“Jeremiah’s Letter to Exiles” Jeremiah 29:1, 4-14

 I’ll let you in on a secret that I have learned after more than a decade in the pulpit and planning worship. Church folks love preparing for Christmas. We love to decorate the sanctuary and sing the Christmas carols. We like the special events and the Christmas pagents. But I’m not so sure that we love Advent.

Now yes, do we do all of those things during the season of Advent. Yes, we do. But that isn’t what the season of Advent is actually about. It’s not about decorating or signing our favorite hymns or even the Christmas pagents. It’s not about preparing the outer world or even the sanctuary. It’s about preparing our hearts. 

And that - that is hard work. Hence, why it may not be our favorite thing. 

Have you ever noticed what color we use to denote this part of our Christian calendar? Purple. Do you know what other season in the Church year is also purple? Lent. That’s because they are similar in more ways then just preparing us for the big holidays to come - Christmas and Easter. They are actually both a season of prayer, penance, and sacrifice. The last two words - not our favorite words. 

Yet, prayer, penance, and sacrifice are critical to this season that literally means coming and arrival. I want you to think about a long road trip that you have taken. What did you do to prepare? You probably planned out a route. Before the days of GPS there was MapQuest. Before their was MapQuest you got out the atlas and asked folks for a good set of directions. But you have to prepare what way you will go.

What happens if you don’t prepare? Well, in my own life, when my brothers and I were in elementary school, my parents thought it would be a good idea to load up a mini-van with six people and drive to Disney World. Friends, I do not even think we made it out of the state with those coveted, hand-written directions given by a friend, before we got lost. And ended up on someone’s buffalo farm. When we do not prepare, we will not get where we want to go. We may have all of the best intentions in the world, but intentions do not take us the destination alone. We  intended to get to Disney World, but we had to get back to a main road and try again. 

Advent and Lent are the place where our intentions get some more behind them. These are the seasons that invite us to deeply examine our faith lives and get the places where maybe we’ve veered a little off the road, back on track. 

And that means even if it isn’t our favorite season, friends, it is always worth it.

Along with that list of things we lovingly impose about Advent are our favorite scriptures. We love to hear the story of Jesus being born - but not so much the writings of the Hebrew Scriptures that remind us why we needed a Savior to come in the first place. 

And just like it is worth it to examine our lives, it is worth it to enter into the season of Advent with these sacred scriptures, even if they are not always the ones that we associate with our favorite parts of the season. 

With that in mind - let us turn to the scripture before us, from the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah was one of the major prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures. We know a little more about Jeremiah than some of the other prophets, because he tells bits and pieces of his story throughout his writings. 

After King Solomon died, Israel as a kingdom becomes split. You have what becomes known as the northern Kingdom, sometimes referred to as Israel, and then Judah in the south. But the northern kingdom was captured by Assyria. As Assyria started to decline in its power, the king of Judah, Josiah, tried to move into the Northern Kingdom and bring reform. But when he died, the people, including Judah, ended up being captured by Babylonia. And eventually, Babylonia even took the city of Jerusalem. 

Jeremiah was the prophet during this heartbreaking time in history. And he had to give up a lot in order to do so. He didn’t have a wife. He never had children. The people he was sent to hated him. He was threatened. All because he had some really hard words to say to folks who really didn’t want to hear any of it. 

And part of that message that the exiles didn’t want to hear was this. Settle in. This isn’t going to be a short time. Make a home for yourselves in a place that both doesn’t feel like your home and literally isn’t your home. Marry, have children - just like when you were slaves in Egypt long ago. And seek the well being of Babylon - because this is where you are for the time being. 

You can understand why it would have been much more appealing to the false prophets and magicians, right? They brought a message that this really wasn’t going to last much longer. But Jeremiah brought the true message of God. 

