tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70730600900329156562024-03-17T21:39:33.165-04:00Wounded LoveWhere is the love that heals the hurt and reaches out to the broken-hearted?Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.comBlogger1072125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-12544654494130312112024-03-17T21:39:00.001-04:002024-03-17T21:39:00.132-04:00“End of the Age” Mark 13: 1-8, 24-37<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">Since the point when Jesus ascended into Heaven his disciples have been looking for his return. Immiatley. And in every age since there have been people who have tried to guess when Jesus is going to come back, using everything from fancy counting methods to just straight up guessing again and again and again. If I’m honest, these attempts to nail down the date when Jesus will return frustrate me, because Jesus says in this passage that even the angels, even he, the son of God, do not know that date. It’s for God to know alone. And yet, we keep trying to guess, as if we know better than Jesus.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The question is why? Why are we so fascinated with texts like this that talk about the end of the age. The Gospel of Mark is thought to be written shortly after the temple is destroyed. Christians are living in persecution. Things look really bleak. So they start to look for the signs of the times that point to Jesus coming back and setting them free from all of the pain and suffering that they are currently experiencing. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think we can understand that as well. We, too, live in a time where things seem bleak - even if it looks completely different then the believers who lived during the time when the Gospel of Mark was written. So we, too, look for that day and time when Jesus will return. It’s one of the reasons I think the <i>Left Behind </i>series were so immensely popular. People are yearning for Jesus to come back. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Jesus was teaching his disciples, they were marveling over the temple before them. This magnificant building that stood the test of time, and was believed to be the home of God. Under that wisdom it could never falter. But Jesus, in this time of private teaching with his disciples, points out to them that things are not always as they seem. The stability of a building, even the very house of God, does not last forever. Something new is coming. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The disciples had to be shocked. Wouldn’t we be shocked if we heard that the very things we trusted most in our lives were going to come tumbling down? Yet, Jesus is reminding his disciples, and reminding us, that a time of change is coming. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peter, James, John and Andrew then had an even more private conversation with Jesus and asked the most rational of questions - when? When is this going to happen Jesus? And what’s going to tell us that it’s going to happen soon. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And Jesus had a beautiful answer. Watch out that no one deceives you! Friends, we can get so distracted by the when that we totally miss the why. This teaching that Jesus is passing on is the bridge between all that the disciples have experienced with Jesus so far - the teaching, the miracles, the healings - and his Passion that is come. This time when Jesus would give his very life in order to change the world. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For some that would seem like the end of the story, but it goes on. The Son of Man will return in final victory. Jesus will return in all of his power and glory. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Church, that is surely exciting. But when we get so caught up in what is to come, we miss out on the present mission that Jesus has given us here and now. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Normally, I am a pretty fast walker. I attribute it to having short legs that need to move faster in order to keep up with other people. Unless I am at camp. Whenever I am serving as a camp counselor, I know my place. I am at the back of the group of students with the folks who are the stragglers. Some would find this to be a frustrating place, but I find it fascinating. Because I notice more. When I slow down with these campers I notice new things, even if I have been in the same place so many times before. When we go too fast, we miss seeing what is right before our very eyes. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we are distracted, looking for signs of what is to come, we can miss the mission of the present. We can miss what God is trying to point out to us here and now. We can overlook the call to pay attention. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There is, however, a flip side to being in the present as well. The things that Jesus says we will experience are frightening. Wars. Rumors of more wars. Earthquakes. Famines. It is sometimes hard to find hope in the midst of so much pain. But Jesus points out that pain is not to be seen in a fatalistic manner - instead it is like a birth pain. The pain that comes before something new emerges. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus goes on to tell them a story about keeping watch. That they (and we) are keep alert like we are waiting for the owner of the home to return. We don’t know when. So we stay alert. We are watchful.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For some of the earliest disciples, they were so convinced that Jesus was coming tomorrow, that they forgot the mission. They quit their jobs. Sold their homes. And just waited. And waited. And waited.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, as we are watchful, it is not an excuse to give up what God has appointed us to do. We are certainly waiting for the owner of the house to return, but until then we are stewards of that which is entrusted to us. And that’s a pretty weighty thing that we are in the care of - Christ’s work in the world. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we give up on the mission, we are giving up on souls. It is like we are saying that people don’t matter and we are more interested in Jesus’s return than people coming to know him. I have told people many times, that it is our job to keep sharing the Gospel until Jesus returns, because I don’t know about you, but for me, there are people I know who if Jesus came right here and now today, don’t know him. And that breaks my heart. And I hope it breaks all of our hearts as the Church of Jesus Christ and gives us fuel for the mission before us. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We are not passively waiting for Jesus to return, friends. We are actively waiting. We are to stay focused on the mission at hand and the truth that is before us. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At the end of the day, the disciples didn’t get the answer they were hoping for. In fact, Jesus tells them that even he does not know the day and time. But he calls them to something greater with his answer. He calls them to faith and vigilance, even in a present and a future that will have suffering. He is telling them of the hope of the Kingdom of God, even if they do not fully understand or recognize it. He tells them of a freedom from that which binds their hearts and lives that will be broken at the end of the age. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>These were meant to be words of encouragement, but also challenge. Words that propelled them, even in the absence of Jesus, to be the people of God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think there is always a fascination with knowing what will happen tomorrow. But the truth is, none of us know what tomorrow holds. Recently someone in this parish told me “things can change so quickly.” And that is true for any of us. The question is what are we going to do with the gift of today? Let us not be so caught up in what is to come that we forsake the mission and call in the present. Let us be emboldened to share the mission of God, here and now. Amen. </p><div><br /></div>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-13488586686472170712024-01-28T17:29:00.001-05:002024-01-28T17:29:00.321-05:00“Jesus and the Gerasene Demoniac” Mark 5: 1-20<p> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">Imagine that you are meeting someone new for the first time. What are the normal pleasantries that accompany an introduction. Maybe what your name is or where you live. What you do as a vocation or enjoy doing as a hobby. I’m going to guess that you have not met many people for the first time where you were immediately asked what is binding you or what your deepest struggle in life is.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The story of the Gerasene Demoniac tends to go one of a few ways when it is preached upon. Some preachers focus on the Demoniac in such a way that it comes across as a litany of thanks - thank goodness we are not like this poor man. Others try to wash away his struggles, saying that he wasn’t really possessed, but something else was going on in his life. Both approaches end up doing essentially the same thing - creating space between us hearing the story and the man from Scripture long ago. In fact, we want to keep lots of space between us and this extremely uncomfortable Scripture. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yet, we find it in the Gospel for a particular reason. So let us recount the story. There was a man who was considered unclean because he had an unclear spirit within him. Saying he was unclean is hard for us to imagine on this side of history, but it had nothing to do with physical cleanliness - it meant he was cut off from community. That he was not able to worship God with other people. That there was an imposed sense of isolation. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not only was he considered unclean by his community but he was living in an unclean place. When Jesus and the disciples docked their boat they did so taking port in a graveyard. Touching dead bodies was considered unclean so a place full of dead bodies was certainly unclean. People did not go there. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This man is so stricken that he can’t give voice to his own thoughts. All he can do is howl. When words do come out of his mouth they aren’t his own, but the demon inside of him speaking to Jesus. His own voice was gone.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And Jesus is willing to go to an unclean place to this unclean man cut off from contact with other people and who had no voice for his own thought and experience. This was a radial thing! Jesus was willing to go to the places of isolation and desolation in order to reach out to people. And in doing so broke all of the social norms at the time. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When people were unclean they were cut off from other people in order to prevent the spread of disease, as they understood it at the time. But when they were cut off from worship and going to the temple, even when others weren’t present, it was as if people were afraid that you could hurt God. To which Jesus, the very son of God, proclaims that we cannot harm God - even in our most vulnerable and even in our most broken of places. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus came off the boat in this very particular place, where no one else is docking for a very particular reason. He is searching this man out. And he comes face to face with him and through compassion, strength, and grace, sets him free. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This man who could not even be held by chains was enslaved by the demon that was inside of him. Coupled with that, he was locked into his own isolation and shame. And even, and most especially him - he was sought out by our Lord and Savior. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I wonder if instead of thinking about all of the ways that you <i>aren’t </i>like this man, if the invitation today is to think about the ways that you <i>are. </i>What is binding your heart and life? What are the secret places, that you have tried so hard to hide from others, but Jesus sees and knows and wants you to hand over to him? What makes you be locked away in isolation and shame and how is Jesus inviting you to respond?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The truth is that we all have things we have given power over our lives. Things that maybe haven’t stolen our voice, but have certainly taken over our heart piece by piece by piece. We have ways that we have acted in a self-destructive manner, even if we think that no one else sees or knows or will get hurt by it. In other words, we all have things that chain us. Things that need set free from. What is binding you? Where does Christ want to offer you freedom?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All of a sudden, the scripture test becomes much more personal. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And then there is a turn. After the man is healed and restored to community - well the community reacts. And they aren’t necessarily joyous. This one who was once known by his past and his chains is now healed and they are fearful. So fearful that they ask Jesus to leave town. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which leads us to ask, what exactly are they afraid of? It seems the they are afraid of Jesus’s power and the complete and total transformation that has happened in this person’s life. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So maybe, if we can’t think of what is binding our heart and life - alienating us from God and name it, well, maybe, we can talk about where transformation - even in the lives of others - scares us. Where does the power of Jesus to change hearts and lives not bring us to our knees in prayer and awe, but in fear? Fear that actually sends Jesus away. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes, as the people of God, we try to make Christ and his power small and manageable and when we see just what he can do, we react out of fear instead of faithfulness. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because here’s the thing - Jesus didn’t just change peoples lives back in scripture. He’s still doing that today. Jesus is in the people changing business for the sake of the Kingdom. And if we are going to follow him we better be giving testimony to that, but also be willing to go to those Jesus reached out to in compassion to be bearers of the Good News. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> All too often as the church, we have lived out of a place of fear. Fear of others. Fear of change. Fear of what God may be doing, instead of one of awe. Instead of one of anticipation. Instead of one of proclamation. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> It’s time to be unleashed from fear. Set free from that which holds us back from proclaiming the Good News - that Jesus searched for us, found us, and changed us. Because he loves us and because he knows us. In the words from <i>Jesus, </i>“The leaper, the blindman, the deaf and the lame, the sick and the broken. He know their name”. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-26442233353759834132024-01-21T12:19:00.000-05:002024-01-21T12:19:00.137-05:00“Parables in Mark” Mark 4: 1-34<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I have spent enough time trying to get crowds attentions, that I have picked up some tips and tricks along the way. When we are at camp and we need everyone to focus their attention on one person, especially if it is in a crowded setting like the dining hall, we raise our hand. As campers and staff see the raised hand, they raise they hand too and stop their conversations, until everyone is silent, with their hand in the air. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With smaller children, as well as with crowds in larger settings, like outdoors, I have said if you can hear me clap your hands once…. If you can heard me clap your hands twice… if you can hear me claps your hands three times, all in hopes that by the third time, everyone is quiet. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And of course many of you have heard me down in the fellowship hall, preparing to pray over a meal saying, “the Lord be with you” and hoping that you reply “and also with you.”</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus found himself trying to teach a large crowd by the sea. He wouldn’t have just been hearing their chattering, but also the sounds of the sea behind him. Then he got into a boat, pushed off from the shoreline, and his voice carried over the waters and into the people’s ears. But he starts with this little word that we often overlook, “Listen!”</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I know just enough about grammar to be dangerous, but not enough to always be accurate. But I do know this - when Jesus was saying listen it would be the equivalent of “you all listen” or collaquely, “listen up everyone”. He wants to make sure that people zero I on what he is saying. He is trying to get their attention. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then Jesus enters into the parable that he has to tell. A parable about a sower (think farmer) who went out into the field to sow (seeds for crops). As he was throwing the seed, it landed in all sorts of different places. Some landed right on the dirt path and the birds gobbled it right up. Others fell on rocky, hard ground, where it sprang up quickly since there wasn’t much depth to the roots, but the sun’s heat quickly scorched it. Still other seeds fell in thorns that choked the life out of the grain. And some fell on the good soil and brought forth not just grain, but an abundance of grain. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And then Jesus ends like he began - if you have ears, listen. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem wasn’t that people weren’t listening though. It was that they didn’t understand. In fact, Jesus’s own disciples were listening attentively to his words, but when they got a moment where they were with Jesus on their own, they asked Jesus to explain the parable and what it meant - confessing that they didn’t understand. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In Mark 4, we find this Gospel’s first expanded explanation of the Kingdom of God. Up to this point, things have been moving so quickly, that the disciples have probably just been caught up in all of it - without a moment to slow down and ask Jesus about what he means when he teachers about the Kingdom of God. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In Sunday school recently, someone was sharing about how we can have a bad habit in the church of assuming that everyone understands what we are teaching and the language we use, but the truth is it can be confusing. So, we like the disciples, need a moment to slow down and not just unpack what we believe, but also the implications of those beliefs. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus is telling a parable, a story with a deeper meaning, that starts with a context that most people would understand. A sower who sows. Remember that these are folks who worked the land and fished so they could eat. They knew what it was like to have some grain seeds that never matured. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But Jesus was trying to connect that context, something they knew, with a deeper spiritual truth - and that they weren’t getting. Or at least, we can confidently say that the disciples didn’t get, because they need a moment alone to ask Jesus about it. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem, church, is that sometimes we become so familiar with these texts that we do one of two things. First, we don’t listen. In our day and age when we emphasize speaking and talking more than listening, and we are poorer for it. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Perhaps, ever as adults, we need to remember that old adage that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason. But we often get caught up in the trap of thinking that we need to appear a certain way and as a result, we can nod our heads like we understand what Jesus is saying, but never really dig into the meaning, here and now today, for our lives. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The second problem is that we assume we know the meaning. We are so confident in our particular understanding that we think we are the one who knows it all. We think we know what Jesus is saying, which leads us to assume that we know what Jesus is <i>going to </i>say. Putting ourselves and our understanding at the center of our faith and not Jesus. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The disciples come looking for clarification in one of the most beautiful displays of faithful discipleship - continuing to seek, ask, and listen. We know that there will be moments when the disciples look and listen, but don’t see and hear, but in this moment, they are modeling for us what it looks like to draw close to Jesus. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And all of the sudden, Jesus breaks the whole parable open for them - its not about actual soil, but instead is about the human heart. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which leads us to ask different questions with a renewed sense of urgency. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So let’s step into the parable from a different way, a corporate way, and see what may be new for us today. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus said, <i>“And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the age and the lure of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.”</i></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></i>Even with Jesus laying out the meaning for the disciples, which has been passed down to us, we are meant to ask, what chokes out the Word in our lives? Or where do we feel choked and what is leading to that?</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And, that, friends, isn’t just a question for individuals, but for us as a church as well. Where do we let discouragement based on our own expectations choke the life out of us? Where are the places where we fail to spread the Word, inviting others to come and hear, because we can’t catch our breath because of the pace of the world? </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All of a sudden, a new meaning can break open in our hearts, when we sit with the text and ask not just what is it saying to us, but what is it asking of us?</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Engaging scripture is not a one time thing, church. We return to it again and again, because we are always growing closer to Jesus and in doing so, new pieces of truth are being revealed to us. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But we have to listen. And listen without saying “I already know what this means, I’ve heard it before.” </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So may we be people who engage this text like the first disciples, asking Jesus to reveal his truth to us in new and profound ways. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-22139269085215561862024-01-14T10:22:00.001-05:002024-01-14T10:22:00.133-05:00“Jesus Heals and Teaches” Mark 2: 1-22<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">When I was in elementary school, my parents had a decision to make - are we going to move or build an addition onto our family home. I remember, despite being young, going to visit several different houses - including one where you could pass food through a hole in the wall - which I thought was so neat at the time.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My parents ultimately decided to build an addition onto our home - which meant that for a period of time we moved several rooms worth of stuff into our living room. My mom is not one for messes, so as the project took longer and longer past the given deadline, and the mess grew larger and larger, her patience started to fray.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the end - it was all worth it, but there was a lot of frustration in the process.