didn’t have room enough for all of it. So he decides to expand, tearing down his old barns and building new ones. Once he is done, he is ready to live the good life. He can relax, snuggle into the comforts he has worked so hard for. He can “eat, drink, and be merry.” He has the American Dream, before there is ever an American to dream it. Financial peace. Comfort. Security. Status. He has it all.

But one thing you might have noticed as Jesus begins telling this story. He begins it with a warning. “Beware,” he says. “Be on guard.” “Have your wits about you.” Jesus issues a warning before the story begins because no matter what you financial problem, whether you have too little for the moment or too much, money has a way of causing us to lose perspective.

Money is powerful. It is not neutral. It is not passive. It is very alluring and seductive. Money offers us peace. It offers us comfort. It can induce feelings of guilt and feelings of shame just as quickly as it can prompt feelings of superiority. Money lures us into its charm and makes us lose perspective.

How does it do this? There was a time in the 1960’s and early 70’s in West Texas where I grew up when the price of a barrel of oil kept going up and up. Do you remember those days? The days of rising gas prices and lines at gas stations. Some people were getting rich over night. Cashing in and putting all their eggs in one oil barrel waiting and watching as things went up and up. People made financial commitments based on their belief and assumption that if oil went up last year it would go up this year. But the boom went bust. And people who lost perspective lost everything. And big oil companies moved in and scooped up the rigs, the fields, and the mineral rights.

You may remember in the 1980’s there was a farm crisis. What happened? Midwest family farmers begin to see the price of corn go up year after year. They began to believe that it would last forever. They lost perspective and began to make financial decisions based on the assumption that the price of corn would go up. They bought new combines. They erected new silos to keep their corn and beans. Then what happened? The boom went bust. And people lost everything.

Do you not remember the early 1990’s when Biotechnology was all the rage? Companies were starting up and going gangbusters. Money was rolling in. People cashed out their cd’s and savings accounts and put the money into biotechnology stocks based on the assumption that the value of their stock would continue to climb. Then what happened? They went belly up.

Or how about the .com boom and bust. Surely you remember that. In the mid to late 1990’s all the fabulous internet technologies and startups. Businesses were rolling in money. The value of their stocks went through the roof. People cashed in to join the money party. People put all their resources in a .com business on the assumption that the value of the stock would continue to rise. What happened? The boom went bust.

Or maybe something more recent. Perhaps you remember a time not too long ago when people began to see the values of their homes go up. Especially in California, Nevada, Texas, and Florida, but other places in the country as well. Home values kept moving up and up. It was called a “new economy” because the old rules governing the economy didn’t seem to apply anymore. People cashed out their homes and then cashed in on the assumption that the value of the home was stable and going up. What happened? You know what happened. Millions of people went under water.

Money has a way of causing us to lose perspective. It is not just true of our investments like oil, stocks, and real estate. But it is also true of the corporations that rule the financial world. Just like rising oil prices, or rising corn prices, or rising stock values, or rising home values will lure you into a false sense of security. Just as they will coax you and seduce you into believing in them at all costs, so do the corporate powers of the land.

There was a time when Sears and Roebucks was known as being an employee’s company. They had a profit-sharing plan, pension, benefits, and a good work environment. They wanted you to believe that the company was there for you. It had your back. But that was only true so long as it was in the company’s interest. When things in the world changed, Sears changed. And it became a kind of concentration camp for many employees. The corporation does not love you. There was a time when Detroit was a nice place to live, and the auto companies GM, Ford, Chrysler, were a good place to work. They were known for being an employee’s kind of company. And people worked there for decades believing they had a pension. But where did their pensions go? There was a time when Enron was good place to work because the company took care of its people, or MCI/WorldCom, or Lehmann Brothers. Where are they now? You know where they are.

There are companies in Indianapolis that have been know as the kind of place people would do anything to get hired at because of how they treat their employees. Should I say it? Do I dare say the “L” word? Lilly. Lilly Pharmaceuticals has been a place that lured people in with the promise of security, and comfort and prosperity. And what happens? What always happens. It changes. The corporation doesn’t love you. The corporation wants you to believe it loves you. The corporation wants you to put all your eggs in its basket. But in the end it all leads to the same result. Do you ever get tired of the samd old story? What if I were to tell you that "God has something better in mind for you?"

Today the Gospel says just that" “God has something better than that for you.” He wants to take you beyond chasing after prosperity. He wants to get you past the cycle of feast or famine, past the cycle of boom or bust, and the havoc that it creates in your soul. God has something better for you than the life you are seeking. Go to Jesus. And you will never go back.