Also, Jeremiah tells folks that this would be a really good time to reflect on their relationship with God. They can no longer do the things that they made important as a way to express their faith, but instead have to get to the heart of what faith really means. In other words, faith isn’t tied to a specific place, rather a relationship to God. 

Friends, as counter intuitive as it may seem, Jeremiah was bringing the people a word of hope. Sometimes, we like the exiles, think that hope means that anything uncomfortable that we experience will end quickly. But really, hope is a feeling of expectation. Hope is rooted in trust. And Jeremiah brings the message of hope that this time will not last forever, but they can expect that this experience will radically shift their relationship to God and dependance upon him. 

That is what this first Sunday of Advent is marked by, dear brothers and sisters. Hope. Not a false hope, but the true hope of God. We are expectantly waiting for our Savior to return, yet as we wait, we know that this time is going to shape and form us. It will draw us closer in our relationship with God.

If we let it. 

Like the exiles, we may want to rush through this season of waiting. But, this is the moment, right here and right now, where God will meet us. If only we open up our hearts.

Will you pray with me….

“Isaiah: A Child Is Born” Isaiah 9:1-7

 In some ways this may seem like an odd text for us to gather around the week of Thanksgiving. We are not quite at the Advent season, though it will soon be upon us. And this text from the prophet Isaiah is often read throughout that particular season - as we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ anew. But while some texts are usually lifted up at certain times throughout the Christian year, all scripture is a light unto our path during the whole year - so what is the invitation of this scripture for us, at such a time as this?

Isaiah was one of the major prophets in the Hebrew Scriptures - along with Jeremiah and Ezra. As a reminder - that doesn’t mean that the major prophets were more important then the minor prophets - simply that the writings that came forth from the Spirit were longer for the major prophets than the minor. But all of the prophets had a similar purpose - to speak a word of truth to the Israelites at a critical time in their history.  But we do know what his name means - Yahweh gives salvation. 

Unlike Amos, from last week, who had a message for the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the message that Isaiah is sent with is directed at Judah. And this message is one of hope. Things may seem bad, but God is faithful. God is making a way that the world cannot perceive, but that doesn’t make it any less true. 

And what is that way that God is making? Sending a Savior. This is a promise made out of the faithful love of God towards the people of God.

In other words, God is going to send someone to do for the people what they cannot do for themselves - to deliver them. And that person will break the yoke of oppression that has been binding the Israelites for so long. Though this Savior, the people will see that God has broken the rod of the oppressor and they no longer have power. The enemy has been defeated!

As Christians we believe that this Savior is Jesus Christ, who has come to set us free from  the sin that has bound us for so long. In other words, while the people in the of Isaiah were looking for a King to come and liberate them, to set them free, we believe, friends, that King is Jesus. 

Isaiah goes on to give this Savior four different names. Remember that names were extremely important during Biblical times. Another way to state this is to say that these are the four ways that you will know the Savior has come. 

He will be known as “Wonderful counselor” - he is wise and full of integrity.

He will be known as “mighty God” - full of power. 

He will be known as “everlasting father” - the one who cares deeply for the people.

He will be known as “prince of peace” - because he will be the one to bring everlasting peace. 

So how does all of this connect to today - Christ the King Sunday within the church and the Sunday before thanksgiving in the church and world? To worship God and bow down at God’s throne. Perhaps one of the best examples of seeing gratitude in action is when it leads us to service. Anne Lamott says, “Gratitude begins our hearts and then dovetails into behavior”. Have you ever noticed that it is joyful people who seem to give away more freely their time, treasures, and talents? That people who are always praising God with their lips are manifesting their joy with their actions?

And who is it we are worshipping and living for? Our Savior. Christ alone. 