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus is now in Capernaum and is teaching in a home. His fame around teaching and healing is already beginning to spread, and the crowd is so large that it has filled out house and is pushing out of the door. Can you see it? The crowd pulsing with energy, pushing in, just hoping to be able to catch a glimpse of Jesus and hear what he is saying. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The crowd was so large, that no one else would be able to get through. And there was someone who <i>really </i>wanted, no needed, to get through. There was a man who was paralyzed, unable to walk on his own, who was being carried by four people. But they couldn’t get in. All the well meaning folks wanting to hear and see Jesus were in their way. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So when they could not get the man to Jesus the traditional way, through the front door, they got creative and cut a hole in the roof in order to lower the man to Jesus. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Church, I don’t care what your roof is made of - you are going to notice when someone starts digging a hole in it. I wonder what the crowd started to do, as bits of the roof fell upon them. Did they start looking up - wondering what was happening? Did Jesus keep on teaching, or did he stop with his eyes gazing up as well?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>These four men were so desperate to get their friend to Jesus, they were willing to do anything, <i>anything, </i>just so he could be in Jesus’s presence and have a chance of being healed. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It may not have been practical, but it was effective, because when they had a big enough hole, they lowered that man right through it to Jesus. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Only, when the man was safely on the ground, the first thing he was offered by Jesus was not healing but forgiveness. Ouch. What was the man in need of forgiveness for? A lot of preachers through the years have inaccurately connected the man’s illness, his paralysis, with his sin, but Jesus never says that. But he does say that this man is forgiven. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which made the religious leaders really upset. They claimed that Jesus had neither the authority nor the right to declare that sins are forgiven, but at least had the common sense to keep their mouths shut. Only Jesus saw right on into their hearts - so to make his point even clearer - about where his power and authority came from - he then told the man to be healed. To get up and walk. Which he did - rolling up his mat and heading out the front door that wouldn’t allow him in. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A lot of times, I will hear folks say that they are willing to do anything to get those they know and love to Jesus. They desperately want people to come to know him as Lord and Savior, only there are some cavauts, unspoken as they may be, around the concept of “anything.” Anything, as long as its convient. Anything, as long as its practical. Anything, as long as it doesn’t require too much from them. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To which these four men show up and speak truth into the “anything.” Anything really means anything for them. They were bold and imaginative, driven by their desire to get their friend to Jesus - trusting that he would take care of the rest. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But the problem, church, is not just our limits on the word “anything.” It often can be that we are the people blocking others from coming to Jesus - crowding in around the door to the point where others cannot find a way in. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the churches I served was located on historic route 6. It was not uncommon to have travelers stop in from time and time along their journey from one coast to another. One Sunday, a man showed up in biking shorts and a helmet, explaining that he was traveling across the United States and had run out of food and resources. Could we help?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, in some congregations, he may have been turned away because of how he looked - blocking the door to Jesus. Or there may have been questions about whether he was trying to rip them off - blocking the door to Jesus. And still others may have agreed to help, but would ask him to wait until it was a convient time for them - blocking the door to Jesus. But not this church. They raided their own cupboards, finding anything they could for him and blessing him on his journey. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The folks blocking the door that day had really good intentions. They may not have even realized that someone was trying to get past them because they needed to see Jesus too. But not knowing that you are blocking the door doesn’t make it any less of a hinderance. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The other questions this text asks us, is not just around the concept of “anything” or blocking doors, but also how would we feel if someone cut a hole in our roof? Maybe its not going to be a literal hole, but how would we react church, if someone was so desperate for Jesus, that they disturbed our orderly worship?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think if we were honest, a lot of us would say that we have no desire to be interrupted in that dramatic of a fashion. We like things just the way they are, thank you. But when someone wants to see Jesus, friends, and we won’t get out of the way, then we <i>need </i>to be interrupted. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the churches I served got a bit uneasy when I said I was going to make a sign asking people to come and have me pray with them at a local pub. They were afraid of how it would look - a pastor sitting at the bar, even sipping water. They thought that hour a week could be better spent ministering to them - they were the ones supporting the ministry, weren’t they. And I went anyway. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They were right, not a single person I ever prayed with, ever made it to their church. But time and again people would say to me that they felt like Jesus was doing something in their hearts as they told me story after story of what alientated them from the church and how they felt like this was a way for them to find healing and return. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Church, the bold, creativity of the friends that day created a mess. But it was all worth it in the end, even with all of the frustration in the process. Their friend was healed that day, but the crowds, even they were blessed to catch a glimpse of who Jesus is.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We may get frustrated, people of God. We may not realize that we are in the way. We may not want holes cut in our roofs and we may say “anything” when we really mean some pretty hefty conditions. But hear this - anytime someone comes to Jesus, it is worth it in the end. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-90783968503669176622024-01-07T15:32:00.000-05:002024-01-07T15:32:00.137-05:00“You Shall Be My Witnesses” Acts 1:1-11<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">Sometime the Sunday after Easter can feel like a letdown. The sanctuary may not have the same feel as last week. Perhaps we were able to gather with loved ones who have since went home. We aren’t sure what to do with this Sunday after such a big celebration.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the Christian calendar, while Easter is the day when we celebrate that Christ rose from the grave, we also celebrate the season of Eastertide from Easter Sunday until Ascension Sunday. Now, I’m going to possibly confuse us - this text that we are hearing today - it’s one that is usually read at the <i>end </i>of the Easter season - on Ascension Sunday. But as we have said several times, all Scripture can be read and proclaimed <i>any </i>time - so today we enter into the book of Acts. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Last week, we gathered together and proclaimed the heart of our faith - Jesus Christ crucified <i>and </i>resurrected, but Luke tells us in the book of Acts that there is even more to the story. After Jesus was resurrected, he walked with his disciples, continuing to teach them. But he could not stay on this earth with them forever. He needed to ascend into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and assume the Lordship we know he has over heaven and earth. So we do not just claim Jesus crucified and resurrected, we also proclaim that Jesus is Lord. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And if we are honest, there are times that we aren’t quite sure what to do with that statement. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For the first disciples, Jesus gave them very clear instructions - stay in Jerusalem and wait for the gift that has been promised to you - the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They are asked to do an incredibly difficult thing - to stay in the place where Jesus had been put to death not to long ago. The place where they hid for their lives after his crucifixion. And now Jesus is telling them to stay for an indeterminate amount of time <i>without him. </i>They must have felt like they had just gotten Jesus back with them and now he is talking about leaving again. Not just talking, but literally leaving before their very eyes!</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The disciples don’t seem to yet understand Jesus as Lord because instead of following his instructions they are caught with their eyes gazing up to heaven instead of going out to do as they told them. Until two angels show up and ask what they are doing.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes I am blessed to work with pastors who desire to be ordained. There are lots of different components to that work and twice you need to write thesis papers about what you believe about things we say as a Church that are central to who we are. One of those questions is about Jesus as Lord. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And folks get stuck. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not because they don’t have the words - they have lots of words to describe Jesus’s Lordship, but because they haven’t yet distilled those words from head to heart. And I don’t blame folks at all when they struggle with that, because it is so true of many of us here and now today, just as it was with those early disciples. It is easy to say that Jesus is Lord, it is harder to follow him, especially when he asks us to do hard things or doesn’t give us all the details that we desire. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The disciples were living in this between time. Between the resurrection and what was to come next. Between what they now know - Jesus is standing with then and has been walking with them for the last several weeks - and the unknown of Jesus saying that he is leaving again. How do you think the disciples received this news? I would guess that they were disappointed and that this holy space of the between time felt all-to-short. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The reality is that the disciples were still shortsighted when it came to Jesus’s Lordship. They ask this question - <i>“are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”</i> In other words, are you going to be the leader that we expect? Are you going to do what we want you to do? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And Jesus tells them that isn’t for them to know. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Their vision is too small. They still think Lordship is about the here-and-now, overthrowing the Roman government, when Jesus is trying to <i>show </i>them what his Lordship is about. That he is in the business of transforming the world and that they are invited to be part of that work. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And yet, they can’t even follow the first instruction. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because Lordship asks them to surrender their ideas and inklings and actually follow Jesus. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Last week we read together the first eight verses of Mark 16, which is some ways felt like a very unsatisfying resurrection proclamation. The women were afraid. They didn’t go and tell. But the later writings of Mark added a more robust explanation, where Jesus appeared to the disciples again and again and told them to go and preach the Gospel. And then what comes next sounds similar to Acts 1 - <b> <i>“</i></b><i>After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God” </i>But they also did the work in Mark’s text. They went and proclaimed, preaching everywhere and performing signs that accompanied the words. They did the work of witnessing and glorying Christ. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The work that we are still called to today. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In some ways it feels like we are living in our own between time. Between looking up with the disciples and not really following Jesus’s directions as our Lord and Savior in Acts 1 and witnessing to Christ as our Lord in Mark 16. Between hoping that we misheard Jesus when he asks us to do hard things and actually following him to the very ends of the earth. Between hoping that someone else will do the Kingdom work for us and trusting Christ to lead us into the work that we are called to do. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But in order to move out of that between season we need to examine what it means to say that Jesus is Lord. To proclaim that Jesus as Lord lives on in the church through the power of the Holy Spirit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which means we need to do that work of moving from our head to our heart. I once had a congregation member named Mr. Jack, who was so, so wise. Two things that he has said, amongst many, that have stuck with me are ‘you can’t be so heavenly minded that you aren’t any earthly good.’ And ‘the most dangerous place to be is the eight or so inches between your head and your heart.’ We can’t be caught with the disciples just looking up at the clouds instead of following Jesus as Lord. And we can’t be so caught up in our heads that we never actually proclaim Jesus is Lord with our hearts. When we get caught in those in-between places, well, it makes it hard to do what we are asked - to go and be Jesus’s witnesses to the fact that he <i>is </i>the resurrected Lord! Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-6539730986769964042023-11-19T20:47:00.000-05:002023-11-19T20:47:00.145-05:00“Isaiah’s Vineyard Song” Isaiah 5:1-7 Isaiah 11:1-5<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">For the last several months, I have been listening to long-form reporting about a church that self-destructed and left people spiritually wounded in its wake. I can only listen to bits and pieces of it at a time because it is so heartbreaking. But this week, a phrase that the journalist, Mike Copser, stated the accounting with caught my attention: [This is a story about] “waking up to loss and disillusionment, and still it’s a story about looking in the rubble for the fingerprints of God, a God who wept in the garden and at the grave of a friend, who leaves the ninety nine for the one, and who promises justice to the wounded and oppressed.”</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That idea of still seeing God’s fingerprints in the rubble is the heart of this love song that Isaiah is trying to convey to people who quite frankly, didn’t want to hear it, as he was sent out as a messenger from God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God, through the prophet, is trying to plead with people to remember is that he was the one who planted a vineyard for them, this place of fruit and beauty, on the most lush hill. God picked out the perfect place for the vineyard. He took away the stone and he picked the best vines. He even put in a watchtower to keep it safe. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And after all of that work - well, there were rotten grapes.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, I am not a good gardener. All of our attempts as a family to garden have not ended well. One of my congregations even went so far as to plant me a garden as a welcome present, and even that ended up not great. But here is what I read into what the prophet is saying. God did all of the work. Because good garners know that the planting of the garden begins well before the seed ever goes into the ground. It’s int he preparing of the soil. Picking out the spot that has tbe right space, sunlight, and water. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God did all of that work and the crop failed. Which leads us, and the people Isaiah is speaking to, to ask “why?”</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The people start judging God and saying all of the reasons they think that God didn’t do enough. And God boldly says, “what more could I have done?”</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem, as God knows, is not with the planning and toil that God put in with the vineyard. No, the problem is that Jerusalem is correct. That the people of God, those who are to be representing him, bearing his fruit in the world, are exploiting the poor, worshipping idols, and denigrating the land. Their hearts are filled not with the love of God, but with pride. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem is that God needed to be more faithful; it’s that the people of God were unfaithful. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem isn’t that God wasn’t loving; it’s that the people are not living into that love. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And yet.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And yet, God is trying to salvage the ruins.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s just not the way that the want. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God says that the way to redeem this vineyard that is producing rotten fruit is to tear it down. Remove the hedges and the walls. And start it over again. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We don’t often think of tearing it all down and the remaining wasteland as salvaging the ruins. But in this particular case, that’s what God has arrived at. Think about it this way - for those of you who are gardeners. If a particular plant is not producing, what are you going to do? Dig it up and start again. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A word of caution, however, Church. Notice who is doing the digging. Who is doing the uprooting. Who is starting over. It’s God. I think sometimes we put ourselves in the seat of the Holy One when we act as judge and jury over this world - saying that it would be just be better to start over. That is not our work. Not in this passage and not in our daily lives. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I also want you to notice something that we don’t often look at when we look at this text - friends, this is a love song. It may not sound like the love song that we heard together over the summer in the Song of Solomon, but this is a love song God is singing is over his people. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God is starting again, church, because he isn’t impersonal, far off and uncaring about his people - not minding one way or another if they bear fruit. No God’s grief and anger come from a place of tenderness and care for the people. In other words, God is not dispassionate. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God passionately expects the people who are made in his own image to be rooted in justice and righteousness. He wants them to bear fruit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Think about in terms of today, brothers and sisters. You know who can cause the most pain - those that we care about the most. And the places where we have unmet expectations - like the church, when we fail to live into the image of God that we bear in this world and our mission in the Kingdom of God.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The church hurts when we fail to bear fruit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Like the church I was listening to this reporting about. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Like the Israelites that Isaiah is prophesying to. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Like you and I when we are the ones who harm and don’t reflect the heart and love of God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It hurts, doesn’t it church, when this hurts a little too close to home.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But that is not the end of the story for God. It’s not the end of Isaiah’s words. No an image of hope of what could be starts to emerge. In the rebuilding of the vine year, a future with hope is coming!</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For the people of Israel - Assyria, their enemy, will fall. Yes, David’s house also sees to be falling, but something new will emerge. A branch that will come from its roots. And all of this will be birthed out of the loving spirit of God.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not only that but in this newness, there will be a peace like has never been known before. The lion will lay down with the lamb - this striking vision of peace because it isn’t what we have seen. It is a beautiful, rare, gift of God, like precious gem. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So why does this all matter? Because we worship a God who is the business of salving something from the rubble. We worship a God who transforms us and this world out of love. We worship a God, who even in the midst of our own sin and failure, says hope is on the way - even if it isn’t what you thought hope would look like. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So maybe this is our story as well - “waking up to loss and disillusionment, and still it’s a story about looking in the rubble for the fingerprints of God, a God who wept in the garden and at the grave of a friend, who leaves the ninety nine for the one, and who promises justice to the wounded and oppressed.”</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Amen and amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-23917346120865976372023-10-22T20:18:00.000-04:002023-10-22T20:18:00.140-04:00David Anointed King - 2 Samuel 5:1-5; 6:1-5; Psalm 150<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">10/22/2023</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">“David Anointed King”</span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">2 Samuel 5:1-5; 6:1-5; Psalm 150</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What is something that you had to wait a long time for? I’m not talking about the waiting in line type of long. But the years type of long? What is something that you deeply desired, maybe even something that you knew that you were called to, but didn’t materialize within your time frame?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now that you have that type of waiting in mind, I want to ask you, how do you keep hope in the midst of the waiting? How are you patient? How do you praise God in the midst of the waiting?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In today’s scripture passage we find David being anointed King. Only this isn’t the first time that David was anointed. When David was still a young boy, tending sheep for his father Jesse, the prophet Samuel came to his father’s household and told Jesse that one of his sons was to be the ruler of Israel. The King. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Only there was a problem. There already was a king named Saul. Samuel wasn’t even sure that he wanted to anoint another king at first - telling God that surely Saul would kill him if he ever heard. But God assured Samuel that he was called to anoint David as king and he was faithful to do so. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Fast forward. David is now the king of Judah. And now the rest of Israel comes to him, asking David to be their king as well. David was powerful at this point, but his rule was contained to the Southern kingdom. Now people are looking to have David as their king. Maybe they recognize that God is doing something through him. Maybe they are just trying to make a political play. Maybe they are craving security. But whatever leads them to ask David to be their King - he agrees.