In my last parish for Thanksgiving, nine different churches came together for an ecumenical Thanksgiving service. Instead of having one pastor give a sermon, all seven pastors took turns standing up and saying ways that their churches were reaching out into the community. They weren’t sharing these things to brag - at least not brag on themselves - but to brag on God. To talk about how their love and gratitude for God has lead them to want other people to know about God’s goodness by our actions. This, brothers and sisters, is what it means to truly be the Church. To serve out of the well-spring of our joy and praise. Gratitude leads to service and the more we serve and see other people’s lives blessed, the more readily we ask “how can I give more?” Do you see what a big difference there is between a prayer of gratitude that leads to action and prayers that tell God to give us something first, before we will even say that we are grateful?  

Worship to our King, Jesus, come from our lips and our actions, which are inter-connected. They express what our heart is feeling towards God. At the close of the thanksgiving service the light of Christ was shared, in a similar way to how we share it as a parish on Christmas Eve. It was a tangible reminder to me that we praise God our light shines - we reflect the will and the heart of Christ - which was always praising the Father - not just when circumstances were going well, but at all times.

What we will proclaim and share with others. If we have reflected upon what God has done for us and what we are grateful for, we are more likely to share that with others - more likely to shine it through our actions - then if we only dwell on what is wrong. Will we testify to God’s goodness at all times?

What are you most grateful for these days? My guess is that if we each actually sat down and reflected upon that question we could fill up pages and pages. But I want to expand that question today - what are you thankful about Christ’s Kingship in your life?  And how that gratitude for the abundance of blessings, some of which we probably never took time to consider before, lead us to live our lives different.  Amen. 

“Amos: Let Justice Roll Down" Amos 1:1-2; 5:14-15, 21-24

  While I was in seminary, one of our beloved deans retired. As part of a time of reflecting on God’s calling upon her life, the graduating class commissioned a stained glass hanging based on Amos 5: 24, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” 

While I love that particular verse, I think that we struggle to truly understand what justice is and what it is not.

Justice. When I say this word, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? For me, it’s Judge Judy. A beacon of the court system, who has no time for those who don’t follow the rules or those who try to exploit the system, she is tough, but fair. But God is not Judge Judy.

God’s sense of justice extends well beyond our limited view of justice through the human court system. Our sense of justice is in order to do what is best for us – justice may involve separating some people from others, or enforcing fines in an attempt to get people to follow the rules.  But our sense of justice is also tainted – sometimes the justice system is actually unjust. But God’s sense of justice is not about what is good for God; it is about what is good for those whom God loves. 

The problem in the time of Amos is that the people are trying to tell God what is good instead of allowing God to lead them to his definition of goodness.

Amos is known as a minor prophet. That doesn’t mean that he had a minor message or impact, rather the writing is shorter in length. Amos never dreamt of being a prophet. It wasn’t something he aspired to. Instead, he was a shepherd, minding his own business and his sheep when one day God said I’m going send you with a message from my people. 

Amos, the unsuspecting prophet, served during the reign of King Jeroboam II and to the outside eye, everything looked great. There weren’t any military battles raging or natural disasters or collapses in the economy. And yet, even in a time when everything seemed good - it was only good by the world’s standards, not God’s.

The people of God had started to slip. They had started to think that since everything looked good, well they must be good. Another way to put it is that they had become complacent. All they could see was the “good”, but at the cost of ignoring the cries of the oppressed. They gave their time to only those people and things that could benefit them. And the courts, the place of human justice, were littered with corruption.

Things were not good.

There was just a false sense of goodness that lead to a false sense of security.

Friends, Amos could be speaking to us today, could he not? Things are not good just because there is power and wealth or that our own lives seem okay. There is still injustice and abuses. People are still oppressed, the problem is now we ignore their cries by simply changing the channel, flipping the page, or walking past the person struggling without a home. We choose injustice by ignoring the cries of those around us.

Brothers and sisters, when we think that things are good because we are good, this is a sneaky form of pride. 

And what comes from pride, but seeking more for ourselves - hence it becomes a vicious cycle.

Lest we think that this problem is only about the outer world, it has crept into the heart of the worship of the people of Israel as well. They started making worship in their image and brought in this thought that I’ll worship God as long as give me what I want. I’ll make this sacrifice, but God has to give me what I want in return. That’s only fair.

So Amos, the shepherd and sheep breeder, left everything behind to go from Judah to Israel. In other words, instead of just sending word to tell the people of Israel to get it together, he actually went to this place that was foreign to him to bring this powerful word of the Lord. 

Worship was more about receiving than offering praise unto God. And it was a whole lot more about empty word then about changed hearts and behavior. It sounds a whole lot like what Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew, Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, shall enter the Kingdom of heaven. 

The people were trying to use their act of worship to manipulate God. And Amos shows up with this message that worship isn’t about making God do something for you - its about allowing God to shape and change you. All of you. 

But what does that look like for us today? Christ taught through his actions of seeking justice for us on that cross, that we are seek justice for others. We may not be able to have the same kind of justice that doesn’t make everything fair or even, but clean, but we can at least strive to love people in this world. 

Another translation of the heart of Amos’s preaching In the book of the prophet Amos (5:24),says “a flood of justice and an endless river of righteous living.” The phrase that used to describe followers of Christ who try to seek to live justly on this earth is “social justice” or “peace with justice.” While we may not be able to eliminate the wrongs in this world, we can try to correct them and see those often mistreated in society with the eyes of Christ. 

But in order to get to that place, we need to seek to have the eyes of Christ. Which means in all humility seeking aside our pride. Setting aside our ideas of good in order to focus on God’s idea of good. And it means not worshipping as an act of manipulation but as an act of transformation.

The type of transformation that shakes every bit of us. 

The type of transformation that changes our priorities to be those who seek to live as God desires. 

One step we could take towards this idea of justice, right here and now today, is to pray, “Lord, give me your eyes to see justice. And may I live to seek your idea of justice here on earth.” A two sentence pray, yet a powerful one if we mean it. If we let the prayer shape and transform us - not to be people who seek out our idea of justice or vigilantes after how we think the world should be, but instead asking God to change how we see and act as Kingdom people to reflect the love the Savior has for us. 

May we claim God’s justice in our lives. May we see it as a wonderful gift, and also as something that we can live into being. May we seek justice on the behalf of the forgotten, ignored, and oppressed. And may we love all, remembering that God’s justice covers all. Amen.

“God Speaks to Elijah” 1 Kings 19:1-18

 

What comes into your mind when I say the still small voice of God? Often it is this scripture. The one of Elijah. 

But before we get to Elijah being present to the voice of God, we need to back up and figure out how we got here. Think of this like one of those statements that flash across the screen in movies or on TV that say “x number of hours before” or “y number of days before.” We need to go back in order to step into the full richness of this moment in scripture. 

Back in the times of Kings, both literal kings and the historical book of Kings, leaders were often paired with a prophet or priest. Think of Samuel and David. Those who were tasked with speaking truth into the lives of rulers, even when they don’t want to hear it. 

Except Elijah didn’t have the same relationship with the ruler during his time, King Ahab, as what Samuel had with David. Time after time Elijah had do things and say things that threatened his life. He had to tell Ahab that the reason the land was in a harsh draught was him. And his betrayl of God. 

Now Elijah has had another one of those moments. Only this time he is up against the King and his Queen, Jezebel. Jezebel did not know or worship God. Instead, she worshiped Baal. And Elijah had just been part of this grand gesture from God where God caused fire and rain. But in the act, the priests of Baal had been killed.

So Jezebel is without her honored priests. And she is deeply embarrassed. And all of that is coming out as deep anger and threats - specifically that she is going to have Elijah killed in one day or less.

Enter today’s scripture. Elijah is literally on the run for his life. Originally he took a servant with him, but at some point he left him, and finds himself to be totally alone. And in that moment he prays that the Lord would take his life. Perhaps it was a prayer raised in fear. Perhaps it was a prayer raised in frustration - he was simply doing what the Lord had called him to do, how in the world did he end up here? Perhaps it was a prayer raised in sorrow - feeling like he had failed God. But after he laid it all out to God, he fell asleep. 