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And David is anointed for the third time as King. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The third time, friends! It takes three anointing before David becomes the king that God intended him to be. And more importantly than the actual number of anointing themselves, it takes all of the years of time in between each of those anointing for God’s promises to be fulfilled to the fullest extent.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem is that you and I - well many of us aren’t patient people. We would start to wonder if we misheard God or we would try to make things happen in our own way in our own timing. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But not David. David rejoices. David’s first response is to praise God. David gathers together 30,000 men and has them march the ark of the covenant back into the city. The covenant symbolized the presence of God. So what is David saying by taking such an action - you and you alone are going to rule, O God.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And the people are so excited that they are dancing before the Lord has hard has they can, playing instruments and singing songs. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, when is the last time that we said with our lips and our actions that you, O God, are the one who is going to rule our lives. Not ourselves. Not others. But you?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now am I saying that our action to seal that type of commitment needs to look like David’s with singing and dancing and shouts of praise? No. But when have we been that committed to letting God be in control, O people of God? When have we been that joyful in the Spirit?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Psalmist understood that type of joy. In Psalm 150 we find this song and prayer of unbound praise, telling the people to praise God in every place and with all that they have at their disposal. Singing the praises of God.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Psalmist who penned 150 knew something about pure praise of God. I say pure, because he had no other intention but to lift up God’s name. Think back over the last several weeks as we have unpacked the Psalms together. Even the Psalms of praise often talked about God defeating enemies, bringing vindication, or offering judgment. But here we find a Psalm that praises God for who he is, not what he has done.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>David wasn’t praising God because he was now fully king. He was praising God for who God is - knowing that such utter dependance upon God would be central to his kingship!</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Praise him because of his mighty deeds and because he is greater than anyone own anything else. Remember, friends, that this is the final of 150 hymns or Psalms that became the songs of ancient Israel. These are the prayers that Jesus would have prayed in the temple and in his home. Because it is the last one it is calling all who declare it to remember God’s mighty deeds testified throughout the rest of the Psalms and scripture. How he brought his people out of captivity and into the promise land. How he sent the prophets to offer guidance. How he made a way through the flames and fire. It’s not just about praising God for what God has done in your life, though that alone is great, but for the magnitude of what God has done throughout scripture. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God is worthy of incomparable praise because God has shown us love and mercy through incomparable things. Even on your worst of worst days brothers and sisters, you are still loved as a child of God and can offer up a song of praise. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Every day, I pray through some of the Psalms. Sometimes with other people. Sometimes on my own. But this is one of those Psalms that comes up every single day. Recently, I was talking with another one of these Psalm-prayers and she noted that we lose something if we don’t return to the prayers of Jesus. But we also lose something if we can’t figure out how to speak their truth in language that connects with hearts and lives today.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For the Israelites, this was the language that they were familiar with. The ancient language that defined them and their relationship with a holy God. But what does that look like for us today? What is our language of faith and our daily experience?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now let me be very clear here - I want you to think about this because it speaks to how you connect with God and possibly God is laying it on your heart in order to invite someone else in to praise through this language. But we do not use our langue of praise to control other people. Rather I want you to think about what language and behavior that we have around praising God that may stand as a testimony to other people.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Take a moment and close your eyes. If I say the word “praise” and “worship” what comes to your mind? What image do you have of praising God? For some it may be shouting for joy or lifting holy hands. Singing praise songs or the hymns of the faith. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And those are all valid and true, my friends.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, how we praise God isn’t about what other people will think about our praise, its simply about responding to God’s grace and goodness in our lives in whatever way the Spirit moves us. And worship, true worship that comes from the heart, friends that is pleasing to God.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So how is God inviting you to worship through this Psalm and the example of David? And what do you need to let go of our set aside in order to be attentive to praising God alone? Let us be the people of praise, my friends. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-56678921724994732172023-10-15T14:11:00.000-04:002023-10-15T14:11:00.210-04:00“Ruth” Ruth 1: 1-17 and 4: 13-17<p> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">One question that I am known for asking people is what their favorite scripture is. Time and again, I have found one of the most common answers to be the Book of Job. In Job, people find comfort in the midst of suffering. They find someone who they can identify with and someone who was able to lay his heart before God.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another person in scripture we find in that same vein is Naomi in the book of Ruth. Naomi. Namoi’s life, like so many of ours is ones of ups and down. As we begin the book of Ruth, we find her married to Elimelech and having two sons. We could probably go as far as to say that this scripture starts with a happy family.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Only then circumstances become difficult. A famine starts to sweep through the land. And Bethlehem, the family home, is no longer the bread basket, but is not producing. So the family makes the hard decision to leave behind their home, family, and friends, and set out to a place where they can provide for one another. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They went out of their own land and became foreigners in the land of Moab. A place where folks weren’t like them, but a place where they were willing to take the risk of settling down for the sake of their family. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We don’t know how long the family was settled in Moab before things started to turn, but we do know that after a period of time Elimelech dies, leaving Naomi with her two sons. Those men grew up and took Moabite wives. But then both Mahlon and Chilion die as well. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now the entire shape of the family has changed. No longer are they one happy family - Naomi and Elimelech and their two sons. Now all that remains is three childless widows. This is Naomi’s Job-like experience. She is in a land that is not her own. Without her family and friends. And now her family unit looks completely different because of death. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So Naomi does the only thing that she can think to do - head back home. Hope against hope that someone will step up and help provide for her as a widow because she doesn’t have anything that would have been her own in this day and time. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But Naomi somewhere along the road gets this realization that this is not what she wants for her two daughter-in-laws. They don’t have any children. Their is a slim possibility that they could go back to Moab and start again. Find someone who will marry them and settle down and start a family with them. And she didn’t want to be the reason that such a future would be pulled away from them. So she tries to send them back. Back to hope and possibility, so maybe, just maybe they wouldn’t end up in a future that looks as bleak as Naomi’s.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Eventually one of the daughter-in-laws, Orpah, was willing to turn back. To listen to Naomi’s advice. To go back in hope. But not Ruth. Ruth boldly declares that she was going to stick by Naomi through thick and thin, going as far as to make this vow that is often read at weddings. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we read this text, we often rightly focus on Ruth, whose name is that of the book of the Bible which contains this account. But today, I want to change our focus. I want to sit with the story of Naomi. Naomi who found her world entirely changed. Namoi who was caught in the midst of grief. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I wonder, friends, if you know someone like Naomi in your life? Or maybe there have been seasons when you have felt like Naomi yourself - caught in the midst of suffering and pain. Those Job-like moments that rock our entire world. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Naomi in this chapter is in deep grief and as such, she blames God. Notice that the narrator, the one telling us this story, is not blaming God. But Naomi is. How do you react when someone is hurting and blames God for what they have experienced?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think many of us rush in and try to defend God. Try to explain to the Naomi’s in our lives why they are wrong. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But I got to tell you friends, grief is not the time to try to explain deep theological truths to people. Because in grief all you can do is feel. And survive. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maybe the time will come when we can speak of our faith in the God of love and the God who doesn’t cause the pain we are going through, but instead redeems it. But when someone is deeply hurting that isn’t the place I would recommend starting. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Instead we see in Ruth a completely different way. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ruth doesn’t try to argue with Naomi or talk her out of what she is feeling. She doesn’t try to assert her own beliefs. Instead in Ruth we find someone who is willing to be with another in the midst of their deep suffering. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First, Ruth and Orpah were both willing to cry with Naomi. As Namoi is walking along the road to Bethlehem, stewing in her mind about how she doesn’t want her daughters-in-law to be locked into her faith, tears fell upon the road. When Naomi told Orpah and Ruth to go back, the women wept together, even as Naomi shared her concerns and gentle words. They wept when Orpah listened and Ruth did not. There were so many tears in this story. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, are we willing to be the people who cry with one another? All too often, I find that in our eagerness to make people feel better, we want to rush past this crucial step. We offer platitudes and words that we mean to be kind, telling people not to cry. But what would it look like, Church, if we were the people who were willing to cry with one another. To hold each other’s burdens in loving-kindness. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Second, Ruth promised to be with Naomi. To be with her in the midst of it all. This a different type of presence then telling people to reach out to us if they need anything. This is sticking with some one through it all. This is the best version of Job’s friends, who got down in the dirt with them, before they started to blame him for his circumstances. This is fidelity, faithfulness, loving-kindness, with flesh on it. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Church, this is not being with someone for a week or two. This is being with them for a life-time. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Naomi believed that her God was big enough to hold her anger and grief and Ruth was willing to make space for Naomi to grieve, and not be alone in the grief, no matter what it may take. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How about us, Church? How do we create spaces for one another to grieve? How can we cry with one another? Make space to hold each other’s weightiness when life comes at us, hard? Where are we today and where is God calling us to be?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>May we be the space where Naomis can come and be held. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-50373042566058293082023-10-08T10:10:00.001-04:002023-10-08T10:10:00.257-04:00"Hear O Israel” Deuteronomy 5:1-21; 6:4-9<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">When you think back to learning rules in your life, how did that happen? Or if you have children in your life, how did you teach them rules?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I don’t remember the details of the story, but I’ve heard that it goes something like this. My brothers were born when I wasn’t yet three years old. I wanted to help my mom when they came home. I had watched her heat their bottles on the stove, so one day I took one of my baby doll’s bottles and tried to put it on the stove as well. Thankfully, I didn’t burn myself, but my parents discovered that I needed to learn a new lesson - not to touch the hot stove - even when I wanted to help. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Moses knows that the Promise Land is on the horizon. He also knows that he will not be entering with the people of God. So he gathers them together to teach them again the commandments, the laws, that are to guide them in this new place. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For us all of these generations later, his first set of teachings sound a whole lot like the ten commandments - which they should, because they are. But we need to remember <i>why </i>Moses needs to share the commandments again. This is not the same generation that received the commandments the first time. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The folks that he is speaking to now represent the second generation of Israelites. They are no longer those who originally left Egypt that night so long ago. No, this is the next generation of Israelites - those born in the wilderness. They may have heard of the Ten Commandments, but now they are theirs to live into. Their’s to embody. So Moses repeats them, one by one. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The word “Torah” means instructions. And the instructions that Moses is giving to the people is how to remain free. God in his graciousness has recused them from the hand of the Egyptians. Has brought them into this land that he has promised to them. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The law, these Ten Commandments, were also given to the Children of God, out of graciousness. It was a way to live differently in order to be reminded of God and God’s liberating work in their lives and to be a reminder that their lives <i>should </i>look differently because of God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That isn’t often how we think of rules, is it? As a reminder of God’s liberating work in our lives and that which leads us to live differently because of what God has done for us. And maybe that’s because a lot of our rules have very little to do with God. But these Ten Commandments, reiterated on the threshold of the Promise Land serve that purpose. To point people to God!</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the ways that the people of God’s lives looked differently from those around them was the Sabbath. A literal stopping of work. For everyone associated with the Israelites. Even down to the animals. Why? Because they were used to working all the time under the Egyptians. Worked to the bone. So God was giving them rest as a reminder of what God had provided and as an act of trust - that on this day of rest, this day of stopping, God will take care of the people. Entirely. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But while this was Moses repeating the commandments for a second time, that didn’t mean that it was once and done. No. God wanted the people to pass them on. From generation to generation. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To emphasize this - Moses gives what is called the <i>shema - </i>which means hear. “Hear, O Israel”. God is god alone. Love God with all you have and all you are. Keep these words before you by wiring them in your hearts, writing them on your doors, and share them with your children. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A few months ago, my dad recommended a book to me entitled <i>Seven Things John Wesley Expected Us to Do for Kids. </i>This short book made clear the ways that we can support the children in our lives in their faith journeys. I would call this the Wesleyan way of writing the Word upon our heats and passing it down from generation to generation. I want to lift up just a few for us this morning. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The first is to teach children intentionally. Our Jewish brothers and sisters understood this. Kids were with them during the day. They had key parts in holy gatherings. They watched the adults in their lives <i>live </i>out they faith. They asked questions and their questions were answered in intentional ways. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Church, how are we teaching the children in our lives today? Are we simply expecting others to do the teaching? Or are we being intentional about how we are reaching out to the children God has placed in our lives to teach them why faith truly matters?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The second is to know them personally. If we don’t know the children in our lives, we won’t know how to connect with them. Communicate with them. One of the things that I love about the <i>shema </i>is that it calls each person to a personal relationship with God. God knows us personally and reaches out to us in a way that connects to our hearts. Should we not do the same with the children in our lives?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>One of the vows we take in ordination is to visit from house to house. We aren’t called to do this simply because it is a nice thing to do or because people would appreciate our company - though both may be true. We are called to visit from house to house in order to get to know people, so we can connect with them. That is also true of our children, church. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The last of the practices I want to lift up this day is to pray for our children intensely. Charles Wesley penned the following as an introduction to a children’s hymnal - “A lover of your soul has here drawn up a few prayers, in order to assist you in that great duty. Be sure that you do not omit, at least morning and evening, to represent yourself upon your knees before God.”</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we pray for our children intensely we show them how to talk with God who loves them dearly. We show that they matter to us. And that we care for them. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What I appreciate about the intergenerational nature of what Moses is calling the people to is that it was’t relegated just to private families or parents. Instead, the faith community cared for passing on the faith and being intentional about their relationship to God. The words of the <i>shema </i>are repeated every week. They were not neglected. They were passed on and written upon the heart. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How about us, Church? What is written on our hearts and how are we passing it on? Amen. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-7404167616057377902023-08-13T11:12:00.001-04:002023-08-13T11:12:00.136-04:00“Love that Will Not Let Us Go” Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7 <p> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">For the last several weeks, we have been journey together through poetry and wisdom writing looking at Proverbs and Ecclesiastes - these beautiful and powerful writing from Solomon, pouring out of the blessing of wisdom that God had bestowed upon him. As we wrap us this short sermon series today, we look to another book of poetry, but one that we may not know as well, The Song of Solomon.</span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Before we jump in, a brief Bible lesson. While all scripture is inspired by God, it is communicated in different times, contexts, and styles. What do I mean by that? Well, the Bible wasn’t written all at once. Which leads to there being different circumstances around each proclamation - different reasons God communicated it to the people. But each of the 66 books of the Bible also fall into different styles. Some are history books. Others letters. Still others, like today, are books of poetry. Now why do I say that? Because friends do you read a history book the same way you would read a letter? Or a letter the same way you would read poetry? Of course not! We miss something about scripture when we forget the time, context, and/ or style. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We especially need to remember that today, because we may not be as familiar with the Song of Solomon as we are with Proverbs or Ecclesiastes. I shared last week, that sometimes we try to relegate Ecclesiastes, especially the 3rd chapter, to funerals. But we do that same thing with the entirety of the Song of Solomon, since it most often makes an appearance in worship and preaching at weddings, if at all. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So a bit of background. The Song of Solomon is a poem that expresses the love of two people in ancient Israel. It was written during the reign of Solomon, but we aren’t sure if he wrote it, since it is radically different from the two other books that bear his name. He may have. He may have not written it but oversaw its composition. We aren’t sure. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The couple featured in the poem are a shepherd and shepherdess who are looking forward to what is to come with marriage. I would call this young love. That type of love that sweeps people off of their feet and makes them feel like they are at the top of the world. In the poem they are having a conversation about their love and the excitement about what is to come, back and forth. But the shepherdess also tells the other young women around to not seek out love just for love’s sake, but to wait for it’s perfect timing. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, I have such a deep appreciation for poetry. Some of my favorite books are those of poetry, that I take with me when visiting folks on hospice and use to help center times of discussion for classes. Because poetry moves beyond simple facts to try to put words to concepts that are difficult to explain. Like truth, beauty, and love. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So here in Song of Solomon, the poet is trying to capture something about the meaning of love and the experience of being in love. But poetry also makes us think. It is often pointing us to something deeper beyond the words. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the sections of Song of Solomon that we heard today, we start with the courting phase. When two young people are caught up in the excitement of love. One says to the other, its time. The harshness of winter is fading away. Things are starting to bloom - you can smell them in the fields. It’s time to come away. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which leads me to ask, what is this season inviting the couple to? This season of courtship and excitement. This season of the freshness of love?</p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then in the second piece of scripture, they are entering into marriage. One says to another to this form of a vow. I promise that our love will not be overcome or bought or traded, because it is the seal that is upon our hearts.</p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which leads me to ask - how does the couple intend to fulfill this vow - to live into it, not just when it is easy, but on the hard days as well. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But poetry isn’t just about the story that is being told or even the deeper truths of things that are hard for us to articulate, like love. They also invite us to continual examination. A good poem is one that you come back to time and time again because it makes you think. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And friends, this poem isn’t just about a young couple in love. It’s supposed to get us thinking, as the people of God about the love of God. Here is this couple who are caught up in the season of love, but have you ever been caught up in the season of love with God? Do you know what I’m talking about? When your encounter with God is so new, so fresh, that it burns like a fire within you? You want to tell everyone who will listen about God’s love and how it’s changed you. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But we also don’t stay in that season forever. We sink into the love of God in a way where it becomes familiar. We are still passionate. We still love God. But we get into the daily life of living with God and some of that zeal about telling others about God seems to slip away. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If we go through seasons with other people, and that is our frame of reference for our relationship with God, then of course we go through seasons in our relationship with the Lord. Ones of passion. Others of curiosity. Still others of familiarity. Maybe even some where we don’t feel as close as we once were. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we asked earlier what this season for the couple in Song of Solomon invited them to - I wonder, friends, what season you are in with the Lord and what that invites you to as well? What is God saying to you in this season and how are you being invited to respond? </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then when we get to chapter 8, with the couple making this vow, I am reminded of the vows we make throughout our lives. These deep promises - for example those that we make when we become members of a local church to support the body of Christ with our prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness. When we make those vows, it is such a day of celebration! But that doesn’t mean that they are always easy, when life’s responsibilities ramp up or we aren’t sure how to live into those vows at this season in our lives. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is easy to make promises. It is harder to keep them. </p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which makes me wonder, as with the couple in the poem, what promises you have made to God and how are you doing living into the vow? How can we support you as the church? How can we walk beside one another on this journey?</p>
<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A lot of folks will tell me that they don’t like poetry. It’s too many words or it doesn’t make sense. But friends, poetry, good poetry, invites us to look deeply into our lives. So as you do so this week with the Song of Solomon, may you reflect on your love, but even more so, the never ending love of God. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-28050672071103492652023-08-06T12:44:00.000-04:002023-08-06T12:44:00.140-04:00“Life and Life Abundant" Ecclesiastes 1:1-11; 3:1-17, Mark 8:35-37<p> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">“For everything there is a season.” Words that we freely quote from Ecclesiastes when we are grieving. Or perhaps, when we are accompanying someone else grieving. We want them to be words of comfort. This is just the season that you find yourself in right now. You won’t feel like this forever.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But I wonder if that is the context that Solomon, this man of great wisdom, meant these words to be relegated to. Now don’t understand me. They are beautiful words and amongst my favorite to preach at funerals. But I wonder if they also open up more to us. If they can also be a blessing in other seasons of life. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As I worked on this sermon, I was also knee deep in a final paper that is the cultimation of my studies at Fordham. The topic of that paper - how we can accompany people in the midst of grief. Some of you know that grief is something that has deeply touched my life over the last several years. I lost my grandfather, one my absolutely favorite people in the world, to COVID in 2021. One of my deep saddnesses is that you did not get a chance to meet him here at Juniata, because it was’t uncommon for him to just show up some, if not most Sundays, to spend time with me and get to know my congregations on Sunday morning. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Losing my grandpa was not the first loss in my life, but it was perhaps one that hit me the hardest. Because of its sudden nature. Because of the deep love that I have for him. And because people who I had been walking with for years as their pastor struggled to come up with the words to say against the chasm of my grief. I don’t fault them - they were trying - but hearing “at least he’s not suffering anymore” and “he’s in a better place” when just two weeks prior he was happily working 60 plus hours a week, didn’t offer me comfort or companionship in my grief. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But something that has come out of all that situation is a firmer resolve to be with people in grief. It’s what lead me to volunteer with hospice and to help families create legacy projects to remember their loved ones. Because I want to share this message that we grieve because of our capacity to love and to live. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which I wonder if was on Solomon’s heart as he penned these words of wisdom. The first words put on the page is that everything in just a vanity. We do the same things day in and day out and nothing seems to change. We never seem to get ahead. Not the words that we expect from Solomon. Certainly nothing like what we heard just two weeks ago from Proverbs. Which leads me to ask - why? Why would Solomon write something like this?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When held with the beauty of the words we remember from Ecclesiastes I wonder if he was in the midst of grief. Have you been there, friends? Where nothing seems to make sense? Where you yearn for the world to be different and that isn’t what you are seeing yet? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> But for Solomon this wasn’t the end. Because just a few lines later he comes to the conclusion that while life may seem to be a struggle, it isn’t everything. It isn’t the totality of our reality. Because while this time may be difficult, there will also be times of joy. And dancing. And celebration. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now notice what Solomon does not say. He does not demand that people transition from one season to another on his timing. He does not ask for performative joy to make other people comfortable. He simply acknowledge that for every season there is another season to come. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And friends, for me that is hope.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Hope the world and our work in it isn’t in vain. Hope that grief will not last forever. Hope that tomorrow is coming, even if we do not know what tomorrow holds. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This doesn’t mean that we “get over” our grief. But it does mean that it changes over time. One of the pictures that I find meaning in to illustrate grief is that of a ball inside of a series of container. In the first container the ball takes up almost all of the space. Over a series of images, the ball itself doesn’t change, but the container around it becomes bigger and bigger, making its presence feel different. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The container of the season changes. That is hope. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus continues this theme of vanities and the seasons of life when he stated these words that we often proclaim at funerals - that those who want to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for his sake will save it. What is Jesus trying to say? That life has a deeper, richer meaning then we may even be able to recognize. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We think that applies to those who are martyred for the faith - and that is true, but friends it is so much more than that. Think of the familiar words to the hymn “I Surrender All”, “All to Jesus, I surrender. <i>All </i>to him I freely give.” When we freely give all we have and all we are to Christ for the sake of the Kingdom, that is an act of laying our lives aside for the sake of the Gospel. Its handing our lives over to God and saying, not my will, but thine will be done. May I be lifted high for thee, or laid aside for thee - in the words of the Covenant Prayer written by John Wesley. The problem comes when we still try to hold tightly on to our lives. To our idea of how our lives should be that we become blindsided by the seasons, and thus lose sight of the hope. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes I like to Zoom out in scripture and see how it fits into the larger context. Like how Ecclesiastes 1 and Ecclesiastes 3 may be related. And when I zoom out with the Gospel of Mark and look at the entire 8th chapter - I see the disciples living into a season that doesn’t make sense to them. Jesus feeds the 4,000. The pharisees test Jesus. Jesus heals the blind man at Bethsaida. Peter declaring that Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus telling his disciples that he is going to die. And then this powerful moment of transfiguration. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now we don’t know exactly how many days all of those things occurred over, but I would imagine that the disciples felt that their season was a whirlwind. Or a roller coaster. But that season, it was only temporary - at least in that day. Because it isn’t too much later in the Gospel of Mark that Jesus lays down his life and is raised from the dead, ushering in a whole new season that he was trying to talk about in Mark 8.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, life is messy. But if that is where you find yourself today - know that the mess is temporary. Life is full of grief and dancing, shouts of joy and tears of pain. What makes it life is all of those pieces coming together. But what brings hope into all of it, is handing our life - all of it - into the hands of Jesus. Being honest that we don’t always like it or understand, but trusting that Jesus is the Lord of life and redemption. And that more is to come - in and through him. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-74514373161653845162023-07-23T09:23:00.001-04:002023-07-23T09:23:00.153-04:00“Wisdom of God” Proverbs 1:1-7; 3:1-8, Matt 13:34-35<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">If you had to describe the concept of “wisdom”, how would you start? Some may point to scripture, where Paul makes this glorious statement that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” For others, there first thought may be about how there seems to be an absence of wisdom in our world today. Common sense. Still others may point to book learning or trades that were passed down through generations one step at a time. </span></p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the Bible, we have a whole book of wisdom entitled Proverbs. It is here that we find sayings whose truth has carried down through the ages. Most of the writings are attributed to Solomon, the son of David who followed his father on the throne. When he did so, he was quite young. God appeared to him in a vision and asked what he desired. And Solomon didn’t ask for riches or power or prestige. Instead, he asked for wisdom. Which God gave in abundance. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And so what does this wise King say that wisdom is? It’s the fear of the Lord which is the beginning of all knowledge. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Well that isn’t the easiest explanation to understand is it?</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Solomon starts off this book of wisdom by saying that if you want to have understanding - turn to God. If you want to know how to be wise in how you interact with other people - turn to God. If you want righteousness, justice, and equity in this world - turn to God. If you want to raise up the children in the faith - turn to God. If you want to have a discerning spirit - turn to God. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because wisdom isn’t something that we can manufacture on our own - no matter how hard we may try.</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It may look like wisdom at first, but it isn’t the deep, rich, abundant wisdom that can only come from God alone. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And yet, Church, how many of us live like that? How many of us truly call upon the wisdom of God, first in all things. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There was a woman at my last church named Miss Jean. Miss Jean loved Jesus and trusted him with everything - and I do mean everything. Well into her 80s, and despite multiple illnesses, she would cook lunch for anyone in her building who needed or wanted a meal five days a week. Now, friends, Miss Jean wasn’t rich. So how did she do this work in Jesus’s name? She trusted him. She prayed that God would reveal to her what he wanted her to cook each day and that he would provide whatever she needed to do so. And provide God did. Almost every day Miss Jean would walk into her apartment to find ingredients for exactly what God had asked her to cook. She had no idea who dropped them off - but she knew that they ultimately came from God’s providing hand. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When I think of wisdom, I think of people like Miss Jean. Not the folks who have all of the facts and figures memorized, but people who knew the wisdom that Solomon is talking about. The wisdom that called upon God’s name and trusted him for a reply - even if everyone else didn’t or couldn’t understand. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Perhaps one of Solomon’s most known pieces of wisdom comes from Proverbs 3. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But look at the words that surround this teaching, Church. Keep God’s commandments. Be loyal and faithful to God. Don’t try to puff yourself up by being wise in your own ways. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Often I will be asked as a pastor about words. We have all sorts of words to describe big concepts in our faith life and we can slip into thinking that everyone is on the same page. We don’t take time to actually stop and ask what they mean. Or when we do stop and ask, folks aren’t sure why. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Words like trust. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How <i>do </i>we trust the Lord?</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Solomon breaks it down for us, not with fancy words, but with actions. Be faithful to God. Live into God’s commandments. Be loyal to God above all others. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now does that mean Solomon’s teaching is always easy to live into? Absolutely not. The world doesn’t know what to do with this type of wisdom. The world certainly didn’t know what to do with it in Jesus’s day when he showed up speaking in stories, telling folks that he was the fulfillment of the prophesies of old, and calling them to new life and new understanding. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, one of the things that I love about being United Methodist is that we don’t look for the easiest answers, but for the answers that draw us deeper into relationship with God. Wisdom is not easy, brothers and sisters. Yet, wisdom calls us into deeper trust in our God. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Part of what Jesus is trying to impart to the people gathered to hear him, and to use through the Word of God passed down through the ages, is that our human language is always going to fall short when it comes to talking about the wisdom and ways of the Kingdom of God. Because it refers to things that are hidden, not fully seen. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When was the last time, friends, that you leaned not on your own understanding? When was the last time that you sought first the wisdom of the Kingdom of God? When was the last time you trusted God with something in your life?</p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We are people who live into the tension of the wisdom of God and the way of the world. And the world will try to misconstrue this wisdom, mischaracterizing it as foolish. But friends, if we truly want to be wise, we need to turn our eyes and hearts to the Lord. </p>
<p style="background-color: white; color: #18191b; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let us pray….</p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-36889844572604369512023-07-16T23:06:00.001-04:002023-07-16T23:06:00.141-04:00“Keep Awake!” 2 Peter 3:1-10, 17-18 Matthew 24:42-44<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">I’m not a great sleeper. I never have been. I have often suffered from insomnia, having trouble falling asleep or waking up in the middle of the night - several times - with a thought on my mind. It wasn’t until the last few years that I have come to discover that there was a reason in history for folks like me - the light sleepers. We were the folks in the watchtowers. Those who were vigilant at all times, alerting others when they needed to wake up.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peter may not have been someone who suffered from insomnia, but he would certainly be someone that I would consider to be in the watchtower. Last week we talked about how folks found themselves following false prophets and the week before about how they had forgotten their passion - their heart. So someone in the watchtower, calling up for people to wake up and keep alert, is certainly warranted.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So my question for us today, as we finish up our study of 2 Peter is this, dear friends, are you awake?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But Michelle, of course I’m awake. I’m here, listening to you! I’m not talking about that type of awake, Church. Not awake in terms of the dichotomy between being asleep or awake. No, I’m asking are you awake in your spirit?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Last week, we touched on how folks had become so disappointed by Jesus not coming back as soon s they had expected, that they fell into listening to false prophets. Others, became so disillusioned that they gave up on the hope and promise of Christ coming back at all. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Enter 2 Peter. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peter writes to remind people that God’s time is not our time. There is a praise chorus that states “Better is one day in Your courts. Better is one day in Your house. Better is one day in Your courts, Than thousands elsewhere.” Because to God one day is like a thousand of days in our time. And a thousand years like a day. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we think that God needs to be confined by our human understanding and perspective, we become disappointed or disillusioned. We start to live as if we should be catered to instead of us serving God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We loose our faithfulness. We fall asleep in our spirit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Two weeks ago we launched our verse for the year from 2 Peter 1. Some churches launch a verse of the year at perhaps a more traditional time, like the first of the year. One of the pastors I listen to regularly is Jacob Armstrong who is at Providence UMC. His church’s verse of the year came from Ephesians 5 - Wake up, o sleeper. Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pastor Armstrong reminded his congregation that we also fall asleep when our priorities slip. Last week, with that image of the frog being boiled alive in a pot of slowly warmed water, we saw how one decision can lead to another to another.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which lends us to ask, alight, what should our priorities be? What should we be focused on? What does it look like to be a person who is keeping alert? Does that mean we simply walk around with our eyes glued open all the time - never physically sleeping. No. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think it means three thing. First, we are on the watchtower calling for people to walk in the way of love. God loved us so much that he sent Christ to live our life and die our death and rise again for our sake. God loves us so much to say that Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And as a result of us believing in and trusting these promises, we walk in the way of Christ. We walk in the way of love. And we are on the lookout for this way of love so we can lift it up to others. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I was recently at a meeting where I heard of walking in the way of love story. A healthcare service noticed that an elderly woman was having to call the ambulance quite a bit for routine medical appointments. In conversation with her, it came out that her ramp was broken so she needed help getting in and out of her house to get to appointments - hence the calls. So arrangements were made for some local boyscouts to come fix her ramp. Walking in the way of love.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Are you someone who is on the lookout for the light and love of Christ? Are you expecting Christ to show up in profound ways in the world? Or are you asleep? Asleep in spirit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another way that we can fall asleep in our spirit is when we lack gratitude. When all of a sudden everything around us is so awful that we see no hope. Now, does this mean that we can’t have a bad day. Absolutely not! We are human and not every day is going to go smoothly. But are you still grateful? Are you grateful for the life you have been given? The day before you? The breath in your lungs?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we get to the point, dear friends, where we have nothing to be grateful for - we may be asleep in our spirit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But Michelle, you don’t know my circumstances. You’re right. I may not. But I know that God loves you - which is at least one thing to be grateful for. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What is the problem being picked up on in this reading from 2 Peter. That people do not believe in or trust in God’s promises. When we lean into gratitude, even and maybe most especially when it is hard, we commit to looking not with the eyes of the world, but with the eyes of the spirit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Often the we start with one thing that we are grateful for - one thing that we want to praise God for, and it cascades into giving glory to God for things beyond measure. Gratitude is a way that we can lift up our witness of Christ around us. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A final way that we can be awake in our spirit is living differently. Now, I’m not talking about any time of living. I mean living different spiritually. I have a personal story of this happening to me recently. While I was at the same conference noted above, a person I never met before noticed that I was eating dinner in a restaurant by myself. She invited me to come and sit with her and her friend, living out her spiritual calling to hospitality. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Do you live with intentionality to reflect the fruits of the spirit in a way that give testimony to God?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, I end with the question I started with this day - are you spiritually awake? Are you living with eagerness for Christ’s return in a way that gives him glory in the waiting? Are you a watch keeper for the Lord? Amen. </p><div><br /></div>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-65323890567854880872023-07-02T16:28:00.001-04:002023-07-02T16:28:00.146-04:00“People of Faith” 2 Peter 1:1-11 Matt 13:44-46<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">Friends, we have made it! For the last year we have been journeying together and now, here we are one year later and I’ve been appointed for a second year to be your pastor. As I was thinking about how I wanted to celebrate this year together and look forward to the year to come I came up with one thing - you guessed it - homework.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This morning as you entered worship you were given a small card with a verse on it from 2 Peter. A verse that I want us to take time to think about, dwell in, and live into in our United Methodist year to come. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But I wouldn’t want to send us out to have a year verse without unpacking it together first. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you think about what you need in this life - what comes to mind? A good place to start would be with the basics - food, shelter, water, clothing. But once we get past the basics what do you <i>really </i>need? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This past week I read a book entitled <i>Growing Young</i>, which said that what really keeps us healthy is relationships. In the book there was a story told about a town right here in Pennsylvania that became known to researches through a family doctor in the mid-1900s. See that family doctor saw just about every single person in the town and over time he realized something odd - he wasn’t seeing a whole lot of folks with heart issues. That certainly wasn’t the national trend. So he started to dig in a little deeper and found out that it wasn’t what they ate - the liked their sweets. It wasn’t that they exercised more - they had a moderate amount of time outdoors. It wasn’t even that they watched their weight or were intentional about their heart health. No, it was because they were so deeply connected in relationships. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They lived in multi-generational homes. Everyone knew everyone else. They would stop by to just be with each other, because folks not just considered everyone to be family - they lived like it. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But then something happened. People gave into the American dream. Young people started to move away for better jobs. The people that stayed wanted bigger, single-family homes, with lots of space in between. And all of a sudden, that anomaly of good heart health, went away. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We are made for relationships - you and I. We are made for relationships with one another and a relationship with God.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But just because we are made for relationship does not mean that it is always easy to live into. Peter is writing to folks who needed to be reminded about what their true purpose, their true calling was. He is also writing to help them focus on who they belong to and represent in the world. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you think that you can get by in this world on your own - think again stays Peter at the beginning of this letter. It is the power of God that has created us and the power of God that holds us and gives us purpose. In fact, we are called by the glory and goodness of God.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let that sink in for a moment, Church. It is so easy to nod our heads and say “of course, of course”, but what Peter is wiring about here is so contrary to the entire message we receive from the world. We are not self-made. We cannot be sustained alone. And we don’t define who we are by our own power and achievements. We are God’s and God’s alone. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But what we can do is focus on having our heart so deeply focused on desiring God and recognizing that God is our source and strength, that we become intentional about growing closer to him. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For the last year we have been focusing a lot on discipleship here at Juniata. We have launched our discipleship pathways. Some of you have had conversations with me about where God may be nudging you next in your walk with Christ. Others of you have taken part of the Younique cirriculum, with a focus on who God has created you to be. And through that all we have been asking you the question - what is your next step. What is the one next step of faith that Christ is calling you to take. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Peter, in his writing, lays out some next right steps. Asking folks to make <i>every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.</i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></i>Why?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because they reflect the heart of God. And the more we desire God, the more we want to grow closer to him and reflect him in this world. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Gospel Matthew talks about this desire to seek after God first as treasure hidden in a field. When folks find they treasure it becomes the totality of their reality. They are willing to give up everything else because that treasure is their joy. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A few months ago, I was at a conference where the pastor leading asked a really important question - what is your passion? Not what is your job. Not what is on your to-do list. But what is your passion. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If we asked that collectively today, friends, would we say that our passion as Juniata United Methodist Church is to love God? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because in our passion we find our purpose. We live into our calling. So what if for the next year, we made living into this verse from 2 Peter our passion? What if we sought after writing it on our hearts - not because I stood up this morning and gave you homework, but because we so deeply desire God that we want him to be our focus and the joy of our heart. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another way to look at this would be to ask - if we asked those who weren’t part of this congregation what they thought our passion was - what would they say?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When someone is really passionate about someone or something - you <i>know </i>it. It spills out of them into the world. Are we sharing that type of passion, Church, about our relationship with God that we are allowing it to shape our relationship with others?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I want to close this morning by asking each of you to pull out the card you were given on the way in this morning. Would you join me in reading this verse as we seek to make it the center of our hearts, lives, and community in the coming year. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-5351061516982293262023-06-13T10:30:00.003-04:002023-06-13T10:30:42.591-04:00Sermon from a Service of Healing and Hope - "Rebuilding" - Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10<p> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">Rebuilding. When I say that word what do you feel in your body? For some of us, we may be flooded with feelings of excitement - thinking about building towards what comes next. For others of us, we may feel something within us clench or become overwhelmed with sadness - thinking about having to rebuild what was lost - what is no longer here.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If anyone understood about rebuilding it was Nehemiah. We don’t often hear from this book of the Bible in worship services. In fact, there is only one passage - this one - that is found within in Lectionary - the grouping of four scriptures that some pastors use to guide their preaching.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because this isn’t a book we often here from - I want to give us a bit of a sweeping overview of what happened. How we got to this point - before talking about what it could mean to us today. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> The prophet Nehemiah has just received disturbing news, that all of the hard work the Israelites had made on rebuilding the temple and the city of Jerusalem now stood again in shambles after a siege. The gates have been broken down and destroyed by fire. When Nehemiah heard these words all he could do was weep. He sat down in the ground and cried for days. Cried for hard work lost. Cried remembering the destruction of the temple before. Cried for a people who kept having set backs as they tried to come back together as a community. And admist these tears, Nehemiah prayed.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, that is what we have gathered together to do today - to name what breaks our hearts admits the disaffiliation taking place in our community and beloved Church and to ask how that is leading us to pray. We know that there are things, spoken and unspoken that we have been carrying around. Friends, now is the time to lay it down. Because we are not in control. Because it is not ours to hold. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In a few moments, you are going to be asked to write down on the post-it provided to you these things, and then to hand them over to Christ by placing them o the cross. To give those broken hopes and dreams - things that we may not have even been able to express up to this point. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But weeping is not the end of Nehemiah’s story. In the midst of the rubble, back-breaking work, and slow (and perhaps unnoticed if not uncelebrated progress), the Israelites had to trust that they were working towards a vision they had, a call from God to rebuild. What makes this task even more remarkable is the fact that these men working alongside each other would have never seen the original temple in all of its glory. By this point at least a whole generation has died off in captivity. They would have surly heard stories around the table about the splendor of the temple. Of the God of the chosen people who would one day lead them back to the land where they could all worship together in one place. They would have heard the longing for Jerusalem in their parents and grandparents stories. But these were of a different generation. Not only were the a generation who had never seen the temple with their own eyes, never worshiped in it, or felt an intimate connection with it, they also aren’t the first to work on building the temple. This is the second wave of people rebuilding. They were laying bricks upon the foundation of the work of others - work that they were unable to finish.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> I can only imagine how distressing it must have been to those first builders. The ones who now had to watch others with their work, trusting that they will complete it in a way that honors God. Maybe the second wave of builders learned under the tutelage of the first. Would that make it easier to hand over such important work? Perhaps one of the most humbling things that we need to realize in this life is that while we may start working on something, we may not be the ones to bring it to completion. We may not be the ones with our names in the history books. We may not even be the ones to plant the seeds. Sometimes we are just one of many waves of workers on a project whose task is to bridge the gap between those who have come before us and those who will work next.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Of course as with anything, there were some who would not put their hands to the work of the Lord. They thought the task of building was beneath them, unworthy of their time. Around them the community was doing this new thing, but they refused to participate. No matter how passionate we are about working for the Kingdom of God, there are simply some who will not come, stand, and build with us. And there will be others who quickly grow weary of the work without immediate results, so they will not stay with us on the wall building. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After we hand what is on our heart over to Christ, friends then we are filled by doing the hard work of rebuilding. Recreating. Being renewed and transformed by Christ. But we cannot do that if we do not remember who we are. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which brings us to today’s scripture passage. we do not know exactly how much of the rebuilding they have completed, but they at least have the Water Gate constructed, and that there is still more left to build. The gates were important in ancient communities for they were seen as a place of judgment, where it would be decided who would be allowed to enter into the city walls and who would be turned away. It was here, at this place of judgment that Nehemiah stood and read the law of God, the first five books of the Torah. It took him almost half a day to read it all, but when he was finished the people cried out with joy and repentance and celebrated with a feast. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How do you rebuild when everything seems to be destroyed? What is the next step after someone has interceded for you and you have come to claim your new name as the beloved of God? You worship the God who has renamed you. In fact this passage lays out for us what our worship should look like to. And has some difficult truths for us. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> We are told that Ezra read the law before men and women who could hear and understand it. Because this reading took place outside of the temple everyone could participate in its hearing. Worship needs to go out to the people. We often think about serving people outside of the walls of the church building, but what would it look like to worship outside of the church building, too? To let our very presence as a worshipping body outside of the building be an invitation for people to join us in praising God. The second summer I was an intern at my home church, the pastor decided that we were going to try something new. When it was warm outside on Saturday evenings we were invited to bring lawn chairs and gather in front of the church building to worship. We would set up sound equipment and proclaim the word of God through song and preaching in the neighborhood. After one or two times of exiting the building to worship, people from the neighborhood started looking forward to our times of praise and worship. They would sit on their front porch and join us. We were evangelizing to them, simply by taking our worship outside of the church building. Maybe, just maybe, there is something about reclaiming the place of community to our rebuilding.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> We are also told that all gathered at the Water gate and that the prophet brought the Word of God before all people. That the ears of all people were attentive to the law. The people were unified while hearing the word of God and worshipping. It as not about who liked what passage of scripture, or how the scripture was interpreted. It wasn’t about what music they wanted to hear or how they prayed. It was about gathering together in the sight of God and being touched by the Word. It was about the community hearing and interpreting and being together. Maybe, just maybe, there is something about the Word of God being central to our rebuilding. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After we have laid down our hearts, friends we are reminded who we are and what we believe so we can rebuild. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently about why I’m United Methodist. Maybe you have been thinking about it as well. To be honest with you, its something that I put a lot of thought into before I was ordained. I attended and was actively involved in a whole host of different denominations - but I kept being drawn back here. Because there is something unique. Maybe, just maybe, there is something about remember and reclaiming that is central to our rebuilding.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A uniqueness if our claim on the great commission of Jesus Christ to make disciples of Jesus - for what - for the transformation of the world. We believe that Christ is not done with us, Church, and that there are hearts and lives, families, whole communities and systems waiting to be transformed through the power and name of Jesus Christ. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We believe in two types of holiness - personal and social. That what we believe changes yes what we believe, but also how we act. How we show up. How we hold each other accountable in love. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We believe in three simple rules - do no harm. Do good always. Attend to the ordinances of God - sometimes called staying in love with God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>These are just a few of the reasons I stay - because this story of Methodism - these beliefs are part of my spiritual DNA. And I cannot and will not let go. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How about your friends? After laying down your burdens I invite you to take a block from the alter and write down on it why you stay. What keeps drawing you back. Because friends, that is our foundation - laid by God for us as we rebuild. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Brothers and Sisters, our worship stands as a testament to what we believe in. The value we place on the Word of the Living God and gathering together in community. The value of setting ourselves and our own desires aside for the work of the Kingdom of God. It is in worship that hearts can be rebuilt, if we truly give ourselves over to God. It is here that God can slowly start to rebuild shattered hearts and faith, as we celebrate the grace and work of God together. It is here that we can forever be transformed as we repent, proclaim amen, and feast together. For the glory of God! Amen, amen, amen!</p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-16561854897186083842023-06-11T11:37:00.001-04:002023-06-11T11:37:00.143-04:00“Light of the World” Isaiah 9: 1-7 John 8:12<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">When I say the word “prophesy” what comes to your mind? For some of us we think of things that were said a long time ago that pointed to Jesus. For other folks, we get a little nervous when we hear the word prophesy because we’ve seen too many false prophets in our lifetime. Maybe something else comes to your mind entirely. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The reason I ask that question, Church, is because for the next few weeks we are going to be digging into some of the prophesies about Jesus found in the Old Testament and connect them to proclamations that he made about himself in the Gospels. Helping form a bridge between the past and today. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is hard and holy work, friends, because if we don’t understand what prophesies Jesus came to fulfill, it is really hard to to understand the “I am” statements found in the Gospel of John. And we really can’t understand why folks reacted to them in such a way, let alone connect them to what they mean for us today. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>With that in mind, let’s jump into our first text this morning found in the ninth chapter of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah is speaking to a people who have been beaten down for some time. The children of Israel are not in the land of Israel - they are in the land of Baboon after being carried off as exiles. They have been there so long that it’s starting to see like all hope is lost. To which Isaiah is sent to say, that isn’t true. Hope is on the way. It just may be an unexpected way. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is a scripture that we primarily hear during the season of Advent. But friends, scripture is not meant to be relegated to only certain times of the year, because it is the Living Word of God. So while we love that this prophecy fits into our calendars and hearts when we hear about the Christ child being born, it is greater than that. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yes, a child has come! But through him comes a total transformation. A transformation for individual hearts and lives and a transformation for the world. For through him righteousness and justice will reign. Through him joy will increase. The darkness will be overcomes. The rod of the oppressor will be broken and the promise of peace will be made complete!</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now imagine that you are one of the exiles back in the day and time of Israel. A prophet has come with this message. How would you react? Would you even be willing to hear it? </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What Isaiah is talking about here is a savior who is coming and is going to answer the very yearnings of a people for whom darkness is their daily reality. If anyone knows anguish its folks who have been waiting for years to get back to a land that they can call their home. Who wake up every day for decades and do not see hope on the horizon. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To which Isaiah says, yes, this hope of a new light dawning is for you. But its going to come in and unexpected and vulnerable way. It’s going to come through a child being born. But God is doing this <i>for you. </i></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And a ruler was raised up who came to set the people of Israel free, allowing them to go from a land of captivity, into freedom. Praise be to God!</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But then Jesus shows up and says these words that are so deeply connected to Isaiah and people are turning their heads. Hadn’t that prophesy already been fulfilled? Who is this Jesus to come and say that <i>he </i>is the light of the world?</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus is trying to get into people’s hearts and heads that the great act that took place when the Israelites were restored to their land - that was only the beginning. God is continuing to overcome the darkness, darkness that the people had been so steeped in over the years that they could not even see it any more. And that salvation was coming through the true light of the world. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What about us, church? How do we react when Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> Imagine that you are in the pitch black of night. You can’t see anything at all. You give it a moment for your eyes to adjust before you decide that light is needed. You flip on the beam of your flash light and a single beam makes it possible for you to take one step at a time in the right direction without stumbling. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> For several years, a flashlight was my constant companion while at church camp as a counselor. Especially when I worked with elementary aged children. At the particular camp I volunteered at - the bath house was located a bit of a distance away from cabins, so several times during the night, myself or another one of the counselors, picked up our trusty flashlight and walked with our students down to the bathroom.</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> There is a big difference however, between the light emitted from a flashlight, and that which comes from a light bulb. Flip a switch with a light bulb and a whole room lights up, even in the darkest of nights, while a flashlight’s beam will only light, one, maybe two steps ahead of you at a time. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> When Jesus proclaims that he is the light of the world and that we will never walk in darkness, I think a lot of us wish Jesus acts as a light bulb, lighting up a room in such a way that we can see everything in front of us. But I’m not sure that is what Jesus is talking about when he proclaims to be the light of life. Maybe, just maybe, Jesus’s light is a bit more like that flashlight, making it so we can only see one or two steps in front of us - making us take one step forward in faith, knowing that Jesus walks with us, so we can take the next step.</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Another thing that you learn from a flashlight, is that everyone pretty much needs their own. Sometimes, one person can share the light from their flashlight and two people can walk forward, but it does not work very well to have one flashlight trying to lead a group - a lesson quickly learned by counselors of elementary students who don’t want to carry their flashlights. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> When we don’t have our own connection to the Light and try to rely solely off of the faith of others, we stumble along the path. The Pharisees were struggling with this type of stumbling in today’s passage. They don’t understand what Jesus is talking about, cannot see the truth in his words, so they accuse him of bearing false witness. Jesus says that his testimony is valid, and goes on to explain that one cannot know God, one cannot come into the light of Truth, simply by relying on the law. They needed more then that to step forward in faith.</p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> Back to camp. This past year, I worked with high school students, and we did an exercise I never experienced before. Under the pitch blackness of night, the campers grabbed a hold of a rope, were blind folded, and did a trust walk in darkness. It was painful at times, to watch them stumble their way along the path. Everyone walked with caution. A few students were frightened. And it took us quite a while to get to the “trust” part of the trust walk. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> I think we all go through dark times in our life. Times when it is hard to trust God and we feel like we are stumbling along the path. For me, such times come when I feel disconnected from the light of Christ. When I can’t bring myself to pray. Times when I forget to switch on the flashlight, letting Jesus lead my way step by step. Times when I ignore the flashlight beam, because what I really want is the light bulb to shine brightly. </p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So my question for you, friends, is this. Are you truly trusting that Jesus is the light of the world? Are you seeking to see and share that light? Because friends, the light of Jesus Christ cannot be put to shame. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-40854204371429853582023-05-14T20:55:00.001-04:002023-05-14T20:55:00.136-04:00“God’s Love Poured Out” Romans 3: 28-30 5: 1-11<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">When you ask preachers about Romans, most will tell you that they either love preaching and teaching from it or they don’t. It’s not because of the text itself not being meaningful - but the opposite, the text is so rich that it is hard to break down in our limited time together in worship.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So as I’ve been sitting with this weeks text, praying about how to make it connect to our hearts and lives today - all of a sudden it hit me, that Paul is speaking about God’s love letter to us. The love letter that was shared with you and with me, through the gift of Jesus Christ. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Paul was a Jewish scholar with a Jewish upbringing. He knew all about the law. He had it memorized, because the law was seen to be a sign of God’s covenantal love with his chosen people. Think back to the Hebrew Scriptures and the book of Exodus. How did Exodus start out? With God hearing the cry of his people and then ultimately sending Moses to declare that God’s people were to be set free. God showed his might to the people through the plagues, the last of which paved the way for the Children of Israel’s freedom - as they left Egypt and headed for the promised land. And along the way, what were they given? The Ten Commandments, which were to mark how they were to live differently as the people of God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So the law was this precious signpost pointing to the love of God that brought the Israelites to freedom in the promised land. Only along the way, some folks started to forget the ‘why?’ Behind the law and focused solely on upholding the law itself. But in doing so they missed the point. They missed the heart behind what they were trying to follow and who it was to be pointing them towards. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here in Romans, Paul is saying that folks aren’t justified by the law. They aren’t renewed or brought into right relationship with God by the law itself. No. They are justified by faith. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Faith not in the law. Trust not in the law. Confidence not in the law. But in the law giver. That is who they boast in. The one in whom their hope is rooted. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem is that the law is easier to understand than faith. You either follow the law or you don’t. It is clear. Or at least clear-er than faith which is based on what we cannot see or fully grasp, this side of eternity. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>How do we know that? Because in this text Paul needs to talk to believers about suffering. Folks back in this day and time would have interpreted suffering as a sign of God’s displeasure - a punishment that they deserved. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So folks who knew that they were growing closer to God were left wondering why in the world they were suffering. What exactly were they being punished for? Paul’s reply? We need to set aside the old way of understanding suffering and see even it, going through the darkest of valleys, to be an opportunity to glorify God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What does that look like? Well, may friends, it’s easier to say what it doesn’t look like. Paul isn’t talking about believers pretending that everything is fine in the midst of their suffering. Nor is he saying to plaster on a smiling face no matter how much it hurts. No. He is talking about going deeper. More true. More authentic. To a place where we see how our suffering is shaping us, even when we would rather be going through anything else. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While for us, and the Romans, it can be shocking to realize that faith does not protect us from experiencing suffering, we can still stand firm on the love of God, even in the midst of our suffering. For God does not abandon us, rather walks with us. Even when it is hard. And how do we know this? Because Christ loved us enough when we were still far from him to give his life for ours as an act of love. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When Paul is talking about being justified by faith, friends, this is what it rests upon. Relationships. Which is what the law can’t do. The law can’t force us into relationships. It can certainly put a thin veneer over our actions, but it cannot make us love God or love our neighbor from the deepest part of our being. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The law, when put into our fragile human heats and hands, asks us to be perfect. But God knows that you and I are incapable of perfection, dear ones. I don’t know if you’ve ever had someone tell you that - you cannot be perfect on your own. We are made perfect by the love of our Savior. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we make it about trying to achieve perfection, well that’s all about us. What we can earn. How well we do. And it can leave us feeling isolated in our striving. That isn’t what Christ died to show us. While Christ was perfect, he died to show us what love looks like. Love that is self-giving. Love that is healing. Love that calls us to wholeness.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That is the nature of divine love. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not the law. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not perfection. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Not what we can achieve or earn. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we make salvation about what it is not -we confuse people. First and foremost, we confuse ourselves. But the we carry that confusion to others. Hear me clearly, Church. You do not need to be perfect to be claimed and covered by divine love. You do not need to have it all together to be loved by God. Because our relationships with God is not about our efforts. It’s about God’s loving action <i>for</i> us. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which spills out into our relationships with other people. Because all of our relationships are sustained by God’s grace. And our relationship with God effects how we show up in relationships with other people. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I am fully aware that today is a day where we celebrate relationships. And in so many ways this may not sound like your standard Mother’s Day sermon. And yet, it is. Because whatever this day holds for you - joy, tears, good memories or trying one - God is with you. God is the one calling your first and foremost to relationship with him, in a way that transforms your relationships with others. It’s not about striving for perfection - its about allowing ourselves to be loved by God so that we can love others. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I want to end today by asking you to close your eyes and come to God asking if you are allowing yourself to be covered in his love. That’s just between you and our Lord. Ask God for what you need to be set free from your striving in order to just be. To be loved by God. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-26410560277750519982023-03-26T18:01:00.000-04:002023-03-26T18:01:00.218-04:00“Last Judgement” Matthew 25:31-46<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">I have a small display of sheep in my office. Different sized sheep. Different textured sheep. Every time I see it, it reminds me of the first miniature sheep I ever saw. It was part of the Fisherprice Barn set. Do any of you remember those and the *bong* sound it would make when it would open? My parents still have that barn, and as I was thinking about my nieces and nephew playing with it recently in light of this particular passage I realized that it doesn’t have a goat with it. And I don’t have goats displayed in my office.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because, even culturally, when we think about this particular passage of Scripture we equate sheep with being “good” and goats with being “bad”. But in order to understand how we get to what is perhaps the most well known line of this passage from the Gospel of Matthew, “<i>Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters, you did for me”, </i>we need to step back and explore the heart of what Jesus is trying to say to those listening. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus pick up teaching about the Kingdom of God, as he writes about the fullness of that Kingdom coming into view when the Son of Man (who we would call the Messiah) comes in all of his glory to reign. It sounds so much like Revelation does it not? Christ sitting on the throne and the angels surrounding him as the nations praise his name. At that time the great judgment will come and he will separate the sheep from the goats. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To all of the sheep, he will call for them to come and take part in their inheritance. Why? Because before this moment of judgment they had fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, invited the stranger to come in, clothed people in need, took care of the infirm, and visited those who were in prison. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And the sheep are confused. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because they are looking into the face of the Messiah and they have no recollection of doing any of those things for him. But Christ reminds them that whatever they did for the least, they did for him, even if they did not recognize at the time that it was giving their Lord and Savior all the honor and glory. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The opposite is true for the goats - they didn’t attend to the needs of the least and Christ states that whatever they did not do for the least they did not do for him. Full stop. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A few weeks ago, my dad and I were talking about what surprises await us in heaven. Some of the folks we assume will be there, may not be. And some of the people we have judge as not being in heaven with Christ - well they may just be there. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because we are saved by faith. And sometimes it is really hard to tell if people have faith and believe. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which is one of the struggles with this particular passage of scripture. It seems like saying that the last judgment is being based on works - but that is not what Christ is saying, my friends. Instead, Christ is pointing out that our works, or how we treat other people, are an expression of our deep faith in Jesus alone. In other words, actions (or praxis) flow out of our belief and faith. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The things is that the sheep, or the righteous, in this parable didn’t even know that they being judged. Some scholars emphasize that when Jesus says “all the nations” in this parable, he is including the Gentiles. Those who were believed to be far from God. Yet, they simply cared for the strangers that came across their path. They didn’t know anything about a potential reward or punishment - they were just living from their heart. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And if the Gentiles - those were believed to be far from God - could live righteously, then how much more so should the Jews - as they had an ethic of care. An ethic of care that has been passed down to us as Christian. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If I ask you why we love, Church, what would your response be? Because Christ first loved us. Or if I asked you what the greatest commandment was - you would respond… to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. If we are people of the Word, brothers and sisters, we love with the heart of Christ. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When we serve other people, it is to be as if we are serving Christ. In the Hebrew Scriptures we find the law to “<i>love your neighbor as yourself.” </i>When we serve people we are to serve them with the respect and compassion we would want others to treat us with.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While this passage has been used to incite fear into people about whether you will be found to be a sheep or a goat, that tends to just make us fixate on that question alone and quite frankly does not help the sheep to move past fear in order to become committed disciples of Jesus Christ. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So where are some potential areas where our love can grow? Or where are some stumbling blocks we should address? One trap that church folks can fall into is thinking of the people we are serving as “the other” or “those people” who are so different than me. When we do that, we start to assume what people need and can end up belittling them instead of treating them like we are to treat Christ or like we would want to be treated. A few days ago I was speaking with a colleague about holiday food items that her congregation collected. They collected simple food, thinking that each of the three items they collected would be packaged together and given as a meal at a local food pantry. She had to explain to them, that all items once they were given were sorted onto shelves so folks could shop for what their specific family unit needed. Some people in her congregation were upset because there food wouldn’t be given as a package - they couldn’t understand why the food pantry couldn’t force people to take it since they went to the trouble of collecting it. Sometimes our own desire to serve, can get in the way of serving people in a compassionate, merciful, and respectful way.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, we do not need to fixate - we need discernment. We do not need to have all of the answers before we act in love - not our love, but in the love of Christ. Because our belief and actions are intwined. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In this parable even the righteous did not know they were caring for the Son of Man, but I bet they were still people in their hearts who hungered and yearned for righteousness.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I don’t want to send you out of this place today with a checklist - who did you serve them today? Did you serve them as Christ? Because we aren’t judged for our work, we are judged for the work that Jesus did on our behalf. But, I do want you to really, deeply pray about what this passage says about discipleship - how you are following Christ and sharing yourself with others for his sake. Are you someone who hungers and thirsts for righteousness? And is that flowing out of you and into the world? Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-54136209809377525982023-03-19T19:16:00.001-04:002023-03-19T19:16:00.246-04:00“Bridesmaids” Matthew 25: 1-13<p> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; white-space: pre;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">“What are you waiting for?” Have any of you ever heard that phrase? Have any of you ever said that phrase? Let’s be honest - we are not a people who actively enjoys waiting. We would like what we want and now, please. Yet, waiting is part of life.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And not just part of our everyday, routine lives. I’m not just talking about waiting for kids to get home from school. Or waiting for the workday to end. Or waiting in line at a store. We also wait in our spiritual lives - wait for Christ’s triumphant return. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By 50CE - only 20 years after Christ’s resurrection, the early church also had folks in it that were tired of waiting. Even with Jesus saying that no one knows and the day or hour of his return. Even with Peter and Paul’s teaching on the unknown element of the timing of Christ’s second coming. By 50 CE folks were getting restless.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But Jesus in this parable is predicting just that. He knows that God’s view of time (what is call kairos - heavenly time) is different from our earthly view of time in terms of days and hours and minutes (called - chronos time). What we see as a delay in Christ’s return, is just as much a part of God’s perfect timing as when God sent Jesus in the form of a babe over 2000 years ago. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So Jesus tells this parable - one of the last that he will tell before his arrest, death, and resurrection. And in this, one of his final messages to his disciples, he is tells them the story of a bridegroom. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Last week we sat with a parable about weddings that was difficult to understand. This one too may appear to be difficult, but for different reasons. For here, its aspects of culture that we need to unpack to more fully understand what Jesus is trying to communicate to his followers. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The bridegroom has been delayed. The period of engagement in Jesus’s time was typically a year. But before the wedding, there may be last minute details of the marriage contract that were hammered out between the groom and the bride’s father. It could very well be that this was the reason for the delay that we find here. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So the bridesmaids need to wait for the grooms return in order for the wedding to take place. When night falls, they break out their lamps, which required both a flame and oil - something to keep the flame lit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Two things happen because the groom is taking so long. First, everyone, all ten of the bridesmaids fall asleep. Yet, that doesn’t seem to be a problem in the parable itself. Except that for five of the bridesmaids, they wake up and realize that it was actually a lot later then they had anticipated, and as a result there had not been enough oil in their lamps to keep the flame going. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">They try to beg oil off of the five bridesmaids that still had some - but they didn’t have enough for both themselves and these other five in need, so their only recourse is to go to buy some. Only when they were away, in search for more oil for their lamps, that is the moment when the groom returned and the wedding festivities began. When they returned and found the banquet in process, no one would open the door for them so they could join in. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus knew that what would be perceived by his followers in a human sense as his delay in returning would be a problem from the very beginnings. So he offers these words that on one level amount to “stay ready”. But here we are almost 2000 years later - asking some of the the same questions as those first believers - now what?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We need a space to honor that question, church. Because our desire for Jesus’s triumphal return is real. We see the suffering around us and we are ready for it to end. But God is not yet ready to send the Son to return because there are still people he drawing to himself and bringing salvation to. Whenever folks tell me that they wish Jesus would come back today - I get it. I, too, yearn for that. But then I think of those I know who have not yet chosen the love of Jesus Christ and found salvation in him, and my heart breaks. And in that heart break is a reminder to trust in God’s timing alone, even in the midst of my yearning. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While we have the question of “now what?” that may be rooted in deep distress and the realization that this world is not yet as God intended, I think there is also a gentle answer that we get from God to act - to get moving. To see our waiting as an active act of faith. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because we know the end of the story in many ways, friends, because it is contained in our Holy Scriptures. And as a result we live in the midst of human suffering knowing the hope that is to come. Envisioning a new day and the new creation. Knowing that there is a great wedding feast waiting on the other end. And that should cause us to live differently. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And that way that we live differently is not a call to live callously. To be assured in our own salvation and not care about the souls of anyone else. No, we live our lives in anticipation of what is to come and praying that the Holy Spirit draws people into God’s kingdom until that time comes and uses us to be part of that sharing of hope, grace, love, and truth. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The tension that this parable highlights is between preparing for the future and living in the present. And I’ve got to tell you, we don’t always live this out well, Church. We can get so caught up in the present - our day to day living - that we don’t live in a spirit of holy anticipation of what is to come. Or we can live so much in the unknown of the future, that we fail to proclaim God’s Kingdom in the here and now. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And in both scenarios, we aren’t truly investing in the Kingdom of God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We need to live into that tension while trusting Jesus. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which raises another question for us in this parable - what does investing in God’s Kingdom look like today? It looks like being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Communicating with him in prayer. Being part of a community of faith. Serving in a way that reflects and shares the heart of our Savior. It means growing closer to him, day by day. Spending time in the Word. Sharing the faith with people who do not yet know. Raising up the next generation. It means being faithful with each and every thing that God has given us. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’m curious Church - how can we be part of <i>that </i>work in the waiting? Kingdom investing work? How can we help each other stay vigilant and prepared in this time of waiting? How can we live into the tension of the present and the future? In other words, how can we be faithful followers of Jesus Christ <i>until </i>he comes again, even if we do not know the day or the time? Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-90053024048910868652023-03-12T17:51:00.001-04:002023-03-12T17:51:00.197-04:00“Wedding Banquet” Matthew 22:1-14<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">Friends, this is a hard parable. It’s a parable that has been misunderstood, twisted out of context, and abused. I just want to start out time together this day acknowledging this. My hope and prayer is that as be dig into it together this day that there would be clarity and illumination that can only come from the Holy Spirit.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If we are honest, part of the reason that this parable is hard is because it is different than any wedding we have been invited to. I still remember the first wedding I was invited to as an adult - not as a plus one on my family’s invitation. My friends and I drove to upstate New York to bear witness to two of our scrabble-playing friends get wed at a place that was equal parts rustic and fancy. It was a wonderful experience!</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now, I also know that not all weddings are that wonderful. You do not need to tell me that as a pastor. But even in some of the worst moments of weddings that went sideways that I’ve witnessed as a pastor, nothing has come close that what we find in the Gospel of Matthew - a tale of folks who do not even want to come. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus starts out telling about a king whose son was to bed wed in a grand celebration. The king had prepared the most lavish of wedding banquets for his son - so lavish that he apparently didn’t have a concrete guest list in mind. So he starts sending out his servants into the streets of the land to tell folks that they had been invited to the wedding feast. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Only they would not come. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So the king tries again, this time though the invitation was to be explained - hey you, you who’ve been invited, don’t you know that the King has prepared a dinner to honor his son. The best of the best has been prepared. It’s ready! You’re invited! Come.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But the people who were invited actually laughed it off and went about the rest of their day.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By now the king is mad. Mad that folks weren’t honoring his son and his hard work celebrating this marriage. Mad that he is being dismissed and dishonored as king of the land. But before his anger could get out of plan, he was able to step back and come up with a new plan. If the folks who were invited didn’t want to come and then why don’t we just invite other people. People who will listen. People who will come. So now the servants went out with a new message - <i>everyone </i>is invited. And soon the banquet hall was filled. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>At first the invitation fell on deaf ears and busy lives, so the king continued to the host the banquet just for unexpected guests. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is the last of three parables that Jesus gives to engage the temple authorities. They had been confronting Jesus, day in and day out, about where his authority came from. So Jesus responds with a story. A harsh tale of hostility and people not showing honor.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But that’s not the most confusing part of the story. Its that it simultaneously shows judgment for all and grace for all. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That moment when the king was mad - he was actually beyond angry; he was enraged. He wanted to send out troops to burn the city down. That, my friends, is judgment for all. The king didn’t start out by inviting the whole town, yet the whole town was to be judged and to suffer harshly. But the king seemed to realize that would leave zero people to come to this momentous occasion, so instead he shows lavish grace. Invite everyone. Every last person. All are welcome to come. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This uncomfortable parable isn’t just because of the staunch judgment and lavish grace. It’s uncomfortable because we are meant to find our place in it. Who are we? Where are we in this parable? How would we have responded to the king?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Throughout the centuries, in wrestling with this parable it has been assumed that the King is God, the son is Christ, but what about the banquet hall. Well the banquet hall, friends, is the church. Not just the physical building, but the people who make up the church. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The parable continues… the servants found people both good and bad, and invited them to come. To come and celebrate. To come and fill the banquet hall. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The truth is we don’t know what folks reasons are for coming to church. I once heard it said that if you have a hundred people in worship, you have a hundred and fifty different reasons that people came. Everyone has a different reason to worship. We are not those in the place to judge folks reasons - we simply exist to invite people to come and experience the lavishness of grace. To have the opportunity and to let the Holy Spirit do the rest.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But if all are invited then what do we make of this last part that makes an already confusing parable even more confusing. What is up with this person who wasn’t dressed right so they were kicked out?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Does that really mean that we are to displace people who don’t dress to the nines or look like us? Absolutely not. That is not stated to be a model for our Christian behavior. Instead, it is to say that the king and the king alone saw into this persons heart and still exacted judgment on the fact that his demeanor made him just as ungrateful to the response to come as those who decided not to come in the first place. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Did you catch that, Church. It is the king that sees into folks hearts and motives, not us. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The religious leaders of the time were judging Jesus, thinking that they could see into his heart and he reminds them that isn’t their job. Their job was to invite folks to come to God and they weren’t even really doing that. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what about us? How are we doing today when it comes to inviting folks to come. To come and hear the good news. To just come and trust God to do the rest? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I think a lot of us are probably afraid that if we go out with this message as the servants did that we will be laughed at. Or dismissed. But friends, its not about us. Its not someone rejecting us if they reject the offer that God has sent us out to communicate to come. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We are also not to be the ones who limit the invitation. By the third time with the servants going out with the invitation it is scandalously large. Everyone. Don’t prejudge who is worthy. Just tell them to come. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What about us, church? Are we prejudging that people will say no? Or that they won’t fit in? Or that they don’t deserve to hear the good news? Because that isn’t our judgment to make. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ultimately, this parable in all of its cutting rawness is a reminder that we have received unmerited grace. And then asks us how we are going to respond. With humility? With gratitude? With obedience? Or with judgment that is not ours to hold? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What about us church? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What about you and me?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-44179254734027838482023-03-05T14:03:00.001-05:002023-03-05T14:03:00.202-05:00“Laborers in the Vineyard” Matthew 20:1-16<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">“But, that’s not fair!” Has anyone heard that statement from one of the children in your life? Or have any of you said “Life’s not fair” in return.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is true that life is not fair. But even though we try to teach our children that amidst their cries demanding fairness, the reality is that even as adults we seek out fairness. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that this parable, which is only found in the Gospel of Matthew, rubs us the wrong way. We recognize that it isn’t fair - and we don’t like it. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus is once again trying to teach folks what the Kingdom of God is like, using something that they understand - vineyards. Vineyards that needs extra workers when it is time for the harvest. So a landowner goes out and starts collecting people to help with the task before them - clearly stating what he would pay them for the work of the day. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Only the first group of people weren’t enough for the work - so when he saw people standing around the marketplace, he asked them if they would like to work as well. He did this again and again, until it got time to call it quits for the day. He told the foreman to bring in all of the workers and one after the other, he handed them their wages - the agreed upon denarius. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Only the folks who were there with the morning sun, those who had worked the most hours - they wanted more than what had been agreed upon when they saw that everyone was getting the same wage as them without putting in the same hours. You can hear the cries now, can’t you “but that’s not fair! We don’t deserve to be equal with everyone else. We’ve been here longer.”</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In some ways this parable reminds me of another that is found in the Gospel of Luke - the parable of the prodigal son. I can hear the cries of the older, obedient, hardworking older brother who was faithfully at his father’s side, and who was upset when the prodigal son returned home and was showered with a homecoming party. “It’s not fair!”</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While the Gospel of Matthew never uses the word “grace” its still talking about grace in this parable. A grace that is lavish and a grace that is not fair. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is also a unique parable because we find Jesus pointing to the landowner, as an image for God. While Jesus often speaks about the Kingdom, he does not often use these parables of teaching to speak of God’s divine governance. Except here. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>God doesn’t rule by the niceties of the land. God rules with a heart of grace.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And the grace of God is generous. The grace of God will not let us go -as the landowner goes out again and again, four times in total, even to the final hour before the workday would close, to find people to come. To come and be part of this work. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But how do we respond to the generosity of God, church? Well we can end up sounding a whole lot like those folks who showed up to work first. Those who were in the right spot to get the job early in the morning. Those eager to work hard. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Until.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Until we end up being a little envious because God is just as generous to everyone else. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Ouch. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This parable can rub us the wrong way, friends, because it can hit a little bit too close to home. Too close when we say that folks who are new to the faith 'haven’t been around long enough’ to have their voices heard. Or when we say that people need to ‘pay their dues’ or ‘get to know how things are done around here’ before we have them as part of the leadership. Or when we seek to serve ourselves, those already here first, instead of seeing that the mission of the Kingdom of God is for those who are not yet here - as evidenced by the landowner going out again and again and again. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Then we can sound a little bit like those first workers. Shouldn’t we be taken care of first? Shouldn’t this put us further ahead in the Kingdom? Where’s our bonus for working harder and longer?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To which God replies - I’m not being unfair. I gave you exactly what I promised - life and life abundant. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The grace of God shakes the very foundations of our understanding - turning everything around so we see it not from the eyes of the world, but from the eyes of the Kingdom. And we are okay with that when it’s to our benefit, but when it looks like we aren’t the ones being favored - then we aren’t as happy about the economics of the Kingdom and grace. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This parable ends with perhaps one of the most well known verses in the Gospel of Matthew - “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” When we hear that its not just about turning the heiracrchy of the time - which was a real thing - upside down. It wasn’t just about higher and lower rank. It was also about upending who comes earlier and later. Temporal time does not mean the same thing in the Kingdom of God. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>My parents have been teaching Sunday school since around the time I was born. When their class first started, it was mostly young parents like them - trying to wrangle kids into coats and carseats to get to church on Sunday morning. Knowing that work to be rough at times, they named their class “Better Late than Never”. Even as the participants in that class have moved from being parents to grandparents, the name has stayed the same. Because the name is an act of grace. Even if you can’t be here first - come when you can. God has something here for you. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, we do not earn a gold-star with God because of the length of time that we have been on this journey of faith. That isn’t how it works. The gift that we receive for being on this journey is the journey itself. Being a disciple. Sharing the faith. Growing closer to Jesus. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But in order to accept that gift we need to come apart from the ways of the world that tells us about earning and deserving. Those are not words within the Kingdom. And replace them with mercy and grace - which is how God deals with us and with others. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What would it take to transform the way you see the world and how would that change the way you live out your faith? Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-89141320350266522522023-02-12T17:05:00.001-05:002023-02-12T17:05:00.213-05:00“Parables of the Kingdom” Matthew 13:24-43<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">A little bit goes a long way.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In seminary, I had a bit of an untraditional field placement. Instead of serving a local church, I was part of a retreat center’s team, writing liturgy around these elaborate meals that we would prepare called Biblical feasts. After I was done crafting what was to be prayed and said around the traditions of each meal, I would go into the kitchen. We were often cooking for thirty or more people, so the pots and pans that were on every burner industrialized sized. But even with how large the pots looked, I had to be reminded that a little bit of seasoning would go a long way. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is one of Jesus’s most famous parables. Parables are stories that are told using examples of items that people would understand in order to explain a deeper truth. Jesus often spoke in parables in order to help connect people with Kingdom principles. And also to say hard things that would make people react instead of ponder if they truly understood the depths of what was being communicated. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This particular parable is unique to the Gospel of Matthew. It’s trying to teach folks that the Word of God is going to go forth and spread to places seen and unseen - but that does not mean that it is always understood or even noticed at all. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I often describe God to people by asking them to take off their diamond ring (or imagine one if they don’t have one at the moment). I ask if it is possible to see every side of the ring at the same time. The answer is no. There are parts of God that we cannot see or are beyond our knowing, but just because we cannot see them in our humanness does not mean that they are not there.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A similar principle applies to the Kingdom of God. Jesus is speaking about the Kingdom from three different perspectives (or three different views of the ring) because the Kingdom of God is so emmense that it is beyond our human understanding. We catch glimpses, but those glimpses aren’t the totality of its reality. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So Jesus starts off with a question that has plagued humanity from the beginning of time - what are we to do when we are faced with that which we do not desire? What do we do with evil or sin or unbelief? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus is talking to folks who farm. Folks who would have known what it was like to have to deal with weeds and weeds in abundance. So Jesus tells the parable of a farmer who had put only good seed in his field. The seed that was known for producing a hearty crop. Seed that was the envy of all other seed. Only one night, someone snuck into his field and decided to sabatoge that good seed by throwing that which would produce weeds all around. You can imagine this person going up and down, up and down throughout the field, throwing these other seeds that would produce weeds.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Some time passes, as it is want to do in planting, before the crop started to come up through the ground. And things looked so bad with all of the weeds that the farmers fellows start to come and look at his ground and ask him if he planted the wrong thing. If he planted the wrong type of seed. A bad seed. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The farmer is able to articulate that no - this was not his intent. But when asked if he wanted others to descend upon his field and pull up all the weeds - he gives a puzzling answer. No. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>No, because if you pull up these weeds which are so abundant than you will surely take the good crop right along with it. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’m not going to lie, friends, I struggle with this parable. I struggle because I want all of the bad to be pulled out. I struggle because it goes against everything that I have ever been taught about gardening - that weeds will choke life out of the good harvest so of course you pull them out. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So I need an explanation to this parable as much as the disciples do. To which Jesus says what we all seem to struggle with at some moments in our lives - its not time yet. Its not time for the harvest where the weeds will be separated from the good seed. Its not time for the end of all time yet. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Maybe, just maybe we need to hear from Jesus that a little bit of time goes a long way.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When asked about the end of time, I often tell people that I’m not one to be praying for the end to come swiftly, first, because Jesus says that even he does not know the time, but also because I think of all of the people I know and love who have not yet accepted Christ. Maybe they need a little more time. I would never want to rush into something as powerful as what Christ is proclaiming here, if it meant that even one would be lost. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus then shifted the perspective a little bit and talks about the Kingdom of God another way - comparing it to a mustard seed. Just like the seed that it represents, this parable is tiny - if fact its the shortest parable that Jesus ever told. But here is is saying that a little bit goes a really long way. That there is an inbreaking of the Kingdom into our everyday lives in a way that spur growth and life abundant. In other words, what seems insignificant actually matters a lot. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The same is true of the woman mixing bread. Friends, I want you stop and actually hear again what was said in this parable. A woman added yeast to <i>sixty pounds of flour. </i>There is lots and lots of flour, the ordinary stuff of life, but this levening agent, even if just a little bit, transformed what the flour could become. Making it enough to feed a whole lot of neighbors. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So what do we do with these parables today? Maybe we all need a reminder that a little bit goes a long way. A little bit of time gives people who are yet far from Christ time to come and know his as Savior and king. A little bit of hope, even the size of a mustard seed, can grow in our lives and burst forth in a way that shares our ultimate hope in God. A little bit of faith added to the abundance of our lives spills forth in ways that can nourish both body and soul for people we know and do not yet know. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A little bit is part of the mystery of the Kingdom of God. How are you being called to participate in this mystery in a way that looks to God and proclaims that God is near? Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-26683623901497531202023-01-08T16:11:00.001-05:002023-01-08T16:11:00.204-05:00“Jesus’ Baptism” Matthew 3: 1-17<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">The next few weeks you need to stick with me friends, because there have been songs playing through my head with each new scripture that we encounter in the Gospel of Matthew. This week - Down to the River to Pray by Allison Krause from the soundtrack of the movie </span><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">O Brother, Where Art Thou? “As I went down in the river to pray. Studying about that good ol' way. And who shall wear the starry crown. Good Lord, show me the way.”</i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></i>This is one of my absolute favorite songs about baptism. First, because it is profound in meaning and beautiful in musicality. But second, because every time I hear it sung, I don’t hear Allison Krause, as talented as she is. I hear a good friend of mine from high school with a powerhouse alto voice who brought an auditorium to an absolute hush singing this song. We were standing on holy ground, brothers and sisters. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And Jesus was standing on holy ground when he arrived at the River Jordan all of those years ago. But before he even arrived at the bank of the river God had been preparing the way through the ministry of John the Baptist. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Remember that in chapter 2 of the Gospel of Matthew we found ourself at the palace of King Herod and journey with the magi. Now, we are away from the power and prestige to the desert, a place of identity and longing. Remember, who is Matthew writing for? Folks who know all about their central story found in the book of Exodus. One of going from the place of backbreaking work for the people of power and prestige to journeying to freedom through the desert place. The Israelites <i>know </i>that the desert is a place of both liberation and transformation, friends. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>We are also told that John the Baptist was a prophet, which would conjure up all the scriptural images of prophets of old. While the people may have been waiting for, even longing for, a prophet for their time, the reality is that the prophets of old were not reveered as much as the imagination of time would lead people to believe. Prophets were often thought to be oddities. Their words were ignored if not downright disdained. Yet, they continued to proclaim the word of the Lord. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So we find John, the prophet, crying out for people to repent, for the Kingdom of heaven has come near. John who has his own oddities about him, one found out in the desert, clothed in camel’s hair and eating locust and honey. John, who is crying out the same message as the prophets that came before him - its time for a change.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Often in our day and time when we say that it is time for a change, we really mean that its time for a change that is removed from us. It’s other people that need to change. Or we need a change in leadership. But that’s not the change that John is calling for. No, to repent, is to have a change within a person that rocks them to their core. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another way to phrase what John is saying here is, people, its time to turn around. To turn around from your selfishness, greed, and pride. It’s time to turn around from whatever sin has taken hold in your heart and is bearing evil fruit. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The problem is that not everyone was interested in both hearing and responding to that message. But then again, folks weren’t too keen on hearing and responding to a similar message proclaimed by the prophet Elijah, either. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But John isn’t deterred by the folks who aren’t getting the message, yet. Because he knows his place, he knows his call and its scriptural. He is the one who has come to cry in the wilderness “Prepare the way for the Lord.”</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It is so easy to forget that the word and call that John was ushering forth - to repent - friends, it was a word of hope to a world-weary people. John Howard Yoder said this about “repent” - “To repent is not to feel bad, but to think differently”. And its not just about thinking differently but a type of thinking differently that fundamentally changes the heart and all the action that flowed forth. And John is crying “repent” - he is saying <i>that </i>type of change <i>is </i>possible. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In fact, what the people though looked hopeless and impossible, suddenly was possible. Because of the Messiah. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But the religious leaders, who gathered to get intel on what John was doing and saying, showed up, John saw right into the muddiness of their hearts. Now, what we miss on this side of history is that the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they were not one in the same. In fact, that didn’t even really like one another. Think of any opinion, preference, or theological point - and you would find them on opposite sides. Yet, they came together on the banks of the Jordan to stare at John, not because they wanted to repent and be transformed, but because his oddness worried them. Because here is John saying that all of their power and prestige - well it wasn’t going to buffer or protect them from what was to come. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Have you been there, church? Have you been so caught up in the judgment by the side of the road or the river that you miss out on what God is doing? Add that to the list of things we need to repent from - the judgment that starts manifesting itself in us as kiddos who love to tattle on other kids as an act of judgment and follows us the whole way into adulthood. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Enter Jesus. Jesus who didn’t need to come to the water to repent or be transformed, but who came to the water to show us the way. Formally proclaiming that he is the King of transformation of heart and life, as he repents God to humanity and humanity to God.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Jesus shows up at the River Jordan and said that there <i>is </i>a different way. Not the way of what the world presents, but the way of the Kingdom of God. If only you are willing to enter into the waters of life. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I told you what my favorite song about baptism is, but I didn’t tell you that I have a list of ones I don’t care for. Because they don’t explain it well. Or make it out like its our own power that leads to transformation. Ones that miss the holiness of what Jesus is truly showing us the way to. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because at the waters of baptism we are offered a new life, that is not our own, but Christ in us. And that change that comes? Friends, its freedom. This week we are starting a new Monday evening study called Younique, which is about who we are and what our call is in Christ. The first time I worked through this curriculum with colleagues, I was struck by the following statement, “Freedom is not the ability to do anything you want to do. Freedom is the capability to become who God dreamed you to be.” And I’ve got to tell you, there are a lot of well meaning Christians who miss the point of that freedom. They know that at the water of baptism they are forgiven, but they fail to realize that they are invited to a whole new way of living in the freedom of Christ. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I’ve shared with some of you that while I was in college I was able to travel for one of my classes to the Holy Land. While there, the professor leading us, offered to baptize folks in the River Jordan, if they felt so led. Only he was an awesome United Methodist pastor and knew that I was Methodist as well. So when I was toying with the idea of being rebaptized, he instead invited me to come to the river, touch it, and remember the freedom that came in the baptismal vow. Freedom that didn’t come through performing the sacrament again, but by remembering what it means to be set freed, indeed, in Christ. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Today we, too, are going to have the opportunity to come and remember. Not to remember that act of baptism, but to remember and reclaim the power of the freedom that comes to us in Christ. Friends, will you come, down to the waters to pray. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-13651003229815800582023-01-01T19:50:00.001-05:002023-01-01T19:50:00.219-05:00“Genealogy of Jesus” Matthew 1:1-17<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">I was recently talking to a fellow pastor about and somehow the conversation turned to the topic “things you don’t know about me.” Right away, I knew what my answer would be. I grew up in a family that had something historical about every single vacation that we went on. Friends, we went to the beach and had to visit a museum. And yet, as frustrating as that was as a child, I am so glad that happened now that I look back. It taught me to appreciate history.</span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Even ancient history like what we find in today’s scripture lesson. Hands up, how many of you when you get to the genealogy section of scripture skip right past it? Let’s be honest - a lot of us have done so over the years because its a list of names that hard to pronounce. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yet, here on the cusp of a new year, we are looking back to the very beginning of the Gospel of Matthew - which starts by tracing back Jesus’s genealogy, his lineage, so that we know, <i>know </i>beyond a shadow of a doubt that he <i>is </i>the Messiah.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For the next several months we are going to be journeying together through the Gospel of Matthew. Each of the Gospels tells the story of Jesus in a slightly different way. You may notice that there are some things written in one Gospel that don’t show up in another. That’s because the writers are trying to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ to specific audiences at the time. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Matthew is writing to Jewish people in order to show them that Jesus is the promised Savior. So he traces lines back to the writings they know - what we call the Old Testament, what they simply refer to as the Hebrew Scriptures. He wants to make known that Jesus is the son of God and the fulfillment of the scriptures. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To that end, Matthew starts off the Gospel bearing his name by tracing Jesus’s genealogy back - way back. Back 42 generations. All in order to establish for the audience to which he is writing Jesus’s identity as the Messiah who has been promised and announced. The fulfillment of all hope. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In recent years there has been a resurgence of tracing back our own roots and history through genealogy. There are places where you can trace your ancestors. Other businesses allow you to find distant relatives. But perhaps what has been most meaningful to me has been the process of mapping my genealogy. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Now often when we hear the words mapping our genealogy the first image that comes to mind is of a large family tree. Maybe the type that some of you may have or even ones that were written in the family Bible. But that’s not quite the type of mapping that I’m talking about. Instead I’m talking about a family genogram. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A few years ago, I took a course where the genogram was described this way - family tress show who is related to who, but a genogram shows how we are connected to one another. Another way to say this is that genograms don’t just show names and relationships, but family’s joys, sorrows, and brokenness. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience who knows the stories of at least some of the names that he is bringing up, he is presenting more a genogram - showing all of the connections and family stories without ever having to say them outloud.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Think about it - Jesus is yes, the son of Abraham and David, but what does that mean? Well who was Abraham - the patriarch of promise. The one who God did an amazingly unexpected thing with - went from being childless in his old age to being promised that he would be the father of more people than could be counted amongst the stars or the sand on the seashore. Abraham is also the father of the covenant that God made with his people to be their God. Now here is Jesus, showing up in an unexpected way to be the fulfillment of God’s promise - coming in the flesh to be the Savior of the world. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And David - David was a man after God’s own heart. He was the one chosen to be the King of Israel and was promised that a descendent from his throne will reign forever. By this point in time, that isn’t true in an earthly sense, but God is still keeping his promise by sending Jesus, the Messiah, to come from his throne. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But that doesn’t mean that everyone in Jesus’s lineage was perfect. In fact, there are some really odd people within it who are full of contradictions. Jacob - a trickster who is also the father of the tribes of Israel. Judah - the namesake of the southern part of Israel that was the place of great kings and where the Messiah was said to come from. Also the brother who decided to sell Jospeh into slavery. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Judah who also lied to his daughter-in-law, putting off his obligation to provide another son for her to marry after two of them died. So that daughter-in-law, one of the women oddly mentioned in Jesus’s lineage in a time when that didn’t happen, took matters into her own hands and positioned herself in a way to be mistaken by Judah as a temple prostitute - and ended up being the father of his own grandchildren. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A few generations down the line, we find another woman - Ruth, a foreigner who chose to return with her mother-in-law, Namoi to a land unknown to her, out of a sense of fierce loyalty and protection. While in that land, she gleaned at the fields of a man named Boaz, who took a risk in marrying her, thus grafting her into this lineage as well. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Two generations later we find Jesse, who yes, was the father of King David, but also the one who thought every other son was the one who God would choose to be the future king of Israel <i>except </i>for David.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And then near the end we find another oddity - the presence of Joseph. Joesph, who was not Jesus’s biological father, but reminds us of the people who are in our lives who take us in, in so many ways, and make us part of their family as well.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, we are standing on the cusp of a new year. And I wish I could tell you that this year would be smooth sailing for you and your family - but the truth is that life is messy. We only need to look at some of the stories in Jesus’s family tree in order to realize that. But when I also look at this genealogy I notice a few things that I invite you to carry into the year 2023.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First, God is faithful to his promises. Yes, God may keep those promises in surprising ways, but God is truth worthy. Are we going to lean into that sense of trust this year and what do we need to maybe pick up or put down in our lives in order to do so?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Two, we are humans. I know this may seem like a pretty obvious point - but we are humans and so are the folks who composed Jesus’s family tree. God uses humans - even in all of our frailty to be part of the story of God, which is beyond our wildest imaginations. Sometimes we get to catch glimpses of what God is doing on this side of eternity - sometimes we aren’t quite sure. But God is using you as his instrument in a way to make known his glory.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Third, our family extends beyond the people who gave us brith and compose our family tree. It includes our spiritual family as well, who play an important role in our lives and in the lives of this community.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, I invite you to sit with this scripture in prayer this week and allow it to become more than a long list of names. May it seep into your spirit and speak to you about your family - spiritual and biological. May it lead you to a bigger vision of what God may be inviting you to this year. And may it, above all, open up your heart and spirit to the surprises of our Lord. Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7073060090032915656.post-30203760775819880122022-12-11T11:33:00.000-05:002022-12-11T11:33:00.206-05:00“Light to the Nations” Isaiah 42: 1-9<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;">Show of hands - how many of you look around and think that the world is as it should be? No takers. I think we realize that in the midst of heartache, war, famine, abuse, and oppression that this world is a mess. Yet, as much of a mess that we see here and now today, it seemed to be even more so during the time of the prophet Isaiah.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px;"> </span></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isaiah is called to be the prophet to Israel while a good number of people are still in captivity in Babylon. In fact, they have been in captivity for so long that they know no other reality - they are simply resigned to this mess that they find themselves in - well its going to last forever. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To which, Isaiah is sent with the word from God that no, this season will not last forever. In fact, the time is coming very soon when they would be restored - set free to go back to worship and live in the holy city of Jerusalem. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And the people just can’t believe it.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isaiah has this unique call as a prophet. Most of the prophet are trying to get the people of Israel to turn from a behavior or belief in their heart of hearts that is not honoring to God. The prophet goes to tell the people to repent, to turn around, or there will be consequences. But Isaiah’s message is different. He is trying to get the people to believe again in the mercy and compassion of their God. Is is trying to bring a word of hope.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Which in some ways falls just as much on broken hearts and ears as the other prophet’s call for repentance. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Enter the chapter before us this day - chapter 42 - where Isaiah is trying to tell the people, again, that God is going to send a servant to them. However, they need to have their eyes open - because this servant is not going to look like a redeemer and savior by the world’s standards. He is not going to come with great shouts or cries or gathering people together in the streets. He isn’t going to crush the broken in spirit. And his justice will be true justice. It is he who will set the people free.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And his task isn’t to bring a military reckoning or carry people off into captivity, like where the Israelites finds themselves in that moment. Instead, he is coming to bring light to the darkness of the world, even being a light for people beyond the tribe of Israel - taking God’s message to the Gentiles. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He will open the eyes of the blind so that they can see again and claim truth. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>He will set people free in a way that restores their dignity and life. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sounds a lot like our communion liturgy does it not? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>You sent prophets to tell us to return. To repent. To come home to the Lord. But again and again and again we chose another way. But you did not give up on us. You decided to send your very Son to set the people free. To bring healing and wholeness. To be peace, hope, love and joy incarnate - the living embodiment of what we had strayed from and what we were looking for.</i></p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></i>For centuries, people have wondered who exactly fulfilled the prophecy Isaiah gave from the Lord. Some claim it was Cyrus the great who would eventually allow the Israelites to be released from captivity? But for the Church throughout the ages, we look at this declaration of who the servant was and what his task was and recognize it to be our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Church has woven together this text from Isaiah 42 with chapter 49, most commonly known as the suffering servant and we recognize our God’s fingerprints all over the text, pointing our hearts and minds to Jesus Christ. For no one can do what he has done and will do. No one else can set us free from the mess of sin.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Isaiah 49, that sufferings servant text, is often read during the season of Lent. But what about Isaiah 42, what does this have for us during this season of the Church - of Advent when we focus on Christ who has come and who will come again. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes we try to pretty up this season, friends. We want to get lost in the tinsel and lights and wish for a white Christmas when everything seems beautiful. But the truth is, the world is just as messy during this season as it is during others. It is simply us, in our humanness, that want to turn a blind eye to it. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>But this text invites us to remember that we are in need of a Savior. Not the trappings of the season, as glimmering as they may, but a Savior who came to us in the most unexpected of ways - as a babe in a manger. He would not be understood when he walked this earth, even by those closest to him. He would be challenged at every turn by the authorities of the age. And he wouldn’t be the person that even his followers wished he would be. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Instead, during this season of reflection and preparation, we sit with the fact that Christ did not come to be who we wished he would be. But instead to be who we needed him to be - the one who brought light to the darkness, sight to the blind, and freedom to the captive. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And he will come again - once again, not to be who we wish he will be or when we hope that he will comes, as if his coming again is dependent upon our timing and will. And when he comes again he will establish God’s justice on this earth.</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A few months ago, as we were reflecting on Psalm 7 in our Wednesday praying through the Psalms video on Facebook, I noted that sometimes we get caught up in our heads in the image of what we <i>think </i>justice should look like. We equate it to the American justice system. But that is not the justice that Christ will bring. He does not execute justice by force and he will protect the weak until they are strong enough to stand. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>And we like that idea …. As long as it applies to us. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Extending it to other people? We aren’t so sure. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Because we want the idea of what we think an earthly leader should be like to be transferred upon Christ, instead of looking to Christ to make all things new and change our whole way of seeing, perceiving and responding all because of his grace. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Christ has done and will continue to do what no earthly mortal could do - he has come to set us free. Even free from all of our lies, illusions, and expectations. </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So as we again sit this week in a non-traditional Advent text - what invitation does it hold for us? First, I think it asks us “who is Christ to me?” Do I truly believe that he is my Savior - or do I only want him to be so if it lives up my images and expectations? Do I want Christ to be the one who brings light, sight, and freedom - or do I want those things only for myself? </p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Second, this text calls for us to respond. If we do place our whole trust in Christ our Savior, how are we taking his message out into the world? How are we speaking a word of hope into the darkness and mess of this time? How are we pointing the nations to the true Light?</p>
<p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Friends, Advent is not just a time of preparing our homes. It is also a time to prepare our hearts to respond to the call of the one who has set us free. Are you ready? Amen. </p>Shell Renehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05968708059008399772noreply@blogger.com0