Can you relate to any of these prayers? Maybe not asking the Lord to take your life. But maybe you have prayed prayers of fear or frustration or sorrow. And after you poured it all out to God, it doesn’t means that the situation itself has changed, but you feel like you have laid it down enough to sleep. To find some sort of rest. 

But Elijah was awakened in this beautiful and unique way. An angel showed up to minister to him. Telling him to get up and eat. Remember, brothers and sisters, that he is in the wilderness. Where do you think that food came from? God had provided. 

God was not just providing food but strength for the journey as well. For Elijah is about to head out on a spiritual pilgrimage of sorts. For 40 days and 40 nights he walked to the mountain of God. Not knowing where he was going, but only knowing that the Spirit of God was compelling him to keep going. And when he reached Mount Horeb, he found a cave and went inside.

Only this voice comes to Elijah asking why is there. Why is he in this cave? Why is he at Mount Horeb? Why isn’t where he was sent to be - with King Ahab?

And probably all of the words that Elijah has had ruminating within him for the last 40 days worth of journey come tumbling out. I’ve done my best, Lord. I’ve done what you asked me to do. You put me in this impossible situation - ministering to a stubborn people who keep killing anyone who tries to lead them back to you. So why am I here? To escape death. 

But instead of answering Elijah’s complaints, God gives a simple instruction. Get up and go stand at the mountain. I’m coming to pass by you. 

And suddenly all of this stuff happens. An earthquake. A wind storm. A blazing fire. And God wasn’t present in any of theses earth shattering events.

Then there’s a gentle whisper. That which some translations calls the still small voice. And that’s where God showed up.

And again Elijah was asked what he was doing there. And he gives the same response as before, but we can imagine that by now his tone has changed. He knows that he is standing in the presence of the Lord. No longer is it full of zealous complaints that bubbled over from his journey. Now you can imagine its a whisper coming forth from his voice as well. A holy hush. And God sends him back. Not back to die. But back, like Samuel, to do a new thing. 

So what does this scripture have for us, here and now today?

I think within this scripture passage we find an invitation. An invitation to not assume that God only speaking to us in the big earthquake moments in our lives - though God surely is there. An invitation to listen in the quiet for the gentle whisper of God. 

When Elijah heard the silence - that is when he recognized that God was drawing near so he went out to be in the presence of God.

How many times have we been there, friends? How many times have we asked where God was in the midst of a situation only to realize later that God was there the entire time? How many times have we completely missed God’s presence because we expected God to show up the way we wanted or in our timing?

So often we let expectations, what we think or want or hope is going to happen, block us from seeing that which is right in front of us. Church, God is not beholden to our expectations. God is going to show up how God is going to show up and it is our responsibility to catch the movement of the Spirit and follow. 

More than a few times I have had folks tell me that they wish that God would just show up and speak like God did in the times of the Bible. But when we step back and look at the stories found in the Bible, time and again its about God showing up, not in the expected ways but in the unexpected ways. Moses was not expecting God to be in the burning bush. Noah did not expect God to tell him to build an ark. Abram didn’t expect to be told to leave everything behind and go to a land that God was going to reveal to him along the way. Sarah didn’t expect to be pregnant in her 90s. Joshua didn’t expect to be the leader tapped to take the Israelites into the promised land. And when you fast forward to the new testament, folks certainly didn’t expect the Messiah to show up as a tiny, helpless baby who was born in a stable.

We need to set aside our expectation in order to embrace what God is doing right, here right now.  The question is are we really listening? Or is there something in our heart that is blocking us from hearing and responding to the call of God in this time and in this place? What does God want to do in and through us if we only set aside our own expectations and instead embrace the movement of God? Amen.